Tiny little lime warning, only because if i don't say anything, I'm sure it will come back to bite me lol

Chapter 21

"Thank you for coming with me, Lethal'lan." Solas said, breaking the comfortable silence that they had existed in.

"You're my friend, Solas." Lavellan stated, comforting. "Of course, I'd try to help you if I could."

"Then why are you nervous around me now? What has changed?" He asked, seeing no reason to beat around the bush about it.

"I'm trying to figure out what the right question is." She admitted, surprising him.

"That would explain why you have been quiet on this trip, I suppose, but not why you are hesitant around me, nor would it explain why you keep an equal distance around me now." Solas pointed out, with a slight frown. "Whenever I move, you move the exact opposite, as if you are afraid I will touch you. Tell me, Lethal'lan, have I done something to make you fear me?"

"No?…Yes?…Maybe?…I don't know. It's all so confusing in my head." She said, rambling in her nervousness. "I've kind of had the wind knocked out of me, and I'm trying to find my feet again. Does that make any sense?"

"I suppose." Solas said, with a slight frown, pondering something for a moment. "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Cole's hint, would it?"

"A bit." Lavellan admitted, nervously. "I just need time to figure out what it is I want to ask. I get why Cole calls Hawke little bird, but why does he call you big wolf?"

Solas couldn't help but smile at that, as he replied. "Is that your question, Lethal'lan?"

"Hawke, what are you even doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but after everything that happened in Kirkwall, I didn't think you'd ever want to talk to me again." Anders stated, before realizing that he was rambling. "Do you want to come in?"

"Actually, Anders, you need to pack. Like, right now." Hawke said, very business like. "We've got a lot of ground to cover before nightfall. So, haul ass."

"What do you mean?" Anders asked, already heading inside to do just as she'd stated.

"I mean I've found a way to really separate you and Justice." She replied. "What do you know of the Avvar?"

"Not much, they keep to themselves mostly." Anders replied, as he packed. "What's with the mini mabari?"

"Oh. Biscuit, meet Anders. Anders, meet Biscuit." Hawke introduced them.

"Sorry I don't have anything prepared, or I'd give you something." He said to the Mabari. "Friends anyway?" He laughed when the pup barked once in affirmation, and looked to Hawke. "I take it BarkSpawn…"

"Saved my life while I was trying to save his." She finished, looking pained.

"Hawke, I'm sorry." Anders said, not knowing what to say now. "Well, I'm ready whenever you are."

"Good, because we need to cover a lot of ground before he figures out I've fled the coup as it were." Hawke said, quickly, and turned around to leave.

"I'm sorry? Who's he exactly?" Anders asked, quickly walking to catch up to her.

"Oh, I have so much to tell you, Anders." Hawke said, laughing as they went.

"This is going to be good, isn't it?" Anders remarked, with a slight smile. "I really have missed you…Hey…Have you done something to your hair?"

She just started laughing, which must have thrown him off. Oh, there was so much to explain to him. So, she started off with an apology, and explained about the bracelet that she'd worn to make herself look older. The look on his face as he realized he'd tried to make out with an underage girl was near comical, but she didn't laugh. She talked about meeting Solas, and the events that unfolded after that.

Hawke was very careful not to reveal who he was, but she had a feeling Anders knew that she was holding a secret again. He had always been able to tell that, more so when it was one she really wanted to tell. Anders actually laughed when Hawke told him all of the shenanigans BarkSpawn pulled to get the stubborn elf to not ignore her. By the time that she was finished with her stories, even though she'd had to leave a lot of it out, they had begun to make their way to the foot of the Frostback Mountains. From there, they would journey to the Avvar. Maybe it showed in how quickly she was trying to get them to move, or how she kept looking over her shoulder from time to time, but Anders watched her more intently as the evening wore on. Finally, he had them stop, even though Hawke wanted to continue traveling in the darkness.

"Hawke, we can't do this. I can't see in the dark as well as you can." Anders huffed, stopping at the entrance to a cave he'd found. "What is it that has you so rattled? Is it that guy your seeing now? Solas?"

"Yes, and no." Hawke admitted, before going to light a fire. "Solas is going to be angry when he discovers that I'm gone, but only because he wants to keep me safe. Vael hasn't exactly stopped his assassination attempts, but it's more than that now, and I can't tell you all of it. It's not just my secret."

"It's his too, this Solas of yours." Anders reasoned out, and she nodded. "We both know how you are about secrets."

"Thanks for understanding, Anders." She said, gratefully.

Solas had been gone for much longer than he had originally planned, by more than a few weeks at least, and he was hurriedly making his way back. After killing the weak mages that had trapped his friend Wisdom, he had wandered off alone, telling Lavellan to return without him. As emotionally tumultuous as Solas had been at the time, he knew that he should not be around others, especially Alhasha. He had tried finding her in the Fade to let her know, but she hadn't been sleeping much lately, no doubt angry at him for not telling her he was leaving in the first place. He knows he should have told her before he left, that she would understand the need to help a friend, but the time for that had passed.

When he got back to Skyhold, Solas felt a sense of calm wash over him. It felt good to be back. He had missed this place, and had missed Alhasha. It was strange that he could not find her now, and the sense of calm became one of wariness. He'd expected her to march up to him as soon as he got there, and yell at him for his leaving. Something was off, but he reasoned that it was just that Alhasha had hidden herself away, making herself harder to find, because she was that mad at him. It wasn't like this would be the first time she'd done so.

But after searching everywhere he could think of to hide, he had come up with nothing. Either Alhasha was gone, or she did not want to be found. The more time that went by, the more he began to wonder. Had Vael found a way to take her while he had been gone? Just then, he happened upon a conversation, and hid himself away before they could see him.

"You mean no one has seen Hawke, at all? How is that even possible?" Fenris asked, sounding worried. "She's hasn't gone to any of the outposts?"

"No, I've checked. All the ravens came back with the same reply." Sister Nightingale replied calmly. "She's just gone."

"Guys, someone said Solas arrived a little while ago. He's already started searching for Flint." Varric stated, casually walking up to them. "How long do you think we have before he realizes she's not here?"

"I'd say not long at all, master Tethras." Solas replied, coolly.

"He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Varric asked, with a sigh. Fenris and Leliana both nodded. Resigning himself to his fate, he turned to face Solas, but instead of the angry god like wrath he was expecting to face, he saw a man worried and beside himself. "Chuckles…"

"What. Happened?" Solas demanded.

"She just left, Chuckles. It looked like she was going on a walk with Biscuit, and no one thought to check." Varric stated, resigned.

"When?" Solas asked. Varric was surprised the elf wasn't trying to kill him yet.

"A day or so after you left." Varric revealed. That sent Solas to pacing back and forth.

"Where would she have gone? Was she threatened to leave descretly? Would anyone have even noticed that?" Solas asked, thinking over things. "Where was the last place she was seen?"

"The Inquisitor was the last to speak with her that we have been able to verify, and she informed me that Hawke had come to her and asked about the Avvar." Leliana stated. "Something specific about them…She asked about the Augur, their mages, and how they release spirits that are unwilling to leave the host body."

"Anders." Fenris realized. "She's gone to Anders, now that she knows she can help him."

"She would risk that? Now?" Solas asked, looking to Fenris.

"Like you have to ask." Fenris scoffed. "Of course she would risk that now."

He didn't think Hawke had noticed yet, but Anders was sure someone was following them. They only showed up at night though. He only ever caught glimpses of them before they were gone. He hadn't told her either, because it already looked like she was under enough strain. She didn't need to have another worry to add to it all.

Each day, the man seemed closer and closer to camp. Anders started faking sleep, in an effort to catch this man that was following them. After a week, his efforts finally paid off, or so he thought. When he noticed the man, he was already in camp! It was no wonder he couldn't track him, what with being able to move that fast.

The elven man was putting a blanket over Hawke and the Mabari pup. All at once, Anders felt like he was intruding on a very private moment. That thought was only affirmed when the man kissed Hawke's forehead, and brushed the hair out of her face. This must be the man she was with now, the one she was hoping wouldn't discover she was gone till she was on her way back. The moment Anders realized this, the man turned to face him, unsurprised to see him awake.

"Are you even aware of the danger she has placed herself in just to help you?" The elven male asked, quietly, an edge to his voice that was low and commanding. Andraste's blessed nipple ring, but this guy was scary as fuck. "Of course, Alhasha would choose not to mention that. She is in danger no matter where she is, or what she's doing, but she is in the most danger she has ever been in, and you are completely unaware of it."

Anders tried to keep calm, but he could feel Justice demanding to be let out, to fight the threat presented to him. Yet, despite how angry this man looked, Anders had the distinct impression that this elven man was not angry at him. He had the look of a man in extreme desperate worry. The way he looked back to Hawke was very telling. He was worried for her.

"Just how much danger is she in?" Anders found himself asking.

"Besides the blinding white hot hatred of several countries thanks to you?" Solas asked, arching an eyebrow at him. Anders nodded, again feeling the guilt of having thrown her into that position in the first place. "What do you know of Sebastian Vael?"

"Sebastian? He'd been a friend for years, till I blew up the Chantry, that is. He threatened to invade Kirkwall, and then Hawke punched him square in the face, and stalked off to defend the mages that were in danger due to me." Anders replied, looking confused.

Jagged blue lines flickered all over him, but there was no lyrium in his skin like Alhasha had. The spirit was close to the surface then, Solas reasoned. It didn't seem to be something the mage could control anymore, though he was trying. This was the friend Alhasha was trying to help, but Solas was uncertain he could be helped now. He wondered if the spirit sensed how dangerous he was, and was trying to protect its host.

"Listen to me very carefully, Anders. Vael's men are trying to reach her as we speak." Solas stated, intent on him knowing just how serious this was. "They know that she is traveling through these mountains, and they know that she is with you. If they can, they will kill you, and take her to Starkhaven to be Vael's trophy queen. You can not let this happen. If it means your life, you must defend her with everything that you are. If you fail in this, there will be no place you can go that I can not track you. Not even death will save you from me. Is that understood?"

"What aren't you telling me?" Anders asked, suspicious of him. Good. He would need that.

"A great many things." Solas replied, looking back to Alhasha. "Would your knowledge of these things help you defend to her any better? Would your fear of what I am help you to keep her alive?"

"That is not why I asked." Anders replied. "I need to know that you won't hurt her. She has been put through enough, especially by those she calls her friends, including me."

"I will tell you this then, foolish shem'len. Who I am is not as important as what I will do to you should she die. What I am is not as important as what she means to me. She is my Lath'in, my Nas'falon, and though she is in danger simply by being with me, I will do everything I can for her." Solas stated, walking towards Anders, inwardly enjoying how the man's eyes got bigger with each step he took. "Know that your betrayal is nothing compared to my own, and that while you may have destroyed a city in an effort to free the mages, I destroyed a civilization to free a people, to save my Lath'in, and they rightly call me the great betrayer for it. I am Fen'Harel, and you protect my chosen. Be at peace, Anders, for if she can forgive me my trespasses, surely she has already forgiven you yours."

Morning…

"Hawke, we need to talk." Anders said, in seriousness, when he noticed that she was awake. Well, fuck, she thought, this can't be good. "When you told me this Solas of yours would be angry that you had risked your life again, you failed to mention just how angry he would be."

"Fuuuck. What did he tell you?" Hawke asked, hesitantly, her mind buzzing with thousands of possibilities. "Scratch that. What did he do to you?"

"Fen'Harel…" Oh shit, this was going to be bad, she thought as he took a breath to continue. "Of all the things I ever imagined happening in my life, being threatened to protect you with my life by an ancient elven god was not on the list."

"He told you about that?" Hawke asked, surprised.

"That wasn't the first thing he told me, but holy fucking shit, Hawke. How in Andraste's bleeding nethers did that happen?" Anders replied, still reeling from the shock he'd received. "According to him, Sebastian's men are out to kill me, no surprise there, and make you his trophy queen, though he didn't say anything in detail about that. Then he threatened me within an inch of my life, and that you are his lath'in…his nas'falon, and that I had better protect you or there's nowhere I can run to that will keep me safe. Now, I know I don't know a lot of elvish, but I know what nas'falon means. Tell me I dreamed all that. How, in all of Thedas, did you catch the eye of an elvhen god?"

"I'm guessing he didn't explain anything after that." Hawke replied, wishing for once that Solas had tempered his flare for the dramatic.

"No, he just said all that, and vanished as if he'd never been here at all." Anders said, still not over the shock of it all.

"Alright, I suppose I should start from the beginning." She replied, and so she did.

As they moved further up the mountain, Anders began having more and more trouble keeping Justice at bay. Blue veins sparked up on his skin from time to time, much the same way Hawke's lyrium lines did. It was easier to bear when he focused on her. Makers breath, she was beautiful…and apparently now over 8,000 years old…technically…sort of. He wasn't sure how that worked exactly, not that that hadn't been an interesting conversation to have, and he thought about that as they continued to make their way.

Fen'Harel, who he was to call Solas in front of everyone else, had called her Alhasha. Hawke had had to explain what that meant, and that it was her given name, one that only Fen'Harel was able to use. She certainly seemed to embody the word, wild, from her eyes, to her hair, to the way she stood. She'd explained about the mark on her ankle being the way Fen'Harel could find her. Since Fen'Harel had so blantantly told him who he was, Hawke was able to tell him everything.

It explained that mask of hers at any rate. The thing made her look all the more wild for it, the black fur mingling with her ink black hair, her blue eyes all the more vibrant because of it. She'd gone over events that he hadn't even realized had happened, though he was aware of the Breach. It could be seen from all over Thedas. He wanted to scream in outrage over that, but he also knew that was mainly Justice screaming to be let to the surface again.

He also felt shamed, because Hawke was still trying to clean up the mess that he had created for mages. Learning the real reason why Sebastian was after her had not helped him keep his equilibrium. That someone would try and…he couldn't think about it without giving Justice more ground to break through, and Justice didn't recognize friend from foe anymore. It helped that Hawke talked about the day to day things, and Anders was certain that Varric had at least a dozen bets going about her and Solas. Commander Cullen being a part of the Inquisition surprised him though, as Anders had thought he would have stayed in Kirkwall to help rebuild the city.

The Avvar were a fascinating people, he could see that much. Hawke walked around as if she belonged there. Here she let the wolf skull mask be visible all the time, and she spoke in the same manner they did. First, they had to speak to some woman called a Thane, leader of this particular Avvar tribe. Here, they called her 'Daughter of the Sky'. That seemed fitting, what with her being a Hawke and all.

This time, when he showed up in camp, things were different. They had made it to the Avvar, something he was very thankful for. While Solas was not sure the Avvar could withstand the full might of Vael's men, he would not discount them either, considering that they had given the Inquisitions men a run for their money. Something troubled him though, Alhasha was alone. She sat by a small fire, as if waiting for him.

"Where is he?" Solas asked, walking up to her, keeping his voice calm.

He was angry, worried, and more scared than he had been since the events of Haven. Why couldn't she have just listened to him for once, and stayed where she was? Did she even realize how much danger she had put herself in, how much she worried him now? Did she not understand how important she was to him, how much he actually needed her? Had he not expressed that enough?

"With the Augur. I am not permitted to be there during." She replied, though her voice held an edge to it. She was angry at him too then. "You threatened my friend."

"Alhasha, I found you asleep, with only him and Biscuit for company, unknowingly surrounded by Vael's men. So, yes, I threatened your friend." Solas ground out. This caught her attention at least, and she looked up at him. "You should be thankful that I chose to trust him at all, Alhasha, because the only other option was death. Had I any suspicion that he was a danger to you, I would have killed him."

"That does not mean I am not angry about it." She said, as she walked up to him. "And it is you who should be thankful that you chose to trust him. Had you killed him, we would not be speaking at all."

With that, she walked past him. Rather, she attempted to walk past him. At the last moment, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, turning her to face him. Whatever it was she was going to say was swallowed up by the searing kiss Solas pressed her with. In it, he poured every emotion he'd been feeling since he realized she'd left Skyhold nearly alone.

"I am sorry that I left without telling you." He said, resting his forehead against her own. She had vanished the mask when he'd grabbed her wrist. "I thought I had to hurry away, that if I got there quickly enough, I would be able to save my friend."

"I understand." She said, quietly. "You should have too." He backed his head away just enough to look into her eyes.

"You have no idea how close you came to being captured, Alhasha." Solas replied, closing his eyes as he shook his head. "I had to act quickly. They had loosely surrounded your camp, and were closing in when I found you. I did not mean to threaten your friend, but discovering that even he did not realize the danger you were in was too much. It does not always need to be you that walks into danger, Lath'in."

She took his hand then, and brought him to sit by the fire. She might still be angry at him, he knew, but at least she understood why he had reacted that way now. They did not talk for some time, content to hold and be held. He found himself running his fingers through her hair with one hand, running his fingers over her knuckles as he held her hand with the other. Alhasha simply rested her head on his shoulder, sometimes kissing along his neck and jawline.

"Were you able to save your friend?" She asked, cutting through the silence that had surrounded them.

"No. By the time I got there, it was already too late, though I did not realize it at the time." He replied, gravely. "Mages, either too weak or too ignorant to defend themselves, tried to summon a spirit through the Veil and into a dead host body. They wanted something that could protect them. They caught my friend Wisdom instead. They bound it, and ordered it to kill, twisting its purpose. I had hoped that getting rid of the binding would return it to itself, but I had to…In the end, Wisdom asked to be set free."

"I'm sorry." Alhasha said, and he knew she meant it.

"One of them actually claimed to be the foremost expert on spirits from the Circle in Kirkwall, and the fool had the gall to lie about what he had done. There were so many other things they could have done to defend themselves, but they chose weakness, and now they are dead." Solas stated, only a hint of the anger he had felt that day leaked through. "I was angry, and I would have lashed out. I did not want to risk lashing out at you, not again…(with a small smile, he adds)…Besides, your father would have never let me hear the end of it. As it is, Carver has even taken to making sure I treat you well."

"Damn straight." Alhasha replied, with a smirk, but then it faltered. "If I could have stopped the chantry exploding in Kirkwall, they wouldn't have been out on the roads. They wouldn't have-" He stopped her with a kiss.

"Lath'in, no." He said, once he'd stopped the kiss. "What matters is that they are beholden unto no one but themselves now, Alhasha, and must come to terms with what that means. They are responsible for their choices, and they chose poorly. You can not hold yourself responsible for them all. Besides, even though my friend is gone, the spirit will return in some form or other in time. Most likely, it will not remember me, but it is comforting to know that I may yet see them again. It will be a new friend to know."

He couldn't believe it. He had spent so long bonded to Justice, that now it felt like his mind was empty, but they were free. They were truly free. It felt kind of lonely, now that he was without Justice, but he felt more at peace now than he had in a long time. After thanking the Augur, Anders made his way back to Hawke.

Suggestive lime? Warning thingy

Morning was slowly creeping across the mountain, which was the only reason Anders was able to see at all. So when he almost reaches camp, he still isn't sure he's really seeing what he's seeing. He has seen Hawke be flirty and playful, but he has never seen her like this. She has Solas pinned against a tree with what he assumes is some kind of force spell while she nibbles at the elven man's neck. Solas jerks when she begins to caress the shell of his ear, and only then does Anders remember that their ears are supposedly really sensitive to touch.

The pleasure filled groan is all Anders needs to confirm that particular theory. Not that he's any stranger to foreplay or sex, but this is Hawke doing these things to someone, not some junior enchanter with her robes up to her hips. She's Hawke, probably the best friend he's ever had, and he should not be here seeing them like this. Solas gasps, and though Anders can't see what her other hand is doing, he isn't sure he wants to know. As it is, he should probably find some way to announce himself so that they have time to stop and pretend like they aren't doing…what they're doing.

"Sa-Sathan…Sathan, Alhasha…lasa'em dera'na." Solas pleads through the gasps, his hands twitching at his sides. Anders knows a little elvhen, only because Hawke and Merrill were relentless in trying to teach it to him. It takes him a little while to work through old memories to translate that.

Please…Please, Alhasha, let me touch you.

"Tel sule Ar dirtha." Hawke replied, with a tone that he has never heard her use before. He knows, without really knowing, what she's said. Her tone of voice said everything translations couldn't.

Not till I say.

"Sa-Sathan, Alhasha…Ar…Ar shor'tel ro-rosa la'min…lasa'em dera'na…Sa-Sathan." Solas pleads again, gasping as he looked up at the sky. "Sa-Sastrahnen…Ar shor'te…sastrahnen…"

Anders thanked his lucky stars that he couldn't translate all of that. He wasn't sure he wanted to think about Hawke doing things like this with someone ever again. After that, Solas was reduced to gasps and moans, completely lost in whatever pleasure he was experiencing. Anders is still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Fen'harel, and thus the rest of the supposed elven patheon, is real. He can't seem to make his mind wrap around the fact that his friend can make the ancient elvhen god beg.

End of suggestive lime thingy

Unable to take it anymore, Anders began making obviously heavy footstep noises. He just walked along hoping that, by the time he actually made it to them, he would look as if he hadn't seen them. However, when he actually did make it to camp, Solas was gone. Anders couldn't stop himself from looking around for the elven man. Hawke saw what he was doing, and grinned.

"He woke up." Hawke said, mischievously.

"He…woke up?" Anders asked, not following.

"You were wondering where he went." She replied, knowingly. "He woke up."

"You mean, that's how he finds you?" Anders asked, unable to help himself, and then bursts out laughing. "I can imagine the teasing he's going to get for this."

"Why, Anders, I'm surprised at you." Hawke said, feigning shock. "I never pegged you as one that liked to watch."

He's never blushed harder in his life than he does at this moment.

Sathan, Alhasha…Ar shor'tel rosa la'min…lasa'em dera'na…Sathan – Please, Alhasha…I will not last like this…let me touch you…please

Sastrahnen…Ar shor'te…sastrahnen… - Anything…I will do…anything…

Meanwhile, Solas is dealing with a similar issue. That night was not suppose to turn into what it did, and he had not thought to cast the silencing spells around his tent. The minute he'd stepped out, they'd all started laughing. Iron Bull, Varric, and Sera couldn't seem to help themselves. While Sera could not translate what he'd said in his sleep, if he had said anything, Iron Bull certainly could.

"You have got to tell us what she did, Shiny." Sera said, through her snickering. "We've got bets."

"On this too?" Solas asked, with a tired sigh.

"I told you, nothing is sacred when it comes to betting, Chuckles." Varric replied with a grin. "Don't worry, I don't need you to translate this time."

"I spoke in my sleep...again." Solas said, with a groan.

"It's not that bad, Solas, begging is part of the fun." Iron Bull said, nonchalantly. The group decended into laughter again.

"You're just mad that she isn't a red head, or else you'd be after her too." Solas retorted, and the group laughed at that. "I hate all of you for this…She…Fenedhis!…She had me pinned up against a tree with a force spell. I refuse to tell you what she did after that."

"Wait. She used her magic bit to tie you up then?" Sera scoffed.

"It works as well as any pair of handcuffs or bit of rope, Sera, better even." Solas couldn't help but smirk at the way she blushed at that. Everyone started handing Iron Bull coin.

They had started packing up camp that morning when it happened. Solas simply froze, his vision blurred. He felt out of his body but in it, and could not alert the others. Something had taken over his sight, and now he was looking at a battle. A swirling pool of blood magic surrounded him, though he saw it more than felt it, and he understood what was happening.

He was seeing what was happening to Alhasha, and he was angry. He'd threatened that mage to protect her! Strange, now that he noticed, he could hear the mage in question shouting at her to fight back. From the sounds of things, Anders was in a fight to get to her. The vision faded, and suddenly his sight was filled with the faces of those from camp staring at him.

"Alhasha is in danger, red lyrium mage, templars…The mage is not enough to protect her." Solas said, answering everyone's unasked question. "If she dies, so does he."

Not long after that, Anders was running for his life, but not from Fen'Harel. That particular fear hadn't had time to enter into his mind yet. No. Vael's men, or the red lyrium mages, he didn't know, but he was running to escape them. He'd thrown Hawke over one of his shoulders, and started running the second he dispatched the one attacking her, Biscuit trailing behind them. Anders knew his magic was depleted, and running was the only way out now.

Their only hope now was getting to the camp. Surely they had to be close by? A man that is willing to threaten someone within an inch of their life would not simply trust him to be able to do as demanded. Of course the man would have to come himself. It was that, that Anders was counting on, as he ran down the mountain.

He was in luck! Anders had never been more relieved to see his possible destruction, as he literally ran into camp. They hadn't even looked surprised to see him, already prepared to deal with whatever it was that was chasing him. He paid the fight no mind, instantly setting her down and going through her medical bag looking for healing potions, anything that would help slow down what he knew was happening to her. She seemed to be trying to fight it on her own, but Anders could already see flakes of red lyrium along the lines of lyrium she already possessed, and he knew that his magic would not be enough for this.

"Alhasha!" Solas called out, and suddenly he was in his view, trying to heal Hawke as he was. "What's wrong with her? What happened?"

"We were overrun." Anders answered. "Surrounded. She'd told me about red lyrium templars, but for a mage to take it? That was new. One of them infected Hawke before I could get to her."

"We need to slow down her heart. It will buy us some time, at least." Solas said, and the two began working on cooling magic. She looked barely conscious now, her eyes pleading with him, almost like she was trying to apologize for worrying him again. "Come on, Lath'in, don't do this now, stay with me…Vevar'i'em. Sal vun'in. Sal era'vun. Tel'vara em, sathan, Alhasha."

"What about Dagna?" A pug nosed short elf asked, uncomfortably, obviously hating to see Hawke like this. "She's been working on this, yeah?"

"It's the only chance she has, yes, but we're so far away." Solas replied, without looking up at her, still trying to do something about the spread of the poison. "We might not make it in time."

"It's better than no chance at all!" She huffed, angrily. "Now take her, and get goin'!"

"She's right, Chuckles. Take care of her. We'll deal with Blondie." Varric insisted.

"No. I'll need him with me." Solas insisted. "He can help me slow down the poison, buy her time, give her a better shot at making it to Skyhold."

Vevar'i'em. Sal vun'in. Sal era'vun. Tel'vara em, sathan, Alhasha – Stay with me. Another day. Another night. Don't leave me, please, Alhasha

"He's right. It's better if I go with him." Anders stated, silencing the dwarf, surprising Solas. "There is no time to debate this."

"Ma serannas, Anders." Solas said, looking to him, before turning to Iron Bull. "Can you get the horses ready, Iron Bull? We'll be taking an extra one, so I'm sorry for whoever this inconveniences."

Thank you

"Just get her to Dagna, and we'll call it even, Shiny." Sera huffed, not looking at him.

"Of course, Sera." Solas replied, with a slight nod, and a small smile. He turned back to Anders. "You will need to keep up. We will not be stopping for very long. Just enough time to check on her progress, and keep her stable before heading out again."

~Biscuit follow you~

"You are too young yet to be keeping the pace we'll need to set." Solas said, looking to the Mabari pup. "Follow the others for now. You'll see us again soon."

~Rubs ok?~

"She'll be fine. Don't worry." Solas replied, not missing the way Anders now stared at him.

They set off soon after that. Solas is reminded too well of the first time he had to do this, and how much things have changed since then. Where as before he had refused to think of a life with her, now he could not think of a life without her, and he knew he was facing that possibility now. He does not kill Anders, though he is angry at him for not being able to protect her. Alhasha has always had a reckless nature, wild as she is, and it is something he both loves and hates about her.

They do not talk much, if at all, on their way to Skyhold. Anders is shocked by the changes in the landscape as they travel. His choices have had far more consequences than he'd ever intended, but that is the way of things. He comes to the conclusion that Fen'Harel, Solas, does indeed love his friend Hawke. It wasn't something he'd been able to believe before, simply with Hawke's stories.

Seeing how he cared for her when they had to stop, was what convinced him. The way Solas carried her, the way he looked at her when he thought that Anders wasn't paying attention, these were the things that convinced him. There was a phrase the man kept repeating whenever they stopped to check on her progress. Vevar'i'em. Sal vun'in. Sal era'vun. Tel'vara em. Anders hadn't ask what it meant, and Solas never offered it, but Anders got the sense that it was somehow intimately important.

"Vevar'i'em. Sal vun'in. Sal era'vun. Tel'vara em, sathan." There it was again, that phrase, and he had to know.

"What does that mean?" Anders asked, as they continued to make sure the poison was slowed. "I know sathan is please, so is it a type of prayer or something?"

"Something like that." Solas replied, not taking his eyes off of Hawke. "I am asking for something impossible, so it never hurts to be polite. At this point, it does not matter who is listening, only that someone does."

"So, what are you asking for?" Anders asked, curiously.

Solas just looked at him, and for a moment Anders could see the anguish he'd been hiding, as he replied. "Time."