A/N: Hey y'all! I hope everyone is having a great long weekend, whether you celebrate Easter or not! I am rewarding myself for all my writing with a beer and Reese's Chocolate bunny. So worth it. I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you to all my lovely reviewers thus far; you are the kindle to my flame of inspiration! (That was corny, I'm sorry. [Not really]). Anyway, as promised, I have been doing my best to stay motivated to keep writing this story. I know the moment I stop for a few days, I'll lose all will to write, and I will not let that happen! Neriah and Solas deserve a happy ending, dammit! Also, because I seem to keep forgetting, "hahren" is an elven term used out of respect between elves. So by Neriah calling Solas that, it's just a respectful way of addressing him. He probably loves it; smug little bugger.

The title of this chapter means "now you must endure" which I think is fitting for this chapter, since now everything is out in the open, and Neriah knows all. Together, she and Solas must endure through this, and perhaps she can help him! We shall see. This chapter is going to be mainly fluff; you have been warned. The second arc of this tale is going to begin in the following chapter, complete with, I hope, a ton of Elven Lore. I'm going to have to do a lot research before I can submit it, to make sure that it all makes sense! Anyway, for now, here's this. Read on!

Chapter Ten:

Mala Suledin Nadas

The journey back to Skyhold was a quiet one. After positively exasperating Solas with her comment about Cole and his cats, they had decided to leave for home, lest Neriah's ridiculous questions continue. Neriah wrestled with herself the whole time as they trekked back, trying to accept all that Solas had told her. She was still reeling about it all, and occasionally shot him a sidelong glance, trying to decipher what he was thinking. He barely looked at her on the way back, his face was like stone. She knew he was feeling just as strained as she was. Despite having attempted to convey acceptance for everything he had told her, she was still struggling to learn just how to speak around him. For the Fade's sake, this man had the souls of two elven Gods inside of him! Did that technically meant that she had slept with three different people at once? Creators… What must the, well, Creators, think of her now?

They arrived back at Skyhold just as the sun was getting high in the sky, and they hurried through the gates as quickly as they could, doing their best to avoid the questioning stares from the soldiers, citizens, and nobles that milled about in the courtyard, and by the barracks. Neriah could see Cullen speaking with a lieutenant, and did all she could to avoid his eyes try to catch hers, his expression confused. No doubt Varric had already told half of Skyhold what he and Cassandra had seen that morning, and if he hadn't, than Dorian certainly would have. After all that she had learned today, the last thing she wanted was to deal with her friends' pestering comments, and certain mockery. Not to mention the threat of murder from Sera if (not if, once she found out, as she most definitely would, whether it was Neriah who mentioned it, or another) she found out. She'd have to be sure to cast a barrier around Solas once they were around their friends again.

They ascended the stairs into Skyhold itself, and returned to Solas's quarters in the rotunda, allowing him to deposit his things. Neriah stood quietly as Solas removed his pack, and leaned his staff on the wall of his room. His shoulders were hunched, and she watched as he walked around his desk, seating himself in his chair, and folding his fingers together so that he might rest his chin on them. He stared off into the Void for a moment, neither of them speaking. Neriah slowly put her staff down, and removed her coat. She walked to his desk, and rested her hand gently on his shoulder. He looked up at her, and a mild smile played across his face, before he reached back, and his hand covered hers. No words were spoken as they stood there, standing in total silence. Neriah tried to quiet her mind in the stillness; even the white noise didn't bother her. All she could focus on was the feeling of Solas's hand on hers, and the gentle drum of her heart. She made a decision in that moment.

Whatever Solas needed her to do, she would do all she could to help him. Yes, everything he had told her was incredible, terrifying, and more than she had ever expected. But it had taken a specific amount of courage and trust to tell her all he had. She wanted him to know he wasn't alone anymore. For years he had been in solitude with this burden, and he felt he had to remain that way. The idea of her had terrified him, and given him real hope for the first time in his entire life, even before Fen'Harel. She wanted him to know that, as he had said before he had left her all those months ago, what they had was real. He had left out of fear and shame, and she was going to help him stay out of trust and love this time. A smile tugged at her mouth, Creators, her inner monologue could sometimes be very cheesy.

She tried to think as positively about this all as she could. Solas had finally opened up to her, and for that she was incredibly grateful. All of this made a lot of things clear about him, now. An example being his inane dislike of cats, as she had already tormented him with. Not to mention the subtle, sometimes snarky comments he'd made about Fen'Harel in the past, especially when they had been at the Temple of Mythal all those months ago. Each little time Solas had brought up Fen'Harel, or the fact that he had known the orb Corypheus had had was elvish, or even when he had nearly let everything slip that time Neriah had asked when he had been in a court the night after the ball at the Winter Palace; it all made sense now. Neriah could pinpoint every damn time the elf had made little comments that had caught her off guard, or sounded odd to her. Even when Cole had mentioned something being stuck behind glass, or a mirror, whatever he had said when he had asked Solas why had had left her after taking her vallaslin. It. All. Made. Sense. And she could either be angry with him, or potentially use this information to better understand him.

Or torture him a little.

Any normal elven woman such as herself, or any normal woman if anything, would have probably run right out of that cave, or kicked a man out of their chambers had their situation been similar to Neriah's. But Neriah was not a normal woman; she had seen enough heartache, felt enough of it, and been through too much with Solas to just let him go again. One aspect of herself that she both loved and hated was how stubborn she was.

Suddenly, she had a thought, and a sneaky grin touched her lips. With the hand that was not on Solas's shoulder, she slowly began to trace her finger along his ear, and he started in his chair.

"Vhenan!" he said sharply, craning his neck to try to look at her. "What are you doing? This is hardly the time." He gently tried to remove her hand, but she took it away at her own accord, fixating him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, and your attempt to take me against that door earlier was the right time?" She smirked when he pursed his lips at her. "Don't worry, hahren, I'm not trying to seduce you," Not yet, she mentally added. "I just want to test something." She resumed gently stroking the tip of his pointed ear with her forefinger, and she heard a low growl come from deep within Solas's throat. Ah, so that also explained the animalistic side to him when they made love, and why he'd practically humped her that morning.

She spoke as her finger gently ran across his ear, and she could feel him stiffen in his seat, his eyes facing forward, but she knew all his senses were heightened as he waited for her to make her move. "If you truly are the Dread Wolf," she spoke softly so that no one above them could hear, "If you truly are Fen'Harel," her finger dipped behind his ear, running along the lobe. She heard a small hiss of air escape Solas's lips, and her grin was fixed on her face now, though he remained unaware. "If you truly are a wolf, then…" Her nail dug into the soft flesh of his ear, "…you should love to have your ears scratched!" Without warning, she began to scratch Solas behind the ear as quickly and efficiently as she could. No sooner had she started, did Solas jerk away from her, and stare up at her in both shock, and mild amusement.

"Neriah," his voice was steady, but she could see laughter glinting in his stormy eyes. "Is that really an appropriate response to all I shared with you?"

She let out a little laugh, and Solas's face relaxed, and she heard a soft chuckle slip from his lips. "It most certainly is!" She retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Would you rather I be devastated and traumatized?" The look on his face made her laugh again. "Because, I am, and this is how I plan to cope with it: by torturing you as best I can." She smiled triumphantly, and Solas merely stared at her, shaking his head slowly, a small smile on his face. She smiled easily at him. "I am still in mild shock about it all, Solas. But I know no amount of denial or anger can change the past. What matters is you are here now, and you have trusted me with this." She came to him and touched his face gently, and he leaned into her palm. "I want to help you in any way I can; I know I can't do much, but just name it and I'll see it's done. And," she added, "I will not tell our friends of what happened, either. No doubt you'd like to keep this between us. I can't even imagine how they'd react…" Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head, sighing. She looked back up at Solas, and smirked at him again. "Besides, you can't tell me you don't like being scratched behind the ears!" She moved to touch his ear again, but he swatted her hand away, though his eyes were affectionate. She stuck her tongue out at him, and snaked her hand past his, and began to lightly scratch his ear. She heard a low hum begin in Solas's throat, and he closed his eyes involuntarily, as he leaned into her touch.

Neriah grinned down at the elf, and worked her fingers along the base of his ear, and over his neck. If Solas had had a tail, she was almost one hundred percent sure that it would be thumping against the chair like mad right now.

When she stopped, Solas cracked a lid, and regarded her. She had to stifle a laugh when it looked like he almost wanted to start pouting at her ceasing his ear scratches. When she raised an eyebrow at him, a grin on her face, he looked away, seemingly embarrassed.

"I admit to nothing," there was a coy edge to his voice, and her smile only made his eyes glint brighter, and his cheeks turn slightly pink. "Perhaps later, lethallan, we might continue this. I apologize for encouraging that just now." He cleared his throat, and Neriah had to suppress a giggle. "I am certain there are many things you'd wish to ask of me." If Solas were to ever wink, that moment would have been the perfect time. Neriah was about to respond, when the door to the rotunda was flung open, and Dorian came flouncing in, followed by a grinning Varric, and an irritated looking Iron Bull.

"Well, well! Here are the two lovebirds!" Dorian crowed happily. "We all knew it was only a matter of time, but that happened much quicker than we'd all expected, I must say! Bull here lost quite a bit of coin to Master Tethras, here." He winked down at Varric, who tried to hide his huge grin from Neriah, who wanted to murder them both.

"You were betting how long it would take Solas and me to…?" She didn't even want to finish her sentence. The urge to throw the smug mage and his dwarven companion off the Skyhold's ramparts are building inside her like magma ready to burst from a volcano.

"Hey, if it helps, I bet that you'd kick his sorry elven ass out the front door." Iron Bull grumbled from behind them, his huge grey arms crossed over his massive chest, and his one good eye fixing Solas with a steely glare. "You better not make our Inquisitor cry again, you hear me, elf?" He growled, "or else you'll have us three to answer to, got it? I got no problem with you being back; I mean, I liked those hypothetical chess games you and I played, even if you are a cheating little bastard and beat me," Iron Bull grumbled under his breath, "but just don't go messing up her feelings again, understood?"

Solas had a lazy smile on his face, and Neriah gave him her best "play nice" look, as he responded to Iron Bull in an even tone. "I would not worry, Iron Bull; I do not plan on going anywhere anytime soon, nor do I plan to cause our fearless leader any further pain." He said the last part directly to Neriah, who threw him a grateful look. If only their friends understood, but they could never know, at least not right then. For now she and Solas would share in his secret, and it gave her a slight thrill knowing it.

Iron Bull seemed satisfied with that answer, and Neriah allowed herself to relax. The last thing she wanted was there to be a rift (poor choice of words) between her companions. For now, it seemed as though there was some peace to be found.

Dorian swept over between the two elves, and wrapped his arms around them both, drawing them both into a tight, albeit friendly, grip. "So Varric tells me that you two were found cavorting this morning by himself and our lovely Seeker?" He removed his arm from around their shoulders to stroke his chin in mock contemplation. "Now, why ever would that have caused Cassandra to turn the color of a tomato, I wonder? From the sounds of it, you two were being quite inventive." He winked at them, and Neriah blanched, before feeling her cheeks heat up. Maybe she had been wrong about peace within Skyhold.

"Inventive?" She spluttered, and rounded on Varric, "what the Hell did you tell him?!"

Varric winked up at her, but he was slowly backing away. "Just material for my newest romance serial, Inquisitor. It's going to be quite the cheek reddener, much like yours are now!" He dodged her attempted tackle. "Do you think Cassandra would want to read it? After all, she does love my other romantic works!"

Neriah's lips disappeared into her skin as she pursed her lips, preparing to attack the insolent dwarven scholar. Just as she was about to lunge at him, someone appeared quite out of thin air between them.

"The warmth is back," Cole said simply, causing Neriah to shriek in surprise, and fall backwards, landing with a thump on the floor, and Varric to trip and fall over too, in equal shock. Dorian and Iron Bull burst out laughing, and the corner of Solas's mouth was twitching with mirth as he helped Neriah to her feet. As she straightened, Neriah rounded on Cole.

"Cole, we've talked about this!" She chastised the Spirit Boy, who now stood in the middle of the rotunda, wringing his hands, and watching them with a little smile on his face.

"I'm sorry. I heard voices, I wanted to be a part of the warmth." It was the most innocent thing he had ever said, and it threw Neriah off her scolding immediately. "The warmth is back; there is a light. No more weight on his shoulders, and he can feel it all again." Cole was looking at Solas, who Neriah saw stiffen. She hadn't factored in that Cole may know who and what Solas was.

Solas smiled calmly up at Cole. "Yes, Cole, I feel a sense of peace knowing that I have made amends with the Inquisitor. I am glad to be back." There was an edge to his voice, and Neriah wondered what he was about to do.

Cole seemed unaffected by Solas's comment. "There is a clear path now, and there wasn't before. You can see an end to it all, and this time she is also there. Ar lasa mala revas. You – oh!" Cole's eyes widened. "It's gone again!" He sounded upset, and Neriah glanced a Solas, noting how still the elf was. Had he done something to Cole to prevent him from seeing any farther into his thoughts and feelings?

"Something wrong, kid?" Varric asked, reaching for Cole's arm. The Spirit Boy was staring at Solas, who merely shook his head ever so slightly, so only Neriah and he could see.

Cole's face went from confusion to what looked like disappointment. "I lost it; it left again. Why does it keep leaving?" He looked at Neriah, as though trying to find answers, but she remained silent. She didn't like seeing Cole like this, but for the moment it was best none of them knew the truth. She was beginning to understand why Solas hadn't told her everything before. Sometimes perhaps it was better for no one else to know. At least Solas wasn't alone anymore.

Varric patted Cole's arm. "Come on, kid. It's getting late. I'll walk you back to your room. Up for a quick game of Wicked Grace to cheer you up? Remember, there's bunnies on the cards!" Cole seemed to brighten at this, and allowed the dwarf to lead him out of the rotunda, Dorian and Iron Bull following suit, probably to join them in their game. Dorian winked once at Neriah, and she rolled her eyes right back, before throwing her friend a quick grin, as he closed the door behind them.

Once they were alone again, she turned to Solas. "You made Cole forget, didn't you? So he couldn't see into your mind?"

Solas nodded gravely. "I do not like controlling Cole's thoughts as I did, but at this moment it is necessary. None, except you, may know what I have told you. It would not be right." Neriah nodded, and he smiled at her. "I am certain Cole will figure out what I am doing eventually; perhaps one day he may know, but not tonight." He stood, stretching his limbs, and cracking his neck lightly. "Varric is correct, however, about it becoming late." He smiled fondly at her. "Perhaps you should get some rest, vhenan. Tomorrow, if you like, we can begin looking into your mark. There are a few books in the lower library of Skyhold that I have been meaning to read. I had also hoped to speak with Morrigan about her work with the Eluvians, as well. Perhaps she can shed some light on the Crossroads, and how I may free the Elven Gods." He kissed her forehead lightly, and bid her a good night, before she exited his room. Their renewed relationship was still too fresh for them to be spending the night together again, and Neriah understood his apprehension.

She walked across the Main Hall, ignoring all the looks the nobles were giving her, not to mention the knowing smiles from Leliana and Josephine as they came walking out of the War Room, passing her as she scurried for her quarters. She wasn't in the mood to gossip with those too just yet. She hurried through the door, and plunged herself into the grateful darkness of the passage leading up to her room.

Once she had ascended the stairs to her bedroom, she stood there for a moment, allowing everything that had happened to slowly sink it. In spite of everything that had happened in the last few weeks, in spite of Solas's return, her renewing of her feelings towards him, their first intimate moment together, and finding out that he was a vessel for an ancient, long though unreal, Elven God, she felt an odd sense of happiness wash over her. For so long she had lived in uncertainty, not knowing why he had left, not knowing if he lived or died, and not knowing what her future had in store for her. Notwithstanding all that had happened so quickly, she actually felt happy for the first time in months. Not to mention she was still slightly giddy over the fact that she had bedded an Elven God. Not many people, if anyone, could say that. There had been mages she'd met in the past in her travels who had bragged about bedding Desire Demons and living through it without becoming possessed; oh now, her stories were eons better than those.

She lay down on her bed and drifted into the Fade, she found herself back in the glade in Crestwood, and Solas was waiting for her, his hand extended towards her. As she moved towards him, she could feel the presence of the two Elven Gods his body housed watching over them, and when he embraced her she wondered, if she'd be able to speak with them, if they would approve of it all.

A/N: Okay, I know this one was shorter, but I needed a filler chapter before launching into the second arc of this fic! I just wanted some added fluff, and Neriah making fun of Solas for a bit, to lighten the mood of this story a little. I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't very good. I was out all day, and only have about two hours to get this chapter out tonight before I hit the sack! I also found the most AMAZING SolasxLavellan video on YouTube! It's called "Dragon Age Inquisition: Solas x Lavellan – Scientist" and it's SO GOOD. Go forth and YouTube. Do it! And eat lots of chocolate for me this weekend! I have already eaten SO much. No regrets.

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