Overnight, the rain stops. Eldris wakes them bright and early the next morning, supplies already packed. Arya grumbles as she pulls on her armor, fastening her staff behind her back. Leliana is gathered outside, alongside Anaba and Theo and Eden. Reno stumbles out of his tent, yawning and grumbling, still fumbling with the buckles on his armor. Anaba offers Arya a piece of bread smothered in halla cheese, and Arya has to turn her head so she doesn't gag.
"Sorry," she says, with an apologetic smile. Theo hands her a piece of plain bread, which is much more palatable than the cheese. Eldris gives them a moment to catch their bearings, and then he distributes the supplies. This time, they bring a large tent and bedrolls, and rations to last them a couple of days. There's a determined look in the Warden's eyes that tells Arya they won't be back until they've finished what they've sat out to do. She hangs back long enough to kiss Lysander before scampering after the rest of the group.
It is dull, passing through the same stretch of forest that she's seen twice now. Not that she would really know- the forest is unfamiliar and the known and unknown blends together, until the entire group is caught off guard when they find the sylvans. Or, rather, the sylvans find them. It is quiet as they walk along, most of them lost in their own thoughts, save Anaba and Reno who are off debating some particular of the Chantry's history. Arya had stopped paying attention a long time ago.
And then, all hell breaks lose. One of the trees moves with a great groan, and it is Arya who sees the branch coming down. She throws a barrier up just in time- the branch slams into her and Eldris, catching her around the chest and launching them both backwards. The barrier softens their impact, leaving them both winded but little else.
Theo lets out a wordless yell and the sylvan goes up in flames. Seconds later, he and Eden both are kneeling next to Eldris as he waves them away. Anaba and Leliana rush over to pull Arya to her feet, while Reno stands behind them, hand on his sword as he watches around nervously.
"I've never seen trees do that," he mumbles, half to himself. Eldris steps forward and claps him heartily on the shoulder, making him jump.
"They're called sylvans. I've heard legends of them. It's one of the reasons Keeper never wanted us to venture too terribly deep into these woods. Arya? Any insight?" he asks, glancing at her over his shoulder to make sure she's on her feet. She tugs at the armor she's wearing, as if she's trying to pull it back into place.
"Up ahead should be one that talks. He'll ask for his acorn," she says, almost absentmindedly. There was a part of her worried that her shiny new-old armor had been scratched or dented. She knew that the metal it had been formed from was rare enough that it may as well not even exist anymore, and the crafting methods sure as shit didn't. She almost regrets wearing it- something like this should be put away in a museum. Not that Thedas even had museums. Maybe that was something she could talk to Cailan and Anora about?
"Oh. Wonderful. A talking tree," Eden groans, and Theo laughs. They take a moment to let Arya and Eldris catch their breath before moving forward. This time, they're much more alert.
Theo burns a half dozen sylvans before they find the Great Oak. The rhymes seem to annoy Eldris, but he flops down at the base of the tree while Eden slips away to find the acorn. Arya had warned her about the hermit in between sylvans three and four. At least the archer seemed more fond of her now.
"Hey, Leliana?" Arya calls out, rising from the shade of the oak, almost reluctantly.
"Yes?" the bard answers, not moving from her place, sprawled on her back.
"Come with me. There's something I want to show you," she says, motioning into the bushes. It'd give them some semblance of privacy, at least. Not that they necessarily needed it. Leliana huffs a sigh, but clambers to her feet and trudges through the bushes with her. By the time she catches up with Arya, she's already dug the flowers out of her pack. They aren't too terribly damaged, miraculously.
"What did you want to show me?" Leliana asks. Arya pulls her hand from behind her back, holding the admittedly pathetic fistful of flowers out to her. Leliana looks at her, brow furrowed in confusion, until the wind just so happens to flow and she catches scent of the flowers.
"Oh!" she exclaims, a soft gasp. Gently, she takes the flowers from her, holding them up to her nose and breathing them in.
"I thought you might like them. Been meaning to give them to you since the first time we headed into these damned woods. And this one right here can go in your hair," she says, reaching down to pluck one from the ground. A bumblebee flits lazily away as Arya tucks the flower behind Leliana's ear.
"Thank you, Arya," she breathes, reaching out to pull her into a hug. It was almost sweet enough that Arya could ignore how uncomfortable the armor was. Seconds later she pushes Leliana away and vomits her lunch into the bush. Leliana's nice enough to hold her hair back and murmur soothing sounds. Well. At least Arya missed her boots.
With the Oak's branch in hand, Eldris lead them through the mist, ears perked warily. But the branch sees them safely through, and suddenly they are in a part of the forest that even Arya can tell is different. It's the air, she thinks.
There is still plenty of time left in the day. Eldris uses the oak's branch as a walking stick, leading his way deeper into the forest. They don't get far when he stops them, ears perked. Arya has to hold back a nervous giggle- he reminds her of the dog, in that moment.
"Werewolves ahead," he murmurs, and Eden nods, looking around before scaling a tree. Theo is nonchalant as he casts a barrier around her, and moments later Arya catches sight of the silver buckles on her armor as she launches herself from one tree to another. There's something in her that aches at the sight- she remembers different times in a different forest with a different elf where she did the same thing, free as the wind that blows through the leaves.
She is shaken out of it when Eldris motions them forward, striding into the midst of the werewolves with all the confidence in the world. Arya holds her magic close, ready to cast a barrier over all of them.
"Turn back," Swiftrunner demands.
"Go suck a dick," Eldris replies, and all hell breaks loose. Arya's barrier springs into place and the werewolves howl. An arrow flies from the forest canopy, sinking into Swiftrunner's leg. He howls, claws lashing out at Eldris and destroying Arya's barrier. Theo's barrier snaps into place over it as Eden jumps from the tree's branches, discarding her bow on the ground as she swaps it out for daggers. She bares her teeth into a snarl as she launches herself into the fight, back to back with Eldris. Anaba has slipped around behind the wolves, her own daggers finishing off one of the wolves. Reno bangs his sword on his shield, letting out a wordless yell meant to attract attention. Arya and Theo tense as Leliana fires arrow after arrow- there are few spells they know that could do anything without catching any of their friends. Fuck, but they both hated being useless.
And then Witherfang charges into the fray. A white wolf, bigger than a wolf should be. An unearthly howl echoes through the forest, loud enough that they all have to clap their hands over their ears. Witherfang snarls at Swiftrunner, nipping at his heels, and the werewolf turns on his heels and sprints into the forest, followed by the other survivors. Witherfang bounds after them, and it is only after they're out of sight that the echoing howl is bearable.
"What the fuck?" Eden demands, stomping over to the werewolf Anaba had killed and drawing her leg back to kick it. If Eden wasn't scary before, she certainly was now, with the way her eyes blazed.
It is only then that Arya notices the way Leliana sways on her feet. "Shit," she swears, diving forward to catch her just in time.
"Set up a camp," Eldris orders. Theo kneels next to Leliana, pulling her head into his lap as Arya's fingers make quick work of all the buckles. The others spring into action, erecting the tent nearby and setting up a campfire.
The wounds are not fatal, at least. Long and deep scratches over Leliana's midsection (the armor she was wearing is ruined, Arya knows), they bleed entirely too much for her liking. She places her hands over the scratches and pours her magic into the wounds, eyes shutting as she concentrates. Slowly, the bleeding stops and the skin knits back together.
Theo's magic joins hers, gently lulling Leliana to sleep. Arya doesn't know how much time has passed before she finally sits back on her heels, exhausted. She couldn't cast another spell right now if her life depended on it. Leliana sleeps, her skin whole, if scarred.
"That…was some of the best healing I've ever seen," Theo murmurs. Eldris kneels next to them, a bucket of water in his hands. Arya looks up at him dazedly.
"Is she okay?" he asks, nodding to her. Theo nods, a wry grin on his face.
"Think she used too much of her magic reserves, but she's fine. The bard is fine, too. They'll both need some rest, is all," he answers. Eldris passes him a rag and then he gently takes Arya's hands in his. She blinks at him, pretty sure she's dissociating. Is this what it feels like when she uses too much magic? Shit. That's not so bad. She watches as Eldris scrubs the blood off her hands, while Theo dabs gently at the puckered scars on Leliana's stomach, cleaning the blood off.
"Think…Think I'm gonna stay here, with her. You all can go on, deal with the werewolves. Remember what I've said, about brokering peace," Arya murmurs. Eldris hums in affirmation, guiding her to a bedroll nearby. As Theo finishes cleaning Leliana up, he lifts her onto a bedroll nearby.
"I'll set wards," he promises, and together he and Eldris exit the tent.
Arya lets herself drift away, welcomed gently into the Fade. She doesn't wake up until they come back into camp.
Bellanaris dreams of a war that passed long ago. She remembers Andruil, fierce and proud, fighting with her warriors until they were overwhelmed. She remembers that those who died to cover the goddess's escape had unmarked faces. She remembers Solas, barely a general, still under Mythal's thumb. It is only now that she realizes he never managed to get out.
