Temper Tantrum
Disclaimer: This story contains ideas, characters, and places created by EA and Bioware. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: This was written in response to a prompt over at the k!meme. And I love reviews, so you should leave some!
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The day began with rain. Rain was something she would never get used to, Neria Surana decided. Having grown up in the tower, she had never been outside until that fateful day Jowan had betrayed her, and Duncan had saved her. She had not even known rain existed except in stories. The first time the skies had opened up, she had screamed at Duncan for never telling her that the Maker pissed on his people. Oghren had agreed with her the first time he had seen the rain. It was the Maker's piss.
Rain alone wasn't terrible now that she had gotten used to it, but it still put a damper on an otherwise good morning. She had woken up warm and comfortable, next to a deliciously naked Zevran, who had then proceeded to make her feel a different kind of warmth. All too soon, though, she had to put on her worn and frayed robes and head out into the downpour.
The rain didn't let up as the day continued. And then she found out that it was Alistair's turn to cook lunch. The stew he deemed to be "traditional Fereldan food" made her stomach roil. The slop was thick and brown, with unidentified bits of something in it. She had learned her lesson not to ask exactly what was in it, because the last time she had, Alistair had said that he didn't know, that he had just thrown anything he could find in it. She glared at the bowl in front of her, fingers itching to just burn it to a crisp.
"Relax, amor." Zevran murmured from her side, easily catching her expression. She sighed heavily, spooning some of the slop into her mouth. She couldn't starve after all, but today so far was just not going well.
They were attacked by darkspawn later, and then ambushed by bandits. One particularly stealthy bandit snuck up behind her, and managed to slide his dagger into her side when she reacted too slowly. She cried out as she spun, lightning crackling from her fingertips and cooking the man alive before she collapsed, hand pressing against her wound. Zevran was by her side in an instant, protecting her from any enemies who dared to try and attack the fallen mage, his movements graceful and fluid as a cat as he easily disposed of a number of the remaining bandits. When the fight was over, Wynne hurried over to her, shooing all others away so she could begin her work.
"You really should have paid more attention in your healing classes." She chastised, hands glowing green as she ran them over the dagger wound. Neria clenched her teeth shut, her dislike for the woman apparent. All Wynne ever did was treat her like a child! It didn't matter that she was now seventeen, practically an adult, and a fully Harrowed mage!
"And now that I have you alone, I wanted to talk to you about your relationship with Zevran," Wynne continued on, oblivious to the seething girl under her hands. "Most of us haven't been getting any sleep, the way you two carry on all night! Now, I know what it's like at the tower, but don't you think he's a bit too old for you? And it's obvious he only has one thing on his mind! It's perfectly disgusting, I think. Not to mention that you're a Grey Warden- oh, there we go, your side should be fine now- so you shouldn't be acting like such a-"
"Such a what?" Neria snapped, jumping to her feet, eyes blazing. "I can be with whomever I want, when I want, and I'll be as loud as I want!"
The outburst had caught the attention of the rest of the group, who were now looking over at the two mages curiously. A chuckle from Morrigan drifted over, the witch's golden eyes dancing in amusement. Morrigan was the only one, along with her former teacher Wynne, who knew how old she was. She had complained to the fellow mage about her teacher on several occasions, and Morrigan didn't think she was too young or immature at all, contrary to the old nag.
"You're a Grey Warden," Wynne insisted, "You can't be letting personal feelings get in the way of your duty. Duty is the only thing you should be focusing on right now, and-"
"I can do what I want!" Neria shrieked back, "And I'll keep doing what I want! If I want to have so much sex I can't walk anymore, I will! And I'll make sure I'm so loud next time, that you can't sleep at all!"
A quick glance over at her companions revealed mixed reactions. Zevran, Morrigan, and Oghren were laughing raucously, while Alistair was frowning heavily in her direction.
"What are you frowning at?" Neria demanded, turning toward Alistair. Lightning was jumping between her fingers, and she didn't even bother to control it. He was the only other Grey Warden, he was supposed to be her brother, he shouldn't be frowning at her!
"I- well- um- being a Grey Warden is important. Our duty is important, since we're the only two Wardens left, and…" Alistair trailed off at the expression on Neria's face, only for his sentence to be picked up by Wynne with, "and so you should start having healing lessons with me, and care more about fighting the darkspawn threat! Neria, I know you're young, but-"
That was the last straw. Wynne lecturing was one thing, but Alistair against her too? She was not too young! Wiping dripping hair out of her eyes, Neria shrieked. "I can't believe you, Alistair! You're supposed to be my brother! You should be on my side! I am fighting darkspawn, every single day, and I want to have fun sometimes!" Sticking out her hand, she directed her lighting at a nearby tree, which sparkled very nicely in the rain before bursting into flame. Alistair jumped back in alarm, hand raised as if to smite her.
"Oh no you don't!" She screeched, seeing what he was going to do. She aimed a fireball close to him this time, watching with satisfaction as he jumped away, a panicked expression on his face. "If you smite me I'll-"
He cast smite, and her magic drained away. "That's it!" She yelled, fists clenching, but unable to cast anything on him. "I quit! I quit the Blight! I'm done!" She stomped off in the opposite direction, ducking into the trees nearby to put everyone out of sight. She slid down to the ground with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest.
It was a few minutes before Zevran appeared, his footfalls silent as always. He knelt down before her and took her hands in his own. She glared at him, but the glare softened as he pressed a chaste kiss to her knuckles. "I'm the leader, they shouldn't be lecturing me." She pouted, fishing for Zevran to side with her.
"I know, amor. Wynne shouldn't have said anything to you about spending nights with me. You know your duty too- you've lead us so far now, through the Deep Roads and the Brecilian Forest! That is no small task."
Neria nodded, glad that Zevran could see how annoying Wynne was. "What about Alistair, though? He's a fellow Warden, he's supposed to be like my brother! I can't believe he would side with her! And he actually used smite on me! Can you believe that?"
"Brothers are meant to annoy their sisters," Zevran said with a chuckle, sitting down next to her and throwing an arm over her shoulder. "If you go back, I'm sure he will apologize for questioning how much you've done. If not, I can always show him my new daggers and an interesing new poison I've acquired."
"You wouldn't really-"
"Oh of course not, my dear Warden," he murmured, rising to his feet and pulling a reluctant Neria along with him. "But there is nothing wrong with scaring him, no? If that's too much, we can always put up your tent right next to his and, like you said to Wynne, be as loud as we want."
A slow smile spread over Neria's face at that suggestion, and she let Zevran pull her slowly back towards their ragtag group. "We'll have to be extra loud for extra long. He did smite me, after all."