[ Their journey back to Skyhold is uneventful, a relief she indulges. It is difficult to maintain distance from Cullen but their demeanor continues to be professional in the presence of others and she does her best to not take overmuch of his time. But they had been close far before their decision to pursue something and so it is difficult to stop those meetings altogether. And they work closely enough that it isn't as if she does not see him often.
But the weeks of their return begin to sour as Cullen seems to take ill. He pales, seems to tire much more easily, his temper biting. Neria takes it for what it is, as she knows the secret few others do. She leaves him potions and tonics and finds them mostly unused, and she does not take offense. It has been difficult for him since the beginning and she is there to support him.
He disappears one day during drills and Neria picks up the slack, though where he's gone, she hasn't the slightest idea. It is only later that Cassandra approaches her to gently ask for her to go to him, to convince him that he does not need a replacement...
It turns her stomach to know he is asking for one. And a little after the sun sets, she goes to his tower, where the door is closed. She slips inside and is shocked to find the room in disarray, a small vile of lyrium knocked clear into a corner on the opposite end of where she spies Cullen. She leaves it where it is and closes the door behind her so that he might have his privacy, and she goes to his side.
To see him so pale, to see him look so weary, makes her heart turn in her chest. ]
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But the weeks of their return begin to sour as Cullen seems to take ill. He pales, seems to tire much more easily, his temper biting. Neria takes it for what it is, as she knows the secret few others do. She leaves him potions and tonics and finds them mostly unused, and she does not take offense. It has been difficult for him since the beginning and she is there to support him.
He disappears one day during drills and Neria picks up the slack, though where he's gone, she hasn't the slightest idea. It is only later that Cassandra approaches her to gently ask for her to go to him, to convince him that he does not need a replacement...
It turns her stomach to know he is asking for one. And a little after the sun sets, she goes to his tower, where the door is closed. She slips inside and is shocked to find the room in disarray, a small vile of lyrium knocked clear into a corner on the opposite end of where she spies Cullen. She leaves it where it is and closes the door behind her so that he might have his privacy, and she goes to his side.
To see him so pale, to see him look so weary, makes her heart turn in her chest. ]
Cullen?