Solona Amell

Anders looks away, gulping slightly. They'd been so careful, they'd always been careful, how could this have happened....

"...Pregnant. You're pregnant, Sol."

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It's all a mix of emotions within her now. "Don't play with me, Anders. This isn't funny." She bites her lip.

Pounce mews helplessly and kneads at the blanket, craving attention.

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Anders shakes his head, looking away from her.

"I'm not...I'm not playing with you, Sol."

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She's had about enough of this.

"Look at me, Anders."

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Anders swallows hard and does look at her, straight in the eye. And he just nods.

"I'm sorry, Solona. I'm not...I'm not joking."

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"Anders, what are we going to do?" She was scared shitless. "We can't raise a baby living like thi--!"

Maker, there goes her lunch all over again. She reaches out for the basin and retches into it, groaning.

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Anders looks absolutely terrified. Maker, they can't do this...! They're not poor, but they're on the run from the Chantry! They can't just do this to a child...

He holds back her hair as she throws up, gently rubbing her back. He's got to be strong. They need to be strong, to think of a way to get through this.

"We...we'll think of something, Solona. We will. It'll be okay..."

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She can feel tears stinging her eyes. Pounce has managed to climb off of her and finds refuge on one of her pillows, curling up into a ball and drifting to sleep.

"Anders, what do we do with it-- him or her? We can't raise a child! I don't even know the first thing about it!"

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Anders pulls her into his arms, rocking her gently.

"We'll think of something, Solona...we've got to. I...I don't know anything about kids, but..."

He gulps. He doesn't even want to suggest this, doesn't even want to think of this, but...

"...I can...I can make a potion to...to take care of this, if you want..."

He doesn't want to think of that. He's terrified, yes, but...this is his child too, he can't just....

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Solona pushes on his chest, distancing the two of them, glaring at him.

"You don't have to be kidding about me carrying your child but please, don't you even think about joking about just ridding ourselves of it!"

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Anders looks away.

"It was just a suggestion. I don't...I thought you'd want to here it...Solona..."

He grips her shoulders.

"I have no idea how we'll do this, but...we'll get through this, okay? We'll be all right."

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She looks at him and can see the concern on his face, mixed in with the fear. At that point, Solona can't seem to hold herself together anymore. She bursts into tears.

"Maker, Anders, what's going to happen to us? What am I going to tell Nellie?"

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Anders pulls Solona into a hug, holding her tight, gently stroking her back.

"It's going to be all right, Sol...we'll figure this out, it'll be okay..."

He sighs quietly, kissing her forehead. He's got to be strong, even though he's just as terrified as she is.

"We'll just have to tell Nellie the truth..."

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"Maker!" Solona pulls back again. "What about Cullen? He'll be furious!"

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Anders frowns, shaking his head.

"That's too bad, then. He'll just have to deal with it, won't he."

He hugs he again, tightly.

"He'll understand. I mean, this isn't the worst thing that could happen to us..."

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knightcullen.livejournal.com

But when Cullen arrives home with Nellie, Solona's expectations of his reaction fit perfectly.

"What were you two thinking? Do you know how dangerous this is for us all? For the child?" He's trying his hardest not to raise his voice. "I thought you were both careful!"

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Nellie puts her hand on Cullen's shoulder, trying to calm him down. Yes, this is a dangerous situation for all of them...but at the same time, it's also a blessing. A child! A little Solona, with some of Anders mixed in!

Nellie's scared, and a bit upset...but she's also happy.

Anders, meanwhile, has no qualms raising his voice to Cullen.

"We were careful! These things happen, and what do you want us to do, get rid of it? That's NOT going to happen, Cullen."

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knightcullen.livejournal.com

Cullen runs a hand through his hair, which has been becoming dangerously long over the past few weeks. He never really has the time to cut it anymore.

"I'm not asking you to abort it, for the Maker's sake!" He groans. Usually, when mages are found to be pregnant, the templars immediately take the babe away after birth to be sent to a different Circle away from the mother. Obviously, in this situation, that was not in the cards. "What do you plan on doing then? What if the babe exhibits magical abilities? What if the babe can't control his powers?"

Solona decides to speak up. "That's why the baby has us, Cullen." She glares at him and Cullen swears he could feel it piercing him like daggers. "Anders and I will teach the baby how to use magic properly. Besides, we have you here, templar. I don't think having this child is such a bad idea." She looks at Anders with a weak smile.

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Nellie nods quietly, squeezing Cullen's shoulder.

"She's got a point, Cullen...we're three Circle trained, Harrowed mages. It's not like the baby won't have teachers, or somebody to make sure that it doesn't lose control...it could be a lot worse."

Anders nods, glaring at Cullen, taking Solona's hand.

"Exactly. We'll make sure the baby knows the risks of magic, and we'll train it properly. I think it's a great idea."

It still hasn't fully hit him that he's going to be a father, but he's going to protect this child, no matter what, that much is clear.

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"It's three against one, Cullen," Solona smiles innocently at him. "I'm sure you don't have it in your heart to," she hesitates, "rid ourselves of it either."

Cullen's gaze falters to the floor. He clenches his fist. He points a finger at Solona. "You better not screw this up, Sol." He shifts that finger Anders' way. "And you better straighten up. This is a child, for crying out loud, we can't have you fucking everything up, especially for the child." He turns around with a huff, finding himself a chair and slumping down on it with a grunt. "Maker's breath, of all the things--!"

Suddenly, a scream sounds from outside.

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Nellie moves to wrap an arm around Cullen, to tell him that this is going to be okay, they can all make this work somehow...when there's a scream from outside.

She's on her feet already, and she moves faster than the others do.

"Stay here. I'll go see what's going on."

She's out of the small house before anybody can stop her.

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"Nellie!" Solona cries out worriedly, working herself to stand up and run after her. Cullen manages to stand even quicker, making his way outside the cottage before Solona or Anders could. And then he sees it. Smoke rising in the distance. He turns to Nellie worriedly.

"We have to leave. Now."

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Nellie frowns and nods at Cullen.

"You guys start packing up. I'm going to go and see if I can find out what's going on."

Before he can do anything beyond protesting, Nellie kisses him on the cheek and runs off.

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knightcullen.livejournal.com

"B-but Nellie, I--!" And she's off. He turns to Solona who ushers him off with urgency written all over her face. "Go after her! Anders and I will gather the things," she calls out to him.

Cullen purses his lips and nods, running into the village in Nellie's direction. People screaming, gathering their things and running the opposite direction.

"What in Andraste's name is happening?" His voice quivers as he scans the area. Nellie. Maker's breath, where was she? "Nellie!" He calls out. "Nellie!"

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