Disclaimer: Dragon Age belongs to BioWare.
Prompt 11: Blackwater
Word Count: 855
The girl coughed raggedly into the sand, water and bile spilling out uncontrollably. He released her as soon as she was finished, watching as color returned to her shivering form. She lay there panting for a moment; raw eyes red as they stared blankly up at the sky.
Fenris moved away, picking up and brushing off his gloves casually before attaching them to his belted waist. He was uncomfortable; though he was loathe to show it. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, watching scarlet bloom where he had touched her. He hadn't seen the linen bandage before, but then, he had been trying to save her life.
An eye twitched, the familiar irritation her presence brought him slowly returning. He thought of asking if she was alright, but inwardly scoffed. He wasn't going to coddle her and if she wanted to throw herself off some god forsaken cliff, then she would have to do it on her own time. He had questions, now even more than ever, and by the Maker she was going to answer them, even if he had to drown her again to do it.
He eyed the water lapping softly at the shore, thoughts turning to the strange light he had seen and its unmistakable wrongness. He was shattered from his musings by a scratchy, horse voice.
"Wha-?"
She flung her uninjured arm over her face, hand fisting in her hair and wheezed out a series of rasping coughs.
He followed the line of her form, the white of her dress contrasting starkly with the red of the sand she sat on.
Fenris's eyes narrowed, unable to recall if the Wounded Coast had a beach with such a color. In fact, he had never seen a shore quite like it before. Anywhere.
The male elf walked away from the struggling witch, more interested in observing his surroundings. The bay they had only just emerged from was unnaturally still, the water's calmness so unlike to torrent he had fought against. The liquid was dark, like blackwater and no matter how he strained, his keen ears could hear nothing but the lap of waves and the girl's loud, gasping pants.
He looked up, white hair shifting wetly at the movement, and tensed. Trees loomed on the bank overlooking the barren strip of sand, twisted bark seeming to watch him. The chilled hand of dread trailed lightly down his spine and he shivered, convincing himself that he was just cold.
There was something eerie about this place, like something was missing, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
A soft groan floated towards him and the taunt warrior turned, wet leggings squelching with the movement. His green eyes sharpened, face morphing into a snarl despite himself.
Merrill was slowly picking herself off up the ground, the white fabric of her dress sticking to her lithe form, small hands running shakily down the length of her torso.
He thanked the Maker that her dress wasn't transparent.
"Witch." He growled, letting anger pull his attention to different things.
"Hum?"She murmured absently.
"Where are we?" He bit out, more concerned with their immediate location and the uncanny feeling of being watched.
She looked up, bright eyes widening for a moment before she seemed to droop, dainty fingers once again coming up to cover her face.
She rubbed at her eyes like a groggy child, pulling them away slowly and blinking.
Then she pinched herself.
And from the shrill squeak she gave, it was probably hard.
"No- It can't be. H-how?" She looked confused, lost even. But more importantly, terrified.
Fenris snapped, striding over to her quivering form and gripping her wounded shoulder harshly. Disgust filled him at the contact, but her pained wince nearly made him smile. He shook her, impatient.
"There was a Blue Light in the water!" He bit out. "Do you remember?"
She jerked from his grasp, lips tightening to an angry, thin line as she shot him an uncharacteristic glare. He nearly flinched back at the force of it.
"No, I don't remember." Her voice was cutting, though her eyes betrayed her fear.
She paused, as if she couldn't say the words. "But I do know where we are."
He folded his arms so he wouldn't strangle the stupid twit.
"Well?" He gritted.
She flicked her slopping hair away from her face, stepping away from him in a pathetic show of defiance before answering curtly.
"I think it would be obvious, since you've been here before."
Fenris let out an almost inhuman growl, bare feet grinding against the sand as he moved to cut off her retreat.
"Enough of your riddles, Witch. I've no time for them."
The tiny elf stopped, taking a deep breath to calm herself. When she turned, she was the picture of confidence, her usually meek form pulled to its fullest height. He didn't know who she was trying to fool.
"This," she gestured grandly, the sweep of her arm encompassing everything around them, "is The Beyond."
Fenris decided to ignore the way her voice cracked on the last word.
AN: Well? How'd I do? Any mistakes?
Review Please!
~Delgodess
Blackwater- the name for how water looks when mixed with blood.
