neveragainsubmit | open post;;

[ It isn't the first time a member of the Inquisition has squirreled themselves into a secluded corner of Skyhold, but it is the first time he hasn't been able to locate Lior. She has her favorite spots, and she hadn't been in any of them. Honestly, he tries not to worry as he asks around the courtyard if anyone has seen her. It's mere curiosity, not his tendency to mother hen his flock. That is, until one of the scouts insists that she'd left through the gates some time ago. No mention of an escort nor where she was going.

Worry sinks like a heavy stone into the pit of his stomach and it spurs him into action. Running through the courtyard, he yells for Dennet to ready his steed. There's not much time to run back to his quarters, but he needs to grab his staff, at least. It wouldn't do her any good if she were in trouble. His small travelling bag still has a potion and a few tonics. It will have to do. By the time he's out the castle and down the steps, Dennet is waiting with his hart. He's never been more glad for recruiting that man into the Inquisition.

Luthien kicks his heels, spurring the hart past the gates and into the wilderness. He has nothing more to go on than the direction the scout had seen her heading. It's enough. By foot, it would have taken here quite some time, so maybe he will be able to head her off before she gets into any real danger. ]

LIORILEY!

[ The noise undoubtedly calls some unsavory attention to himself, but the desire to find her outweighs his own safety. He doesn't know her exact direction, but there are enough signs for him to follow that he prays are hers. Luthien is not a man of belief, but Andraste pops into his head more often than his own gods. He doesn't know what he will do if she is harmed. ]

[ She hears her name, but it sounds distant and displaced with her mind as hazy as it is now. Like she's hearing it shouted through the fade, all wispy and fading into the cool evening air. Is it real? She can't really tell, but it certainly sounds familiar.

Thoughts of Luthien suddenly flit into her mind. She would miss everyone in the Inquisition to some degree — even Solas — but she would surely miss him the most if she were to die like this. She almost wishes she could apologize, but she knows that she can't. Not out here in the woods alone, with scrolls she prays are even worth all the trouble. Who will tell him? Who will find her out here and bring word that she has gone? Leliana's scouts, maybe? She lulls her head back, staring over at the adjacent window.

Her eyes start to close, her torrid of thoughts slowly beginning to ebb. Just as she sees the feet of a familiar Hart tread through the trees nearby. She squints. Surely she is hallucinating, just as she did the voice, but she's not. She can't be, when she sees the creature draw a little closer and when she hears her name called again. ]

Luthien. [ She manages, knowing full well he can't hear her. Despite the pains that had her sitting still before, she starts to crawl for the window, a hand gently pressed to the glass to leave a streak of red in its wake. She's here. Stop yelling. ]

[ His hart descends a hill, and he's left with the decision to continue forward or to go around the other side of it. The small cottage catches his attention, and though he may overlook it normally, the red glinting on the window pushes him forward. Blood. It looks fresh. Luthien dismounts his hart, running quickly to the door and shoulders it open.

When he spots Lior on the ground, his heart skips a beat and leaps into his throat. He moves forward, sinking to his knees beside her. Shaking hands hover over her, unsure whether it is okay to touch. Magic seeps out of his fingers as he so gently touches her face. It is times like this he berates himself for not learning more healing spells. ]

Can you hear me, ma vhenan?

[ His free hand fumbles for his travel pouch and the potion still inside. It's still there, by small mercies. Sparing only a brief moment, he uncorked the bottle so he can press it to Lior's lips. ]

[ There's a part of her — a very very very small part of her that doesn't want him to notice the bloodstain; doesn't want him to come into this cottage and see the blood spilled on the floor and the poor state she's in. The more prominent part of her however is overjoyed that he's here, that he will save her and bring her back to Skyhold. Or, at the very least, he'll make sure she doesn't die alone. She's used almost all of her own mana to sustain herself to this point.

What he offers her, however, is welcome. A reassuring warmth on her skin and in her aching bones. Instinctively, she curls into him, nodding. ]

I can hear you. [ She whispers, head tilting back to accept the potion as it's pressed to her lips. She swallows it as if she hasn't had anything to drink in years, letting a few drops of the liquid seep from her lips and down her chin. Fingers clutch at the front of his clothes. ] I am sorry.

[ She won't be dying anytime soon if he has anything to say about it. Even if Luthien has to exert all of his mana to do it. Lior is more than worth it and everyone would be devastated without her. He props her against himself, wrapping his arms as tenderly as he can around her middle. Magic continues to pour from his hands into her. It falters occasionally as his attention flickers back to her, but he has to remain strong. ]

As long as you are okay... Why didn't you ask anyone to come with you?

[ If she dies, he is going to be horribly cross with her!! Not that he will allow that to happen. Anyone would have accompanied her at the drop of a hat. Fenedhis, he would have come with her despite what he had been working on. What if he hadn't gone looking for her? Would she have died out here alone? It pains him to think about. ]

[ She chooses not to answer for now, relishing instead in the soothing flow of magic between them, in the heat he provides to a body she had not realized was cold. After a moment or two, she reaches up to curl her fingers around his — silently insist that he stop. She will live, and she would not dare ask him to give all of his energy to her when they will still have to travel back to Skyhold. ]

I did not want to trouble anyone. I thought it would be simple.

[ She apparently thought wrong. Lioriley closes her eyes, grips him just a little tighter. ] I want to go home.

[ He worries, even as his magic heals her more grievous injuries, because of course he does. Her hand wraps around his, and he knows why. Luthien elects to ignore it. Just a little bit more and he'll be satisfied. He won't push himself, but he has to be sure that she will make the journey without exacerbating anything. They will both be fine, but he needs to make sure.

It's a mistake he's made as well, thinking he was prepared for something and turned out to be horribly wrong. Getting his arm under her knees, the other one steadies her back as he stands with her in his arms. He's grateful he's strong enough for that, but if this had been a few months prior, he may not have been.

Once they're out of the cabin, he whistles for his hart which didn't stray too far. It's a little more difficult to get Lior onto the hart, but he manages somehow, jumping up to sit behind her. His arms wrap around her to grab the reins, steadying her. His lips brush the spot behind her ear as his fingers tighten on the reins to gear his mount into motion. ]

We will be there soon, just stay awake for me, vhenan.

[ She lacks the energy to truly stop him, and there's no denying how good the healing magic feels in her aching bones. Lioriley is sure to do whatever she can to lesson the burden of moving her around — which, unfortunately, isn't a whole hell of a lot, given that she can barely move without pain even with all the energy she has been given. The wounds have closed though, will heal eventually and scar with time.

When she's on the hart, she leans back into him. Awake is not a state she wishes to be in currently, but she wills her eyes to stay open. ]

Have I apologized for all of this yet? [ multiple times. ] I do not think this is a debt I can ever repay.

Hush. You don't need to apologize. You'd do the same if our positions were reversed. Or for any one of our friends without a thought.

[ Of course, that doesn't mean there wouldn't be an apology. That's just who the two of them are: insufferably polite and worried by nature. As they move toward Skyhold, Luthien keeps an arm wrapped around her, afraid that if he lets go, she may very well disappear on him. His heart still beats wildly behind his ribcage, the adrenaline refusing to disperse until he knew Lior was on her way to recovery. ]

Most of our friends are not stupid enough to venture out into dangerous ruins alone, however. [ Most of them. She's not ruling out everyone, because she's sure as hell not the most reckless person in the Inquisition. Still, she doesn't really argue further — just mutters one more apology and eases into him again.

A hand moves to rest over his, squeezing his fingers gently in a gesture meant to be reassuring. She's not going anywhere. Hell, he might have a hard time unlatching her from him for a while, honestly. Her head starts to droop though, as they near closer to the gates, her eyes fluttering. She wants to sleep. ]

open post;;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject