Mistakes Happen (Fenris/David)

[Lyaera Amavaintria]

A week after leaving the Inn, Lyaera now found herself traveling once more, but at least she wasn't alone this time. The company was nice, she had to admit, even if that company was an Elf that looked as if he wanted to tear out your insides constantly, she wouldn't admit it to herself, but there was moments where the male Elf made her feel slightly nervous just by being anywhere near him, even asking him a simple question made her think before doing so, fearing that he'd snap at her just by doing so. Well, at least he wasn't all bad.

Peering at the map once more, Lyaera didn't really want to admit to her companion that she had gotten them lost, having no idea where they were and appearing to be surrounded by wilderness. Due to being mistaken for either a wench or a slave, she thought it best to equip a new attire that now consisted of brown trousers with various belts and buckles that kept her blades strapped to her hips, along with a white long-sleeved blouse with a black leather bodice followed by black knee-length boots - quite lovely, she had to admit. Still, admiring her attire would get them nowhere, plus she had two options; tell Fenris that they were lost, or carry on until they came across a sign - both being highly unlikely.

Still, she was grateful to him none the less. First saving her life, and now agreeing to help her back to Tevinter in order to save her brother, she just knew she'd have to risk her life countless times to make it up to him, that's how she felt at least. She looked over at her companion, shaking her head before sighing, they were equally causing enough trouble for each other. "Festis bei umo canavarum..." she muttered under her breath before looking back at the map, soon beginning to get an idea of where they were but that still didn't excuse the fact that they were still lost and she had been the one who got them into this mess.

Fenris probably knew they were, too, perhaps he was just waiting for the right moment to give her a tongue-lashing, though to be honest, she became more and more laid back within each minute she spent with him, which was a nice change for once. She no longer felt the need to bow her head in a submissive manner, the scared slave she use to be she could feel leaving her completely. But back to the matter at hand, they were still lost, and she wasn't all that keen on the idea of admitting it, not even to herself, plus she was getting a little tired and hungry; a good excuse to stop and set camp, she thought.

"Looks like we won't be getting any further tonight," she said with a sigh of relief, dropping the over-sized supply pack consisting of blankets, a ma ttress, tent, and a few pots for cooking. As soon as that weight was lifted from her, Lyaera felt herself drop to her knees in exhaustion, it wasn't that she didn't trust Fenris, but she still fussed in case of him delaying the healing process of his wounds by lugging around packs and supplies, a bit too much it seemed but it was better than taking any chances. "We'll set camp here and continue in the morning," she said, beginning to unpack the tent and soon began to pitch it up, at least there were some things she was good for.

"You should probably rest, or relax, your choice, I'll cook something after thi--ouch..." it wasn't long until the tent collapsed on her, making her appear much like a sheet-wearing 'ghost' "venhedis pole didn't stay in place." She could be seen rubbing her head under the material before beginning to set it up again, this time succeeding in making sure that everything was in place and then went on the unroll the mattress into the tent also. "There we go," came her voice from within the tent before crawling out and dusting any traces of dirt off her clothing "alright, let's get cooking!"


- - -


With a blanket now wrapped around her as she sat on a tree stump close to the fire, Lyaera held her bowl of vegetable soup closely beneath her chin, feeling its still warmness steaming against her skin, occasionally blowing on the tasteful liquid whenever she gathered a spoonful. It was beginning to become quite a chilly night, but at least the fire and soup helped, dipping in pieces of bread every so often to eat.

Looking over at Fenris briefly, she let off a smile before continuing to eat, maybe light conversation couldn't hurt over dinner. "How are you feeling? Have your injuries gotten any better...? I've kind of held back asking," she chuckled awkwardly before blowing the steam away from her spoonful and silently slurping it up, her attention then turned to the pot which was boiling over the fire then looked at him. "Aren't you going to eat? You'll need it," she smiled, gulping down the last drops from her bowl before placing her bowl down and rummaging through her bag "I bought some apples from the market before we left... here."

With that, she threw a red apple in his direction before taking one out for herself and took a bite, savoring the moment. Sitting forward, her gaze focusing on nothing in particular, something she had been wanting ask finally parted her lips. "Hey, Fenris...? Were you a... slave, too?" her voice was quiet, somewhat hesitant, fearing that she'd offend him. He already knew that she was, especially after giving him her slave name 'Sora', an unusual name for an Elf "uh... sorry, that was... rude of me, forget I asked."

There was a long silence, a few crickets chirped here and there along with a howl which made her jump up from the stump, her blanket dropping to the ground. "Venhedis!" immediately her hand slapped over her mouth, knowing that her voice was rather loud. In the distance, she could see various pairs of eyes staring straight at her along with five silhouettes that belonged to them. Wolves.

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[Fenris]

For a long while their journey had been very uneventful, the two of them walking until sundown day after day with barely even talking to each other. Fenris had saved the woman, sacrificing himself for a complete stranger in a moment of weakness or valor - he still couldn't decide between the two - and she had saved him in return. But looking at her still caused him those flashbacks, so he barely even looked at her when they spoke.

In that moment he had felt a new kind of power; like sunlight itself seeping into his veins, filling him with alien strength, it swept over him and left him in tatters. It was different from the lyrium-infused burning he was used to, different altogether. That one gave him special powers; the new kind simply gave him hope. Hope. There was hope in him, even if only some small fragments scattered around the dark pits of his soul, and that hope was somewhat relieving. It cleansed him, bit by bit, inch by inch, of his taint. But he still carried that taint - not in his body. Not in his body. In his mind.

The journey went on like this for a couple of days, the two elves seldom taking the chance to speak, often simply walking on towards Nevarra, where the supposed freedom waited. Perhaps it did, perhaps it didn't. It was all he could do to stop himself from turning and fleeing the scene, however. Thinking, as dangerous as it was, helped him to continue. Thankfully.

Amongst other things, such as thinking, Fenris was also keeping a sharp eye on their environment. Despite being with an elf he could trust - for now, he added to himself - he still couldn't get rid of his old habits. But there wasn't anything wrong with being aware of your surroundings, was there?

One of the things he noticed was the absence of wildlife. Sure, the heavy pounding of their boots could've scared them off, but not seeing a single animal began to worry him somewhat. What could that mean, then? Humans? Predators? Well, for now he could only keep his eyes open. Keep himself on the edge. From that point, his footsteps seemed to make no sound at all.

As the seventh sun since their departure began to set, Lyaera started to set up a small camp with some encouraging, careless words thrown in. Feet finally pounding against the hard ground, he strode over to lift the tent after Lyaera's failure to place it properly, dropping his bag on the run.

"Maybe I should take care of the tents from now on." He placed the pole on the ground, quickly lifting the tent around it. His bag lay forgotten on the ground behind him. "There." His eyes messaged satisfaction as they looked at the finished tent. He made no comment as Lyaera began to talk about cooking something, but his head jerked slightly. Truthfully speaking, he was very hungry. When they ate what Lyaera had cooked - some stew with rabbit and roots - Fenris emptied at least three wooden bowls. "This is indeed good," Fenris said, his tone amused but respectful. "I respect your willingness to cook for me. Otherwise I'd have probably had raw rabbit and raw roots."

The brief remainder of the evening they spent mainly talking, but as it often went with them, the subjects dried up rather quickly. As Lyaera made his way to her bedroll, Fenris watched her receding bottom with half an eye. He couldn't resist it, either: she was simply gorgeous. He chuckled - how seldom he realized how lucky he was to have such a companion was idiotic - but as he reminded himself of the flashbacks, his eyes instantly fixated themselves at his surroundings.

He studied the forest with drowsy eyes. The shadows were impenetrable, but the places he could see even somewhat clearly, he studied intently: some few bushes stood apart from each other, separated by thick trunks of wood, and the moonlight trickled through openings in the leaves. He felt sleep dragging him, causing him to descend from consciousness into the endless void, but something - a flicker of motion, a shadow moving softly before him - made him open his eyes and flex his muscles. Without fully realizing it he had drawn his sword, its hilt now firmly held by his both hands, as he gazed at the shadows.

Lights flickered in the darkness, yellow eyes illuminating the ground and their grizzled snouts. Wolves! Wolves never attacked people. Not unless they were completely out of food.

Then it struck him; Lyaera was still in her bedroll, probably asleep. He stood up, but the wolves were faster; three of them darted towards the sleeping Lyaera, while two more approached Fenris. The sounds coming from deeper within the forest indicated that this was not the whole pack.

"AWAKE! WOLVES!" Fenris cried, his blade taking the first wolf through its heart as it leaped for his throat. More shadows flickered in his vision, more wolves coming to aid their brothers. He held the blade in his both hands, its tip pointing directly at the next wolf, but more trickled through the openings in the trees, shadows moving softer and quieter than death. They began to surround him, and inch by inch, meter by meter, they managed to draw closer to him even with Fenris threatening back and forth with his sword. But they were too many.

Finally they leaped for him, perhaps five or six of them acting as one, and two fell before they managed any hold on Fenris. He danced between them, still unable to evade all their bites: one by one, they fell, but so as they died, did his wounds increase. There were several in his legs, some worse, some not so bad, but nevertheless moving had became very painful. The last wolf tried to leap for his right arm, but Fenris sidestepped it, releasing a cry of agony, and impaled it on his sword. The wolf fell on him, kicking as it drew its final breath.

Fenris sighed wearily as he pushed the beast off his chest; he drew himself up painfully, eyes scanning the area for more of the wolves. There were still sounds, many sounds, coming from the forest, but he could not see any of the wild beasts anymore. What was this all about? Wolves did not give up their prey so easily, if they were hungry, nor did they attack travelers just so. Something was wrong. What drove the beasts to madness?

[Lyaera Amavaintria]

Lyeara felt herself in darkness, alone and lost, and for some odd reason she was in a most unappealing outfit yet appealing to the eyes of perverted men. It was black, similar to her performing clothes yet with a bodice that seemed to push her bust up, and then there were chains, chains tied around her arms and wrists, weighing her down to the point where she couldn't stand up straight.

"Hello....?"

Her darkly shadowed eyelids soon shut tightly as she felt a familiar feeling against her back, an audible snap echoed throughout the darkness along with her pained cry.

"Foolish girl..."

Lyaera's eyes opened with haste and fear, the voice sounding all too familiar. It was then, from the darkness, a figure stepped forward thus causing Lyaera to hopelessly attempt to step back before finding herself back against an invisible wall. Cold blue eyes meet her eyes, a rather crooked smirk exposing yellowish teeth spread across pale middle-aged features, it was a male, at least fourty-five years old with greasy black hair slicked back, thick eyebrows and a pointed nose that hung slightly at the tip, hardly at all attractive.

"My dear Sora... what a bad girl you've been..."

Lyaera flinched, feeling his clammy hand stroke against her soft skin, shamefully exploring places she wished he wouldn't. "Do not forget who you belong to! Me! You are mine!" those words sent shivers of fear down her spine, her eyes began quivering in their sockets yet still even in her dreams she could not cry "what's this? No tears? What a heartless little birdie you are, darling. A slave such as yourself can never love nor even be loved in return, you're nothing to anyone... but to me, oh my dear, you mean so much more... I can make it all go away... just remember what you owe me! Remember who is still in my 'care'... you don't want to lose him now, do you?"

Her whole body shook now, just looking at her Master was like staring face to face with a demon, he had so much of hers in the palm of his hand and was thus controlling her to do whatever he wished. "Dead... or alive, you could end him now or bring him to me alive..." his smirked grew wider, the sickening stench of alcohol was almost too much to bare and then there was a flurry of images, like a slide-show from her cruel past. Images of her mother being raped by humans as she and her brother were being dragged away, her father's head on a pike, her home... her village... burning... burning... screaming... blood... death... too much... too much...

And then Krios vanished into darkness, her younger brother stood before her. "Nol...?" her fearful voice echoed as she reached out to him, but he seemed to be getting further and further away. "Nol! I'm here! It's Sora!" she cried out to him as she ran towards him, the chains held her back though, leaving her helpless. Just as she was about to give up, he suddenly appeared in front of her like a ghost, a relieved smile appeared on her black coated lips, but then something began to happen... his skin was burning, peeling even, yet there was no fire. Lyaera watched in horror as his poor fragile skin just became burnt and peeled, his skeleton soon beginning to show, sending an unimaginable fear through Lyaera as she could do nothing else but watch, she wanted to look away but now her Master remained behind her, harshly gripping her chin to force her to watch the many deaths of her young brother.

Disembowelment, beheading, poisoning, being torn from limb to limb... she couldn't take it, it was too much, too much for her to bare, the variations broke her heart over and over. "Stop... please, stop!! DON'T HURT HIM!!!! PLEASE!! NOL, COME BACK!!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!" she screamed into the emptiness, but now she was alone, there were no chains holding her back so she began to run. She ran and ran until she could barely breathe, she eventually tripped over something and fell painfully to the ground. She half sat up, groaning slightly before looking for what she had tripped over, she felt around in the darkness until her hands came across something and then picked it up, a light seemed to beam down on the object which caused Lyaera's body to shake violently in horror, her breath became short and panicked before she let out a blood-curdling scream.

Her brother's head.


- - -


Lyaera woke with a scream, covering her face with her hands as if attempting to block the horrific images, she took deep breaths to prevent herself from hyperventilating but she had no time to calm down as she heard a commotion outside her tent. It sounded like growling, followed by the sound of a blade, she woke up completely as a thought entered her mind. "Fenris!" she cried, scrambling out from under her blanket and equipping her duel blades before crawling out of her tent, having no time to fix her hair. As soon as she was outside, she could see the commotion, her eyes quivered slightly at the sight before her. "No!" she cried, her heart sunk at the sight of the wolves attacking, firstly because she adored the creatures and they would never attack without reason, and secondly, for Fenris's sake, he was still recovering from the injuries he had been given when he saved her - of course they weren't as bad as they were, but they could still be re-opened.

"Fenris!" she shouted to him upon seeing a wolf lung for his back, Lyaera instantly acted and rolled her back across Fenris's, her blade swiftly slashing the wolf's throat, letting out a whimper before it died. There were at least three more behind him, which she wouldn't allow to hurt the elven man, yet it still saddened her heart to kill them. "You will not have him! Stay back!" she attempted to intimidate them but this only caused them to take it as a challenge "please..." but there was no use, two of them lunged at her from either sides but she just threw her blades into their eyes with head, they jerked on the ground for a moment before laying dead and still, this was a mistake however as the third wolf pounce of her, knocking her to the ground but not without slightly brushing her back against Fenris's as she fell.

The wolf attempted to bite at her face, it's teeth sharp with slight drool coming out from its mouth, Lyaera struggled as she tried to hold it back, its claws ripped into her blouse and scrapped against her collarbone rather painfully, causing her to cry out before finally managing to reach for her smaller blade and sunk it deep into its neck. The yelp of the wolf as it began to die only filled her heart with sadness. "I'm sorry..." she sighed, rolling out from underneath it as she rested its head onto the ground along with the rest of his body, gently stroking its fur with her bloodied fingers "it's over now... you can rest, find peace."

Her saddened expression soon turned to an angry one as she stood up, retrieving her blades from the heads of the other two wolves and sheathed them. Her hand pressed against her wound, her blouse was torn and slightly exposed her undergarments, but she was too furious to care. "They would not attack unless given reason to!!!" her teeth were pressed so hard against each other that one would think they would've broken from their gums. She looked over at Fenris, rushing to his side as she remembered his injuries. "Fenris... are you alright? Your injuries..." she looked down at his body, a slight pinkness appeared in her cheeks as she realized she looked to quickly, causing her gaze to look elsewhere that remained behind him "uh... do you need a kit? Or a health poultice?"

She stood there, her anger went as quick as it came as she looked at the many dead corpses of the wolves. How did this happen?

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[David]

A group of riders, perhaps 15 strong, rode through the forest with their commander that night. David was new to this area of Orlais. He wanted to get as good of a feel for the land as possible, during both the day and night. He had little time to prepare himself, but understanding this land as best he could, being able to navigate it during both the day and the night, would be crucial should the time arrive when he needs to move his men quickly or surprise an enemy.

It was a particularly temperate night. There was a light breeze blowing down the plains from the mountains in the north, so the trees of the forest rustled lightly as the sounds of hooves trotting their way through the underbrush wasn't the only sound. What surprised David were the general lack of animals. Perhaps it was the close proximity of this forest to the army camps that caused that. Undoubtedly, a lot of the noble officers had probably hunted much of the game, and with the deer and elk gone other animals probably just wandered off.

That was his theory anyway, until he heard wolves howling, and the sounds of people talking.

Riding towards the sounds, Alex could see through the trees a small fire burning, and had his men break off into four groups of four and rode up towards the camp. There, he saw two elves, one armed, and a large group of dead wolves. Had he done all that? Impressive.

"You two, halt! Stay where you are and drop any weapons you are carrying!" David called out in his orlesian accented voice, riding up with three other riders. Soon, the other riders came into the small clearing, encircling the three, their lances pointed downwards at the two elves.

"What are you two doing out here in the middle of the wilderness? You are camping within the zone of control of the Orlesian Royal Army. Surrender your weapons, and you will be spared your lives, so long as you cooperate and come back with us to camp." David demanded, sitting high on his horse. Truth be told, he hated horseback riding, but it was the fastest way to get around, and it was always easier to make the impression of being in control from the top of a horse. "We have no intention of harming you. All we ask is your cooperation."

[Fenris]

'These wounds are neither bad or deep... an injury kit will be enough, and with time, these will heal.' His voice was coarse. 'Were you hurt?'He attempted a few steps, but as he found them painful, he lied down on the ground. Fenris coughed twice in his palm. The damn cold was taking its toll on him already. It was probably related to his wounds - cold usually didn't bother him as much as it did others; he had spent his youth in Tevinter, a place famous partly for its bone-chilling winters - and that his pants were in need of heavy patching, now.

Fenris looked down. Where once had been a smooth, thin layer of embroidered cloth, now stood a few bloody rags. Lying around himself he found more of the cloth, all bloody and ragged, torn by the sharp wolf-claws. Some, he saw, were soaked with dark blood.

For an instant, he thought it was his blood - that the dark, nearly frozen substance had been flown from his veins - but only for an instant. His own blood was not that dark: he could see it clearly, now, marring some rag he gripped tightly in his right hand.

Fenris drew up from the blood-soaked ground, ignoring the slow dripping of blood from his thighs. He took the injury kit Lyaera was offering to him and consumed it. Miraculously his wounds stopped bleeding, but as usually happened, bleeding was replaced with a throbbing pain. He had hoped to be lucky, but apparently luck just wasn't on his side today. It usually was, now that he thought about it.

Something seemed to irritate him, however. A monotonous, throbbing sound came from the forest, and the ground trembled slightly. Fenris turned to eye the forest, something close to fear reaching his expression. Anything could happen. This night proved it.

'Something's in the forest,' he said. Soon the monotonous sound sharpened in his ears, turning into muffled hooves striking against the ground, trying to move quietly. Elves had a better hearing than most humans, though. 'Someone, and he's got friends. All on horseback, as you must be able to hear', he added. His voice lowered into a whisper.

Abruptly the cavalcade rode into the clearing through a gap in the woods, at least a dozen strong, some with their bows out, some with lances held upright in the air. Their leader cried something, perhaps an order. Quickly they rounded on the two elves, their lances suddenly pointing at their chests, heads, legs... bowmen stood behind, their instruments trained at them. Fenris noticed that each bowman had already found an unarmoured spot to shoot at, should the need arise.

Then, as Fenris was wondering the cause of this - were they going to die for killing wolves, now? - the circle of riders suddenly opened, admitting a dark-haired man in his thirties. He appeared strong and skilled with the blade, but not very well accustomed to horses. His stance was so odd; lean but upright, not slumped nor slouched like you expected a horseman to be.

Fenris' gaze held open surprise in it as he turned it to regard the leader of these men. They all had the look of soldiers about them, but some did not look that well. Deserters? Anyhow, he doubted any regular patrol would just intercept travelers out of the blue like that. Deserters, then. Robbers.

"What are you two doing out here in the middle of the wilderness? You are camping within the zone of control of the Orlesian Royal Army. Surrender your weapons, and you will be spared your lives, so long as you cooperate and come back with us to camp."

'Surrender our weapons?' What am I, a fool?' Then, as a furious reply rose to his lips, he suddenly realized something else. The wolves - were they driven by these men? Or accidentally aroused? Fenris raised his gaze to defiantly meet the leader's.

'Have you a single idea what you have caused? The wolves attacked us because of you. Probably had a few cubs nearby, and you idiots decided to go and disturb their peace. And not only that you have done, but also came here like you owned this place - and us - to demand us to follow you, surrendering our weapons. Have you the barest idea of the ridiculousness of your proposal?'

He paused, looking around him. Fierce eyes met his gaze. Fenris licked his lips before performing his final act. The only exception was that it was all true.

'Kill me, then, and forget me. Since you already have encircled me so, I see little I can do to protect myself with these wounds. But should you decide to do so, your group might be significantly smaller than what you started with once you're done. Or perhaps you will agree to something more... balanced? We will get to keep our freedom and our weapons, and in return we shall follow you into your... camp.' The word camp held an ounce of mistrust for its existence. They could be deserters, or not. He'd find out soon enough. Fenris glanced briefly at Lyaera before turning it to meet the leader's again.

[Lyaera Amavaintria]

Lyaera stood by Fenris's side, her hands held up towards him, making sure that if he stumbled she would be there to support him. "I'm fine, it's just a scrape, but you, you can't take any chances... I don't want your injuries to get worse," her expression showed worry, but was soon replaced with a lighter one "that would require more of my terrible writing and another mage." Though attempting to lighten the mood would hardly help the situation, nothing seemed to be going right for either of them just lately. Leaving his side just for a short moment, she went into their tent and retrieved both his and her cloak, first wrapping his around him and then followed by hers to keep him extra warm.

She could handle the cold, it didn't bother her much as she had worked in such conditions in her Master's estate. Being sensible, Lyaera was able to avert her gaze from his torn attire whilst she wrapped the cloaks around him. "Don't worry, I could always patch those up when we get the time..." she smiled, but now they were in an even big of a pickle... how would they travel with him like this now?

Suddenly, along with her companion, she could hear something in the distance. "Halla...?" No, Halla were graceful and barely made a sound, it had to be something bigger, more powerful, and soon it struck her "horses?!" It had to be humans, Elves never used horses to travel or to pull wagons... they had rarely any respect. Briefly looking at Fenris, Lyaera then looked on, awaiting their 'arrivals'. "It'll be fine, I won't let them hurt you, this I promise you," she whispered to him and before long, the two of them were surrounded.

The amount of men needed just to intimidate or capture two elves, whichever their goal, was more than ridiculous! A furious look soon spread over Lyaera's face, who did these shemlen think they were?! But before she could even express her anger through words, it seemed Fenris has spoke exactly what she wanted to say, which suprised her to say the least. A look of admiration swept over her profile, he was injured... just laying there, an easy target for these men and yet his words were strong, stronger than these men put together. A sudden feeling of hope and determination filled her heart as she propped him up comfortably before standing in a rather protective manner in front of her Elven companion, arms stretched out to block him from view as she stared intently yet with a strong will at these men's leader.

"Halam sahlin!" she shouted at them, a sudden feeling of surprise sunk into her upon saying this. Where had that come from? Did she just speak... Elven? Shaking it off, she focussed her attention on the man who appeared in his mid-twenties "what my companion says it true! What you have caused here on this night is unforgivable! You care not for the lives of those who are not your own! And now, what do you see around you? Death. These beautiful creatures did not need to meet such a fate, but because of your ignorance and our needs to defends ourselves, pups are without mothers, packs without their leaders!"

Her fists remained balled at her sides, standing her ground as deep mystic eyes glared into the eyes of the shemlen before her, sitting high upon his horse. The poor creature had been broken to be ridden, she knew that much, the sadness in its eyes was easily noticed by her kind. "If you are here to harm us, then I won't allow it! If you dare touch a single hair on my companion's head then I will not hold back! Clearly, we are outnumbered, but what does that say about you!? Men this many just to intimidate, maybe even capture, two unheavily armed Elves?!" inside Lyaera was both swelling with pride and bravery yet trembled in fear, she was not ready to die, but this all felt too inevitable.

"What use would it be to lay down our arms? Our only means of defence when clearly we are outnumbered by you shemlen!" she could hardly bare how humans carried themselves, their pride and selfishness, they were nothing like Elves, and they never would be. Taking a breath, Lyaera calmed her composure, taking a short moment before now gazing a little more calmly at the human leader. "Our reasons for being here are our own, make any assumption you like but we are merely here to rest after long days of travelling these forests, we have yet to pose a threat to you or anyone else for that matter," she spoke in a more professional tone 'At least we aren't the ones frightening creatures smaller than ourselves' her attention soon turned to Fenris "if you don't mind, my companion is injured, the sensible option would be to just co-operate, I hardly want to lose him due to a small misunderstanding."

Despite this, it didn't mean she was taking back what she had just said a moment ago, her feelings still remained the same, but right now, her main objective was to take care of her companion. She owed much to him. "Please, shem, out here he'll surely get sick and I can't bare to think of what could come after, we will do as you say, just let me get him somewhere safe and warm," she spoke softly, her voice was almost close to desperation, but her eyes said more than her words. The loss of these wolves had affected her, but no more than what losing Fenris could bring - she wanted no one's death to be on her hands due to her rash actions.

A look of slight regret appeared on her features, but was hardly seen due to turning away to tend to Fenris, taking his hand in hers before slowly beginning to lift him to his feet then supported his weight by placing his arm over her shoulder. "Easy now," she said, giving a slight smile before looking up at the human, showing her usual kinder side though there was still some hostility, but right now, neither of them had much choice in the matter.

They'd have to go with them.

[David]

David looked at the obstinate elves with a look of confusion. What did they not understand about their situation? They were surrounded, injured, and yet they thought they could be defiant? David sighed, and took a look around. All around them were the corpses of dead wolves. So those were the wolves that had kept howling last night and kept feeding on the livestock. Good riddance David thought to himself, the damn things had become a nuisance. He could care less about the pups without mothers and leaderless packs. To him, that meant they just hunted his food supply less efficiently than they normally would. He then looked back at the two elves, with not a look of anger or confusion, but a soft look, one of a man who understood elves a lot better than most humans. He stepped off his horse and handed the reins to the man next to him, and approached the two elves, his hands away from his blade.

"Hamin asha" David began, in almost perfect elven. "Ar'din nuvenin na'din." His men gave each other strange glances, unsure of what to make of what they were seeing. Since when did humans bother to learn elven? Well, it just so happened that David had served a few years in the Dales, and often whenever they captured a prisoner he would refuse to speak the orlesian and would only speak elven, the need for a translator in the south grew apparent. David (being one of the few commoners who could read) was selected for the job, and learned it fairly quickly, having spoke two tongues his entire life (Orlesian, and the common tongue of Ferelden and the Free Marches). As a result, he knew alot more about Dalish culture than the average commander.

"Abelas. I'm sorry for the suffering we caused you two. However, when you question what right we have in here I say again. We are the Orlesian Royal Army, within the borders of Orlais, which very much means we have every right to be in here." He then grabbed a locket from his pocket. It had the emblem of the 6th legion, a red lion, emblazoned on the front, with the imperial seal on the back. Having it dangle, he held it out in front of them to show them he was legitimate. "My name is David Bouvier, Captain of the 6th legion. On the other side of the creek are camped over 6000 men, and behind them are more than you can count. We were riding through the woods to get a better feel for our area when we spotted your fire, and rode to investigate. We've had reports of Nevarran spies in the area, and for all intensive purposes we must treat you as such."

David spoke calmly, but firmly. He sympathized with these two elves, one of whom was clearly injured, but he was commander of the legion. The safety of his legionnaires came before all others. Standing close to the elves, he noticed the strange markings on the male. It was nothing like any Vallaslin he had seen before. They were white, and could very well be infused with some power he had not yet heard of. That alone made him dangerous. This female elf he could not say the same for, but that was not the point. She was still armed, and an armed spy was a much more dangerous one than an unarmed one.

"Démonter!" David shouted, and the riders all raised their lances, locked them onto the saddles, and dismounted. As one drew his blade, David shouted again. "Arrêt! Sheathe your blade!" The man did so, as did the others who had drawn their blades. He looked at the elves again and spoke.

"We will give him treatment for his wounds and places for you two to stay tonight. Warm fire and food, bedrolls, a tent roof over your heads. You both are weary, and we can tell it is difficult for your friend to walk. We will allow you to ride a horse whilst we walk. However, you must surrender your weapons. I will not bend on that demand. The sensible option would be for both of you two to comply with what I am telling you. You both clearly don't understand your situation. We must treat you as spies until otherwise dis-proven. Refusal to surrender your weapons does not help your case. Surrender your weapons, and they will be returned to you once we've proven you are not spies. D'accord?"

That was it, the ultimatum. Surrender your weapons, or die. David did not want to have to kill these elves who appeared to be just travelers in the forest. However, they were heading north to Nevarra, and now knew the location of the army of Orlais. He could not let them leave to share that information with the enemy. Two of David's men approached them, their hands on the hilts of their blades, waiting for either the two to give them their weapons, or to strike them down.

David was in no mood for games.

[Fenris]

Fenris sighed, groaning openly as his hand moved to the hilt of his blade. His eyes were blazing sparks at David Bouvier de Jader, but instead of drawing steel on this man, he slowly unbuckled his belt. Deft hands moved carefully over the leather cords that were holding his scabbard to his belt, and then slowly was handed over to David. He managed a victorious grin amidst the awareness of several arrows being trained at him, and as he realized that he had actually done it, his smile widened.

'Then escort us to your camp. I am eager to prove that we are not spies...'

He wasn't completely disarmed yet. He could still very much kill anyone if they as much as tried to harm him... but that would have to be saved for later. He couldn't afford anyone other than Lyaera to find out about the importance of his markings.

'We will accompany you.' His grin was wide, but it only held expectation; little joy had ever passed across those features, but the future could held many secrets. Yet, for now, no mirth was present in his expression.

[Lyaera Amavaintria]

Lyaera couldn't help but frown as this man, this shemlen, began to speak in her native tongue, referring to her as merely 'woman', who did he think he was? Such was the temper of a typical redhead, a female one at that. "Seth'lin..." she muttered under her breath before one of this man's men began to help Fenris onto a horse, it seemed like they really did have no choice despite her companions words a moment ago, this shemlen was indeed a stubborn one. Still, Lyaera had other ideas before allowing herself to go with them, she was a lady after all, and as of such, she would not travel in such conditions.

Her clothes were torn and she wouldn't appreciate the eyes of others on her, plus, it was only common courtesy. With a slight huff, she entered her tent to change, receiving bewildered looks from the soldiers and slight chuckles from others, knowing full too well what most women were like, being married themselves. Cleaning up any blood on her, she then began to dress herself in a clean white blouse and green bodice-like dress before then packing everything up - after all, she hadn't paid for the provisions, equipment and such for nothing. The bewilderment still remained whereas one of the soldiers helped her strap her things to the horse Fenris was now on, though not before she handed over her dual blades, she considered giving over her blade that she kept concealed on her thigh, then again... she was a lady after all, exposing such skin would be quite rude and inappropriate.

With a giggle, she mounted the horse, being the one to ride it due to Fenris's injured state, there was no chance of her riding off as two men on horses rode beside her, keeping an eye on her... or two. "Very well then, ser," she simply said, a rather mischievous smile on her pale lips.

Well, this should surely be interesting.

[David]

David nodded as the weapons were handed to him, and handed them to one of the men. Most returned to their mounts, but David, having offered his horse to the two elves, walked alongside the horse, holding the reins, with two guards directly behind the elves to ensure they didn't try anything. The walk back was relatively silent, as they tried to not make as much noise as they already had, until finally they reached the camp.

"Halt! Who goes?"
"Captain Bouvier!" One of the riders in front called back. David then shouted.
"Post several guards around my tent! It shall be used to house our two... Guests... Until I deem it proper for them to have their own!"
"Aye captain!" The guard answered back, as he then ordered the others to open the gates. The camp was surrounded by a low stockade, no more than 6 feet high, with small 10 foot towers every 100 feet or so. The gate opened, revealing row upon row upon row of large white tents. Each tent group was divided into ten tents formed up in a square, each tent housing ten men. In the center of each square was a fire pit. To the far right was the kitchen and dining area, though it was clear the majority of the men simply ate by their fire pits. On the left was a large muster field, large enough so that all 6000 could form up for inspection and practice archery. At the very center of camp was a tent slightly larger than the others, with several similar, if slightly smaller, tents around it. It was a miniature of the camp, with its own small kitchen and dining area. To the very back of the camp was the horses and livestock were kept, along with the cesspit. It was not a pleasant area to be near.

Walking to the center, he helped Lyaera down while two of his men helped the injured Fenris onto the ground, placing his arms over their shoulders. As the horses and other men were led off, they moved to the largest tent in the middle, which was now surrounded with several guards covering the exits and walls. Inside, they could see the tent was actually divided into rooms. The room they entered was a large map room, where it was clear decisions and meetings were held. To the right was a smaller study, and next to that a room with a cot lined with heavy furs. Third room that branched off from the main room, with a fur-lined floor, several cushioned seats, and a table with some chairs where a meal could be eaten.

"Lay him there" David said, pointing to the cushioned seats. As they placed him there, he said. "Fetch the healer. See what he can do for this man." The men saluted, then left the tent, leaving the three of them alone. David offered a seat to Lyaera, then took one down himself, placing himself between the two elves and the exit.

"So, tell me now, what on earth where you both doing in those woods, and why shouldn't I believe you both to be Nevarran spies? I want the whole truth. Who you are, where you're both from. Leave nothing out."

[Lyaera Amavaintria]

The ride there was rather smooth with no problems at all, though truth be told, Lyaera did start to feel a little nauseous due to how the horse moved, she'd never ridden before to be honest. She made sure Fenris didn't fall off by keeping his hands by her sides whilst she held on for near dear life, it was a short journey and within minutes they were already at, what appeared to be, an army camp. Now, Lyaera had spent the past seventeen years in Tevinter, only to be looked down upon by the uptight and the obnoxious - sure, there were many people, but not as many as what her eyes were now gazing upon, plus... there were women in Tevinter, right now she felt as if she was the only female there - which brought out her more socially awkward side.

To her surprise, the leader of these men placed his hands around her waist as he helped her down from the horse, which only made her act how most women would, Lyaera was blushing, lightly but it was right there on her pale features. She was too lost for words to even say thank you and before she knew it, both Fenris and herself were led into his tent which looked more comfortable than the room she had back in Tevinter. He pulled out a seat for her, which she wasn't use to due to the different customs she had experienced, while Fenris was set down comfortably, she looked back briefly in concern before focusing her attention on David, she realized that she would have to stop referring to him as shemlen.

Her body jolted slightly at his questions, she had not much to hide, but either way she felt uneasy, she had never been in such a situation before, wondering how she would go about this - perhaps it was simple. "W-Well, ser David," it sounded odd for such a name to pass her lips, despite her Dalish heritage, her accent sounded nothing at all like them, still, being unable to read well did play some part in her difficulty to pronunciation certain words and names. She found herself lost for words at that moment, how would she introduce herself? Her birth name mattered not to her anymore, she was a slave and nothing more, she was no longer entitled to such a name. "M-My name is Sora, I'm an escaped slave from The Tevinter Imperium, my colleague and I were on our way to Nevarra... where..." she paused, looking down slightly, this was just too difficult for her, how could she possibly explain the situation without giving away too much? Could this shem--... David ever understand her plight?

She took a breath though her head remained bowed, the sadness wasn't far from her features. "My brother... he is in the care of my Master, I was afraid of him so I ran away to seek help, taking what I could I set off to find someone who would be able to help me... that's when I came across my companion," she looked back at Fenris, who was now being tended to, a sigh escaped her before she looked back at David "... we've been traveling for days but with rarely any luck, us being here just goes to show that," she let out a slight chuckle before sighing once more, for some reason her words made her question if they were really true or not, she didn't know why, but in the depths of her heart she felt as if she was lying, to David, to Fenris, and... to herself. Why was this?

"I'm sorry, but that is all there is to it, I cannot explain any further..." she tilted her head up a little to look David in the eye "I promise you, we are not spies, we didn't know that this was anywhere near an army camp, we just needed a place to rest, our journey has been a very long one and yet we still have an even longer way to go," with a heavy heart, Ly--... Sora placed her hands together in a praying manner, a more weaker side to her beginning to show, her innocent eyes saddened quickly "I cannot tell you how many times my companion has risked his life on our journey, I do not wish for that to happen any longer, please... believe me."

She could do nothing else but wait for David's conviction, hopefully Fenris could shed some more light on their situation. Still, ever since this journey she had been noticing the changes in her personality and her emotions, this was all new to her. It was all happening... so fast.

[Fenris]

Fenris raised one questioning eyebrow, that soon turned into a determined squint of his eyes.

'It's a long story, and mostly an uneventful one, Commander. But you asked us to recite it to you... completely. Leave no details out, am I right? Well, you're about to get it. All of the details included.'

And here we go. Think...

He began to tell the tale from the day he met Lyaera, beginning slowly, trying to find the correct words: as the story progressed, his words began to pour more freely, and soon it somewhat resembled a painting. It was like a giant fresco, except that no fresco could've compressed that story into just one painting.

The words were literally flowing out of him once he was past his illness and onto the conversation after. He graciously painted Azalea out of that meeting, but kept everything between him and Lyaera - Sora - as it had been: he knew it had happened weeks ago, but the memory was quite clear in his mind. The visions - flashbacks - he also left out, afraid of what David would do with that information. He avoided looking at Lyaera, even more afraid of what'd happen if he got one of those flashbacks in the middle of his story.

'...and last evening, we decided to make camp on that clearing. Sora went to sleep, but I lingered awake, the sounds of the forest around me keeping me up. It was not long from that moment when I saw the first wolves creep in our camp; slender black shades they were in my eyes, but from their shape I could see what they were. And then it was too late to do anything else than fight, I'm afraid - most of them were alarmed by my cry and rushed at me, but some also found their ways to Sora. I killed as many as I could, and I suppose that she was with me for at least half of the time, too...'

Abruptly he stopped, his gaze wandering idly across the tent. Finally it settled on David's features.

'But then you came with the dawn. You and your friends who apparently aren't used to seeing free elves. Free, hear me? We're free.' The words had a sweet taste to them, and just so a delighted, euphoric sound lingered in them.

Free from their thrall.

Once more the memories of Danarius the Dead sprang up into his mind, clear as spring-water. Those were the best of all memories; killing Danarius.

And just so, it slipped into his mind.

An image of a tall, beautiful woman with dark, medium hair filled his mind.

No. Go away. I don't want you here!

It began to work its way into his vision. Slowly everything seemed to fade up into white brightness, while only the image of Hawke remained intact. As clear as if she was standing right there in front of him, right here and now.

I don't want you here! Why won't you leave?

She opened her mouth, concern suddenly marring her beautiful features. Hawke looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't.

GO AWAY! I DON'T WANT YOU IN MY HEAD!, he finally yelled at her slender frame.

Her body wavered and flickered. She cast her gaze upon him, and a loud farewell boomed from her open mouth - and then she was gone. The room had returned to its original shape; the colors were back where they should be; Lyaera was on his side - but if he ever regretted one thing about this place, it was the stout, athletic man that stood opposite of him.

Green, challenging eyes met grey, considering ones: sparks danced in between, trying to evade their gaze. In a moment of consideration, when the flames in his eyes seemed to dwindle - just for a moment - he realized that it all probably seemed very absurd and odd. But all the more he then had to push on and challenge David to ask.

Ask, and I will fulfill your wish, he noted, fashioning the Captain with a challenging stare.

[David]

David listened intently to Sora's story, trying to sift through to read into what she said (and what she hadn't.) What he gathered in his mind was this. She was a slave, a runaway specifically, who had her brother still enslaved, and had asked this man here to help her... Rescue him? Possibly? He grimaced a bit as she explained how she could not tell any more of her story, as she had supposedly told him everything. He didn't fully believe her, but when he referred to her former master as 'master' David winced a bit. Damn, they really did brainwash their slaves up there didn't they?

"The man who holds your brother is no longer your master." David replied. "In Orlais, we do not have, nor accept the practice of, slavery. So long as you are on our soil, you are free. The tevinters have no authority here, especially now." What with the mage war going on, there weren't many pro-tevinter feelings south of the border. He then turned to Fenris and payed attention to his story. It was much more... enlightening. Let's use that word.

David nodded just as he almost finished his tale, receiving the answers he had sought. Good, it was clear they weren't spies. However, Fenris than clearly had a bit of an episode. "Of course you are free..." David began, but not before it was clear by the look on Fenris' face he was no longer mentally here. It was as though he was remembering something, something that did not want to be remembered. But he remained silent, and David continued to study the two elves. Slowly, a smile drifted on his face, as he stood up and walked over a chest. He opened it, and pulled out a bottle of wine, along with two glasses, and set it on the map table. He poured the wine into two glasses, and placed them in front of his two guests.

"Well, as stated before, there is no slavery in Orlais. You are both free to go, however, I offer a different alternative. As former slaves, undoubtedly, your masters will seek you out. If you stay with me and my legion, as our guests, you will have 6000 men to protect you, food in your stomachs, fire to warm your hands, and a place to sleep."

He looked at the two with a warm expression and a soft smile. "If you choose to leave, your weapons are being held by the guards at the gate. Simply tell them I sent you, and they will return your belongings. However, I do invite you both to at least stay for lunch. You look like you could use a good meal, and you'll be treated as my personal guests at the officer's table today." He hoped that a good meal would convince the two of them to stay on a little while. David would feel wrong to just toss them out into the wild again, and had no qualms with treating elves as equals. Would the other officers feel the same way? Most likely not, but that was just one of the benefits of being commander. What he said, went. And if these two were his guests, he'd demand they be treated as such.

[Lyaera Amavaintria]

Lyaera could feel her heart pounding in her chest, so much in fact that it started to hurt, she feared that this man would not believe her, but what more could she say when she herself didn't even know what else there was to say to him? It plagued her mind almost, so seldom did she feel such a way, but it was a feeling she would've been better off without. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't even heard Fenris speaking, but by the time he had finished, she felt her head tilt upwards as she met David's gaze, his words alerting her in a manner of speaking.

"N-Not a slave...?" she repeated those words as if she could not believe them, she had been a slave for as long as she could remember, she had feint memories of once belonging to a Dalish clan... her mother's impossibly long red hair and gentle singing voice, her father's jewel-like eyes and his protectiveness for his family... very feint memories, almost as if her parent's forms were behind fogged windows. What else could she be other than a slave? "Y-You mean... I'm free?" she asked, her eyes held a pained yet confused look "but then... what am I to do? What life could I possibly have? I've never--..." she paused, not knowing what to say. She needed a little time to think about this, it was, indeed, an attractive idea - to live freely without having to service her Mas--Krios, ever again.

Her heart felt warm, as if by some miracle, Hope had finally found its way to her, she didn't know what to say other than express how grateful she was. "Thank you, David, so very much..." her voice sounded overwhelmed, as if a happiness she had never felt was finally embracing her like a mother towards her child, it was suffocating yet so wonderful, like nothing could ever harm her ever again. No Mage, no Magister, no one. She truly felt... free.

Though finally breaking from the moment, she noticed something odd about her companion, he had stopped talking, yes... but looking at him immediately told Lyaera that something was wrong. "Fenris...?" she asked, her voice much like an innocent child's, as she stood from her chair and knelt by his side, her eyes scanning him as if attempting to figure out what was wrong "... are... are you sick?" Carefully, she reached out to place her hand on his cheek but immediately retreated it... he felt so cold, almost as if he was seeing some kind of horrific demon. Perhaps he was experiencing some kind of trauma...

That was it. Upon realising, this caused her to remember that day the two had met. He had almost died stopping those men from torturing her... she was to blame for that, she hadn't asked him to get involved but still... if she hadn't been there, it could've been prevented. A sad looked spread across her features, a deep sigh escaping her. "It's alright..." she tried to comfort him, but then it seemed as if he had returned to his normal self, though she still worried, so much guilt weighed down on her heart... it was then when she looked away from him, she couldn't look at him.

"David, I-I thank you for your hospitality... I... if you don't mind, I would like to look around, meet some of your fellow companions, maybe I could make myself useful here..." a fake smile spread across her nude lips before standing, she didn't know what else to do but she just wanted to get out of there, Fenris's presence only increased her guilt. This was too much, too soon... she couldn't handle this.

- - -

After a few minutes of wandering, Lyaera felt slightly better and soon returned to her usual self, it wasn't long until she noticed the stares of the men that looked as if they haven't seen a woman in months, though they were respectable, despite the Orlesian men enjoying the company of... female 'companions', they weren't at all like the Tevinters. Curiosity got the better of her as she noticed a couple of archers practicing their archery, her eyes instantly lit up as she walked over, watching them. Some began to show off a little at the realization that a woman was watching, which caused one to become rather cocky and accidentally hit his cheek with his bow-string, this caused laughter to erupt from his fellow companions that were also training their skills, Lyaera found herself laughing a little, too.

"Oh... uhm, I'm sorry... are you alright?" Lyaera asked, trying her hardest to prevent herself from laughing any further, she kept her hand to her mouth just in case. The Orlesian soldier, who appeared in his thirties merely shook of the minor injury before aiming a dazzling smile in her direction, typical Orlesians. "Pardon me, my lady, but a beautiful woman such as yourself can be proven to be quite a distraction for us humble soldiers," he was trying to be suave, very poorly, she might've added, but it made a nice change.

"That looks as if it will leave a mark, ser," she smiled, placing her hands behind her back, giggling once more, her worries seemed to have faded away. The man only grinning, waving his hand about as if to make light of what just happened. "Nonsense, although it does ruin a perfectly handsome face, wouldn't you agree?" he smiled charmingly, his conterparts only laughed. "Oh, Jean, leave the poor lady alone," another man joined them, he was tall with blonde hair, he seemed almost the same age as Lyaera, his smile was much more kinder not one that seemed to be undressing Lyaera like Jean's was.

"Don't mind him, miss, that just typical Jean-Paul... always quick with the ladies, you'd have thought he hadn't seen one for decades," he laughed, which only caused Lyaera to join him. And thus the conversation began.

[Fenris]

What David said surprised Fenris. It surprised him even more to find a smile rippling on his lips.

"I didn't expect you to allow us exit so easily. I'd have thought that you wanted something out of us, but no... anything else we do for you is voluntary, no?"

He turned to David, still smiling. It grew colder by the seconds.

"But as you said, going back to life in the wilds would be foolish. We couldn't survive long with her former master chasing her. If you need anything out of me... just ask. But we'd like to mostly keep to ourselves, perhaps share our meals with the soldiers here and now... I don't see a problem in staying here, however. As much as I hate to admit it."

He gave Lyaera a quick frown before turning back to David.

"One last question - where can we stay?"