Chapter 9: You're Doing it Wrong...
"So what did you whisper to Cullen and Solas last night," questioned Dorian as they exited Skyhold. "Cullen was pretty easy," answered Eka. "I promised him that I would buy him a large box of truffles from Val Royeaux." she said with a giggle.
"As for Solas," she continued, "I pretty much told him that it was a dare. I also may have blown gently into his ear and implied that I would make it up to him later that night if he could behave," she smiled slyly. Dorian smirked as he remarked, "I guess that explains the rapacious look he had. Honestly though, he seems like he would be rather dull in the bedroom. Is that why you never talk about it with me?"
Eka blushed as she replied quietly, "Well... we've been so busy saving the world lately, plus Solas and I haven't exactly gone all the way yet." Dorian laughed incredulously as he remarked, "Seriously?! Not even in the fade? You two have been together at least four or five months now!"
"We have done plenty in the fade, but I told him that I would prefer to save the most intimate stuff for the real world," commented Eka. She added, "He was always so hesitant about everything until just recently. It felt like he was going to push it two nights ago, but I was physically exhausted. I likely would have fallen asleep in the middle of it."
Dorian chuckled loudly at the thought and said sarcastically, "oh no, his poor massive ego. How tragic that he might be knocked down a few pegs." Eka looked at Dorian and retorted, "Have you looked into a mirror lately? You both have massive egos. In fact, I'm pretty convinced that your egos are the reason that you two get along so poorly," she scolded.
Dorian answered smugly, "I look in the mirror every day, thank you. How else would I look so fabulous? Your hobo boyfriend, on the other hand... Does he even own a mirror?" As Eka glared at him, he grinned and said, "I know you're correct, but I simply can't resist teasing him. In all seriousness, we've always had each others' backs when it really counted in combat."
After about an hour, they finally reached a flat area about halfway down the mountain that was spotted with bushes, yellow wildflowers, and a few pine trees. "This looks like a good place to stop," announced Eka. "Indeed," responded Dorian as he stopped to tie up his horse. Since they started pretty late, they only had about three hours to practice before the sun would start setting.
Eka started small. She would fade step and shadow cloak about five yards at first, through the smaller bushes and flowers. Then she increased the distance to ten yards and then fifteen. She noticed that the further she would fade step, the more unpredictable her spirit cloak duration would be. It was normally about five seconds long, but when used with her fade step, it was anywhere between one second and ten seconds.
After about an hour of practice, Eka sat down next to Dorian for a quick break. "I need to pass through something solid, like these trees," she stated as she drank some water. "Please do be careful and don't push yourself too far," pleaded Dorian. "Your hobo kindly reminded me that I'm responsible for any accidents, no matter how small." Eka chuckled a bit as she said, "I guess it's good to know that he cares, but honestly, we risk our lives every day and get hurt all the time. He should be used to it by now."
Eka stood about five yards away from a large pine tree. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and blinked right through the tree. Dorian cheered and clapped. Eka repeated the action over the next thirty minutes or so and then walked over to Dorian for another break.
"So how does it work," asked Dorian. Eka thought about it for a minute and then explained, "I close my eyes and focus on a location, then I move very fast, like flying at an incredibly high speed. If I leave my eyes open, everything goes by in a blur. I'm having issues with controlling the distance and spirit cloak duration, though. The further I go, the less precise I seem to become. I want the two moves to be more synergistic with each other so I can control them better."
Dorian nodded and said, "Sorry I can't really help much. I'm all about raw energy and force." Eka grinned at him. "So dare I ask how many times you have electrocuted yourself?" Dorian's eyes glanced up as he grinned and thought about it before he finally answered, "Honestly, it's been so many times that I can't recall. What I told you in the tavern was the worst experience, but I've done it enough to be almost used to it," he snickered.
Eka got up and decided to try for a larger distance, since they only had about an hour left. She was going to try for twenty yards. There was a group of three trees in the middle of her path with two at each end. Dorian watched intently as she disappeared and then reappeared about thirty yards away almost instantly. She smiled as she heard the applause coming from Dorian. "That was fantastic," he bellowed.
She had succeeded, but she had overshot her target by ten yards. Eka decided to try again in the opposite direction. She focused on the area where she wanted to go and then closed her eyes and disappeared. To Dorian's dismay, she reappeared about fifteen yards away, slamming her face into a pine tree with a loud thud that sent chills down his spine. She then crumpled towards the ground.
Dorian sprinted over to her as fast as possible in hopes that she was alright. She was completely unconscious when he reached her. At first glance, he could see that her nose was broken, and there was blood gushing from two huge gashes across her right eyebrow and forehead. He was horrified at the amount of blood emerging from her nose and eyebrow as he leaned down to check her vitals. Her pulse was still strong and she was breathing – a good sign.
He sat against the tree and laid Eka upright against his chest so the blood could drain from her nose. He then pulled off his robes and turned them inside out to clean her up. He dabbed her face lightly, afraid that he might inflict further damage. As he held her nervously, wondering if she had some sort of brain damage, he wished that he had known healing magic.
What if she never wakes up, he thought to himself in a panic. He felt helpless and wished that Solas was there with them. Solas would have known exactly what to do. If she didn't wake up soon, he would have no choice but to carry her back unconscious. He hurriedly and repeatedly called her name as he waited nearly fifteen minutes for her to wake up.
She finally opened her eyes to see the fearful expression on Dorian's face. "Ugh, that tree really had it out for me," she said with a smile, trying to ease his nerves. As she smiled, her face contorted in pain. "Don't move," ordered Dorian, who promptly made her follow his fingers with her eyes and then answer questions to establish that she wasn't brain-damaged. She was in a lot of pain and a little disoriented, but she knew the more important information – her name, the day, why they were halfway down the mountain.
"I can only imagine what I look like right now," she commented as she reached her hands to her face. Eka could feel that her skull was fractured above her right eyebrow, and she wasn't sure about her nose because it hurt so badly that she refused to touch it. Dorian still had a troubled look on his face as he answered, "You have a broken nose, both of your eyes are bright purple, and the gashes on your face are covered in blood. We should get you back as soon as possible."
Dorian helped her to her red hart and then put his blood-covered robe back on as he mounted up. "I need you to keep talking with me all the way home," Dorian requested. Eka chuckled gently and replied, "It could be worse. I could have come out here alone and woken up in my own urine and had to walk home with my hair standing up." Dorian was in no mood to laugh and responded quite joylessly, "or you could have been eaten by wolves." "Please try not to worry too much," Eka requested. "It hurts, but all of my brain functioning seems in tact."
They were halfway home when Dorian said nervously, "So what do you think Solas will do to me when I bring you back in that condition?" Dorian noticed that Eka's speech was a little slower than usual as she said, "It was my fault. He can't possibly blame this on you. It's not like you can control my magic or the risks I take."
"I'm pretty sure he will try to kill me, especially after what he told me earlier," Dorian responded. "You really should be more careful, Eka. You push yourself too hard sometimes," he added.
After another twenty minutes, Dorian noticed that Eka had stopped talking. "Are you alright," he asked as he rode next to her. She was staring blankly forward and swaying mildly as she said, "No." Her headache was worse, she was dizzy, extremely tired, and her vision was getting blurry. "Something is wrong. We need to get back immediately," she slurred.
Dorian was filled with dread. "Please keep talking. We will be there shortly," he encouraged. She kept talking, but the more she spoke, the less sense she began to make. Dorian could tell that she was in danger and really started to worry again.
They approached the gates and rode straight to the front steps of Skyhold. Eka was barely conscious when Dorian lifted her off of her mount and ran up the stairs with her in his arms. Solas almost jumped out of his chair when he heard Dorian scream his name as the door to his study was flung open. Dorian set her down on the couch in front of an alarmed Solas, who took one look at her battered face and screamed, "What did you do?!"
At this point Dorian was almost hysterical as he spoke hurriedly, "She hit a tree, but she was fine when we left. This just began ten or fifteen minutes ago. She started slurring her words and said there was something wrong." As Solas looked into Eka's eyes, he noticed that they were moving erratically and barely responsive to stimuli. She recognized him and gently squeezed his hand. "Sol.." was all she got out as she closed her eyes and started to drift into unconsciousness.
"VHENAN, you need to stay with us," Solas yelled, jolting her awake once more. "Please let me hear your lovely voice," he pleaded as tears began streaming down his face. Eka very quietly started muttering nonsensical words. Solas turned to Dorian and said sternly, "I need you to hold her steady and upright. DO NOT let her go to sleep! Her skull is fractured, and she has a massive concussion," Solas exclaimed through terror-stricken, teary eyes.
"But you can fix this, right, and she'll wake up normal tomorrow? She was just talking to me as if everything was fine," Dorian whimpered. "I do not know," Solas muttered, not wanting to reveal the full gravity of the situation, "But I need you to do everything you can to keep her steady, awake, and speaking for as long as possible."
As Solas healed her, Dorian held her up and kept her talking for nearly an hour. He sang to her and even prayed out loud, which was a huge surprise for Solas. Finally she lost consciousness, and Dorian began to panic again. "It's alright," Solas responded quietly. "I am almost done healing the cause of the concussion. We will just have to hope that she is alright when she wakes up."
Lacerations and minor bruises were child's play compared to fixing broken bones. Bones took hours to repair, and about six hours in, Dorian apologized to Solas. "You should have been with her instead of me. I couldn't do anything when she knocked herself out on that tree. I should have made her slow down..." Dorian trailed off. Solas sighed and shook his head. "This is just as much my fault as it is yours," he replied dejectedly. "I know that she pushes herself too hard, and I know that you are useless as a healer, yet I allowed her to leave."
Both Solas and Dorian adored Eka and were still quite worried. As much as the two argued with each other, they always worked well together when it really mattered. "What ever will we do with her," Dorian stated affectionately as he brushed her hair back behind her ears. "Solas smiled gently and replied, "I do not know what you will do, but I have already accepted that she will be my undoing. Perhaps you should do the same."
Dorian cringed at the loud pop when Solas set her broken nose. That was by far one of the worst noises he had ever heard, and the sound resonated in his ears throughout the night. Solas worked on Eka for nearly twelve hours straight, only stopping once for a bathroom and water break. Dorian stayed by his side as his assistant throughout the duration, handing him various medicines, cloths, and other tools.
When they had finished, she still had two black eyes, but the gashes in her head were sealed, her nose was realigned, and her fractured skull was mended. Solas bent down and kissed her forehead before carrying her to her bed. Dorian quietly followed.
They were both exhausted, but neither of the men wanted to leave her side. "I'll take the first watch if you want to rest and seek her out in the fade," Dorian volunteered. "Thank you. Please wake me in three hours," Solas responded as he crawled into bed next to Eka and drifted to sleep.
She was always easy to find because her spirit was like a shining beacon of light – always brighter than all of the others. When he approached, Solas noticed that she was sitting next to a large lake surrounded by trees, staring at her reflection.
"Vhenan," he whispered as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him inquisitively with her beautiful bright blue eyes and replied, "I am quite confused. There is no wind here, yet the water is rippling and distorting my reflection. I can't see my face."
This slightly worried Solas, who sat down next to her and questioned, "Do you know who I am, ma vhenan?" Eka smiled and replied, "Solas, emma lath (my love), how could I ever forget you?" He smiled lovingly as she reached over and took his hand in hers and kissed it. She commented, "I don't feel normal. Something is different... wrong, but I can't seem to figure it out. My head is foggy."
"What do you remember," Solas asked as he lightly rubbed her back, trying to jog her memory and ascertain her mental state. "I remember waking up next to you this morning and being quite happy," she said with a grin. "Then I was outside with Dorian. Then I was back on my red hart and heading home."
He kissed her gently on the forehead and then asked, "Do you remember anything else, perhaps an accident?" "No," she replied, "But I do remember trying to make Dorian laugh on the way back to Skyhold and failing. He was really worried about something and kept asking me to talk to him for some reason."
"Think back to before that, vhenan. Do you remember why he was worried?" She considered the question for a minute before responding, "Hmm... Dorian said something about you killing him when we came back. Are you two fighting again?" Solas chuckled briefly as he said, "Not any more than usual."
"Wait, that part was later," she interjected. "I remember opening my eyes, and I was in his lap looking up at his face – that same worried look. I said something about a tree having it out for... Wait. THE TREE! That's right! I hit my head on a tree," she exclaimed excitedly."
"Well done, vhenan," praised Solas, as he elaborated, "Dorian carried you inside, but you were beat up and barely responsive. You had a massive concussion, and the two of us just spent the last twelve hours healing you."
Eka looked into Solas' eyes with an expression of deep concern as she asked, "Is there something horribly wrong with me? Is that why you're here?" Solas embraced her affectionately as he answered, "I believe you will be fine, vhenan. You were able to recall much of what happened, which is a good sign that you do not have brain damage."
Solas kissed her lips briefly, then got up and pulled her to her feet. They walked hand in hand along the water conversing about the events of the day until Solas was awakened by Dorian.
Dorian was wide-eyed and anxious as Solas shrugged off the last remnants of sleep. "Did you see her? Was she alright," Dorian pleaded. Solas looked up at him and immediately grinned as he responded, "I believe she will be just fine."
Dorian let out a long sigh of relief and then curled up at the foot of the bed. He was exhausted and fell asleep almost instantly. Solas traced Eka's valloslin and lightly combed his fingers through her hair. Though he didn't always get along with Dorian, Solas was glad that Eka had him as a friend. Despite his eccentric personality, he was quite loyal and truly cared for her, he decided.
Eka woke up a few hours later to their smiling faces. "I knew you two would eventually find some common ground," she grinned slyly. Dorian chuckled as he responded, "And you missed all of the excitement, Eka! We got naked together and held hands in the forest, and Solas showed me the secret dances to make trees and flowers grow. It was delightful."
Solas said nothing but arched one of his brows as he looked at Dorian perplexedly. "I love you two so much," Eka declared contentedly as she reached for Solas' hand. She really did love them, each in their own way, and she realized that she would do almost anything for either of them.