Hey everyone! Sorry (again) for the absence! Been busy, busy, busy!
Just a quick couple of things: Valania's outfit is the same as Vir Banal'ras (look it up if you guys don't know what it is!) Also, sorry if this chapter seems rushed, I'm suffering from really bad writer's block and it's been really hard to try and get chapters out as quick as I've promised.
Anyways, here it is!
"Da'len, are you sure it's wise to allow the shem to travel with us?"
"I am not going to simply leave someone stranded in the middle of the woods with nothing, Keeper!"
"But Bethany-"
"Ever since she woke up, Bethany has been nothing but grateful. She even helped you heal Feynlen when he got attacked by that bear."
"Of course, but-"
"Beth will be my responsibility. If she starts going on a killing spree, I'll deal with it. Not all shems are the same."
"Dirthmara-ma, da'len."
Hawke, and possibly the rest of the clan, could hear Valania and Keeper Deshanna argue about the 'shem they rescued from getting eaten wolves'. She couldn't blame Deshanna for her suspicious nature towards Hawke, but she couldn't exactly go around killing those who saved her from death. That simply wasn't in her nature, let alone extremely rude.
Valania slumped beside Hawke by the campfire, sighing in frustration as she began helping Hawke prepare elfroot for healing potions.
"How's that ankle, Bethany?"
Hawke bit the inside of her cheek in shame; she didn't know how far the news had spread about Kirkwall and didn't want to risk putting Valania and the other elves in Clan Lavellan in danger. So she gave them a false name to call her by; it didn't help that she gave her sister's name.
"It's healing perfectly well, you're not as useless as most people say you are," Hawke smirked playfully, receiving a laugh and a friendly punch in the arm from Valania in return.
Hawke still couldn't grasp how someone so un-dalish as Valania was compared to the rest of her clan, and she shouldn't get over how Valania was also the First of the Clan Lavellan.
Valania also didn't look like most dalish elves either; her hair was a mass of out-of-control curls that stuck up around her head in a fiery auburn mess, which reminded Hawke of a wildfire. Her black vallaslin resembled Mythal, Valania had explained, which was a delicate array of branches which burst out from the outline of her eyes and covered the majority of her forehead. She also had a little path of branches on her chin, and a single line of black that started from the bottom of her nose and down her lips to meet those branches on her chin.
"Hey Bethany, how did you manage to evade the templars for so long without being caught?"
"Stealth, clever tactics and the art of 'blending in'," Hawke smiled, watching Valania's violet eyes shine with wonder in the moonlight. The rest of the clan had gone to sleep, but a few remained awake to patrol the camp.
"Have you met any other dalish?"
"One of my closest friends was dalish. Her name was Merrill," Hawke stared into the fire as she became full of nostalgia, "She ended up being exiled from her clan and married my brother, who was a Grey Warden. They should both be in Amaranthine by now, or so Merrill's letter said."
Valania's eyes lit up as if she were star-struck as she sighed dreamily, "Wow...Love knows no bounds for you humans then. For us dalish it's a little...Complicated."
"How so?"
Valania peered around, as if looking out for people who may be listening, "The Dalish basically marry for continuing the next generation. Those who show signs of magic are unlikely to marry due to the risk of having a child born with magic, and if there are too many mages, they are abandoned as children. My clan never abandon our mages, we teach them to use a sword or a bow whilst training them to keep their magic under control."
Hawke frowned, "but what of true love, passion and romance?"
Hawke instantly noticed the change in Valania's demeanor; she began to fidget about where she sat, staring into the fire and covering her eyes behind her hair.
"It is very rare for a couple to find that amongst the Dalish, and don't even get me started on the race issue."
Hawke reached out to put her arm around the young mage, knowing that she was struggling to talk about this subject, but decided against it at the last minute. She knew her emotions were still running high, and touching Valania would surely burn her.
"The reason Keeper Deshanna was so against having you join us is because we lost one of our best hunters to a human."
"Lost? As in killed?"
"No. Just like you, the hunter found a human near-death of starvation and he had been attacked by a bear. The Keeper managed to bind his wounds and the hunter brought the human back to camp. The hunter nursed him back to health, and found out he was a hunter as well, so a friendship was quickly formed. As the human began to recover, they went out on hunting trips together, and well...One thing lead to another and our lead hunter found them sharing a tent together."
"What happened after that?"
"The Dalish hunter was exiled from the clan, and the human went with her," Valania's voice cracked slightly as Hawke watched as Valania's hands curled into fists, tugging at her tunic. "That Dalish was my sister. I haven't seen her since the Fifth Blight, and I doubt I will see her again. I do hope she's alright…"
Hawke exhaled quietly before shuffling closer to the dalish elf, and wrapped her arm around the back of her shoulders. A silent signal to Valania that everything will be alright. Despite not knowing each other for very long, the women formed a strong bond; Valania respected Hawke's abilities and loved her sarcasm, whilst Hawke admired Valania's bubbliness and the way that she was open-minded about the world, unlike the rest of her clan.
"Hey Bethany…Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Hawke smiled sadly, "Well, you know I have a brother. His name is Carver, but I also had a sister called...Trinity. She died whilst we escaped Lothering during the Fifth Blight. She was crushed to death by an ogre."
"I'm...I shouldn't have said anything," Valania shuffled to stare deeply into Hawke's eyes, trying to search for any signs that Hawke's emotions were hurt by what she said.
"It's fine, Valania. It was a long time ago."
They both remained completely silent for a few moments, Valania had moved even closer to Hawke that she was practically trying to merge the two of them together. Hawke simply smiled sadly and grabbed the blanket nearest to her and wrapped it around them both. Although Valania didn't specify her age, Hawke could easily guess that she was in her late teens, around eighteen or nineteen years old. Valania reminded Hawke of Winter, but whilst Winter asked completely innocent questions or read up on the world by herself, Valania took advantage of Hawke's knowledge of the world and constantly asked her questions, the majority of them dirty.
"I thought I would find her here," a stern yet soft voice came from behind them, Hawke turned her head and noticed it was Keeper Deshanna.
Hawke smiled, "Aneth ara, Keeper."
The older woman huffed and perched on a stump opposite the fire, and directly in Hawke's line of sight, "Do you even know what that means, shem?"
"Yes, it means 'my safe place'. One of my closest friends is a dalish elf, and she taught me a lot of phrases and when best to use them, and since I feel safe here…" Hawke trailed off with a clever smirk as she watched the smug look Deshanna had on her face quickly turn into one of shock.
Deshanna reminded Hawke of Merrill's clan's old Keeper, Marethari, but she was a lot sterner and seemed to be more wary of outsiders. Which was completely understandable after losing her best hunter to one. The Keeper's sharp features and harsh gaze always hid the warmth behind her eyes and smile that she gave to the rest of her clan, and her greying hair was always tied up in a neat bun.
"Valania belongs with her clan, and I have no intentions of letting her leave like her sister did!" Deshanna snapped, whispering after noticing Valania had fallen soundly asleep beside Hawke, her head resting on Hawke's chest.
"I have no such intentions, Keeper. I would never do that to your clan, I know how much she means to you and Feynlen."
"How did you know-"
"I've learnt a lot over the years by watching people. Feynlen is completely smitten with Valania, but she doesn't bear those feelings for him, and wants to focus on her studies. Whilst you dote on Valania like a mother since she lost hers, and before you ask, Valania told me what happened to her mother."
"Although Valania may trust you, I do not. As soon as your ankle has healed, I expect you to be gone."
"I never intend to take advantage of your...Generous hospitality, Keeper," Hawke said with a smirk before waving to Feynlen, who was out patrolling the camp. He immediately rushed over and smiled warmly when his eyes fell upon Valania's sleeping form.
Feynlen was not the handsomest of elves, and he always seems to have a leaf or twig in his scruffy brown hair. He was also a complete klutz when it came to talking to women, especially Valania. But deep down, the elf was a decent and honest man, who would do anything for his clan.
"Fey! Valania fell asleep on me, could you possibly take her back to her tent? I would carry her myself but my ankle is still pretty bad," Hawke smiled, trying to contain her laughter when she watched the elf go bright red with embarrassment as he stumbled on his words.
"O-Of course, Bethany! Just l-let me…"
Shaking like a leaf, Feynlen reached down and managed to pick Valania up bridal-style. Feynlen's face went as red as Valania's hair, and became even redder when Valania yawned and nuzzled into the young elf's neck. Feynlen muttered a stuttering goodnight before rushing off to put Valania back in her tent.
"Shem- I mean...Bethany."
Hawke's eyebrow quirked upwards in curiosity at the Keeper's change of tone, "Yes, Keeper?"
"Would you care to stay travelling with us until we reach Orlais? Although our healers are very talented, I have never seen such strong and potent healing magic as yours."
"I learned from the best," Hawke smiled sadly, "But I would be honored to travel with you."
Deshanna nodded before leaving Hawke in front of the slowly dying bonfire, bidding her fellow mage goodnight.
The moment she watched Deshanna disappear behind an aravel, Hawke put her head in her hands, her nails digging into her skull as she brought her knees up to her chest. She only needed to make it to Orlais, and Fenris would never be able to find her.
Hawke hide her face behind her hands, steam pouring out of her eyes and the embers of the fire suddenly re-lit again, roaring violently as Hawke began to sob in silence, hoping her emotions wouldn't completely consume her.
She needed help, and that help was hopefully within Orlais.
Elven translation:
Dirthmara-ma: May you learn