Something akin to boredom had settled over Skyhold. Scouting reports had found little in the way of activity from Venatori or Templar, leading some to the uneasy conclusion that whatever movements Corypheus and his army might be making, they were doing so well underground. This made the already strange and awkward gathering of the Inquisitor's advisors even stranger and more awkward. Josephine still insisted on the standard morning briefing after breakfast, even though she had run out of colorful ways to say that "the status is... unchanged." Leliana haunted her tower with her usual thoughtful stare. The woman had yet to realize what she was, what she represented, but this period of inaction had rendered her feeling particularly unmoored and it made her visage shimmer if one stared too long. Solas wondered if the others noticed at all. Cullen had taken up afternoon games of chess with Warren, clearly misunderstanding the Trevelyan man's interested smiles as a genuine interest in bettering his skill at the game. Morrigan, meddlesome and quietly curious, had gone from hovering in the background to showing up unannounced in otherwise quiet conversations, often with strange and cryptic predictions that would prove irritatingly correct.

She knew something, that one. Something that unsettled him whenever he found himself caught in her cool feline gaze. Beneath the surface of her skin stirred magicks ancient and unknown. She bore the trace aura of the familiar, and her method of casting was too fluid, too second-nature to be Chasind.

Solas turned the keystone over on his desk, feeling the familiar pulling hum as it settled back into place. The witch had stared silently at the artifact with a particular interest, the light reflecting in her eyes in a way that told him she was not entirely surprised by its magic.

"Warren says you cheat at cards, that's why they don't ask you to play." Evelyn lingered near the library stair, fresh from some conversation that had left her cheeks flushed. She'd undoubtedly been talking with both her brother and the Tevinter, together the two made an impressive gossip golem that would destroy any and all productivity the moment they appeared with their latest salacious tale.

"Your brother was misinformed. Master Tethras believes I cheat because I win... occasionally."

She snorted and flopped onto his sofa. The past few weeks had made her a little too casual, a little too comfortable. Warren's presence had relaxed her almost to the point of forgetting what still lay ahead. Something he was glad she could be relieved of, but also concerned for. When reality returned, he feared it would bite more savagely after this respite.

"We haven't been outside these walls in weeks," she said then, reading his mind without realizing it, as she was so apt to do. "Not even you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Don't think I never noticed you darting off at the first sniff of the ancient and unknown. You spent nearly a fortnight at that ruin, with hardly a word sent back."

"If I recall correctly, that was at a time when I did not know my presence would be so keenly missed."

"And didn't you miss mine at all?"

He trained his gaze on her with a pointedness that caused her flush to deepen. "More than you will ever know." She parted her lips slightly, leaning imperceptibly forward as he stepped toward her. The spell was broken by the distinct sound of snickering. This damnable room.

"There is a place I had been meaning to... it is not far, that is to say, it is a stone's throw from the gates. Would you like to join me-"

"Yes," she said eagerly, practically leaping to her feet.

"It's a pond."

"Of everything I enjoy about your company, your unparalleled powers of observation are right at the top of the list."

Evelyn scowled in response, then her mouth dropped open as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Are you going to swim? In that?"

"We are. I suggest you remove anything you do not wish to get wet."

"Is it cold?" she called to him as he swam to the center of the pool.

"It is quite warm, I assure you. I believe there is a hot spring somewhere nearby."

"Are there… fish and things?"

"I would assume there are. This is, after all, their domain. You are not afraid of watery creatures, are you, Lady Trevelyan?"

"Only if they're the bitey kind."

"Come," he swam back to near the shore, extending his arms before him. "I will protect you from anything that threatens biteyness."

The pond was ringed by thick forest that broke only overhead, showcasing a fantastically bright display of the heavens in its leafy frame. The water around them reflected this same picture, the ripples from their bodies causing the stars to constrict and stretch around them. "Lie back," he commanded.

The effect was perfect. From their backs, all either could see was stars and cloudy heavenly miasma above. It gave one the impression that one was literally floating in the stars above.

"See? Nothing bitey. Just stars and warm water."

"I think that if anything bit me now, I wouldn't care," she responded breathlessly. "There's so many. It's beautiful."

"It was once believed each star was the spirit of an ancestor," he said softly. "And that the light was a promise, shining down on them. Then they acquired more knowledge. Now we know they are simply old and dirty light, traveling across the ages to find us. Some think they are each the size of our sun, perhaps with worlds of their own. Maybe there is a world out there where another version of you and I are looking up at the stars in a similar way, watching our ancient light blink back at them."

"Do you think they're happy?" Evelyn pushed away and treaded water slightly.

"Of course they are," he sighed, dragging her back to him. "How could they not be?"