"It's getting late." Cassandra fumbled with some clasps on her left arm, securing the heavy mail. "Why did you let him leave? We won't reach the other camp before sunset if we don't move within the next hour-"
"I'm not his parent, Seeker. Nor are you." It was the first time Bull saw Varric with a somewhat annoyed expression on his face, which matched the woman's. "Besides: the Herald never specified whether we should wait for him or move ahead. I say we pack up and leave. He'll find us and if he returns to this site he's in good company. The kid is Dalish, for Andraste's sake. Let him run through the woods and hug some trees. Keeping him on a leash won't do any good."
Bull slightly disapproved of that last sentence. He had a certain feeling that the Herald wouldn't mind things that involved a leash too much...
"Varric is right. S-", Solas interrupted himself before the redhead's name could slip past his lips, "The Herald", he corrected himself, "will be able to track us down, if he is going to follow us." Bull caught the quick, almost apologetic glance from the elf.
"Yes. Listen to the mage, Seeker. It's not like he doesn't know the way or we're trying to hide our tracks", Varric added. "We need to drop off the loot anyway. It will slow us down a bit and he might use a shortcut. Chances are he'll get to the forward camp before we do."
"I'm going to strangle him some day... He could at least help us carry part of it." Bull kept quiet, smiling to himself upon noticing that Cassandra's rant held mostly motherly concern that she was trying to hide behind her mild outrage. It was a nice dynamic to become aware of.
"You can give him a proper spanking for running off again once he returns." Varric offered sarcastically and earned another glare. He seemed to be familiar with the real emotions behind Cassandra's display, too, and mocked accordingly. Bull started asking himself if the dwarf was aware of what kind of mental images his words gave to him.
"I can go looking for him if you'd like", the Qunari offered before this got out of hand and Varric brought up another thing that served to tease a kinky mind.
The two of them looked at Bull as if they had completely forgotten about the mercenary, despite his towering form that was hardly a thing to overlook.
"I don't think that'd be-"
"I would appreciate-"
Varric and Cassandra exchanged a quick glance with each other upon discovering another thing to disagree upon, making Bull chuckle in his rumbling tune.
"Alright. I'll be back in about an hour", said Bull and freed them of their choice. "If I haven't found the Boss by then you can still leave and we'll make sure he knows what's going on when he get's back. He'll be fine with us and we are heading for Haven anyways."
Varric had given him a push in the direction he had seen the elf leave in. The never ending rain had erased all tracks from the shore. Bull walked at a relaxed pace, scanning his surroundings with an trained eye. He remembered Varric saying something about the Herald "hugging trees" and changed his path, stepping into the forest.
The trees stood far apart, leaving enough space in between to prove no problem for his angled horns. He'd hate to have to walk hunched in order to avoid getting hit in the head by branches. His weapon wasn't the best choice for entering a field like this, he was aware of that, but Bull didn't expect to get attacked in this area. Too close to the camp. If there were any Venatori left after the fight from the other day they would consider carefully whether to make their presence known or keep hiding.
Despite being huge the Ben-Hassrath moved quietly. He had been trained as a spy, after all. Some things just came with the job. The foliage above him rustled and sang with the rain and wind that caught in the leaves. The ground was soaked. Wet moss swallowed the sound of his steps. A startled fox ran across his path, disappearing as quickly as he had come.
Since discovering that the dragon's heart had gone missing along with the elf, Bull had been wondering what the Herald was planning on doing with it. Bull's guesses where that the Dalish was at best offering it to some elven Gods and at worst trying some crazy blood magic ritual with the organ. Either way he was curious what he might discover.
Suddenly he caught the smell of smoke and burning wood. Bull decided to follow it, guessing he would find a certain redhead by the fire.
He wasn't disappointed.
Samil was sitting beneath a big tree that formed a natural shelter. A little fire had been built where the flames couldn't do any harm. The elf was leaning to his side so he was facing away from the approaching Qunari and poked the burning wood with his staff blade for a moment, then put the staff back on the ground by his side. The fire became brighter and Bull figured that he must have used some spell to shield the flames from the falling rain.
"It's dangerous to sit alone by a fire that will attract attention. I could have been an enemy and I've gotten way too close." The elf sat up straight as he heard Bull's warning words. On his crossed legs sat the tainted cloak. He had opened it to reveal the dragon's heart. There was blood on his slender fingers, staining white hands crimson up to their wrists.
"You're standing on wet ground and are practically soaking from the rain." Samil turned to face Bull with a smile. Shocked, the Qunari cursed and took a step back. The lower half of the elf's face was covered in red wetness. Blood was smeared across his cheeks and dripping from his lips. Not exactly the picture Bull had expected to see. "What do you think will happen, if I were to touch the ground whilst conjuring a lightning spell? Should we try it out and see?", the elf asked with an almost painfully innocent tone of voice and let an arch of electrical energy jump from one tip of his fingers on his right hand to the other and back again.
"I think I can estimate the outcome- I'm afraid I'll have to decline the offer." Eating it. The Herald was eating the dragon's heart. Bull wasn't sure where to place that on a scale between offering it to elven Gods and blood magic rituals. Was this good or bad?
Samil turned his attention back to the heart and took hold of the raw flesh with both his hands, digging his fingers in and tearing off a piece as if it was cooked chicken, stuffing it in his mouth. Dark blood petered out of the torn lump of muscle tissue in his lap. Bull watched in fascination as the piece disappeared between the elf's lips.
"Do you want some?", Samil asked between chewing and swallowing and made an offering sign towards the lump of flesh as Bull sat down beside him.
