Title: Song
Author: J.E Talveran

A/N: So, the prompts for the first-ever Maker's Breath challenge are up and I took the five word-prompts to use for my own entries. I liked the entry for Song best, so, I'm going to use that as my official entry.

This entry is actually meant to be friendship, but if you really want to squint, you could turn it to femslash goodness. Enjoy!

***

The quiet whispering of a breeze rustling through the trees usually brought Lyna Mahariel comfort as she took the midnight watch for their motley crew. It reminded her of the nights around the fire, when the storyteller would weave out magical tales of the old days, and the Keeper's First would use her talents to make the flames act out the scene, delighting the clan's children.

Tonight, though, the sounds of the Brecilian Forest brought Lyna's heart nothing but grief. The howls of a wolf pack recalled her to her first time hunting; the babble of the nearby brook harkened back to splashing in the water with Tamlen on a warm summer's eve. The forest which had been her home for so long was now foreign and unwelcoming.

"Abelas, Mamae." Her eyes closed, and she dipped her forehead to rest against her knees. "I feel so alone now." She let out a ragged sigh and brought her gaze back up; then jolted when it connected with concerned sky-blue eyes. "Leliana!"

Leliana's expression shifted from concerned to apologetic as she knelt before Lyna. "Maker's breath, I didn't mean to startle you Lyna." She averted her gaze shamefully, "I just thought … you looked so sad … and … well …"

Lyna waved off the stammered apology, her heart already settling back into a normal rhythm. "It's fine. I just, you're not usually so silent in your movements."

Leliana chuckled, the sound rich and fulfilling in the emptiness of the night around them. "Yes, well, I was not always a Chantry Sister; did I not tell you this?"

"You did, you did …" Lyna trailed off, then coughed when the quiet between them became awkward. "Er, so … before the Chantry, you were …?"

"A Bard, silly; I told you the last time you allowed me to ramble on and on like a silly peasant girl." Leliana's earlier apology was gone, replaced by the now-familiar teasing light that danced in her eyes every time she and Lyna talked.

"Oh, right, you were a storyteller."

"Something like that … and I know there's a story to why my Grey Warden looks so lost and lonely tonight." Leliana shifted to sit on the log properly, while Lyna slumped down to sit on the grass with a groan. "You fooled Alistair, but not me."

Lyna tilted her head back so it rested against Leliana's knee. "I miss my clan. I miss … everything." She closed her eyes again, this time to try and stem the welling of tears. "I miss Tamlen."

Leliana crooned wordless sympathy and her fingers combed through Lyna's copper tresses. "I don't know if you'd feel offended, but I do know a Dalish song … called In Uthenera?"

Lyna wiped at her eyes furiously, trying to rid her cheeks of any traces of tears before Leliana could see, and then nodded. "It would not offend."

There was the softest touch of lips to her ear, and then the haunting lyrics of the ancient song led Lyna away from the abyss of sorrow.

"Hahren na melena sahlin …"