For insurgoaltus

[killedwithlove]

The next day, Cole had woken Dorian up to let him know he was heading out with the Inquisitor. She wanted to go to Emprise du Lion for a few days, which meant being kind to Dorian and leaving him behind and taking Cole instead, since he never minded the cold.

Cole, Solas and Blackwall set out into Emprise du Lion with Cadash.

They were gone for eight days. Not unusual with travel times, but they came back in poor shape. Blackwall's shield was near split in half, Solas was using his staff to aid his walking and Cole was being carried in the cart rather than walking alongside the pony and talking to her.

Cadash was bloodied and bruised and looking the best of then. Which wasn't saying much, but they'd done their jobs and kept her safe. At some cost apparently.

The scouts were saying words like 'ambush' and 'slave caravans, growing the lyrium in them even before the cart drew in through the gates and people started to clamber off.

Comments

[insurgoaltus]

"And so you shall. One day." His eyes crinkled with amusement, grey eyes filling with warmth.

"Then we shall do everything. What would you like to do next, Nug?"

[killedwithlove]

He felt tired. Trying to heal, injured, then this... he felt tired. It was familiar and unwanted. "I don't know... My body still feel heavy."

[insurgoaltus]

"Well, that usually means you should close your eyes, and rest." Dorian pressed another kiss to Cole's forehead. "I'm here, and I shall not let anything hurt you if you do. All right?"

[killedwithlove]

"I don't want to sleep," he whispered. "I don't want to dream again. It was frightening. I don't want to go back."

[insurgoaltus]

"Well, you don't have to sleep. Just close your eyes, and rest. Shall I sing to you? I am no Nightgale, but I can carry a tune." He murmured softly.

[killedwithlove]

"Do you like singing?" He shifted slightly, his ear over Dorian's heart, so he could listen to the steady beat.

[insurgoaltus]

"I used to love it, as a child." He let his eyes half-close, his voice softening. "Singing is something I did, to help me learn spells and chants alike."

[killedwithlove]

"Then... I'd like to hear you sing." Maybe the singing would stop the fear of sleep.

[insurgoaltus]

Dorian rubbed Cole's head once more, before he tipped his head and began to sing softly,

" feel sun
Through the ashes in the sky.
Where's the one
Who'll guide into the night?

What's begun
Is the war that will
Force this divide.

What's to come
Is fire and the end of time.

I am the one
Who can recount
What we've lost.

I am the one
Who will live on.

I have run
Through the fields
Of pain and sighs.

I have fought
To see the other side.

I am the one
Who can recount
What we've lost.

I am the one
Who will live on..."

[killedwithlove]

By the time to song was over, Cole was asleep on Dorian's chest, his body heavy, breaths even and lips slack.

He didn't sleep quite like regular people. He was more relaxed, his body barely seemed alive except the small, shallow puffs of breath. While a mage's mind might travel to the Fade, Cole seemed to have at least partially abandoned his body to go there.