Although the Inquisitor had only known Alistair for the better part of a week, she could still recognize the nervous pacing on the battlements. She often found the Commander doing the same thing the day before she left on campaigns, a subtle worry in the form of body language. The Grey Warden had been contemplating something for several hours since he relinquished the contact information of the Hero of Ferelden.
From behind her, the young mage heard a small humorless chuckle. She didn't have to turn around to see who it was, she was in the rookery, surrounded by crows, after all. Lelianna leaned against the opposite side of the window, following Andromeda Trevelyan's gaze.
"He worries about her," She explained, "Constantly. I don't think they've ever been apart this long, even during the fifth blight."
Andromeda turned her attention to the spy master, her curiosity caught like a butterfly in a net. Lelianna hardly ever spoke about the Hero of Ferelden, or the fifth blight. Even if she did talk about it, the events were mostly vague and lacked the detail that a bard would usually spin into such a fantastical story. Before the destruction of Haven, Andromeda had often wondered what Lelianna had been like before or during the fifth blight. She had heard from so many people that she was changed by the events, but Andromeda Trevelyan had only ever known the cold Left Hand of the Divine.
"She's the Hero of Ferelden. What's there to worry about," She asked cautiously.
"If you knew her, you'd know that there'd be plenty to worry about," This time, Lelianna's laugh seemed more relaxed, amused even. "Orion always had a talent for getting herself into dangerous situations, intentional or not."
Persephone gave a small laugh in reply, knowing the feeling. It felt as though even if she were only heading out into the field to gather a minuscule amount of supplies, that she would always stumble across a Venatori assassination plot or red lyrium smuggling.
"We've sent out the messengers to find her. If we're lucky, we should find our dearest Cousland within the next couple of days. Perhaps, hearing from her will set his nerves at ease," The spy master updated. "I worry too, though. If Corypheus is using the Calling to his advantage, I can't imagine he wouldn't see her attempts to cure the Wardens of it as a threat."
Andromeda nodded gravely, mimicking the darkspawn Magister, "'I will not suffer even an unknowing rival.'" She did not doubt that these thoughts were what was plaguing the warden on the battlements.
Lelianna shuffled away from the wall, moving towards her desk, shuffling through seemingly random reports. Looking a bit closer, Andromeda could tell they were reports on Red Templar movements and the small amount of Venatori activity that the Inquisition had uncovered.
"Unfortunately, our dearest Warden does not have strength of spies, armies, and diplomats to protect her quite yet. She will have to hold her own until we find her," Lelianna cracked a small smile, "If she'll even let us offer her protection that is."
AN: Hey guys. So I've been playing Inquisition non-stop, and while my canon story involves Cousland and Alistair becoming King and Queen, I realized that their cameos in Inquisition have a lot more presence if you keep them as Wardens, even if its heartbreaking. So, I'm doing a sort-of AU for my canon universe where they stayed Wardens, and definite Dragon Age AU, where Hawke's Warden friends are both Stroud and Alistair. Because I can't make tough decisions for fanfiction purposes. Besides, it's not like if Alistair stayed a Warden, Stroud would have never existed, right? Right? /excuses excuses/
Also just a quick update on Canticle of the Broken: I'm still working on it. I just haven't had a lot of time since originally posting it to update. It's not abandoned, I swear!