Elisa had disappeared during the Council, and Dorian soon discovered why when Nolan got up in the middle of the discussion and left the room. Divine Victoria, though Dorian would always think of her as Leliana, had suggested a recess and quickly left the room herself with Dorian close behind, and the mage stops in his tracks when they enter one of the buildings off the courtyard. Lying against the wall opposite the door was a fully armored dead Qunari warrior.
Nolan frowns. "Where did he come from?"
Leliana stands from her crouch. "Lady Umbra is looking into it as we speak. His wounds were caused mostly by magic, but some by blade as well. He was likely separated from his group."
Dorian folds his arms. "A group that no one noticed? I find that impossible. Qunari aren't exactly stealthy."
Elisa walks in with a grimace. "They don't have to be when they're using Eluvians."
Dorian felt his heart drop at her words. Nolan and Leliana looked equally distressed.
"I will extend the recess as long as I can. Josephine can keep the Council occupied while you look into this."
Nolan turns to Elisa. "Where is the Eluvian?"
"An upstairs storage room in the palace. Just follow the blood."
"I will find Cassandra. You and Dorian go to—"
The mage holds up his hand to interrupt his lover. "She cannot join us. Eluvians are too closely connected to the Fade"
The Inquisitor sighs heavily. "I forgot. Then the two of us will find the mirror. Elisa can you find Cassandra and Varric and send them our way? At least if anyone sneaks past us, you and Cullen will be the first line of defense."
The younger nods and Dorian takes Kit from around his neck and passes him off to Elisa. She wanted to join them, he could tell from the look in her eyes, but they all knew that it was deadly for her. Nolan very rarely took only one of them with him because while they were a formidable pair together in battle, Dorian and Elisa were all the other had. The only good things they had, not including their respective significant others. Of course, they had their friends, but their fraternal bond was much stronger than that.
"Keep him away from Cullen's mutt."
Elisa nods before taking a couple of flasks from her belt and pushing them into Nolan's hands before leaving to find the Seeker and the dwarf. A quick glance revealed a blue liquid that the Inquisitor was looking down at with confusion. The man was a rogue, so Dorian couldn't help but chuckle at his expression.
"They are for me Amatus."
"That doesn't explain why she gave them to me."
"You don't know about our emergency reserves?" Nolan looks at him and shakes his head until Dorian motions toward his own belt. "A few of her blades. After Adamant, she wanted to take precautionary measures. Although, if I absolutely needed to, I can use them too. She successfully beat a few tricks into my head while we were in Tevinter."
Nolan smiles as he slips the flasks onto his belt. "I wish I were there to see that!"
The couple leaves the small building and follows the blood tracks over to the lattice and climbs them up to the open window and through the closest door to stand near the active Eluvian. It didn't take very long for the other two to join them, and when they did, Nolan wasted no more time in entering the mirror. Once on the other side, Varric points out some movement on the path to the right, and the small group follows.
"Sparkler! Is that steel I see?"
Didn't he just have this conversation? "Is it?" He makes a show of looking at himself before fingering the blades at his hip. "Look at that! I never would have known!"
"I could do without the sarcasm. Spooky teach her big brother some new tricks?"
"I'm going to ignore the fact that you tried to subtlety compare me to a dog."
Cassandra scoffs. "Speaking of Lady Umbra…have you ever told her Dorian?"
Told her? Told her what? He was fairly certain that he had no secrets he was keeping from her, and if he did, he wanted to know how Cassandra knew. The mage looks at the warrior and finds an amused by gentle smile on her face, and that only served to confuse him even more. Perhaps she wasn't referring to a secret?
"I admit I'm rather at a loss to what you are asking."
She sighs. "Have you ever told her that you love her?"
Dorian sputters. "I thought it was obvious where my preferences lie."
Nolan was the one to laugh. "Not romantically Dorian. People can love their family as well."
The necromancer freezes in his tracks and the other three walk a few more steps before noticing his abrupt absence and turning to look at him. Except Dorian was too lost in his thoughts to notice. Love among family? Now that he thought about it he wasn't sure he ever heard those words from his parents so maybe that was why he never related it to anything but romance. Elisa was not blood but she was the family Dorian never had and thought a family should be. Did he love her like Cassandra believed? Thinking about it just made things clearer for him. He knew he cared for the girl, but never knew what to call it. All of his feelings about her suddenly made perfect sense.
"Aw hell. We broke the mage."
Yes. He loved Elisa. Very much so.
"I think you are actually starting to wear a hole into the stone."
Elisa stops the pacing she wasn't even aware she was doing and looks down at Cullen to find the man petting the mabari. The dog had tried to tackle her again when she arrived with Kit, and it took some wrestling for Cullen to keep him down and reprimand him for trying. Although he was having trouble learning the ex-Templar's other tricks, he seemed to understand that tackling and drooling all over Elisa was off limits. She was relieved with the knowledge that she wouldn't have to take multiple baths a day just to keep from being pushed out of bed by Dorian.
"They will be fine."
Elisa pinches the bridge of her nose. "I know that, but not being able to do anything…"
"It's frustrating. Believe me, I know."
Cullen grabs a nearby stick and tosses it into the courtyard after he moves to his feet, and he and Elisa turn away and laugh when the mabari chases after it, knocking over anything in his way. A couple of nobles being the unlucky victims.
"You better give him a treat for that. That's a trick he shouldn't forget."
Cullen chuckles. "I just might." The mabari comes back with the stick and he takes it and throws it again, farther from the nobles much to Elisa's disappointment. "Do you and Dorian plan on visiting still when you go back to Tevinter? Or is it permanent?"
"What?"
Cullen rubs the back of his neck. "Dorian will be assuming his father's seat. I can only imagine that your visits will dwindle or be non-existent."
"Didn't Dorian tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
Elisa grabs the man's arm with hand and reaches up to turn his head to her with the other.
"We're coming back to Skyhold after this."
She releases a startled 'oof' when Cullen pulls her into a tight embrace and smiles when she feels him sag his shoulders. "Thank the Maker. I wanted to send soldiers to drag you both back at least three times. I almost went personally twice. The Inquisitor threatened to replace me with Cassandra or throw me into a cell."
"Well you won't need to do that anymore." Elisa pulls away enough to study his face. "How are your withdrawals?"
"Better. I still have bad days but not nearly as often. Elfroot tea helps more than it used to."
"I'm glad. If my brother were here, you wouldn't need to suffer at all." At Cullen's puzzled expression she corrects herself. "Not Dorian. Back home."
"Is it hard…knowing you can't go back?"
"Sometimes." She admits with a frown.
It was one of the reasons she went with Dorian to Tevinter instead of staying in Skyhold with Cullen. Having a brother was familiar and comforting, but a romantic partner was still strange to her. Of course she had seen romance before, but never directed at her, and it was different than she expected. Not to say she didn't like it. Cullen was attentive and caring in his own way, and he knew when to step away and give her room. Romance took some adjusting to. It took them both a few weeks to get on a first name basis after their first kiss, and it didn't help when both Dorian and Nolan teased them both ruthlessly about it.
"I've been wondering for some time now…but does your father have a wife? I know that you don't have…"Cullen clears his throat and shifts uncomfortably.
Elisa smirks at his unfinished sentence and he relaxes. "No. He has a husband. I have two dads. Did Dorian really not tell everyone? I was the only girl in a house of ten men."
Cullen blushes so darkly that Elisa half expected steam to rise from his face.
"That explains…quite a bit actually."
"Was that an insult?"
His eyes widen. "No! It was a compliment! I've seen you walk around with wounds that would make my senior soldiers cry."
Elisa looks down when she feels light scratching on her thigh and Kit whines as he settles back down onto his haunches. No doubt he was getting hungry, and if he was coming to her, he probably couldn't find any mice. This meant she would have to track down a servant to bring some raw meat for him.
"Your mommy spoils you."
"Dorian denies everything when it comes to the fennec."
"Don't believe him. It's all a lie. He loves Kit…but don't tell him I told you that or he'll flog me."
"The collar is proof enough."
Cullen's mabari finally comes back from his second run and Kit growls at him after frantically climbing up to Elisa's shoulder and she sighs.
"What's that term? The pet reflects the owner?"
Elisa snickers. "Don't let Dorian hear you say that."
She then pets Kit's head to calm him down and walks away to begin her search for one of the palace servants.