Author's Note: So this is a bit shorter but I like this one a lot. Also there is a lyric hidden in here from Worth Dying For by Rise Against. Also, when you see this symbol ⤗⤗⤗ I suggest listening to Swing Life Away by Rise Against as it's what I listened to while writing that part.


The crestfallen face of her sister was heartbreaking to her but she had to go, her priorities were in order. She left the Circle to head for the Dalish, who would hopefully aid them in the battle. They were passing through a forest, when the ambush struck. Elissa pushed one into the waterfall and yelled, ready for a fight. They seemed to be gunning for Leliana but Elissa made sure nothing even came close to her. The mercenaries surrounded them, though were quickly dispatched as they weren't fit to handle a group like theirs. "Wait, don't kill this one," said Leliana.

"Hmm, why not?"

"Who sent you?" She asked the wounded man.

"I-I don't know! Ah! I was told to kill the red headed one. There is a house in Denerim, I- I can mark it down on your map just please don't kill me!" He said quickly. Elissa narrowed her eyes and handed him her map. "Now get out of here before I change my mind. He scrambled to escape her glare. When he was out of the area Leliana turned to her. "It's Marjolaine, I'm sure of it," she said sounding as if she were a hundred years old, which she probably was. "We will get her before she gets you then. I promise, I won't let her have you," Elissa said with a possessive tinge in her voice. She walked with a bit more of a temper than she should have. "We are going to Denerim. I will not let anyone threaten one of my friends and not suffer for it."

They returned to Denerim, leaving the merriment they had the first time coming here, at the camp. Elissa prepared extra, knowing of the vampires they were about to fight. She had her silver dagger and silver dust along with silver bracelets. Leliana was a far distance from her. She knew it was stupid and that Leliana could get hurt, but inside, she had a little paper cut on her heart. They stormed their way to the door of the little house. She looked at her mates, a silent question in her eyes. They nodded for her to go ahead.

They quickly killed the guards and pushed through the door, leading to a small chamber. The chamber had two other rooms opposite of each other. She made eye contact with the head vampire, Marjolaine, and froze.

"NO! Elissa help me, please! Ahhh!"

"HAYDEN! LEAVE HIM ALONE! Gah!" She thrashed against the ropes holding her down.

His screams piercing the air. "Next is you, sweetheart," the falsely lulling voice said. "I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!" She screamed, struggling. "ELISSA!" he screamed. Tears were streaming down her face. "NOOOO!" They bit out his jugular and carotid in one jaw swipe. "HAYDEN, NO. PLEASE PLEASE don't be dead!" her voice choking at the last bit.

"Now for you,"

Elissa could say no more, making unintelligible sounds, spitting, and thrashing. "Elissa! Hayden! I'm here!" Byron Cousland yelled. Her mother was shooting arrows tipped in silver. Her sister was casting fireballs. And her dad was slashing through the pale ones. He had just cut her from the ropes. "Where is Hayden?" She looked up at him, seeing nothing but the tears in her eyes. He hurried down one of the cave paths. Her sister healed her gashes from the torture. Her mother was making sure they were all dead. "Byron, one of them escaped." The moment her mother said that she heard a laugh, it would've been seductive at any other moment. Following that was her father's cries. The rest was a blur. Her family rushing into the tunnel. The screams of grief.

She heard the laugh again. The sound made her blood boil. "Leliana, a hunter as a friend? And a Cousland at that," said Marjolaine. Elissa's muscles were coiled, her teeth gnashed, her fingers twitching. Leliana noticed, touching her arm. Elissa's head snapped to Leliana's face. "You sent assassins after me!"

"I wanted to get your attention," Marjolaine said as if it were obvious. The fury gripping the Warden was suffocating her and was demanding every ounce of concentration not to charge the women and make her die slowly and painfully. "You are impossible!" She glanced at Elissa and her white knuckles, "You will continue to follow me if I don't stop you. You are paranoid and uncaring."

"Oh, but I knew you would get out of that prison, I taught you well," her cocky smile was the last straw for the Cousland. She charged the woman, attempting to stab her in the side with the dagger. Marjolaine dodged and counter-attacked, fangs extended. Elissa parried, pushing the other woman into a wooden table. It smashed but the vampire quickly flipped up. The others dispatched the other vampires and watched in awe of the two, and how they danced at a speed unknown to man. Elissa punched her and they exchanged blow after blow. Elissa grabbed her arm when she tried to punch and slammed her down over her shoulder. Marjolaine swept her leg, bringing the hunter down with her. Marjolaine slashed Elissa's cheek and had her pinned, trying to get her fangs into the hunter's neck. Elissa slinked her hand into her pocket, holding a packet. She held it to her mouth, blowing the silver particles into the vampire's eyes, making her scream out in pain. Elissa used this advantage to flip them and hold the dagger to the ice-skinned nightmare's throat. "Your brother bled like a stuck pig and oh, how he screamed your name but you never showed up. I believe he felt betrayed," she said with a smirk. Elissa gave a scream and sliced in with all her force, cutting her head off. Blood spurted over her face, making her look of something out of a nightmare. Her hair half out of her bun, her cheek bleeding, Marjolaine's blood spattered across her face and body and a decapitated head at her feet. "Elissa. Your blood is mixing with hers and while it won't make you a vampire, it will slowly shut down your body. Let me help you," Leliana said in a concerned tone. Elissa came forward wordlessly, not questioning when Leliana took her head between her hands and brought it down to hers. They were face to face when Leliana leaned forward. She stuck her tongue in the gash, taking out Marjolaine's blood and mixing a spit that will help with healing into it. When Leliana moved away, the group was looking at them. "Can we go now? I want to be alone," said the blank face of the warden.

They arrived at the camp in complete silence, an odd occurrence for them but nobody said anything about it, or of anything else. Elissa immediately went to her tent. She came out with regular clothes and a towel and headed for the lake, not bothering to look at anyone. The lake was surrounded with high grass and trees so no one would see the streaks made by her tears in the caked blood. She rubbed the gore off her arms and chest and back. After around 10 minutes, she heard a rustling. She dunked her head in the water and wiped the essence of life off her face, covering the tears.

We've been battered so hard that we don't feel anymore.

Leliana came through the brush and sat on the bank of the dark water, the reflection of the moon's light playing on her face. Elissa submerged herself to make sure her bits weren't available to be seen. "I didn't know you had a tattoo on your back," said Leliana softly. "I was a rebellious teenager at one point who had a lot of money," she replied blankly. She turned so that her back was facing Leliana and stood up, showing the winding serpents. The green one blowing fire and the red slashing its claws at the other, both winded together. It covered her entire back. She backed up so Leliana could see it better. Soon, she was at the bank of the lake with the vampire. Soft fingers traced the etched designs swirling around the muscled expanse of skin. It made Elissa shudder and push further into the hands which had began to massage tense strength. Her head lolled forward allowing the icy hands more access. Words would have been clunky and destructive at a delicate moment such as this. When she felt the hands move off of her she looked at Leliana and saw fangs. "Our fangs also come out for other things," she said simply. Elissa turned to face her, not minding her exposed flesh. She snaked her hands to the red hair and gripped her neck gently, caressing her cheek with her thumb. Elissa's brows furrowed and her eyes met the other woman's. Blue speaking to hazel. She pulled on her neck, making their faces an inch apart, their breath mingling. Leliana surged forward, pressing their lips into a molten kiss, lips dancing. Elissa's tongue begged permission at the lower lip of Leliana. She granted entrance with a groan. Tongues played with each other. Elissa ran her tongue over the incisors, feeling the sharp tips. When the need of air broke them apart, Elissa bit the other woman's lower lip, dragging her teeth over it. They panted from kiss-reddened lips. The moment their lust blown eyes came into contact, they pushed their lips together again, as if they way they could live was with the other woman's lips on theirs. Lips sucked and tongues explored. Their moans and breaths filled the air. Elissa found the vampire even more alluring in the moonlight. She forgot she was naked. They continued kissing with swollen lips where ice met lava. They were the absolutely the opposite of each other yet they seemed to complete one another. The hunter and the vampire. What was the world coming to? "We.. mmm… we have to stop… oh!... or this will get… right there… out of hand," Leliana said with Elissa at her neck, nipping and sucking her pulse-point and apologizing with her tongue after. "Mmm hmm"

"Elissa, now is… ah!... not the time," Leliana tried. Elissa kissed up her neck and along her jawline, moving to her ear. She sucked on the lobe, nipping as she detached from it, moving to whisper into her ear. "And when would the time be right?" She traced her tongue along the shell of her ear. "Not now. Gah! We should wait. We've both faced a lot today and uh and I don't want to take advantage of your state," she rasped. Elissa moved back and looked into her eyes. "You feel strongly about this?" she asked. Leliana nodded but held on the the naked woman. "This is not a never just a not now," Leliana said. Elissa tensed and blushed. "I- I am naked. Oh Maker." She dunked into the water again. Leliana giggled and returned to the campsite. Well, that was interesting.