A/N: A little ficlet I posted last week on Tumblr for my birthday.


-8-

Ellana's eyes opened at the sound of rustling beside her, spotting Blackwall over by the packs, shifting through the contents of one of them, cursing under his breath.

"Misplace something, vhenan?"

Blackwall's gaze stayed on the pack as he answered, "Something for you, actually. For your birthday."

"You mean whisking me away from Skyhold for the rest of the afternoon wasn't it?" Not that much whisking had been involved. He had come up to her after getting out of a meeting with Cullen, Leliana, and Josephine and asked her to come up to the mountains with him and after some hesitation from her (thinking of all she still had to see to before they were on the road again in two days) and coaxing from him, she had agreed. Now, spread out on a blanket, belly full, and in the company of her vhenan, she was glad she had.

"That's part of it." He shifted over to the other pack, letting out a small sigh of relief. "There's the bloody thing."

Ellana propped herself up by the elbows, trying to see if she could get a peek as Blackwall pulled whatever he had been searching for out of the pack, but he kept it hidden from view. "What is it?"

"First close your eyes and hold out your hands."

She sat herself up more, doing as he said and waiting for him to hand her her present. She heard him sit down beside her, then the weight of what felt at first touch something wooden pressed into her hands. She waited until he told her to open her eyes again.

And there in her hands was a wooden carving of a flower crown.

Her breath caught her in her throat as she took in the painted white mountain flowers, the pale blue of crystal grace, the pink of roses she was particularly fond of. She marveled at the detail, as she did with all his carvings. And the fact that he had taken the time to make this for her meant more than she could put into words.

"It's not the real ones you make, but I hope you like it." There was a bit of hesitancy in his voice, which had her immediately move to hug him and give him a thankful kiss.

"I love it. Ma serannas, vhenan. It's beautiful."

"I'm glad," he said, relief clear on his face. He kissed her this time, short and sweet. "Happy birthday, Ana."

It had been awhile since she had truly felt this content on her birthday, since her sister had still been alive. Not to say Ellana hadn't been to some degree as the years from Bri's passing went by; it just hadn't felt the same. But in this moment with Blackwall, it felt special again.

She kissed him again, wrapping her arm around his neck, setting the carving aside with the other. He responded, pulling her closer with an arm around the waist. Their kisses quickly became quite eager, Ellana ending up in Blackwall's lap. He groaned into her mouth as she shifted herself against him.

She pulled away for air, her increasingly heated gaze matching his. "How much longer do we have out here?" She would have suggested going back to her quarters, but that would take too long. Besides, the spot Blackwall had chosen was shielded from the chill of the wind and was on a more secluded area off the path. They wouldn't have to be too mindful of what was going on around them.

"Long enough," he said, voice rough, before she ended up on her back against the blanket.

A brief thought popped into her mind that part of the reason she had been brought out there was to keep her occupied while Josephine set up a party (she had asked the week before if she could set up a public celebration, which Ellana had nixed, but she still wouldn't put it past Josephine to organize a small, private party), but the thought quickly vanished upon the warm, familiar weight of Blackwall settling on top of her, trailing kisses down her neck.

As she reached for his hand and guided it to the top button of her jacket and went for the ties of his gambeson with her other, she found herself quite looking forward to where the rest of her birthday afternoon and evening would take her.