Chapter Text
A cool breeze shuddered through the canopy above, leaves rustling with a soft, comforting hiss. A few stragglers drifted down from their place on the branches, conflicted between the air currents that freed them and gravity.
Solas followed a few of their lazy, haphazard journeys to the ground. Today was one of the few peaceful days he had experienced in years. It was one of the days where solitude was less of a burden and much more of a relief. Those days were common for him, though less so since his time with the Inquisition. He’d gotten a taste of companionship, camaraderie, and intimacy that he had not seen in centuries. Not with any physical being, anyways.
He closed his eyes and let the world around him breathe deep with him, feeling the energies ebbing and flowing with each breath. He couldn’t remember how long he had been sitting there. It hardly mattered. He had been studying some ancient runes tucked away in a forgotten tomb nearby. Contrary to his beliefs so many years ago, they weren’t going anywhere. He had time to breathe.
Craning his neck, he let his head dip back and allowed the sun shattering through the leaves to spill on his face, sending red and white across his eyelids, warming his cheeks. Idly he spread his hands down beside him, combing his fingers and toes through the grass. He could feel every snag of the weeds and blades between his digits, catching on his calloused skin, yet it was so soft in his mind. A natural layer of velvet, stretching for miles, relatively untouched by human feet for centuries.
For once he let his tumultuous mind rest, taking in the natural orchestra of the forest. It was as if he was a vessel for nature to pass through, not truly a living thing. He was at peace.
Until, of course, the illusion was shattered with an earsplitting cry. Solas’ entire body jolted back into itself, eyes snapping open. His eyes protested against the sudden brightness, sending shards of strange colors across his vision. After a few blinks it was back to normal – or normal enough for him to find the source of the scream. He scrambled to grab his bag and staff, preparing for anything.
The cry repeated, much more high-pitched and desperate. It was a cry for help.
Knitting his brow, Solas followed the sounds of keening and sniffles. He crept around a tree, knowing it could be anything. Yet when he peeked around the girth of the tree, he found not a danger, but a small child. A small child in her nightclothes, tugging on her braids with worry as she sobbed in fear, looking around at everything like it was the monster beneath her bed.
He looked around, studying the scene. There was no evidence of anyone else around her. No tents, bedrolls, packs, fire pits…not even footprints. It was as if the poor thing was simply plopped down where she sat. And, judging by her fearful and fretful cries, that was how she felt as well.
He was faced with a choice, now. Help the child, or leave. He wrinkled his face at the thought of having to detract from his studies to take her home –wherever that was. Yet…his heart pulled for her. This innocent little thing, terrified and alone.
He couldn’t leave her.
Carefully, he stepped out from behind the tree, holding his hands up submissively. “Hush, da’len. You are safe,” he hoped his tone was calming.
The little girl whipped around to stare up at him with huge slate-grey eyes, startled out of her tears. Those big eyes rolled over him, evaluating him. He knelt beside her, keeping her just out of his reach in case she felt threatened.
She still had not replied, so he tried again. “You are safe now, da’len. I will not hurt you.”
A hearty sniff was her only response, and she rolled her wrist into her eye, wiping away now-stale tears.
He bit back a sigh and looked around. Now that his angle had changed, he could clearly see that there were absolutely no footprints nearby besides his own. The thick grass had bowed to his weight, and stayed crushed where his feet had been. Nowhere around the child had any sign of tracks, beyond that of an august ram, too far from the child to be of any note. “Where did you come from?”
She sniffed again and he feared she would never speak to him. Perhaps she only spoke orlesian. They were in Orlais after all.
“Skyhold.”
The word jarred him. He hadn’t expected her to speak at all, let alone with such confidence. Her grey eyes pierced him, studying him as much as he did her.
He suddenly realized what she had said, though it made no sense. “Forgive me, did you say Skyhold?”
She bobbed her head and pulled on one elongated ear – a practiced nervous tick.
The child was from Skyhold.
That was half a country away.
“I meant where did you just come from, before you were here. Lydes? Verchiel?”
She shook her head, looking down at the grass beneath her.
He named a few smaller villages, and even some Dalish clans he knew to be traveling in this area, though her nightdress alone was far too lavish to be anything Dalish. No matter what, she just shook her little head.
“Skyhold,” she repeated, her voice no more than a whisper.
“Skyhold.” He was stumped. “When were you last in Skyhold?”
“Today. Mamae laid me down for a nap….I woke up here.” She blinked, the waterworks beginning again. “Mamae…” Her lower lip wobbled. Oh no.
Quickly he hushed her, daring to scootch closer. “Hush, da’len. Everything is all right. You are a long way from home, but I can take you back. You will be with your mother soon, I promise you.”
Her big eyes turned up to him, her dimpled chin still puckered. “Really?”
He nodded and tried a smile on her, which, to his delight, she returned, if a little more wobbly. Slowly, he stood and held a hand out to help her up. “We should start walking. We have a lot of land to cover.”
She nodded and stood, her legs bowed slightly at the knees. Without hesitation, she slipped her little hand into his.
“What is your name, da’len?”
She blinked and looked up at him, eyes as wide as ever. “Netheri. Neth.”
He smiled warmly down at her. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Netheri. My name is Solas.”
She smiled faintly, getting more confident. “Solas.”
This was not how he thought he would spend the coming days, yet feeling the small hand grip at his fingers filled his chest with such warmth, he wouldn’t have it any other way.