Dragon Age belongs to Bioware, I just play with the characters they create.
Alistair rubbed his eyes as he entered the tent. Most of the others were asleep already and he was just as ready to sleep. He wished the Revered Mother would finally realize that he was a Grey Warden and not her personal message boy. It had been a long day and he would be glad to take off his soaked clothes and be dry for the first time today. That was the thing about Ostegar it never seemed to dry ever and now it was raining which was only making things worse. His boots still carried the mud from the Kokari Wilds from the morning and then they had done the joining. It had been the first he had seen since his own, and he was at least grateful there had been one who survived even if it was a mage.
Truly, he had nothing against the mage, but most mages just tended not to like him because of his training. Railan on the other hand did not seem to mind or he was good at hiding what he was feeling, Alistair was not certain either way. Having never been to the tower he really was not certain what motivated mages.
As he neared his bedroll, he heard an odd sound and stopped to try to identify it. He began to realize that the sound was coming from where the mage was sleeping curled up in a thin blanket on the bedroll next to his. Alistair looked down at the poor mage, the man must be freezing, he thought as he neared and noticed the other man shaking. The sound he had heard had been Railan's teeth chattering.
Alistair turned and went to the nearest trunk. It squealed as he opened it, the humid climate already rusting the hinges of the trunk. He grabbed two blankets and went back to the shivering mage. He unfolded one blanket and eased it down on to the man trying not to wake him. Alistair was surprised that Railan could even sleep with as cold as he was.
Alistair frowned as he noticed that the chattering sound stopped but Railan continued to shake. Maybe he is ill, Alistair mused to himself. He would have to check with Duncan in the morning. The mage may be of little use to them the coming day if he was sick. It could be possible that the younger man was having a delayed adverse reaction to the joining. Alistair had never heard of that but then again he had only been a Grey Warden for a little over six months and there was so much that he did not know yet.
Alistair wondered to himself why he was so concerned with the well-being of this one mage. Sure, the red haired mage had been the only to survive the joining this first time but there was just something that he could not place that made him so protective of this man. He shrugged and dismissed the confusion as lack of sleep and moved to continue trying to help the mage.
He unfolded the other blanked and draped it across the mage. The extra layer did little to stop the shivering. Worried Alistair began to wonder if he should wake Duncan to see if the mage was all right. He shook his head and remembered that this was his charge and he should be able to take care of one little mage.
Quickly he changed out of his armor. He lay down next to the other man and pulled his blanked over both of them. He rolled closer to the mage using his body heat to help warm him. He truly hoped he would wake early enough that the others would not see him like this, if they did, he would be in for some teasing. As he settled, he noticed that Railan had stopped shaking. The last thing Alistair thought before sleep took him was how the mage smelled just like the storm that was brewing outside the tent.
Railan woke with a start and blinked his eyes; it took him some time to remember where he was. He knew eventually he would have to get used to the fact that he was not in the tower any more. Waking up was always the hardest, part of him kept thinking that this was a dream and that he was still in the tower. As he reminded himself, he was a Grey Warden now and in Ostegar, something began to bother him.
It took him some time to figure out what was out of place but it suddenly occurred to him that there was a hand on his side and hot breath at his neck. His eyes went wide as the thoughts flooded through him. I am not in the tower, he thought, but waking up like this was not unusual in the tower. Oh, by the maker what happened, I cannot remember doing anything. Last thing I remember was falling asleep cold and alone.
Railan squeezed his eyes shut and took a couple of breaths to try to calm himself, but the panicky feeling of not remembering shook him. The other person stirred rolling away from him taking the top most blanket as he moved. Railan calmed a little as he noticed that there were still three blankets on him, and that they had been between him and the other.
Slowly he turned his head to look over his shoulder at who had slept next to him. He frowned when he noticed the blonde haired man and realized it had been the almost templar who had been spooning him.
Quietly he pulled on his robe and grabbed his staff. Before he left, he put one of the extra blankets over Alistair. Then folded the others and left them on the bedroll. With one last look at the sleeping templar, he left the tent.
As Railan stepped out of the tent, he realized he was not certain what he was supposed to do. He knew there would be preparations for the battle that was to take place but he had yet to be told how he fit into all that.
"Ah, good morning Railan," Duncan greeted him politely.
Railan could hear stifled laughter from nearby and could only guess that it was because of the situation he had woken up in. Railan nodded and spoke softly trying to stay out of trouble, "Good morning Duncan."
"Now that you are awake, you should have something to eat," Duncan handed him a bowl of grey porridge, "and then we have been requested to meet the king at the war council."
"Thank you," Railan mumbled and took the grey slop. Now that he was a Warden, he would have to ask if he could prepare some of the meals. He had enjoyed cooking at the tower and it may be a nice way for him to feel useful.
He found he was hungry enough that he did not even mind the bland food, and at least it was hot warming him from the inside out. When he was done eating, he looked up and noticed Duncan watching him.
"You may have more if you would like," Duncan said indicating the pot over the fire.
Railan knew he should have felt full and normally he would have but today he was hungry, but he was not about to eat more of the grey food. Maybe, he thought, it is this place it seems to suck the color out of everything.
"No, I am alright," he said with the shake of his head. Either way he was not certain he wanted to still be so close to the tent when the young templar awoke. "We probably should not keep the king waiting."
Duncan nodded and led the way to the war council meeting.
Slowly Alistair became aware that he was cold. He knew that he had been warm most of the night while he slept, and it had been the best sleep he had since becoming a Grey Warden, which was a pleasant surprise to say the least. However, something just felt like it was missing and he could not quite put his finger on it while he was waking up.
When he sat up, he began to hear sniggering coming from some of the other wardens. "So how's the mage doing?" one of the men asked.
Alistair's eyes went wide, "It's not like that," he hissed and he started to look around him. On Railan's bedroll were two folded blankets but no sign of the man. "Where is Railan?" Concern started to build in his gut. Maybe the mage was not well last night, he thought. He had survived the joining but could there have been some other problem that he had not known about.
One of the older wardens spoke up, "Do not worry so much boy, Duncan and Railan are attending a meeting with the king. They should be back shortly." The ranger walked over to Alistair and put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Do not let them get to you," he whispered. "The mage would have frozen last night if you had not kept him warm."
Alistair nodded, and slowly began to get dressed and ready for the busy day ahead.
Most of the day Alistair was on one task or another but he would occasionally look back towards where the war council meeting was. He wondered how the newest warden was doing and hoped he would have a chance to talk to him before the battle.
When Duncan was done with the meeting, Alistair saw him give a few orders to his second and then he requested Alistair to come with him and they joined Railan by the fire.
Alistair felt himself growing furious as he listened to Duncan explain his orders. "So I will not be in the battle," he growled trying to keep his temper in check.
Alistair was so focused on trying to argue with Duncan that he did not notice the mage watching him with worry written all over his face.
Railan suddenly spoke up, "I am ready to go."
Alistair jumped, he had forgotten that the other man was even there, and with a sigh he agreed too, "Yes, so am I."
"From here, you two are on your own," Duncan spoke looking at both of them. "Remember, you are both Grey Wardens. I expect you to be worthy of that title." Duncan turned to leave.
"Duncan," Alistair stopped him, he felt bad about arguing and wanted to say something, anything but was not sure what he could say to apologize. "May the Maker watch over you."
Duncan nodded, "May he watch over us all."
Alistair watched silently as his mentor and friend left to prepare for the coming battle. He gave a sign and turned towards the man standing beside him. He reached out with a hand intending to put it on the mages shoulder but lowered it again when Railan took a step back.
Alistair frowned; he was worried that he may have hurt the other man. "I am sorry," he mumbled, "I just want to explain."
Railan shook his head and interrupted, "It's ok, it was my fault, and I should be the one apologizing. I'm still not used to being away from the tower."
"But," Alistair was confused, he had wanted to apologize but the mage seemed to blame himself, "what?"
"I am used to a bed, and walls and being protected from the elements." The mage smiled shyly, blushing slightly. "I appreciate what you did. I had not realized how cold I really was or that there were more blankets. So thank you," he sighed softly, looking deep into Alistair's eyes, "it was nice to wake up warm for the first time since leaving the tower."
Alistair knew his mouth was hanging open, and he closed it with a clack. He was completely surprised by the kind words that the younger man spoke. "You are welcome," he said returning the smile. As the silence began to grow slightly awkward, he spoke in a tone that sounded odd even to himself, "So, we should be going."