#solprompts

Words: 1033

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Catalina grinned and nearly vibrated with excitement as she caught sight of Iona’s cottage in a large clearing among the trees. Feeding off of her own emotions, Itzel cocked her head and said in Spanish, “I suppose it has been a while, hasn’t it? It’ll be nice to see them again.”

“It has! Last time was when she came to visit us in Spain…when? Goodness, it’s been maybe two years?” Catalina began the descent on her broom, Itzel keeping right at her side. “Just imagine the look on her face!”

The two spotted her as they got closer, seeing movement in one of her many greenhouses. Iona’s setup was really quite impressive - she had journals of notes on all of her different herbs: what kind of zone they grew in, the amount of water and sunlight they needed, what grew good close together, and so on. She then took all of that information and carefully created each greenhouse to be a suitable habitat to grow what she needed. All of her regular flowers that she cared for decorated the outside of the cottage and the property. She was most definitely creating a botanist’s paradise and Catalina was so proud of her.

The witch landed outside of the greenhouse where she had seen the figure moving. Broom remaining in hand, Itzel landed at the top of it as Catalina skipped inside and sang out in English, “Surpriiise! I’m here, cariño mío!”

Iona shrieked with surprise and exclaimed something in Gaelic, but a wide smile was on her face. She’d been hunched over, digging into the dirt of her raised beds, but was now running towards her while Marvin’s eyes sparkled, watching the interaction. Iona was about to throw her arms around Catalina, but she stopped just short, hesitating. “I- Well, I’m so happy to see you, but I’m rather dirty…”

Catalina scoffed and closed the gap, pulling Iona into a hug, though she could tell her friend was still trying to be careful to not smudge dirt on her brightly colored shirt or fair skin. Catalina swatted her shoulder lightly. “Give me a real hug!”

“But I don’t-!”

“I don’t care! It’ll come clean!”

Iona caved and engulfed her in a full hug. They remained there for several long seconds before separating. “I wasn’t expecting you for a while longer! I thought you had things to wrap up?”

“I took care of it! I just couldn’t wait any longer.” Itzel flew off from the perch of the broom as Catalina made it vanish and found a new resting spot on the edge of one of the beds near Marvin, the two familiars sharing a silent exchange. “Come, come, start talking! What is new, what are you doing, what’s planned?!”

Iona laughed weakly. “I think you underestimate how slow the pace of life is out here compared to yours. My big goal for the day was harvesting some of my echinacea and making some new stores.”

“Wonderful! How can I help?”

Iona’s eyes immediately darted down to Catalina’s dangling bracelets, multiple stacking rings on each finger, and her well manicured nails. “I think I can find a pair of gloves inside if you’d really like to help. I prefer to do this part by hand instead of by magic. It’s soothing for me.”

Catalina nodded rapidly. “Yes? No, I don’t need gloves.” She started removing her jewelry. “If it’s how you want to do it, I’m willing to learn! Let’s go!”

“You just arrived! I can at least take a break and go prepare some food and drink for you.”

“Nonsense, I’m fine. I don’t want to interrupt what you were already doing. Come on, put me to work!”

Iona still paused, but finally gestured her over to where she had been working. She began to explain the process, the proper way to harvest it and how she needed to handle it after having done so. Catalina listened intently, not wanting to mess up anything if she could help it. She watched Iona do it twice before attempting it herself under a watchful gaze. She was a little startled to feel how cool the soil was when she made contact with it. It wasn’t like she’d never touched dirt before, but it had been some time since she’d dug her hands fully in. It sent a slight tingle up her arms and she felt herself relaxing a little, not realizing she’d been tense at all. Once she uprooted it carefully, she held it out to Iona to let her handle cutting the roots and removing what other parts she needed. Catalina immediately went in for the next one, not even pausing to remove some of the dirt from under her fingernails, though she could feel it compacting under there. Just because she was a well respected and renowned witch in the big city didn’t mean that she couldn’t get down and dirty when she wanted to, especially when for the sake of her best friend. Iona had clearly already been at it for a good part of the day - her sleeves were rolled up and there was dirt all over her lap, some on her shirt, and it was smudged on her arms as high as her elbows. With a glance at Marvin, she saw that even he had some dirt on his massive antlers, suggesting he’d done something to help out.

The two formed a good system with leaving most of the uprooting to Catalina and the harvesting to Iona that they finished an entire bed at a relatively quick pace. Once she deemed them finished, Iona fetched one of the buckets of water and invited Catalina to dip her hands in and wash them off. “Thank you for helping. I appreciate it. And you didn’t have to, especially when you just got here.”

“Of course! Anything for you! Now…I do believe you mentioned something earlier about some food, yes?”

“Yes! Let me bring these in and clean up and I’ll make something! Itzel, would you like anything?”

Itzel got a twinkle in her eye. “I recall we both like flan, yes?”

Okay, I hope you guys don’t mind, but this post from @roguelioness​ and @ma-sulevin​ sparked a little bit of inspiration for this drabble that got out of control very quickly. I tweaked it minorly to where it isn’t a full AU of Lavellan dreaming about the events of DAI and Trespasser, but rather, where she is still living in that timeline. Angst fuels my soul, I’m sorry!

I hope you like it! ><

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Words: 2728

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Falling asleep with Solas next to her in bed, Lavellan couldn’t help but smile as she curled up into his embrace, her arm extended across his chest while he held her close to his side. She’d hoped she would be able to fall asleep like that, before she got too warm and had to move away. She felt like she always had far more pleasant dreams when she drifted off with her head resting on his upper arm. The comfort of someone being so close to her when she’d never felt like this ever before drowned out the nightmares she’d gotten since the Anchor etched itself into her skin. Sure, she still had them from time to time, but they felt much less threatening to her now.

Yet, that night...was quite different. It felt like a hand was grasping her neck and slowly squeezing, making her gasp for breath and toss and turn in her sleep almost to the point of it being violent. No matter what she saw flashing behind her closed lids, she couldn’t open them and break free. The longer she watched, the more mystified she became, unable to look away and not truly wanting to wake up until she saw how this horrific scene ended. 

It started with a man in the shadows, hand extending into the light and offering the orb of power to Corypheus. She watched as his disfigured, clawed hand reached out and clutched it tightly, the orb sparking to life and illuminating the room. The man in the shadows was none other than an emotionless Solas. She had just barely managed to part her lips to call out to him when everything changed in an instant around her. She felt like she was being held by hand wrists and being tugged in different directions every time she started to see something else. 

Thank you sooo much for indulging me and giving me a fun little prompt and my inspiration for my first prompt of 2020 (that fact also kind of stabs me in the chest)!

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Words: 1149

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All in all, the evening had been wonderful. Rienmar had just returned from a business trip for his work and before he even went home to his own place, he called Aravae, wanting to meet up with her. She admitted that she didn’t feel like going out anywhere, though she was excited to see him again for the first time in nearly two weeks, and he said it didn’t matter. With a light flush on her cheeks, she told him to come to her place. It would be his third or fourth time there, but only his first being invited in to stay for an extended period of time.

Knowing she only had a short span of time before he would get there, she rushed around her apartment in a flurry to straighten up and actually throw her clothes away in a hamper or her dresser. She put on appropriate clothes and not just her sweatpants and loose tank top with no bra. She checked herself in the mirror and made a scoffing noise of dismissal as she ran her fingers through her hair to tame it just a little. Just as she’d lit one of her favorite candles - an autumn scented one - there came the knock at her door and the butterflies in her chest.

When she opened it, Rienmar gave her that sweet smile she’d fallen for so hard, one that felt reserved just for her. She felt even more elated than she thought she would when she saw him. They simultaneously moved to hug each other and she took a deep inhale of his scent. Outdoors, mountain air, wood shavings. It was starting to feel so familiar to her. That both excited her and slightly worried her, since she’d never gotten so close to someone so fast like him before.

She invited him in and asked if he wanted any dinner since it was getting late. He gave a sheepish chuckle and said, “I actually already ordered to have a pizza brought. Hope that’s okay.”

She laughed lightly. “That’s perfect. The less dishes to wash, the better.”

Aravae gave him a small tour around her apartment, which he complimented a couple of times. Once it was done, she invited him to sit on the couch. He exhaled long and hard when he did, beginning to tell her about the trip once she asked about it. She listened intently, pulling her feet up onto the couch to get more comfortable and to lean a little closer to him. It was rare that he spoke so much at once, let alone about something he was passionate about. There was a light shining in his eyes and his hands gestured about every once in a while. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, because just as he was wrapping up, there was another knock at the door. Aravae started to move, but Rienmar insisted, “I’ll get it. It’s probably the pizza.”

He returned shortly with a large pizza box, moving rather casually until he glanced up at her and his eyes darted around nervously. “Sorry. Umm, where should I set this?”

She smirked. “Forget you weren’t at your house?”

“I- Yes.”

“The coffee table is fine. I have some paper plates sitting on my counter in the kitchen if you want some.”

He brought some back and set the box down on her coffee table, just in between them. He served her a slice, then grabbed one for himself and sat back with another sigh. When he caught Aravae looking at him with a questioning brow raised, he said, “Sorry. Just feels nice to be able to unwind.”

“It’s nothing to apologize for,” she assured him. They both took a bite of the pizza and as the silence started to settle, her gaze slowly went up to the television in front of them. “Would you like to watch a movie?”

“Sure.”

“Any preference?”

“No, whatever you want to watch is fine. It’s your place.”

“I don’t want to torture you with something boring!”

“Honestly, whatever you feel like watching.”

It didn’t take long. Aravae put on Looper, just because it was mainly one of the first recommended things that popped up when she opened her streaming service and she didn’t want to risk throwing on a girlier movie in case it really did bore him, no matter what he said. As it started, they continued to eat, casually moving closer to each other each time they leaned in to get another slice of pizza. Once it was all gone, Rienmar reached an arm out to rest behind her on the back of the couch. She snuggled closer to him, giving him silent permission for him to move his hand down and lightly stroke her shoulder with his fingers. The longer it went on, the more comfortable they got, leaning into each other until Rienmar started to feel...relatively heavy to her. She glanced over slowly and saw that he had completely fallen asleep on her shoulder. A smile danced across her lips as she carefully leaned her head against his. He had seemed so tired, so it didn’t fully surprise her. At least she couldn’t blame it on being a boring movie.

She surprised herself by not moving much until the end of the movie, though by then her legs were very much numb and her shoulder was beginning to ache. Rienmar had snored a little on and off, occasionally seeming like he was either going to wake up or shift away from her, but he never quite did. Aravae let the credits roll and end. With the loud silence, Rienmar seemed to be more disturbed then. He inhaled sharply and smacked his lips together a couple of times. Realizing where he was and what he was doing, he leaned up quickly. He cleared his throat and looked at her with wide eyes. “I’m sorry, I-...?”

"You fell asleep on me and now there's a drool stain on my shirt,” she said with a laugh, eyeing the small spot on her shoulder.

Rienmar looked horrified. Absolutely, positively horrified. So much so that he couldn’t even properly form words.

Aravae could only laugh. “It’s okay, really! You were tired!”

He held his face in his hands and muttered, “I am so sorry.”

She reached out, took hold of his wrists, and gently tugged them. “I know how you can make it up to me if you feel so bad.”

He peeked at her through his fingers.

“I’ll accept a kiss.”

1) “Don’t look at me like that.” - Aravae, to someone she cares about a lot

2) “I love you.” - Said in awe, realizing it for the first time

3) “I’m so proud of you, you know that?” - Aravae x Rienmar

4) “It’s like you’re screaming and no one can hear you.” - No preference listed

5) “Oh, kiss me, you idiot!” - Samahl to Solas

6) “Please look at me.” + “Am I too late?” - Samahl x Solas

7) “The more ignorant they are, the more opinions they have.” - Solas

8) “The way I feel when I’m with you...” - Aravae x Solas

9) “You look beautiful/handsome in the moonlight.” - Aravae x Solas

10) “You may be an idiot, but you’re my idiot.” - Samahl x Solas

11) “You’re in no condition to be walking around.” - Aravae x Solas

12) “It was a mistake and I know I can never fix this.” - Aravae x Solas

13) “It’s your turn to make dinner.” - No preference listed

14) “You’re the only one I trust to do this.” - Aravae x Solas

15) “You’re the perfect height for me to rest my chin on your head.” - Ena x Bull

16) Bandaging each other’s wounds - Aravae x Solas

17) One of Aravae’s children giving her a gift for the first time

18) Someone does something stupid: “Sorry, you’re just...really adorable.” - No preference listed

19) Tackle hug - Aravae x Rienmar

20) Things you said after you kissed me - Aravae x Solas

21) Unbind me (write a drabble about one character freeing another, or the other way around, or something among the lines) - No preference listed

22) Unexpected kiss - Ena x Bull

23) “I failed.” + A quiet campsite - No preference listed

24) Aravae absentmindedly gives a non-wolfy Solas tummy rubs and discovers he is incredibly ticklish.

25) Happy prompt (for once in my life!) for Athelas Lavellan and Solas

26) Solas being jealous over Aravae

27) Samahl and Solas exploring ruins and stumbling upon treasures

28) “There are times when I can’t stop speaking, when a million words leave my mouth in a matter of seconds… a million words that mean nothing… but when I want to find some words that mean everything, I just can’t speak. Like: I miss you. Like: I love you. Like: My world is falling apart and I need you by my side.” - Samahl x Solas

29) “We still have tomorrow.” + Nighttime - No preference listed

30) Napping in sunshine - No preference listed

31) When words aren’t enough - Aravae x Rienmar

“Listen to the waves! Look at the sky, the water! I’ve never seen anything like this!” Aravae breathed with excitement, her eyes wide and taking in all the sights before her. “This is nothing like the forest!”

Rienmar grinned at her childish enthusiasm, taking slow but long strides to catch up with her as she all but skipped down into the sand. She paused and looked down at it, wriggling her toes into the foreign ground. Just past her, the light of the moons shimmered on the water’s surface as it broke and washed up onto shore. Above her, the stars were endless, seeming like an ocean themselves. In the midst of it all, Aravae beamed and spun around and gazed with wonder. To him, she was as bright and wondrous as any of the lights that shone in the evening.

“I think there’s more stars here than out in the field where we typically stargaze.” Aravae tilted her head up, drinking in the sight.

“There is at least one more that I can see,” he purred into her ear as he came to her side. He smirked at the flush in her cheeks, then laughed as she lightly swatted at him. “Do you like it?”

“I love it. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Of course. Now, there is one more thing I wanted to show you…” He came to stand in front of her, then slid his hands into hers, positioning one of them on his shoulder. Once it was in place, he rested his free hand on the small of her back, eyes twinkling at Aravae’s puzzled expression. As he started to sway, Aravae taking a few moments before relaxing, realizing what he was doing, he explained, “I’ve been practicing my dancing.”

“So you have,” she hummed.

For this, I picked “A touch to say goodnight.” I also paired it with not one, but two other prompts I’ve had sitting around! It’s a combination kind of night, so many of these work well together!

This also includes “I can’t sleep, can I stay here?” requested by @dreadhobo with the Aravae x Solas pairing

and one that was from my old account, but I had the prompt saved. I can’t fully remember who asked for it (I think it might have been @sasshole-for-rent? I’m so sorry if it wasn’t! ;_;), but it was a combo prompt also for Aravae x Solas and it was “Can I kiss you?” / “You didn’t have to ask.”

Thank you so much for the prompts! These new ones are helping to spark some creative twists for ones I’ve had for a whillle. Please enjoy!

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Insomnia

Words: 1229

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Aravae twisted and turned for several hours, forcibly keeping her eyes shut to the point where they were beginning to ache from not resting naturally. Each time she rolled over, she inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to force her body to relax. But any time she started to get close to the edge of sleep, images would flash in her head of her torture at the hands of Viddathari and she would jerk back awake with a strangled gasp. Banal’ras stirred at the foot of the bed and crawled on, trying to comfort her with his body heat and touch, but she couldn’t get her mind to rest.

She sat up and lit her bedside candles - manually, because she was too hesitant to try using magic when she was so unsteady. She grabbed a book with more force than was necessary and opened it, beginning to read. Rather, trying to. Her eyes refused to focus on the words. They shook before her gaze and she tried to blink it away, but it didn’t stop. With an annoyed grunt, she tossed the book across the room. She rubbed her eyes and hung her head. Should she go to the healing tent and see if they would give her a sleeping draught? She’d already gone so long without sleeping...partially because she was afraid to, partially because she just couldn’t. Insomnia wouldn’t let her rest, no matter how exhausted her body was.

There was one thing missing that might help. Solas was not in her room that night. He said that he had a lot of research to do for something that Leliana needed and he didn’t want to keep her awake, so he was going to stay in his own room. But the emptiness on that side of the bed made her feel lonely and incomplete. She sighed and looked at the panther as she stroked his head. “Ir abelas, ma falon. I don’t mean to keep waking you up. Would you accompany me to Solas’s room? Maybe then we can both get some rest.”

He didn’t seem pleased, but he at least stood and stretched when she moved about. She remained in her sleeping clothes, but she found her cloak and threw it on, drawing it closed with her hands so that she wouldn’t get stared at by the patrol. She didn’t bother with grabbing her staff, but she made sure to blow the candles out before leaving.

The night was dark, not illuminated by any moon or starlight. Banal’ras could hardly be seen walking at her side, blending in perfectly with the shadows of the battlements. Aravae walked as quickly as she could, though her steps wobbled somewhat due to her weariness. She passed by one patrol that happened to be two elven men. They saluted as she walked by, murmuring quickly, “Era’tarasyl’nin.”

She didn’t have the energy to tell them that they didn’t need to call her that. She barely managed to nod at them as she pressed on. Once she entered the line of doors that led to Solas’s, she began to feel some immediate relief. She was ready to be out of sight. She wasn’t sure if she looked like it, but she felt as though she appeared weak and worn down. Even her hand trembled with exhaustion as she raised it to knock on his door. It took several long moments for Solas to open it and when he did, his brows were raised with surprise. “Vhenan?”

“I can’t sleep,” she murmured, blinking heavily. “Can I stay here?”

“Of course.” He stepped out of the doorway and let her in. A fire crackled in the hearth and many candles were lit all across the room. Books and papers were strewn about, even on the bed. She immediately walked to a clear space on the bed and sank down on it. Banal’ras curled up by the fire and promptly watched them.

Solas closed the door and went to Aravae, kneeling before her. “What’s wrong? Is it the dreams again?”

“The ones with Viddathari,” she confirmed, her voice sounding far away to her own ears. “I just can’t...fall or stay asleep.”

“You have shadows under your eyes,” he observed aloud, his face contorted with worry. “I’ve been busy with this research, but- How long has this been going on?”

“A few days, I suppose?”

He frowned. “You should have come to me sooner.”

She tried to look at him and see his face, but in an instant, all she could see was Viddathari reaching out towards her and touching her arm. She inhaled sharply and flinched away, but when she blinked, all that was there was Solas reeling back. She immediately buried her face in her hands. “I’m sorry. I’m so tired, I can’t even see straight…”

“Should I help? Would you like me to help you in the Fade and guard your dreams?”

“No, I know it’s important that you finish your task as soon as possible… If I could just...fall asleep and...stay there, it would help. Even just a little…”

“I think I know what could help. Here, stand up and take off your cloak.” She did as he asked and he tossed the article of clothing off to rest on a chair. “Lay down on your stomach.” She scooted a few things around and all but melted into the bed, her face resting against his pillow. She inhaled his scent and instantly felt better, but that wasn’t what he had in mind. He hovered over her and wrapped his hands with a heating spell. He slowly lowered his hands onto her shoulders and began to rub methodically.

Aravae sighed and let her eyes try to slide closed. She could practically feel him burning the tension off of her, though the heat was not that strong. He worked at her shoulders for a time, then he moved lower, rubbing with just enough pressure on her back, making sure to cover every inch. By time the heat of his hands left her back, she wasn’t sure if she was in a dream anymore or not. Everything felt hazy and like she wasn’t really there in Solas’s room. She felt as though she were far away from so much, even herself.

But his voice whispered in her ear, “Aravae? Is that better?”

“Mm? Mmhmm,” she hummed, not feeling able to even form coherent words.

It sounded like he chuckled. “Come, let’s get you under the covers.” It stirred her a little, having to shift about in order to slide under the thick blankets. When she did, she rolled over to be on her side, facing Solas. Her eyes were simply too heavy to open anymore, but she could tell that he was still there, just at the bedside. She felt the warmth of his body as he must have leaned closer. “Can I kiss you, Vhenan?”

She just barely managed to curve the corners of her lips upward and murmur sleepily, “You didn’t have to ask.”

His soft lips pressed against hers and she hummed pleasantly. As he pulled away and just before she was pulled into the deep comfort of sleep, she felt his hand brush hair away from her face and cup her cheek. His thumb gently caressed the skin of her cheek and that was the last thing she remembered.

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The relief washed over her once her eyes landed upon Solas’s approaching figure in the crowd. Well, what was left of the crowd, since it parted for him as he walked with his head held high, hands clasped behind his back. With a glance about the room, he parted his lips and spoke to them all, but Samahl was too focused on looking into his eyes that she missed what his mouth had said. Whatever it was, the room cleared out quickly, leaving only the two of them. She waited until his stance relaxed before asking with desperate urgency, “Where were you? I was starting to lose control of them. They don’t listen to a deaf woman for long while you’re gone.”

“I’m sorry, Vhenan. I had urgent business to attend to in Tevinter.”

“Tevinter? Doing what? Aren’t there slavers there?”

“Precisely, there were those in slavery that I was helping to free. Don’t worry,” he assured her with a warm smile, “I was perfectly safe.”

“Why couldn’t I have gone with you?” She pursed her lips. “I worry about you while you’re gone.”

The sounds of Ena’s pained grunts resounded throughout the room as she fought to bite down screams of pain. She cradled her left hand, flexing her fingers and clenching them into fists, repeating it over and over. At her side, Bull was rubbing a hand along her back and pressing gentle kisses to her head, shushing her gently, trying to help her think about relaxing. On Ena’s other side, Aravae was all but glowering at the mark upon her hand, as if that could will away her pain. For many weeks now, the Anchor had been flaring up to the point where Solas was having to be nearly constant at the Inquisitor’s side, feeding it with his magic to calm it. Now, his nose was buried in many open books, all written in ancient elvhen, trying to figure out the safest way to remove it from her body now that it was no longer needed.

He’d been trying. Aravae knew he was. But judging by the deep creases in his face and the irritated look in his eyes, it didn’t look like he was having much luck. She’d tried offering to help, but he assured her he had it until control. It was his magic and his creation, after all. Who would know it better than him? He just wanted to make sure there were ways of removing it that didn’t result in either Ena’s death or loss of limbs.

Quite unlike him, he stood up from the desk in Ena’s room, the chair scraping along the floor, and he stormed out onto the balcony, gripping the stone railings tightly. Aravae squeezed Ena’s shoulder and went out to Solas’s side, murmuring, “It’s okay; you just need to take a break.”

“Sometimes,” he all but whispered, his voice uneasy, “I have no idea what I’m doing, vhenan.”

“If it’s presenting to be an obstacle to you, let me help you,” she pleaded, placing her hand atop his. “Perhaps a set of fresh eyes will open up some new perspective. Don’t shut me out.”