Injury

"You need to be more careful, my dear!"

"I know, I'm sorry..." Shalini sat on the edge of Vivienne's bed, with the woman in question tending to the nasty injury across her chest and shoulder. "But how would I know that bear would attack me first? For its size, it was incredibly fast!"

Vivienne scowled at that and gave her a light slap on the outskirts of the wound, which made Shalini yelp.

"It was the mistake made by an untested apprentice, not the Herald of Andraste!" She continued to mend the wound. "It's most unbecoming of you."

"You don't think I'm disappointed in myself?" Shalini grumbled. "I was lucky I rolled away in time when it pinned me down, if it had hit me-" She looked out the balcony opening and sighed, before Vivienne put a hand against her cheek lightly.

"Just be more alert next time, darling." She said and raised an eyebrow. "It would be unbelievably dreary here without you."

Shalini only laughed at that before once again thanking the First Enchanter for her aid. As much as Shalini was confident in her own magical skills, she shed no doubt that her friend was a better healer.

As she walked down the mainhall, she looked down at her arm and tried to lift it. Useless, as she suspected. Such a stupid mistake, such an incredibly stupid mistake. The great bears of the Emerald Graves were not to be trifled with, and she had not seen it coming, at all.

Before she knew it, the huge beast had knocked Cole to the ground and advanced on to her. It had all happened so quickly, she barely had time to summon a barrier before it had pinned her to the ground. All she could remember was pain and then the blurry sight of the bear standing up on its hindlegs. Right before it landed on her, she summoned all the strength she had and rolled to the side, but not before one of it's giant paws had hit her right shoulder and crushed her collarbone and parts of her shoulder, making the socket loose. The pain had been so strong she had lost track of what was going on around her. All she felt was icecold and burning hot knives stabbing her right side. She didn't remember much after that, until she had woken up back at Skyhold, with Vivienne at her side. She had reassured everyone that she would be fine, and had then shooed them away so she could concentrate.

Shalini neared the stairs to her quarters, before stopping for a moment. Should she perhaps inform the others that she was alright? But the keep was so big, with so many stairs... She groaned and then continued on her way. She could tell them after a quick rest. If they were worried they could always ask Vivienne.

After stopping every so often along the way up to her tower, she reached her room at last. And upon climbing the final set of stairs, she was met by a familiar scene which still made her heart beat a few paces quicker.

"Look at you, all fixed up and fresh." Bull rumbled and got up from her bed to walk over to her. "How you feeling, Kadan?"
Shalini smiled and shrugged with her good shoulder.
"Can't complain. I've walked out of the Fade. Hard to compare to that."

He hummed before grabbing her backside, lifting her up and carrying her the rest of the way. "True, but that shithole didn't almost crush your ribs and all the valuable parts underneath them." He put her down on the bed and knelt before her. "Luckily I rammed that beast before it had a chance." He smirked confidently at her.

"Lucky indeed." Shalini mumbled back and stroked a hand along his shoulder. "I can show you how much I appreciate it."
He chuckled and gently lifted her hand away.
"Trust me Kadan, as much as I'd like that, you need to rest." He stood up and met her disappointed glare.

"We can be careful." She complained and started trying to remove her garment. "Just- Just give me a second." She fumbled with her only good hand to try and unbutton the shirt, to no avail. Beside her, Bull only watched, biting his cheeks trying not to laugh.

"C'mon Boss, you can't even get out of your own clothes." He snickered and sat down beside her, leaning in close to her ear. "Tell you want. You get some rest now, and when you've healed, we'll tumble around as much as you want."

Shalini only whimpered at that and nodded slowly.

"I still need to get out of my clothes." She mumbled after a while. "Can you at least help with that?"
He leaned back and appeared to be thinking very hard about it, much to her annoyance.

"I don't know." He drawled. "It was really funny watching you struggle."

"Mhmmm, very funny." She muttered and hit him in the chest, which only made him laugh.

To say that her right side hurt was an understatement. She winced when he carefully lurked her bad arm out of the tunic, and small tears stung in the corners of her eyes when she was forced to lift her arms to remove the shirt under. Bull was slow and precise in the ritual, and lightly put her arm back in the slung once her nightgown was on. The entire shoulder and parts of the upper arm and chest were a mixture of blues and greens and purples, making it look almost like the sky at certain nights, when the lights danced over Skyhold. Shalini took a comfort in that and gingerly brushed the bruises with her fingertips.

"Fenedhis..." She hissed and slumped further into the bed. "I've battled dragons, evaded an Archdemon, fought in the Fade! And then I'm almost crushed by an old, godsforsaken bear.

Bull shrugged at that and leaned back on his elbows beside her.

"You can't be perfect, Kadan." He gave her a wicked grin. "At least not at everything."

"Flatterer." She hummed and gave his jaw a light stroke, before laying down in the bed for real, crawling under the covers. Bull looked down at her with an unreadable expression before quietly clearing his throat.

"Seriously though, Boss..." He rubbed his forehead before slumping down close beside her, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't want to-."

Shalini hushed him at that and gently put her still functioning hand over his.

"I know..." She whispered. "Me neither..."