@greymageamell
“How do these even work?” Camilla wondered, holding the crystal up by its chain, so it dangled in front of her face.
“I think you just talk into it?” Alistair hazarded, holding his own crystal up in his palm.
“Like this?” Camilla asked, holding the crystal in front of her mouth. She blinked when she heard her voice echoing out of the crystal’s twin in Alistair’s hand.
“...Apparently so,” he confirmed.
Camilla could not sleep. It wasn’t an entirely uncommon turn of events. She was, however, bored just laying on her back on her bedroll. But then an idea occurred to her. The sun was beginning to come up. It wasn’t too early. Not cruelly early, at least.
She rolled onto her side, propping herself up with one elbow. With her other hand, she pulled the crystal from her shirt to dangle it in front of her mouth. She took a deep breath.
“ALISTAIR! WAKE UP!”
There was a muffled yelp and a distant thump, and then nothing but some slow shuffling. Finally, she heard a pitiful, “I hate you. So much.”
A warm feeling of glee bubbled up in her chest.
Camilla was having the most incredible dream. There was a unicorn involved. Sure, it was a creepy undead unicorn, but that sort of made it more charming.
And then she heard some horrible shrieking. “--lla! CAM YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP, I NEED YOUR HELP!”
Camilla sat upright on her bedroll, limbs flailing in all directions so she fell right back down on her back again. She clenched a hand around the crystal, lifting it to her mouth with a frantic, “What?! What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing. Just wondering if it was morning wherever you are yet.”
Camilla blinked at the crystal. “You are an asshole,” she informed it slowly, “and I hope horrible things happen to you.”
Riotous laughter was the only response.
“Where are you right now?” He sounded distracted.
Camilla glanced up from the journal in her hands (written by a very stuffy old man, but it did say some useful things about the Taint) out of habit more than anything, considering there was no one there for her to look at. “Just on the Anders side of the Anderfells, Tevinter border,” she replied, one hand curling around the crystal. “In a vaguely southern region.”
“Oh, good. Are you heading north?”
“Yeeessss...?” she answered slowly. “Are you plotting something? Something nefarious?”
“I would never. But are you willing to take a detour for me?”
“What kind of detour?”
“The kind where I dictate a letter and you write it, and then you hand it in at Weisshaupt on the way past, since that would probably be faster than sending a bird from here.”
“Okay. But why?”
Alistair’s voice turned saccharinely sweet as he answered, “If they try to convince me to step down one more time, I won’t be held responsible for my actions. I’m not the biggest fan of Orlais, but I will carry on being their Warden-Commander, and stop when it seems like I’m making them miserable and not before.”
Had Camilla been a bird, all of her feathers would have fluffed up in vicarious outrage. “Alright, hold on. I just need to find a quill and some parchment.”
“You are my favorite person.”
“Hey, Al.” Camilla gave her crystal a tap. “Ali, you listening?”
“One moment.” There was a moment of silence, and then, “Something wrong?”
“Huh? Oh, no. Skyhold has a library, right?”
“It does indeed. Need me to find something?”
“I always knew you were a clever one. By some old dead fart named Fiorello.”
She could hear footsteps, and, “Does this old fart’s work have a title, or should I guess?”
“I’m sure it does have a title,” she offered cheerfully. “But I don’t remember it. It’ll probably be his only work, though. He wasn’t exactly prolific.”
“Why do you never give me easy jobs?”
“I’m so sorry,” she deadpanned. “This is tragically difficult compared to an archdemon, I know.”
“It really is.”
She could hear muffled conversation with Dorian after that and finally, louder, “Alright, I have it. What am I looking for?”
“Try not to freak out,” she cautioned immediately. “Look for the section on blood magic.”
“You know, I probably would’ve been fine if you hadn’t told me not to freak me,” he groused. “What am I looking for?”
Camilla began to list the various things he needed to keep an eye open for.
Her hands were empty. The library on the floor above had been burned clear. The lab on the floor below was vacant, save for broken glass. Whoever she was supposed to be finding--whoever she was supposed to be getting any sort of answers out of--was gone, like sand through her fingers. She clenched her jaw, squeezed her hands into fists, and scrubbed one fist over her eyes.
She tapped a finger to her crystal. “Hey, Al? Ali, I need to ask a question.”
“What’s wrong?” However many miles of space between them, and he could still tell. It got her to smile, at least.
“What happens if I can’t do this?”
He sighed. “Another dead end?”
“Well, yes. But seriously, Alistair. What happens if I can’t find a cure?” She twirled the crystal absentmindedly between her fingers.
He was quiet for a moment, before he answered slowly, “Then you still tried harder than anyone before. Then you’re still my best friend. Then you’re still basically the best person I know. Then I’ll still be walking into that cave beside you in a couple decades.”
Camilla laughed quietly and scrubbed a hand over her eyes one last time. “Ali?”
“Hm?”
“You’re great. You know that?”
“Ah, rubbish. I’m a passable actor, is all.”
“Cam.” He sounded tired. Not a little tired, but the ‘bone tired and still can’t sleep’ sort of tired. “You awake still?”
“Alistair!” She clenched the crystal between her fingers. “I haven’t heard from you in days, you prick!”
He snorted out a laugh. “I, ah. I got a bit held up at Weisshaupt. The First Warden and I had a disagreement.”
“I will personally stab everyone there,” Camilla offered. “If you want, I mean.” She shook her head quickly. “Anyway! I’m awake. Clearly. What did you need?”
There wasn’t an answer at first, and then an unsteady sigh.
“...Ali?”
“How do you do this, Cam? I’m barely qualified to lead a sing-along. All this--” He cut himself off abruptly and huffed out a breath. “Never mind. I’m just being stupid. Nothing out of the ordinary, I know.”
“What happened at Weisshaupt?” she asked lowly, cradling the crystal carefully in both hands.
“I’ll explain it when you get back,” he sighed.
It sounded like he was going to excuse himself, so Camilla hurried to speak up. “’...and as the senior-most Warden in residence and the only one not to lose my head during Clarel’s crazed rampage, combined with the willingness of the Orlesian Wardens to follow my commands,’” she quote quickly, “’I see no reason for the suggestion that I relinquish command.’ Your words, Alistair. That’s what you asked me to write. You remember that?”
Finally, there’s a laugh. “I remember. Will you be back soon? Skyhold is distressingly quiet without you. The others are too well behaved.”
I miss you.
She sighed melodramatically. “I’ve had about all I can take; I guess I can use a break. Freshen up a bit. Ruin your hair. That kind of thing. I’ll be back in a few days.”
I miss you, too.
