Kallian knew how to bandage wounds as long as they weren't profusely bleeding and she got it done fairly quickly. Then Jowan started to pull his tunic back on. Kallian saw this out of the corner of her eye and she turned around and shook her head.
"Don't be silly, I'll get you a new shirt, hang on. Alistair stood aside as she rummaged through a knapsack nearby. "Aha!" She pulled out a white tunic and tossed it towards Jowan. He took it and put it on quickly.
"Thank you." Jowan nodded and he pulled the blanket back over himself. Kallian looked upon him kindly.
"You should get some rest, Jowan. We cannot wait too long for your body to recover."
"Will I have to fight Darkspawn?" Jowan asked.
Kallian nodded. "Have you fought before?"
"I…yes. But I prefer not to." he said softly.
"Meaning, other than blood magic, his spells are completely useless." Alistair chimed in coldly.
Jowan frowned, looking genuinely hurt. Kallian turned to face her fellow Grey Warden angrily. "Will you mind your tongue, Alistair? He's not going to cast any spells until I know I can trust him!"
Morrigan called Kallian's name from her tent. "Will you keep it down out there? I cannot sleep with you two lovebirds cawing to one another!"
Kallian rolled her eyes, but she replied, "Sorry Morrigan. I was just straightening out Mister Templar over here." Alistair was about to respond, but Jowan shot him a pleading look, and for perhaps the first time, the warden-prince and the former blood mage made eye contact, and Alistair held his tongue.
That night went by without any more ruckus, and Jowan, although he was sleeping in the closest thing to a proper bed that he had in probably months, awoke before anyone else at the Wardens' camp. His eyes darted from left to right, and then he remembered his surroundings, and gathered himself to sit up.
Just as he sat up he could hear low growling coming from Kallian's tent. It was Menace, and the hound sounded as if he sensed danger. Jowan looked on past the campfire. Zevran had fallen asleep at watch! There was another growl coming from the woods, then out of the bush charged two hurlocks! Jowan was on his feet within a few seconds, and he let out a small pained cry from the sudden movement. This was enough to get the attention of one of the hideous monsters and it drew its sword and began running towards him. Not knowing if noise would attract more, Jowan hissed Zevran's name a few times, trying not to be too loud. "Zevran! Please! Wake up!" Zevran didn't move. Menace was barking now and Jowan knew this would wake the others, but how fast could they get to their weapons?
Zevran stirred, and the initially distant Darkspawn were now feet away, and Jowan knew he had to do something.
So he did. He readied as powerful a fire spell as he could, and then he let it go. The Hurlocks stopped in their tracks, and the flames burned the short grass near their feet. One of them made a hideous, mocking noise that resembled a human laugh, and Jowan frowned.
"I'm no pushover, you'll see!" He cried, his frustration quickly turning into anger, then to the flame at the tips of his fingers. He blasted the monsters and sent them flying backwards, the flames burning their flesh and then quickly extinguishing themselves as Jowan's mana weakened.
He smiled a little, and turned to see if the others had awoken, when he saw Kallian standing nearby, awe and surprise written all over her face. Morrigan joined her, then Alistair. The former Templar was the first to speak as Leliana, Sten, and Wynne joined them at the central campfire. Zevran was now awake, and was getting cross looks from his companions, because they all knew he had the habit of drifting off on watch.
"Well, he's gone against your orders, Kallian, but I'm glad he did. Let's not make a habit of it, blood mage." Alistair said, before returning to his tent.
"Jowan…I thought you weren't good with the elements!" Wynne exclaimed. "It wasn't good aim," She continued, noting the burnt grass and brush near the dead darkspawn. "But you did get the job done."
"Grey Wardens can sense Darkspawn, no?" asked Leliana. Kallie nodded.
"There aren't any more right now, I don't know why the voices didn't wake me or Alistair up."
"I am hardly surprised. I can hear Alistair snore from my tent." Morrigan said smugly.
Jowan looked at Kallian. "Voices?"
"Long story short, Alistair and I can hear darkspawn coming….I guess just not when we're asleep. That's what night watchmen are for. And speaking of night watchmen…"
Zevran frowned. "Alright, you caught me. I don't suppose apologizing would get me off having to do extra chores for a week?"
"I think you're better off with a warning. And with the knowledge that a wounded man who hasn't seen the light of day in several weeks can do your duties better than you. You ought to be ashamed, Zevran. Don't let it happen again. Ever." Kallian scolded.
Jowan blushed at the indirect praise that he'd just received. Kallian smiled and faced the mage, looking into his stormy eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Jowan nodded. "That felt sort of good, actually." he said.
"Oh? How so?" she asked as she began to walk towards the pond. "Walk with me." she beckoned for him to follow alongside her and he obeyed.
"Just to let out some of the anguish. I've never been allowed to fight using my magic and it's just good that it can finally be of use." he explained. "While we're alone, I would like to ask you a question."
"Sure, Jowan." She knelt to wash her face.
"Why did you save me from the arl? He would have had me killed, or worse, sent back to the Templars and made tranquil."
"You don't deserve that. Every man deserves a chance to redeem himself. Remember when Leliana said that to Alistair in the dungeon? I took those words to heart, is all. Also, that Arlessa kept giving Alistair the stink-eye. So I had to do something to make her tick." Kallian said as she stood up.
The sweat and dirt was now gone from her face, and Jowan silently admired how pretty she was. She had an angular-shaped face and deep blue eyes, with long, brown, wavy hair. She pulled back her hair and tied it into a ponytail, then looked back at Jowan.
"Really? The Arlessa doesn't like him? Why? I mean, if we weren't enemies, I'm sure Alistair is a fine person."
"He is," Kallian said. "You just have to get to know him, but it's a long story. Isolde hurt you even though I believe you had no part in summoning the demon. By the way, if I suspected you had summoned the demon you would already be dead."
"Great." He took a step back, his face slightly panic-stricken.
"Like I said. I do not suspect," Kallie clarified. "Anyway, I do not stand for torture, or people disrespecting me or my friends. Not to mention, her whining for 'Teaghaaaan' to always come to her rescue was enough to put me off my food!"
Jowan chuckled at Kallian's imitation of the Orlesian noblewoman.
Kallian laughed a little and then they continued to walk back to camp. "But in all seriousness, you did some bad things, but they were only mistakes you can learn from. And besides, I wasn't about to let them kill you like a wild animal. It would be a waste of talent."
Jowan shuddered a little. "Oh, if only you knew," he said seemed to trouble the mage and Kallian stopped walking and turned to face him.
A/N: Aww Alistair's such a jerk sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I do adore him, but he's even cuter when he's jealous, right? ;) *hint hint*
