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"I think she has a concussion."

"An added bonus. I aimed to break her jaw."

It was amazing to see how little the Warden-Commander cared about what others thought of her. It could be the result of being an elf and an Arlessa or the fact that she had been Warden-Commander for over ten years but, whatever the reason, Tasha Guerrin – formely Tabris – was gifted with the amazing way to seem completely unashamed of whatever foolish – or unthoughtful – action she undertook.

"You still got her bleeding on the floor," Cullen commented. "Which you could refrain from doing again. The Inquisitor would be very cross with me if I allowed her to lose allies if I could help it."

It was slightly upsetting for those who had to clean up after her. He could only thank the fact that his Inquisitor attempted to be civil in her own home, at least.

"I would never permanently harm her," she informed, tugging her gauntlets back on – Thank the Maker those hadn't been on or there would be many more bloodstains to clean. "If I manage to keep myself from hurting my brother in law, I'm very sure I can keep myself away from the Enchanter."

That was the Royal Chancellor she was talking about! "Commander!"

The warden smiled knowingly, eyes lost in something he couldn't imagine – thankfully enough – and patted his arm as if his candidness was something she found infinitely amusing. "If you think that sentence is bad, you should come to our family dinners. Teagan no longer interferes. It's quite the amusement among the staff."

Cullen had had the dubious pleasure of meeting the former Arls of Redcliffe and the memory still rang shrilly in his ears thanks to a very badly timed comment in the Arlessa's vicinity. So perhaps he would not take that invitation.

Instead of saying so – because of the two, he knew some civility – Cullen guided her into the courtyard. The sun was already lowering, the strong chill of the mountain making itself feel without the touch of the spring's warmth. He had suggested her to stay the night – as he knew his Inquisitor would undoubtedly do – but the elf seemed ready to have Skyhold firmly at her back.

Staring at the faint lines marring her expression, worry lines which even the light banter couldn't erase, the man knew she would fly as fast as her horse would take her.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay, Warden?" Cullen attempted once more. "The road is long and dangerous."

Tasha smiled again and he felt an idiot. Because warning a grey warden of the dark and dangerous places in the world was not useless at all.

"I appreciate the thought, Commander," the woman interrupted before he could retract his very dumb comment. "I truly do. Your hospitality has been perfect. I didn't expect so with the latest…" Her hesitation was so thick it could almost be touched. "Misgivings." And the understatement so obvious the village's fool would understand. "We will be fine on the road. Won't we, Vellana?"

A grey-haired woman waited for her by the front door. An elf, a mage, an expression so severe it seemed ready to crack if she dared to smile. Her patience was likely at an end as her eyes met, not her Commander's, but his.

"You're late again," she stated quite clearly, obviously unhappy.

Cullen didn't know why she was glaring at him though! He was innocent! In the Warden's truest fashion, she had been sidetracked by several people on the way – and possibly several animals and requests for aid. Tasha wouldn't change and she would never stop being her superior so it was merely something the woman had to learn to deal with or risk going insane.

And then he noticed, to side and sitting on a half broken wall, the true source of annoyance, a source that he had, at several moments in his life wished to avoid and that caused the smarter part of him to imagine how lovely it would be to just run inside before she noticed him.

Sera had found her way to the newcomers.

Because of course she had. The breach would rip itself again if she hadn't managed to find the right person to annoy.

Maker, neither woman looked pleased about it. The thief was already frowning and the mage held her staff suspiciously tight, her eyes searching for her Commander as if requesting permission to attack yet another member of the Inquisition. Cullen vaguely wondered if they had come to blows already.

"Is there a problem?"

Something in Velanna immediately calmed, replying instinctively to her superior's voice. In much the same manner, Cullen straightened simply because there was something in Tasha's stance that reminded him of the days standing in front of his own mentor, in front of Greagoir or even Meredith in her golden years. Tasha was proud and strong, standing tall and making no concessions to the feelings about the Warden Order in those days.

She was the Hero of Ferelden, the killer of Urthemiel and the pride of a task well done wouldn't fade in her lifetime.

Cullen still admired her too, like the boy he had once been. If he thought about it, she had been a girl then too. How fast had they been forced to grow.

"Not really. I just don't like mages much."

Dearest Andraste, couldn't someone sew Sera's mouth shut?

A little tick of the Commander's eyebrow. It whispered its existence and faded into nothing. The Warden was not pleased. Considering what she had done merely half an hour before perhaps it was time to call the healer.

Again.

Maker above, he hoped someone else got to explain this to the Inquisitor.

"It's your prerogative, of course," Tasha declared simply. "But I would prefer you didn't upset my mage. I'd rather she didn't blow up anyone today."

The grey haired mage's expression didn't change, impassive and harsh like sharp ice. "You cannot expect me to be so crass, Commander."

"Fine, fine." A hand waved her off absently. "To smother her to death with one of your trees. You do realize that means she would be hurt all the same and the Inquisitor would not be pleased."

Her double standards were just incredible.

"Would she even care considering Clarel recently attempted to level a country?"

"Anything we do from now on counts, I say. So no attacking anyone and no insulting unless you can get away with it." You know, like her Commander.

Cullen could almost see the argument being cut in the bud. The mage had given her attention to her companion, the grip on her staff relaxing by a fraction due to the warden's friendly, almost inviting tone. It felt comforting, like being in the presence of old friends usually could be. He breathed deeply, inwardly thanking the other woman for the many ways she had made his afternoon much easier.

The issue, of course, was how to be set apart of anything wasn't Sera's way and she had to keep talking and why couldn't he convince the Inquisitor to lock her away in a dungeon, possibly with a large claw-imbued creature?

"I don't like wardens either," she made sure to continue. "Or, you know, elfy people. And you're both like, the whole thing in a package. Can you all just go away? We have enough stuff to deal with and you guys attract trouble like bees. It's like you enjoy seeing people going up in flames. Do they teach that when you arrive or something?"

The Courtyard fell silent. Velanna's impassive countenance broke and the air itself seemed to become heavy with the Commander's presence. Cullen, himself, had a sudden urge to walk outside and well away from this confrontation. There was just something in the way Tasha stilled, almost cautiously so, head tilted to one side and her entire attention focused on a single target. It felt like the very second before a demon reached for his flesh.

If she had looked at him that way, Cullen would have scrambled for his weapons.

"Commander…"

Tasha raised a hand. It was more than enough to keep him quiet and waiting.

"Velanna, who is this one?"

"The one from Denerim, Commander."

Cullen saw the glint of recognition whispering through her expression.

"What's it to you?"

Run, you idiot. Run like the wind.

"You're Narta's daughter," Tasha declared, apparently not paying any mind to the words spewed out of her lips. "The human adopted. Red Jenny."

Just how far went the Warden's information network? Or was that just the elf talking, the one born and raised in Denerim, knowing every nook and cranny from the old city like the palm of her hands?

"Red Jenny," Tasha repeated slowly, staring at her up and down, apparently cataloging every detail in her mind. "Oh, I know you. I know who you are, Red Jenny. I know where you hide in Denerim, I even helped you once upon a time. No explanations, no questions. It was another time. I had too much to finish to even think about the consequences of what I was doing. Do you suppose your games are worth anything in the long run? You play, you mock and jump in and out, uncaring of whatever's left behind."

She paused, moving until she was right in front of the rogue, eye to eye. Cullen would give anything to not be in her place.

"You can say whatever you want of me, girl. Chances are you're probably right. But Velanna?" Gauntleted fingers touched the girl's chin, raising it slightly. "She bled for you. She almost died more than once for you as did all of my wardens. You can dislike her and I dare say a lot of my people will agree, but I won't have you badmouth her for what she was born as."

Sera ripped her face from the Commander's hands as if her touch was poison.

"What about what she did! We saw that Clarel did! She killed her soldiers!"

"Clarel did," Tasha corrected. "A misguided woman with more power than brains. It happens more often than not and everywhere in this continent. Not Velanna."

Cullen had the impression that this warden didn't occupy exactly the same place in Tasha's existence as the chasind mage or Leliana. The Blight united those tighter than any blood. But this woman was her shadow, one of her many blades, sharp and deadly in her own right, and there was something incredibly vindicating in the way Tasha spoke. Like defending one of her own family.

He wondered how many Commanders would go that far; except her and his Herald.

"And while you're at it, look at a damn mirror, girl. The sharp ears aren't decoration. There's no nothing more annoying that someone who doesn't realize who and what it is."

"I know what I am!"

"You know you are what you wish you weren't. That's almost a prerequisite for a warden."

The elven mage cracked a smile. It was something possible classifiable as a miracle.

"If you conscript her the whole Peak is going to desert, Commander."

"And the Inquisitor might be extremely upset," Cullen interrupted finally even though staying away from this conversation was proving to be very entertaining. "Which would lead to very fast unemployment for me. Can we finish this now?"

He directed his words to Sera – who was about to open her lips to keep arguing and whose hands kept fidgeting carefully towards her daggers. Cullen didn't need a seer to know that'd end very fast and very bloody for everyone involved.

"I haven't had a meal for the last couple of hours and have received three missives from the Keep in the last hour alone asking for our return." Maker above, was that the mage helping him? Wonders never ceased. "We should really leave."

The Commander sighed and backed down. Her eyes were on Sera, disapproving and narrowed, the typical reaction of the ones who dealt with the girl. Without a comment, Tasha turned to him, offering her hand for a final salute before following her soldier out of the Keep for the long track home.

Sera stared at the women's backs long after they faded through the gate's threshold.

"She was always high-and-mighty, you know? Which is funny. She kept messing up too much to be that arrogant. I remember the Plague. Where was she then? When they killed us one by one and sold the rest?"

She turned sharply on her place, her eyes narrowed into a glare that left no doubt to the implied threat.

"Gonna go inside before Inky comes back. Tell her this happened and I'll booby-trap your whole tower."