So, finally, some action and stories by the fire :)
Enjoy. Any feedback is welcome as always :)
Falherna hunkered down, forming the snowball in her hands, she looked around with a smile. The search for Adan's notes took her only a few minutes, so she decided to wander among the trees enjoying the moment of solitude and silence. People were so overwhelming.
After a brief visit to the apothecary to finally deliver the promised notes, she passed by Solas wordless, occupied with her own thoughts, and she strode towards the main gate to find more challenging activities. In the villages like Haven, there were many people that could use her aid. She just needed to find them.
A group of children was racing around in a snowball fight. Falherna looked at them with a smile. Their giggles, roars, and laughter were filling the air, changing the atmosphere in the village to the one slightly brighter and optimistic.
Upon approaching the tavern, something hit her arm when she was just by the tavern's door. The group of kids dispersed immediately leaving only one blond girl on the path. Falherna smiled at her as she brushed the snow from her cloak.
A girl seemed stunned, probably because she knew she hit Herald of Andraste by mistake.
"I don't mind. Don't be afraid. Can I play?" she spoke gently while the girl glanced at her with wide-open eyes. The child nodded after a while with a tiny smile forming in the corners of her little mouth.
Falherna quickly bent grabbing the snow in her hands and throwing the snowball too low, missing the target intentionally.
A several, small heads peeped out from the nearest bushes and the corner of the building.
"Your turn. Catch me!" Falherna laughed as she looked at the small figures staring at her with curiosity. She turned around in one, smooth move. The snow crunched under her boots as she started to run towards the stairs leading to the Solas' cottage. A snowball reached her leg and she heard a roar of victory behind her back.
The children chased off after her with loud laughter and screams.
Falherna unbuckled her cloak flinging it off from her shoulders while the two snowballs missed her arm and her head. She dodged a little bit as she covered the length of the stairs with two frisks.
Solas sent her a surprised glance when she almost run him off throwing her cloak at him.
"Hold it for me, please" she requested not slowing her pace. His fingers met hers left hand for a second and the mark flashed shortly.
Something hissed in the air and she looked over her shoulder. The snowball meant for her hit Solas straight into his bald head. The snow splashed and settled on his shoulders. She snorted loudly when he wiped the snow from his pointy ears with a grin and sent her a short gaze full of disapproval. He stomped into his hut slamming the door and dislodging more snow, which caused a loud burst of a laughter from her mouth.
Falherna turned with a broad smile, focusing on the path while she dodged again and ran behind the apothecary's building hearing children steps getting closer.
The tingling in her hand drew her attention while she ran towards the Chantry.
How strange, she thought. The mark responded at Solas' touch. She wondered if it would react the same way to any other touch.
Her foot tripped over a small stone, Falherna flew forward outstretching her hands in front of her in an attempt to amortize the fall. She landed on her palms, feeling a stab of intense pain in her arms, and she winced. The worst damage was averted and yet she would probably feel this for a while. Behind her, the joyous screams of the kids grew louder. Falherna's face quickly changed to a grin, and she rolled herself over on her back, allowing the group of four children which now surrounded her to jump on her with screams.
Only those small creatures were able to live without concerns or classifications. They were pure, innocent and honest. The title, race, or age were insignificant, unnoticeable for them.
Their laughter followed by her own filled the air as she started to tickle the boy who kept the snowball in his hand, readying himself to rub it into her cheeks. Falherna moved again drawing children with her carefully as they shouted in delight.
"Children?! ... What ... Why... What is this?" a voice screeched suddenly. The blond-haired girl disentangled herself suddenly from Falherna's arms standing up with fright in her big eyes.
Two boys and the other girl joined her throwing the snowballs behind them.
"Come on over here right now!" Lavellan turned her head to locate the source of the voice. The brown-haired woman with one hand on her massive hips was pointing with her finger to the place next to her leg.
Falherna stood up slowly and looked at the girl's mother "We were just playing..." she started politely while the woman's eyes widened as she strode towards.
"Lady Herald! Forgive me!" she shrieked bowing low while her voice reached high tones.
Lavellan tilted her head "Please, call me Falherna. It's my name" she stated calmly predicting that the statement will be ignored. Still, she tried.
"Oh... forgive me, my lady. They will not trouble you again, Lady Herald" the woman lowered her gaze shyly and grabbed her daughter by the arm calling other three kids to go with her.
"They were not troubling me" she murmured cleaning the remnants of the snow from her ponytail and armor and looking with sadness as the woman lead the children away. She could hear how their mother explained to them that they cannot play with Herald.
The girl looked over her shoulder and waved quickly at Falherna.
Lavellan smiled and waved back. She shook her head sighing.
People gathered at the Chantry entrance were observing her intensively. Some of them with shock, some with surprise.
"What happened?" Varric appeared suddenly next to her looking at the woman and children.
"It looks like they can't play with the Herald anymore." she answered with a bitter smile.
"Are we leaving already?" she asked looking at the sky and the position of the sun.
"Yes, Cassandra can't wait" Varric laughed "Clearly she likes to get her hands dirty considering what is happening in The Hinterlands"
"Oh, I got you this" he looked at her handing her the cloak.
"Ah, thank you" Falherna pushed it over her shoulders "I will gather my things, Varric." she strode to her cottage leaving the dwarf behind.
Moments of happiness were disappearing so quickly. It seemed she would be deprived of it for as long as the Breach was in the sky and she was trapped in Haven.
They were marching over an hour in complete silence. There was no sound but the sound of their own feet, the dull stump of Varric's dwarf-boots, the heavy tread of Cassandra leading at the front, the light steps of Solas' bare feet behind her and the slow firm footfalls of her own. Falherna's eyes glinted in the bright light as she turned her head from side to side scanning the trees.
The first body they discovered around noon. The sight of the dead rarely shook Falherna. Her gaze passed over most of them with indifference. But not today. The boy couldn't have even been thirteen years old. He lay on his back, legs wide apart, the grimace of terror frozen on his lips. The arrow had pierced his eye and penetrated deep into the skull through his once blue eye. That could mean the child had died on the spot, that he had not suffered and he probably hadn't even seen death coming. This was a small blessing.
Falherna looked around quickly. Cassandra found a second arrow, identical, stuck in the trunk of a pine tree, about six steps back. She understood what had happened. The childboy had not noticed the warning, probably shocked by the whistle and the impact of the arrow, he had taken off running in the wrong direction. Not stupid, just scared.
"Bandits" The Seeker hissed under her breath hunkering next to the tree and looking at the companions.
Falherna nodded "In the past they would have given the kid a warning, maybe even two..." she sighed examining the body "But that was in the past before they thought the world was ending." tears formed under her eyelids. She blinked quickly.
Solas moved cautiously, but swiftly, inspecting the tracks around the boy.
"Tracks are fresh" he murmured. Falherna straightened and came closer to him "I believe the boy at such young age would not travel alone" he added touching the footprint on the ground.
"Shit! What a mess" they've heard Varric's voice "And I thought that this fucking breach is our only problem".
Falherna looked at the dwarf over her shoulder. He was pacing uneasily looking around.
"How naive of you, Storyteller," she said, turning her head to look at The Seeker "Cassandra, what do you see?"
"Four men, I would say, Herald" the woman stated circling the tree "I agree with Solas. The boy must have been traveling with someone adult".
They followed the tracks in silence when suddenly Falherna stood up as her gaze rushed towards the nearby bushes. The chirp of birds, the sound of leaves touched with a blow of the wind and the hum of the stream suddenly seemed to be hushed.
She tilted her head closing her eyes.
"What now?" Varric asked. His deep voice sounded too loud in the silence around them.
"Quiet" she requested listening intently. Her quick ears caught sound in the woodland below. She stiffened. There was a moan, and among it, to her horror, she could distinguish the harsh voices of men.
"Solas" she whispered opening her eyes and looking at the elf "You have far better hearing than I..." he interrupted with a whisper narrowing his eyes.
"A moan behind the bushes, there" he raised his hand pointing to a place twenty steps ahead "and a laughter".
Falherna looked at Varric and Cassandra "Slowly and quietly" she said, "We must be prepared there are more than four of them".
Cassandra nodded with fierce expression adjusting the sword in her hand. Varric readied Bianca holding her firmly. Falherna's fingers tightened on her staff as they started to prowl.
The woman lay on the ground. Her skirt was dirty with blood, mud and tore along the left leg. Straps of her linen blouse were cut open. She lay on the ground, her face was sheltered by the tangled mass of her hair. Falherna could not tell if the woman was still breathing.
Four of the bandits were laughing and joking as they secured their leather armor into place. "Boss, wanna bet that was Jimmy's first pussy?".
They roared with laughter uncaring for the small whimpers from the prone woman that was their victim. The scent of sex hung in the air as the remaining two bandits, slowly laced their breeches with satisfied grins smeared across their faces. It was not hard to guess what had transpired.
Falherna felt the wave of rage, closing her eyes for a second and pressing her finger to the bridge of her nose she inhaled sharply.
"We must help her" she heard Solas' voice next to her. Her gaze met his steel-blue eyes.
"I know" she whispered back "But the worst had happened already".
"Death is the worst. She can yet survive this." Cassandra whispered in horror.
"No," Falherna said quietly, observing their surroundings „Death would be preferable here. I would not want to live after this."
She looked around examining their position.
"Varric, I need you to shoot as many as you can" she requested quietly. The rage did not want to disappear. She felt a cold, heavy knot in her breastbone.
"I can take down three of those fuckers, Brighteyes" Varric looked at her and she could see the tension in his jaw, the fire in his eyes.
She nodded to him and looked at Cassandra "Seeker..." her voice cracked. Falherna paused to calm down her nerves. She cleared her throat "when Varric will take them down we charge. We must split first."
Cassandra nodded to the nearby bushes to their left "I will go there. They cannot see us, let's use it."
"Go" Falherna agreed.
She looked at Solas. „You and I stay here." He nodded grimly.
The woman's moan cut through the air. Falherna peeped out from their hideout. The victim tried to sit just to sink back into the mud with a shriek. "Little rabbit cunt doesn't know when to stay down!" the men laughed then the biggest one sent her a kick in the stomach.
Falherna's jaw tightened as she withdrew slightly and looked at Solas and Varric.
"Varric, there is no time to waste. You must shoot from here" she said decidedly and stood up walking from behind the bushes.
The dwarf changed his position kneeling on the ground and taking out the Bianca.
"Ready when you are" he stated not taking his eyes from the bandits.
"Solas, we must surprise them and get closer. They are going to be stunned for only a few seconds," she looked at the apostate. His eyes seemed navy-blue, his expression was motionless.
"Herald, I assure you, this day is the last one for them" he hissed.
"Varric, five steps" Falherna sent him a brief gaze as she left their cover.
No other explanations were needed considering she have done it with the dwarf many times before. She focused her gaze on the men as she started to prowl towards them with Solas next to her.
Arrow came whistling in, finding the target in a blink of an eye. The bearded man fell down, killed on the spot, an arrow struck deep in his neck. Falherna looked at the other five men hearing another two arrows fired by Varric. Before men recognized the situation they were in and the danger the two of them that were un-armored fell dead each by a single whistling bolt.
Cassandra hewed the legs from under another one and plunged the sword in his chest. Solas knocked out the fourth bandit from his feet with a fire blast while Varric finished him with two shots into the neck joint of the armor.
"Not another step" Fal growled to the last remaining bandit. Diving under Varric's sudden blow with surprising speed he draw a bow and fitted an arrow with hands. He shot. Cassandra lifted her shield, the arrow struck it and fell harmlessly to the ground.
Falherna counted the steps between her and the man and the time that he needed to prepare another shot. Very slowly she took out the small knife from the pocket in her belt and hid it under her cloak's sleeve. The man looked at her but only for a second. His gaze was restlessly following Cassandra, Varric, Solas and herself as he tried to fit another arrow onto the dilapidated bow.
Falherna fade-stepped towards him tightening her fingers on the knife. She felt his breath on her neck when he slid down slowly grabbing her arm. She pulled out the knife gently from the man's neck, freeing her arm from shemlen's disgusting touch. Blood rushed from his mouth as he uttered his last grunt.
"How is she?" Falherna looked at Cassandra who kneeled next to the woman's body. She cleaned the blade wiping it in bandit's pants. She hid it and walked over to Cassandra.
"Dead" Seeker sighed heavily "Let the Maker take you into his blessed embrace" she added quietly glancing at woman's face.
Falherna was dimly grateful. Death was the best solution for the poor woman. The best escape.
She was taken up with the pain in her chest. She tried to make her legs go, but her legs would not oblige. She closed her eyes, breathing slowly, her toes and fingers felt numb.
She opened her eyes catching the sight of Solas and Varric standing next to her with heads bowed in grief.
"Perhaps we should bury them" Varric proposed quietly.
Falherna nodded then she turned around looking to the East.
"We have passed one cottage" her eyes rested on Cassandra "I will go back there and ask someone to lend us a shovel".
The Seeker agreed and asked Solas to help her with the bodies.
"We will bury them together, where the boy was killed, Herald." black-haired woman sent her sad glance.
"Alright. I will be back soon," she answered quickly, striding towards the main road. She needed to be alone. Emotions crushed her mind. Her heart. Cruelty. Such purposeless cruelty was terrifying. It felt like a nightmare that coils around your brain. Black, suffocating and fatiguing; and despite her fear to admit it she knew it was only the beginning. There would be more children, mothers and fathers killed, assailed or robbed without any reasons or motives.
"Brighteyes, want some company?" Varric's voice reached her ears. She came to a halt and looked at him over her shoulder.
"No" her answer sounded more curt than she had intended. The dwarf looked at her for a while wordlessly. Finally, he nodded and left her joining Cassandra and Solas instead.
Falherna turned her head as she strode forward wiping discreetly the tear from her cheek.
"This camp will be useful" Varric looked around kicking the half-burnt wood pieces.
The moon had set when they killed another three bandits who tried to rob them. Only twice in the day's march had they rested for a brief while. The trees rustled. There were no other sounds.
"We need fresh wood to set a fire" Cassandra stated with tiredness in her voice. She opened the tent's flap and looked inside "They have one spare bedroll" she informed after a while.
"Good. I will go gather some then" Falherna nodded leaving her stuff next to a tree trunk.
Varric and Cassandra were already cleaning up the old campfire. Solas took off his backpack and opened it searching for the stock of food they took from Haven.
Falherna plunged between the trees and worked quickly and carefully.
She was listening intently at the same time searching for any signs of Fen's presence.
Where are you, Fen? she thought. Are you safe? Are you looking for me too?
She shook her head picking up another branch as she directed her steps back to the camp with a pile of wood in her hands.
The night was dark and windy, the crowns of the surrounding pine trees rustled steadily, their branches and trunks creaking in the wind. Beside Falherna, the campfire flickered with light and warmth.
"What you said earlier, over the grave of the mother and son, was very nice" she looked at Solas when they prepared a meal. The elf returned her gaze, the flame of the campfire sparkling in his eyes.
"It gave them a little comfort, but thank you" he answered simply, averting his glance as he took another sip of water. She looked at his profile for a while. He was not very fond of her, and that caused tiny stings in her heart.
"True." the Seeker said looking into the flames "At least we could bury them".
Varric sighed loudly "Wanna hear a story? To feel ease?" he smiled.
Falherna leaned over the trunk behind her "The one about stabbing Varric's book seems very exciting" she chuckled winking at Varric.
"Ugh," Cassandra grunted wrinkling her nose.
"Do not even remind me" Varric looked at Fal refilling his mug "It is good I had a copy of that masterpiece".
Falherna snorted and looked at Cassandra "Thank you, Seeker".
"For?" the woman's brow lifted.
"For choosing this trash over Varric's back, of course," she chuckled again sitting cross-legged and untangling her ponytail.
"Trash?!" Varric sent her a gaze full of disbelief.
"Well," she winked at him brushing her hair "It wasn't the work of your life, Storyteller".
"Herald..." Cassandra got closer to the campfire and looked at her "Is that real teeth?" she pointed to her neck.
Falherna lowered her head taking the necklace in her fingers.
"Wolf's teeth, Seeker" she answered quietly raising her head and meeting Solas gaze. He seemed surprised.
"Wolf's? How did you get it if I may ask?" curiosity glimmered in Cassandra's eyes.
"That will be interesting" Varric laughed lying on the bedroll with his hands behind his head, staring at the stars.
Falherna frowned before she started to speak "Long time ago, it belonged, to the wolf who was my and my father's friend" she rubbed the teeth with her thumb while her gaze became unseeing.
"The wolf was your friend?" Cassandra blurted out the question full of shock and uncertainty as if she was not completely sure she had heard Falherna correctly.
Varric laughed again looking at Fal.
"Tell me, Brighteyes how is it that everyone reacts the same way when you tell this story?".
"Solas, you are not taken aback by it?" Cassandra looked at the apostate.
Fal's gaze turned towards him. He was smiling slightly.
"Should I be, Seeker?" he asked calmly looking at Cassandra "People cannot befriend to animals?" he glanced at Falherna "I knew mages who had the ability to summon different creatures to fight alongside them. Do you have it too, da'len?".
"My father had it. I don't." her eyes lingered on his face long enough to make him uncomfortable.
"Imagine, Seeker, my own consternation when I saw Lavellan for the first time" Varric stood up and came closer to the campfire and sat nearby Falherna "She was ambling around the Dalish clan with a huge, grey wolf next to her" he took a piece of meat from the grate and sank his teeth in it.
A soft smile appeared on Falherna's lips when she recalled the memory "Fen is beautiful, isn't he?".
"Fen? You named your wolf Fen?" Cassandra's eyes were wide-opened as she leaned slightly towards Fal.
She felt the urge to chuckle, but she held it back and explained firmly.
"He is not mine. He is free. However, we are bound by an indestructible bond. When I met him, he was wounded and alone. He was trapped in shemlen's snares," she talked quietly and calmly giving herself away to memories. She could hear Fen's jerky howls and growls when he tried to free his leg only to deepen the wound "His heart was bleeding with sadness, loneliness and separation from the pack, I could see it in his eyes and hear it in his yelps. I saved him, took him to my camp, healed him and let him go because he deserved to be free. Like any other creature in this world".
Falherna sighed softly and continued "For some reason, for several weeks I could feel him behind my back... he kept his distance, he watched me from afar, until he became familiar with my scent. I suspected he felt bound to me somehow. I knew that eventually he would approach me and I was patient. When the wolf marks you, in any way, you are his forever" she added the last sentence more to herself than to her companions.
There was a silence broken only by their breaths. Solas looked at her intensely and, this time, he did not turn his eyes.
"That sounds like a description of a man you love," Cassandra noted after a while.
"Well, Fen is male" Falherna smiled at the woman taking a sip of tea "and I love him. Wolves are my favorite animals" she paused to avoid revealing everything and she sent a brief gaze towards Solas. He seemed to absorb every word. She cleared her throat.
"They are strong yet gentle. Clever, intelligent, practical, but also possessive, they don't like to share what they consider as theirs. Like men" she shrugged her arms and fixed her eyes on the flames poking the wood with her boot.
Cassandra rubbed her hands lost in thought.
"Oh finally, you finished" Varric mocked her smiling "You almost put me to sleep with this moving story, Fal".
She nodded with a small smile "I suspected that much".
"I never understood this..." he paused raising his hands in search of a proper word "let's not be afraid to say it out loud, your obsession with wolves. I don't know why you are confusing it with love" his smile became broader and his brows lifted in a grin of satisfaction.
"Those terms are not so far from each other, Master Tethras" they heard suddenly Solas's voice. His tone caused goosebumps on her arms.
It was very dark, but her half-even eyes saw him clearly, with every detail. He watched the fire frowning as if he was haunted by unwanted thoughts. She wanted to reach out to him and take his hand. She wanted to touch the pendant on his neck and ask about its story. Was it wolfish like hers? Was it the remnant of his wolf friend? Was it a gift? Or only an object?
Instead, Fal averted her gaze and stood up brushing off the dirt from her pants.
"If you allow me I will go to meditate" she looked at Cassandra waiting for approval, but the Seeker seemed taken aback.
"Seeker, if I would wish to flee I would have done that a few days ago" Fal assured the woman holding her gaze as long as it was required for the awaited nod to appear.
Solas lay motionless with his hands folded upon his chest, his eyes open, staring at the dark sky.
The Seeker already occupied the tent and Varric joined Lavellan who sat nearby meditating. Solas turned his head only to see her long, red hair and straightened back.
"Brighteyes" Solas observed as Varric sat next to her looking at her face "Hey, don't pretend you cannot hear me. I know this trick of yours" the dwarf waved with his hand in front of Lavellan's face. There was no reaction, not even a flinch.
He looked back at the sky. He could not sleep despite all the wonders waiting for him in the Fade. Usually, he was asleep in seconds, but not tonight. Tonight his mind was racing. He felt frustrated.
"Are you ok?" he heard a concern in Varric's voice.
"I am" the answer appeared sudden. Solas, apparently not able to control his own body, looked at her again. Nothing changed in her form. She was fully focused. It has been ages since he saw this kind of focus.
"Are you ok, Varric?" she asked. Her tone was calm, cadenced.
"I have wanted to ask you..." the dwarf paused and looked straight at Solas, but the apostate knew he cannot see him in the dark.
"Ask then"
"Remember that song..." Varric started to speak, but Lavellan interrupted him.
"The one I sang to you sometimes when you felt overwhelmed by the events we have experienced, but you did not want to admit it because real men struggle with emotions differently?" she breathed deeply and slowly, then turned her head to look at the dwarf.
Solas narrowed his eyes examining her profile. Such a mystery she was. He had great talent to judge characters, but not this one. Not hers.
Varric snorted "Yeah, this one. You are insufferable" he shook his head.
Lavellan hugged him kissing the dwarf's cheek. Solas growled quietly changing his position. He needed some rest.
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must - but don't you quit.
Life is queer with it's twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out,
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow
You might succeed with another blow.
Her soft, vibrant and clear voice reached his ears and he caught his breath gustily. Right then, in this moment, he recognized her voice. He heard it long, long time ago during his lonely wanderings although, the song was unknown to him.
How confusing. Why would he recognize it? He had never met Lavellan before.
Solas closed his eyes, squeezing his eyelids tighter, trying to repel the heavy, alien feeling in his chest.
Words of the song came from a poem "Persist" by unknown author.
