Eneth did not offer space between them, instead remaining close despite recognizing an ease in the current of magic against the stone. Though a part of her thirsted to observe the stone for topical changes, her attention did not stray. The more dominant portion of her mind found his gaze more arresting than her curiosity about the fade-touched ore.
She could feel the cooled edge of his breath against her cheek with their proximity. He smelled a bit of the stew they’d eaten for supper as well as a general herbaceous soap she assumed he favored. Eneth could not discern the individual agents within the soap, though embrium seemed predominant. She had a sudden, wild hope that the perfumed conditioning oils she’d run through her hair and the slapdash once-over she’d given herself while changing into dry clothes had properly masked the reek of Mire on her person. The thick bunch of still damp curls thrown forward over her shoulder attempting to dry had smelled good to her after the lengthy de-tangling she’d undergone while supper cooked. She was less convinced at that exact moment, and suddenly felt off-balance.
He seemed content to hold her stare, and non-offended by her nearness. For a time, they just looked at one another.
“Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” she spoke lowly, smoothly; ever the champion of relaying confidence that she did not feel.
Eneth broke their eye-contact to graze his features in a deliberately slow manner. She swept along the downward tilt of the arch in his cheek, admiring the way that the sun had curved over the prominent angle and left a coat of mildly darkened skin and freckles. She flitted over the shape of his mouth, deciding that his lips were too forward a place to center much attention and instead regarded his nose. It was also freckled and structured with sharp lines. The clean, angular quality to many of his prominent features brought out the small quirks and imperfections that distinguished his face from others. The upper bridge of his nose was uneven. It was not cricked or crooked, like from a traditional break, but Eneth did spot a small notch that indicated it had been broken before.
She wondered vaguely if a member of the Dalish had been the one to strike him, break the feature, and then cement his dislike of her people.
“I had hoped to convince Ma’nehn that a few expeditions for the sake of preserving the history of the People would be a worthy cause for a scant collection of resources from her Inquisition.” With her words, she refocused her eyes on his own in an unhurried manner. “If a camp has already been established nearby, I cannot imagine her refusing…”
Eneth smiled. She extended a mild, ornery air. Solas had well-realized at this point that Ma’nehn refused her nothing. The advisers and the majority of her sister’s chosen companions had as well, though Eneth had worked tirelessly to obscure the severity of the power structure between them from a few key members. Solas had not been fooled, and never seemed to have had any thorough trust in Ma’nehn’s ability to make decisions in a position of leadership either way.
Eneth still did not know if he found their odd dynamic repulsive or useful, though she suspected that he felt a bit of both. That first time she’d directly made use of the connection between herself and her twin, he looked as though he’d bitten a lemon.
Yes, it would be wonderful, or so he would imagine for both of their sakes. Of course, he had no illusions that the Dalish would learn anything that went against their collective ideas of their traditions, nothing radical or earth-shattering at the very least. He had zero real hopes of changing anyone’s mind on any scale that might matter in the long run. The Evanuris would be the heros and victims, and the Dread Wolf would remain a villain. It did not truly matter, but the effectiveness of their propaganda grated on him even in the best of times.
He turns his attention back to the stone during the lull of their conversation, subtly working his mouth as he tried one last thing, creating a small pocket of magic in an imperfection he found inside the growth pattern of the stone itself and tested it, expanding the energy to press against the inside of that imperfection. His brow furrows slightly as he uses as much of his attention as he can, paying little heed to the scrutiny that he bore from his conversation partner, though he would be lying if he said he could not feel her eyes lingering on him in spots. He wondered briefly if she was bored of their conversation, but decided that if Eneth did not want to continue doing something, that she would have no reservations of continuing in any unwanted task unless it was absolutely necessary, conversation included.
It barely made a sound audible against the heavy rain of the mire outside, but he felt it finally give, a crack registering inside the stone as his energy insertion caused the gap to worsen. He immediately ceased his experiment and let the stone fall back to his hand, the outside surface’s slight warmth radiating over his palm. When she spoke again, he turned to look back at her, meeting her gaze once her eyes finally made their way up to meet his. She had been scrutinizing him after all, hm...
She looked like a proud bird at her admittance, a bit haughty at her influence over her sister. She knew that he knew, and he could not blame her for being proud of what she could manage to accomplish with her uniquely persuasive powers and the benefits that that could lend her. He smirked in answer, “Be careful that you do not use your powers of persuasion too recklessly. Those who would find it undesirable may be prone to call you a villain in turn.” He fought the melancholy that threatened to come to his tone as he added, “I would not want such a fate to come to pass for you, lethallan.” He chuckled, but decided not to voice what had amused him and instead offered the stone to her.
“It would appear I have tested it to its limit. If you would be so kind as to provide a light, I might see the damage that I have done. Perhaps you could give me some insight as well?” he simultaneously offered and asked, the gesture not entirely scientifically founded. In truth, he wanted to hear her opinion because he valued what she might have to say about it and not simply because he might be curious, although that played no small part.
