"Fenedhis."
The Dread Wolf pinched his nose in frustration, muttering more curses in his native tongue under his breath. He sighed as he marked another student's paper with sharp red ink, a neatly written F decorating the top right corner. Underneath the paper were several others, each adorned with an elegantly scripted F and each blaring like a continuous warning siren in his head.
"Coffee?" someone asked, a delicate hand placing a green mug down on his desk. Solas looked up and smiled gratiously.
"Ah yes, ma serannas," he frowns suddenly, narrowing his eyes at the newcomer, "Ir abelas, have we met?"
A young woman, with warm red hair beams at him, her vallaslin gleaming slightly under the lights of the room. Mythal's markings, he mused. While he hated the tattoos, he had to admit they looked rather fitting on her. Golden branches intertwined in the arches of her tan face, adorned with a large spattering of freckles. Like trees hugging autumn leaves before their last fall to the earth.
"Briefly, at one of those mandatory conferences on the update for the new curriculum this year," she said pleasantly. She sat down in a chair across his desk, twirling a lock of hair behind her ear. His brow creased.
"Ah, forgive me, your name must have slipped from my memory Ms.-?"
Her smile never wavered. "Lavellan."
So a clan name. He mentally rolled his eyes. The name was unfamiliar, but he supposed it did not matter. He and any members of the Dalish mixed about as well as oil and water.
"Of course, well I'm-"
"Solas," she interrupted with merriment," just Solas from what I've heard." Her vibrant green eyes twinkled with untold mischief. She took a sip of her drink then, her long nimble fingers clutching her blue mug tightly. Her eyes never left his, even as she then placed the mug in her lap. He felt a bit like he was on display.
"Yes," he swallowed, avoiding her eyes. Despite his occupation requiring him to be standing in front of students everyday, he couldn't recall the last time he received this much attention. Or intense eye contact, for that matter.
As if sensing his discomfort, her eyes wavered from him to his desk, raising both brows as she undoubtedly saw the papers.
"Your class must be quite challenging," she mused, tapping the side of the mug with a finger.
"Quite the contrary, it seems the Dalish have proven themselves to be more so," he responded coldly, stiffening as he eyed her, "by refusing any knowledge that does not coincide with their own."
She laughed, surprising him.
"We Dalish take great pride in shoving our heads up our hallas' asses, thank you very much!" she teased, winking cheekily at his stunned expression. "We've been that way for years, it's going to take a lot of tugging to unclog our ears."
He chuckled at that, the tension receding from his muscles. She certainly knew how to diffuse the tension. But he had to admit he was…shocked to say the least. Still looking at her, he noted she was still relaxed in her seat, toying with a blue scarf wrapped around her neck. She was still smiling. How odd, he thought curiously, my insult did not rouse her in the slightest.
"Yes well," he started, grabbing the papers and stacking them neatly in his hands, "forgive me for my uncouthness. I am not used to these discussions turning out to be...civil given past experience." Opening a file cabinet under his desk, he shuffled the papers inside then turned to her, clasping his fingers together.
"However none of this quite strikes me as the reason you are here. What can I do for you, Ms. Lavellan?"
"Oh!" She perked up quickly at the thought. Rummaging through a leather hide bag tied to her waist, she grabbed a small folder and straightened up in her seat, pulling at her white shirt to smooth the wrinkles out.
"I've just been approved to begin teaching here," she answered, biting her lip, "however the council all agreed that I should have some experience, before I'm allowed my own classroom. Cass...also mentioned that you might need an assistant."
Solas' eyebrows rose in disbelief. Cassandra?
Cassandra Pentaghast was actual one of the head council members of Skyhold University. She was a stern woman, with a firm brow and stiff attitude to match. Along with Leliana, she was in charge of background checks, breaks in security, faculty checks, and a bit of recruitment. When he had originally applied for this position, his background checks were, extensive, to say the least. Almost borderline ridiculous. Though, he thought grimly, she has good reason to be cautious.
They had a tolerable relationship, a mutual respect that was sometimes hardly won. He did not make her job any easier. She had had to organize several conferences, and snarled at him many times about angry students bombarding her with complaints. And many of those conferences ended with the student either dropping the class or parents becoming involved.
He admitted to himself in theory his subject was controversial. Elvhen History I and II was a challenge, considering the many sources he used did not come from the required textbook, but rather his own experiences. But when he signed up here he made it his duty to correct the Dalish youth, although that prospect was rather destitute as of late. And despite Lavellan's easy-going attitude, he doubted it would last. Having her as an assistant? What was Cassandra thinking?
"Cass thought I could help the students transition to your subject matter better," she stated, "your class is mandatory for many of the Dalish that are here. If they continue to fail, it could go one of two ways," she glanced at him to ensure he hadn't drifted. He hadn't. "One- the Dalish clans could withdraw their all their youth from the program, or two- they could find a new professor, perhaps a Keeper or a First to take your place."
` He nodded despite his growing frustration. "Indeed," he spoke quietly, his head whirling at the thought. It couldn't hurt, he decided reluctantly, to accept the offer, even though not doing so would most likely have me fired. He glanced at her, his brow creasing in confusion. Surely she gets more out of this than experience.
She grinned suddenly and nodded. Did Isay that out loud? "That I do. The experience is just the cherry on top, the rest of it is so I can finally have a go at your ah, project, you've been working on."
He groaned internally. The project. Of course.
The university recently had undergone a series of excavations on campus when an incident caused a wall in one of the lower rooms to crumble, revealed a set of elvhen ruins buried in the side of the mountain that hugged the school. He had hoped the humans would deem it too dangerous to investigate, but Leliana, one of the members of the board, was insistent on exploring it. Hastily he offered his full services to the administration, claiming his knowledge would benefit the expedition into the caves. It was the only way to keep them from discovering too much, even though Leliana had been sending "helpers" periodically to check on him. Solas wasn't stupid. He knew all about her little spy network. It was already difficult enough trying to recover artifacts and other things on his own without her minions breathing down his neck.
However, rejecting Lavellan's help would be a bad idea. Leliana's suspicions would no doubt rise if he even remotely suggested the idea of postponing the board's proposal. Though, he supposed it couldn't hurt. The Dalish know next to nothing of the ancient elvhen, probably even less than some of the shems they looked down on. Nevertheless, he had to stay on this project, so it seems he would have to endure for now, even if he disagreed. A tan hand suddenly waved in front of his face, breaking his train of thought. He blinked.
"You in there somewhere Solas?" Lavellan asked, green eyes full of mirth.
He forced a polite smile. "Apologies. I would be incredibly grateful for your help. The project is quite large, I could use a hand recovering lost artifacts and searching the Fade."
She laughed.
"That's certainly not what everyone else told me."
He sighed heavily. "I can imagine the rumors that have circulated around campus. I assure you, Ms. Lavellan, that they are merely rumors and nothing more."
She smirked, twirling a lock of her hair again around her finger. "Which ones? The ones where you prefer your own company? Or that you need privacy to get off in the Fade with your spirit friends?"
"I can see that you met Sera already," he intoned dryly, trying to stave off the heat rising to his cheeks. Damn you Sera. She chuckled.
"I think she means well. I think. But don't worry, I pay no heed to rumors. I prefer to come up with my own." She stood up then, handing him the manila folder while she adjusted her satchel. "All my information is in here. If you need to ask any questions about my qualifications my number and email are listed on the first page." She tapped the folder with her index finger.
He flipped through the folder quickly, noting it was quite thick. He swallowed tightly. He could only imagine what trouble this would bring in the future. Working with a Dalish elf. He frowned as he thumbed the title page. Does that say…
"Excuse my ignorance, Ms. Lavellan, but what is your status with your clan? Shouldn't you be with them?" He asked with a forced calmness.
"What? Oh! I'm the First in training to Clan Lavellan," she said proudly, straightening her shoulders. A string of curses rang through his head.
He smiled courteously despite his inner disturbances and held out his hand. "I look forward to working with you thenFirst Lavellan."
She snorted and shook his hand with her own, her grasp warm and firm.
"I'm sure you do Solas." Her boot heels clicked as she left his office, a flurry of red and blue disappearing behind her.
He sunk down in his seat and sighed, putting his head in his hands.
"Oh and Solas?" He straightened up immediately and looked to his office door, where she was grasping the door handle.
Her Fade-touched eyes shone with mischief.
"I look forward to seeing you on Monday, sa'fen," she winked before shutting the door behind her.
He smirked slightly despite his frustration.
Lone wolf.
That name definitely suited him well.