A Moment’s Peace
Daēnā didn’t have many places left to hide out when everyone was at the Lighthouse. If she was lucky, the small balcony on the side of the Dining Hall would be empty and she could get to it without anyone seeing her. This was becoming an increasingly difficult feat, having THE master assassin (who never slept AND had a spirit (?) demon (?) shadowing him at every turn) living in the pantry. She was always shit at stealth. Too much like her father, she thought. Too much like her mamae, Uncle Zev would say.
After she had finished some training with Kiernan, she was in desperate need of at least an hour where no one would find her. They had been working on her spell casting, something she let slide in the past year of tracking Solas with Varric and Harding. It was just easier to either use her staff to bludgeon whoever needed it or use the spell blade if things got close quarters. The concentration needed for the spells turned out to be more exhausting than the physical exertion of bodily combat. On top of that, things just felt crowded lately. Despite how suddenly alone she had felt after the disaster that was Weisshaupt, her brother showing up shortly after, followed by uncles, aunties, and fellow Wardens making their way to Evka and Antoine, things were feeling claustrophobic. Daēnā, if she stopped to think on it, probably would have recognized that it wasn’t really all the people from her life before the gods were let loose to fuck up Thedas coming together with this eclectic group she was supposed to be leading that was getting to her. It was that these new people knew her secret, knew her heritage, and now knew how epically she had failed when it mattered most.
How could she keep pretending she could lead them?
As she hopped on to the steps leading to Neve’s to check the situation at her favourite hideout spot, her heart jumped up into her throat. She wouldn’t be getting any alone time there right now. It was already occupied. Lucanis was out there, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, hulling peas quietly by himself. Andraste’s great flaming ass, does he even know how good looking he is? Just as she was about to turn to leave, embarrassed by the flush in her cheeks and the warmth slowly spreading through her core, she stopped herself to really look at him. He looked lighter, like they didn’t have the entire weight of Thedas on their shoulders. He had a slight smile on his face, and she wondered what he was thinking about that could make him look so …
“Peaceful,” the demon’s voice crawled up her spine like the most delicious chill on a hot summer afternoon.
“How did you know that’s what I was thinking?” Daēnā asked softly without turning around.
“Rook is. EASY. To read. So is Lucanis. Do not. UNDERSTAND. Why you make it difficult.” The air around her stirred as Spite moved to her side to watch the scene she was indulging in. “Can make easy. TELL Lucanis you want. US. Like WE. Want YOU.” The corner of her mouth curved up slowly. This wasn’t the first time they had had this conversation. The stubbornness of the demon should not have surprised her. She held her response to watch Lucanis put a few of the hulled peas in his mouth, closing his eyes to savor the taste or his thoughts, she couldn’t tell. Her embarrassment came back, suddenly, but this time because she felt like they were intruding. She reached out her hand so it moved through the area where Spite’s was as she turned away from Lucanis.
“C’mon. Fly me up to our spot and I’ll tell you again why you have to wait for him to be ready for that, and you can tell me again how wonderful I am.”
“Clever Bird MORE. Than wonderful. Can make. Lucanis. MOVE.”
“No. Look at him,” her voice a whisper. As if she was afraid of saying the next part too loud and breaking the bubble around the person she would do anything to keep safe. “Look at his face, look how calm he is. He deserves his moment of peace wherever he can find it. We can find one for you somewhere else.”
