A/N - This is a gift for my friend Degari!
Sleepy. So very sleepy. Oh, eyes are getting heavy! You idiot, you can't fall asleep the first time you're on watch duty.
Alistair stood up abruptly and stretched. A mistake, because it turned that stretching his sore muscles wasn't a pleasant feeling.
Well, I doubt I'll sleep now even if I want to.
He glanced around the camp, everyone else was sound asleep. Sten and Morrigan were both sleeping a distance from the rest of the camp for now while Leliana was snugly dreaming under a blanket only a few feet away. Despite the warm evening Degari was closed off in their tent, something that brought protests from the rest of the group as surely they would be too warm? Degari had grunted something about "Too much damn sky" and "Stupid cold surface" and closed their tent. Their faithful hound Monster was snoozing nearby, snoring softly.
The soft, sleepy sounds of the camp were suddenly interrupted by a yell from Degari's tent. Alistair started in shock and rushed over, opening the tent not knowing what to expect. He found Degari thrashing madly in their sleep, whimpering in fear. He hesitated, if he shook them awake there was a good chance he'd take a blow to the face. He cleared his throat.
"Bad dreams?"
Degari's eyes snapped open.
"What was that!?" They exclaimed, brushing their sweat-slicked hair out of their face.
"That was the Archdemon. It 'talks' to the horde and we feel it as they do. That's how we know this is really a Blight."
"Right, but why was it in my head?"
"Oh, well the Joining affects your dreams. It seems to alter your connection to the Fade."
"That was a dream!?"
Alistair stopped for a moment and stared at them. Degari was looking up at him wide-eyed, fear written across their face.
"Do, erm, do Dwarves not dream?"
"Of course not! We're not connected to the Fade! When I used to go to sleep there was nothing, not roaring dragons and Blighted armies!"
"Oh, um, I'm sorry. I didn't know that Dwarves don't usually dream. If I'd known I would have told you sooner. Are you alright?" His voice was filled with concern.
"I suppose," Degari sighed. "I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually. Thank you for waking me, salroka."
"Salroka?"
Degari smiled at Alistair.
"Friend. It means friend."
"Oh, well, thank you." Alistair cleared his throat awkwardly. "When I heard you thrashing around I thought I should tell you. It was scary for me at first, too. I mean it's usually only the cheese dreams that are horrifying..."
"Cheese... dreams?"
"Far too bizarre to mention. Just don't eat cheese before bed."
"Ok then. Can I expect more dreams?"
"I suppose so. It's supposedly worse when you join during a Blight. No one really knows why."
"Delightful. Well, I'll try to get back to sleep."
"And I'll be leaving you alone. Good night."
"Good night, salroka."
Alistair smiled as he left the tent. It felt better to have someone to call a friend.
Degari nestled back under their blankets. A friend. Not bad for their second day as a cloudgazer. Just as sleep started to creep in, Rica's face came to their mind. Degari wrapped the blankets around them tighter.
It's alright to be a cloudgazer. I'm only Casteless. Only Casteless. Nothing to lose.
