NALIA
⚔️⚔️⚔️

My hands feel like they've been burned from how long I've been holding the reins to my horse. We've been riding all day, not stopping to rest no more then five minutes. We have to reach Emerald Graves before nightfall. Scout Harding said that this Fairbanks is willing to discuss things with us... hopefully, he's willing to join the Inquisition.

It's been a month now, since Cole became more human. A month of him talking and acting like a regular person. He eats, drinks, sleeps, everything we all do. He's already experienced a few stomach aches from eating too many sweets. He's learned his lesson though, humans have limits after all.

Iron Bull has already tried to get him to experience the... 'pleasurable' side of being human. Luckily, I stepped in before it could happened. I caught Iron Bull telling Cole that he'a going to set him up with someone named 'Candy', and that Bull is willing to pay for it.

I immediately stopped it before any more could be spoken, thank God. Iron Bull doesn't understand that these things should be romantic, and that you should know and love the person before doing such a thing like that. I yelled at him about it for an hour, so I'm pretty sure he got the message.

Besides, for now, Cole is too innocent for such things.
Finally, we reach the lush green forest, with hundreds of large trees surrounding us.

Emerald Graves...

I smile brightly, staring around at everything. Leliana warned us about coming here, because of the rifts, of Corypheus's Venatori and Mages, of these men who calls themselves 'Freemen of the Dales', and giants roaming these forests. And yes I'm cautious, but still, every time I come here, I get the sense of being home again.

We spot the camp dead ahead, and when we stop our horses, I get off and approach Scout Harding.

"Inquisitor, welcome to the Emerald Graves," she says. "Some of our agents have spotted many Fade rifts surrounding the area. And this...Fairbanks won't speak to any of us. He, demands to see you, and only you."

I nod. "Thank you for the report. I'll see what I can do."

"Be careful out there, but enjoy the forest while you still can." She walks away, and I approach my men who are setting up there tents.

"First thing tomorrow morning, we head out to meet Fairbanks, for now," I turn to Dorian. "Why don't you start a fire?"

"Yes, a fire without kindling, very smart," he sasses, and I can't help but giggle. Iron Bull walks past us. "I'll go find some logs. Cole?" He looks at Cole, who's knelt down touching the grass, "wanna tag along?"

"Actually, there were some things I needed to talk about with Cole," I glare at Iron Bull. I'm still pissed off about what he tried doing, and Bull can see it.
He laughs, shaking his head. "He's not your pet, Nalia. He can do what he wants."

I almost throw a rock at his head, but if it wasn't for Cole's soft voice speaking up, I would've done it.
"You needed to speak with me?" He asks sweetly.

I turn towards him. "Yes, um...can- can we do it in private?" I lead him away from the others before turning to face him. "Look, I understand that you're asking the other party members for help about, becoming more human," I say, "but there are some limits."

He furrows his brow. "Like what?" He asks softly, like a little kid whose intrigued and confused about something new.

"Well, I-I mean..." I trail off, shit how can I say this without making a fool of myself? Finally, I sigh. "Just don't go to Iron Bull, or Sera anymore, okay? The others will gladly help you."

He laughs softly, under his breath. "You worry so much, Nalia." He smiles. "Thank you for being my friend."

Friend.
He thinks he's saying something good. But deep down, it's a knife to the heart. When you love someone so much and they think of you as a friend...ouch.

I nod, and dismiss him. He walks back to camp, sitting on the ground, one arm draped over his knee. His usual way of sitting...
I go over to a few of Leliana's agents and discuss more of what's going on here in the Emerald Graves.

⚔️⚔️⚔️

The next morning, we ride out to find Fairbanks. It went...well. He was wary about joining us, but with the help of Dorian's lovely persuasion, Fairbanks pledged his loyalty to us.

Now, we're back in camp. There's nothing else to do beside head back home to Skyhold to discuss our next move against Corypheus, but at the same time, I'm stuck standing in the middle of camp, staring out at the forest.

It's been so long since I've been here...all these memories are coming back to me.
Before we settled in the Exalted Plains, we thrived in this forest for many years. I was just fourteen when we were pushed out of our home and forced to run to the Exalted Plains.

I wonder if much has changed since then...

I turn to look at Cole. "Cole?"
He looks at me.
"Would you like to go for a ride? I could use some company." I approach my horse, climbing on and taking the reins.

Cole follows, getting on his horse, and as we begin to head out, I hear Iron Bull snicker.
"Ahh, I get it. She wanted to be the one Cole lays!"

My cheeks turn bright red, and I grab an apple from my bag and throw it right in between his eyes.
Dorian is laughing so hard, he's practically falling over.
Before Iron Bull can charge after us in fury, I nudge my horse into a run and we both disappear into the forest.

⚔️⚔️⚔️

COLE
⚔️⚔️⚔️

We ride for ten minutes in silence, the birds chirping and the wind blowing gently through our hair.
It's sad here, but pretty.

Nalia seems to be at ease in this forest, like she can relax. How odd...this forest is the most dangerous one we've ever been too, and yet to her, it's the most relaxing.
She glances at me. "You want to know why I wanted you to come?"

I nod.

She smiles. "This place was originally my home, before our enemies came. It was either we stay and fight, or leave. Our clan leader knew we wouldn't win, so we packed up our families and anything we could carry and left. We traveled for days, searching for a new place to settle that would be a safe haven. Hence, we found the Exalted Plains. Nobody bothered us again..."

Her shoulders fall forward slightly, as her head lowers. It hurts her to talk about her clan...I wish there was a way I could help her.

Soon, her head raises, and she smiles at me. "Come! We're almost there!"
She nudges her horse into a trot, running ahead of me before she playfully circles around me and my horse.

For a moment, the world seemed to slow down...my eyes were locked onto Nalia.
Her black hair, loose from it's braid and blowing in the wind, her eyes shut in pure joy, her smile so bright it's blinding...

I can hear my heart pound in my ears.

She slides off her horse and rushes over to a clearing where multi colored flowers grow.
I follow behind.

She stands in the middle of the flower patches, kneeling down to touch the petals.
"Each flower is a reminder of those from our clan that died young, like babies and children. Those who couldn't experience life..." She touched a fiery orange one, eyes holding a faraway look.

"My brothers soul is here," she whispers, which makes my eyes widen.

I didn't know she had a brother...is that what is blocking her?

"I was his twin," she continues. "When we were seven, a group of men approached us while we were playing in the woods. They asked us if we could show them where the nearest town was. I didn't trust them, I knew what kind of men they were, and me being a kid, I threw a rock at someone's face."

She stops talking to hold her hands over her face, breathing in heavily. "They grabbed me, and Rohan tried to get them off, but..." She cries. "They killed him. They killed him because of me..."
She wipes at her eyes. "They were going to kill me too. If it wasn't for one of the older clan members finding us. The men ran like cowards, but I stayed by my brothers body, clutching him in my arms."

My eyes widen.
I see a vision of her as a little girl with braided black hair and teary blue eyes sitting on the ground. She wears white, which is stained red as she holds a boys body in her arms.
She rocks him side to side, leaning down and whispering words in Elven.
"I'm sorry, Rohan! Please wake up! Don't leave me..."

That's why she's so afraid...why she has a weight on her shoulders that nobody else can see.
She holds the belief that it was her fault that her brother died.

"If I didn't throw that rock...if I wasn't so quick to jump to conclusions, Rohan would be here! It was my fault that he died! My fault that my entire clan is gone!" She shouts, crying so loud and hard.

I kneel by her, bringing her into a hug. "It's not your fault," I whisper, "you were trying to protect your brother."

"But it led to him getting killed," she cries, squeezing me. "I-I shouldn't have-"

"Don't," I cup her face in my hands so that she can look into my eyes. "It is not your fault. You were doing what you thought was right, you were trying to help..."

She sniffles, eyes glancing everywhere on my face before she sighs softly. "Thank you, Cole. Thank you for being here..." She whispers, her body relaxing.
I want to do more. I want to take her pain away, I want to hold her forever and be the one who keeps her safe from the monsters that try to hurt her.
But I can't...all I can do, is be her friend.

Nalia stands up, wiping her face with her sleeve. "We should probably head back now," she whispers. She walks back to her horse, getting on and beginning her ride back to camp.
I follow. It's what I always do...I follow her into battle, around lands much like these, and I always will be following. Not like I used to be, a shadow in the corner, but instead like the person and friend she sees in me.

⚔️⚔️⚔️

NALIA
⚔️⚔️⚔️

We left the Emerald Graves and made camp in Crestwood. It's been so long since I've talked about my past, it put me into a silent trance for hours. Iron Bull and Dorian kept looking at me confused, wondering what happened. Thankfully, Cole helped explain without giving away to many details.

Now, they leave me alone as I stare into the fire.

I glance off to the side to see Cole at the edge of the hill that overlooks the lake.
He's been quiet ever since we came here...is it because he thinks that leaving me alone is helping? Or something else?

I stand up and approach him. "Cole? Are you alright?"

He jumps at the sudden sound of my voice, but soon, he relaxes when he sees that it's me. "Yes, I-" he clears his throat, "I wanted to ask you a question."

"Of course," I reply, smiling a little. "What's on your mind?"

He hesitates for a moment, shuffling his feet before he inhales a sharp breath. "Nalia? Am I handsome?"

My eyes widen. "What?" I ask, a little shock in my tone. Because I mean...he's asking ME if he's handsome? Me? Of all people?!

"I hear Dorian talk about how handsome he is all the time," Cole says, "how do you know if your handsome or not? I look in the mirror and I...I can't quite tell."

Damn you Dorian! How dare you put things like that in his head only for him to put me in an awkward place?!

I swallow. I'm silent for several moments, trying to think of the best possible way to answer without giving myself away.
"Well, C-Cole," I stutter, scared to look into his eyes. "People say that when they find someone, or themselves, attractive."

"Are you handsome?" He asks, that little child sinking in his tone.
It makes my heart squeak.

I shake my head. "No. For women, we would be called beautiful, or pretty. It's...it's just a word people use when they like someone, or overly like themselves," I grumble, thinking of Dorian and his damn ego that led to this whole conversation.

"You didn't answer my question," he points out. Shit, I was hoping he would've forgotten about it. But now, I'm forced to say it. Say what I've been thinking ever since our first trip together in the Hinterlands.

I take a breath in and force myself to look into those beautiful sky blue eyes that leave me breathless. "Yes Cole. Your handsome, very handsome..."

His eyes widen a little, before a soft smile forms on his lips. "Thank you," he whispers.
I can feel my stomach twisting into hard knots. I'm so close to him...I don't know what to do.
We're silent for a moment, before his eyes lower on my lips.
"You're beautiful," he whispers, which makes my heart stop beating.
"You're beautiful when you smile. You're beautiful when you pick flowers to decorate Skyhold. You're beautiful when you look at me like I'm a person."

"You are a person," I whisper, "no matter what the others say."
He raises a hand, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Nalia," he says my name so softly...like it's something beautiful and sacred.

He leans in but stops just barely an inch away from my lips, but I close the distance between us, pressing my lips onto his.
My chest explodes, and my lips feel hot like fireworks.

I never imagined I would kiss him, or even get the chance to kiss him.
If you went back in time and told my past self that I would kiss Cole, I would be shocked and say they're crazy.

But...here I am, standing before him, kissing him.

He pulls away quickly, backing up.
"Cole?" I ask, and soon, he runs past me, back to camp.

Instinct wants me to run after, but I know better not too. I don't think he's ever kissed anyone before, so it was surprising.
Still, I hope that it won't end badly.

⚔️⚔️⚔️

COLE
⚔️⚔️⚔️

I hide in my tent, touching my lips that are...tingling.
I've never kissed anyone before, I've only seen people do it. It always confused me, why would people want to do that? What made them do it?
I didn't understand, but when I stood so close to Nalia, when I stared into her eyes...
I felt something. And it was a feeling I've never felt when I was more spirit.

I run a shaky hand through my hair. I remember feeling something before I became more human, but those were feelings of acceptance, of safety. I felt the same way when Rhys and Evangeline we're my friends.
I never thought much of it, but after unlocking more of my human side, I began to notice things change.
I feel tingling fingertips when she touches me, I get butterflies when she says my name, I feel a strong anger in my chest when I see her in pain, or when she gets hurt in battle.

Nalia did tell me that becoming more human means I'll possibly meet someone and fall in love.
Is this what falling in love feels like?
Painful, strong, but beautiful?
Am I really...falling in love with Nalia?

I grab the nearest pillow and throw it over my head, hiding.