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Three days before the Herald's Satinalia Feast, a half-meter of snow caked Skyhold in crystalline glory. The Herald and Josephine had been planning the Feast for weeks. A way to kick back after so many months of nonstop momentum, strategizing, and stress, and how better to do that than with good food, good friends, and dancing out way too late.
Adan had been looking forward to avoiding it with great relish.
With everyone else cavorting about in Skyhold’s Gardens, he could finally put a dent in the stack of papers on his desk with little to no interruption.
But for all his preparation, it was Pella who had dashed his plans by having the gall to ask Lysette if she’d been planning on attending, as the three of them dined one evening in the Herald’s Rest.
“It seems Cullen's requisitioned fancy mess dress for the lot of us,” the templar answered, stabbing a potato with her fork. "It would hardly be appropriate to skip the festivities after all that."
“That’s the only reason you’re going?” Pella rolled her eyes, a warm smile belying her feigned annoyance. “I swear, I’m going to teach the two of you childish whimsy if I have to requisition it myself!”
Adan huffed, but caught a soft smile on Lysette’s face an instant before she blinked it away, and that was it. He was going, Void take the stack of papers on his desk.
---
It was later in the evening, when the two herbalists were working side by side on a particularly stubborn deathroot that Adan’s mind wandered idly to the conversation earlier.
"Do you recall seeing blue satin robes the last time you were in the storage room?”
"Blue satin robes?” Pella repeated in singsong voice, with an impish grin to match. "And why ever would you be wanting those?"
Adan glared at her from behind a fat flask. “Don’t be cute,” he said. “Or have you forgotten the Satinalia Feast you've been prattling on for days about?”
"Since when are you going?” she asked playfully.
"Since always," Adan said. "I try not to make it a habit of avoiding mandatory Inquisition events. And since Cullen hasn't requisitioned anything for me, I was wondering if you'd seen my blue satin robes.”
"I think I saw some in your loft, last time I laundered the linens and cheesecloth,” Pella said, with a knowing smile. “I’m sure it's still there."
Then she added with a wink. “And I'm sure you already have your gifts and everything."
Gifts? Maker blast it all.
---
After Lysette was dismissed from day’s training of new recruits, she silently thanked the Maker for the dump of snow.
The thick mounds burying Skyhold meant the days following Satinalia would be training duty rather than field duty, and it wasn’t wise to battle darkspawn with an un-runed weapon.
Lightning-quick sword work during training meant no one noticed that she’d pried the three basic runes out of her sword. She needed them for payment. The Herald was due for an expedition to the Deep Roads directly after the feast, and she was sure to return flush with replacement runes then.
Lysette tossed her basic runes lightly in her hand, feeling their weight, as she crossed the threshold of the Merchant’s stall. It wasn't much. She said a silent prayer to the Maker that it was enough.
---
Adan marched into the Merchant’s stall with his best mortar and pestle in hand. Pella had a set that was sufficient to use in the meantime.
…Okay, hers was awful, but desperate times. This was more important. As a force of habit, his eyes drifted to the top left shelf where the onyx mortar and pestle he’d been saving up for had stood stalwart for weeks.
But the place where it usually sat was bare. Adan’s eyes widened, and he cursed at the Merchant.
“I’ve come in here three times in the last week asking about that!” He jabbed his thumb towards the empty space.
“Yeah?” The Merchant sniffed. “We don’t got layaway.”
Adan grumbled and rooted around behind a smelly idol, where he’d hidden something else some time ago, for a rainy day. Thankfully, they were not yet purchased. He’d have to use the smelly idol again in the future to hide any apothecary tools he might need. Until then, he returned to the front and begrudgingly traded in his beloved tools for something more important.
He hoped she liked them.
----
Music swelled in the air at the Satinalia Feast in Skyhold’s Gardens. Revelers swayed in the early-evening hours, not yet committing to the dance, but enjoying their first glasses of Orlesian Red. Half-masks hid everyone’s faces, but Adan saw her immediately.
Lysette stood by the small Blood Lotus planter, awkwardly nudging a package with her foot. She didn’t yet see him, so he had a beat to take in the sight of her, as the music seemed to stop and everything focused on her. She looked radiant.
After a moment, he approached, clutching a wrapped box of his own behind his back.
“I wasn’t sure you were coming,” she said, wide smile spreading across her face. Adan wished he had a better view of her eyes beneath the mask.
“I see you’re wearing your Adan mask,” she added with a wink.
Adan touched his bare face. “Yes, well, I didn’t want to confuse this lot as to who might be wearing the broody herbalist’s robes.”
Lysette bent over to retrieve her package. “I…got you something for Satinalia. It’s not much.”
“Oh,” Adan procured the box from behind his back. “Surely it’s more than the pittance I got for you.”
They exchanged their gifts and tore into them as the music kicked up into a jaunty tune.
Lysette extracted her gift first, and the smile that lit up her face was worth any awkwardness of coming to this whole affair.
“Runes!” she exclaimed, eyes suddenly narrowing. “How did you… Did you see my sword?”
“If you mean: did I see the Basic Runes unbecoming of a master swordsperson such as yourself, then, yes.” A tiny smile spread across his face, unable as he was to stop it. “I hope you like them.”
“I love them! Thank you!”
Then it was Adan’s turn. He lifted the flap of the package and drew out… the onyx mortar and pestle!
“Wait, how did you…” he stammered. “I had half a mind to demand the Merchant give me the name of the person who bought this, so I could withhold potions from them forever!”
“Well, hopefully, you’ll reconsider,” Lysette blushed. “Though, with these runes, I’m sure to be needing potions less frequently.”
“Ah,” Adan said, unable to stop the words tumbling from his mouth. “In that case, I’ll have to cook up some other way to get you to my apothecary.”
The moment he said it, his heart skipped a beat, which he coolly covered up with a gulp and a cough.
Lysette’s cheeks rosied to a deep red, but still she said, “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
Adan gestured to the bench behind the planter, and they both took a seat to watch the revelers, everyone but the two of them now unapologetically dancing to the music.
A few errant snowflakes swirling around the air suddenly gave way to a thousand twinkling crystals softly powdering Skyhold Gardens. For the moment at least, everything was magical and perfect.