🌻Solas🌻

-- would concede, but tell the trees to watch over her.

-- hardly a mile or two," he said cautiously. "But you shouldn't go running in unprepared and alone. You should have someone with you who knows the forest."

It might've been rude to impose that he come along, but he'd kick himself if he didn't at least try. If Lorelei rejected his offer, he --

His intention was to point Lorelei 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦 from the danger. The last thing he expected was for her to run directly toward it. She seemed a capable huntress, but he'd never forgive himself if something happened to her after he told her where to go.

"The sightings have been a little south of here, --

There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.

Will you stay by my side? | Forever.

Friends challenge friends to grow.

I saw a sky full of fury and fire and knew the night would not come.

-- ingredients for the spell, okay? I won't be long."

-- some extra food. Stuff that keeps a little better than fresh fruit, like maybe some honey and sugar water. Should keep you going for a while."

Solas leaned forward and left a light kiss between Buggy's horns as he stood, squeezing its clawed hands before releasing them. "I'm going to get the --

"I suppose you don't have much concept of time, do you?" Solas asked, more to himself rather than Buggy directly. He could tell that it was silently pondering something, but he couldn't be sure what. It was never easy to tell what Buggy was thinking.

"When you set off, I'll send you along with --

-- was relaxing.

"A bench and a pond... What a wonderful place to read..."

Solas was asleep before he finished his sentence. He drifted off thinking of soft splashing water, rustling leaves, and paddling ducks.

"That sounds nice," Solas murmured tiredly, his eyes falling closed. Now that he was comfy under a blanket, sleep was wrapping him in its warm embrace and he would not be able to escape. Despite his drive to keep going, keep helping, keep building, his body was begging to rest and Maggie's voice --

"I have very vivid dreams," he said, staring at the ceiling. "I don't get to decide what they're about. Most of the time they're good. Sometimes they're... not."

Solas turned on his side to face her. "What about revisiting your memories of home?" he asked. "Or is that something you'd rather avoid?"

-- an hour.

"You said after we eat and regroup, we can go back and search for survivors, right?" Solas asked, turning to Druid. "Is the food ready?"

-- Without his friends, Solas would've been lost.

"Thanks, guys. Sorry, it's hard to keep my head on straight in the middle of all this." He ran his fingers through his blond curls, his eyes scanning the map repeatedly. Not finding or looking for anything. Just his mind moving at a million miles --

Druid's words calmed Solas's tightly wound nerves, if only a little. Staying here wasn't a requirement. Merely an offer. And once they assessed the damage, that's when reconstruction plans could be made. Maggie's input too helped to ease his mind. With her help, they could save a lot of lives.

--

-- What happens if you're interrupted?"

He was eager to distract his mind from recent events. If he could close his eyes thinking of something other than the dying screams of his friends, maybe sleep would come easier.

-- was just a little closer. Perhaps close enough that he could reach to her for comfort if sleep proved unrestful. But that was a lot to ask of someone who was just a friend.

"So... What do you do to meditate?" Solas asked as he reclined into the bed. "Do you have to lay down or sit up? --

Reluctantly letting go of her hand, Solas crossed the room to the bed and crawled under the blanket as he kicked his shoes to the floor. The mattress was soft and creaky, but only big enough for one.

"That's a... respectable distance," Solas noted, trying to ignore the feeling that he wished she --

-- huh? That's unfortunate. You must be used to being cast out like this."

"Sounds lonely."

Figuring that he wasn't necessarily one of the other guests, Solas didn't mind keeping this guy company. He was the one left out, cast aside to avoid the inconvenience. Nobody should be left alone like that.

He sat next to the raven-haired man and sipped his ale.

"A bastard, --

-- waves. He told them of the orange tree that grew mere meters from his house, and of the peach sapling he'd planted. And of the gossiping squirrels and observant owls. Solas knew nearly everything about this forest, and he could talk about it for hours.

-- through the woods..."

As vividly as he could describe, Solas told Lantana of the temperamental trees, the thick underbrush, and the insects and creatures that populated them. He spoke of the creek that spilled into the ocean, where a rocky beach rose to steep cliffs that clashed with the --

Solas draped the big thick blanket over Lantana's shoulders and tucked it snugly around them as he pulled up a chair and sat before the edge of the couch. He reached out to take Lat's hand in both of his, playing with their claws as he spoke.

"Well, from my house," he began. "There's a long path --

If that's what helps you sleep at night, so be it.

When you reach the finish line, I'll be waiting.

Useless elf my ass...

Its words can't hurt me, Mags. It's capable of far worse than taunts.

Leave him alone.

....

I won't hear them anymore when we finally kill you.

Each city you destroy unites more against you. Your days are numbered, dragon.

Solas helped Lantana to their feet and guided them inside, walking in front so they didn't have to bother straining to see.

"One day," Solas mused. "I'll take you to see my forest in Bleakbriar. It's well tended. I think you'd like it there."