Solas liked to wander through Haven and its surrounding area at night. It was peaceful since most of the inhabitants were in their houses, seeking warmth and respite. Save for the few guards on the wooden palisade he was alone and could think. And he had many things to think about indeed.
The breach, his orb, Coryphaeus and lastly the Herald of Andraste who after she regained her consciousness and screamed her lungs out at him settled into a chilling indifference of shared greetings and stolen looks. Solas was almost sure that she was studying him when she thought he was not aware of her gaze.
Just as it was his habit he now slowly walked back towards the small, wooden house which was assigned to him, his mind heavy with thoughts and his hands heavy with bags of herbs he had picked during his nightly stroll. He thought he could at least occupy himself by picking up these useful plants and with the wounded soldiers littering the camp outside they were certainly needed.
Lost in thoughts Solas entered his makeshift home and at first did not notice anything amiss. It was only after a moment that he had realized that she was sitting on his bed, eyes trained at nothing in particular before her and her right hand clutched a piece of parchment. He had never seen her this distressed before. Not when she had learned how to close the rifts, not when she climbed the hill to close the breach and not even when they faced their first fight with the templars and mages in Hinterlands. Something must be seriously wrong to rattle her so much that her whole body shook, and she did not even notice him enter.
The fire was out, Solas noticed first and before he moved on to finding what was wrong with the Herald, he decided to make the place at least a little bit more comfortable and also to ease himself into the familiar and calm routine. He threw a few logs into the fireplace and with a flick of his wrist there was a pleasant roar of fire which immediately radiated so much needed heat. He had to wonder just how long did she sit there in cold and dark?
Solas cleared his mind as he moved to sit down on his knees before her and spoke: "Did something happen, lethallan?"
His voice seemed to rouse her from her thoughts as she slowly focused her gaze on him, seemingly completely surprised to see him sit before her. "I apologize for intruding but…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at the half-crumbled piece of parchment in her hand and then continued with a long sigh. "…I just didn't know where else to go." She finished.
Solas pondered it briefly then slowly reached out with his hands to touch hers, he was testing the waters so to speak, because since her awakening a few weeks ago they avoided each other whenever possible. "Tell me what happened, lethallan." He said at last while he gave his hold over her hands a reassuring squeeze.
"I just received this." She replied after a slight pause and moved her hand with the parchment to signal that he should take it.
It had been a while since Solas felt completely shaken. He usually kept his composure but the news he had read on that single piece of paper managed to strike him deeply. So, they were all gone, entire clan wiped out. He was not in any way fond of the Dalish but they were people, they tried their best despite them being so ignorant and now all those people he had met so many months ago were destroyed by the Inquisition's oversight and poor judgement.
Solas carefully folded the note and placed it on the bed next to her while he kept his eyes on her face. He could still see the unshed tears welling behind her eyes and the mask of shock which slowly cracked as the realization and pain started to seep in.
"Ir abelas, lethallan…I am so sorry." Solas whispered.
That seemed to have broken the already cracking walls around Herald's composure as she slid down from the bed and with a desperate cry of pain and loss wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him.
To say that Solas was taken aback by this abrupt shift in her behavior would be understatement but he gently wrapped his arms around her and cradled her in his embrace. He stroked her hair and let her cry out her feelings. It was needed.
"Let out your feelings lethallan, only then you will become strong enough to overcome this." Solas softly whispered while he held her all the while his own thoughts rushed through is mind. She had lost everything. Her Keeper, her family and now her people and if he read the report right it was due to the choice she had made when dispatching the forces. He could sympathize with her. Loss and regrets were something he was so intimately familiar with. But never before he had anyone around, he could reflect with or share in the pain. Perhaps this was a sign of fate.