Siara felt her legs give go from underneath her, the world below her falling away. The snow behind them was now above them, nothing but hard stone ground beneath. She spun in the air until she was facing back where they had fallen from, seeing the snow cascading down towards her and Jacquelyn. Panic filled her, flooding her veins, her heart pounding in her chest. She stretched out her hand as though begging it to stop, as though the simple action could stop the snow from burying them alive. Next thing she knew, a frozen sensation shot along her arm and out her fingertips, the beam colliding with something. Then her head struck hard ground, and she was no longer aware of the cold around her.
Jacen looked up at the ice layer between the unconscious women and who knew how much snow. What had happened was impressive, and very quick thinking, but there was a part of him that just knew that something was wrong. Something wasn't normal. Like the ice shouldn't have been possible. For a moment he just stood there admiring the weaving, almost web-like patterns in the ice, just thinking. Then he turned to where Jacquelyn and Siara lay, both unconscious. He could already see blood trickling out onto the stone ground around Siara's head, though thankfully she wasn't bleeding too much. He would have a closer look, but since he wasn't completely a part of this world anymore, touching people was a bit difficult.
He let his attention turn to Jacquelyn, walking over to get a better look. On the surface she looked all right, but she was wearing armour, so he couldn't get a full idea of what was wrong. Her face was already beginning to bruise, however, and she looked like she hadn't fallen too well. But she, too, was breathing. She was still alive. That was what mattered. A sigh escaped Jacen and he looked up once again to the layer of ice between them and the snow, frowning. That ice still felt off. Wrong. Like it didn't fit with what he knew. He shook his head, then found somewhere to sit and wait for the women to wake up. There was nothing else he could do.
Dread filled Cullen as he listened to what Dorian, Bull, and Varric had to say about what had happened. Varric seemed as concerned as Cullen felt, though he didn't quite understand why yet. Varric was a very caring person, but he didn't feel the same as Cullen did about Jacquelyn.
"We got separated when the dragon landed," Bull was saying. "We took cover, the Herald didn't have that chance. We were about to try head back to get her when –"
"The Blade showed up," Dorian interrupted. Cullen blinked a couple of times.
"Siara?" he asked, unbelieving. "Siara came back?"
"Thought she was another Venatori at first," Bull shrugged. "Had the armour on and it's not like she was expected. Anyway, she told us to get out, so we did. The mountain collapsed when we were halfway up the path. Haven was completely buried."
"No sign of the Herald or Siara?"
"None yet, but we saw the dragon flying away."
Cullen looked to the dwarf. Now the commander knew what he was so worried about. As far as Cullen knew, those two had almost always been close.
"They might have survived," Dorian proposed. "They could have found shelter."
"I won't lie to you, Curly, it's a slim chance."
Cullen nodded in understanding, the campfire casting shadows across his face as the chilled wind picked up and snow started drifting to the ground.
"We'll send out search teams in the morning. Slim as the chance is, the world needs the Herald if we're to end this thing."
"And Siara."
Cullen frowned at Dorian.
"What?"
"It's just a theory," Dorian admitted, "and one with not much proof to back it up, but it was Siara and me that were lost in that future. Siara was the one to go try to save the Herald from the dragon and darkspawn. I believe that if we are to defeat this threat, Siara will also be needed. To protect the Herald."
The frown deepened slightly, but Cullen nodded. He wasn't fully convinced, but that didn't meant that Dorian wasn't right, and this wasn't worth taking the risk. If he was right and they didn't find Siara, then Jacquelyn was in danger.
"Try and get some rest," he ordered. "We've got a long day tomorrow."
With that, he turned and walked away. Dorian, Bull, and Varric shared looks before the dwarf followed after Cullen.
"Spooks in resourceful."
"I know."
"If there's a way for them to find their way to us, then she'll find it. Princess is in good hands."
"Are you saying this to comfort me, or you?" Cullen stopped and looked down at the dwarf, who shrugged.
"Both, I suppose," Varric shook his head. "This is difficult shit, Curly, but somehow Siara always finds a way out."
"Like her brother always used to? Like Mara always used to?" His voice almost caught in his throat at the mention of the mage, so many memories trying to flood back to the front of his mind. Things he didn't want to think about when Jacquelyn was in trouble, especially considering the mage's fate. Varric didn't say anything. There wasn't anything he could say. The face Varric was putting on could only last so much doubt. He was just as worried about Siara. With nothing left to be said, Cullen continued walking away, Varric watching him go. He didn't see much point in chasing after the commander.
Siara was the first to wake up, her head feeling as though there was a storm inside it, a dull pounding against her skull, lights flashing across her vision. She pushed herself into a sitting position, reaching up and touching the back of her head, cautiously probing the surface. She winced, pulling her hand away and looking at the blood on her fingers. A sigh escaped her, and she quickly checked the rest of her.
On a first glance, it appeared that her head was the only problem. More than likely she had a concussion, which was annoying, but she could work with it. Provided it wasn't too bad. She tried to push herself to her feet, struggling to breathe as pain shot through her chest and leg. For a moment she just stood there, resting all her weight on her unharmed leg, concentrating on her breathing and not vomiting. These were more… problematic injuries, but she could still manage. Only now did she turn her attention to Jacquelyn, who was still unconscious. Siara forced herself to crouch down next to the herald, knowing full well that she'd regret it when it came to standing up again.
"Trevelyan," she shook the Herald's shoulder, not getting a response. "Hey. Trevelyan. Wake up," a more vigorous shake, still with no response. "OI! Wake the hell up!"
Jacquelyn groaned, pulling a face at the slightly too loud voice, rolling herself over onto her back. Her eyes travelled to the ice above them, a confused look on her face.
"Are we dead?"
"If we are, then it's not a nice place we got sent to. I don't want to be stuck with you for eternity."
Jacquelyn made a non-committal sound in reply, cradling her left arm as she sat up.
"Where are we?"
"I'm not all knowing, unfortunately," Siara almost growled, "but," she added, trying to calm herself down, "I should imagine we're beneath Haven."
"The avalanche…"
"Must have sealed us in."
"How are we not buried beneath snow?"
"You're Andraste's Herald, call it divine provenance or some shit like that, though I'd be more inclined to call it dumb luck," Siara stumbled to her feet again, doing her best to hide any signs of weakness or shortness of breath from Jacquelyn. "Come on. We need to get out of here, find the others."
"Siara?"
"Yeah?"
"I believe I need some assistance," Siara gave another rather non-committal sound, reaching down a hand for Jacquelyn, who shook her head. "I believe that would hurt my arm too much."
The Blade crouched again, quickly looking over the cradled arm.
"Dislocated," she said, then snapped it back into place. She didn't give Jacquelyn any warning, knowing that any damage she might cause in this movement could be fixed when they got Jacquelyn to a healer. A cry of pain escaped Jacquelyn, the young woman turning even more white, if that was possible, a thin sheen of sweat covering her face.
"You could have warned me you were going to do that!"
"No, I couldn't. If I had, you would have tensed, making relocation of the arm more difficult. Yes, it hurts like a bitch, but hey. At least it's back in place now."
Jacquelyn continued to glare at Siara as she once again got to her feet, holding her hand down to the Herald. After a bit more glaring, the hand was accepted, and Jacquelyn pulled to her feet.
"Well, Herald. You're the boss. Lead the way."
Siara didn't want Jacquelyn to know she was in pain, and she wanted to keep Jacquelyn's mind busy, off the problems they were going to have to deal with as only two people. Two very injured people. Under who knew how much snow. Siara wasn't even certain they could get out of this cave. But none of these thoughts seemed to be crossing Jacquelyn's mind, or if they were then she was very good at hiding it, already limping down the one tunnel visible. Siara took a deep breath, wincing as pain once again shot through her. She pushed the thoughts away, trying to ignore the pain as much as possible as she forced herself to walk as normally as possible after Jacquelyn.