The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Haliel Lightsong]

"Alright. We'll take care of you for tonight. And then we'll go home. Rest now." She catches Varric's eye as he drifts out of the mist and swings Marian into her arms. Varric nods back, already planning their story when they arrive at the nearest hamlet. They're stay the night, then slip back into the city in the morning.

[Marian Hawke]

It's good they're planning to stay the night; Marian runs a bit of a fever by the time they find accomodations around lunchtime, and as Lightsong tucks her into bed, she's shivering, unable to get warm, covered in a fine layer of sweat. Definitely not up to travelling today.

"Please," she keeps whispering. "Don't go. Don't leave me alone."

[Haliel Lightsong]

Stripping down to her underthings, Haliel slips into the bed with Marian. "Alright. I'll be right here, all night. And Mister Varric is just in the next room, just in case." It's not a fever. Or, well, not disease based fever. Probably shock? "Are you cold? Do you want more blankets?" Lightsong herself feels like a sunwarmed stone against Marian's body. Not hot, but radiating warmth like sunlight.

[Marian Hawke]

"Cold," she whispers. "I'm cold. I-- please. Stay with me. Nobody's ever stayed with me, but you... please. I can't be taken again. I can't-- I already paid rent once. I can't. I can't do it alone. I can't do this alone anymore." 

[Haliel Lightsong]

Her heart breaking in reflected pain, Lightsong pulls Marian tightly against her. "I won't leave. All evening, all through the night, I'm right here with you. Right here. N-no rent. Nothing like that. Just holding you close and being with you here. You're not alone. I'm right here with you."

[Marian Hawke]

"You're warm," whispers Marian, cuddling closer, laying her head on Lightsong's shoulder. "You're so bright, and so warm. Everything I don't deserve, but want anyway. Safety. Home. Family." 

She breathes in deeply, letting out a small, contented sigh. "Please stay," she murmurs, her eyes already drifting shut.

[Haliel Lightsong]

"I will. For as long as I am able, I will stay with you." Closing her own eyes, Haliel gently rocks the small woman as she cuddles her close. I think... I think this is love. I was so scared when... I have never been as scared as when I read Mister Varric's note. Not even when Alan cut his face on that broken window pane and I realized not everyone has such tough skin. And seeing her, seeing her alive and whole though battered and worn... I just... gods, it was like my heart stopped, then melted into warm light. "I love you Marian," she murmurs in celestial. "I do not know what will come of it... but I love you." With that, she settles down to sleep as well.

[Marian Hawke]

In the morning, Marian's much recovered -- after she finally drifts off, she sleeps nearly fourteen hours, but the fever breaks and vanishes as she does, leaving her exhausted but recovering as she slumbers. She rouses, finally, and dresses, embarrassed and unable to meet Lightsong's eye but not going out of her way to recant what she's said.

Finally, puppy clutched in her arms, she makes her way through the adjoining door to face Varric, unsure what to say or how to say it.

[Haliel Lightsong]

Lightsong has left her to her silence in the morning for the most part. She'd helped her dress, after checking her over for the fever, then dressed as well. Afterwards, she had pulled Marian in for another hug. When pulling away, she had hesitated, then finally pressed a kiss to the merikos elf's check before kneeling for her morning prayers and allowing Marian to speak with Varric privately.

[Varric]

When Marian enters the next room, she spots Varric. Fully dressed and holding that massive crossbow, he's sitting upright in a chair that is partially hidden by a table on its side. Keeping watch, just in case, evidently. "Morning," he murmurs, studying her with indirect gaze.

[Marian Hawke]

She stares at him for a moment, wrestling with her feelings. Finally, unsure how to begin, she instead blurts out, "Did you sleep?"

[Varric]

"From a bottle," he replies, a faint smile forming for a moment. "Got a little innate magic that allows a lot of substitutions in the brew so it's dirt cheap. But it only works for me as the one who's magic is in it. You?"

[Marian Hawke]

"Tons," she admits, wincing. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been caught like that, and now I've waylaid you both a whole day..."

[Varric]

"You feel you owe me then? Fine, calling it in now then. You're not allowed to feel guilty over this shite. Not about being made, about being captured, about needing us to rescue you, about any of it. We did because we wanted to and we think you're worth the effort." He finally turns his head to glare at her for a four seconds. "And if I have any balance due on the debt, have an honest talk with Seeker, she thinks you hate her."

[Marian Hawke]

Marian stares at him, gobsmacked. Finally, her eye prick with tears, and she begins to nod vigorously. Don't cry, he'll think you're upset, she tells herself, but that just makes the tears come faster.