The Iron Bull was not a terribly patient man. Today however he would have to be. When he wandered on to the tail end of the cave, he found himself stuck and staring.
Surrounded by sleeping rams, caked with small spots of dried blood, bruises and dirt, but breathing, sleeping, was the boss.
His boss. His shoulders relax. She was alright.
Her injuries were not her own doing and neither was her fall. Though when she'd wake up she'd protest to both.
Whatever she was going to say-he would take the blame. He would do that, or at least try to.
That vint guy though. He would just want to scold her first, regardless of right or wrong. He was loud like a lot of mages and a lot more Tevinters but he was strangely funny and caring. He recalled boss saying once that he helped her save the future or something like that. He just took it and listened. What counted was the present and the fact that this vint actually heeded Scout Harding's forecast for the Storm Coast...
Vint was an alright guy.
Did he fucking talk though.
He thought he'd shut up once boss took her tumble but that only seemed to feed his brain with even more shit to say.
"She warned you," he reminded Bull in a huff as they jogged to find a safer path down the cliff. The 'you' was relative to more than just the boss. Bull didn't know that until the vint glared at him over his shoulder and started pointing at him and things around them. "About the combined dangers of rain, rocks, and cliffs. Made great emphasis like she knew you were three year olds and what do you do? Smile and nod, like-oh I don't know-three year olds!"
Boss had explained once that this was his mechanism of self comfort. The vint's way of showing that he worried. Bull could see it a little. If he tried hard enough to think in the pouring rain, pretend it wasn't thundering every five minutes and shit-he could take the vint's bitching and relate it to something about himself. Maybe in that way he and Krem spoke to each other. Maybe.
The vint now scoffs behind Bull in the cave. He had traded words for gestures and hand motions. Physical and irritating hand motions that involved poking him. He continues to tap the Bull's back repeatedly to move away.
Bull ignores him and smiles a little at his boss. He's somewhat proud of her.
She was no hunter but she sought and found good shelter as if she could be. By the looks of her dried coat and the wet rams fur, she arrived first. The rams had likely tumbled themselves in after. All fourteen of them. Good company considering other possible visitors.
The vint's tapping turns into an aggressive swat. Bull turns his head and whispers.
"A little lower to the left, I feel an itch coming."
"Move or I will fry you."
He moves only his head and is elbowed in the back. He actually felt that one. A little. Huh.
It was good and bad the vint came along. They needed someone who hated the Storm Coast but they could do without this babysitter attitude. Bull may have not have visited the future but he could see a certain part of it. The part where this Dorian guy would complain as often as the boss fell from high places.
So when they finally got to the right place, Bull knew the vint would need a cool down before he saw her.
"Bull," he finally sighs. His tone was evening out from stress. "Is she in there or not?"
Bull turns his full body and hushes him. Then he steps aside.
It's plenty amusing to watch the vints reaction. He swats his shoulder and sneers but sneaks forward anyhow.
The second the vint starts to lean over the rams, Bull reaches and pulls on the open collar of his robe. The vint huffs in protest through his nostrils as he checks if he tore anything. He intends to make a verbal point when his tongue dries out to the sound of several rams sniveling in their sleep.
Bull was correct in pulling him back. They were everywhere. One step further in any direction was a trampling red zone.
The vint sighs.
Dorian sighs into his hands to muffle the frustration.
Unless he had qunari legs...
Oh no.
No this was not going where this was going.
The qunari was just looking at him. Staring. Dorian turns away. He requests in a harsh whisper for a minute to think. He rubs his temple to feel his forehead quite warm.
He tries to think.
Relief was thriving inside of him upon seeing quizzy safe. Now, the puzzle of what to do next . Wait until morning to heal her and hinder his sleep or not wait at all and be carried in the arms of a qunari—and still hinder his sleep.
He doesn't have an option. The Bull had chosen for him. He lifts up Dorian in one arm.
"Well…" Dorian mumbles as he's squeezed to the brute's armor. It was the closest he had ever stood to the Bull and the record was about to be broken again as the brute crouches to sit cross legged in front of their inquisitor.
Dorian carefully lifts his legs to sit up on the qunari's knee. He feels a warm tingly knot in his stomach as he realizes there is no place to stretch except within the space of Bulls lap.
Dorian feels strangely, very oddly, self conscious. He knows the qunari is watching him lean over quizzy and unhook his dreamweaver staff. He could see his tanned hands paling as he conjures a healing spell. The gems that sparkled on his armor, his styled hair…
Any idiot spy could tell he was not a professional healer and this Bull, cocky as he may be, was far from idiocy. He was loyal to the Inquisition. As far as he could tell anyway. Quizzy. Their Inquisitor. The Inquisitor. She had chosen him-the Bull-Ironbull as her front line security so that meant something.
Still, he was uncertain about Iron Bull. His new found friendship with Quizzy could help so much. He knew the facts far longer than her. And the history and the presence of an ongoing war between his country and the brute's.
"Why don't we wait—
"I will make this quick." Dorian whispers at Bull, each word growing more sour in his mouth. "Promise not to snap my neck in my sleep and I promise not to incinerate you."
The qunari just chuckles. Alright. He let him change the subject. "You'll take not only me and boss but all this wasted meat."
Dorian doesn't give him anything more than a light "feh". He keeps to silence as he steadies the soft green light and concentrates.
He supposes Bull was just alright.
Iron Bull can't tell if the sun is setting this deep in the cave. From the way the light of the vint's spell stretches, he wagers the evening was over and night had begun.
It wasn't as if they were going anywhere anyway. There was no one back at camp waiting on them.
Bull glances at his boss under the glow.
He wonders why she only took just them. He'd ask her tomorrow about that.
When the vint is done healing every scrape at every vantage point, he places the staff beside the boss and wipes his brow with his hand. He doesn't look anywhere but his own hands as he hugs himself and turns on his side on Bulls leg.
It surprises Bull at how fast the mage falls asleep. Bull figures he was either a deep sleeper or the healing simply drained him. Then he hears him snore. It may be tone deaf under the sniffing of the rams and the occasional rumble of thunder but not this close to his ears..
"…Bull."
Or the boss's either.
Nah. She had to know they were here long before. Her elf nose had picked him up the moment he entered the cave, which is to obviously add she must have smelled the vint.
She opens her eyes and a smile spreads on Bull's lips.
Oh she was evil. She knew better to play asleep until the vint actually was. He would fret less tomorrow that way anyway. His lecture would be shorter as well. Even though the fall wasn't technically all her fault. Not entirely anyway.
Bull breahes easy. Well either way he was looking forward to the roasting.
"…Bull." she whispers again.
Her eyes are drooping. Slowly, she she follows the sound of the vint's snores until she's closer, lying near parallel to bull's legs. She curls up and sighs as quietly as she can allow herself.
Bull watches her try to blink herself to sleep. He doesn't like it but he figures she'll tucker out eventually.
She had been on guard all day after all. Just lying there, breathing and waiting, saving energy to strike at whatever entered the cave. And what did she get? An incoming flock of wool and slobber. She probably had the energy to take on a few but the rest would trample her in the fray. Knowing boss, she probably had a nice quiet laugh in her head about her luck.
Had she eaten? ..No. What she got out of the day at most was the success of cycling between one minute naps. And even if she managed to do just that—well she still looked fucking exhausted.
And she still can't sleep. Bull doesn't like that. Watching people blink that long in the near dark. They were here now. She was safe. He reaches out and runs his fingers over her forehead to tell her so. She can barely afford to look anything other than limp but there's a small smile peaking on her lips that say thanks as she peers up at Bull. He smoothes his hand over her hair and decides to keep it there at the back of her head. The warmth should help.
As he waits for boss to sleep, the vint shifts on his back and stirs a little. His snoring reduces to quiet mumblings. Some begin to make words. 'Trouble' 'Unicorn' 'Quizzy'.
Dorian uncrosses one of his arms and his hand drops on her head.
Bull watches with sinister amusement as the boss tenses. She peaks one eye at Bull in a pleading look that says 'tell me he is not awake.'
Dorian murmurs in his sleep.
"You're alright." His hand smoothes through her hair. Bull breaks into a grin at the boss and she takes the guilt with a smile. He thought she was asleep.
'I'm alright,' she mouths and Bull gets it.
"She's alright Dorian," he passes on the word and it's as if he casted a spell. The mages around him relax. They settle and breathe evenly.
Iron Bull can feel it all happening at once, boss in his hand, Dorian in his lap.
At last he can do the same.
Iron Bull closes his eye.
He can relax.