Awakening
BZZZT. BZZZT. BZZZT.
The cellphone vibrated violently on the leather cushion until it fell on the plush carpet. Shiva reached her hand down and blindly groped at it until she found it. Swiping it to answer, she held it up to her ear and breathed in a sleepy sigh.
"...Hello?" the voice on the other end spoke after a long moment. Shit. She hadn't actually answered the call properly, had she?
"Hey... friend." She lifted the phone from her ear to see who was calling. It flashed a bright screen at her with the caller ID. Ah. Varric.
"You alright, Pipsqueak? I heard some nasty business went down."
"Varric, how do you know everything that happens in this piece of shit town?" Shiva responded, exasperated.
"It's my job to know, kid." He let out a nervous laugh. "But, hey, are you alright?" He sounded noticeably more concerned.
"I'm... getting there." She managed hoarsely. Her throat was swollen and scratchy. She looked around, and found that Solas had left a fancy bottle of water out for her. How convenient.
"What happened... really?" Varric's voice was much softer now. Shiva felt bad lying to him. He'd just figure out the truth, anyhow.
"I... guess I wasn't the only one interested in Isabela." She managed.
"Yeah, no shit, kid." He forced a laugh. "Don't tell me you didn't know about Fenris?" the silence that followed was answer enough for him. "Oh... Shit. You didn't, did you?" He said after a moment.
"Well, I figured a bit out for myself. Thanks for the tip, Varric ." She said more angrily than she had intended.
"I'm sorry, I thought you knew." He said gently. "What happened?"
"Why do you even want to know?" She snapped. "You gonna' tell more people so you can hurt my pride? Huh?"
"Woah, slow down." He said calmly. "I want to know, because I care. Take a breath, pipsqueak."
"I'm- I'm sorry." She didn't notice it before, but her heart was pounding. Glancing around, she saw that Solas wasn't nearby, so she continued quietly. "Fenris... I guess... That's his name, yeah?" she said nervously. "He... well, he kicked my ass." she admitted.
"...That's it?" Varric asked incredulously. Shiva felt mildly offended.
"Isabela stole a bit of my money, too, but I didn't have much on me." She muttered, embarrassed. "I really did get my ass handed to me, though. If it wasn't for-" she glanced to her right, and she could see a door open out of the corner of her eye. "...I've gotta go. I'll call you back later, alright?"
"Shiva-" he was cut short by her quickly ending the call. Not a moment later, Solas wandered into the room. He looked startled to see her meeting his eyes.
"Oh!" he said nervously. "I didn't expect you to be awake yet."
"I'm... well, I'm awake." Shiva responded, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was still pounding in her chest.
"...Alright, then." He answered awkwardly. "Someone's here to see you, by the way."
"Who would-" she was cut off abruptly by an excited yip. "-Danyla!" she shouted excitedly. The Great Dane came bounding into the room, covering Shiva's face in wet dog-kisses. She laughed happily, and wrapped her arms around her dog's neck. Her ribs sent shockwaves of pain throughout her body in response to the sudden movement. Ouch.
"Baby! Little sweet thing!" she cooed lovingly. Danyla flopped on her back, exposing her stomach to the ceiling and panting happily. Shiva glanced up at Solas, was unable to read his expression.
"She's quite large to be a 'little thing', isn't she?" he teased unexpectedly. Shiva met his gaze, unsure as to how to react.
"I... guess so?" she managed. "I've had her since she was a pup, so..." she gestured lamely.
"...Sure." Solas raised an eyebrow and stepped forward. He pulled something from his pocket and held it out to her. "I'm going to ask you to start taking these." he placed two full pill bottles on the coffee table next to her. "One is an antibiotic- it's this one," he pointed to the bottle on the left "with the blue pills. I'd like for you to take one every three or so hours. You already have one bad infection, and I'd like to prevent any further injury." He looked at her hand disdainfully. "The other is to treat the pain, if the tea I gave you stops helping. Please, do be careful with it." He looked at her sternly. "I don't take you for a junkie, so I'm entrusting you with this medication. Take no more than one at a time. Please." He repeated. Shiva felt uncomfortable under his gaze. “The collapse in your lung is barely an issue. It was caught early enough, so that I doubt you’ll need any hospitalization. The tea should do the job to speed up your recovery as well, but this is just a precautionary measure.”
He lingered for a moment longer, and turned to leave the room. Once he was out of range, Shiva picked up the antibiotic bottle and shook out the pills. Nothing she recognized. Oh well. She took one, and carefully placed the bottle back on the table. The pain killers, however, had a name she did recognize, and a small smile crept on her lips. She carefully shook out two little yellow pills, and swallowed it dry
‘Cole would be so jealous right now.’ Shiva mused privately. ‘He used to pop this shit like candy...’
Laying back down on the couch, she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her.