"Oh no!" The ever so mighty Inquisitor exclaimed, hand pulling back from her foe's face in horror. "I got... your... nose!"
The baby gasped in horror, amber eyes wide, and curly copper hair finally released from her own mouth.
"No!" She whined, seemingly in full panic at the apparent loss of her nose.
"Hmm," Fen'an considered, tapping thoughtfully at her chin with the index finger of the hand not curled into a fist around the babe's "nose". "I suppose, just this once I could return it. Just know you're getting off easy this time, Da'lin, if you were older you'd have to say please first."
In response the babe let out a commanding cry, tiny fist waved in the air as though in protest.
"Mm, ma nuvenin, Da'lin, you make a fair point." She relented, bringing her closed fist back to the child's face an releasing it over her nose with a showy wave of her hand. "There you are, back to normal!" She proclaimed. The baby made a content gurgle, and then shoved her appeased fist in her mouth as though to punctuate how pleased she was.
"Is it often Dalish tradition to mock children with the false theft of their extremities?" A dry voice commented, wandering through the office door.
"Oh shove it, Solas, it's a harmless little game." Fen'an huffed, scooping up the babe into her arms, with her equally copper hair looking for all the world like the two elves could be related.
"One that must be played in my office?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you know how it is, your office is kinda the only place besides safe enough to let her crawl around wherever she pleases without having to worry about her tumbling down a flight of stairs, and small enough not to lose her. Excepting Cullen's office, which was my first choice, but he's in a meeting there right now." She held looked down into the babe's eyes and began to coo, "Yes he is! With all the big, important, boring people, yes he is!"
Solas frowned, bothered by her dismissal yet again of anything to do with the practical side of the inquisition. The girl wasn't stupid, nor even without her share of scholarly interest, which is what allowed them to become friends in the first place, in their shared fascination of the fade. But her handling of the organization screamed her lack of both interest, and innate ability when it came to leadership. He could see her very quickly abandoning her position the second the breech was closed, and the threat of Corypheus eliminated, and in spite of her disinterest, he had trouble seeing anyone as simultaneously well-meaning and capable ever taking her place.
"I must admit," he conceded, "the babe's presence here is not entirely unwelcome." He smiled ever so softly. "She is a promising child. Her name is fitting."
"I've been thinking so as well! Especially with her hair. Which is beautiful, might I add, an opinion I says with no bias, of course," she added, allowing the babe's free hand to tug at her own lengthy hair with only a mild wince. When they're pulling your hair, baby hands always become surprisingly stronger than expected. "I guess my name's not so bad, even if it did get me picked on as a child."
"Why so?" Solas questioned, bracing himself. After the legacy he left behind, few Dalish dared place Fen anywhere in the name of their child, and those that did often saw their children live to regret it, to various extents.
"Because I lived up to it!" She laughed, fresh and clear, filling up the small room.
"Did you?" He allowed himself a smirk of amusement, which was a lot for him.
"Someone has to be the clan prankster, am I right? Just ask the Keeper!" She snickered at some scene only she could see replaying. "The halla never looked at her the same again."
And with that she started her way to the door. "I'll see you later, Hahren, Cullen should be out of his meeting by now and I'm sure this one's dying to say hello, aren't you, Isene?"
The babe gurgled in a tone Fen'an seemed to accept as affirmation. She sighed in mock hurt. "You really do like him better than me, don't you?"
"Direth shiral, Da'len," Solas answered the closing door.
Along the fortress walls she walked, swaying the babe in her arms, truly loving this brief respite from her inquisitor duties. Although Morrigan was officially her guardian in the absence of the child's parents, Fen'an took every second she could to spend time with the babe. It reminded her of her role in the clan, where she was often the unofficial child wrangler and babysitter. A role she accepted with joy... most of the time. And Isene really was very well behaved for a six month old, rarely crying, and eating well from the strange formula Morrigan would concoct for her in the absence of her mother's breast. She almost dreaded the day she would be taken from her, which Morrigan vaguely assured her could be anywhere from tomorrow to three years from now.
Looking over the bustling entry point below she saw faces old and new, familiar and not, as more and more people funneled into Skyhold with each passing day, particularly mages. Among them, a partiular new head catches her eye. A platinum blond man with tan skin, similar in tone to Isene's, and though his face is not visible, something about him jabs her with a sting of familiarity. Shrugging it off, she flings open Cullen's door unannounced and saunters her way inside, closing the door behind her, unaware of the amber eyes that have turned her way at the last moment.
"Ma vhenan," she greeted, sauntering over the give her partner a quick peck and the cheek, and he smiled like a man who never thought he'd ever be so blessed in his life.
"My love," he returned, gently brushing a loose chunk of hair behind her ear, despite knowing it will inevitably fight its way free within moments. He wants to look at her face, unobscured, even though he loves her curls. He would live forever in those moments.
"Aghab!" The baby shouted meaninglessly, breaking his concentration in a demand for attention.
"And hello to you too, little one." He'd always felt rather helpless around children himself, despite his younger siblings. It's not that he's ever been awful with them, just that they were always... neutral. This child though, for whatever reason, seemed to think he hung the moon and stars for all she adored him. Every once in a while, when Fen'an brings her by his office for these visits, he allows himself to imagine that the babe really is her child, and his as well- theirs. When he's feeling daring, he almost tells her so.
Looking into his lover's eyes, a shade of green he'd only ever seen in her people, he considered bringing it up for what feels like the thousandth time, to dare. It's on the tip of his tongue, when a figure cloaked in dark colors and with platinum hair drops from the ceiling above, standing proudly atop his desk as if it were his own.
Instinctively, Cullen drew his blade, pushing Fen'an and the child behind him. He knows she is capable, but still, his instinct demands she be protected.
"Who are you?" He demanded.
"Aaah, a fair question, friend, but given the circumstance, I find my own question more relevant, no?"
"That being?"
"Why are you, Inquisitor, in possession of my daughter?"
"Your daughter?" Cullen lowered his blade, but did not sheath it. Peering to the side of her much taller lover, made even bulkier by his layers of armor and fur, Fen'an struggled to catch a good look of the person speaking. Finally, taking advantage of Cullen's surprise to side step him ever so slightly without objection, she gave him a long one over. While their features bared structurally little to no resemblance for the most part, and the hair could scarcely be more different, their skin shared the sun-kissed looks of Antiva, and she found herself staring into all too familiar amber-gold eyes. A part of her heart dropped.
"Cullen, I think he's being honest. Look at him."
"Ah, so you are the clever one in this couple. Indeed, our resemblance cannot be denied, nor," he added with a wink, "our shared beauty."
"...Right." She dismissed, now feeling comfortable enough to stand at Cullen's side. "I guess you'll be here to take her back then?"
She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. She had no right to this child, and the babe herself deserved to be with her parents. Still, the man seemed catch the subtlty, and his eyes softened.
"That I am, my dear, though I think I can see from here she has stolen you own heart as well, no?" He hopped down from the desk and laid his hand on the baby's face, causing Cullen to tense at his place by her side. "A little heart breaker, just like her mamae."
"Will her mother be joining you then?"
The soft smile that had crossed the elves face remained, but turn sad- regretful. "My beloved warden will not be joining us quite yet. She is... looking for something. It breaks my heart not to be with her now, but we agreed that it is best for Isene to be with at least one of us. I'm sure our Morrigan has done a fine job, but we can't have this little one growing up with the same proverbial stick up her ass as our friend, yes?"
Fen'an allowed herself a snicker. "I don't know if anything could make Isene into a Morrigan, she's pretty spirited."
"That's one way to put it. Maker have mercy on us all if she inherited her mother's magic, all but her would be running for the hills by hours end."
"Speaking of Morrigan," Cullen chimed in, "You should probably let her know before you disappear the with baby you left in her care."
"Why of course! I would never miss out on a chance to chat with our Morrigan's delightful presence." He said in a tone that managed to be not entirely sarcasm. "Now, I would appreciate if you would at last hand me my daughter?"
"Oh, right, of course," she trailed off, feeling like her arms were moving at a snail's pace to surrender the child. As soon as she's in his arms the babe finds herself smothered in cheek kisses and the man is truly grinning from ear to ear.
"Thank you for your loving care of my child in my absence, Inquisitor, but I really must be going now. Perhaps you two lovebirds can have one of your own? It really is quite the adventure, is it not? Farewell for now!" And with that he had managed to jump his way back through the opening in the room he came in by, and him and the baby were both gone from their lives, probably forever.
Cullen and Fen'an, on the other hand, were both left with scarlet cheeks, very pointedly attempting to not make eye contact with one another.
"You know," Cullen stumbled, breaking the silence, "I think, maybe, that wouldn't be... the worst idea... you know... what he said... about..."
"Cullen Rutherford," Fen'an looked up at him incredulously, "Are you suggesting we have a baby?"
"No! I mean, not if you don't want to, and certainly not right now, but I just thought, maybe, later, when all this business with Corypheus is over, maybe then-"
"Cullen?'
"Yes?"
"The answer is a yes."
And he smiled the smile of a man who knew he'd done nothing to deserve being this blessed.