[A/N:] Welcome back to the escapades of Qunari!Femquisitor and her merry band of misfits! I might spoiler you guys a little, and you might need to have read "The Masked Empire" to understand what's going on. Tough, I think it's not entirely necessary… But it'll spice up your fun ;-)

Now, let's get going and enjoy!

The night was mostly silent, the campsite illuminated only through the fire and a few torches they put up. Cassandra sat on a fallen trunk by her tent, shining her blade and keeping an eye on the surroundings — or rather the Inquisitor in the middle of a midnight workout.

She was stripped of her heavy armor, only clad in the cotton-styled leather garment that functioned as a suit beneath the scrubbing armor itself. Nevertheless, her skin texture was rough — rougher than a human's, certainly rougher than an elf's, probably comparable to a dwarf's — and her palms calloused from the fighting.

Her stance was broad and imposing, just how Cassandra had imagined it for a qunari. Kossith, she reminded herself once more, though the distinction was still illusive to her. She ate a handful of dried berries and continued back to her work.

The kossith woman had made her point clear in Orlais and had quickly risen to be the leader of probably the most controversial of organizations known to Thedas at the moment — the Inquisition. As the Inquisitor, the woman was in charge of the fledging beginnings of a crusade to repair the giant tear in the veil that had suddenly appeared in the sky.

She had talked to seneschal Laric a few weeks ago and bidden for an appointment with Empress Celene. Due to the current civil war and because word had reached Val Royeaux that the Empress had vanished and was presumed dead, the seneschal hadn't been able to do anything for her of course. And so the woman had taken it upon herself to travel to Halamshiral — the Empress' last known location before she disappeared.

That was their current destination. Curiously enough, the kossith warrior had gathered a surprisingly famous band of certain personalities well-known not only in Val Royeaux, but also Kirkwall and Ferelden. The last two of which included the infamous storyteller, Varric Tethras, and the notorious bard and Left Hand of the Divine herself, Leliana. Leliana, who was practically her own closest ally due to their ties to Justinia, which was certainly a bonus, though the Seeker didn't really like her or her personality.

The redhead had been traveling with the group for the longest while before departing in Lydes, to follow her own agendas no doubt. Cassandra pursed her lips; she knew Justinia had her eye upon many things happening in Thedas, particularly in Orlais for now, but she didn't like leaving things in the hand of another. Though, Leliana was more than capable.

She didn't realize the violet gaze resting upon her and only snapped her head towards the Inquisitor when her long shadow stopped dancing across the ground. Her whetstone had long since stopped sharpening the blade in her hand and for a second the two women just stared at each other.
The kossith warrior hefted her blade up and rested it against the trunk where she sat beside Cassandra. Her eyes were transfixed upon the Seeker another moment before she turned towards the flames, arms on her knees. "You seem troubled, Cassandra. Is something the matter?"

That earned her a startled look, "…You used my name," but the kossith was unsurprised. "Humans use their first names to refer to each other, don't they?" Cassandra frowned, "Yes, we do."

"Then why are you so surprised?" The Seeker straightened, not particularly comfortable with being called caught off-guard by something so trivial, really. "I'm not. You just didn't address me directly before. I noticed, that's all." The Inquisitor leaned back, rolling her shoulder and exhaling at the satisfying crack it made.
"There was no need to. You knew when I needed something from you and did so right away. Why bother with pleasantries when everything is already settled?" The rhetorical tone in her low voice indicated for the Seeker to take some time to come up with a response. She realized she could nothing but agree.

"True." She turned her face away, "Still, it's a first." There was a quiet, hard exhale to her left and she suspected it was meant to be a laugh. She didn't comment on the foreign, unexpected sound. Silence settled on them once more, only the crackling of the fireplace to disturb the quiet, until—

"Cassandra."

She turned her head.

"Cassandra."

Quirked her eyebrow.

"Cassandra."

"What?" This time there appeared a small grin on the Inquisitor's features and for the first time Cassandra saw her sharp canines exposed in something else than a grim expression. "You have a good name. Maybe I should use it more often."
There was an almost friendly twinkle in her violet eyes before the woman picked up her sword and disappeared in her tent. Cassandra was left behind with a bewildered look on her face as she turned the conversation over and over again in her head.

She turned back to her sword, whetstone grinding along the blade, and she couldn't help but wonder if the Inquisitor had just flirted with her.

"Cassandra…" she mumbled.

[A/N:] …I just realized that "Qunari!Femquisitor" might not be the accurate expression. I should change it to "Kossith!Femquisitor" one of these days, now shouldn't I? :-P