Requested by hotrod333 a while back. You go, hotrod333!

For ease of reading – you know the Swahili bit in the song? The Elvhen goes to the tune of that. And yes, it is the Elvish Eulogy. DA Wiki ftw!

He Lives In You (The Lion King II: Simba's Pride) – Alistair & Mahariel

Alistair looked up from where he was prodding the fire uselessly. The witch had sauntered off into the forest, claiming to 'forage for food', though something in Alistair's mind doubted that. Though, Alistair's mind itself was pretty useless at the moment. It was numb, like nothing could penetrate the thick fog of grief and shock that had descended at the woman's words – Duncan was gone. And he wasn't coming back. And Alistair hadn't been there for him when he needed him most.

He looked up, and saw the elf watching him closely. He had noticed that about her; she wasn't one for talking, and even less so with him being human. It seemed she, along with Alistair, hadn't decided if the witch was truly human or not.

He shrugged, trying to act as if the Dalish woman's narrow, unblinking gaze didn't completely unnerve him. "What?" he asked, rolling his shoulders uncomfortably.

"You miss him," came the simple reply.

It took a moment for her words to sink into the fog. "What?" he repeated, stupidly, blinking.

She sighed. "Duncan. You miss him. You wish you'd have been there when he died."

Oh. Alistair merely shrugged again. He seemed to be doing that a lot. "Yes," he grunted, looking down the fire again. He didn't really feel like caring and sharing with someone who insisted on calling him some sort of Elven derogatory term. He was sure of it. "What of it?"

Mahariel raised her eyebrows, but continued to stare. "I know I didn't know the man as you did," she explained, slowly. "But I owe him my life. He was a good man. For a shem," she added quickly, as if too much sympathy for a human was inexcusable. Alistair raised his head to throw a quick glance her way, and her brow furrowed. "Listen, Alistair," she hurried on, shuffling closer to him by the fire, "I know what it's like to lose people you care about. Believe me, I do. Why do you think I'm here?"

He didn't know. He hadn't asked, and she hadn't shared. It was sometimes rude to ask Wardens why and how they'd joined. It wasn't often something you chose out of free will. And he informed her as much.

She smiled sadly. "Well – it's a long story, but I lost… someone very close. And I nearly lost myself. But Duncan saved me, and I'm here with Tamlen in my heart. See? If you never forget, those you love cannot die."

Alistair raised his eyebrows. "And how, pray, does that make sense?" He heard the spite in his words, and cringed. He didn't want to seem like that. He appreciated what the girl was trying to do. Maker knows, he'd never have been able to do something like this without stumbling over his words like the village fool.

Mahariel shrugged, looking into the dying embers of the fire. "There's a saying, among the Dalish," she explained. "Na melana," she chanted, lightly, "sahlin emma ir abelas. Na melana, sahlin emma ir abelas."

Alistair blinked as she turned to look at him. "Night," she breathed. "And the spirit of life, calling – listen now." Alistair looked quizzical, and opened his mouth to speak before she held up a hand to quiet him. "And a voice with the fear of a child answers – oh, listen now."

She motioned to the sky. "The ancestors watch over us," she described. "Those that are gone will always be with us." He nodded, and turned away, thinking her lesson was over.

"Wait!" she gasped, grasping his arm and pulling his gaze back to hers. She watched him with concern in her eyes, and Alistair wondered if she was teaching herself as much as him. "There's no mountain too great," she assured. "Hear these words and have faith – have faith."

She laid a small hand on his broad shoulder. She gazed at him, her expression half concerned, half wondrous. Almost maternal. "He lives in you," she whispered, eyes steadily on his own. "He lives in me. He watches over everything we see." She squeezed his shoulder, motioning around her. "Into the water, into the truth – in your reflection, he lives in you."

She gave his shoulder one final pat, before wandering off into her makeshift tent. Alistair sat, motionless for a moment. He wondered what exactly had just happened, and, more to the point, if he truly believed it. He unsheathed his sword and stared at it for a moment.

Duncan? he asked, distantly, in his mind. No reply came.

Maybe that wasn't what she meant.

Alistair smiled, and watched the final flickers of the campfire ebb into glow.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Howdy, y'all…

So, this would have been up waaaay sooner. I had it all written out pretty, and I had a good two or three extras penned as well. And then what happens? Well, exams first, and that busy but they're all done now. What happened then? BOOM, TECHNOLOGY SUCKS.

I work off an external hard drive, because my laptop's memory is tiny. Everything, and I mean everything, was on that hard drive. And then it stopped working. It's having some sort of existential crisis and doesn't think it has any purpose. I can't remember anything, it doesn't even know its own name. I pity it. Not as much as I pity myself, but I pity it.

This is, in all honesty, the first time I've convinced myself to write again after losing about three TDD ficlets, the first four chapters of a DA AU I've been writing, and a good handful of random drabbles and oneshots from multiple fandoms that needed editing. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T UPLOAD STRAIGHT AWAY D:

So, yes, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I'll try and be quicker next time. (I'm saying that a lot lately.)

Next up: Everyone's favourite apostate explains why he doesn't worry.