Approaching the Rift [Rawen]

[Nathaniel Howe]

Tapping his foot on the floor beneath him and the chair he sat in, Nathaniel twirled an arrow in his fingers as he looked to the papers on the desk. The last years of his life had proved the point that he was not cut out for this job, and he was starting to question things. Ever since the Warden went missing, or was dead in the eyes of a lot of people, but Nathaniel thought different on the matter. Even not knowing the truth about it, he did not think that the Warden was dead. Had this been a few years ago, Nathaniel would have been glad to think that he was dead, and just tossed the bones into his closet, but things were different now. Arching a brow at the papers before him he gave a small sigh, these politicians, they knew better than to seek out the Grey Wardens help, on any matter that involved the states of the country, or any country for that matter. Why did they seek the help of them when the only thing they were worried about was the next Blight? Nathaniel did not know.

With a flick of his wrist he jabbed the arrow into the wood, pinning all of the papers into the desk. Then picking up a quill pen he proceeded to deny all of the requests that were sent to him. They could not afford to send out Wardens to settle the petty fights between farmers and noble locales. Standing up then he walked over to a small side table picking up a pitcher and pouring some of the decent wine into a glass. Picking up the glass he went to look out of one of the windows nearby. The shade of night had begun to cover the walls of the Keep, even though it had been rebuilt, it still held that place in his heart, when he was once a kid running the halls. If he had known what he knows now, he might have tried a little harder. But no matter now at least. Taking in a sip from the glass he retreated from the window and to the door making his exit and shutting the door behind him, needing a breath of fresh air.

Letting the wind rush his face outside the throne room he gripped his glass, taking in another drink from it. If he thought that anything was more beautiful than the Amaranthine, he was fooling himself. Nodding to a few people that passed by which was not many considering the time of evening, everyone was preparing to sleep. With a small smile atop his face he continued to walk the streets of the Keep.

[Rawen Thredith]

It had been a while since Rawen roamed the confines of the Keep. She had been out and away from it for what seemed like an eternity, when in reality it had been no more than two weeks. It was pretty here, she supposed, but these human cities paled in comparison to the forests in which her Clan would make their homes in. Rawen disliked being around the Keep for too long, for she felt...what? Trapped perhaps? All her life she had known nothing but the wilderness, the vast open land it provided and it's beauty. The cities were far too cramped in Rawen's opinion, and she was still trying to overcome her wariness of the Shemlen. Sometimes, she questioned why she joined the Wardens. But, when she asked, the answer was clear to her. The guilt she felt within her Clan had been too much to bear, and felt like she would do the Clan better by simply leaving. The guilt she felt, was linked towards humans. As a young girl, Rawen had been out hunting, and a group of bandits had found her, tried to take her. But she ran, and they followed after. Rawen had unknowingly lead the group of bandits to the camp, where many had been unprepared. Several elves had died, including Rawen's father during that attack, and she felt it had been all her fault. Years later, Rawen left the Clan with a sad, broken heart. She found a group of Wardens not too long after, and begged to join their ranks only a few months ago. They allowed her to join, but not before she undertook that wretched Joining, which left her with a vile taste in her mouth, and nightmares that haunted her sleep. Had it really been worth it?

Despite it being a bit late in the evening, Rawen was up and about. She felt exhausted, and yet, she did not wish to go back to bed. Another nightmare had woken her up, and she was not keen on the idea to attempt sleep once more. So, she had left the inside of the Keep and decided to wander around outside of it for a while. Perhaps a breath of fresh air would do her some good. It usually did. The night sky was beautiful, and that seemed to relax the Dalish girl. She even began humming an old tune the Clan's story teller would sing. Rawen walked along, losing herself to her thoughts as she hummed, suddenly finding that she was enjoying this little night walk. Of course...now this meant the elven girl was no longer paying attention to what was going on, or where she was going, and she didn't see that she was about to run into someone.

Rawen didn't see the man that was walking down opposite from her, not until the last moment however. She felt herself run smack into the poor fellow, which made her stumble back seeing he, like most human men, were much bigger than she was. Rawen looked up to who she bumped into, her bright hazel eyes widening in apology.

"Ah! Abelas! I apologize, I wasn't paying attention." Rawen said, an embarrassed flush coloring her cheeks. More embarrassment flooded her as she realized she didn't just bump into a regular Warden, but the Commander. "Ah! Many more apologies Commander!" Rawen squeaked, incredibly flustered with herself. Of all people to run into like a fool, it had to be the Commander. Nathaniel Howe was his name if she remembered correctly. She seen him a few times during her stays at the Keep, but she had yet to actually speak to the Shemlen Warden. Silly Rawen. Always making a fool of herself.

[Nathaniel Howe]

Taking rather small strides in the street, to make this last as long as possible, his break from things. The thought of going from, pretty much nothing, to Grey Warden, and now to liven things up a bit, Warden Commander. He gave a smirk along with a small shake of his head even thinking about it. But also to add to things, he also helped rule Amaranthine. That itself was not an easy task, but he knew that his sister was up for it. Since his father had died, it did not make it easy on any of the Howes, trying to regain their standing in the ranks of the people. Hearing something like what their father had done, it brought in a lot of anger and hate to them. The roles that they all held, sometimes he wondered how it was working out for the rest of them. Alistair, King of Ferelden, who off on his own trip. Though he was not sure what exactly it was. The Witch he had heard so much about, both of them. And anyone else that Aedan was involved with. Taking in a small drink from his glass as he continued to walk and be free of the walls of the Keep for now, he did not notice the person dead in front of him.

Giving a small sigh as he felt the wine run down the front of his shirt from bumping into said person, the smile could not be resisted as she fiddled with her words. But even more so as she seen who he was. Now had this been in any other situation, like people all up in his face giving demands, as they usually did when they felt the need for something from him, he would have gotten hot headed about it. But this was a simple mistake. He reached forward to grab at her shoulders just to make sure that she did not fall. “It’s quite alright.” He said with small shake of his head. Once he seen that she was not going to fall he released his grip. “No, really. Don’t worry about it.” He told her as he looked down to his shirt, and then into the now partially empty glass, a small frown appeared on his face, not at the girl, but at the fact that he now had nothing to drink. Looking back to the girl with an arch of his brow, “Nathaniel.” He said with an extension of his hand, “Don’t think we have had the pleasure.” He said to her.

In the past his introductions had been less than pleasant, but his tone nowadays was starting to lower. He did not know what to think about it, maybe it was age. Even then, cross the line, and it was hell to pay. Pushing back his shoulder length hair as he then wrung out the front of his shirt with twists of the fabric here and there. Once that was done he looked back to her properly, “What brings you out at this time of night?” He asked with another arch of his brow. Yet even though she had not said it, he knew what the answer was, and it was why most Grey Warden’s had a hard time sleeping. Nathaniel on the other hand had learned to tuck them all away into the back of his mind without a second thought.

[Rawen Thredith]

Really, Rawen had been prone to clumsiness throughout her life. And it wasn't simply because she had poor hand eye coordination, which she didn't, not entirely anyways, but rather she always seemed to be lost in thought. It was a wonder how she was able to hunt properly, or simply walk around without crashing into everything. Well, at least she didn't wander into perilous danger every time she spaced off.

To Rawen's misfortune though, instead of just bumping into an inanimate object, it had to be a person though, someone of very high authority at that. Ugh...and he was carrying a drink too...which most of it was now on his shirt. During the initial collision, the Commander had grabbed her shoulders, which stabilized her and she regained her balance. She was half expected to earn a tongue lashing from him due to her carelessness that now left him with hardly any drink left. But, much to her pleasant surprise, he didn't yell. However, Rawen was confused as to why he shook his head and grinned. When he released her, the elven Warden tilted her head slightly to the side like a confused pup would. Where was the scolding? Did she not deserve one? Rather than yell, he assured Rawen that it was alright, that she didn't need to worry about it. Relief flooded her eyes and a little sheepish grin slipped onto her face.

"Oh...ma serannas! Thank you." She said, her grin widening a little. Nathanial outstretched his hand as he introduced himself. Rawen hesitated for a moment before grabbing his hand and shaking it. "Andaran atish’an Nathanial. I am Rawen. And no, I don't believe we had." She said with a shy smile. He seemed pleasant enough for being a human authority figure. He didn't appear to be stuck up or arrogant, and he didn't show signs of being prejudiced in any way. Well, supposed being in the Wardens, one had to give up on such silly racial issues.

He questioned as to why she was out and about at this time, arching a brow at her curiously. Well, to Wardens, they could usually guess as to why their fellow brothers and sisters in arms did not sleep well, or chose to stay up as late as possible. Others outside the Wardens would never know what they go through.

"Just...trouble sleeping. You know." She said with a sigh, tucking part of her hair behind one of her pointed ears. "Might I ask the same thing Commander?" Rawen asked, raising a brow at him, just as he did her.

[Nathaniel Howe]

Nathaniel continued to watch her as she spoke. He gave her a small bow at her greeting, it was not hard to tell that she was an elf. But he was far from anti-elf. Nathaniel had nothing to hold against them, and that war was a long time ago. Sure he might hold a grudge, but it was not that bad. Besides, if anyone should be holding a grudge it was the elf girl in front of him, but she seemed to be ok with it. He had seen the racial fights of shemlans and elves, and they were not pretty. Holding up his glass to her he finished off the rest of his wine, or what was left anyway.

Her answer was not surprising to him, he had a lot young Wardens come to him because of the nightmares. They were not easy to shake off. He gave her an understanding nod, and spoke, “It’s hard to cope with at first. But you will come to understand how to put the nightmares into overflow and just skip right over them.” He said to her in a more comforting way than anything. Looking around for a small moment, he then started to walk again, nodding for her to follow. He would not abandon her if the case was that. It was not something that he did in any account. He placed his arms behind him as he walked one gripping at the other, “Taking a break.” He said to her with a small shake of his head at her question. Of course he did not go into detail, because he was sure that she did not want to hear about, and frankly he did not wish to reveal it.

Nathaniel looked over to her again, as if doing a double take at her, youth. It was then when he seen how young she really was. Looking forward again he spoke, “You are young to have joined the ranks of the Grey Warden’s so early. Was the Right of Conscription invoked?” He asked her. It was not often that that was the case, but he for one knew what it was like first hand to join against a will. Of course his will was broken then, and his path had been tossed astray, but he was not the only one then to have felt anger and hate against so many people. He remembered it like it was yesterday, even the part where he had fainted during the joining. Thankfully on the Hero and another was there to see that. He had been the only one at his Joining. Taking a breath as the wind picked up a little around him, he still walked.

[Rawen Thredith]

When it came down to the racial prejudices between humans and elves, Rawen was yes, a bit spiteful towards humans. But, she had raised to hold negative feelings towards them, and had her own reasons to be wary of them. She was sure that humans were raised to despise the elves as well, and really it was just one giant, vicious circle. Rawen often wondered about the elven alienages within Shemlen cities, and wondered if it was horrible as the rumors said. Rawen felt sad for her domesticated elven kin, seeing as they were trapped in the hearts of the cities, never knowing the true freedom the Dalish held. It was a shame, these silly prejudices. But, it was an unavoidable thing, and all one could do was simply try to ignore them.

As a brief pause of silence fell over the two, Rawen found herself looking up at the sky as a particularly bright star caught her attention. She looked back down as Nathanial drank what contents were left in his glass. Rawen was curious as to what it was. She assumed it was possibly alcohol, simply because Arley had once told her humans drank a lot of that stuff. He had let her try some once, though she forgot what it was exactly. It was bitter tasting whatever it had been, and caused Rawen's nose to crinkle with disgust. Perhaps she would stick to water...and least it didn't smell so odd, or tasted so...well, strange.

When the elven Warden told the Commander about her nightmares, he did not seem at all surprised. He did however, seemed to understand her situation. He nodded and spoke, saying that at first it was difficult to shake away the nightmares, but over time, she would be able to ignore them. "I hope that say comes very soon. It would be nice to sleep decently again." She said with a small, chiming laugh. Nathanial began walking again, motioning for her to follow. The elf hesitated for a moment before following after, almost like how a lost puppy would. "I take it you had nightmares too when you joined, yes?" She questioned, looking up at him in wide-eyed curiosity. Rawen wondered if he still had nightmares, or if he had overcome them like he said Wardens eventually did.

Nathanial answered her question as to what he had been doing. He was vague with his answer, which most likely, subtly meant that he did not wish to speak of the details. She nodded, looking forward again. "Someone of your stature deserves a break every now and then no? Your job must be difficult." Rawen said quietly. She never understood how a single individual could lead others, especially so many of them. Rawen would never be able to handle something like that, that was for certain.

Rawen could see the Commander looking over at her, studying her it looked like. Perhaps he was trying to figure out if she was truly as young as she appeared. She could not blame him. Nathanial then asked if she had been Conscripted into the Wardens, because of how young she was. Rawen shook her head, and gave a small, tight smile. "No, I was not Conscripted. I joined of my own free will." She said quietly, nervously fidgeting with the silver and gold embroidered scarf she had around her neck. "What about you? Did you join on your own, or were you Conscripted?" Rawen asked, her hazel eyes looking up to Nathanial once more.

[Nathaniel Howe]

“It will. You just have to play your part as well. A tip.” He said to her with a short pause, “Try meditation before you sleep, it helps.” He told her with a small nod of his head. That was all he did for the first few years. And here he was giving out advice about it for the first time since he had become a Grey Warden.

Giving her a nod at her next question, “At times, yes. They are coming less frequently, but it’s more of a horror story now. So be prepared for that. The longer you are a Warden I believe, the worse they get but also come more sparse.” He told her in all honesty. It was one thing to believe it, but to lie about it, there no use in that at all. Turning down a road inside the walls of a Keep they were coming to the halfway point to the main doors.

Giving a small laugh at her response to his taking a break he looked over to her, “I guess you could say that. But they come more sparse than the nightmares.” He told her with a smirk atop his face. Now that was truth, he had stepped into a lot when he had agreed to become the Warden Commander, and she was right on one account, it was not an easy job to take on at all. But he was managing with it, barely. Letting out a another quirk of a laugh as he thought about it.

The answer to his next question, was not however the remark he was hoping to hear. He was hoping to hear that she had in fact been conscripted, and she hated the fact that they did that to her. But joining of your own free will, the Warden’s stature was changing these days. With a shake of his head he looked to her as she asked her question. Giving a small cough he looked forward again, “I was Conscripted. And I was terrified at the thought of becoming a Grey Warden. Then it was more complicated, it was hard enough getting people to join the ranks, thus they was forced to Conscript.” He told her with tilt of his head thinking about it now. “But yes, if it makes you feel better, my Joining was a solo one, yanked from a cell right here in this Keep’s Dungeon.” He said to her looking back to the doors to where the Dungeon was located.

Now he knew the questions were really going to fly.

[Rawen Thredith]

Rawen listened quietly as Nathanial spoke, looking around her surroundings. At the mention of some advice over the nightmares, the young Warden looked back to her Commander, fully alert now. She smiled brightly at the small bit of advise. "Ah, ma serannas Commander. I shall do this." Rawen said, genuinely grateful. She hoped meditating would help, if only a little bit.

Her eyes widened a little bit, and she frowned at the news Nathanial gave next. They only get worse? "Oh Creators are you joking?" Rawen said with a little groan. "Well....at least they would be less frequent. But I still don't like the idea that they are worse than these nightmares now." She sighed. Well, she should have known this would be happening. "Thank you for being honest with me at least." The young elf said with a small, shy smile as they rounded a corner. Even if it was bad news, at least Nathanial spoke the truth to her.

At the mention of his lack of breaks, Rawen shook her head in sympathy. "Ahh, that is quite a shame. You deserve a vacation I think." She said, nodding, crossing her arms, grinning widely.

"You were forced to join then? How terrible." Rawen said with another frown forming on her face. He then mentioned how he was taken from a dungeon here in this very keep. She followed Nathanial's gaze towards one of the dungeon doors, and she looked back at him, quirked a brow in bewilderment. "Why were you here, in a dungeon?" The elven girl asked, truly bewildered as to why the Commander had been locked up, and then forced to join the Wardens while he was locked up here. She could not imagine what it must have been like to be forced to join this organization, and how scared he truly must have been. It was sad if Wardens were so desperate, that they had to force young people into their ranks against their will. Rawen looked up at Nathanial, her gaze softening somewhat.

[Nathaniel Howe]

Nathaniel watched her reaction to the getting worse part. “Well, for me they got worse anyway. It could be different for other Wardens.” He told as sort of insurance for his last statement. He gave her a small nod of his head as she thanked him for being honest with her. Right now, he had no reason at all to lie, but then again he did not take himself for a liar. His pace continued at a steady rate. Of course he was also not used to to just be out, not doing this very often rather.

Giving a smirk at her next words he spoke again, “The day when the Deep Rhodes freeze over is when I will get a vacation.” He told her with a small laugh. But it was the truth, unless Aedan came back, and well that was a very, very, very low chance, in fact there was none at this point. He had been gone for too long to think like that. Placing a hand to his forehead with another shake of his head he crossed his arms over his chest looking to her again.

Upon her asking if he was forced to join he gave her a rather sloppy nod of his head, it was not something that he liked to converse about but he moved on. When he looked back to the dungeon he followed her gaze back to where they were walking. Giving a rather long pause before he looked into his empty glass he finally spoke, “It’s a rather long story, but if you want the short version here you go.” He said to her as they continued to walk, “As I am sure you, everyone, knows my father had a very untimely death. By none other than the Hero of Fereldan.” He said looking to her with a small pause, “And I tried to kill him for it, simple as that.” He said to her, now everyone that was not confined by being a Dalish elf would know that. But people here did not really like to talk about the Warden Commander behind his back.

Nathaniel looked back to his empty glass, “And the Hero thought that I would be more useful to the Grey Warden’s than dead I suppose.” He told her with a shake of his head. And that was the simple version right there. “But trust me, at the time,I thought dying was the better of the two options.” With that he turned another corner. But as he told his story, he figured that telling her his story would help her cope with what she had stepped into. Being a Warden was not easy.

[Rawen Thredith]

Rawen listened as Nathanial tried to assure that not every Warden was the same, and that not everyone's nightmares got worse. She breathed a small sigh of relief. Perhaps the Creators will smile down at her and blur the nightmares rather than intensify them. Well, all she could do was hope, and play the waiting game.

The Commander's pace was typical for someone of his height, and he had fairly long strides, which put Rawen at a bit of a disadvantage seeing as she was a great deal shorter than him. Well, on the bright side, she was getting some good exercise walking with the Warden Commander, so she wasn't complaining too much.

The Dalish girl gave a laugh at Nathanial's joke about his slim chance for a vacation. "Ah, Abelas! What a shame. You will be waiting for a very long time for your vacation then..." She grinned up at him and playfully nudged his arm. "If that day ever comes, we all very well could be dead!" She gave another little laugh.

When Rawen had asked Nathanial his reason for being locked up, she listened to him carefully, mulling over his story thoughtfully. "It sounds to me like you were only trying to avenge your father...why was the Hero not locked away for murder of him?" She asked, confused. Rawen knew very, very little of the events that happened in human society, so this was all news to her. She felt even more confused when Nathanial said that the Hero spared his life, despite him trying to kill the Hero, and made him into a Grey Warden.

"You sound like you were fortunate though...to be given a second chance and all. To many, I'm sure this life seems more appealing than death." She said quietly as she followed Nathanial down another turn. Rawen already knew how hard this life as a Warden was, and sometimes she regretted her choice. But, she joined here on her own free will, while Nathanial had been forced to do so. But, it was either that, or die though. So, maybe this was a better choice for him. And look at him now, he was the Commander now. He was highly respected, though it cost him a great deal of his valuable time. Rawen did not envy him in any way, and was perfectly content to be the junior Warden around here. At least she wasn't looked to whenever there were issues that needed taking care of.

"How did you become Commander then? Were you...voted in, or were you just given the job?" The girl asked curiously, tilting her head at him like a confused puppy.

[Nathaniel Howe]

Smirking at her response he continued to walk. “A very long time indeed.” He replied to her with a small nod of his head. The night was starting to get cold as the winds rushed through the Keep. Nathaniel arched a brow at her reasoning. “That is true, however my father committed treason against the Cousland family. Killing a lot people at Highever. The Hero’s family, his mother and father, and brother even, they were the nobles.” He told her with a small pause, “He killed the Tyren of Highever, his wife.”

Nathaniel took another turn and they were not back to where they had started at. With a small shake of his head he looked back to the girl, “So I guess it was pity at the time.” He said to her, then hearing her ask about becoming the Commander. Not that was something that he had not thought about in a long time. Aedan had never told him where he was going, but he did try and talk him out of it, not that it worked.

Some about, It’s something I have to do. That coming from him, even though Nathaniel had tried to stop him from leaving. Nathaniel looked to her, “Well Aedan was actually the Commander for a while before..” He told her with even a small hint of confusion about his own face. “Before he went missing. So it was more or less just given to me.” He told her. But he had never spoken about him leaving under his own will, per request from The Hero himself, so he would have liked to keep it that way. Turning to look to the main area of the Keep still outside, “So there you have it, Dunderhead Nathaniel becomes Warden Commander over night. It’s actually kind of impressing.” He said to her with a small smirk about his face.

[Rawen Thredith]

Rawen grinned brightly and shook her head and Nathanial in sympathy. "It is quite a shame. Perhaps someday you will be lucky enough for a vacation someday, no?" The elven girl said with a little smirk. She shivered a bit as a sudden chill seemed to fall on the air, and she gently wrapped her scarf around her neck to provide some warmth. Winter would not be far off. By now, the Clan would be trying to stockpile on as much food and firewood as possible before the snows came in. Rawen sighed and crossed her arms, fighting off a sudden pang of sorrow.

Rawen listened to the Commander's story carefully, feeling a great deal of shock as he spoke. It brought sorrow to the Dalish girl that such evilness plagued the world. Humans seemed to be incredibly cruel against their own kind, but then, when she thought about it, didn't every race hold evil in their hearts? She frowned at the thought, but could not deny it. "That is...a terrible thing to happen." She said carefully, trying to avoid saying hurtful things. Wicked or not, this man that had torn apart an entire family was her Commander's father. "Simply awful." She said quietly, her gaze averting towards the ground. "Still, I must say you are lucky, if even a little bit." Rawen said with a small nod.

After a while, the young Warden looked back at Nathanial as he spoke about him gaining the rank of Commander. She listened quietly, her hazel eyes slightly wide in curiosity. "So...this Aedan was Commander before you? And he just vanished? Just like that?" Rawen asked in bewilderment. Why would someone like that just disappear? That would be like if the Clan Keeper had vanished without a trace...perhaps it is a good thing they always have a First in case something like that happened. Did the Wardens have a hierarchy like that in a way?

"So...were you next in line to take the role? Kind of like a First?" She asked in an almost excited tone. Why, she wasn't sure.

[Nathaniel Howe]

Nathaniel gave a nod of his head as she spoke. "That is possable." he told her upon thinking how long it had been since he has really done his thing. Was it when he had met the Champion of Kirkwall? Hell he did not know anymore, because really he did not want to think about it. Life was sort of unexistant when you were a Grey Warden. He turn to look at her as she gave a shiver, he pulled off his over shirt in one motion, still having one over his chest as he handed it to her. That was one thing Nathaniel was good at if not anything else and that was being sort of a push over for women, regardless of race shap or size. Besides it had to be dry by now.

With a shake of his head he responded to her. "It could have been worse. Much worse." he said as he looked around them for a moment. It was hard at times, but being a Warden had its glory and moments. Nathaniel had come to the conclusion that he did not and would not want it any other way. Sure he knew that Aedan could do a better job, but he was doing ok. Lucky, he did not think of it like that, giving her a small nod in agreeance.

Nathaniel turned his gaze to the keep again as she asked her question, he did not want to tell her that it was Aedan himself who had appointed him as Warden Commander, it would be hard enough to try and explain that. But his words none the less came out smoothly. "Without a word." he said to her. That was mostly the truth, he just did not want to have to explain why Aedan went off because he did not know at all. Giving another nod at her question, "Yes something like that. There isn't much of a First now though. Hard times, maybe I need to appoint one." And maybe he did need to do that just incase. His feet now carried him up the steps of the Keep, "You are more than welcome to warm your hands by the fire if you wish." He told her with a small smile.

[Rawen Thredith]

Rawen was quite a bit surprised with herself this evening. Normally she didn't come out of her little shell unless she absolutely had to. Sure, at first during this encounter with Nathanial, it had been a forced, necessary issue seeing as she had been careless and had run into him. And perhaps at first she felt awkward with speaking to the Commander, but could not so simply back away from him because it would be rude and disrespectful. But now she was actually enjoying herself a bit, though she was certain Nathanial would grow tired of her, or at least her need to be tagging along with him like some sort of puppy.

She was caught by surprise when Nathanial began stripping off his outer shirt and handed it to her. Rawen looked up at the taller male with bewilderment in her hazel eyes as she lightly took the shirt. It hit her then, and she giggled quietly at herself, and smiled at the unexpected kindness. He had noticed her slight chill, even when she hadn't. She paused in her steps to pull the shirt down over her, and another laugh escaped her. The shirt was rather big, compared to little Rawen anyways. The sleeves were too long, and the hem of the shirt draped down well past her rear. If one didn't know any better, one would think that Rawen looked like a small child in an adult's shirt. She caught up to Nathanial, swinging her arms in amusement, flailing the excess material of the sleeves as she did so. Rawen realized right then how ridiculous she was acting, and gave a little cough and composed herself a little better. "Ma serannas, you didn't need to do that though, but thank you." Rawen said with a shy, yet grateful smile.

The elven girl listened as Nathanial spoke, and she nodded. "Well, it is a good thing that things weren't worse then." Rawen mused aloud, looking back up at the Keep. He then began speaking about the previous commander and how he vanished so mysteriously. "Curious...I wonder why he would just leave like that? Maybe he didn't want to be a Warden anymore?" She realized that this was probably a very silly thing to say, but sometimes she couldn't help but to say what was on her mind right then and there. Surely a Warden, the Commander too no less, wouldn't just leave. Right?

"Perhaps that would be a good idea...it's better to be safe than sorry...just in case you--" Rawen cut off her sentence, embarrassed and flustered with herself. "N-not that I'm implying that you are going to die...I mean, you will die eventually just like everyone else...but not soon is what I mean...oh by the Creators I should just be quiet." She said as they entered the keep and was offered by the commander to warm herself up by the fire. Rawen plopped herself in front of the fire, thankful for it's warmth and the fact that it could hide away the embarrassed blush on her face.