DA:I | Simply Solavellan: A Timeline ✔️

Now Who's Twelve?

[Soundtrack: Kingdom of Bards by Adrian von Ziegler]

I pursed my lips and quietly flipped through the pages of another tattered notebook. I was careful to sift through the rambling nonsense and only read the underlined parts. Solas had a tendency to prattle on in his notes when he was discovering something new. To be fair, he was better at deciphering what these stones were that we had been finding all over Thedas than anyone I knew. At first, I tried to read everything he had written, but it was too much to take in and hard to follow. He began simplifying his notes for me and underlining the key parts.

Solas sat in his usual seat behind his desk in the rotunda. He reached for his glass of water, took a sip, then returned his attention to the book he was reading.

"... Solas?" I asked. My voice was quiet, but in the silence, it carried intimidating weight and I recoiled.

He wasn't bothered. He simply looked up at me with curiosity. Good, I thought, he's not that invested.

"Why don't you come to the tavern with me? You never socialize."

He thought carefully before speaking and closed his book. "Well, that is because there are very few people who I enjoy socializing with."

I bit my lip. I wanted to press the matter, but I didn't want to bother him.

"Is there something on your mind?" he asked.

"Um, somewhat. I am supposed to meet our friends in the tavern tonight, and they do ask about you often. Well, they don't know much about you, actually. So I thought it would be good of you to... socialize."

He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "Drink, you mean."

"You don't have to drink," I added earnestly. "I don't drink much myself. But it's nice to talk."

He crossed his arms. "We talk. Do our conversations bore you?"

"No, not at all. But sometimes it's good to have conversations that aren't purely academic or speculative, Solas."

He sighed and studied my face. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to visit with friends. Whenever you're ready, I shall follow."

I grinned widely and jumped up from my chair.

____________________

As excited as I was to see Solas smiling and socializing with our comrades, it didn't go as well as I had imagined it...

Bull, Sera, Blackwall, Solas, and I all gathered at a table. The serving lady brought us each a pint of mead and left us to ourselves. The table was quiet, except for Blackwall and Bull exchanging fighting techniques. Sera stared daggers into Solas's bald head. I looked anywhere around the room except for the table. Solas, however, sat calmly and sipped his mead while listening to Bull and Blackwall's conversation.

Time seemed to drag on. After about ten minutes, it had gone on for so long that it felt too late to say anything or save the situation. I felt anxiety grip at my chest as I wondered if I had put everyone in an awkward situation by bringing Solas here.

Everyone asked me about Solas all the time. They wanted to know what he's like when we're alone because they think he puts on this mysterious or snobby persona when he's around a group. "What does he talk about? Does he ever laugh? Why does he have to talk like that? Does he sleep all the time?" These are the burning questions that I often get bombarded with. 

Solas, besides being a wonderful friend of mine and my mentor on many subjects, had just discovered our feelings for each other. I knew he was wise beyond his years. Often people didn't realize that Solas carried with him ancient knowledge that we couldn't understand, so his mind worked differently than ours. I didn't fully understand him myself, but -- as I learned more and more every day -- you don't have to understand someone to accept them.