so long, my luckless romance; any

[leliana]

I waited for something and something died
so I waited for nothing and nothing arrived

For her entire life, Leliana had been the calm one—the rooted one.

To the world, she put on a face of utmost serenity, untouched waters, deep lakes with no ripples. It was how she protected herself, how she managed to protect those around her. But strip away that veneer, peel back the boards, and you would find a woman who burned with feelings, tumultuous storms that raged within her belly. Emotions that she could not quench, fires she could not sate no matter how she tried.

Even now, standing with Heartfire, despite the fact that her heart was bruised and painful, despite the fact that her head swam with anguish, her face were tranquil, her smile soft. It was a small amount of control, but it was the only thing she had over her life and she was going to take it. Any amount of comfort.

At the mare’s question, Leliana’s face grew puzzled, the soft angles of her mouth pinching into a rare frown. “No, but just because we’re strangers does not mean you’re unworthy of healing.” She shrugged, the crimson wings at her side fluttering and turning to the blue of Heartfire’s coat. “My healing is not reserved for those I call family and friends. It would be inherently selfish of me to do so.”

Leliana gave of herself wholly to those who needed her—without barrier or reservation. It was simply who she was. It was how—it was how she had her heart so terribly ravaged by Dovev in the first place. For a moment, her wings shifted again, at first turning obsidian and then bordered by the same ivory of Dovev’s armor, small blue constellations appearing between the dark leather. Leliana glanced back for a moment and frowned again, purposefully ruffling them until they returned to their familiar crimson.

She took a second to compose herself before she glanced back to Heartfire, her face neutral and calm once more. “We don’t have to remain strangers though,” a soft smile. “I could always use more friends.”

it's our dearest ally, it's our closest friend
it's our darkest blackout, it's our final end