"Curse you to the deepest reaches of the Black City!" I will stand no more of your disdain! No more, I say!" Elissa spat the words at the back of the tall fighting man she had been cursed to accompany, by blood and oath.

After crushing the throat of a darkspawn with his heel, the target of her anger turned to her and spoke, deliberately slowly as if to an extremely troublesome child. "Yes, Elissa, What's wrong this time!"

If she could have watched the scene from the eyes of her other companions she would have realized the absurdity of her trying to face down the man in front of her. More than a head taller, half again her weight and in in pure muscle to booth, standing amidst a litter of fresh darkspawn corpses he had just laid low with almost mechanical efficiency. More than once her father had told her, exasperation in his voice. 'Spending more time considering the effect of your actions would save you a lifetime of apologies.' He would however muss her hair in affection afterwards. She had always been indulged in her previous life. The one that had come to brutal end with her family's murder by a man ruthlessly climbing for power.

Elissa took a deep breath, too late to back down now. Part of her anger had been directed inwards, which only made it worse. She was painfully aware that she was the least competent member of their versatile group. Sten the Qunari was a match even to Alistair when it came to the delivery of death. Leliana was deadly with a bow, brought home most of game they shared and was cheerful to booth, and Morrigan, who knew the limits of the Witch Morrigans capabilities. As for herself. She had been raised to hold power together with her eventual spouse, run a large household, dealing with sensitive political situations. Well she probably would have done better leaving the delicate situations to the man she would have married as her brother Fergus had always suggested with a laugh.

She was not without training in the art of war. Her mother had been quite famed as an archer in her days and had insisted her daughter continue the tradition. But faced with the reality of monsters hot for her blood and death, instead of fiends trying to score points, Elissa's blood had simply frozen. The best she could hope for in the first skirmishes was drawing some of the attention off the others. But she had tried so hard, and in this last one had actually managed to dispatch a few, admittedly they had been mostly dead to begin with, but what the Maker, you had to start somewhere. That somewhere was exactly the reason why Alistair's dismissal of her efforts had set her fury blazing, like a fresh supply of air to smoldering embers. She had seen it again, the pitying glance, the slight shake of the head before turning his back on her.

"Don't you dare to speak to me in that tone again, ever!" Closing the distance between them, deliberately ignoring the bits of corpses she stepped over or into to get close enough to punch him squarely in the chest. "Do you think I am unaware of the disdain in which you hold me?" He took a step back, not from the force of her blow to be sure, more in surprise, as if a hitherto docile animal had unexpectedly turned to bite.

"You are not yourself, calm down."

There was a warning in his tone, Elissa ignored it, punching him in the chest again as if imprinting the importance of her words. "Do you think for one moment I do not know how much you wish any other warden but me was here right now?" There! She could feel his own anger kindling now. Without hesitation she struck out again. "Well here's a bit of information for you, They are not! They never will be! They are dead! Your precious Duncan is dead! Duncan was a two-faced bastard who bargained with my dying father for my life and now he is dead!" She spat the last words.

His answering fury struck her like a blow. "Enough from you! Do not speak to me of Duncan -ever!" He grabbed her wrist, squeezing the bones together. His eyes were slits, black with rage now. " I swear, if you open your mouth once more..." From the corner of her eye Elissa saw Leliana and Sten exchange glances, deliberating no doubt if they should intervene.

"You'll what? Strike me down? Kill me?" She was tired suddenly, sinking to her knees. "Be at it already and get it over with. My entire family is dead. There will be no one claiming blood vengeance for me. Truly it would almost be a relief." She was surprised at the sincerity of her words. Elissa heard the man breathing hard as if after a long run. She waited in silence, her fury spent. Finally he shifted his stance.

"I am sorry!" he started, a bit stiffly at first. "I should have handled it better. You are my responsibility and I have failed to do my duty as a Grey Warden." He paused as if considering how to continue. "I have been selfishly nurturing my own grief without thought of yours. I apologize."

She sat a while in silence, surprised by the honesty in his tone. Finally she squinted up at him, not clearly seeing his face, standing as he was in the line of the pale sun just breaking through the clouds. "Perhaps we are not so unlike then? you and I." she offered.

"Perhaps not." he conceded with a nod before returning his swords to the sheat. Turning to walk away, he added, with one of those peculiar mood swings she would recognize as his own.

"But for once, I am not the one sitting up to my thighs in darkspawn guts."