Gonna feel the need to point out that there is Cole/OC in this story. Because people get weird about it. Constructive criticism is encouraged. Some people disagree with the main pairing intended in this story. I respect your opinion, so please respect mine.
Unedited version is on my AO3, which is under the same username. This is the 'clean' version, so you're safe.
"Bad Luck"
Everything hurt. That was my first thought as I came back into the conscious world. Not a pleasant thought, might I add. Almost like I was chewed up and spit out for the birds to scavenge on. Maybe kicked by a horse and tossed off a cliff? A hissing noise escaped my lips as I cracked an eye open, the light piercing through and causing me to squint. The sun was warm on my face, a welcoming feeling. It was not, however, as gracious on my eyes and it felt more like a jackhammer had made it's way into my skull.
I was laying face first in the snow, check. Somehow I'd belly flopped into the fluffy white substance and it made my chest hurt. Or, to be more specific in my case here, my boobs. I groaned, trying to remember how I'd gotten into this predicament in the first place. I was driving and ….
Nothing.
There was a blizzard, snowflakes dancing across my vision as I flipped on the headlights. Then I'd started to fishtail, rolling into the ditch – blank. My head throbbed as I tried to recall those events, a reminder that I'd probably cracked my head against something.
On account of the fact that I'd probably been ejected from my car? Hitting my head on the windshield didn't sound like a far-fetched idea, at that point. Just my luck.
So was I kicked by a horse or did I survive a rollover? It was a grim thought and I had yet to try and move the rest of my body. What if I broke my back?
I tried to move my arm, but it felt like I couldn't even move my fingers. They were stiff and would occasionally twitch on command but that's about it. I sighed and moved my head again, finally starting to feel the stinging bite of snow on my face. I was laying face down, I realized, as I slowly used my other arm to prop my body up and onto my side.
That didn't go over too well.
I grunted and simply allowed myself to fall onto my back, rolling over completely and staring at the sky above. A few soft puffy clouds floated by lazily. The sunlight cast warm rays of light across my cold face, making me sigh. The sun was in the middle of the sky. My left arm felt like it was going to fall off, so I sat still for a moment and waited for the pain to subside.
"Shit..." I breathed, seeing the mist form just in front of my face from my hot breath. I'm alive.That's a good thing, I suppose.
What else was there? I slowly did a body check, wriggling my toes and fingers. My left hand still hurt to even move. Shocker.
Why had I been driving in whiteout blizzard conditions? I hardly ever risk my health (Let alone my baby, RIP little car.), being a rather cautious person. It was extremely frustrating, knowing that you'd rolled your prized first car into the ditch and didn't even know why. I know I had been angry, which wasn't all that surprising, but beyond that my memory seemed lost to me.
My forehead started to ache, reminding me of huge knot that was likely sitting on my head. Great. That would explain why my left eye was hard to open. Said knot was probably above my eye somewhere, which worried me. I gently brushed the wound with my fingers, instantly rewarded with a throbbing pain.
"Guh..." I groaned again, throwing my hand down and propping myself into a seated position. The dizziness was almost overwhelming, causing me to turn over and start to retch. Nothing really came up, which gave me the idea that I hadn't really eaten much before my little escapade.
The nausea that followed was not pretty, but as soon as my dry heaves subsided I looked up and began to search for my car. My poor little red car. I was just as attached to my car as I had been to my dog, and I had to bite back a wave of tears at the thought of what it must look like after rolling into the ditch. Not only that, but my glasses were nowhere in sight. That made things so much more difficult, seeing as how I was practically blind as a bat without them. I could see things close, but not far away.
My thoughts kept going back to my baby, my car. I quickly buried my sadness with irritation, thinking about the shit I'd likely get from the insurance company.
This couldn't really get much worse, could it? Was a sarcastic thought that crossed my mind as I eased myself into a crouched position.
Never say that sentence, because it really can get much worse.
I paled when I realized that I'd been laying in the middle of a snowy field. Not a track in sight. Well, not that I could see anyway. Everything was kind of blurry. The snow wasn't that deep, just above the ankles. This wouldn't pose a problem, as I'd been wearing work boots anyway. No sign of my car. I should at least be able to see my car. It should be like a beacon in this white washed terrain.
But there was nothing.
I whipped my head back and forth, eyes frantically scanning the environment but only see my travel bag sitting at my feet. Still no glasses. My wavy shoulder-length hair was likely a mess, judging by how the rust colored locks were falling all over my face just then. My dark brown eyes narrowed in irritation.
Where am I and where the hell is my car?! I wanted to scream in frustration, but simply took a step toward my bag – only to have a sharp pain send me to my knees. I grunted upon contact with the snow, hearing nothing else aside from the chirps of the birds in the distance. No cars, no horns, no music, nothing.
I was injured and stuck in the middle of fucking nowhere. All feelings of relief from being alive swiftly left me and was replaced with a sense of dread. If I wasn't dead before, I'll surely be soon enough. I clench my eyes shut and groaned, throwing my head skyward. I really hated my life, sometimes.
Never being one to quit, I forced myself to at least try. Perhaps if I could find a house or town nearby I could call my mother? I felt anger at the thought of my mother, which made me pause. We were always fighting and arguing, but at that moment I felt like I wanted to punch her in the face. Huh.
Shrugging with one arm, I used my good arm to drag the bag toward myself. I eased it painfully over and onto my bad shoulder (all the while, I was groaning and biting back screams) and secured it onto my back. It hurt, yeah, but I wasn't about to just drag it around. Once it was on my back, I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. My body was shaking from the white hot pain that was coming from my shoulder.
I started to look around again, taking note of the fact that the area I was in had no tracks. Check. I'd noticed that earlier, but how had I gotten over here? I couldn't have flown that far from the car. I look up into the sky again, to perhaps check how late into the day it was, but noticed a swirling mass of clouds in the distance. Or at least I thought it was clouds. I squinted a little, but I couldn't tell. It had it's own light source. Green light, which to me looked like a big blurry green blob. My first thought?
Bomb.
I know, stupid right?
My face dropped and I momentarily forgot about the pain I was feeling at all. Fear replaced the pain I'd been feeling and I could feel the adrenaline already as my fight or flight instincts kicked into gear. My brown eyes widened and I could feel the blood drain from my face.
There was a fucking hole in the sky.
A giant glowing green hole.
What the actual fuck?
I screeched and started off in the opposite direction. My first thoughts were that there was a bomb going off, which didn't make sense since there was no flash of light or loud noises. But my fear filled thoughts overrode logic and I was stuck stumbling in the opposite direction.
"Hey hey! Are you alright over there?" I heard a woman call from the distance, voice echoing over the empty field, but I payed her no heed.
My feet wouldn't stop as I continued in the direction I was going, a small trail coming into view in the distance. The trail had a crumbling stone fence of some sort beside it, giving me the impression that the trail was actually a road. My boots clomped into the snow as I barreled onward without thinking.
A dip in the fence. I aimed to hop over it, but mid-jump my legs locked up and muscles seized – refusing me to go any further. This was probably because of my injuries, which I couldn't even feel at the moment.
I toppled over the rocks in the most ungraceful manner possible, sending myself flying face first onto the dirty trail. I could see mud and slush as I pulled up both arms to cushion my fall. I hit the ground pretty hard, seeing as how I was carrying my bag on my back.
I knew bad luck ran in my family...
My bad arm screamed in protest, which in turn made me let out a howl of pain. Tears filled my eyes as I bit my lip to shut myself up. Oh I was definitely feeling the pain now. Adrenaline or not, I probably just made it much worse.
Stifled laughter could be heard not far away, along with footsteps running in my direction.
"Didja see the look on her face? Funny, yeah?" The owner of the voice was a younger woman, from the sounds of it. She was still giggling some ways back.
"What are you running from?" Another woman asked from beside me, when did she get here? I didn't even hear her approach as I let out a pained groan.
"Fuckin hell, man. Can't you give me a break!" I yelled as I tried to force myself into a standing position, anger evident on my features. My good hand is covered in slush and mud as I did so. Well, the entire front of my body is covered in it, but that was beside the point. I was finally crouched again, attempting to ignore how broken my body felt and failing might I add. I was just sitting there panting like I'd run a marathon. Though it wasn't from exhaustion, I felt like I could hardly breathe. It hurt to breathe, even. Wonderful.
"Shit, man. Look at her face." I heard someone comment, I spat out the dirt in my mouth and peeked around. My teeth felt all gritty from the dirt and sand likely clogging my mouth at that moment. "What'ja do kid, get into a fight with a Druffalo?"
Druffalo... did he mean buffalo? I blinked up at the rather short man standing behind the woman at my side. He made his way closer to me and I noticed how darn short he was. I'd never seen a midget before, so I tried not to let it show on my face. Last thing I needed was angry midgets trying to beat me up. My classmate in college had gotten his ass handed to him by a gang of midgets before while he was drunk, so I knew they weren't to be trifled with.
I was on my knees and he was barely taller than me by inches. He stood there staring at me, expecting an answer, as he hefted the rather large crossbow in his arms.
"Uhhh..." I slowly looked up at the woman above me, the sunlight making it hard to see her features. She held out a hand to me, in which I assumed was to help me to my feet. I gladly accepted, with my good arm, and stood up beside her. The woman had shoulder-length wavy hair, just like me. Her facial features were very delicate looking, making her look very feminine. We were the same height, I noted as I nodded my thanks to her. I also ignored the fact that we could pass as sisters, that was irrelevant.
"Apologies, I've had a rough day." I conceded in a rather dull tone.'That's putting it lightly...'
"Was there a reason why you were running and screaming...?" Her accent sounded oddly European, or English. Hell I didn't know. Which confused me for a second. Another thing I've never really encountered. Living in Northern Minnesota, it wasn't exactly a tourist destination. I thought about her question for a second, my eyes widening in alarm.
"A bomb! Fu-" I looked up at the hole in the sky again, which had been momentarily forgotten, and screeched in alarm. "We're gonna fucking die! Is there a bomb shelter nearby, because-" I was about to take off, before two small hands held me in place.
"Wait, are you talking about the breach?" The man from before asked, walking beside the wispy looking woman who held me in place. Her hands were gentle, as if trying to calm down a skittish horse. Her big gray eyes were focused on me, trying to tell me not to freak out. I could faintly hear the woman saying 'Hey' or 'It'll be alright.' in a soft tone, but I kept shaking and trying to back away.
"T-the what? Bre-e-ach?" My voice shook as I asked, confused and quivering with anxiety. It didn't seem like this breach in the sky was an immediate threat, so I was forced to focus on the situation at hand.
'It's alright, they don't seem too shocked by the thing in the sky. I'll be fine. I'll be fine.' I repeated to myself as I started to breathe deeply. Breathing still hurt, but God damn it this is the only way I knew to calm down. My heart was still racing as I looked at the small group in front of me. The people in the back were blurry, but I could make out a bald male and a blonde woman. There was the midget to the left of the woman in front of me and – My eyes darted to the other figure, which was stalking up to me with an angry expression on her face.
Said woman had a pixie cut hairstyle and all the confidence in the world as her hands were on what looked to be a sword hilt strapped to her side. The expression on her face was enough to send me into a panic all over again. She looked like she wanted to cut me.
Why the hell were these people carrying swords? Crossbows? My vision focused from my blurry panic and I took notice to some much finer details. The frail looking woman in front of me, trying to calm me down, had two daggers (or swords, I didn't know) strapped to her back. There were faint white tattoos on her lightly tanned face, spanning across her cheeks that reminded me of branches. The midget was carrying a loaded crossbow, which was held in a way that told me he was being cautious. Of me. If the expression on his face was anything to go by.
Fuck.
My fear must have showed up on my face, because the spindly woman hushed me.
"It's alright, we aren't going to hurt you." She soothed, but I was having none of it.
"T-That's what they all say! Then they cut you to itty bitty pieces and stick you in the freezer. The fuck are you guys carrying swords around for?" My mouth ran a lot when I was panicked or fearful. It's like word vomit and I couldn't stop it. I hardly ever got scared or panicked. Always one for a level head and calm demeanor. Not so much, today. Give me a break, none of this shit made sense.
"Herald, you should step away from the girl." The woman with the black pixie cut warned as she unsheathed her sword. Her voice was gruff and I could tell she meant business. The scars on her face told me she'd been in a fair amount of fights and I wasn't about to push my luck. I let out a squeak and started to back away. I was half blind, outnumbered, unarmed, and injured. Fuck my life.
My mind went into overdrive as I swiftly took inventory. I always carried a hunting knife in my jacket, for obvious reasons. Walking in the woods was always relaxing and you never know when an animal might show up or something happens. A knife is always good to have. It wasn't that big, but it's better than nothing. But I knew that pulling it out would mean an instant death. The way these people held themselves gave me the impression they knew what they were doing.
"Now now, Cassandra, I don't think she's much of a threat. See? She's unarmed." The 'Herald' motioned with her thin little arms. I'd backed away from her, out of arms reach. I didn't like that she snuck up on me like that. I didn't like that she touched me. I didn't trust her. Or them. None of this seemed right. She turned her head toward the Cassandra woman and smiled.
It was then that I saw her pointy ears sticking out of her rusty colored hair. The hell was this, an anime convention?
"E-elf?" I whispered and cocked my head to the side in question. They looked so real. Her ears, I mean. I couldn't even see where the plaster might have began, or whatever it was that they used to make their ears so pointy. The woman looked back at me and her eyebrow rose as if to say 'yeah, got a problem?'. I shook my head and started to back away some more. These people are just crazy cosplayers. Yeah. That explained the odd choice in clothing – er – armor and medieval weaponry.
"L-Look, guys. Can you just tell me where the nearest town is so I can just be on my way? Yeah?" I nervously replied, eying the weapons that were drawn. Every one of them, except the Herald lady, had them out as they examined me with cautious eyes. I took note that there were two other people behind this group. They were off to the side. I still couldn't make out any finer details to those people but the bald male had a large stick or pole in his hand while the other blonde girl held what I think was a bow. The one with the bow was holding it lazily at her side with no arrow out. She almost seemed amused, with the way her head was tilted with a big lopsided grin on her face.
"She's a little too close to Haven for my liking. Definitely doesn't look like a refugee, look at her clothes." Cassandra observed, stalking toward me. "Who are you?" She growled, which made me pale as I turned to run in the other direction.
"Fuck! Shit! F-" I was cut off by a yank on my backpack. I could have sworn I was lifted into the air and dragged back toward the group. My shoulder jolted in pain and I let out a wail. "God damn it, let me go!" I screamed as I flailed about, not really making my injured body any better.
I was promptly thrown onto the ground again, landing on my bad arm. I screeched in pain and rolled onto my other side. While I lay there curling up in pain with my hand on my shoulder, I let out a feral sounding growl and glared the best I could at Cassandra.
"Lady Lavellan, I believe the girl may be injured." I heard a smooth male voice call from the back and soft footsteps approached.
"You just said you wouldn't hurt me! Here you are throwin' me around like a damn sack of potatoes!" I yelled in protest from my place on the ground. I wanted to kick that short-haired woman for just tossing me around like that. The hell did I do to deserve this? I knew that would be a bad idea, however, since she had a big pointy object while I had nothing.
"Well that one is obvious, Chuckles. Are you blind? Look at her face." The midget, again, commented on my face. It really must've looked ugly.
God damn it. I wasn't exactly known for having good looks. I was quite plain, honestly. Round boyish face and light freckles. Extremely average. But now with this big knot on my head, which was making it increasingly harder to see, I was silently wondering if I'd have a huge scar.
I wasn't vain, by any means, but I did take a little pride in the fact that I had a relatively clear complexion. I wanted to groan.
The man the midget referred to as Chuckles sighed, probably from the ridiculous nickname, and came forward. I only saw his feet, at first, because I was still on the ground. I peered up and saw the bald dude staring down at me with a frown on his face.
"Can you take a look at her, Solas?" The Herald asked, looking over at the man. He simply nodded and crouched down to help me up. Baldy was an elf, too. Well how 'bout that.
"We must first get her to a dryer area." Chuckles (or Solas, but Chuckles sounds funnier) replied as he lead me down the road a ways and sat me down on a boulder. He helped me remove my bag, much to my pain, and set it beside me on the ground. Was he a nurse or something? I tilted my head in question and was about to ask, but someone spoke.
"You cannot be serious." Cassandra butted in, sounding almost disgusted with the idea of helping me. I was wondering what the hell it was that I did to piss this lady off. I was used to not being liked, sure, but that usually happened after they met me and realized how much of a sarcastic ass I was. I huffed and looked away, my heart rate slowing down. I wasn't going to let my guard down, though. Miss Stabby might do me in if I wasn't careful.
"Contrary to what you might believe," I started as I looked back up to the gruff woman, "Stabbing people doesn't solve all of your problems."
"Girl's got a point." Midget put in with a sort of lopsided grin on his face as he observed me.
She simply scowled at me with her sword still drawn. I saw a green light envelope me for mere seconds before I blinked in surprise, the warmth I'd felt making me almost jump off of the wall.
"What was that?" I looked around to find the source, but only found the serious face of Chuckles as he stared back at me.
Have you ever had your shoulder reset from being dislocated? It was possibly the most unpleasant feeling ever. Well, unpleasant being a complete fucking understatement. I could have sworn I heard my shoulder make a loud popping noise as he did so. I could most definitely feel my joint or my bones grinding against one another, causing my vision to go fuzzy.
I screeched in pain.
It seemed I was screeching and groaning in pain a lot, today.
"S-Solas!" I could faintly hear the Herald yell, but my screeching drowned her out.
"Calm." He simply replied, as I breathed heavily. I felt the familiar warmth again as my pain ebbed away and the spots in my vision receded. "She had a dislocated shoulder, is all."
I clenched my teeth to keep myself from whimpering like a kicked dog. I was not expecting that. Chuckles pulled out what looked to be a vial and held it out to me.
"Just drink half of this later after you've got that cleaned out." He motioned his hand toward my wound on my face, "Then take the other half in the morning, you should be better by tomorrow."
"T-Tomorrow? The hell's in this thing?" My eyes widened as I took the odd looking vial. It seemed to have a syrupy looking liquid in it. He seemed almost confused, as if I should know what the thing in my hand was. But I didn't.
"A dislocated shoulder? Please don't tell me you actually got into a fight with a Druffalo." Midget seemed more relaxed, his crossbow aimed at the ground now. The female elf in the back, with the bow, giggled evilly.
"I crashed, actually."
"Crashed?" He raised a brow, seemingly confused (and oddly almost disappointed).
"Yeah... I was driving my c-car-" I sneezed loudly, accidentally spraying Chuckles in the process. The young woman in the back was really cracking up, now. Said bald elf looked beyond pissed as he wiped his face off. His eye had this almost psychotic twitch for a second before it was gone, like it was never there. I thought he was going to hit me with his stick there for a second. "Apologies." I offered in the most unapologetic tone ever, seeing him nod and get up.
He grunted as he stood up, walking in the other direction as he continued to wipe his face off. I shivered, looking up at the group.
"It's whateves, really need to get me some ale. After all of that demoney business, gonna have nightmares for weeks. Eugh! You guys can handle an unarmed civilian, yeah?" The young blonde elf waved as she jogged by and on down the road, her bow strapped to her back. I sighed through my nose and flicked my eyes toward the rest of them. Midget seemed indifferent to my presence now while Chuckles sat in the back with a carefully blank look on his face.
Now I felt oddly indebted to these people, since their nurse guy fixed my arm. My eye twitched, realizing that is probably what their ulterior motive was. Everyone always had ulterior motives. I would know, I've run into many people that have tried to use me or manipulate me. I've learned to just expect it by now. Just my luck that I'd wake up and run into a group of crazies.
Fricken hell.