Neve had never ridden a horse in her life, and Derik had quickly found out that she was actually quite terrified of riding once it came down to it. If it weren't for the overlapping plates around his chest, he was absolutely certain that the little wilder would have crushed the life out of him within the first five minutes. As it was, she had glued herself to his back, refusing to look up for any duration of time and kept her face solidly planted against his back despite any discomfort it caused either party.
For all of that however, they were making good time. He kept the horse at an easy lope to cover more distance in the long run and when the draft horse tired he would dismount along with Neve and lead the horse by the reigns in a forced march. He had no idea how far ahead of them the order to assassinate the Grand Cleric was, but he was determined to get there first and alert the Order before the attempt could be carried out.
Denerim was at least a day's ride away, no matter how fast the horse. He had precious little time to play with, and it was already getting dark again at the end of that first day. They'd covered a fair amount of ground, but worry still gnawed at Derik. He knew that in the next hamlet they stopped through there would be a messenger station at the local Chantry. He could try and send word ahead via messenger bird, and maybe that would be enough to avert the potential brewing disaster.
Neve was extremely uncomfortable with the thought of spending a night in the Chantry, but Derik assured her that as long as she performed no magic, no one would be the wiser to her nature. A sister brought them some soup once they'd arrived, and Derik busied himself writing a short clipped note that would fit on the small strip of paper that would accompany the messenger bird to Denerim. All that was left to do was wait until it was light enough for the bird to leave in the morning.
"Do you really think we'll make it in time?" Neve asked quietly as Derik was taking off his armor to sleep.
"I don't know." He replied and set his gauntlets on top of his breastplate. "I would like to think that we can make it. Tomorrow will be a hard push to try and make Denerim."
"I hope we make it." Neve said under her breath and sat down on one of the two cots that had been dragged out of storage and set up for them. They had been sequestered away in a small unadorned room that functioned like something of a sleeping barracks when a host of Templars came through. In an emergency, the small space could fit thirty cots at a time, but only if the neighbors were all practically stacked on top of one another. Neve and Derik were the only ones for the night, however. "I don't want things to get any worse. It's already bad enough for us outside the Circle..."
"I know." Derik replied and took the last of his armor off, setting it next to the cot that he'd been given for the night and clasped his hands together. "That's part of the reason that I do what I do. Mages have more reason to hate and fear the Maker than most, and we Templars are often the reason for that. Call it idealistic if you want, but when I became a full knight, that was something I vowed to change."
Neve stared at him for a bit, a small smile creeping onto her lips. "Maybe you are a real Templar after all."
Derik smiled back in return. "I try to give that impression. Usually, the armor does the trick."
She giggled and laid down, curling up on her cot a few feet away from Derik. In the quiet that followed the laughter visibly drained from her in the span of a few seconds, swept away by the direness of their situation. "I'm scared. Not just about the Chantry tonight, but everything else."
"Hey, I promised to help you." Derik said gently. "We'll figure it out together. One way or another."
She cast him a timid smile and adjusted herself to get more comfortable on the cot. "I wish I was as confident as you are. You make it seem like everything is always going to turn out."
For once he wasn't sure what to say. He really had no idea if they would succeed at all. Instead of trying to come up with a reply that wouldn't foster her doubts about their situation, he dragged his cot across the small space that separated them so that they were only a few inches apart. "I'll be right here if you need me."
She smiled timidly at him and seemed to relax a little at the reassurance. "G'night Templar."
"Good night, Wilder." He replied in kind and fell asleep almost the second that his head hit the cot.
The Old Gods will call to you,
From their ancient prisons they will sing.
Dragons with wicked eyes and wicked hearts,
On blacken'd wings does deceit take flight,
The first of My children, lost to night.
Silence 3:6
The next morning Derik found Neve curled up as close as she could get to him, her fingers resting on his bicep as if wanting to make sure that he wouldn't up and leave without her knowing it. When he shifted to get up she stirred, waking blurry eyed and mumbling incoherently at him. Her hand slipped off his arm and she tucked it closer to her chest, sheltering herself against the damp coolness of the room.
Derik put his armor on as he got up, methodically assembling all of the pieces and was tightening his gauntlets as he walked out the door. With note in hand, he headed for the aviary and just happened to glance out a narrow window on the way, the sight giving him pause. The sky was much darker than it should have been for it only being an hour before dawn. The sound of rain splattering on the window quickly resolved his unasked question, and a frown flitted across his face. This was definitely going to qualify as a hitch in his plans.
He gave the note to the Sister in charge of the aviary anyway and told her to send the message as soon as it stopped raining. Upon returning to the room he had shared with Neve, he found the hedge mage wide awake and ready to go. She eyed him critically when he entered the room, her large hazel eyes tracking him.
"What's wrong?" It was less of a question and more of a demand for an answer, her voice suddenly tight with the onset of mild panic.
"It's storming outside." Derik replied and gathered his own things. "The bird won't fly in this rain, and it'll be tough going on horseback if the roads have turned to mud."
Neve bit her lip in worry, glancing briefly to the door before stepping closer to Derik. "Give me the note. I'll deliver it for you."
Both his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "How?"
"I have… ways… Your bird might not fly in the rain, but I will." Neve replied in a low whisper, obviously afraid someone would hear their conversation.
His eyes went wide with surprise and he dropped his voice low as well. "Can you shapeshift?"
She nodded silently and glanced toward the door again. "I know that your Chantry doesn't approve of old magic like that, but given the circumstances…"
"You'd really be willing to deliver the note to Denerim?" He asked just to be sure he was hearing all of this correctly and Neve nodded in affirmation. "Than you Neve. I know it was a risk for you to tell me."
A timid smile graced her face briefly. "Well, I did sign on to help you save the world. Just promise you'll hold on to my clothes for me."
"Your clothes?" It had been a while since Neve had tried to flaunt her nakedness at him. He had hoped she was over that phase.
"Well, you don't think my clothes transform with me, do you?" Neve asked with a playful grin, apparently following his train of thought.
Derik sighed and rubbed his face. "I'll hold onto your clothes for you." He finally agreed with some reluctance. "When you get there, stay. I trust that the Captain will take my warning seriously, but another pair of eyes can't possibly hurt."
Neve nodded in solemn understanding. "I'll do what I can."
Assurances given, Derik drafted up a second note and the two headed out into the rain, taking shelter under the lee of the sides of the Chantry on their way to the stables. Once they were alone save their horse, Neve took a deep breath and stood apart from Derik. "Try and keep my clothes dry, please. This is going to be miserable enough without having to return to a wet dress."
"I'll do my best." He replied in turn, but doubted he would be able to do much. It was raining hard enough that he wondered how Neve was going to manage flying at all.
Without warning Neve suddenly began glowing from the inside out, tendrils of magic swirling over her body. Just as soon as the magic started, it seemed to end and all at once it consumed her in a brilliant flare of light. When it dissipated all that seemed to be left in her place was a pile of clothes.
Before Derik could start to panic, the clothes rustled and a bird with a white head and a long yellow beak poked its head out of Neve's clothes and squaked at him, flutting its wings to disentangle itself. Derik held out his arm and she landed on it with a flare of feathers, keeping her wings spread for a moment as she wobbled on the unsteady perch.
"A seagull?" He asked, looking Neve over. Sensing his note of disbelief, she bit him sharply on the thumb and glared at him, ruffling her feathers. Impatiently she stuck out a leg and waited for him to tie the note on. "Yeesh, even as a bird you're so impatient." She made a low noise in the back of her throat and hissed, flipping out her wings to clip the bottom of his chin. Derik just laughed and finished tying the note on. "Fly safely Neve. Thank you for this."
She ruffled her feathers at him again and nodded, shuffling slightly to aim herself at the opening underneath the cover of the stable's roof. With a long look at the rain beyond, she finally spread her delicate thin wings and took off into the downpour, her white feathers almost immediately disappearing into the mist.
Derik watched where she'd gone for a moment, then turned to the horse and started buckling down for the long hard ride ahead. The horse, an old mare that wanted nothing to do with the rain fought him for the first half hour after leading her into the downpour, but Derik finally managed to get her plodding along once it was clear that he had the greater willpower. The road had, as he feared, turned to mush and he spent most of his time out of the saddle leading the old mare through the puddles. They'd only been struggling along for the better part of two hours when out of the mist a white bird came flying straight for him.
Feathers sodding wet, the seabird seemed to drop out of the sky, glowing brightly from within and shifting just as it touched down right in front of Derik. Neve staggered from the hard landing, her bare feet instantly covered to the ankles in mud as she shivered uncontrollably, hair dripping in clumped wet ropes. She clasped her arms around herself, teeth chattering with the remnants of the letter holder in her teeth. She quickly spit it out in her hand, note still attached as Derik threw his mostly dry cloak over her naked body to protect her from the cold.
"Neve, why are you back so early?" Derik asked, concern coloring his tone. "And the note..."
"I found him." She stuttered through chattering teeth, her lips blue from the cold. "The assassin. He was trying to ride in the rain it looks like, and his horse slipped and fell on him. The beast has a broken leg, and the assassin is pinned underneath."
"Finally, some good news." Derik breathed with a relieved sigh that came from his very bones. "But you're going to die of the cold if we don't get you warm."
"I'll just shift again." She shivered, looking like she'd rather not despite her suggestion and gave Derik back his cloak. "I don't know if he was injured in the fall or not. There's no time."
Derik was quietly impressed with her resolve to see the job done, and the part of him that honored duty above all else was proud of her and a little humbled. She was risking quite a lot for a cause that wasn't really her own. "Let's go then." He pulled his cloak back over his shoulders, this time expecting the bright light that Neve would be engulfed in upon transforming.
"Just keep following the road. He's only a little bit away as the crow flies. Just make sure you flip up the hood on that thing." She eyed his cloak enviously and took a small step back, once again consumed by the shifting magic. Instead of resolving into a seabird, a little yellow spotted calico cat stood where Neve had been, flicking mud off its paws irritably. She made the leap up onto Derik's shoulders quickly and ducked underneath his hood when he pulled it up, her claws scratching the metal of his armor. She shook her sopping fur, getting water on the side of Derik's face and quickly wrapped herself around his neck. She still trembled from the cold, her fur wet against his bare neck, but purred gratefully to be out of the rain at last.
Carefully Derik reached up and scratched her behind one of her damp ears, wiping the rain off his face. "Thank you Neve." She purred louder briefly and stretched her front paws out, her claws hooking on the thick padding underneath his breastplate.
Knowing that they were so close to their goal, Derik pushed the horse a little harder than he normally would, having ot nearly drag the old mare through a few particularly deep puddles that she shied away from. All the while Neve lay draped across the back of his neck, still shuddering frequently from the cold though not as intensely as she had been before.
He was about to throw up his hands and let the damned mare have her way when they came across a horse lying in the middle of the road. Neve perked up, her claws digging deeper into the padding under his armor and her purring stopped abruptly. The horse appeared to be either dead or asleep for all it moved, but there was some movement in the pile on the ground where a rider would have been seated. The downed rider had nearly gotten himself free and just as Derik dropped the reigns of the mare to pull his sword free, the mage wiggled his trapped foot out from under his downed mount. Unaware that he had company, the assassin rested a moment, clutching at his newly freed leg until he heard the first step of Derik's boots through the mud as the Templar advanced on him.
Instantly the mage let loose his magic, sending a blast of fire at his attacker without thinking of the dampening effect the rain would have on his spell. He struggled to stand, the mud and his injured leg working against his efforts and he collapsed back in the mud with a small splash after the attempt.
The fire rolled off Derik, not even so much as singeing his hair as he charged forward with one sword drawn. The mage threw another spell at him, this time lightning but his aim was severely hampered by his position on the ground and the bolt passed right by Derik's shoulder. Scrambling, the mage desperately tried to get away again but Derik put a boot in his side and sent him crashing down on his back in another splash of mud. In one fluid movement Derik had the mage pinned and plunged his blade deep into the man's shoulder, shearing straight through until it bit into the soft earth below. The assassin screamed in agony, tried for another spell and got his with a Smite so powerful that the flesh around his wound visibly wept magic like trails of bloodied lyrium.
"Have you given the order?" Derik asked in a commanding tone, his hand fisted in the front of the man's robe to hold him still. "Is the order for the Grand Cleric to be assassinated out?"
Though in tremendous pain bordering on system shock, the assassin spit at Derik, the spray of his saliva hitting the Templar square in the face. There was a second of silence then Derik twisted his blade sharply and the assassin screamed out in agony. "You can make this easier on yourself. Tell me if the order to assassinate the Grand Cleric has been given already or not."
"Down with the Chantry!" The assassin hissed between pained sobs, weakly struggling to try and throw Derik off and failing miserably.
Before Derik could try anything else a sudden wash of desire suffused the cold rainy atmosphere and a gentle weight settled across his back where there had been none before. Over his shoulder he could see Neve's small hands folded over his shoulder plate. She had transformed back from a cat and was lying draped across his back, completely naked despite the rain.
"Come now, surely you can at least tell me what the plan is?" She asked in a voice dripping with temptation. In that unguarded moment, even Derik would have answered any question she asked of him. The strength of her spell flooded through his whole body until he would have sworn that he could feel her naked flesh pressed against his skin despite the layer of metal between them.
The assassin faired marginally better, the pain of his shoulder wound serving as a token against her persuasion. "But you're with the Templar." He replied in a voice that was small and haggard.
Languidly, Neve reached around and covered Derik's eyes with her hands. "Don't worry about this cute little puppy." She mumbled against his ear, sending a shiver of awareness straight through his body until he shuddered with want for her. "I hold his collar. Just tell me how the plan fares."
"I need to deliver the message." He said in a rush, almost as if not by his own will. "But this Templar needs to die. He could ruin everything with what he knows."
"He'll be taken care of." Neve replied suggestively, her lips brushing the outer shell of Derik's ear. It was only through sheer force of willpower and the effort it would take to remove his armor that he did not toss Neve to the ground and have his way with the mage right then and there. The spell was wreaking havoc with his concentration and mental fortitude to resist such effects. It was worse that he simply could not shatter her spell for fear that the assassin would withdraw again. He needed this information as quickly as possible.
"What about the others?" Neve was asking, her attentions back on the bleeding mage. "What will they do if you don't show up?"
The assassin hesitated to answer the question, obviously still retaining some presence of mind. Neve arched her back slightly, reveling more of her bare flesh over Derik's shoulder and the influencing magic intensified that much more until it was difficult to think straight. "What will they do if you don't arrive on time?" She asked again, rewording the question slightly and that seemed to do the trick.
"Nothing." He replied hastily. "They'll wait until the order comes. I was supposed to deliver it when the masters said it was time."
"Some good news." She whispered in a low undertone to Derik and pulled her hands away from his eyes. "Then the Grand Cleric is safe for now. Your role ends here. Derik? Anything else you need to know?"
He had enough clarity of mind to shake his head no, though could respond no better than that until Neve stood. Her weight left his back and the magic withdrew as well, leaving Derik with a jumbled head and his sword in a newly struggling assassin. "Ashes we were, and ashes we all become." He said in a low tone, his voice rough. "May the Maker show you mercy for your sins when you stand before Him." The assassin struggled, tearing the wound in his shoulder wider and Derik withdrew his second sword, splitting open the man's neck in a quick single motion.
Standing, Derik wiped the blood from his face and flicked his swords, the blood washing off easily in the rain. He turned on Neve then, the wilder standing naked and wet, trembling from head to toe with shivers of cold and wide eyes glued to the corpse. Derik sheathed his swords and reached out, grabbing both of her arms and pulled her forward until they were only inches apart, the warmth of her breath feathering across his cheek and her wide hazel eyes staring at him with a mix of fear and curiosity. It took a long moment for him to wrestle with the lingering desire, and she seemed to see the struggle on his face.
"Derik?" Her voice was breathy, her teeth chattering together. "Are you alright?"
Without saying a word he leaned his forehead against hers, breathing deeply and gathered his scattered concentration. "I will be." Letting her arms go, he unclasped the cloak from around his shoulders and threw it over her instead, pulling up the hood to shelter her from the rain. "Let's get you warm. You're going to die of cold at this rate." Her face flushed as she clutched the cloak to herself, shaking like a leaf.
Derik scooped her slight weight into his arms, making sure that her mud-covered feet were wrapped up as well and Neve gave little in the way of protest. She shrank into his strength, closing her eyes and all but disappeared into the voluminous material. He carried her toward the tree line, the rain washing away the lingering tendrils of the magic. The stubborn old mare, seeing that she wasn't going to be dragged down the road anymore, followed them both. When they got near the trees, Neve struggled to sit up in Derik's arms until he let her stand on her own two feet. She quickly manipulated the surrounding pines, creating a canopy that would shield them from the rain near the base of a particularly large evergreen and cast Derik a short glance over her shoulder before disappearing inside.
He hesitated a moment, unsure if he should risk following or not. Neve's power had taken him by surprise and completely disabled him before he could even think to mount a defense. It had been years since he had been so completely overwhelmed, and now he was questioning whether she was really as safe as he'd thought. The horse stood quietly in the lee of another tree with its back to the rain and Derik decided to postpone his thoughts by digging through the saddlebags. He found Neve's clothes, stashed under some of his other gear and had been left dry because of it. Quickly he tied off the horse's reigns and turned to the magically manipulated shelter of the pine boughs. Taking a deep breath, he ducked inside and prepared himself for whatever he might find inside.
Neve was sitting on the opposite side of the small clearing with her back against the base of the tree. The cloak was draped around her like a blanket, her knees drawn up to her chest and her head bowed, shoulders trembling. She glanced up when she heard him come in, her eyes slightly watery as if she were holding back tears. "I'm sorry." She croaked through chattering teeth.
Unsure what to make of the apology, Derik knelt in front of Neve and held out her clothes. "What do you mean?"
She took her things gratefully and met his gaze steadily. "For manipulating you. I didn't mean to. I didn't think you'd…"
"Didn't think I'd fail to resist your magic?" Derik asked in a neutral tone and sat down as well, beginning to methodically take off his armor. It needed to be dried before it could start rusting.
Neve nodded, biting her lip and shifted slightly so that she knelt, though the cloak still covered her completely. "That first time I tried, and you just blew me off like it was nothing. I thought that… well, that this would never work on you." She lifted her arm slightly, the edge of her scar showing from the folds of the cloak. "If I would have known…"
"Now we know." Derik replied easily, pausing in his work to look up at her. "I'll endeavor to do better. Thank you though. The information you got out of that assassin was critical knowledge. I'll still need to inform Knight-Captain Quinn, but knowing that we've put a halt to the plot to have the Grand Cleric assassinated, even if for just another day, puts my mind at ease."
Neve smiled timidly, holding the edges of the cloak tight against herself. "So I'm forgiven?"
Derik returned a small smile and slipped off his breastplate. "There was little to forgive. You did what you had to do. It was my fault that I could not avoid falling into your trap as well."
"You're too hard on yourself, Templar." Neve said and seemed to cheer up a little, as if the weight of his disapproval was a physical burden she had been relieved of. She shivered again, obviously still cold and clutched the cloak a little tighter.
He frowned slightly, his armor piled next to him and moved into a half-stand to keep from brushing his head against the pine canopy. Neve watched him silently with wide eyes as he came and sat next to her, gently pulling her small body against his. "If we could start a fire, I'd suggest it, but all the wood will be wet after this downpour. You'll catch a fever if you don't warm up."
She didn't relax right away, but eventually did get herself comfortable against his warmer side, soaking up what body heat she could. "Thanks for keeping my clothes dry… and not yelling at me."
Derik squeezed her shoulders briefly. "Just warn me next time."
Neve nodded and let her eyes drift shut, resting her cheek against his chest. "I will. I'm glad that you're not mad. I've been alone for a long time. It's nice traveling with someone again."
Derik looked down at the top of her head, surprised by the confession. "Even if your company is a Templar?"
"Even then." She smiled absently, keeping her eyes closed and shifted closer. "The road is a lonely place. It's better shared with a friend."
His heart squeezed in his chest slightly to hear that, a wash of guilt briefly keeping him from replying. Their companionship was a temporary affair at best. Derik simply worked best alone. "You had best get some rest." He said in lieu of dropping anything on her that might depress Neve when she was so tired and obviously weak. "If the rain has stopped, we'll head for Denerim in the morning. It's a long ride."
Neve made a small noise in the back of her throat that seemed more or less in agreement to his statement and fell right off to sleep cuddled against his side. Derik watched her for a moment, the steady sound of rain on leaves outside a quiet ambiance to the darkness of their little space under the pine boughs. The back of his fingers trailed over her cheek, pushing back a lock of her damp hair from her face. Maybe it wasn't only Neve who was in danger on this particular adventure, though it wasn't his physical safety he was most worried about. Derik could deal with battle scars; he had lived most of his life gathering them. It was the prospect of trying to decide where Neve fit into his duties that he was more wary of.
"Damsels in distress indeed." He muttered to himself, heaving a small sigh and shifted a little so that he was lying down with Neve tucked under his arm, the little mage woman frowning in her sleep at the disturbance but was content when he stopped moving. He would just have to wait and see how dangerous she turned out to be, and hoped that he made the right decision before it was too late.
So, playing with the dynamic of their relationship a little bit. Not really sure what to say about this chapter here... it's been a while since I wrote it. I've had it hiding in the wings for a while, and it's gone through quite a few edits... Ah well. Anyway, I hope to start getting these chapters out to you guys here a little quicker. I've got another chapter edited and ready to roll once the new smell fades off of this one, so look forward to that! As always, thanks for your views and consideration. I always get a little bit of a pick-me-up cheer when I see a new review or watch or follow in my inbox.
