[idk “beach” episode w/ a focus on olwynn and Lorin my pookies the underrated besties of all time]

[2.4k-ish words]

[authors note: “small-clothes” is a term used historically to refer to underwear… idk I just feel like olwynn would say that LOL]

[started 4/20/25 (mid-gladiator arc) + completed 6/4/2025]

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[silly little olwynn Lorin prologue]

They won.

The phrase rings through Olwynn’s ears as Aelin drags her by the hand through the dingy streets of Silverhold’s undercity, Dayne and Lorin sandwiching them on either side. They’d almost died thrice over, but still.

They won.

And made it out like bandits, too, if the pouches shoved into their Bag of Holding were anything to go by.

The cleric lets her mind fade as she’s led through the crowd, trusting her Party to keep her from getting lost. Aesha had been out longer than expected. A pleasant thing, the excuse to be so close to her facsimile of a lost sister, but… the channeling drained her.

A loose cobblestone quickly jolts her back to reality, however, the pain of a suddenly twisted ankle causes her to cry out. It’s fast and slow at the same time, her fall—Olwynn somehow feels the grip Aelin has on her hand loosen in slow motion while her face hurtles towards the ground. Before she can make contact with it, however, two arms wrap around her waist, pulling her upright and close to their owner’s side. The half-elf is still reeling from it all when they spin her around and she’s met with the frightened face of—well, not Lorinper se, but the person Lorin is disguised as.

Though nothing could probably cover the sheer panic on the other woman’s face.

“Are you okay?” The fighter rushes out, eyes roaming up and down the cleric’s body. “What happened— are you hurt?!”

“I-“ Before she can truly speak, someone from the crowd pushes past them, knocking into Olwynn and causing her to stumble. The sudden weight on her ankle makes her hiss, and unconsciously, she braces herself on the other’s shoulders. Lorin holds her with care, eyes looking out into the masses

“Fweak,” she mutters, eyes squinted. “I think we lost them.”

Olwynn feels tears fill her eyes—she’s too tired, too emotional for their current circumstances. Yet she cannot make herself be strong. “I’m sorry,” she chokes out. Her hands spasm against the human’s shoulders, light flickering from beneath the disguise as she tries in vain to heal herself. “I’m sorry, my ankle—“

Lorin’s eyes dart back to meet hers, frowning as she does so. “Hey, no, don’t apologize. I’m just glad you’re… well, I guess you’re not okay, but…”

“I don’t think I can…” Olwynn takes a shaky breath. “I’m all burnt out. I’m sorry, I don’t think—”