The forest was pitch black, dusk had well and truly fallen now. I could only make my way through the thick tangle of brush thanks to the true-sight granted to me by the all-maker. Lucien cursed and muttered under his breath as he stumbled along behind me, trying to follow in my tracks. We were fairly deep in by this point, around the depth a hunter would go to search for game. i gestured to Lucien, signaling for him to come beside me. "I can't tell what you're signaling for, you jackass!" He whispered angrily. "I can barely see my hand in front of my face, let alone yours!" i sighed. "Well since we're whispering now anyway, i need you to stay by my side. we're getting close." Lucien nodded begrudgingly. "fine, got it." Unable to help myself, i smirked. "Want to talk about how you just nodded at me in the dark after bickering with me about not seeing anything?" Lucien flushed red. "How the hell can you see so good? Get back to the task you bastard." i chuckled under my breathe, amused. he was quite easy to poke fun at. We Continued slowly through the brush, following the small game trails left by runt drakes, lupines, or various gryphonids. After some time, i began to hear something in the distance, and simultaneously noticed that the forest had gone otherwise as silent as the grave. Lucien must have heard it too, because he stiffened up, pointed ears flicking at the sound. "Solace, whatever that sound is, it's very bad news." he whispered frantically. I wholeheartedly agreed. every fiber of my being was screaming at me to turn around and leave, But i had told that family i would help their son, and that's what i planned to do. "I'm pushing ahead. Stay close." I told him. As we crept closer, painstakingly slow as to make as little sound as possible, the sound began to clearly manifest itself. It was the sound of a woman crying. Devastating, heart-wrenching cries of a shattered heart. I cringed at the sound, reminding myself that it was the Skogsra, not a normal lass. "Gods..." whispered Lucien. "To hear a woman cry like that...it.." i looked back at him. "I know it's hard, Believe me, i do. But this is not Galath. don't lose yourself." His face had paled after hearing the sound, but he looked me in the eyes, and nodded, determined. "I know, i won't." he replied. "Good man." i whispered. "Now, follow my lead." We crept closer and closer, The volume and intensity of the Skogsra's cries becoming nearly deafening, Until at last we came to a clearing. The light of the fallen Fae's aura shone out form her body dimly, illuminating the clearing in which she sat; a small meadow near a winding stream. She sat upon a log, a forgotten picnic blanket setup below it. the flesh of her arms and one of her legs had become hardened and twisted, like a corrupted tree, But her body and face were still that of a young and beautiful maiden. She had not fully transformed. I darted quickly behind a large spruce tree at the edge of the meadow, Lucien followed soon after. "Well," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "What's the plan? there's no more places to hide between us and her. we're gonna have to charge in." I hesitated. A Skogsra could not be reasoned with, but this fae was not fully transformed. Maybe it would be different... I thought back to my Tutor in Winter's hearth, and his description of the races of the world. Fae were not mortals, they did not have ordinary flesh and blood, their bodies were made by condensing their aura to the form they desired. But being made of aura, They were also beings of intense, unfathomable emotion. Far more than mortals were capable of. If that were the case, then her cries were genuine. She was experiencing true and devastating heartbreak. To charge in and cut her down... "Lucien." i said. "Yeah?" he asked. "I'm about to do something extremely stupid. go back to the village and get my amulet, the one with the god's eye." his eyes widened. "Wait what do you- what amulet- HEY!" he hissed. but i was already in the open. I strode calmly towards the Fae girl, careful not to show any aggression. After getting within a few feet of her, she finally noticed me, the sobbing abruptly cutting off and turning into a startled yelp. "Who are you!? L-Leave me alone!" she angrily choked between sobs. "I don't trust m-mortals. all you do is hurt me." she was wracked by another string of sobs. "I don't want to hurt anymore. make it stop." she rocked herself as she cried, clutching a small glowing light to her chest. Varric's aura. I stepped closer, then knelt down in front of her. No use in asking if she was alright, the answer was obvious. "Miss, what happened to you?" i asked gently. "GO AWAY!" she shrieked. the immense aura from her voice alone pulsed through the clearing like a gale. "LEAVE ME ALONE!". I'd be lying if i said i wasn't afraid, But even so, the woman in front of me was not a monster. She was in pain, and lashing out from the hurt. I steeled my nerves and replied. "Miss, i don't think i could live with myself if i turned around and left you here when you're hurting this badly. Won't you please allow me to help you?" She choked back a retort, then sniffled and stared at me a moment. my breath caught. I'd never seen a fae's eyes before. Deep, luminous azure with cyan sclera, the eyes that could see through anyone and anything, down to their very essence. It was said nothing was hidden from a fae, and in her gaze i found that to be undeniable truth. I could feel her mind's eye scan my entire being as easily as a tax collector glancing over a spreadsheet. My thoughts, my emotions, my memories, nothing was hidden from this fae. "And how can you possibly help me, Solace?" she sniffed, having apparently learned my name through my memories. her tears had stopped though, so had her crying. and in her gaze i saw something unexpected; Hope. I wasn't sure why, but a sense of warmth filled my heart. I smiled gently at her. "Well for a start," i said. "Tell me why you're hurting. it helps to unburden yourself to a willing ear." She sniffled again, then began to tell me what had transpired between herself and Varric. She had encountered Varric on one of his hunts, and being a fae who could see down to the core of a person, fell for him at first sight, as fae are prone to do. He had run from her at first, so she began leaving him gifts near his snares and the trails he frequented. Eventually, he opened up and approached her. and they spent many nights together talking, playing, singing or dancing. But one night, When things had gotten close to intimate, Varric suddenly stopped, confessing that he did not believe his feelings for her were romantic, and that he could not in good conscience be intimate with her. She was devastated. Varric had requested that she not peer into his heart as a condition of spending time with her, as it made him uncomfortable. and she did as agreed, and was thusly blindsided by his rejection. "I felt like everything we did was a lie. i thought.. i thought he loved me. i thought we could be happy. But he wanted someone else." she was sobbing again. "Some village girl the next town over. he had such a beautiful soul, i thought we'd be a perfect match." she said, clutching the little light of varric's aura to her chest. i reached out, taking her hand in my own. Ignoring the surge of aura electrifying my senses from her touch, i squeezed her hand reassuringly. "The price of love is loss, miss." i told her gently. "I can tell from how much you're hurting that his loss was extremely great, and that your love must have been equally as deep." she sniffled, and looked into my eyes again. "But miss, you too have a beautiful soul. and you also deserve to have joy and happiness. You may not have found it here, but that does not mean it doesn't exist for you." She continued staring into my eyes, i felt her peering closer at my aura, my emotions, my memories. examining them not like a tax collector this time, but more like a reader thumbing through his favorite novel. i could feel her warmth coursing through my mind's eye. "A diamond." She said. i tilted my head at her, puzzled. "Pardon, miss?" "Here before me is a diamond, where before i had a stone." unsure as to what she meant, i asked. "What can i do to help you feel better? if it's within my power to do so, i will." She thought for a moment, her eyes still never leaving my own.
"Take me with you." she said.