#fenor

He looks up at her, a smile already on his face, and it grows when hesees her appearance: dressed with one of her cute dresses, decorated withintricate embroideries on the sleeves and collar, and a large apron stainedwith red and orange splotches. Her face is a bit stained, too, and she’sblushing, while staring at him with a half-formed pout.

“I can’t use a spell correctly.” she sighs, shaking her head and herunruly red hair. “I tried and tried again, but I just made the bowl explode.”

She wasn’t born a mage, so she isn’t used to the magic flowing in herbody and spirit. Countless people in all Thedas are going through the same,almost traumatizing change, but Solas has been helping her with all his love,assisting her with the easiest spells, reassuring her when she is scared ofaccidentally hurting him or the children, guiding her hands and mouth to formthe correct movements and words.

She’s been practicing a lot, lately, also to help Fenor and Asherapractice as well, but she said Solas will be their true magic mentor, while shewill take care of more physical trainings. Still, she is fascinated by thespells, even if she fears them a little, and she does her best to use themwhenever she can, especially to cook or care for their garden.

“Did you hurt yourself?” he immediately asks, getting up and going toher, searching for any kind of injury on her face and hand. But she smiles,shakes her head, and kisses his nose to reassure him, saying: “I’m alright,Solas. I just made a mess in the kitchen.”

He sighs relieved, smiling in return, and replies warmly: “We will takecare of it, vhenan.”

“You must teach me that spell again.” she mumbles, pouting again andplaying with one of the strings of his shirt, one of the many she sewed forhim. “I really want to get it right.”

She often worries about her clumsiness with magic, he knows this well,and so he takes her in his arms, presses his lips on hers, and whisperssweetly: “Only if you promise me you will show me how to sew that difficultseam again.”

While he specializes in magic and the lost elven arcane arts, she is anexpert in the practical, the material, the physical, and they support eachother and each other’s talents, especially when teaching their children. Theyask for the other’s help when they can’t get something right, for the other’sknowledge when they want to learn something new and when they want to spendtime together in an intimate manner.

And so Scarlet practices with magic, while Solas practices with needlesand colored threads, following her instructions together with Fenor and Ashera,almost every night in front of the fireplace.

“I promise.” she giggles, flattered and grateful for his tact, and theyleave the room after sharing another kiss, hand in hand. They can hear Fenorand Ashera playing in the young boy’s room, their high cries of delight andlaughs echoing in the vast, quiet, safe forest that surrounds their home, andso they head straight to the kitchen.

It’s only later that Solas realizes he left the mural and all his colorsunattended and he knows how curious Ashera is about those. She always tries toplunge her hands into the buckets full of paint, to smear the colors on thewalls, to see if the brushes can be used to color her face, too. Fenor, beingmuch older than her, is diligent and always keeps an eye on her, but he oftenplays along, always happy to make her laugh and have fun.

Scarlet seems to realize that, too, especially when they can’t hear thekids laugh anymore. Solas helped her with the spell and the family’s dinner isalmost ready, the kitchen perfectly clean again; she looks back at the corridorleading to the rooms of the first floor and smiles, biting her lower lip.

“I can hear them giggle.” she whispers, laughing under her breath, andSolas sighs amusedly, a fond smile on his face.

“I fear we will have to clean our bedroom as well, vhenan.”

He chokes on a gasp when they enter the room: Ashera is covered invarious hues of paint from head to toe, so much only her eyes are visible, andthere are multiple, large stains of color on Fenor’s face and shirt. They foundan empty, blank spot on the wall, next to their father’s fresco, and they areusing their hands and fingers to draw shapes and animal figures on it.

“Hi!” Ashera exclaims happily when she sees them standing near the door.Fenor looks guilty for a second, but then he grins, too, pointing at theflowers they drew.

“Look! These ones look good!”

“They are very pretty, da’fen.”Scarlet agrees, kneeling on the ground to be at their same eye-level. Shegiggles and ruffles their hair, a bit of paint sticking to her hand as she doesso, because Ashera is literally covered by it.

“Are you trying to help Papae complete his fresco?”

“Yes! We’re adding stuff!” the little girl grins and then she motionsSolas to crouch down, too. He does so immediately, smiling at her while shakinghis head.

“Oh, da’fen.” He looks backand forth from her to Fenor, then laughs, his eyes glinting with love. “Youlook so colorful!”

“Here! I’ll add some colors on you, too!”

Ashera presses the palm flat against his cheek, leaving a bright, orangehandprint on it; then she turns to Scarlet and carefully draws a long mustacheabove her upper lip. Fenor’s laugh fills the room, soon followed by Ashera’sproud cackle.

“Mamae, you look more beautiful than Uncle Dorian!”

“Careful.” she smiles, arching an eyebrow. “He might hear you even fromTevinter.”

Just then, Solas dips two fingers into a bucket of paint and flickersthe color onto his wife’s face, making her squeal in surprise; then he smearsthe remaining paint onto Ashera’s hair and Fenor’s face, laughing triumphantlyas they giggle delighted and promptly counterattack.

“Don’t worry. I won’t give in to panic.” he promises, smiling again, brightly this time. “This will be a good chance to learn how to do better.”

“You already do it perfectly. You just need to relax.” She kisses him, chuckling softly. “But you’re right. This is a good occasion.”

She then smooches Fenor, who laughs happily as his mother peppers his face with loud kisses and cooing words. Tears form in her eyes, because she doesn’t want to leave; even if she will be gone just for a few hours, away to help Dorian with some delegates, they will feel like many more, because of the nearly still flow of time.

“I’ll be back soon.” she promises, both to Solas and Fenor, and she says it out loud also to reassure herself. Solas holds back his tears - they haven’t been separated one day since the successful fall of the Veil and the subsequent Restoration and even this handful of hours will feel like a painful eternity.

They kiss one last time, then she enters the eluvian they have hidden in a quiet part of the forest they live in. It will take her to the Crossroads, where she will be able to reach Minrathous in just a few seconds using the right mirror.

The light of the eluvian disappears and Solas lets out a long, deep kiss, already missing his vhenan. But then Fenor makes a tiny, funny noise and Solas looks down at him with a huge smile, which the child returns.

“Why don’t we go eat something, da’fen?”

The cute nickname perfectly represents Fenor’s appetite: he would eat anything, at any hour of the day, without pause. He is a healthy and florid child and Solas knows that he would accept to eat even in the middle of the night.

And since it’s not night, Fenor is even quicker to agree and he shows his joy with a flailing of chubby arms and other funny sounds.

“Papae, Papae!” he babbles, touching his father’s chin with his short, soft fingers, and Solas kisses them, then his cheek, making him laugh. He laughs, too, and thinks that this won’t be so hard. He just has to relax, just like Scarlet said.

He enters the cottage and sits Fenor down on the high chair Blackwall carved for him; he brushes back his hair - red like Scarlet’s, while the impatient eyes that are looking at him are blue like his - and he smiles, asking: “What would you like to eat, da’vhenan?”

That name is sweeter and tells another truth: Fenor is now part of his heart just as much as Scarlet. The wolf wags his tail whenever he’s around his child, growls at whatever dares bother or hurt him, be it a bug or an uncomfortable pillow.

“Cake!” Fenor points at the cake his parents baked the previous day, standing half-finished on the counter of the kitchen. Solas bites his lips, looking at the light outside the windows. Still too early to eat cake, the rules are clear and Fenor knows this, but he’s a clever boy and knows his dad might change his mind, now that mom isn’t home.

It’s terribly hard to be the serious, stern parent and neither Solas or Scarlet are good at it. They are able to say ‘no’ and put rules, of course, but it hurts them to see disappointment on their little cub’s face or hear the first noises that predict a wail.

“Please?” Fenor insists, making puppy-eyes at him, even sticking out his lower lip. It’s his special technique and it always works and Solas thinks those puppy-eyes are way too powerful for such a small child.

“Well…” He looks at the cake again and sighs. It’s a good cake and his sweet tooth demands him to take a bite, too, even if dinner is still far and fruits would be much better at this hour of the day.

He must be strong and let the child understand he can’t always win the food he wants that way. That’s actually the only thing Fenor ever fusses about; he’s a little saint for everything else and he always listens to his parents, sweet and calm, playful and giggly all the time, the sun and treasure of their cozy house.

“No, da’fen. It’s too early for the cake. Why don’t we eat something else?” The words hurt like glass on the roof of his mouth. Fenor’s face falls and his eyes are full of disappointed surprise, now.

Solas desperately tries not to feel like a bad father. He’s not bad, right? He’s just making sure his child’s tummy won’t hurt later and that he won’t ruin his appetite.

Still, anxiety slowly carves his guts into something twisted and painful and he tries not to cry as Fenor’s lips start to tremble and his cheeks get redder.

This is a silly thing and yet he can’t help but feel like a monster.

“W-Wait, da’vhenan.” he says, trying to fix everything, hoping to succeed. “We will eat the cake later, alright? With Mamae, we will eat it all together. It’s fairer that way, don’t you agree?”

Fenor remembers his mom isn’t there and the meaning of the memory of her leaving through the eluvian changes in his mind, now, it makes him worry. He also isn’t still good at sensing how much time has actually passed and the slow flow of time makes him believe she left much long ago, even if just a few minutes have actually passed.

“Mamae, where is Mamae?” he asks, tears in his eyes, and Solas panics.

“She is with Uncle Dorian!” he tries to reassure him, taking him in his arms again, but Fenor looks terrified, he never saw one of his parents leave and it is disconcerting not to see and hear Mamae in the house.

“She is in Minrathous, da’fen, where Uncle Dorian lives. She will come back soon, do not worry.” Solas kisses his hair, strokes his back, but Fenor is now upset, both by Scarlet’s absence and the lack of cake. His lips tremble again and he makes a choked sound, the beginning of a sob.

Solas feels wretched.

His hands start shaking and he swallows his tears, trying desperately not to make things worse. He looks around, looking for a way to reassure his son, but the only thing he sees is the cake.

He is about to give in and give a slice to the child when a spirit enters the kitchen and stares at the scene, perfectly quiet, perfectly still.

That visit is enough to temporarily distract Fenor, who waves at the spirit with a wet, timid smile, while Solas returns its stare, which turns into a glare.

“Why is the child crying?” it asks and Solas feels even more terrible, a disgusting failure.

“I… He…”

“Have you learned nothing, Wolf?” the spirit continues, shaking its glowing head. “Is your habit of making mistakes still so strong?”

A big lump blocks Solas’ throat and he cannot reply, but then something marvelous happens.

Fenor blows raspberries at the spirit and sticks out his tongue at it when it stares at him with offended disbelief.

“Papae is good!” he exclaims angrily, scowling at the spirit. “Warm and kind like Mamae! Go away!”

The spirit floats back, still looking outraged, but then Solas recovers from the initial shock and says coldly: “Didn’t you hear my son? Leave our house.”

The spirit disappears at that, after scoffing, and Solas thinks it probably was a spirit of Command - or Pomposity - like the one they met in Old Crestwood, so many years ago.

“Papae is good.” Fenor repeats, talking to him this time, and his tears are gone. There are only his smile and chubby hands, now, and Solas kisses them again, before nuzzling his cheek and making him laugh.

He sniffles, pushing back his tears, but the panic and anxiety in his heart are gone, he can breathe and think better, and things suddenly feel easier, because they are.

“Thank you, da’fen.” he says with a smile and he really believes him.

When Scarlet comes back, two hours later, she finds her husband in his wolf form, playing in the garden with their son, chasing him and letting him chase him in return. They hear her immediately and Fenor trots to her, giggling excitedly, calling “Mamae, Mamae!”.

Solas turns back into his elven form and approaches his family as Scarlet scoops up the small, squealing elf and kisses him all over his face, exclaiming: “Oh, da’fen, I missed you so much, little cub!”

Then she looks at Solas, smiling proudly at him, and he is smiling too, almost timidly.

“I missed you too, vhenan.” she says softly and he gets into her arms, hugging both her and Fenor and pressing his lips and nose against her cheek. He breathes in her perfume and sighs, relieved.