One day after being made a Grey Warden, Theron found himself wandering Ferelden trying to stop the Blight. And he was pissed. Stupid shems. Can't handle their own problems so I have to come in and save their sorry asses! He thought. He life would have been a thousand times better if he had NEVER met any humans. If he hadn't met humans, he would have never of found that damn mirror. If he had never met humans, he would have never became a Grey Warden! If he had never met humans, he wouldn't be as close to Ashalle as he was!

That thought took him by surprise. Where had that come from?

Theron thought back, the first time he had seen a human was when he was nine. He and Tamlen had been playing by the halla pen and accidently knocked the door open. One of the calves had gotten scared and darted into the forest. Theron had felt horrible, that halla was younger than he was and it was out by itself. So Theron had taken off after it, much to Ashalle dismay.

Theron had been wondering for hours, in search of the baby halla. He and Tamlen had often left camp and knew the forests well, even in their young age. He was about to give up and face Marathari when he heard somebody crying.

At first he had assumed it was Merrill, she often got lost in the woods and it was always up to Tamlen and Theron to find her. But when he peeked around edge of the tree, he saw a little blank headed girl crouched and sobbing into her hands. Theron's heart skipped a beat, fear wrapped him in its embrace. Ashalle had always told him to stay away from humans. They could be unpredictable and dangerous. Theron's instincts told him to run, and inform Ashalle. But the girl looked to be almost as old as him, scared and lost. Ashalle had always told him to help whenever he could.

Theron swallowed his fear and stepped into the clearing. The little girl heard the bushes move and looked up in hope. But instead she found fear. She stared at an elf - a savage! Her father had always told her never to go into the forest alone because in there lived wild elves who could kill you with a glance. She knew that these were wild stories to scare her into not going into the woods, but right now, anything seemed possible.

Theron felt awkward as the girl stared at him with an expression he had never seen before. "Um.. hi." He said with a little wave.

The girl let loose a blood curdling scream and Theron nearly jumped out of his skin.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME, SAVAGE!" She screeched and glued herself to the nearest tree

"Wha- 'savage'! I'm no savage! If anyone's a savage, it's you! Who just looks at somebody and screams!" Theron demanded, honestly, these shems were strange indeed.

The girl looked him up and down, "You're an elf!" She stated

Theron glanced awkwardly to the side, then back at the girl. "And you're a human!" he teased

"Elves kill people!" she said, ignoring his mock

Theron looked at her as if she had just pointed out the sky was blue, "So do humans. And dwarves." Theron thought for a moment "And so do most animals… I guess most of everything kills…"

She thought about this for a moment, he I was right. "You're not going to kill me, are you?" she asked

Theron looked at her as if she was dumb, "Why would I kill you?" he asked.

She didn't answer.

"You're supposed to do unto others as you want do upon yourself, right?" Theron said "I don't want to die, and I imagine you don't either, do you?"

She shook her head "No, I don't want to… I just want to go home." she admitted

Theron cocked his head and walk towards her. "I can help with that, where do you live?" he asked with a warm smile.

She looked up at him with tear filled eyes, and after a few moments of hesitation, she took his hand. "I live in Lothering." She told him

His smile widened "Oh, I know where that is! Come on, I'll take you there!" He pulled her to her feet and began to lead her through the under growth. They walked hand in hand through the bushes and towards Lothering.

"What's your name…?" The girl asked with a shy smile

Theron looked at her and grinned "I'm Theron Mahariel, what's your name?"

"I'm Bethany Hawke…"

Theron glanced at her "Well, Miss Bethany Hawke, don't you worry! We're already half way there! You'll see!"

Theron thought his heart was about to explode with fear. Tamlen had said that humans could kill you with a single touch, and here he was! Holding her hand! But when he looked at her tear filled eyes, and hopeful expression, he knew she wasn't going to hurt him. Suddenly it occurred to him what a fool he was. Humans were just elves with rounded ears, they couldn't summon dragons or suck the life from something with a touch. There was really no reason to be scared of them… Right?

"Bethany!" Someone called, not too far away.

Bethany lit up at the voice, as another human walked into view. "Rory!" She said, happiness dripping from her voice. She ran and jumped into her brother's arms.

"Oh, thank the Maker!" Rory mumbled under his breath, "Dad!" He called "She's over here!"

The hairs on the back of Theron's neck stood up, as Malcolm Hawke walked into view. Theron could instantly tell that he was a bloody powerful mage. Theron couldn't explain it, but he felt the same as the Keeper did, like he could sense the magic in his veins.

Malcolm scolded Bethany for running off… Sarcastically. Theron didn't understand, when he did something bad it usually earned him a lot of yelling. Malcolm looked at Theron, and the elf's blood ran cold. He was so scared, there wasn't much he could do if this human decided to attack- Heck, he didn't even have his wooden sword! "Who's this?" Malcolm asked

"Oh, father! This is Theron, he showed me how to get here!" Bethany explained

Malcolm smiled and knelt in front of Theron. Theron held his breathe in fear, but kept his expression under control. He and Tamlen had practice their neutral faces, so they could get away with whatever plan they had came up with that day. "Thank you, for that." Malcolm said "Now where are your mother and father?"

"They're dead, sir. But Ashalle raises me, she's a good mother." Theron admitted

Malcolm looked at him with pity, but then he smiled "Well, where is this Ashalle? I would like to meet her! Tell her she has an amazing son!"

Theron's eyes nearly popped out of his head "Oh, no, no, no! You don't have to do that! Um, I'll, uh, tell her for you! Yes? There's really no need for you to go through all that trouble for me!" Theron blurted out

"No, no! I insist! It's not any trouble!" Malcolm explain "Perhaps we can have you and your mother over for dinner, no?"

"No!" Theron instantly said, and then took a deep breath and tried to collect his thoughts "It's not that I don't want you to met her, it's just- Well, I-" He sighed "I'm not suppose to talk to anyone outside the clan. The Keeper would probably kill me, if she knew what I was doing right now! It's just that I heard your daughter crying and thought that I wouldn't want to be alone in the woods and-" Theron continued to ramble, but unconsciously switched to elvish.

Malcolm put a hand on Theron's shoulder, "I understand, you're Dalish, right?"

Theron stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

Malcolm smiled "Well, I'll tell you what, Theron of the Dalish. You did a great thing today, and I-"

" Theron!" Ashalle cried behind him. Theron whipped around to see his mother-figure standing just inside the clearing, look terrified. She drew her dagger, "Step away from my son!" She demanded

Malcolm stood with his hands in clear view, showing that he didn't mean any harm. Ashalle stepped forward and pulled Theron behind her. "Ashalle, he didn't-"

"Hush Theron!" She snapped. She still had her knife out and pointed at Malcolm, his two kids were standing a few steps behind him. "Your parents would be horrified if they knew what you've done today."

"Ashalle, you always say that! Just let me explain-"

"Hush, Theron!" She said again

"Ma'am" Malcolm said "Your boy brought back my daughter after she got lost in the forest. I was just thanking him. He didn't do anything wrong."

Ashalle stared Malcolm down, before finally putting away her dagger. "I'm sorry, it's just that humans aren't usually tolerable of us, and when I saw him with you, I panicked."

Malcolm smiled "It's quite alright. We're glad to have met him, and you."

Ashalle smiled politely "Thank you, for not hurting him… But we must go now."

Malcolm nodded "I understand," he said, then looked at Theron "thank you again, Theron."

Theron nodded and Ashalle led him back towards camp. Theron looked back at Bethany, who was watching him walk away. He smiled widely, and waved goodbye. Bethany's cheeks went so warm that she thought they might start on fire, but she waved back.

Once they were a mile into the walk, Ashalle began to sob and knelt to hug Theron.

"Promise me you will never do anything like that again. Holy Creators, Theron. You scared the living daylights out of me, I was so worried!" She sobbed

Theron was frozen for a moment, but then he hugged her back. "I promise… I'm sorry… mother."

Ashalle pulled back a little and stared at him. He had never called her 'mother' before. Ashalle smiled and sighed. "Come on, we found the halla long ago, now let's get you back to camp!"

Theron smiled back and they walked hand in hand back to camp.

Theron scowled at that memory, even though he loved it, but it just conflicted with his 'hating all humans' things. He sighed… I guess they're not ALL that bad. He thought.