My thanks to all who have favored this story and have it on alerts already! Wow! Also to my loyal reviewers: Warrose, Megglesnake, PheonRen, LadyCallia, and of course to my sista Jinx1983, without her this fic would simply not exist! LOL
Bioware owns! :D
Chapter 3 - Weird
Jinx saw the blonde man fighting with a sword and shield and scoffed loudly as she started a lethal dance around the horrid creatures. He was too slow.
Figures. All he did was stare when he first saw me.
By the time Alistair had taken a swipe at one of the hurlocks, the mystery girl beside him had successfully slashed the genlock's chest open and severed the other hurlock's head, rushing to help him with the hurlock he was now fighting. He was momentarily distracted by her presence because he had never before seen anyone fight like that. He grunted as the hurlock slammed his shield into him, losing sight of her, and panicked because he thought her hurt.
His eyes frantically searched the ground for her, and suddenly he heard her yell behind the hurlock.
"Hey, ugly whatever-you-are! I'm right here behind you, slowpoke!" She sneered at the hurlock that was now preparing to swing its greatsword at Alistair, aiming accurately at his neck. Before it had a chance to turn, Jinx quickly pivoted on the spot, her movement blurred and barely discernable to Alistair as his wide-open eyes took in her speed, and severed its head.
Marcus stood behind them and clapped his hands, very impressed at what he had just witnessed. He had arrived late, true, but had seen enough.
"Well, now, a girl in shining armor saves Alistair's life! That is not something I would have ever thought possible," he grinned.
The girl rolled her eyes and bent down to clean her sword and dagger on the grass.
Alistair was still staring at her, blinking.
"Hey, I was happy to help," she said and held out a gauntleted hand to the mage. "You're a mage, aren't you?" She queried.
"Yes, I am," Marcus answered back cheerfully.
Jinx bit back a frown. The blonde guy she had just saved was still staring at her and this dark-haired mage friend of his was unnaturally cheerful. Who were these weird people?
"My name is Marcus Amell," he proceeded to introduce himself without further preamble, holding out his hand which she took cautiously.
Marcus bent low, pressing his lips on her gauntleted knuckles and she smirked. He then turned to Alistair.
"This charming young man, Alistair-close-your-mouth, beside me, is Alistair," he said.
Alistair started visibly at the mention of his name and blushed, snapping his mouth shut.
"Ah, pleased to meet you," he mumbled. Then after a few minutes he blurted out five words to her that made her grin. "That was amazingly fantastic fighting!"
He groaned inwardly after the words had left his mouth.
Really, Alistair. She'll never even want to look at you after that. Pull yourself together, man!
The girl, however, broke into a grin. Though he thought that it was more out of pity than anything else, judging by the sad look on her face.
"Hello to you both," she said.
"And who might you be?" Marcus said, grinning widely at her.
Jinx panicked for a moment. She clearly could not tell them her real name, due to the fact that Howe's men were looking for her to do her in. She arrived at the only solution she could think of at the moment.
"I'm Jinx," her brilliant eyes sparkled at them both.
Both men were now staring at her.
It was Alistair, however, who spoke first.
"Jinx? Huh. That's...original," he added lamely and gave her a quirky smile.
She didn't tell them the story behind the name, but the memory of her mother calling her that came to her mind unbidden. Ah, how she drove her mad whenever she thwarted all her mother's plans for her to marry a suitable noble. Incorrigible, is the word her father used to say when referring to her, and grief clouded her eyes very briefly before she got a grip on herself and smiled back at Alistair.
"Well, I am incredibly lucky," she gave a short laugh to accompany her words. "Didn't you see how I saved your life back there? If that isn't luck, well, then I must be...jinxed!"
Alistair burst out laughing as did Marcus.
"Come," Marcus said, "you must be hungry. We were just going to start dinner, but we needed some...er...firewood first," he glanced in Alistair's direction and sighed when he caught the dreamy expression in his eyes.
"Alistair? Alistair?"
Alistair came down with a start. "What? Er...um..yes?"
"The firewood, Alistair?"
And Jinx thought she had never seen a man blush so much like this Alistair in her entire life.
...
"You should wash up before dinner. Make sure the blood you have on you does not touch your mouth. It's poison," the dark-haired mage was talking to her- no he was bubbling at her with cheerfulness - as they made their way to the camp. "There is a stream not far away from our camp. Leliana, who is another member of our group, will be more than happy to show you where."
Jinx was getting slightly irked by his cheerfulness. But all she did was smile and nod. And at the right times too. Obviously this mage was not the brightest star in the heavens because he could not sense her boredom at all.
They reached a clearing where more people stood around, apparently waiting for the firewood to arrive. Her eyes took in their appearance and she found herself surprised at what she was looking at.
There was a red-haired girl in a long Chantry dress...er...robe and another girl that was dressed most seductively, though judging by the smoldering look she threw in their direction, seduction was not at the top of her list. If looks could kill...
Then she visibly jumped when she saw the giant walking around the camp perimeter, causing both Alistair and Marcus to stop in their tracks and look curiously at her.
"What the fuck is that?" She pointed a trembling finger at the giant, who was now staring in her direction, his eyes glinting crimson in the shadows. She bristled and her sword and dagger were immediately drawn, standing in a defensive pose as she continued to look at the creature.
This time, Alistair was the only one who laughed.
"Relax, Jinx," he said softly when he saw her set a pair of angry green eyes on him. "That's just Sten."
"It has a name?" She wondered out loud, lowering her weapons slightly.
Both Marcus and Alistair laughed now.
"He's with us. He's a Qunari soldier."
Ah! She relaxed her pose and calmly strapped her sword and dagger back to where they were originally. She had heard of Qunari before but had never actually seen one. And she had to admit that seeing him in the shadows like that had made her blood run cold.
"Oh, I wasn't afraid," she said quickly, throwing an angry glance in Alistair's direction when he chuckled at her words. He hadn't seen it, unfortunately, for he was walking looking down at the ground, a smile playing softly on his lips.
Leliana approached them and looked her up and down, smiling prettily at her.
"Ooooh, Marcus! Where did you find her?" She cried, sounding like she had found a nice pet cat or toy to play with.
Jinx fixed her brilliant green eyes on her and they narrowed slightly as she regarded her offender.
"Ah, she and I ran into some darkspawn, Leliana. Perhaps you could take her to the stream so that she can clean herself up?" Alistair asked.
"Of course I can! I'll be delighted! I also have something you could change into! Come with me. My name is Leliana, what's yours?" The young woman asked without stopping her unnatural flow of words.
"Er...Jinx," she answered feeling slightly bewildered at all this before letting herself be led away by the pretty redhead.
"We can talk on the way! Do you like shoes?" Leliana chattered on.
Passing by the dark-haired, scantily-dressed woman who was scowling, sitting on a log, she shook her head in disbelief.
These people were not only weird. They were insane.
...
Leliana had continued to chat mercilessly into her ear, and it had given her a headache. She gritted her teeth and grinned. The grin nearly killed her. Her temples were starting to throb.
She didn't know where to go, what to do or who to turn to. She only had these very weird people by her side now and it was becoming difficult to even think with the redhead's endless chatter.
She breathed a sigh of relief when they neared the clearing where there was a fire burning now, the rest of them were standing around and the blushing blonde seemed to be doing the cooking. Suddenly, even they seemed like a better option than the 'red chatterbox' beside her.
There was an empty space beside the blonde warrior and she plunged right in, hoping to shake the red chatterbox, but, alas, she quickly sat on the ground beside her, wedging herself tightly between the log where the dark-haired scowling girl was sitting and the log that was now occupied by Blondie the warrior and herself.
They handed her a bowl of stew and she realized how hungry she was until she saw the contents.
Grey goo was the name she could come up with at that moment.
She looked up from her bowl, to find that Blondie was staring at her almost in a hopeful matter and she shook her head before clearing her throat.
"All right," she began slowly trying to choose the kindest words she could think of. She could think of none. "who in the Fade made this shit? It looks positively revolting."
Nobody said anything for a few minutes, but the dark-haired seductress cackled mirthfully. And Blondie blushed furiously. She immediately confirmed her earlier assessment. Blondie had been doing the cooking.
"Oh, did you make this, Blondie?" She began in an apologetic tone. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Blondie?" Alistair repeated dumbly.
The whole camp erupted into laughter, minus the giant who just stood there observing the rest angrily.
"Sorry. I have a tendency to give people nicknames," she grinned. Then she added, "What in the Fade is this soup anyway?"
"It's my traditional lamb and pea soup," he began to explain proudly, ignoring the laughter that followed her question. "See, you take a pot, put in all the-"
"Please," she interrupted, holding up her hand, "spare me the details. I most certainly do not wish to know what you have put into this, this...thing," she added, wrinkling her nose.
This gesture seemed to have fascinated Alistair, for he just sat there staring at her nose, apparently transfixed by it.
"Yes, well..." she said glancing around at the rest of the faces. "Who are all you?"
"Oh! Where are my manners!" Marcus exclaimed as he started introducing the people to her. Well, the people and the Qunari.
"This dark-haired beauty is Morrigan. She is a witch," he began, and Morrigan sniffed and inclined her head slightly.
"Really now? Fascinating!" She said with interest.
"You know Leliana, of course, she is our ex-Chantry sister bard."
"Yes, all too well," she muttered to herself, but Alistair had heard, and he grinned.
"The giant over there is Sten."
"Hello Sten," she said pleasantly, and the giant glared back at her.
Great, just what she needed. Aside from Howe's men, there was now a Qunari who wanted her dead.
"Sten murdered a whole family of farmers," Leliana blurted out in a high-pitched voice.
She knew it then. She had to get away from these weird people before it was too late.
She stood up, setting the bowl of goo...er...stew on the ground and started backing away slowly.
"Well, it's been nice and all, but I really must get going!" She said, still moving backwards.
"Hey! You can't leave! It's pitch black out there, and there are darkspawn all over the-" Blondie stopped talking as a brownish creature suddenly ran past him and grabbed on to her armor skirt and began to tug at it growling.
"Oh, I forgot. That's my mabari hound, Prince. Now, Prince, be nice to the Lady!"
Prince did no such thing and she found herself doubting she would have something left of her armor by the time he was done with it. Mabari were really strong. She should know she had -
A lump formed in her throat as she remembered hers. She wished she had been able to search the surrounding area for it at least, but she hadn't been able to. Without warning, tears started to stream down her cheeks and she heard Alistair's voice protesting and complaining to Marcus.
"See what you've done? She's crying and it's all your fault!"
"Alistair, I've done nothing at all but be nice at her!" Marcus protested.
"It's your dog! It's scaring her! Call him, or take him off her, I don't care how you do it just-"
But whatever he was going to say after that was completely drowned out by the barks of another dog that was rapidly approaching the fire and hurled itself bodily into Prince, completely throwing him off balance. The dog stood barking at Prince in front of Jinx, and she could not believe her eyes.
"Drinx! Oh, Drinx! I can't believe it's you! Oh, thank the Maker!" She sobbed, dropping to her knees and taking the dog in her arms.
Prince sat up and surveyed the whole situation with a fixed stare in its beady eyes. Deciding that this new human would not be leaving yet, he would keep an eye on her nevertheless. Better to watch her closely to see if she made a move to try to leave again.
She held on to her dog, crying with such passion that they all started to fidget uncomfortably. Alistair broke the silence and spoke to her in the kindest voice he could muster. He obviously had been close to tears himself because his voice quivered a bit.
"Hey, it's all right." To her it wasn't for she continued to cry. He tried a different approach. "You have a mabari hound as well?"
She stopped crying when she realized the implications of his question. If she said yes, then everyone here would suspect she was a noble. Well, the mage had a mabari hound, but there was a very good reason for it probably. She then realized she knew nothing at all about these people.
"Um, yes," she lied easily. "The man I worked for as a...a soldier, he had mabari hounds and before I knew it, Drinx decided to adopt me. It's called imprinting, actually."
"Drinx?" Echoed Marcus. Morrigan was snickering again.
"Yes, we know that," Alistair replied, eyeing her suspiciously. That's when she saw something that she hadn't seen yet.
Alistair was smarter than he looked.
She cursed to herself and gave him a sweet smile and his eyes flickered down to her lips, then back to her green eyes, and he ended up blushing again.
What is it with this man and blushing? She shook her head and wiped the last of her tears, managing to give Marcus a watery smile as well.
Marcus looked relieved.
"Well, if you are a soldier, then we would be needing your services, my Lady," he said, suddenly serious.
She rolled her eyes and glared at him.
"Don't call me that! If you call me 'my lady' ever again, I will be forced to hurt you. Badly."
"Hey, now! Let's not get so defensive. I didn't mean to offend, Jinx," he said in a cheerful tone, raising both his hands in a defensive gesture.
That was more likely. His cheerfulness was something familiar to her and she relaxed.
"What services are you talking about?" She asked then, curious at what he might have to say.
"Well, we are grey wardens and-"
Her jaw fell open.
"You are all grey wardens? Were you at Ostagar?" She was really interested now. Maybe they had seen the Highever soldiers there? Or maybe they had helped more people escape? Maybe they had met Fergus?
"Yes we were. We barely made it out alive. But the only grey wardens here are myself and Alistair, the rest aren't grey wardens. We need someone to help us. You see, we don't have a sense of...um...organizing tactics and we need someone who can read maps and organize...ah...battle tactics effectively for us. We're kind of trying to gather an army," he finished lamely and realized that it must sound stupid to her. But it was true. Alistair's sense of direction was appalling and his was no better. When they fought, they just flung themselves into battle. They needed someone who could put them all together, so to speak.
Jinx burst out laughing, thinking he was joking. After a while, when nobody laughed along with her, nor cried out "Got you!" she realized that Marcus was telling the truth.
"Oh!" She said, looking at the faces staring at her intently. "You are actually serious, are you? But whatever do you need an army for? Are you going to fight against Loghain for abandoning the king at Ostagar?"
"You know about that?" Alistair perked up.
She nodded, but was looking at Marcus who was shaking his head.
"No, not exactly. We need to gather an army to fight the Blight. If we don't stop the darkspawn, they will overrun Ferelden, killing everything and everyone in their wake and then it will spread to the rest of Thedas. Will you help us?"
A Blight! There was actually a Blight going on here?
All right, she must have missed a couple of Mother Mallol's or Aldous's lessons because she was a bit confused. (To her credit they were really boring.) Not to mention that she didn't remember any of their explanations regarding a Blight, except for the one about the First Blight.
She must ask these grey wardens for details. She found herself thinking about the questions already and realized she was actually considering it. Besides she didn't have anywhere to go. And if they really were Grey Wardens...well, she would be protected from Howe's men right?
You idiot! What do you know about fighting darkspawn and ending a Blight? You aren't even a soldier, you are more of a rogue.
No, that wasn't true. She knew about fighting techniques, battle tactics and could organize things fairly well. Both her father and brother had made sure of that.
She sighed as she stared into their hopeful faces and made a rash decision.
"Fine, I'll stay and help you as much as I can!"
She was regretting it already when she heard both Blondie and the sunshine mage give a sigh of relief.
It looked like what these two idiots really needed was a leader.
...