goethbeforethefall | Inbox // IC Communication

Solas?

[ She's almost finished getting ready for bed, and is currently trying to gentle wrestle a wooden comb through her curls. Once they get more bones, she's going to spend all of it on her various hair tonics and makeup. ]

What did you think, when you first saw me? Or met me, if you don't want to count when I was unconscious and you were trying to keep me alive.

Hello Solas?

You have shown interest in my previous inventions; I thought you might be curious to see another I have successfully restored to functionality. I call it Diplomacy, and it's a gauntlet that deals with lighting damage.

It works like true Diplomacy, all with a handshake.

[ Less than a day after he wanders off: ]

In case.

[ He has acquired a bird.

The brevity means only in case of emergencies. Sending it at all means stay out of my dreams brosef, perhaps, though he never asked if that was even possible right now.

He expects Solas to understand both implications.

But like five days later, ]

Do you have your magic back? How long have you been here?

[ The note is folded in half and stuck to his workshop door, to be found when Beleth has stepped out of the house already. Someone, apparently, remembered her dumb joke about bad poetry. ]

As the halla yearns for the forest green
So do I long to be by your side
You alone are my heart's desire
Just as I am your bride

As the rabbit yearns for it's den below
So do I long for your lips on mine
You alone are my heart's desire
The finest flavor of wine

As the falcon yearns for the sky above
So do I long for your eyes on me
You alone are my heart's desire
And we are well and truly free

[ Underneath the carefully written words is a scrawled note: 'Give me another century to work on it and I'm sure it'll knock your socks off.' ]

[So there is no way Gadriel could do this via voice, or EMPEROR FORBID, in person. So, text it is.]

I need your help. Someone here is possessed by an owl.

They were both reading quietly in the library, the silence pleasant and gentle. Beleth isn't sure what Solas is reading, but she'd been indulging in some frivolous romance. A forbidden romance, which had appealed to her, until--

The book is shut, decisively, and put down, accompanied by a furrowed brow. "I don't think these two people actually like each other."

That declaration made, she stands, and promptly deposits herself into Solas' lap. Whatever he's reading can wait. "I like you, as well as love you. You're my friend, as well as my partner." It did not seem such an odd concept to her, and the lack of it in the book seemed ... bizarre.

Edited 2025-03-31 18:04 (UTC)

When Solas was injured, Felassan stayed a few days. With Beleth injured, he's stayed again, though not any longer. By the second morning he's wearing or carrying everything he owns again — save his cloak, still damp from being scrubbed of blood and dust and still hanging up to dry — in a clear sign he's intending to go before long. But he's not scurrying, fleeing, or generally rushing. He's moving at a leisurely pace, braiding his hair (also damp from recent washing) back at the temples and whistling a tune that slips in and out of audibility, when he finds Solas painting the outer wall, where there'd only been the ghostly outline of a halla on the day Felassan first arrived in Caldera.

"Will you do the whole wall?" he asks.

She doesn't wait long to approach Solas, after she speaks with Felassan. Some time alone to gather her thoughts, formulate her plan in full, and what she'll say. And, of course, what she'll do if it all blows up in her face. If Solas rejects both her proposition and her -- well. All those vows, all the promises, the faith and trust. And she'd have no one to blame.

Felassan will, obviously, stay with the man that he's stood besides for thousands of years. He had put betrayal at the same level of his death -- he'd never do it for her. It's fine. She'll move to Finnick's Inn, and figure things out from there. She'll be okay.

And if she keeps telling herself that, maybe it'll be true.

But she certainly can't let the knowledge linger. Can't conceive of sleeping by Solas' side with these thoughts swirling around her head. He had extended trust and faith in her, and she would have to do the same.

She catches him when he's in the library, mind going to when he approached her, when she knew something was up, from the moment she saw his face. Aware that he will probably do the same when he sees her. She sits down on the chair next to him, and takes in the silence, for a moment. Considers attempting small talk, but knows that it will be useless, if Solas indulges it at all.

She doesn't look sad, or upset. Even if Felassan isn't here, she doesn't want to dishonor him by appearing so, nor make Solas feel that she is discontent with either man. She looks pensive, but firm in her decision.

"Vhenan. I beg your ear, for there is a serious matter I wish to discuss with you." She reaches out, for his hand. Selfishly wanting his comfort, even now. "I wanted to ask you, first, if you had ever... felt anything, romantically. For anyone else, besides me, and... her." There is only one person Beleth uses such a tone for. "If ever you felt moved by another, whom you thought could become something... more."

[ The text sent to Solas is not words, but a carefully drawn image... careful, though not particularly skilled. Still, it's easy enough to see what it's supposed to be: Beleth, laying down, in a negligee that is detailed enough that it's easy to guess that it's something that she drew from reference. Beleth's face is gives a little wink. There is no actual words to accompany it. ]

Solas is not yet fully recovered, but he's recovered enough that, by Felassan's reckoning, he's due for a dose of fresh air and sunlight. So Felassan does whatever cajoling is necessary to draw him out into the woods beyond the house, onto a narrow deer trail that cuts through the trees. There's not much undergrowth; on his own Felassan would go wherever he liked. But he's seen Solas stumble and collapse enough to last him for a while, and the trail means the dirt beneath their feet should be trustworthy, packed well and not crossing any pits or mounds rotten enough to collapse beneath them.

Felassan still walks ahead of Solas, just in case.

"I have to bring Beleth a deer," he says, glancing back over his shoulder. "Maybe more than one, after you set the bar at giving her an entire fortress. Thanks for that."

Solas, I never got to ask, and I'm sure you've had far more important things on your mind.

But I assume you had no difficulty breaking through the crystal dome I raised around your dining table?

[Barcus is not, after all, a mage, and new to the gift of shaping stone and gems this way. He's a pretty good architect, though. The whole house could have collapsed onto that dome and it still would have held.]

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[text] ingenuity

@slowarrow

[a note]

I AM SO SORRY part deux Text @gadriel

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action.

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[text]

action, backdated a bit.