"Mother, why didn't Barry come with us?" Asked Allison as we were walking through the village. I forced a smile when I looked down to her, telling her that Barry was on a journey. "Where did Barry go?" Was her next question and I told her he had gone for a long adventure.
And when she asked me if he would come back, I hesitated. "Of course he will, darling," was all I could manage to say.
"I hope he has fun," she commented after a moment of silence, "adventures are always fun! Just like last time when Barry fought the Dread Wolf!" And I halted.
"Dread Wolf?" I asked and she nodded agitatedly. "Like in the story you told us! It was a big black wolf with spikes on its back! It was so scared it ran away from Barry!"
I frowned. Did Allison really see such a wolf or was it her imagination?

After our errands were completed Eric came to us with bread in one hand and a sack of coins in the other. "This is what I got back, Mother," he said, handing the sack to me. "Bread!" Allison exclaimed. "I want to eat!"
Eric rolled his eyes and tore off a loaf to give it to her while we were walking home.
At some point I realized Allison was not walking with us anymore and I turned around to see her in front of a round cage.

"Mama?" She asked when I approached her. "Can we give the man something to eat, too?"
Her eyes were watching me expectantly for a response as she pointed towards the qunari in the cage. He watched us silently, his monotone expression not faltering as I eyed him suspiciously. He looked unhealthy and too thin for a qunari warrior.
"Did you ask if he needs it?" I asked, my eyes not leaving his.
"Do you want bread?" Allison turned her attention to him and held out the loaf in her hand, getting no reaction from him. She asked again and poked him even, but he did not answer.
As she opened her mouth again to say something, he interrupted her, "Parshaara. I do not want it."
I frowned and asked Allison to give me her loaf, before shoving it into his hands through the cage. "You need it," I said sternly and commanded him to eat, "mashev."
Surprise flashed through his face for a second, before he squinted his eyes and complied. "Na'thek. Thank you."

"What did you say to him, Mother?" Eric asked me curiously on our way home. "I told him to eat."
"Why didn't he take it from me?" Allison pouted. "Do I have to say that, too, next time I give him food?"
My eyes shifted down to her when she mentioned feeding him again, but I kept silent.
"M-ma. Mashi. Misho." Allison practiced repeatedly until we arrived. Then she forgot all about it and ran inside to play with her doll.

"Are you alright, Mother?" Eric asked by my side and I forced myself to smile again. "I am, honey," I said, kissing him on his forehead.
"But why are you crying?" He wiped away a single tear that had been rolling down my cheek. No words needed to be said as my son took me into his arms to weep on his shoulder.

The evening, however, was not so eventful.
I brought Allison to bed and spent the rest of the time with Eric.
"Mother, did you know that the qunari killed a whole family with his bare hands?" He broke the silence and I looked up from the sweater I had been knitting. "Do not believe the gossip unless you have seen it with your own eyes, Eric."
But he shook his head. "He even admitted it himself," he insisted, "he wants to be in that cage."
"Then he regrets it," I said, "such an honourable man deserves to be free again."
"And you believe that?" He asked me unbelievingly and I nodded. "Qunari admit their faults and would even go as far as to end their lives willingly."
"Can we free him?" He asked and I shook my head. "Eric, we both know that is a crime."
"Maybe Leliana can talk the Revered Mother into freeing him? Come on, Mother, maybe he can protect us. And he will get to eat your delicious meals!"
"Eric," I said with a reprimanding tone and he went silent.
"Can I talk to him more?" And I nodded.

I realized not long ago how cold I had been throughout that day. I had not been myself then, but my past self. Showing kindness, but not admitting it. And more importantly, being overly suspicious and careful and I did not know why. Maybe it had to do with the loss of our dog. Maybe that was my way of coping with it, because I had to stay strong for my children. Or maybe I was trying to put the pieces together. The wolf and the horned figure? Maybe I sensed some kind of connection and most of all, danger.
Was Leliana right perhaps?, I wondered. Was I truly turning mad?


Kost - Peace
Parshaara. - "Enough."
Mashev. - "Eat."
Na'thek. - "As you wish."