What is/are their love language(s)? | What were their first impressions of each other? - for Solavira!
Solas: there was only so much he could glean while she was unconscious in a cell. Though Solas knew Corypheus to be the true mastermind, the Seeker assumed her the Divine’s murderer, and the concealed weapons they’d found on the woman’s person offered no defense against the accusation. He supposed it was possible she was an agent of Corypheus, though that did not explain how she ended up with the mark. Had she done so intentionally? Did she know it would claim her life?
His next revelation was accidental: a cold compress across her brow wiping away makeup that had been concealing her vallaslin. This raised even more questions. His understanding was that the Dalish were completely unconcerned with the affairs of humans. What would drive one to the Conclave? Was she an assassin, hired by either the mages or templars to destabilize their opposition’s leadership? Or were there those among her people whose motivations moved beyond botched reclamations of a long extinct history?
Either way, all he knew for certain was that she was not the earnest, clueless serving girl she had made herself out to be.
Avira: after waking up to a Chantry interrogation, another elf was a welcome sight. He seemed almost surprisingly friendly given the circumstances, but it became quickly apparent he was trying to figure her out. He asked questions about the Dalish. About her feelings about the moniker of “Herald of Andraste”. It lacked the meandering superficiality of small talk.
But what was most interesting came when she turned the tables and began asking him about himself, as well as his opinions on matters of Dalish culture, the fade, and the Breach. Despite the defensive veneer of snark and caginess, he seemed surprised that she cared to ask, and genuinely grateful when she listened and did not condemn his less conventional views outright.
Solas: Both in friendship and romance, he holds words of affirmation in reserve until he genuinely means them. He feels it does no one any good to issue empty compliments, so when he does praise someone, it is because he feels he would be remiss not to be forthcoming in his admiration.
Especially early on, Solas tended to show affection through acts of service, simple gestures such as warding Avira’s tent at night or tending to her hand after a painful flare-up. After all, such things are easier to rationalize away as ‘helping her perform her duty’, and allow him to go on convincing himself he is not growing attached to people who are barely even real.
Inversely, that is why he was particularly susceptible to physical touch. It had been absent from his life for such a long time, and forced him to confront the idea that all of these people and this reality were every bit as real as his own. He attempted to close himself off from it altogether. But as his relationship with Avira deepened, he found a great deal of value in the tangibility of that connection. That’s why he was reluctant to initiate, but very quick to reciprocate.
Avira: With Solas, she most commonly expressed affection through quality time, engaging him in discussion or keeping quiet company. With how nonstop her life had become as Herald and later Inquisitor, time was the most valuable commodity she had to offer, and it seemed a commodity he was unaccustomed to receiving.
As her caring for him grew, she naturally began showing more of her affection through physical touch, just small things like a gentle hand on the forearm or a reassuring pat on the shoulder. She had initially wondered whether he would be receptive to such things, but he seemed surprisingly warmed by those moments.
Because of her skill with words, she knows talk can be cheap, so she personally prefers to receive acts of service: things more tangible than a compliment and more practical than a gift. Of course, a particularly sentimental gift with a great story means a lot to her, too, just nothing so lavish that she feels something is being ‘bought’ from her in exchange.
Thanks for the ask, @chaitea09 !
