Chapter Text
Solas backed into the rotunda carrying a stack of notes in his arms and a piece of buttered toast in his teeth.
“Need a hand?” Ellana asked.
Solas stopped dead in his tracks, looking very much like a startled halla. Ellana smiled at his expression, pushing off of his desk and approaching the hedge mage. She grasped some of the notes, allowing Solas a free hand to take the toast out of his mouth.
“Inquisitor,” he began, clearing his throat. “I did not expect anyone to be awake, much less after my attention.”
Ellana placed the stack of notes carefully on the desk. “I could tell,” she chuckled.
Solas grinned sheepishly. He continued towards the desk and placed the rest of the papers atop what she already placed down.
“I didn’t mean to bother you,” Ellana started. “I just… The mark has been…” She looked down at her palm, regarding it with a look of almost distain. “It’s been hurting. More than usual, that is.”
Solas narrowed his eyes, confused. “It usually causes you pain?”
Ellana wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Not an unbearable amount. After closing the breach it’s just become a constant ache.”
Solas placed the half eaten piece of toast on the desk and wiped his hands together. He reached out his hand, palm up. “May I?”
Ellana slowly placed her left hand in his, and he inched closer to inspect the mark.
She could feel the pulses of his magic travel up her arm and she shivered.
Solas exhaled a chuckle. “I apologize.”
“It’s fine,” Ellana urged. “I just wasn’t expecting it.”
The ache in her hand crackled into life, and Ellana gasped at the pain that shot up her arm. Solas cupped her hand with both of his, closing his eyes. She watched him, enraptured by his concentration and the waves of soothing magic that was ebbing away the pain. The mark ceased it’s magic, and Solas opened his eyes.
“H-how did you do that?” Ellana whispered. The mark had becoming nothing but a small throb, completely bearable, if not a consistent reminder of its presence.
Solas smiled. “Simple healing magic,” he explained.
“You’ll have to teach me.”
“As you wish.”
A moment of appreciative silence extended between the two, before Ellana finally seemed to snap out of her daze. She slipped her hand out of his still outstretched hand, and looked away shyly.
“I should attempt to sleep, now that I can,” she declared.
“Ah yes, enjoy your sleep. Do not hesitate to tell me if the mark pains you again. Studying it will only help us understand how it will effect you,” said Solas.
Ellana smiled. “Thank you, Solas.”
She began to turn to leave the rotunda, then turned back quickly and grabbed Solas’s arm to keep him from leaving. He looked alarmed, but Ellana did not waver and leaned in and kissed him on the cheek regardless. Her heart beat wildly at the closeness, and let go of his arm quickly as she pulled back.
“Good night, Solas,” she said, her cheeks a wild rose color.
She then bolted out of the rotunda and into the mail hall, leaving Solas to his own thoughts.
Solas stood there, a slight smirk on his face.
“How very sweet,” came a voice from above.
Solas looked up to see a smirking Dorian leaning against the upper railing.
“Go back to your reading, Dorian.”
“How can I when so many repressed feelings are in the air?”
Solas scoffed and turned his attention back to the papers he had originally intended to devote his night to.