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WHO: Felix and OPEN
WHAT: A couple of prompts for people who wanted to interact with Felix.
WHEN: The days after the funeral
WHERE: Throughout Skyhold
NOTES: Mentions of death or dying, otherwise it should be okay. Also, please remember the general public doesn't know he has the Blight, they just know that he's dying 'of an illness.'

[Personal Quarters]

Felix spends most of his time in the quarters assigned to him. Some days he finds it hard to walk around much, as the dizziness gets to him. Healers are welcome, as are servants and friends. He keeps the place very clean, worried that somehow the treatments will stop working. He knows the Inquisition is taking a risk having him here and he does everything he can to stop the possibility of spreading the Blight. That includes staying tidy and burning sheets after a fever.

It also means cutting his own hair. The problem is that he has issues holding his arms up for that long. They start to tire and he gives up making the cuts straight or even. He's not trying to make a fashion statement, after all.

[Library]

When he is out of his room, he spends most of his time in the library. Obviously, part of that is that Dorian is there. Being around his friend feels like the way he wants to spend his last days. He had thought going home and trying to help the cause of the Inquisition would have been important, but this feels more right personally.

When Dorian isn't around, he spends his time reading. He enjoys learning about Southern history and can also be seen pouring over any new mathematical theories. It makes him realize how much he misses going to university.

[Garden]

Sometimes he's told he needs to 'get fresh air' and that prompts him to go out and sit at the garden. It's still so lovely to see what a well placed hot spring can do even in the middle of a frozen mountain. The air is still thin and frigid, nothing like what he might have back home, but there's something wonderful about the peace that one can find surrounded by the right amount of trees.

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He opens his mouth to ask her what she meant but she changes the subject so quickly that he takes the hint and lets it slide.

"I did," he explains, brightening up a bit. "The University of Orlais has some of the best minds when it comes to theory in the field. Attending had been like opening my mind to all of the possibilities of the world."

"Oh?" she asks, leaning forward in her chair. All the possibilities is a phrase that catches her attention and holds on tight. It's something she's always wanted open to her too. Being here in Skyhold feels like a start to all that.

"What do you do with mathematics? I mean, do the theories ever turn into something for practical use?"

Felix pauses for a moment, trying to figure out how to describe things. "In a way," he said. "Of course basic arithmetic is vital to tasks every day life, even something as simple as baking or planting requires it. When you get to the higher school of thought..."

It's clear he's searching for the words here. Sometimes he wishes he had Dorian's gift for gab. "It's like describing the world. There was puzzles and patterns everywhere. You only need the language to decipher them."

"And you know all that? It's a language to you?" She isn't quite sure she understands, but maybe it's a bit like magic. A mage can't really describe what magic and casting spells feels like to someone who can't feel the energy of the Fade flow through them. And she knows basic math, but doesn't see what need there is for more.

He nodded a bit at that. "At least I can speak a part of it," he admitted. "I, uh, I had to cut my studies short when my health began to get worse." That wasn't entirely accurate. It had been being attacked that had cut them short, but that attack hadn't exactly been good for his health.

"That's too bad," she says, expression softening. "And then all this with the Breach happened too, which has changed things for so many." Ellana closes her book and rests her arms on the table.

"The healers here can help you, can't they?"

"They do what they can, but I'm afraid I'm incurable. That was, after all, the source of my father's desperation." He frowns a bit as he thinks of the Alexius who is down in the dungeon of Skyhold. He hopes his father is well and remembers to go check on him later today.

"Oh," she says, taking a moment to process that. 'Oh' is what she usually says when she needs a moment. It's a filler word that shows she's still invested in the conversation, but doesn't want to blurt something out without thinking. It's especially true now as the topic returns to his father.

"I'm sure parents would sacrifice anything for their child," she continues quietly. It's so unfair that Felix is incurable when he's so young. And here he wants to study mathematics and is in the library trying to catch up. He should have all the time in the world to learn what he wants, without this hanging over his head. "I wish-- your illness, I wish it wasn't so."

He looks at her carefully then, because he also needs some time to figure out what he wants to say next.

"I'm... I'm very grateful that someone so beautiful would spare a thought like that for me," he says finally. He doesn't like that he caused her pain, but he wouldn't want to diminish the importance of that by waving it away. "Thank you."

"Well," she blushes and looks down at the table, unable to hide how pleased she looks on hearing that. She loves compliments. Really, she just loves being noticed, and thought of positively. "Ma serannas. That's how we say thank you."

He nods in acknowledgement of the thanks. "You're very welcome." Then, after a moment. "Your language is also beautiful. I... I wish we hadn't done so much to ensure so much of it was lost." It's strange to approach that grief but he still feels it needs to be said.

The admission actually startles her a little. She must look ridiculous, blinking at him in surprise, her lips parting, but it's just something she never expected to hear from a Tevinter.

"I-- I agree." she finally replies. "We have a written language too, but I've only ever seen a few words of it."

It's the least he can do. He doesn't think she looks ridiculous at all. If anything, he's still struck by her beauty.

"There are plenty of ruins throughout the countryside aren't there? Perhaps we'll uncover relics that have more of it written."

"I would love that," she says, leaning over her arms on the table a bit more. "I desperately want to visit elven ruins and can only hope that the Inquisition takes us in the path of some. There are many in the Dales, of course."

To walk among the paths her ancestors took and touch the stone they shaped and built with would be incredible. She'd probably cry.

"That would be something, wouldn't it?" He replies thoughtfully. "Tevinter ruins are found all around as well, but I'm afraid it means something very different."

"Yes." It's spoken softly and she looks away for a moment. When she looks back, she offers a tiny smile. "We should probably talk about something else that doesn't have to do with our different peoples. It'll just make us sad, don't you think?"

"You're right," he replies, looking a little embarrassed. "What would you like to talk about instead?"

Oh, right. She did suggest this, didn't she? That means she should also think of something, but as she tries to think up ideas, it all goes back to his culture. There has to be something.

"Do you, uh, do you have any games you like to play?" It takes a lot to keep herself from wincing. She feels so boring right now.

"I suppose it would be too much to suggest some basic math games?" he asks, a little embarrassed. That makes him seem like such a nerd.

"I know basic math," she's quick to assure him. Well, mostly. Multiplication and division are a little trickier, but she can do it!

"What do you have in mind?" Oh, Creators, what if she makes a mistake? He will think she's so dumb.

He ends up teaching her a numbers game that's good for teenagers and older children. He's patient with her too, never seeming to judge her if she has problems with it, and encouraging what she does well.

As they play the game, her face heats up a little, worried she'll make a fool of herself in front of him. He's said kind things about elves, but she still doesn't want him to leave this meeting with the notion that the Dalish are uneducated. But the longer they go on, the more she gets the sense that even when she gets something wrong, he doesn't care. He's so polite and kind; she wishes all the Dalish at Skyhold could sit down with him. He's the perfect example of humans not being all the Elvhen were taught they were.

"You're a very good teacher," she says at one point, smirking up at him. "I'm learning a lot."

"You're a wonderful student," Felix responded. When he had been well, he wasn't very good at talking to someone he found as beautiful as Ellana. Now, though, it seemed to silly to be worried about that. He was dying, and there was no reason to be concerned with any thing else.

"We can play any time that you'd like while I'm still here."

It takes her a moment to realize that when he says "while I'm still here" he doesn't necessarily mean he'll be leaving Skyhold for someplace else. Her smile fades and she looks down at the table. He means until he dies.

"I would like that," she says before looking up again. Despite his illness making him look worn and weak, she can still see the handsome man underneath, and she wonders what life was life for him when he was well. Did he spend his days with his nose buried in a book, or did he go outside and enjoy the sunshine?

Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she shifts in her chair and smiles again.

"I almost didn't get that last one," she says, referencing their game. "And then just like that, everything fell into place and I could see the answer."

Felix let her have that moment, because he knew it was needed, but her smile was beautiful. He appreciated that she wanted to have a strong face for him.

"That's why I love numbers. They all just seem to fall into place like that. It's very comforting."

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