When morning came, Cullen was woken by a pounding on one of the doors- the one that led out to the walkway to Solas' study. Groaning, he slowly slid his arms out from under Athewen and threw on his clothes before answering the door.

"What?" he grumbled, a bit hungover.

"Ser, the latest reports are in."

Cullen looked grumpily at the soldier. "Take them to Sister Leliana or Seeker Pentaghast, I am taking the day off. And info the others that Athewen is taking the day off, as well. Seeker Pentaghast is in charge for the day."

"Right away, ser."

Cullen closed the door and locked it, going back to where Athewen was still fast asleep on the fur rug. He lay back down next to her, smiling as he watched her sleep. She was so peaceful, so innocent, so calm. It was just another thing he was realizing that he loved about her.

Athewen stirred a bit as Cullen stroked her arm. She turned towards him, nestling in closer. "So warm..."

Cullen smiled at that and chuckled a bit. "It is a thick blanket."

Athewen opened her eyes sleepily. "Hi."

"Hi." Cullen's smile grew and he leaned down to kiss her shoulder. "How'd you sleep?"

Athewen smiled, closing her eyes and nuzzling into his chest. "Better than I have in ages."

Cullen wrapped his arm around her. "Good."

Athewen looked up at him sleepily. "What about you?"

Cullen turned towards her and kissed her forehead. "Honestly, better than I have in a long time. And I don't think I had any nightmares last night, either."

Athewen propped herself up at that. "Really? Cullen, that's amazing."

Cullen chuckled, pulling her in for a kiss. "I have you to thank, I believe. Shall I pay my gratitude forward, or shall I let it collect interest?"

Athewen blushed and chuckled a bit. "Depends, how much work do we have to do today?"

"None, I had one of the soldiers inform William and the others that you and I were taking the day off. Cassandra will be in charge for the day."

Athewen raised a brow. "Oh?"

Cullen chuckled as he nodded, reaching up to brush aside the hair that had fallen against her face. "So, my little mouse, what would you like to do today?"

Athewen pretended to think really hard for a moment, having already decided what she wanted to do. "Hmmm... well let's see... we could go for a ride, explore a bit of the woods some more, visit the southern spring, or we could stay in and just relax."

"I like the sound of that."

Athewen smiled. "Which one, silly?"

Cullen stroked her cheek. "Let's take a day trip to the woods. Pack a picnic, explore the woods, relax by the spring."

Athewen leaned into his hand and her smile grew as she sighed in content. "Sounds good to me, too."

And so, Athewen and Cullen readied themselves for the day, left instructions for Cassandra, packed enough food to last them the whole day, saddled their mounts, and headed out to the woods just south of Skyhold.

They rode through the trees, wandering about until they came across some ruins with a beautiful view of the valley. They decided to sit there awhile, so they dismounted and tied the reins to a nearby branch before sitting down on the grass.

"You know, this is one of the things I've always enjoyed most about being a hunter." Athewen said as she looked out over the valley.

"I can see why, this view is beautiful." Cullen agreed, leaning forward a bit and resting his arms on his knees.

"Whenever I would be following the game trails, or even just camping out, it was views like this that made me feel most at peace." Athewen continued. "Especially in the beginning, after I lost my family."

Cullen looked over at her when she said that. "You don't usually talk about them."

Athewen sighed, leaning back on arms and looking up at the sky. "It's difficult to, to be honest. Especially since most of the people I know are humans."

"And yet that hasn't seemed to held you back too much."

Athewen smiled at that. "I think I have you and people like Merina to thank for that. For years, I hated humans because of what they had done to Lela and Myren. I chose a life of solitude because it was just easier that way; I wouldn't lose anyone else or put anyone else in danger. And then I met Merina."

Cullen sat back with her and listened.

"Merina was so kind, so eager to befriend me. No matter how hard I tried to let her down gently or avoid her outright, she'd always find a way to say hi or offer me an apple or sweet roll or just any way to make me feel included. And since she lived in Highever, she introduced me to some of the people she knew and I was able to understand better that not all humans were heartless bastards who didn't give a shit about elves." Athewen smiled at the memories. "She even introduced me to Nan, the head cook for the Cousland family, and she reminded me so much of my clan's Keeper."

"I forget sometimes that you are Dalish." Cullen said.

"Our clan was a bit different than the others, enough so that we had more in common with the city elves than our woodland kin." Athewen replied. "Any time I went to a big city like Denerim or Amaranthine, I always traded my wares with the elves in the alienages. My distrust for humans was still pretty strong, and even after meeting Merina, I still remained cautious around them knowing how most humans treat elves."

"I'm glad you seemed comfortable enough to stay with the Inquisition in the beginning, then." Cullen said.

Athewen smiled at that and leaned into him a bit. "If I hadn't, I never would have met you."

Cullen returned her smile and pulled her in for a hug. "And what a shame that would have been."

Athewen scooted closer and returned the embrace, feeling just as safe with him as she did alone in the woods. "Cullen, thank you for being there for me."

Cullen chuckled. "It's the least I can do to return the favor." He kissed her hair. "Besides, I am yours and you are mine. I will stand by you just as you have stood by me, for as long as I draw breath. You aren't just my best friend, anymore."

Athewen looked up at that, meeting his gaze. "Cullen..."

Cullen leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "You're my everything, Athie."

Athewen tilted her head up and met him with a kiss, deepening it when he started pulling her in closer. She let him pull her into his lap and just leaned into him, enjoying such a perfect moment.

"As you are mine."