The further we run from our heart, no matter the reason, the more painful its beating becomes. She had learned this when they had parted after the battle with the arch-demon. That pain was why she had let him join her into the eluvian; it was why she had let the Tevinter's disciples take her; it was why she had come to this thaig; and it was why she now endured the worst of it... the dwarf's leering gaze as she bathed,fully dressed, in the lava heated stream that ran through the thaig - it worked.

"Morrigan," Aeden called, his tone that of a concerned parent, careful of his young adult daughter's reputation.

She smiled, "I love to hear you call my name... just not like that," she turned to face him, her pupils dilated, "it just got... warmer, and wetter in here, care to come and experience it?" she untied her dress and let it fall from her now naked breasts.

He gasped, "Morrigan... please," he whispered, and watched as Oghren nearly fell in, then vanished from the far bank to get a better look at her

"If you want me covered, cover me."

Aeden paused.

"Hurry," she teased, "he may be short but he's determined."

Aeden jumped in, to her delight, and made to lift her dress up.

She grabbed his hands, and lowered them to her hips, "Only your naked chest will cover mine," she sighed into his ear as she pulled off his shirt.

"NUG HUMPERS!" Oghren shouted from behind Aeden,then fell over drunk.

"Morrigan," Aeden sighed, his lips an inch from hers, "I..."

"Shhhh...," she sighed, and pressed his wrists down, and by so doing, slid her dress and undergarment from her hips, "I have come a long way to hear you moan and sigh my name as only you can," she untied and pulled down his breeches.

He moaned as she wrapped her anxious fingers around the full, thick shaft of his erect manhood, and smiled in spite of himself as she gasped.

She laughed, "Your pride is earned, my love... it will be the only one I will ever let inside me. You will ever be the only man I ever want... now, reinstate your right to my heart with the proper penance for breaking it... starting now would be nice."

Aeden lifted Morrigan's hips and gasped with her as she guided him inside her.

"I love the way we work together," she sighed.

He motioned to speak.

She closed his mouth with her own; locked her calves around his tight, narrow, chiseled waist; wrapped her warm, wet arms around his neck; let her fingers tickle through his hair; and coiled herself, in her entirety around the reality of him. It would be hours before she cared of the world outside of him - and of it, there was only one thing she cared for more.

Five hours later. Cormack's giddy, infectious laughter filled the thaig, followed by that of the rest - even the Legion of The Dead.

Morrigan smiled at the sound, and rose from under Aeden's cloak. She had wore Aeden out with her inexhaustible appetites, she loved his body till he sank into blissful slumber. "Rest my love, I am very satisfied by your penance. All is forgiven. Rest now. We will join you soon." She dressed, and turned her attention to tending to their son.

Cormack had spent much of the hours his parents were 'reconnecting' with exploring the thaig with Nathanial, the elf, and Bethany. Oghren had passed out drunk while trying to spy on Morrigan bathing earlier, and as a result had to change out of his inner breeches for personal reasons. He was busy looking for a suitable place to throw up.

Cormack had talked exhaustively about the adventures he and the others had before Morrigan finally kissed his forehead, and held his tiny head to her specially scented bosom, a potent salve that worked on calming the central nervous system, and held him there till he fell asleep, then laid him down on top of her body as she lay next to Aeden.

"Did we mention," the elf said softly as she caressed Cormack's back, "that the 'friend' he made in the tunnel was a giant spider?, and that it ate an ogre at his bidding? did we miss that?"

"Yeah," Nathaniel added, "Little details like that might have gotten lost in all the blood-shed, an other deep roads fun. Oh, and the 'broken toys' he 'fixed'?: The dismembered golem squadron; they'd been torn limb from limb, so he replaced them with a better rock - lava. They didn't move."

"They will," Morrigan insisted, "They're in shock."

"You might be right," Bethany agreed, "This little fella was such a laugh to watch, a real sweet boy/god you have there. His fanged friend is keeping watch over the eastern approach to the thaig. Handy"

"Your right, he is sweet, and innocent, and I am neither, but I will give my life, and all others who see to end his, or harm, or use him, to see that never changes."

"What is he?," Bethany asked, "I've never seen... "

"My son," Morrigan hissed, "and the son of you superior commander. Remember it. I won't forget you... Miss Amell."

"I'm sorry," Bethany said softly, "I didn't mean to imply anything. I know what it is to keep mage children secret."

"I have no idea who you think you are," Nathaniel said leaning in, "but this girl is no rat for the Templars, or the circle, and I believe you owe her an apology... please."

"You have none of your father in you Mr. Howe, I see why he likes you," she said smiling as she kissed her son's head, "and you are right I do, Bethany, come here please."

Bethany approached and brought her face to Morrigan's.

Morrigan smiled at her playfully, "I get my manners from a dragon, forgive me. "

"No harm done... I used the wrong approach; what discipline is he? I've heard of the 'Force' school, mages decades in the circle don't even start to learn it; is that it?, if so - you truly have my deepest respect indeed Morrigan. He's a wonderous practitioner."

Morrigan blushed, "You have my thanks... truly."True, she had trained him to control his power, but she was no more responsible for it than she was responsible for the sky being filled with oxygen. HOWEVER, it was her love that made him the man he would become; THAT would prove to be FAR more important to all of Thedas.

They all readied themselves for a decent light rest. They had no idea how truly tired they were; but what they would sleep through would astonish them. The carnage that would ensue as these veteran warriors slumbered oblivious to it, would only be surpassed by the revelation of the source - Cormack.