A/N: I'm so terribly sorry for the seven week delay. I did not intend for my hiatus to be so long but I was swamped with work and it kept stacking. I've some free time now though, and I'm hoping to update more from now on. Thank you for understanding!

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About half way through their trek back to the settlement, Andra began thinking back to this morning. The Dalish girl had told her that her dream was just that: a dream. but she wasn't ready to accept that. There was something about how vivid it was, how well she remembered it still, that made her believe it was more than that. That Solas actually had visited her in the Fade.

"Calem?" Andra said softly, breaking the silence that had been stretching between them.

"Hm?"

She looked down at her feet, watching as small bugs dove into the shelter of the tree's roots, or skittered away from her steps, as she was passing, "I need a second opinion." She began, not quite sure how he was going to react. Calem might not have ever met Solas, but if he cared for her as much as he claimed, then he wasn't going to like that she was dreaming about him.

Elves felt emotion more passionately, and jealousy was particularly nasty. It didn't matter that Andra didn't feel the same way towards Calem, he understood that part. What did matter is that, for him, he would see this dream as her attention was somewhere else. He would see it as he was losing her. Or maybe that was all hogwash and Andra was just over thinking things.

"I had a dream last night…" She began, a little unsure, "My friend from the Inquisition visited me, and it felt so real. He apologized for the fight we had all those months ago and then disappeared. I've never had a dream so vivid, and I'm wondering if it was more than just a dream. If, maybe, he was actually there in the Fade with me."

Calem seemed to scoff a little but Andra didn't notice. "I don't think a dream can be more than what it is. Sometimes we just have really vivid dreams. I used to have them about my parents, after they died, almost every night. But that was probably just because I was thinking about them constantly. My loss was fresh. Maybe it's something like that for you?" He said, looking over to her and forcing out a smile. "Or maybe, it's your mind giving you your own closure, so that you can move on? Which is a good thing. Holding onto something that hurts you just brings more pain."

Andra pondered Calem's words in silence and said nothing else. What he had said made sense, but there was still a small part of her that wasn't so sure. She always had a good intuition about things, and never had her gut steered her wrong.

And her gut was telling her what she already believed: Solas had been here.

Back at camp, Andra and Calem parted ways. Calem went to let the Keeper know that they were back, and Andra retreated to her tent to be alone.

The last half of their journey had been filled with only slightly awkward silence, but Andra had been turning over thoughts in her head, contemplating a decision: should she leave her clan? It had been some time since she had returned but in her heart, she had never planned on staying for good. She just needed to clear her head, and plenty of time had passed for that. In all honesty, she hadn't even planned on staying for more than a couple months, but here she was and already several had passed.

Having tasted the outside world, she couldn't turn back. There was nothing more exhilarating than exploration of the unknown, having adventures with no knowledge of where they would lead. Being back with her can, the Ashihari, made her realize how bland a life amongst the Dalish was. Not that she didn't love it, and love her people, but she had experienced something greater and now there was no possibility that she could return to a simple life.

The real issue with her plan, however, was: where would she go?

Andra had no interest in returning to the Inquisition unless it was to see her friends-but definitely not for business. There was no danger for her to fight, no cause to stand with against a threat; now was a time of peace for all of Theadas. But for her, it was a time of loss, she had no purpose.

Andra rolled out her futon for later when she would sleep before sitting back on her haunches. There really was nowhere to go. Nothing to do.

Her mood souring, Andra decided to go for a walk to clear her head. Perhaps the fresh air of the forest would answer the emptiness inside her.

She was grateful that no one asked where she was going, nor paid attention to her, as she walked out of the settlement. She had no desire to speak to anyone. Most of all, she felt relief that she never caught sight of Calem. Whatever he was doing, she didn't want to see him. While thankful she and Calem had worked out their differences, she was seeking solitude. It wouldn't do her any good to have her mind distracted.

The forest was calm in the impeding darkness, sky aflame with the fading mauve rays of the sun that had already set below the horizon. In the distance, the soft chirping of bugs began their smooth crescendo into the night, mingling with the faint woosh of a warm breeze that wove its way through the trees.

Andra sighed, serene, content. She breathed in the smell of dew that danced with the fragrant fauna, and gazed up at the twinkling stars that managed to pierce through the forest's canopy. When she had been a teenager, often had she danced in the moonlight, but much time had passed since those carefree nights. Still, the memories bubbled up, and Andra smiled fondly in their remembrance.

"Vera em su tarasyl." She whispered to the dark, feeling the grass between the toes of her bare feet and the bark of a tree under her fingers, which sang with life and sent Andra's hand tingling.

"Juveran na su tarasyl." A whisper that was not her own carried to her ears. Instinctively, her ears twitched at the barely audible words and she slunk into the darkness of a nearby tree's shadow. Her heart thrummed against her chest at the thought that she wasn't alone, but curiosity begged her to find out who it was.

She peeked her head out from the place she hid and scanned the darkness; she could make out nothing. Her eyes told her that she was alone, as did her ears, but her mind felt the itch of a presence nearby now that she had been alerted to it.

"Show yourself!" Andra called, feeling brave and safe in the arms of her childhood home. But no answer came, in any form. And somewhere in the back of her mind, she had an inkling that whoever it was, they were getting away.

Slowly at first, she started in the direction her instincts were telling her to go, but then she was jogging, scanning every inky shadow for a sign. Only after a minute or so, did she see a faint blue glow ahead of her, weaving through the trees. She ran faster, trying to catch up to it, to see what it was. However, at her increased pace, the glow began moving faster too-but Andra had gained ground and now she could see that the blue came from a staff in the hands of a person, silhouetted by the night.

They rounded a large tree, Andra followed. But as she came to the other side, she was met with emptiness. No glow, no rustling of leaves, and no person.

"Who are you?" She tried again, and her heart seemed to claw at her ribcage, wanting to escape as a sadness filled her when only silence replied. She didn't know why she felt that way, why tears stung her eyes as they threatened to fall. She wiped them away quickly, confused. But the intensity of the emotion gave away how she was feeling as she started sniffling. The sensation was odd, almost as if her body knew something that her mind didn't. She took a deep breath to calm herself, leaning against the tree she had just rounded and then sliding down until she was sitting.

"You would cry for me, Lethallan?" The soft, foreign whisper came to her again. She didn't stand up, however, she knew it was pointless to chase what she couldn't catch. But her breathing hitched when she recognized the familiarity of the tone.

Her head whipped to the side as she saw the blue glow very close to her, a few meters away, and it was illuminating a stoic face. "Solas?" She didn't know if she had said it, or if it had been the ghost of a word in her mind. But she did stand up then.

The blue, which she now realized was a flame, dimmed slightly though Solas had not moved. But then she remembered him to be a mage and it made sense that he would be able to control it with a mere thought or desire.

Andra took a hesitant step forward. Though the last time she had seen him in person had been months ago and it had ended on a sour note, she felt no anger or resentment for the elf in front of her. "Is it really you?" She asked, "You're really here?" She wanted to reach out and touch him, graze his skin with her finger tips to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"It is. I am." He answered, monotone.

"Last night…" Andra halted her movement, wrapping her arms around herself to stave off the cold that was only her own, "in my dream… you told me I would never see you again."

"I told you I would be gone by the time you woke up, and I was." Solas corrected. Despite his cold tone, he seemed very relaxed.

"But you're back now?"

"I made it as far as the edge of this forest before I decided to turn around."

"Why?"

The silence stretched between the two, crickets whistled to fill the void, and Andra shivered against the warm wind. "I don't know." He finally said. This time, his face fell a little, looking a bit sullen as he stared into the silver eyes of the blonde before him.

"Irlahnash." Andra repeated, and when Solas gave her a quizzical look, she went on. "I wanted to say it in person, that way there's no doubt about its authenticity." But now she couldn't help herself, and she was stepping closer, a foot apart now, and she reached up and cupped his face, rubbing a thumb over his cheek. "This is real…"

"Ahn ane gealem or?" He said softly, dimming the flame further until the blue glow that wrapped itself around the two was extinguished.

"Waking up." Andra admitted without hesitation. "I don't want this to be another dream." She paused a moment, wondering if she should go on, "When I came back here, after a while… all those things you said to me started to really make sense. They clawed at me until all those lies I used to tell myself were gone, and all that was left was your words… I wanted to hate you, but I can't. Because a part of me knows you're right, and the other part wants to hold tight to what I know."

But even without the light of his magical flame, Andra's face was still illuminated by the full moon, and Solas couldn't keep the scoff from escaping his lips at the sight of her Vallaslin. She, of course, didn't understand the reason behind him recoiling from her touch.

"Do you hate me, Solas? Because I'm Dalish…" Andra trailed off, her gaze falling away to the side where she stared at the puddles of light that pierced through the forest's canopy and dotted the area like spotlights.

"I don't hate you." Solas said quickly, "but I do hate the Dalish."

This time, Andra felt she could handle it, "Why?"

"There's no excuse for ignoring the truth. It's right in front of them, staring them in the face. All that's required is that they piece together the puzzle to uncover the whole picture. The answers, the brutally honest truth, is out there. The Dalish could reclaim what they once were, they could save the legacy of the Ancient Elves, they could know their history! But they choose not to… And especially the Vallaslin…"

"They're to honor the gods-"

"They are slave markings!" Solas cut in, unable to stop himself. Though he wished he had when he saw the shock on Andra's face.

And it was a shock to him to. Never had he known her to be so receptive, yet there she was, taking in and accepting his every word. Though he knew if he should lie to her, she would know. The year they had spent together in the Inquisition had been spent with quite a few arguments about the Elves but Andra always defended the Dalish at every turn.

Perhaps it was the months she had been away, back here, after the end of it all.

After he had pushed her away.

"Forgive my tone, but when I look upon your people, when I look upon… you… it angers me. To see elves willingly brand themselves…" He took a deep breath and grabbed his staff with both hands as he leaned against it. "You don't see noble Dwarves tattooing their faces with the brand of their casteless."

"That's different…"

"Is it? And what if their history was wiped out, their records gone, and their elders dead, and the next generation had to piece it all back together but they mistook the sign of the casteless as one of nobility? That their forefathers marked themselves this way to be closer to the Stone? Would it not be the same then?"

Andra was silent. She heard the truth ring in his words but it was still hard to swallow. And then suddenly, as she stood there, she felt more than just shame for being Dalish, but she felt the heaviness of her Vallaslin. Of its implications.

"So my face, these markings… it's all just something else we got wrong?" Her voice cracked but she hoped it wouldn't carry to his ears.

Solas placed a hand on her shoulder then, "It's not your fault. How could you have known?"

It was her turn to scoff, "You've been telling me all this time that the truth was right there in front of us. So how could we not have known?"

"I would say chalk it up to human nature, but…" He let the sentence hang there, knowing she would understand.

Andra laughed, "I guess weren't not so different in certain ways."

A quietness stretched out over several moments. Andra pondered the new information she had just received and Solas seemed to be mulling something over to himself as he toed at the ground. But when the silence was unbearable, he looked back up at the blonde before him and determination was set in his blue eyes.

"I could… remove the Vallaslin."

At first, Andra didn't understand. It was more than simple ink that had been imprinted upon her face, it was blood writing. But then the weight of his words settled into her mind and replaced her confusion with disbelief. "You can… remove it?"

"Yes, if that is what you want."

"If what you say is true, about the Vallaslin, then I would want it removed. The Dalish are not slaves, we're good people, just… ignorant…"

Solas stood but inches away from Andra as he smiled. His hand began to glow then, wrapped in a brilliant blue fire as he ran them, hovering, over her face. She felt no burning sensation, but rather a tingle as the fire spread across the lines on her features, eating away at the Vallaslin until it was only her skin that lay beneath his hands. She felt a strange longing under his touch, a need to be closer to him, and she reveled in the small moment they were sharing.

When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her, and she felt a strange heat rise to her cheeks. The air was thick with an emotional electricity and Andra had the odd desire to want to be in Solas' arms, though she knew that was absurd.

"Such a beautiful face to lie beneath such crude markings." And his words only thickened the tension she was feeling. She hoped it didn't show. Or at least, she hoped he felt it too.

"Thank you." And she meant it.

"Think of it as a gift, to make up for all the times I hurt you." Then he seemed to straighten and grip his staff more tightly as if getting ready to leave, "Dar'atisha."

"You're going?"

"There is much for me to do."

Andra lifted a hand, as if to grab his shirt to stop him but she halted about half way through when she realized what she was doing, and curled her arm into her chest. "Can you not stay?"

"There's no reason for me to be here other than to see you."

"And that's not enough?"

Somewhere in Solas' heart, he felt the same pull towards the girl in front of him, he had felt this feeling for a long time. He'd known her over a year, and they had become quite close in the Inquisition, despite their differences.

Andra had been his dearest friend, always his listening ear even if she didn't want to hear what he had to say. She put up with him, like no one else would, nor had, and he appreciated her more than he would ever say. But therein lied the problem. He didn't want to get close to anyone only to hurt them in the end. Andra most of all.

"You should get back to your clan." He said, finally.

"Will I see you again?"

"I don't know."

Her shoulders slumped at his words but she knew she wouldn't get anywhere arguing with him or pleading. "Sal sura."

He nodded at her, "Sule melan'an."

Andra stared at his departing form until he was lost from sight and she was alone, before she even thought about turning in the other direction to make it back to her settlement. And even then, her feet carried her all the way to her tent without her even realizing it, her mind in other places. Despite his going, she felt a welcome happiness at having seen Solas again. And especially that there were no hard feelings between them.

It wasn't until she had stripped to her smalls and her plain white shirt that she realized the ramifications of her decision. Her Vallaslin was gone, and without a doubt, everyone in the camp would notice.

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ELVHEN USED:

Vera em su tarasyl: "Take me to the sky"
Juveran na su tarasyl: "I will take you to the sky"
Irlahnash: "Forgiveness" or "Forgiven"
Ahn ane gealem or?: "What are you scared of?"
Dar'atisha: "Go in peace"
Sal sura: "Visit me again"
Sule melan'an: "Until then"