He marches, rather than walks, with the dog at his side. They pass through with no difficulties, as is to be expected. We may not be scouts, but this trail is far too easy to follow. He thinks that perhaps a trap might lie ahead, but dismisses the thought outright. The canine walking beside him whines as he looked up at his Qunari companion.
"Our prey is sloppy and lazy. It lacks discipline. It is not worthy of running to chase after it," he tells the hound. He receives a bark and a tail wag in answer. "Indeed. We will come upon our goal soon enough. I doubt that we will be expected, despite our lack of effort to remain inconspicuous."
The dog stops, and he waits patiently for his fellow warrior to sniff the ground and determine the direction they will take. After but a brief moment, the dog trots off to the left. He follows at a steady walk.
These creatures are not worthy of the honor of death in battle. I will not even require Asala for this encounter. He stops to allow the dog to sniff the next leg of their trail, although he can clearly see the path upon which their prize awaits. It could not have been more clearly marked if their prey had painted an arrow to warn others where to go.
They turn and follow the trail into an alley, growing ever closer to their goal. The dog is becoming more agitated now; they must be reaching their final destination. The Sten prepares mentally for battle, should it be necessary, but holds the dog back. "We must be careful, in case of a trap," he admonishes the beast, and receives a whine in response. "We will proceed at normal speed and beware of an ambush."
They walk down the alley; it is a dead end. Their prey is clearly the creature at the dead end, as it appears to be the only other living thing in this alleyway. It turns and as it sees them its eyes widen. The creature begins quaking in fear, clutching its possessions close to its chest. Sten approaches it, his mere height and presence an impressive form of intimidation for a creature so small. He and the dog have blocked the only exit.
He has almost reached his goal and prepares to relieve his prey of that which should be considered most precious, his sword still sheathed. This is ridiculously easy. Then, he hears a voice behind him.
"What, exactly, are you two doing to that poor child?" He turns to see Kadan looking at him, an exasperated expression on her face, and her hands on her hips. "I know I told you that you had some free time, but this?"
His eyes narrow and he turns to look at the child in question. The child is still trembling in fear, crumbs on its face, the basket still open and a half-eaten cookie clutched in its hand. Then the Sten turns back to his commander and raises an eyebrow. "Is it not obvious? The child did not need any more cookies. I was planning to relieve it of its burden."
She grumbles to herself and walks to the child, kneeling before it. She whispers softly to the tiny human, coaxing it out of its fear, and presses some silvers into its palm. The child, much relieved, runs off. She then straightens to her full height, impressive in her display of power even though she stands a great deal shorter than even a female Qunari, and uses her command voice. "Enough." The dog bows his head and whines, supplicating to his mistress, and Sten nods once in acknowledgement.
Kadan maintains her stance for a moment, then relaxes, shaking her head. "Come. I went to the bakery and bought you both some treats. Next time, just ask me for some money and you can buy what you want." She shakes her head again and leads them out of the alleyway.
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A/N: Enaid Aderyn was ever so kind to put up a picture that was inspired by this story. I liked it so I thought I'd share.
http(colon)/s863(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/ab193/dragonnagan/public-share/?action=view¤t=Sten_fudd_quarry(dot)jpg
Just replace the colon and dots with the actual punctuation and you should be able to see it.
Whee! It's the first picture anyone's ever done for my writing!