Little But Not Less | ✓

The Other - Part II

The Other Dalish

Dorian knocked on the door of Gael's chambers, but was met with silence. Dorian frowned, and knocked again. Silence. Not wishing to barge into the Inquisitor's chambers, though he very much wanted to, Dorian loitered around the door and paced. Hand rubbing his chin, Dorian waited and waited, occasionally knocking just for the sake of it, each bump on the door making him less sure that he would get a response. It wasn't until a servant girl, who had been watching the Tevinter with thinly veiled amusement, finally walked up to him with a laundry basket tethered to her hip that he finally stopped his pacing.

"The Inquisitor is waiting at the gates, Mister Pavus," the girl said, curtseying. "He has been there since dawn."

"The gates? Whatever for?" Dorian asked, and the maid shrugged, shaking her head. 

"I do not know such things, but I have heard that some of his clan may be visiting."

Everything clicked into place, and Dorian's cheeks heated as he grew embarrassed at how he must have looked, pacing around an empty room like a damned Soporati fool. After uncovering the corruption within Wycome and the plot to purge the area of elves, including Lavellan's own clan, Gael had not been settled until the matter had been dealt with. Dorian could remember the view of Gael's back, shoulders trembling and hand over his mouth to stifle his sobs in the night, and the memory alone made him wince. He had spent many nights with Gael, lending him a shoulder and an ear, and it was not until just a week past that the whole matter had been resolved and Clan Lavellan's safety secured. Gael was lighter than he had ever been before, and Dorian's heart was too.

Turning to the maid, Dorian bowed and thanked her, before walking towards the gate. It was just shy of an hour since dawn broke, and Dorian wondered if Gael was still waiting there for his Clan's arrival. Knowing his perseverance, it was likely that he was still standing there, not even allowing himself to sit. Dorian smiled a little at the image of the small elf standing on the edge of the towering gates, an excited grin on his face and his body swamped in a thick coat to block out the harsh, icy winds. 

The mental image soon became real as Dorian grew closer to the gate, Gael standing there waiting. Dorian's breath was knocked out of his lungs as he looked on at Gael, and though he saw the man every day it was as if he were seeing him for the first time. Gael's long hair was untied, something that was quite rare these days since the Inquisitor was almost always dressed ready for combat, even in the confines of Skyhold. Wavy and thick, Gael's hair swung just over his shoulder blades, and glistened with little specks of silver snowflakes, their fractals radiating through his locks. His cheeks and nose were rosy from the biting cold, his fair skin pulled tight over sharp bones as his lips curved in a closed, waiting smile. Green eyes were alight as they watched through the rectangular gaps of the gate, his body bobbing as he rose up and down on his toes with unbridled excitement and a touch of impatience.

Dorian was about to call out to the elf when Gael's face suddenly morphed into something he had never seen before, the elf hastily asking the soldiers perched on the lookout to open the gate. Metal groaned and chains clanged as the gate drew up towards the sky, Gael ducking under it to rush out before it was fully opened. 

"Eilhana! Lethallan!" Gael cried out, Dorian looking on. Eilhana. The name rang a bell, Dorian trying to recall the stories Gael had told him about his Clan over tea and ale. Dorian cursed his love of the drink, some of the details about this particular elf hazy in his mind. Unable to shake off the hold the ale had on his memories, Dorian continued to watch Gael and the elf named Eilhana. The Inquisitor was a flurry of laughter as his coat engulfed another smaller elf, Gael's laughs punctuated with a higher, more feminine tone. Dorian's brow furrowed at the mingling noises, narrowing his eyes as he stepped forward to get a better look as the two bodies that whirled around, Gael hoisting the other figure up in his arms.