"Do you really think this will turn up anything?" Solas asked sincerely.
"I have to try," Andra answered while gathering several papers in her hand, "I have nothing else to go on, no other paths I might follow…" She stopped then, "If my situation was yours, would you not go to every length to find the truth?"
Solas laid a hand on Andra's shoulder, "I'm not trying to deter you," he said, "only help you realize that this might not uncover anything, and hope can be a fickle thing."
"I know." Andra turned around, clutching the papers to her chest, eyes avoiding Solas', "But if there's even the faintest chance that this will lead me to the secrets of my past, I have to take it. Right?" She sounded so determined, but her body language betrayed how unsure she actually was as she looked at Solas for reassurance. The older elf looked down at her, feeling a new connection. Her plight, perusing the past, he sympathized with. Their end goals were different, but the concepts were akin.
"I understand," Solas said softly, placing a finger under Andra's chin so their eyes would fully meet. "Mya mar lath'in."
She smiled at him, and for a moment, the world around them was lost. Despite all that had happened up until this point, Andra wondered how they had once been so unyieldingly at each others' throats yet simultaneously great friends. And now that she was willing to look outside of the Dalish, listening outside of the community echo chamber, everything seemed much simpler between them.
The moment fell heavy when Varric's words from last night flickered through Andra's mind. She saw nothing wrong with her relationship to Solas, but she also couldn't ignore the wisdom of being cautious. What if Solas was just using her to pass the time until he left again? She didn't know his plans for the future. More than that, a small part of her did worry about how much she was giving up.
"I should go give these to the Inquisitor," Andra stated, the tops of her cheeks slightly pink.
She then rushed out of the room before he had a chance to say anything.
.
.
.
"There's not much to go on, here…" The Inquisitor said apologetically as they skimmed through Andra's request.
"I know…" She breathed, running her fingers through her long blonde hair, "but I don't have anything else."
The Inquisitor cast Andra one more look before returning to the pages on their desk. More loose notes than anything. She was asking for Inquisition scouts to look for any information on Ancient Elves; recent information on the Temple of Mythal, recent being the last twenty years or so; or possibly any knowledge, rumor, or gossip about an elvhen family that lost a child that might be around Andra's twenty seven years now.
With a sigh, the Inquisitor stood from their chair and turned to look towards one of the open windows that led to one of the two balconies. The clear day was pouring in, sunlight casting geometric shapes on the floor, and a fresh breeze lazily weaved about.
"I can't promise you anything…"
Andra twiddled her thumbs, "I know…"
The Inquisitor then turned back to their desk and quickly scribbled something on a loose piece of parchment before handing it and Andra's own papers back to her. "Give these to Cullen, he'll do what he can. And I'll talk to Josephine about getting in touch with Leliana—oops, I mean Divine Victoria," They laughed, it was still strange to say. "Maybe our Lady Nightingale can dig up some answers we can't."
Andra smiled, latching onto the small ray of hope, "Thank you!"
The Inquisitor smiled back but held up a hand, "Don't thank me yet."
.
.
.
"How fared your meeting?" Solas asked once Andra had returned to his old round room.
"Better than I expected, actually." The blonde elf plopped down in an armchair that sat against the wall. "Cullen is going to inform his scouts to keep an ear to the ground for me while they're out on missions, and Josephine is going to try to get a message to Leliana to help as well."
Solas sat at his desk, "I suppose it's pointless to think that the new Divine will ever give up being a Spymaster."
"It's what she knows best."
"Indeed."
A comfortable silence fell about the room. Andra found herself becoming more aware of the bustling of everyone around them, but more importantly, she finally had a moment to allow her mind to catch up to the present.
In the silence, she thought of her clan.
And also of Calem.
Andra hoped dearly that he could forgive her one day, that he might see the bigger picture and actually understand it. She hoped that they might still be friends, though she would understand if their paths had separated irrevocably. All she wanted for Calem was for him to be happy—without her as a romantic partner. The path Andra walked would hurt him the most, and she would avoid giving him any pain so long as she could help it.
"Shifa, Shifa, ahnsul ane tas felas?" Andra said absently, her mind far away.
Solas chuckled, "Ahnsul, Da'len, eman tel'an telas."
That snapped her out of it.
"Ahn?" She asked.
"You asked me a question."
"I did?"
"A very childlike one." He chuckled again, his amusement reaching all the way to his blue eyes.
"I... You know… I don't remember where I first heard that. Yet it seems so familiar."
"I believe it's a popular child's passage amongst the Dalish. In some alienages too, even."
Andra thought on it for a moment longer but then shook her head. "I don't ever remember anyone in my clan telling it to me…" In the end, she gave up thinking about it.
"So tell me," Andra began, "what are your plans now?" She said it lightheartedly, but the question had been eating away at her.
He thought on it for an excruciatingly long moment before he answered. "I suppose I could begin wandering again. There's still a sea of lost Elvhen knowledge waiting to be recovered." He had picked his words carefully, wanting to gauge Andra's reaction.
Her eyes fell when he finished speaking. "Would it be selfish of me if I asked you to stay?"
"With the Inquisition?" He knew it wasn't what she was asking but he wanted her to say it.
"N-no…" Andra suddenly felt very shy and her face flushed slightly. "I mean… stay here… with me?"
She could have stared into the depths of Solas' eyes for an eternity but still would never understand the emotions she saw dancing within, and the longer he waited to respond, the more she regretted saying anything.
"I don't mean that romantically or anything," she hurried, rubbing at her neck, "just that, we're friends, you know, and I… I enjoy being around you. You're good company, sometimes."
Solas couldn't hold back his laugh, "Te'telisa, I wasn't actually planning on going anywhere anytime soon."
Without realizing she was holding it, Andra released her breath, visibly relieved. "So you'll stick around?"
"For now," he smirked, a knowing in his eyes.
ELVHEN USED:
Mya mar lath'in: "Follow your heart."
Shifa, Shifa, ahnsul ane tas felas?: "Turtle, Turtle, why are you so slow?."
Ahnsul. da'len, eman tel'an telas: "Because, child, I have no place to be."
Ahn?: "What?"
Te'telisa: "Don't worry."
