Welcome to chapter two of "It Began and Ended With You"! :) Not very much in this chapter, though Lanacai finds out about Zev's leather fetish... xD I promise the next chapter will have more action (not that kind of action). Please R&R!!!

Chapter warnings: None.

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Saying that traveling with this unlikely band of allies was boring would be nothing short of a lie. A huge lie. Actually, I could safely say that they were the most amusing group of people I had ever had the pleasure of dealing with. Alistair and Morrigan, I learned, weren't fond of each other at all. I later learned that Alistair had once been a Templar, which clarified his dislike of Morrigan. From my understanding, an apostate and a Templar didn't make a good combination in most, if not all, situations. Those two were no exception to the generality.

Leliana appeared to be the mediator of the group, for her words of wisdom often caused Alistair to go silent with the inability to argue with her. Perhaps it was due to her previous dealings with the Chantry, but she always found some way to make things seem well again, as though any previous tension had never truly been there to begin with.

Then there was our seemingly fearless leader, Lanacai. Yes, he was by far the individual in our group who intrigued me the most. I found myself watching him very closely, trying to figure out for myself what it was about him that fascinated me so much. One night, a couple of days after I first joined the group, I found out the answer to my own question.

I first noticed it that night while we were sitting down to a dinner of fresh venison, which I had helped catch with Leliana. The night was particularly dark, as the numerous stars in the heavens were completely obscured by thick, ominous clouds. This darkness made the glow of the fire twice as welcome, lifting our spirits with a sort of hope that the same light would aid us in driving back the Blight, somehow. Deep down, though, we all knew that it would take much more than the inviting yet dangerous heat of flames to halt the destruction of mankind as we knew it. Each time this realization hit us, our spirits were once again dampened, and yet another unbearable bout of silence fell across the camp.

I watched Lanacai silently as he ate, trying to figure out more about him somehow without actually asking him any questions. I knew he didn't trust me fully yet, so I was quite certain any verbal efforts I made to find out more about him would be futile. So, I tried deducing who he was by examining his body language, how he interacted with the others. His demeanor seemed authoritative and somewhat aggressive, no doubt traits he had gained from being a human noble. However, behind that strength and power, I could see a subdued sadness in those blue eyes that surprised me. What, I wondered, could put such a look in the eyes of such a strong man?

Unfortunately, Lanacai seemed to feel my gaze on him and glanced over at me suspiciously. I remained calm, trying to show him that I wasn't up to anything sneaky.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" he asked me with a frown. "Thinking of ways to poison me without getting caught?" It was an effort to resist laughing at the predictable assumption, and I grinned at him.

"Of course not, Lanacai. I would not dream of betraying you in such a way. Do you think me so wicked?"

"It is difficult for me to trust someone who had previously been so eager to kill me for the sake of filling his coin purse." There was bitterness in his voice.

"Very well… Tell me how I can earn your trust, then."

"You can start by answering some questions and telling me more about yourself. That way, trust is built up for both of us: You will trust me enough not to repeat anything you say to anyone else, and I will trust you to be honest with me. Fair enough?"

I nodded. His proposal sounded fair enough to me, and what did I have to lose? I made myself comfortable before telling him to ask any question he wished to know the answer to. I expected this conversation would be a long one.

"Tell me about Antiva," he said to me after taking some time to make himself more comfortable as well. "I have never been there myself, so I do not know much about it."

"It is a beautiful place, Antiva," I answered him somewhat dreamily. "It is very hot there, but the royal palace in Antiva City is quite a sight to behold."

"You were born there, then," Lanacai concluded.

"Indeed, I was. I was born of a whore and raised by the whores in the workhouse. It was there that the Antivan Crows discovered me, and from what I hear, I fetched a pretty decent price."

"You were raised by whores? That must have been… interesting."

"It was, but I was comfortable there… more or less."

"What was your favorite thing about Antiva? The women, perhaps?"

I laughed. I had had a feeling he would mention women somewhere in our conversation. "Antivan women are beautiful, to be sure; however, my favorite thing about Antiva is the leather."

I hid my amusement at Lanacai's obvious bewilderment.

"The smell, the texture… they are like home to me. Nothing compares to the smell of Antivan leather. Once, I saw the most beautiful pair of Antivan-leather boots in a store window. I very nearly spent every coin I had on those boots, knowing that if I waited, someone would buy them before me. Alas, I was forced to walk away from that store window because I did not have nearly enough coin to purchase them."

"So, you have a leather fetish, and you kill people for a living. Great," remarked Lanacai sarcastically with an amused grin. Well, it seemed as though the ice was finally being broken, and I was feeling rather pleased with myself. Don't stop now, I thought to myself. He seems to be getting interested.

"Would you perhaps like to hear of my exploits with the Crows? I know one or two good tales," I offered leaning forward expectantly. I did not want the conversation to end so soon.

"No, that's quite alright. I'm not sure if I can stomach such stories so soon after finishing such a good meal."

"Ah, so you are squeamish." And that was where the conversation took a turn for the worse.

"I have seen more gore in the past few weeks than I ever have in my whole life. I am far from being squeamish, after all that I've seen," he murmured with a tone of bitterness in his voice. He looked away, but before his face became obscured by shadow, I saw in his eyes all of the pain and sadness of Ferelden. It was then that I thought, how much suffering has this man seen? How many lives has he seen get cut short right before his eyes? An interesting notion tugged at my heartstrings: What if he had lost family to the Darkspawn he and the others were fighting? Such an experience, I thought, is enough to bring even the strongest men to their knees, shedding tears like distraught children.

I hesitated a moment before setting a hand on his shoulder and smiling apologetically.

"Forgive me. I will not ask what you have been through, since it is none of my business. However, if you still wish it, we can continue this conversation later." Without another word, I stood up and made my way back to my tent for the night, deciding that giving Lanacai some alone time would be the best thing to do. What position was I in to pry into his affairs when he still didn't completely trust me?

End of chapter two. See ya next chapter! ^_^