Talyn had returned to Solas, only to find him sound asleep. The feathers were gone, the bed was intact once more. She crawled into bed with him, and closed her eyes with a smile on her face.

He found her in the Fade. She was in her meadow, and the night sky was twinkling with stars. She was sitting on the edge of the cliff that overlooked the sea, her legs dangling in the air. He sat down next to her and she rested her head on his warm shoulder. He put an arm around her, and pulled her closer.

"So, you said we weren't done talking." Solas started.

"I still have questions." She responded.

"Then ask them."

"What happened after you woke up?" She started.

"I traveled. I went from the far reaches of Tevinter to the Free Marches, I wandered the Graves, and I spoke to the elves. The city elves had completely forgotten our way of life, and the Dalish..."

He paused for a minute, and his face twisted into a mask of rage.

"The Dalish had distorted it so much that they wear brands on their faces, completely ignorant of their true meaning. I tried to teach them, to show them the truth... but none would listen to me. They refused to believe that they had been wrong. And I couldn't tell them who I was, because of what they believed me to be. A devil."

She understood his anger and frustration. She felt it herself. She thought back to the Dalish Keeper she had met on their way to Adamant. How he had said that Andruil had created Rasdalalen from stardust. How none of them seemed to know that Rasdalalen wasn't a servant of the Evanuris. That Rasdalalen wasn't a god, but a demon.

Some of them had seemed to feel the truth. Some Dalish had been furious with her arrival at their camp. But most had seemed nervous, intimidated. Fascinated. It sickened her.

Solas continued, "I decided that they weren't my people. That I was the last of my kind. So I kept wandering, and my anger only grew at the way these people of Thedas viewed those who possessed the most natural aspect of nature. I went to the Conclave. I was curious, hopeful that mages would no longer be persecuted for what they were born with."

"Then Corypheus burned the temple to the ground." Talyn said.

"Yes, he did. And you walked out of the rift. You collapsed in my arms, your hand burning with our Anchor."

His voice was full of hushed wonder.

"For the first time in my long life, I actually toyed with the idea of the Maker existing. I had searched for you in the Fade for so long. I even went to where Elgar'nan and the others were imprisoned-"

"You do realize how stupid that was, right?" Talyn interrupted him. "You could have died."

He let out a low laugh. "Yes, and I almost did. But I didn't care. I just wanted to find you. But you weren't there. You weren't anywhere in the Fade. I never found your body... it was like you had just vanished. So when you appeared in Haven, I thought for sure that it was the Maker's doing."

Talyn was waiting for him to finish his story before she dove into the tale of how she figured out what happened. Why she had disappeared.

"But you didn't remember me. You didn't remember anything. You have no idea how frustrating it was to have you so close, yet so far away."

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?" She asked. "In Haven. Before any of this happened?"

"I was afraid you wouldn't believe me, or if I forced the memories your mind would break from the weight of them. So I dropped hints instead."

"You told me our story with the mural. You showed me our wedding."

He nodded. "I wanted you to remember. But at the same time I didn't-"

"You didn't want me to remember Rasdalalen."

"Are you going to let me talk?" He teased.

"Sorry." She responded with a smile. "Continue."

"Yes, I didn't want you to remember your life as Rasdalalen. Or Andruil. You finally free of that darkness that you always held in your eyes. I didn't want your peace to end."

She lifted her head from his shoulders. "But I had no peace, Solas. I had bits and pieces of questions with no answers."

"Can you deny that you were better off not remembering?" He countered.

She shrugged. "I suppose I can't. Before Adamant, I never imagined that I was capable of such... evil."

She looked at her hands in her lap.

"You didn't know better." Solas comforted her. "She manipulated you from the beginning, Talyn. You have to forgive yourself for that, or it's going to tear you apart."

"Andruil's Star, Andruil's Executioner, Andruil's Whore!" She snapped at him. "I wore those names like a badge of honor. I was proud to serve her, to carry out her monstrous demands. I did know better. I can never forgive myself for that."

"Yes, you can. Because you're not that person anymore."

How had they gotten back on the subject of Talyn's guilt? It was a never ending argument. She was tired of hearing it.

So she changed the subject. "I know what happened. I know why I disappeared, and ended up in Haven."

So she told him the story of how she went to Alexius. How he had managed to warp Elgar'nan's Foci, destroying it in the process. And she told him of when she got pulled in the Temple of Sacred Ashes, and how she had seen Alexius there.

"What I dont understand is why I was the one who got pulled into the future and not you. It wasn't my Foci."

He immediately corrected her. "Actually, it's ours."

Talyn frowned. "I don't have mana, Solas. I can't create a Foci."

He smiled. "My magic gave it a purpose, but it was your blood that gave it life. Why else do you think you managed to survive the Anchor?"

That troubled Talyn deeply. Why didn't she remember that? It seemed like a pretty important detail, the fact that her life force was directly connected to the reason the world got screwed.

He must have read the look on her face because he continued. "You have more than a few thousand years worth of memories. And this isn't the first time you lost them. They'll come to you in time. There's no need to panic."

They fell into a comfortable silence after that.

The next morning, Solas was gone. But he had left her a note telling her he was in his study. He wanted to dive headfirst into his books. He found it troubling that Alexius had managed to warp Elgar'nan's Foci, and he wanted to find the location of the others.

She threw the note into the fire, and then left the room.

She wanted to seek him out, but she kept herself from doing it. He wasn't the only important person in her life, and she needed to pay a little more attention to her friends.

She sought Iron Bull out first. They had a lot of catching up to do. She hadn't had a real conversation with him since Skinner and Dalish died.

She heard the sound of something solid hitting flesh as she went behind the tavern, followed by a series of grunts and muttering about demons.

Cassandra was taking a wooden board and slamming it against Bull's abdomen. Every time it smacked against his skin, Bull growled.

"You like that, huh? Scary ass demon got stuck in the Fade! I'm the Iron Bull! YEAH."

Talyn watched Cassandra roll her eyes, and hit him again.

When she saw her approaching, Cassandra stopped hitting Bull and shoved the board into her hands.

"Here, it's your turn." She said before walking away.

Bull grinned when he saw her.

"Hey, Boss! Haven't seen you for a few days."

She held up the board.

"Didn't know you were into pain, Bull."

He chuckled. "Oh, you have no idea. But that's just a Qunari fear exercise. Adamant was..."

His face darkened. "Rough."

'You don't know the half of it.'

She wanted so desperately to tell Bull everything. Everything she discovered about herself, about Solas. But now wasn't the time. She didn't know if there was ever going to be a good time to tell a truth that no one would believe.

"That fear demon looked a little like you, Bull." She teased lightly.

Bull touched the long horns that stuck out form his head. "My horns are scarier, thank you very much."

She laughed, and took the board. She turned it sideways, and slammed it flat across his chest.

And he went flying into a stone wall.

She dropped the board and ran over to him. She couldn't help but laugh at the look of surprise on his face. A tiny rock bounced off his head.

"Still scared?" She asked with that laughter still in her voice.

She held out a hand to help him up.

"Yes, but I'm not scared of demons anymore, Boss."

He took her hand and she helped him back to his feet. There was an Iron Bull sized dent in the wall now.

She went back to the board and handed it to him.

"My turn."

"What do you have to be afraid of? You just threw me into a wall!" Bull protested.

She grinned. "Exactly!"

He shook his head in disbelief. "You're starting to show your crazy, Boss."

"Says the one who comes from a people that makes other people hit them with boards."

He muttered something that Talyn pretended not to hear, and he hit her. She gasped and stumbled backwards.

The sting of the blunt object seemed to clear head. She felt like she could finally breathe. Maybe the Qunari weren't that crazy after all.

"Again." She said.

Bull raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? I just hit you with everything I had."

"Do it again!"

He hit her again, and she laughed.

He dropped the board. "Alright, I was actually hoping I'd run into you because I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"My superiors would like your help with something. This favor you would be doing for them would help solidify an alliance between the Inquisition and my people," he added before he continued, "on the Storm Coast there are some Vints and Tal-Vashoth that need to be taken care of. They asked for me, and for you, to do the job."

"Of course I'll help, Bull. We need all the help we can get with Corypheus. When will we be leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning, at first light."

She smiled. "Fantastic. Now I need to ask you for a favor."

"What is it?"

"Have you paid much attention to Morrigan?"

Bull shrugged. "She seems harmless enough. Shes arrogant, and secretive. Like someone else we both know."

He gave her a pointed look.

"But I don't think she's plotting on overthrowing the Inquisition anytime soon."

"Would you mind keeping an eye on her? I don't know what it is, but there's something off about her. I'd feel better if a Ben-Hassrath kept tabs on her."

"I know what you mean. She gives me a weird feeling. But she's not nearly as strange as her son."

Talyn was surprised. "Son?"

He laughed. "You need to pay attention more, Boss! You'll meet him soon enough. But yes, I'll keep an eye on her. "

Then he said with a suggestive smile, "now that business is out of the way... You and Solas, huh?"

She returned the smile. "You and Dorian?"

"He's a Vint, I know. But I love him." He smiled back. Then his smile dropped. "However, you and Solas are an odd pairing. I thought you'd go for Cullen."

"Cullen?! No way." Talyn rolled her eyes. "He's like a puppy."

"Ah, and the quiet, brooding mage that doesn't seem to have any connection to another living soul but you is any better?"

"Not even a Ben-Hassrath can understand Solas, Bull. We're more alike than you think."

It was the truth. Talyn and Solas were more complicated than anyone in this entire fortress could ever understand.

"Whatever you say. But Cullen told me about the "argument" you guys had in Adamant." His voice was sympathetic, which seemed so unlike him. "I don't understand why you'd keep him around after that."

She was going to kick Cullen's ass.

"Cullen only saw what he wanted to see." She snapped at him. "I'm pretty sure he's in love with me."

He barked out a laugh. "I'm glad you finally noticed! I've been watching him watch you since Haven. But that doesn't change what he said about what happened."

Talyn let the guilt saturate her voice. "I'm the one who attacked Solas. I punched him, and Cullen showed up right when he restrained me. So if there's anyone that needs to be judged, it's me."

Bull nodded his head. "That does make more sense than what Cullen said."

She asked bitterly, "did he tell anyone else?"

"Your council, Varric, Hawke, and Fenris."

She let out a growl. "Spread the word that he got the story wrong. Please."

"On it, Boss."

She stomped away from him then. All other thoughts of visiting her friends were out the window. Now it was time to confront Cullen.