everyone could likely tell where vic’s mind was——he knew the mission, knew what was at stake, & he was paying attention ; however wolfram’s lone protection behind them made him nervous, glance always shifting back to HIM whenever the opportunity came. the captives he assisted had his attention ; but wolfram had more of it. & of course, he was alright ; he was wolfram, a force, incredible at what he did. his skill could have frightened vic, were he anyone else. but he wasn’t, he was wolfram ; there was nothing fearful about him.
pay attention. he’s fine. it was hard to tell if vic’s conscious was speaking, or some other soldier annoyed by wandering eyes. likely the latter ; his distraction must have been aggravating. either way, he listened to the BEST of his ability, ushering now-freed captives carefully along, paying one last glance back to his lover.
right when the arrow hit, & it felt like vic had taken it, instead of wolfram.
more red templars, a behemoth, just what they fucking needed. instinct was to rush across, to help——but a soldier’s hand gripped his arm ; hey, no. attention was pulled to a person who’d fallen, tripped over loose stone from the bridge & twisted her ankle ; so reluctantly he helped, taking an arm, looking to wolfram again. every time he looked the situation seemed more dire, & he held onto hope until the very last moment ; when wolfram leapt for the beast & went sailing off the bridge, taking all of vic’s hope WITH him.
❝ NO ! ❞ the scream was cracked, desperate, it echoed across the bridge as vic practically dropped the poor woman to run to the other end, throwing himself against the wall to look down, look for wolfram.
everything became a blur then, scouts & soldiers ushered the captives away & back towards skyhold, while a couple stayed behind, trying their hardest to pry vic from the bridge, & failing. he cursed them all the while, venomous, begging to be left alone. ❝ stop—no, i’m not leavin’ him— how do i get down there ? tell me—fuck off, let GO of me ! ❞ it took their warnings of more red templars, & one firm statement from vic that he didn’t care, to get them to leave.
so there he stayed, mind racing yet somehow still, shaking & clinging to the bridge for all that he had & staring, staring down, tearful eyes searching.
where are you ? you promised you’d live—you promised me. come back to me.
similar to when he lost his mother, victor found in his panic that he didn’t know what to do——should he find a way down there, slide down rock & earth to find him ? would it be fruitless, would scouts come back to find him ? maybe if he stayed, wolfram would reappear, maybe he’d be fine ; he promised. he promised. so he did stay, he laid his head against the rock wall & CRIED, he sobbed & wept without realizing ; & waited. he’d wait all day, all night, he’d sleep there——he’d wait until he died, if he had to. wolfram promised.
he must have been lying flat on his back, though he didn't register it immediately he couldn't feel any weight upon it. perhaps because he was transfixed on the sky; funny, he never thought it looked quite as BLUE as it did just then.
❝ papa? ❞
nina's voice ------------ he blinked, looking to the side where she sat above him, picking at the petals of a handful of lilacs and dropping them on his shirt, into his hair.
❝ you look sad. ❞ she continued absently dropping petals on him.
❝ i am. ❞
❝ why? ❞
❝ i miss you. ❞
she laughed and wolfram ACHED, all the while she grinned through her words. ❝ ma says 'keep 'im'. she's faking mad so she doesn't have to share her cakes. ❞ wolfram smiled faintly, ❝ will you steal one for me? ❞ nina held her little finger up in front of her lips, smiling mischievously down at her dad. always eager to ruffle her poor mother's feathers. ❝ yep! ❞ the last handful of lilacs left her hand and dropped about him, and she rest her empty little palm over his heart. ❝ when you come home. not now. ❞
❝ not now? ❞
she shook her head.
❝ later, then? ❞
instead of responding she smiled and pushed on his chest. wolfram felt himself sink, and the blue sky above him vanished.
WATER surrounded him all at once, filling his nose and freezing his skin, throwing him somewhere between bubbles and the surface. somehow he gasped in air, clawed at everything, and managed to pull himself onto the land. EVERYTHING in him was freezing and on fire. his hand came to his shoulder where the remaining shaft of the arrow had been to find nothing remained but splinters and an open wound. he blinked rapidly, nothing but adrenaline and shaking bones keeping his head upright enough to look around. no sign of the BEHEMOTH ------- or the bridge. how far had the river carried him?
what little strength remained in him left his body slowly and he fell back into the grass, the edge of the river licking at his soggy boots as he lay there, staring up at the sky. grey-blue and tinted green. MOVE. just move. get up. however he tried to will himself his body simply wouldn't respond, fatigue and frustration all that remained alongside the pain, dragging him through a fog. get up, get up. get up! it was slow, AGONIZING in more ways than one, starting with one hand, then the other, and one arm. just ROLLING OVER felt monumental.
oh, victor's going to KILL me.
the thought occurred unprompted, somewhere between one horribly painful shift to the next, somehow managing to stand. again he shook, cold and exhausted and --------- laughing. faint, it hurt, but it got him on his feet. however long they lasted underneath him he had to use it; find a road, find ANYONE, get back to the inquisition, back to vic. he gripped his shoulder and started walking, remaining near the river; they always lead to somewhere.