Disclaimer: I just own Wynd and the story. World and other characters belong to Bioware.
Wynd quietly made her way through the camp, securing the perimeter. Wynne had ordered her on as much rest as possible ever since she'd caught a fever of some kind, but no self-respecting Dalish could let something so trifling stop them. Why, she'd taken much worse, back when she and Tamlen...
Then, it hit her. Hard. Again. Tamlen was gone. She was alone, separated from clan, home, and family.
Her heart rent in two all over again, as she lived through Ostagar, through losing everyone again. She shook herself, no time for that now. She had to sneak back into her tent before Wynne checked on her again. She crept back to camp but froze when she heard talking.
"She's a Dalish elf! You know, pointy ears, shoot-you-as-soon-as-she-sees-you? How- I mean... It... Anything more than friendship is utterly preposterous!"
Wynd froze, hearing Alistair's words, and her heart twisted painfully. He'd been her saving grace, as it were; his jokes, his insecurity, it was endearing to her, and it taught her that not all humans were as bad as the ones she'd dealt with before. He had stirred something in her heart that not even Tamlen, her closest companion, had awakened.
"You act defensive, Templar. If I didn't know better, I'd say you had feelings for her." Morrigan's cunning voice cut through, drawing Wynd to listen further. She slid into her tent.
"W-what? B-" Sten cut off Alistair's protest.
"You jump to her aid faster than any of us. You defend her more than yourself. Such is the act of someone more than a friend."
Wynd heard Alistair sigh.
"Alright. Yes, I do care about her. She... Agh, I don't know... I need time to think now."
Her heart constricted again, painful hope springing up to replace despair, but she quelled the feeling. Alistair said he needed time; she would give him time.
The next morning, she was awakened by the clash of metal instead of her dog shuffling her ear; Wynd grabbed the dagger she kept next to her pillow and darted out of her tent. With a quick maneuver, she vanished from immediate sight.
With the assurance of near-complete invisibility, Wynd took a moment to find the cause of the noise. Blight wolves, not true darkspawn, were attacking. Coolly, she crept to the closest one, slitting its throat before it could sense her. She moved fluidly, striking and killing each enemy that crossed her path. Her glowing silver eyes terrified her foes, when they saw her, and she even saw Sten and Validus flinch as she passed. She was a wraith, she was Death; her prey would not be denied her. One wolf launched at Alistair's back; with a scream no darkspawn could match or stand against, she knocked the wolf away, pinning and killing it with a barrage of stabs and a flurry of Elven curses. She watched the two warriors dispatch the remaining three wolves, and made her way over to the small pond to calm herself down.
Some time passed, and she heard cautious, armored footsteps approach. As Alistair sat next to her, she acknowledged him with a nod.
"I've never seen you fight like that before... I almost didn't recognize you." he said softly, gently, like he said everything. He fell quiet after that; she offered no explanation, and he asked for none. As the night progressed, she eventually broke the tension.
"I... I Can't... can't lose another... w-who is so important to me." She said haltingly. Alistair nodded in understanding, reaching over to comfort her. She could feel the gentle pressure of his fingertips as he started rubbing in a circular motion.
"There is also the fact that I'm an elf, a Dalish in particular... You know, pointy ears, shoot you as soon as I see you?" she joked quietly; she felt him flinch.
"Heard that, did you? I-" she hushed him, moving closer in the process.
"I heard what you said afterward as well. You've no reason to defend yourself to me unless you've done something truly wrong." She smiled to him, hiding her inner turmoil, before standing up and stretching. "Come on... I don't know about you, but I'm getting a bit chilled." She helped him up, and they made their way to the dying fire. Alistair piled several logs up, as Wynd prepared for sleep. She stretched one last time, and jumped as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.
"You're important to me, Wynd; too important for me to stand idle when I find out you're in pain. Sleep well." Alistair whispered into her ear. He released her, and darted surprisingly quickly and quietly to his tent.
A/N: Something I've been writing for about three months now; Yes, I've jumped aboard the AlistairxOC boat, because he just so adorable it hurts.