Bitter Mana: Comforting Words

!!!!LEGACY SPOILERS BELOW!!!!











No…her father wasn't a blood mage…that wasn't true, that wasn't true, THAT WASN'T HIS VOICE!!!

Imoen fell against the wall, her entire form shaking…she couldn't deal with this.

Years flashed before her eyes, of a childhood filled with laughter and kindness, of moments of love that she'd cherished.

She'd slept in his arms, had knelt by his feet, gazing up adoringly as he showed her how magic worked. He unlocked the secrets to her power, made her fear of the Fade disappear.

Distantly she heard Carver leave…throwing his helmet against the wall as he stormed off. She didn't fear for him, they'd just cleared the area…he was safe for the moment. She heard Varric approach, but the dwarf stepped back, as if told to go away.

Imoen closed her eyes, for once not wanting to see the world. She welcomed the black, clung to it. She could pretend she wasn't here, that she hadn't just heard her father confess to using blood magic.

Her whole life that had been a magic that was off limits. It was a vile and tainted art that no Maker fearing mage would ever use…a true mage could fight without it. That is what he had said…Blood magic wasn't even a last resort option for her. She would never consume that kind of power; it was forbidden, evil…

She heard soft footsteps, sounds of bare feet against stone, approach. She felt him next to her, so close she could feel the heat of his skin.

Quicksilver eyes opened, faced with pools of emerald green. Fenris simply gazed into her eyes…his emotions unreadable.

"Well go on," Imoen whispered, "Aren't you going to insult him? Lecture me on the evils of blood magic? Aren't you going to tell me my father is a monster?!" She growled. She could tell he wanted to say something…something bitter about magisters.

Fenris lunged forward, pulling her into his arms as he tucked her head under his chin. He didn't say a thing…not one word.

Imoen clung to him, burying her face in his neck and breathing in his scent. It was soothing, the feel of his arms around her, comforting in ways she could never hope to describe.

She didn't cry, didn't whimper…she just held onto her lover as if her life depended on it. She worried she was hurting him, but soon realized he was holding onto her just as tightly.

Most lovers would offer words of comfort; say things like "Everything's going to be okay" but Fenris didn't say any of that. Fenris never sugar coated the world for her, never shielded her from how bad things could be and now was no different.

He kissed the top of her head, his hand caressing the side of her face, "I love you." He breathed into her hair.

In the end, that was all she needed to hear.