"Sir, we found her."
The words echoed through the camp and Solas swiftly lifted his head to look around as a small crowd hastily rushed past him. A wave of relief washed over him when he saw Seeker and Commander bring in the Herald. She stumbled between them, clearly exhausted, her feet almost giving up under her weight as the two humans helped her through the camp and into a tent at the far side.
Solas felt a shiver creep up his spine at the sight of her. She was beyond pale and her lips were trembling, her whole body was wrecked with shivers. He had to think back on the events in Haven. She was foolish and stubborn. Offered herself for a slim chance that others might escape. He did not agree. She was too valuable and irreplaceable. And...
The image of her stumbling through the mountains in that blizzard left a cold pit in his stomach. Solas shook his head slightly. This was wrong. Since when did he care so much? Yet here he was, clutching his hands into tight fists as waves of relief washed over him. He did not even realize how afraid he was. Afraid that she might not come out of Haven at all. No... terrified was a better word to describe his feelings.
Two sets of footsteps which crunched the snow nearby, brought him from his musings and he watched Cassandra and Cullen pass by. They must have left her in the tent. And before he could give it any other thought, Solas slowly rose up from his spot at the darkened edge of the camp and on silent feet made his way forward.
He found her tent easily enough. There were still a few of the villagers gathered around, shuffling their legs from side to side as they tried to catch a glimpse of their savior. Solas fought back an urge to snort. A few weeks ago, these same people would have treated her as nothing more than a second rate citizen and he doubted that either one of them would offer their help if she had stumbled out of the mountain pass into their village. Humans were fickle after all.
The small gathering swiftly dispersed at the sight of him. Sometimes the superstitions about the mages had their uses, Solas thought, and a small smile played on his lips as he watched the villagers scramble back into the illuminated parts of their encampment. A silent whimper which echoed from the tent before him caught his attention. Too faint for a human ear to notice but loud enough to make him step forward and raise the tent's entry flap to let himself in.
"Lethallan?"
It took him several moments to adjust his sight to the dim light inside the tent. There she was, shivering in the middle of the sleeping furs, her bluish fingers fumbled without much success with buttons and clasps of her armor, while she rubbed her bare feet against each other in a futile attempt of warming herself up.
"Solas?"
He caught the surprised tone in her voice. After all, apart from their regular small talks about the Fade and his journeys they hardly shared anything else other than a fleeting handshake or a polite nod of a head. And yet she had always found the time to seek him out. No matter if they were in Haven or camped out during the travels, she would sneak out from the company of others to spend at least a few moments with him alone. He liked those moments.
"Here, let me help."
The sight of her, alone in a tent, again left to fend for herself made him even more angry at the shemlen who were supposed to help her. The whole Inquisition was there only to use her. Yes, they did talk politely to her and let her in on details but when it came down to it all, she was here, freezing and shivering and clearly hurt while they were outside and bickered amongst themselves. Typical.
Solas slowly moved closer and gently pulled her hands aside from the clasps of her armor. Only now he saw how drenched her attire was and how cold her skin felt compared to his. And she looked so tired. Without further due he let his long and slender fingers work on the buttons, he needed to get her to warm up if he had any chance at all to avoid her falling ill with lung fever or worse.
"Solas...I..."
There was a slight pause between her words and when he looked up to meet her eyes, he saw the faintest of blushes light up her cheeks. That caught his attention, but he chose to brush it aside for now. When the last metal clasp fell open, he helped her to get her arms out of the leathery sleeves. A large purple bruise marred otherwise silky and white flesh of her left forearm and wrist and Solas thought he could recognize a darker imprint of fingers as if someone had tried to crush her hand.
"You are hurt, lethallane."
It was a statement mixed with a question. A slight ghost of embarrassment passed over her face when she slowly cradled her bruised arm in her lap, but a new attack of cold tremors ran through her body and Solas returned to a more pressing issue at hand. With one fluid motion he removed the outer leather armor away and tossed it aside before he reached out and wrapped a blanket over her shoulders. The sight of a dried blood at the base of her neck and a large gash and bruises which stood out over her right shoulder made him gasp. Irresponsible, reckless, unforgivable were only few of the words he had for the humans who left her here and rather chose to argue.
"Thank you."
The softness of her voice surprised him. He nodded once before he noticed the smile on her lips. It was the smile which he had come to recognize as the one reserved only for him. Small and delicate but it touched her eyes in such a manner that they shone with warmth and Solas found himself lost in that gaze on more than one occasion. This was wrong. He knew that. And yet he allowed himself hope. After all, lately his dreams were not haunted only by the shadows of the past and future, but she had appeared in many of them too. No, it was not right. He reminded himself.
"How are you feeling da'len?"
"Cold. I can't stop shaking."
Despite his previous resolve about the wrongness of his thoughts and doings Solas found himself only nod a few times and unwrapped the straps of her shin guards. Before he found himself lose his nerves, he swiftly moved on to unbuckle her belt. The blush on her cheeks was even more profound now but she did not object. That surprised him a little but there was hardly a time for such thoughts right now. Gently, he scooped her up in his arms, earning himself a small gasp of surprise as he moved her onto dry sheets at the other side of the tent and before she could protest, he laid her down and wrapped them both tightly in the sleeping furs and blankets.
As she laid pressed close to him, he could feel her body tremble and she lightly touched him with the ice-cold skin of her hands. Only now he had fully realized just how thin and fragile she was. Not clad in the usual layers of armor her frame was surprisingly lithe and he slowly wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her closer while he intertwined his fingers with hers and gently rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand to give her some warmth back.
"I will stay until you are warm and asleep."
He noticed her breathing slow down slightly and she felt heavier against him as exhaustion finally caught up with her. She seemed caught half between being awake and asleep and she lightly rested her head at the crook of his neck, her breath tickled him on the jaw and ear as she whispered:
"Don't go."
Solas knew it was inappropriate, foolish and not right. Yet those two words rooted him to the ground and he felt a small smile tug at the corners of his lips. He could feel her shift slightly in his embrace and to respond to her plea he gently rose her fingers to his lips and pressed one tentative kiss against the palm of her marked hand. The sigh she gave him was one of relief and happiness, and he watched her slowly drift off into the sleep.
"Ma nuvenin. I will stay, ma vhenan."