Maxwell rides again, and I get to my initial seed for the story: His reactions to Morrigan. A Quick Reminder - Crybaby: Alistair, Mistress: F!Cousland, Baldy: Jory.
We're still by the swamp, waiting… Old Woman says the other Woman will let us know when Mistress wakes up… I don't much trust her, though. I bet she killed that griffon! That's why I couldn't find it again…
Crybaby doesn't seem to hear Old Woman – he's too busy, staring out across the water and mumbling to himself… the same stupid thing again. If you want a swim so badly, jump in there! Just stop blubbering about dunking, already.
Wait – I think I hear… The door opens up and Mistress walks out! I walk over, but don't jump up… she still looks a little weak, so I might knock her over. Old Woman thankfully cuts off Crybaby before he carries on for too long. Oh great, they're talking politics! Boring! Wait; who the hell is Teyrn Loghain? … There's more than one Teyrn? Draste, these people are confusing with all their made-up words. King means Alpha, Teyrn means Beta… but they can have multiples. Gah! Mistress manages to get a word in, and says we should ask Bryland for help. Good – he'd definitely help us… and I think South Reach isn't far from here.
"I think Eamon is still a safer bet; he wasn't at Ostagar, and still has his army!" Oh shut up, Crybaby. Neither was Bryland – I think we can trust Family more than some Eamon. Hell, Furgus managed to reach the War-Camp in time… and this Eamon guy still needed another week?
"Duncan detoured to Redcliffe, and visited Eamon briefly. While waiting, I looked around the town. He had barely even begun mustering his troops… if that is Eamon's idea of urgency, we're definitely better off going to my uncle." Ha! You tell him, Mistress!
"But…" Crybaby is trying to make an argument, when Old Woman cuts him off.
"Elves, Mages, this Arl… Bryland; I may be old, but this sounds like an army to me."
They go back to yammering, before Other Woman walks out. "The stew is bubbling, Mother. Shall we have two guests for the evening, or none?"
Hey, I'm hungry too!
"The Wardens will be leaving shortly, girl." So… no supper? "And you will be joining them."
Other Woman doesn't look happy with that at all… I guess she knows you have to drink that foul stuff to join the Wardens. If Old Woman's staying and she's coming, I'll just call her Woman instead.
Looking back at the Humans as they slowly follow the road, I sigh. Mistress is even worse, after hearing that Baldy and the others died. Crybaby won't even talk… and Woman clearly doesn't want to be here. Why she doesn't just leave, I don't know.
Sniffing the air, a foul scent catches my attention. I stop and growl, so the Humans will notice. Another Mabari comes running down the path, chased by Darkspawn. Again? Don't these things have anything better to do than follow us around? I stare down the one in fancy armour. Did it just do the throat-cut gesture?
Crybaby shouts in alarm for some reason… and then the biggest damn spider ever jumps past us and starts tearing into the Darkspawn archers while Mistress is fighting the ones in front. I don't know why giant animals keep showing up to help us, but I'm willing to go with it. The last Darkspawn turns and runs… and the spider becomes all shiny and glowing. Next thing I know, the spider changes into Woman and she makes a trail of fire appear from thin air, before it flies after the Darkspawn and burns it…
…
…
…
That was the greatest thing EVER! Is THAT what Magic is?!
I look back to see if the others are amazed as I am… Mistress looks dumbstruck, like her little Human mind needs time to comprehend just how awesome that was. Crybaby… looks upset, for some reason. Huh… he's probably just jealous that he can't do that. I then notice the new Mabari looking up at Mistress. "I think this is the dog I helped at Ostagar…" she says, studying him.
Crybaby looks over, "Maybe he was out there, looking for you."
Oh, I don't think so! That's my Mistress!
I pace over, and get his attention. "I know what you're up to, and you can just piss off!"
"Excuse me?" he growls back.
"Mistress already has me, and Woman, to help her… and we have the moron over there to carry the heavy things. I'm her Mabari, she doesn't need another one!"
We size each other up for a moment, before he steps back.
"Smart move" I snarl, before relaxing. "… You should go find the Old Woman, back down that way, a few hours… maybe she'll let you stay."
"I don't know… is she a warrior? My last Master was an Ash Warrior, so I like people who can fight."
"Not a warrior… but she's tough enough to live out in the swamps. And she can probably change shape, like Woman just did… hey, maybe she was that Griffon!"
His ears perk up. "A Griffon?! Griffons are awesome!"
Boy has taste… "I know, right?! … Look, if you don't find her… maybe you can tag along with us. Just mind who you go imprinting on."
"I'll go check on the Griffon first… what do they actually look like?"
"It was all red and scaly, with big horns! You'll know it when you see it!" He bolts off down the way we came… good luck, buddy. He's happy, and I get Mistress to myself. And Woman! Seriously, that stuff she did was amazing! Wait… calling her just Woman's a bit insulting. I need to pay proper respect.
"If we're quite finished here" she says, sounding bored, "can you gather up your hound, so we might proceed? Hopefully we can find a worthy site to camp for the night."
Mistress smacks her leg, and calls me over. "Fine… lead on."
After finally setting up their tents, Mistress and Woman… still working on that… are by the campfire. Taking an offered bowl of stew, Mistress leans back. "Thank you, Morrigan."
More again? You haven't even finished your bowl… or given me any. Wait… didn't Crybaby mutter something about 'More again' earlier? That's a weird thing, if that's what they call her … Maybe people say that to her, because they want an encore of her Magic. Makes sense, but it's a bit demanding, isn't it? Maybe if I shorten it… wait, where did she go?
Looking about, I see she's walking off to a tent away from the others. Mistress and Crybaby are still busy eating… they don't need me for that, so I head over to the far tent as well. She's sorting through a pile of herbs when I sit down. I thought it over, and I'm gonna call you Morrie! … Is that okay?
Morrie sighs, and finally looks up after a few moments. "Stop looking at me, mongrel. I have nothing you want!"
I don't want anything... I just came over to give you the good news!
"Why do you keep staring at me so, you flea-ridden beast? Can you not tell when you are not wanted?"
I don't have fleas! So… what are the herbs for? Magic?!
"I enjoy the company of creatures of the wild. Not stench-ridden, domesticated wolves."
… Are you talking about me?! I guess Mistress didn't tell you… well, I don't like to brag about it either… but I'm actually from the finest bloodlines in Thedas! All the way back to Dane's kennels, and the original Mabari before that, in the Divine Age! That's why I'm a Lord!
"And he persists! Maddening!"
I knew you'd be impressed! … Don't worry, though, your Magic is amazing too! That giant spider of yours… I bet the real spiders can't spide half as good as you can, in that form. Honestly, I've never even seen them spide… but it must be important, if people named them after their spiding. … whatever spiding is. Maybe it's how they make their webs...
Morrie must be busy, because she gets up and walks away into the woods, waving her hands. "Blast and damnation!" Did you forget some herbs? Wait up, I'll come too!
Her pace quickens when I get near… she must want me to hurry up, so I do. Annoyed about something else, she starts glowing again. Oh boy, oh boy… is she…. Morrie frowns as she looks down at me. Don't worry, I'm watching… c'mon! Do the Magic. Do the Magic! With a huff, she turns into…
A bird! I think it's a falcon! That's even better! Falcon!Morrie flies off into the sky, but I sit and wait for her to come back.
After a while, I hear a rabbit scream before there's a loud crack. Did she nail some dumb bunny?! Aw man, I missed it! Bolting through the scrub, I find the body. Definitely looks like a falcon killed it, but she's already gone. If she didn't want to eat it, this must be a trophy… I better take this back to camp, for her. Grabbing it in my mouth, I carry it back to her tent. Shit… I must have been a bit too excited. I made a mess out of it, with my teeth. Still, it's her trophy, so I place it inside her tent. Looking at the moon, I decide I should get some sleep, so I go over to Mistress' tent and curl up inside. She has the last watch, so I make sure not to wake her.
I wake up, when the tent opens… it's just Morrie, telling Mistress she can go on watch now. Deciding to help her, we both go out and sit around the dying fire. There's an annoyed shout, and we look up to see Morrie marching back over to us.
Dropping something on the ground, she locks eyes with Mistress. "Look at what your fool dog placed in my pack!"
You found it! Awesome! Satisfied, I look up happily.
"A putrid, half-eaten hare is not something a woman wants to find in her unmentionables."
Rubbing the back of her head, Mistress smiles awkwardly. "I'm sure he meant well…"
Morrie huffs, and kicks the hare towards me. "The dirty mongrel can have it back! And tell him not to do it again."
"You heard her, boy…"
But… that's your trophy!
"I don't want it, you worthless furbag!"
Oh no, she's not happy at all! I'm sorry I ruined it!
"Calm down, Max…" Mistress says, patting my head.
Annoyed, Morrie looks back and forward. "Oh, he's just trying to be manipulative! I can tell… I do it, too." She paces away, while Mistress groans to herself.
"Seriously, Max… don't it again. This is all bad enough, without you setting her off" she says, staring at the sky. Don't worry, Mistress, I still like you best. Even if you can't spide. I look back, to notice Crybaby is out of his tent. I guess all the noise woke him up, and…
He's stealing Morrie's trophy! Snarling, I pounce at it as he jumps back. "Ow! Why you little…"
Mistress hears, and turns around.
"What are you doing to my dog?" she sighs.
"Me? I should say it's the other way around!" Bullshit, you started it! "Your furry friend here took offence to me getting near his food. He snapped at me! Look…" he whines, holding up his hand.
Mistress rolls her eyes, noticing he still has his damned gauntlets on. As if I could bite you through those, even if that wasn't a warning lunge! Idiot! "Don't be silly" she smirks, tapping his armoured fingers. "He was just teaching you a lesson." To back up her point, I give a quick growl. If you want a trophy, do your own hunting! At the very least, actually pull your own weight around here!
"Sometimes I forget that he's a wardog… that'll teach me."
Yes, yes it will… and I've known you barely a week! How did you forget already… it's not like I'm puppy-sized!
Kneeling down, he looks at me carefully. Now what does he want?
"I once heard a really old legend, about the Hound Warriors." … He wants to tell me a story? Now?! Whatever… "In the days of the old tribes, they would feed their Mabari the flesh of their vanquished enemies."
What… you mean people?
"Well, so I heard. Sometimes, it would be human flesh."
Ugggh! Gagging, I back away from him.
"Oh, like you can tell the difference! For all you know, maybe you've already been fed… someone."
Why… why would you even say that?! A reassuring hand comes down to stroke my back… "Oh, ignore him, Max" Mistress says, sounding annoyed. "He's just full of rubbish!"
"Hey!" Crybaby hisses, standing up. She's right, you know… that wasn't a very good story at all!
"Anyway" Mistress begins, walking with him. "About your Redcliffe idea… let's at least see what's happening in Lothering before we decide anything." They chatter some more… I should really hide the trophy, before he tries to steal it again. Considering how he's searched all the Darkspawn we kill, the weirdo will probably want to take the rabbit bones with him for a necklace!
I'm digging a decent-sized hole when Mistress returns. Sitting down, she watches for a moment. "Trying to find a way through the earth, are we?"
… If you like? Confused by the joke, I laugh anyway before going back to digging.
"Okay, boy… you have fun."
Thanks to Pervinca T for the review, and everyone reading my goofiness. And yes, even the Mabari are obsessed with Griffons in the Max AU.
