Disclaimer: Bioware owns, not me.
Author's note: Not beta-read, sorry about that. I seriously suck at that Shakespearean style of English, but I try my best with Dynaheir's lines.
"So basically your homelands are at war and that's reason enough for you to kill each other?"
"If it is thine wish to word it in such a blunt manner, yes."
"Dumb asses. What's the point in that? You're both far away from home, and you're both mages, but of different schools so your spells compliment each other! There's not even room for competitive jealousy."
"T'is a matter of principals and patriotism. He is, I understand, of a great and powerful Thayvian family, while I have some influence in Rasheman. T'would serve myself and mine country to see him eliminated, just like t'would serve him and his country to see me eliminated."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I am not evil, and I wish no harm upon anyone. I shall leave him alone as long as he leaves me and mine friend alone."
"Good."
"I would not venture to expect the same of him, if I were in thine place."
"Oh?"
"He is an evil and greedy man, as I am certain thou hath noticed as well."
"Oh come on, he's not that bad. I think he's pretty smart, and funny. What? Why are you all staring at me?" Jaina looked up at the three other women in the room.
"Keep your head still, stupid, or I will stop braiding your hair," Jaina told Imoen who sat in front of her on the floor but had turned around to stare at her. The dark elf Viconia sat on a chair near the bed on which Jaina sat, and on the opposite bed sat Dynaheir, the Rasheman mage they had saved earlier the same day – and both of them had the same surprised expression as Imoen had on her face. They were in the tavern in Nashkel, and had taken four rooms for the night. Imoen and Jaina shared one, Dynaheir and Viconia the other, and the men - Edwin and Minsc - had their own rooms since Edwin had refused to share with anyone.
"Ooooh I get it!" Imoen finally bellowed and laughed. "Take any man in a skirt – no matter how selfish and annoying – and Jay wants to get under his skirt!"
"Oh shut up, it's not like that!" Jaina protested. "I just don't think he's *that bad*, that's all."
Viconia and Dynaheir clearly did not understand what the two old friends were talking about, so Imoen decided to explain.
"She has always been attracted to wizards," Imoen grinned.
"Have not!" Jaina continued protesting loudly.
"Have too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
"I have grown up in a huge library," Jaina pointed out, "surrounded by wizards and magic and old heavy tomes, but have never been able to even light a candle with one single magical spark. I think it's only natural that I take an interest in magic!" She looked so overly hurt that Imoen knew her to be joking and that is was safe to tease her further.
"More likely you take an interest in what's under their skirts!" she kept giggling devilishly and Jaina gently hit her on the shoulder with her fist, with a curve of an amused grin on her lips. Dynaheir decided to cross her legs and see that her own skirt covered her thighs fully, looking slightly confused by the sisterly teasing.
"Don't worry, Dynaheir, as pretty as you are I'm not into women," Jaina laughed seeing the mage's careful moves.
"Ha! So you admit it!" Imoen yelled triumphantly.
"Never!"
"You fancy wizards!"
"Lies!"
"What about the time around three years ago when that old wizard arrived in Candlekeep with two of his younger students, and every time the younger mages walked by, you blushed and stumbled and stuttered?"
"I was seventeen! Any even distantly good looking man whom I had not grown up with got my hormones wild!"
"Yeah, especially as almost all of the men that ever visited Candlekeep were wizards or priests. Wearing skirts."
"When you put it like that, I suppose I have to be attracted to wizards since they're the only kind of men I've ever seen around," Jaina pointed out.
"Now you admit it!"
"Well what about you, huh? You were always there with me, giggling like I was."
"Well like I said, we only got wizards or priests. I take what I get, I suppose," Imoen shrugged. "But now that we're not in Candlekeep and there's more to choose from, you won't see me going for the skirted ones! Sheesh. I've had enough of those. Unlike you."
"It's not the skirt that does it," Jaina said and finished braiding Imoen's hair. She fastened the braid and tapped on her shoulder to indicate it was safe to turn around now.
"Oh yeah? Is it the beard? Or all the bling that make him look filthy rich? Or do you think that because he seems to despise you, he actually really wants to hump your leg?" Imoen went on.
"I'm sorry, who are we talking about again?" Jaina blinked, feigning ignorant.
"Edwin, of course!"
"Oh come on. I'm so not attracted to him. He's ridiculous, with his luxurious jewellery and arrogant manners. I'm still not sure whether or not he understands that we can all actually hear what he's mumbling about us."
While Imoen and Jaina had been talking, Viconia had been listening with a barely noticeable smile on her lips, and Dynaheir had been watching the drow. She was not scared of her, but she was curious of how such a creature was traveling amongst the humans.
"Methinks thee are indeed the most peculiar company I hath ever met in mine life, and thou, Jaina, must be the strangest of them all," Dynaheir finally voiced her opinion.
"With a strange, arrogant Red Wizard, a Rasheman berserker who has a hamster for brains, a dark elf, an easily excitable nosy red-head, and an esteemed Rasheman witch around... I'm the weirdo?" Jaina asked, amused to hear such a thing.
"Thine words, my friend. Thou hath surrounded thineself with this band of unlikely allies, and from what I saw in the battle this morning at the gnoll's enclave, thou art able to control the chaos that surrounds thou. T'is most remarkable. Forsooth, I hath a feeling thine name will be on the lips of everyone on the Sword Coast soon enough," the witch said thoughtfully.
"Damn right, we're gonna be heroes!" Imoen nodded with a big grin. It was something she and Jaina had dreamt about since they were little girls in Candlekeep – of exciting adventures, of piles and piles of treasure, and of dashing, mysterious men, and especially of the two of them being the heroines of the story.
"T'is one possibility," Dynaheir said, and the way she looked at Jaina then gave the girl a strange feeling. Was she trying to say something?
"I thank thee of thine company. I must retire for I feel quite drained, I bid thee good night," the witch continued then on a more casual tone of voice.
"I will go as well and deliver my prayers to Shar now that the sun has set," Viconia decided as well, and stood up with Dynaheir.
The girls wished them to sleep well in return, and watched them leave the room.
"Dynaheir's cool," Imoen said once she was alone with Jaina.
"Yeah. She's all mysterious and beautiful, and I hope she's able to control Minsc and his violent fits."
"I dig the way she talks. I had no clue anyone talked like that for real."
"I dig the way she thinks," Jaina said more seriously, thinking back to how Dynaheir's dark eyes had examined everything so keenly all day and how she had listened to them as if memorising all the discussions around her. More than that, her precognitions had sounded like she knew something the others did not – but Jaina decided not to push her to tell. It was much more interesting to find out as she went, instead of skipping to the final pages of the book, she thought. "There's a lot going on in her head. I think we're lucky that she's on our side."