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Foliage crunched and rustled underfoot as Ceri and Cullen tromped through the woods, baby Cait strapped to Ceri’s chest. They were on their way to meet with Clan Varni. Ceri had become friendly with them after helping during the Inquisition while they were in the Exalted Plains. The family had been travelling through the Emerald Graves for days, but the Clan said they had some information on Solas, so the distance was well worth it.
“How much farther do you think it will be?” Cullen asked, pushing a branch out of Ceri’s path.
“Not too much farther, but we should stop and rest for a bit. Whiteshadow should be just up ahead, it’ll be a good place to rest, eat, and feed Cait.”
“Lead the way then, my dear.”
Another five minutes of walking before they reached the small clearing Whiteshadow rested in. Cullen and Ceri shed their packs, settling them against the statue’s base. Ceri settled next to them, leaning against the statue as she lifted Cait from her carrier and took it off. After some fidgeting, she had her shirt pulled down and was letting Cait nurse. Cullen was sorting out their rations, putting some together for a light lunch before they reached the Clan. Each did their work in comfortable silence for some time before Cullen spoke up. “So…”
“So?”
“The Dalish seem to have a lot of wolf statues. I know their relation to Fen— er, Solas, but I didn’t think a god so disliked would appear this often.”
Laughing, Ceri tossed some hair from her face. Cullen paused his work to tuck it behind her ear.
“Well, these specifically are for the Emerald Knights. How much do you know about them.”
“Only a little, from the March,” Cullen admitted, glancing away out of embarrassment.
“Don’t look so embarrassed, I expected about that much,” she said, voice teasing. “The Emerald Knights were an order of Dalish warriors that defended the Dales. They rode into battle on halla and had wolves as their companions that fought alongside them. A lot of Dalish now remember them fondly, a symbol of the good times. They’re heroes to us, and maybe a small bit of hope someday we can have a land of our own again.”
“The Chantry certainly didn’t teach the templars that kind of Dalish history.”
“No,” Ceri said, tone still light. “I imagine they didn’t.”
There was a brief lull, a comfortable silence as Cullen repacked their unused supplies. Ceri turned over the other stories of wolves in her mind, hesitating.
“There is a belief about wolves among the Dalish. It also has wolf statues,” she finally said.
“Oh? Tell me.”
“The clans surrounded their camps with statues of wolves, facing out. They’re statues of Fen’heral and we use them to ward off evil spirits so those in camp are safe. I’ll point them out to you when we reach Clan Varni.”
“You should have told me sooner. When we return home we can see about getting some to put up around the house.”
“You don’t have to do that—” Ceri began.
“I want to. If it’s important to you, I want to.”
“Thank you.”
Cullen settled next to Ceri, handing her some rations. She tore into the jerky, trying to eat it at a somewhat normal pace, but starved from waiting so long for Dalish cooking.
“Do you think Solas knew he was protecting you your entire life?” Cullen asked. Ceri laughed, coughing as she almost choked on her food, and Cullen clapped her on the back.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she reassured, clearing her throat. “I’m sure he knew and probably had mixed feelings about it. Though I can see him not liking it for the Dalish’s ‘misunderstanding of our history’.”
They ate in silence, content in each other’s company. Cait finished nursing, fussing a little as Ceri put her boob away. Cullen offered to take her and burp her, but Ceri declined. It switched to him offering to feed Ceri as she tried to burp the baby, and she laughed as she declined. Cullen tidied up and took the sling they carried Cait in, putting it on for when they started hiking again. As they each did their work, Ceri sighed, tipping her head back.
“That’s not a ‘she’s taking too long to burp’ sigh, what’s wrong?” Cullen asked, pausing his work to crouch in front of Ceri.
“I wanted a better life for her than this,” Ceri said, still not looking at Cullen. There was a rustle of clothing and grass as Cullen moved to Ceri’s side, wrapping his arms around her and Cait.
“I know, I didn’t expect this to become our normal, but I think we’ll doing a good job. Given the circumstances,” Cullen said before he pressed a kiss to Ceri’s temple. She hummed non-committally as Cait gave a little burp. She readjusted her hold on the baby as Cullen added, voice light. “Not to mention, we have a giant statue warding off evil spirits for her right now.”
Ceri laughed as she played with Cait’s wispy baby hair. “Well, it would have to be a statue of Fen’heral, not just any wolf.”
“Hm. I don’t know how I would feel about a giant statue of Solas.”
“I don’t think he would either,” she said, smiling softly. A moment of quiet passed before Ceri spoke again. “I’m doing all of this for her. I want to be able to give her a world with less suffering and strife than the one we’ve lived in.”
“We will. I know you would do anything for her, I would too. We’ll give her an amazing world the live in.”
They lingered only a little longer before Cullen put Cait in the carrier and the couple shouldered their packs. Ceri took Cullen’s wrist, pulling him towards her and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Cullen started back on their trail, but Ceri lingered. There was a moment of hesitation before she climbed up on the base Whiteshadow sat on. She ran a hand over the nose before pressing a kiss to it.
“Stay safe, lethallin,” she whispered before climbing down and hurrying after Cullen and Cait.