it's still my heart to sell; dovev

[leliana]

I know what it is but I'm hoping that all is well
no harvest of green but it's still my heart to sell

She slept soundly.

Perhaps more soundly than she has ever slept in her life. It snuck up on her, the exhaustion, until she could not think around it and was, instead, smothered by it. She curled into him and dreamt of him, of the strength the curled in his seemingly fragile body, of the unnatural armor he bore, of the dark bruises in his eyes. She dreamt of the flames licking her body where he touched, of what had previously been undisturbed waters now rippling with life. He had turned her entire world upside down and inside out. She wasn't sure what was true anymore. What was logical. What was reality.

Still, other than the occasional murmur, his name taking root on her tongue even in her sleep, or the occasional shift as she curled even closer to him, as if trying to burrow into the warmth of him, she slept undisturbed, the weight of him against her comforting in a way that only her sister had been. She was secure here. She knew that.

No one could bring her harm.

So it was with reluctance that she awoke, early as she was prone to do, the sleep not quite having left her eyes as they fluttered open. Her heart kept in her chest when she saw him there by her side, and she watched him for a minute, studying the lines of him, the darkness of his cheeks. Part of her wondered if he would smell like copper in the evening again or if his skin would peel from bone. Would he want her back to heal it? Would he have someone else here? She bit back the worries and instead reached over, brushing her lips against his cheek gently. "Dovev," she greeted, never tiring of the sound and feel of his name. "It is morning." The sun had barely begun its ascent in the distance, the sky a blend of night's obsidian hues with the oncoming orange blossoming.

It smelled clean, the rain having finally left.

She knew, in her heart, that she would have to leave. He had things to do, she had to make sure Exist didn't worry, but she lingered, stalled, her eyes tracing the shape of his face. Memorizing it so she could carry it with her always. Even if he didn't want her to return. Even if he never found her again. It would be enough, she lied to herself. This would be enough for her to carry with her, to remind herself, to nourish her soul.

But even then, she knew better.

She rose to her feet gracefully, wings rustling and then settling along her slender back. For a moment she said nothing, starting out the cave's opening toward where the rest of the world waited for them before she looked back to him. She moved toward him, pressing her chest into his, lips finding his back. She could feel his pulse and it rang inside of her, each beat, each thrum steady. "Don't say anything," she whispered because she wasn't sure she could take it. She couldn't hear him say those words.

"Find me again, Dovev."

She stepped away, her mouth staying alongside him with the motion, over the shoulder, up the neck, across the cheek, and then finally against his lips, lingering there for a second longer. With a strangled noise, she finally pulled away, finding his eyes.

"I will be waiting for you."

She didn't know how long she would have to wait, or if he would ever seek her out, but she knew her heart, and she knew she had to lay it out for him. And so she did. With bruises in her amber eyes, she finally turned from him, pressing the memory of him into the deepest, most coveted parts of her mind, and walked away.

When she reached the shore, she unfurled her dragon wings and soared. But even then, she knew, she had left part of herself back in the cave with the boy who burned.

I put everything I had into something that didn't grow
like going on a wild hunt, shooting arrows without a bow

We can pick up wherever you'd like! <3