Alistair noticed how distant Az was acting the following day, she barely ate breakfast, lunch, or dinner, after she ate she snuck off to wherever. He was fine with it, he knew was she was in for but he was lucky that he was never told, she has known since she was young, that most have plagued her dreams for years.

It was night time when he saw her again, it was at midnight, the moon was at it's highest. She was standing beside Duncan, her hands fiddling with each of her fingers, sometimes she would run her fingers through her mussed up hair "Ah Alistair, glad you could make it" Duncan gave him a kind smile

"You knew I would come?"

"Yes, to support Azcadelia of course" the woman in question gave him a nervous smile "It is time" the two younger wardens followed the commander through a long winding hall, it was cold and grey and Alistair wondered why her joining was not being hosted where he had his.

They stopped at a door with a thick, steel door, something that looked like an ogre would have trouble breaking, there was a steel barred windows, it reminded him of a prison cell, Duncan motioned them to enter, inside was a table and a rug on the floor, one the table was the chalice that Az would be drinking from "Are you ok?" Alistair asked the nervous woman

"As well as I can be…I hope you're ready"

"Ready? For what?"

"You'll see" she stepped up to her father and gave him a nervous smile "I'm ready"

"You know that this room is sealed by magic, once I leave the room the room will seal, someone can enter the room but no one can leave" she nodded, ignoring the questioning gaze that was focused on her back, Duncan grabbed the chalice and pressed it gently into his daughters shaking palms "From this moment forth, you will be a Grey Warden…be strong my child" she nodded and took a deep gulp, determined to see this through, she glanced at Alistair and turned back "Come with me Alistair, quickly" the two men walked out of the room and shut the door, a blue glow lit up over the door, sealing Az inside "This is something you must know my boy…Azcadelia is an extraordinary person, she possesses a curse that she has carried since she was born" they watched as the ravenette began to shake uncontrollably

"Yes she told me about a condition in her blood…" Alistair watched as thick white fur began sprouting out of Az's skin, pale blue mist surrounded her body, her scream turned into a deathly howl, when the mist disappeared a large white wolf was in her place, it snarled and lunged at the walls, trying to escape something that wasn't there, the room was too small for the large beast, it was twice the size of a Beserken (A bear tainted by the darkspawn curse) "Is that…Az"

"Yes, she was born from two werewolves who connived her under the new moon, she was birthed under the full moon, she is what is known as a Lycan, the purest of her kind, blessed by Witherfang, the god and ruler of all beasts" Duncan watched his daughter turned towards the window and snarl at him, her glowing eyes where unfocused and scared "She never wanted to tell you but you would have found out eventually"

"Does it…does it hurt her, to be in that form"

"No, the change is slightly painful but it does not cause her pain, that form is as a part of her just as she is of it, I hope this does not destroy the friendship you two have, she is very fond of you" Duncan turned around and walked down the hall

"Wait, where are you going?"

"There is nothing we can do until she has calmed down, the taint will have covered her mind completely, she is merely a beast at this moment, let her work out her anger" with that he disappeared

Alistair stared at Az through the window, the pure terror in her eyes was a clear as the blue sky, she was whimpering at something that she thought she saw. Without thinking he walked over to the door and opened it, he walked in cautiously "Az?" the large wolf stopped his spinning and snapped her head to him, her glowing golden eyes staring deeply into his, she was slightly taller than him, the top of her muzzle reaching just above his head "It's me Alistair" he brought a hand forth, allowing it to be close to her nose, he had seen many people gaining the trust of a Mabari this way "See?" Az sniffed his hand, when he smelt his scent of cheese, vanilla and honeysuckle she licked his hand and whimpered "You must be seeing the same dreams I did huh?" she whimpered against and nuzzled his hand, he slid it up and stroked the fur on her muzzle "Lay down for me huh?" she seemed to understand what he was saying through her terror hazed mind, she laid down and laid her head on her large paws, Alistair knelt down and began slowly stroking her body, she continued to whimper and shake her head, as if trying to rid herself of the dreams "Try to sleep Az, it will help" he laid his back against her soft fur, still stroking it. He closed his eyes and listened to Az's strong breathing as it lulled him into a deep sleep

Alistair woke up when he felt the sun from the small gap in the window hit his eyelids, he felt a strong aura surrounding him, ever since he woke up from the joining he had felt all the others wardens in the castle but the one he felt right now was strong, incredibly strong, then he remembered where he was and who he was with, he turned around and instead of feeling fur he felt skin, he opened his eyes and looked at Azcadelia's sleeping face "Az?" all he got was silence, he looked down and noticed that she was completely naked "oh wow!" he jumped up and looked around, he saw a rug on the floor and placed it over Az's naked form "there…" he sighed and sat back down, he crossed his knees and waited for her to wake up, he could understand where she was coming from, he has kept the secret of his birthright since he found out about it when he was five, perhaps he had finally found someone to share it with

"hmmm" Az shifted and her blood shot eyes fluttered open "oh hi" she smiled when she saw Alistair sitting before her, then she remembered what happened "I'm guessing you want answers"

"yes, keep the rug around you, you're naked" she nodded and sat up with the rug wrapped tightly around her body "There is some clothing on the table" she nodded again

"Did Duncan tell you what I am"

"Yes, you're a Lycan, born from two werewolves and blessed by Witherfang"

"So, there isn't much I can tell you"

"Were you ever going to tell me, I don't mind if you never told me but I'm still curious" she let out a short breath

"Eventually…but I thought it would be better if I just let you see as I truly am last night" She shook her head "I've never told anyone, Father has always told the Wardens once they became one, my secret became tied to the Grey Wardens secret, if anyone told someone out of the order about it they would be killed as they would be if they told a Warden secret…I've never told anyone about my secret, I guess you would be the first" she smiled shyly up at him "Thank you, for not panicking or getting angry for not telling you"

"We've only been friends for a month, you had no need to even think about telling me about it" he leant over and placed his hand on her knee "But…" redness covered his cheeks "it warms my heart that you shared this with me so early in our friendship"

"I wouldn't want it any other way" he gave her a shy but sweet smile "I should probably get dressed, do you mind turning around" Alistair blushed and jumped to his feet, he turned around faster than he ever has before "Thanks"

"So how do you feel, now that the joining has been complete?"

"I can feel everyone's Aura now, along with the darkspawn that is around the area…I can feel your aura more strongly than the others, must be our strong connection to each other"

"Yes, I feel the same"

"Perhaps it is due to my wolf side, a wolf can create many strong connections to one another, I suppose the stronger the imprint the stronger I can feel the Aura's of the other wardens and vice versa" Azcadelia had finished putting on her baggy blouse and brown leather pants with black riding boots "You can turn around I'm done" Alistair did so and gave her a smile

"I like the idea of having close connections, I never had a close friendship with anyone at the Chantry, no one wanted to be friends with a troublemaker, the Revered Mother would punish anyone who was affiliated with me, she wanted to make sure I told no one about my birthright…what better way to do that then to make sure I had no friends to tell" Azcadelia frowned, she walked up to Alistair and hugged him tightly

"That is no way to treat anyone…you deserve all the friends, as many friends as you can have and them some" she tightened her hold on him "You deserve a family, and the Grey Wardens can be that family…I can be your family"

"You already are" he hugged her back just as tightly "Thank you for being a friend…you don't know how much that means to me, I hope I can return such kindness"

"You don't need to, just being here with me is enough" she gently pushed him away and gave him a gigantic smile "Lets head to the hall to eat, everyone was right about that increase in appetite .FAMISHED!" Alistair chuckled and allowed her to drag him off to breakfast