Many thanks to my fantastic beta reader, Mille Libri!
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Chapter Fourteen: Exploration
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My heart thuds in my chest as I dip and weave between the tall shems crowding the marketplace, ignoring the various curses and oaths thrown my way as I run through them. The bag with its precious contents is clutched tightly to my chest, and I pray I can evade the shem who yelled at me as I placed the last stolen apple into it. My breath comes in short, panicked spurts as I burst from the crowd and duck down an alley. I know how to get to the Alienage from here, but I'm not sure I can run this fast all the way back…
A hand lands on my shoulder and grips my shirt, and I gasp as my feet leave the ground. Dangling in the air, I am turned to face a man with a cruel gleam in his eyes, a gleam all elves fear. "Well, well, what have we here? A knife-eared gutter rat, looks like. No one will miss you, will they, little rat?"
I struggle, kicking out and punching as best as I can, but the man only laughs. "Oh, you'll be fun to play with. The perfect—" He suddenly stops, an odd look crossing his face, and abruptly the hand releases my shirt as he collapses to the ground, a blade sticking out of his back.
Again a hand lands on my shoulder, but when I look up, it's to see my mother's face. "Come, little fox. We don't want to be found near the body."
"The body?"
My mother is already dragging me away from where the man lies motionless on the ground, pulling me towards a door that looks like it hasn't been opened in years. When we reach it, the door opens suddenly, and I follow my mother in shock into the darkness beyond, biting my lip hard when the door slams behind us.
"You found her?" I hear a man's voice, though I can barely make out more than a shadow.
"Yes, thank you. One more minute and…" My mother's voice trails off, and her arms wrap around me, gripping me tightly. "Don't run off like that, little fox. There are dangers you are not ready to face in the city."
The man chuckles. "Sounds like it's time to start teaching her how to face them, doesn't it?"
"M-Mother?" I ask, bewildered.
A lamp suddenly lights next to me, and I jump, looking over to find a thin shem with orange-red hair smiling warmly at her. "Who's that?" I ask in alarm.
"The name's Slim, Slim Couldry," the man answers. He holds out his hand. "I have a feeling we're going to get to know each other quite well."
"But—" I look to my mother, then whisper loudly, "He's a shem!"
My mother laughs. "Not all shems are bad. You can trust Slim with your life, little fox. I promise."
I turn this novel concept over in my mind slowly, but in the end, I know that I can trust Mother with more than my life. I turn to the she- Slim Couldry and hold out the hand not still holding the bag. "My name is Kalindra. Pleased to meet you."
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.~^~.
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The first night after entering the forest, Kalindra, heart still cracked from the dream of the little babe who would never be, had shimmied up a suitable tree as soon as Leliana had found a charming glade for their camp. Thankfully, Kalindra had enjoyed a blissfully peaceful night nestled in the needles high up in the fir, reveling in the sharpness of the chill wind as it washed over her. The stars were much brighter here than in Denerim; and the setting, though foreign to her as a child of the city, made them even more enchanting. Before drifting into sleep, she watched the heavens through the gently moving branches for hours, the little girl inside watching with wide eyes.
The following day, that same little girl kept Kalindra's eyes round and her heart full of misty-eyed wonder as she remembered spending many nights in the arms of her mother under the branches of the Vhenadahl, rain or clear. Story after story of the Dalish Clan Jalani from which mother had come whispered through her mind as she struggled to find joy in her mother's memory – starting with the first word of their language she'd ever learned, and the most important: Mamae.
The word was both balm and curse. Remembering her mother as she was when Kalindra was yet a child had brought her joy more often than not, even after her death, because she had always harbored the hope deep inside that one day she would be the mother, bestowing kisses upon a smaller version of herself or her husband. Since the Joining - or more specifically, since her awakening after it – that dream had faded more and more, leaving an empty hollowness behind. In that small space, the memory of her mother had dimmed and cracked, just like her heart, but never completely faded completely.
She fought to push the ache of the eternally empty blanket from her dreams far away, desperate not to feel as if she were a flower withered with sorrow. In the forest, she saw the details of her mother's tales come to life in a way that both excited and saddened her. The losses she had suffered, and the pain which accompanied them, faded away, and she woke the next morning feeling truly refreshed.
She spoke little with her companions that day, despite their increasingly inquisitive glances. Though not precisely avoiding them, she often wandered around the edges of the group as they moved through the forest, taking in the smells that reminded her more than anything else of home, the Vhenadahl, and her Mamae. Each hour that passed gave her an ever-increasing sense of peace, the black pit fading into the background of her mind. Her smile began to return and the pain in her stomach faded as her steps became lighter. Fen'len approved of her wandering and frequently trotted at her side, leaving only to return with the occasional odd object. His tiny stump of a tail would beg for the approval of her nod before dashing off to find the next prize.
It was the closest to happiness she'd felt since leaving Ostagar.
That evening, she heard her name called softly as she moved through the trees, trying to find one suitable to spend the night in and still be close to the little idyllic dell Leliana had chosen for their campsite.
Surprised, Kalindra turned to find Leliana approaching her. With a smile which was more a reflection of her own mood than a warm welcome for the human woman, she waved tentatively.
"There you are!" Leliana's smile no longer seemed to be calculated friendship, and the way her face glowed had more to do with the last light of the sun than an attempt to appear engaging. No words had been exchanged since that morning in the tent, but Kalindra knew her own gaze had landed on the woman's form more than once, and she wondered if perhaps Leliana's had done the same in return. "I was hoping I would find you before you disappeared into the canopy."
"Oh?" For some reason, the knowledge that Leliana had sought Kalindra out specifically warmed her, and she fought the urge to duck her chin in shyness. "Did you need something?"
Leliana looked down for a moment, and Kalindra noted that the tips of the tips of the woman's ears had reddened with a blush. "I was wondering if perhaps you would like some... some company, at least for a little while. I mean, I've noticed it's hard to see the stars from the ground, and you seem to know how to bypass that little problem."
Kalindra considered the request for a moment, looking around them. Finding a tree that would support both of them might take a while, but suddenly she wanted to exert the effort to do so. With a shy smile, she nodded. "I think I can locate a tree that can hold us." As she turned, a hand stole out and stroked hers.
Startled, Kalindra turned to look at Leliana, who smiled at her. "Wouldn't want to lose you to the dark, now, would I?"
"N-no." This time she did duckher chin so that her hair would fall over her face, she hoped her blush wasn't too obvious in the dimming light. "I suppose you wouldn't."
Her hand slowly accepted Leliana's hand into her grasp as she continued about her task. Acutely aware of the intimate contact and the other woman's nearness, Kalindra walked with Leliana through the twilight of the forest. Each time she stole a glance at the woman and found an equally circumspect peek being sent her way, her cheeks warmed a tiny bit more. By the time she'd found a tree which was strong enough to hold both of them, their fingers had become intertwined, and she'd felt Leliana's thumb rub her hand more than once. Reaching up to a low branch with her free hand, she hesitated. "This tree is big enough. Do you still—" She let her voice trail off, the tone reflecting her nervousness.
"Of course!" Leliana squeezed Kalindra's hand tightly before letting go. With surprising agility, she tackled the low branches and began to climb, her laughter dancing down the tree. "Race you to the top!"
Kalindra grinned, feeling far more certain about winning that particular challenge than fully understanding what, if anything, was happening with Leliana otherwise. As she began to ascend, her hand felt warm, a sensation last felt while exploring the Korcari Wilds with Daveth. She passed Leliana with practiced ease, settling down into a niche where several leafy branches had all grown near each other. Glancing down through the branches, she saw flashes of red hair through the leaves as Leliana made her own way up, and a smile again came to her lips as a memory swept over her.
.~^~.
"How did you learn to climb so fast?" Shianni grumped, looking at Kalindra where the latter was perched on a large branch in the upper reaches of the Vhenadahl. "It's like you're part squirrel or something."
Kalindra giggled as she looked down at her cousin. Shianni had insisted that she didn't need any help, and clung stubbornly to that claim, even though she was clearly stuck at the moment. "I seem to be lacking a large fluffy tail if that's what you think I am," she pointed out airily. Turning on the branch, she set her back flat against the broad trunk, setting one leg to rest on the branch and the other leg to swing lazily. After a few moments of watching Shianni try and fail to find a good handhold, she called down, "Are you suuuure you don't want any help? I'm right here, you know."
"I'm fine!" came the curt reply. With some more grumbling - unintelligible, this time - she lowered herself down a few branches and then took her time to look around, finally choosing a path that would eventually bring her up to Kalindra's level. "Even us non-squirrels can figure it out eventually."
"At least you have red hair." Kalindra stretched her arms up and arched her back, enjoying the sunlight and breeze. "I've yet to see a squirrel in Denerim with anything but bright red fur. And your temper's more like theirs, too."
"It is not!" she protested, then snapped her mouth shut, all too aware how much like a scolding squirrel her exclamation had sounded. After climbing a few more branches with some grunts, she paused to lick the sweat off her lips. "And at least I'm trying."
Kalindra snorted at this reference to Soris, who was currently at the base of the tree and peering up at them. "His loss. Believe me, it's worth it." She patted the branch. "Come ooooon, climb faster."
With a sigh, the sixteen-year-old Shianni groaned and did her best. A few minutes later, she finally pulled herself up onto the thick branch next to Kalindra, her face as red as her hair. "Maker, how can you do this every day?"
"Well, maybe if you did this every day, it wouldn't be so hard for you."
"Oh, don't give me your logic." Shianni sagged, breathing deeply between her words. "I still think you're part squirrel. It's the only explanation." They both giggled at that. "This had better be worth it."
"Oh, it is." Reaching out, she turned Shianni so that the girl straddled the branch, then pulled her back to lean against her chest. Glancing at the sky and noting the first signs of the approaching dusk, she said, "We'll need to wait a bit, but it's worth it. I just wanted to make sure you didn't climb up in dim light."
Shianni sighed and leaned her head back, relaxing into Kalindra's body. "Well, at least this is comfortable." Reaching out, Shianni grabbed Kalindra's hand, lightly running her fingers up and down the attached arm. "And private."
A flush heated Kalindra's cheeks, but she nodded in agreement. Her free hand reached up and tentatively came to rest on Shianni's stomach, her head bending so she could land a kiss on the crown of her cousin's head.
Wordlessly, Shianni covered Kalindra's hand with her own and nudged it upwards, her breath hitching slightly. They'd started exploring each other only a few weeks ago, beginning with a few hesitant kisses and clumsy but tight hugs, but it had progressed from there by mutual agreement, an extension of the normal wide-eyed giggling exploration from when they were children and still learning about the difference between each others' bodies. Kalindra had noticed that Soris and Taeodor would disappear for hours at a time in the last year or so, and now that she and Shianni had started their own series of clandestine meetings, she was beginning to have serious suspicions about what they did together.
As Kalindra's hand closed over her breast, Shianni gasped a sound that made Kalindra nervous and excited all at once. Gently Kalindra spread her fingers over the new territory, biting her lip when she felt a bump through the cloth. Shianni's back stiffened slightly as a soft moan escaped her lips, her head digging into Kalindra's breasts. Emboldened by the reaction, she reached up and curled a finger under the rough homespun of Shianni's shirt so she could touch the heated flesh beneath.
As the light faded around them with the approaching sunset, the world dimmed as well, melting into a small space consisting only of Shianni and Kalindra. They helped ward each other against the ever-increasing chill of autumnal twilight through their kisses and caresses, their confidence in their exploration slowly growing.
Only when Kalindra dimly heard the Mabaris begin to bark in the city proper did she release Shianni's lips with a gasp and look out. "We almost missed it! Come on, look, look!"
Shianni groaned theatrically as she tugged her shirt up over her bare breasts, but did as she was bade. Her eyes widened, though, and she squeezed Kalindra's hand silently as she watched the spectacle that Kalindra had brought her up to view.
The Alienage, for the most part, was low compared to the rest of Denerim: low in status, low in importance, but also low in a literal sense. In the heaviest rains, the Alienage always got the drain water from the rest of the city that the river couldn't handle, which meant that at least once or twice a year, homes got flooded and streets became small ponds (to the delight of the children and the exasperation of the adults). While walking in the crammed byways and alleys of the slums, all that could be seen was the Alienage. The fence blocked the view of the rest of Denerim when it was closed, and the buildings had been built with windows that only faced inwards. In that world, the light came and went, but sunrise and sunset were a time, not an experience. It was rare that an elf of the Alienage saw them unless their jobs called for them to be outside the Alienage at the time, and Shianni had rarely left the safety of the Alienage in her entire life - and then usually in the company of Kalindra and her mother to go to the fields beyond the walls for a day of fresh air and no shems.
It had been Kalindra's mother who had encouraged her to climb the Vhenadahl, but it had been Kalindra who had found this magic branch, from which one could see the rooftops of Denerim laid out in a huge sprawl. It wasn't until she was thirteen that she'd also discovered that at certain times of the year one could also watch the sunset over the harbor of Denerim, just barely visible in the distance.
Kalindra held her breath as the sun touched the surface of the water, slowly disappearing over the horizon.
Shianni's eyes remained wide as she watched the sun shrink. Just before it vanished entirely, there was a bright burst of light that flashed over the entire horizon, so quick that a blink would have missed it.
"What was that?" Shianni asked. "I never knew the sun did that!"
"I don't know, but it's beautiful."
Shianni twisted a bit so she could face Kalindra, eyes shining with wonder. "That was worth it. Thank you."
They shared one more kiss there in the branches of the tree, but now that sunset had come and gone, Soris would be expecting them on the ground again. No more words were exchanged on the way down, save for the eternal promise of tomorrow.
.~^~.
Kalindra blinked, swiftly returning to the present just as a hand emerged from the blanket of branches and leaves. "A little help?" Leliana's accented voice cut through the now dark night, and Kalindra gripped the woman's hand firmly and pulled. With a minimum of fuss, Leliana ended up next to Kalindra among the leaves and branches, laughing softly as she brushed bits of bracken from her short red hair. "I think I'm better at climbing buildings than trees," she confessed as she worked at a particularly stubborn twig. "And certainly I am no match for you. I've never seen anyone able to ascend so quickly! Are you sure you are not part squirrel?"
The words made Kalindra's eyes widen and her heart pound slightly. Even though the two women were so dissimilar, the particular situation, the words, and the bright red hair made her pause. To cover her silence, Kalindra reached up and gently extracted the twig from Leliana's tresses, smoothing the disturbed hair flat afterwards.
"Oh, thank you. It was giving me such trouble." Leliana shifted so that she could look up easily, head tipped back against the trunk. "Ohh, look! You can see the Necklace from here!"
Kalindra started, tearing her eyes away from Leliana and pushing the lingering memory of Shianni away as she focused on the spray of stars indicated by the human. Gingerly she arranged herself so she would be more comfortable - not close enough to touch, of course, but close enough she could feel the heat of the body next to her. Her eyes stayed on the stars, but her focus was on those who sat on the branch. "They're beautiful."
Silence fell between them. Faint rustlings could be heard from the ground below and the verdant green around them, but it seemed muffled by leaves and distance. Time melted away as Kalindra slowly relaxed, losing awareness of Leliana and truly looking at the stars once more.
"Do you know the story of the Necklace?" Leliana asked quietly, breaking the stillness. "I could tell it to you. I love stories."
Kalindra smiled, glancing to the woman next to her. "I… I would like that. I like stories, too."
As the story of the Necklace washed over her, Kalindra felt a hand find hers once more. She gently squeezed back, and held on.
.~^~.
The next day, their quarry continued to be elusive. Kalindra pressed the party forward, hoping eventually they would run into the Dalish. As the morning wore on with no sign of the Dalish, however, she acknowledged with an inward sigh that perhaps just wandering aimlessly in the Brecilian Forest was not the best way to achieve their goal. After a moment's consideration, she fell back to walk besides Morrigan, hoping the woman would be able to help her find one of the elusive Clans.
She glanced at Morrigan as they walked, again struck by the apparent unconscious grace and control. The movements seemed fluid and completely natural, but to Kalindra's scrutiny they also spoke of years of practice and self-expectation. What would it be like to grow up the daughter of Flemeth? Surely the old witch couldn't be as batty as she pretended to be and survive in the Korcari Wilds.
"Are you simply going to stare at me?" Morrigan asked crisply without looking at her, pulling on the straps of her backpack to ease a bit of tension. "Or is there a reason for your rudeness?"
Kalindra raised an eyebrow. "Says the woman who makes a habit of watching those around her. How often have I found your gaze upon me since you joined us?"
The sharp, short glance she received from Morrigan let her know that her words had scored, but the mage's tone was almost bored when she next spoke. "Surely there is nothing amiss with wishing to learn more about those with whom I journey. I cannot imagine you would wish me to remain ignorant of my traveling companions?" Her mouth formed into a moue of distaste. "Or at least those who are of interest. The bumbling fool I shall continue to ignore as he deserves."
A chuckle escaped Kalindra, and she couldn't help but look to the front of the group where Alistair once again led the vanguard, Sten at his side. As if he felt her eyes on him, he glanced back at the same time, establishing an almost tangible line between their eyes. For a moment she shivered as an odd sensation slipped down her spine, as if someone had run their finger down it with a feather-light touch. She bit the inside of her lip just as he blinked and looked away, his movements a trifle crisper and hands flexing open and closed.
Pulling her own attention to the matter at hand, she turned to Morrigan – and found, to her surprise, a slight frown on the woman's face. "Truly?"
That was all the mage said, but Kalindra frowned. I only looked at him. "He's not the horrible lout you seem to think he is," she chided gently. In part, the admonition was also directed inward. Slowly but surely, the shem was becoming Alistair more and more in her mind. The process was not complete, of course: every once in a while, when the sun turned his hair red or he scowled while deep in thought, her gut would still churn and her palms would break out into a sweat. Yet the process was taking place.
Morrigan snorted. "It is of no moment to me whether or not we agree on the matter of the fool as long as we never have to share a tent or a room." Her golden gaze again turned to Kalindra, a question in her expression. "What do you desire of me? I hardly think this is purely a social visit, given our relationship." When Kalindra grimaced, she shook her head slightly. "Oh, do not think that a barb. I am perfectly content to assist you in whatever capacity you deem fit as long as you do not try to dictate my own actions."
With a slight frown, Kalindra shook her head. "You deserve to be more than a silent companion, despite your protest. No matter how you came to join our party, you have proven loyal and capable. The Wardens - I - am grateful."
Silence greeted her words, and Kalindra could best describe Morrigan's expression as inscrutable as the mage stared ahead. After a few moments, the golden eyes turned to regard Kalindra with a peculiarly strong intensity. "What do you need?"
"An expertise I am certain you possess." Kalindra smiled as she cocked her head. "In the Wilds before you revealed yourself: you followed us, didn't you?"
Morrigan couldn't quite hide her amusement. "For quite a while. I wondered, back then, why a woman such as yourself would allow herself to be surrounded by those of lesser caliber."
Kalindra instinctively stiffened as Daveth flashed through her mind, but kept her peace. She had taken control in the Wilds, after all - obviously Morrigan had perceived the situation differently. Firmly she pushed down the tinge of guilt when she secretly agreed with Morrigan in the cases of Jory and Alistair, though her opinion of the latter was changing. "A series of unfortunate events, you could say. At any rate," she continued, ignoring Morrigan's raised eyebrow, "you grew up in the Korcari Wilds, and if what Alistair said about templars and apostates is true, I'm sure you had reasons to conceal yourself over the years. Would you be able to help us track the Dalish? Or are the skills needed for hiding different than those for finding?"
"I—" Morrigan seemed taken aback by the question, and she regarded Kalindra thoughtfully. "That is an excellent question. I am accustomed to evading notice, yet it is a different ability than locating someone. However, there may be signs that should help us find them, or at least narrow down where they are. No matter how skilled their hunters may be, they are still a community that moves in a large group, and signs of their passage cannot be entirely removed."
"Good. I can follow signs as long as I know what to look for. I could follow anyone in the city, I just do not know what to look for out here in the forest." The Brecilian was beautiful, but unfamiliar when all was said and done.
Morrigan nodded, face thoughtful. "There… may be a way." Gesturing to the trees around them, she said, "I recall a technique of the Chasind scouts, used to alert other scouts within their tribes. Danger, Clean Water, Bad Water, among other things." A corner of her mouth twitched as she tilted her head. "In fact, I am fairly certain that one of their marks meant Witch of the Wilds, though I never did get the opportunity to inquire directly."
That comment garnered a laugh from Kalindra. "That would have been a fascinating conversation. Such a pity the opportunity did not present itself."
The woman chuckled, her mouth breaking into a rare smile. "Ah, yes. A true tragedy the circumstance never arose, but then, the Chasind were too busy running from my mother and I whene'er we made an appearance. 'Tis perhaps better that way, I suppose. It would not be prudent to blanket the entire Korcari Wilds with the bones of those too curious or too incautious, after all."
"That would confuse the local wildlife, I gather."
"Oh, for a certainty," Morrigan replied smoothly. "And Flemeth would never have stood for such clutter, at any rate." The mention of her mother seemed to sober her slightly, and her gaze skittered aside. "At any rate, what we are looking for is called a blaze: a small cut made into the bark of the tree which shows the pale flesh beneath. Though the bark easily regrows in a few days, the mark itself shows as white against the trunk of the tree. Though I know not for certain if the Dalish use them, it is a possibility, nonetheless."
"Like that?" Kalindra asked suddenly, slowing to point at a tree a few strides away. Her eyes had begun searching for anomalies in the trees as soon as Morrigan had described it. In this case, an almost triangular shape had been etched into the trunk, its regularity calling attention to the fact it was unnatural. Still, she suspected she would never have noticed it had not Morrigan alerted her to the phenomenon.
Morrigan squinted, then nodded. "Precisely. I would not be surprised to learn the Dalish had several signs as well, and at different heights on the trunk, as the Chasind were wont to do."
Her eyes began to rove over the trees, looking as high as she could reach or as low as would regularly be above the bracken. "Absolutely fascinating. It would have occurred to me to use such a mode of communication." Occasionally she would catch glimpses of other marks on the trees, and soon became absorbed in trying to differentiate between nature and elf-made marks on the tree trunks.
"I suppose cities wouldn't have anything similar," Morrigan replied indifferently.
Kalindra bit her lip in thought, remembering the signals that Slim's crews would use: brightly colored cloths tied to different buildings around the city, denoting 'alert guards', 'easy mark', 'already hit', and other things that thieves needed to communicate without being obvious. On the Thieves' Highway, chalk was used to denote weak roofs, dead ends, or paths that would take a thief too close to the well-patrolled areas of the marketplace. "I wouldn't be so sure. And now that I know what to look for, we should be able to—" She stopped, her eyes going from a white patch of exposed bark down to the cover on the forest floor, particularly to a mixture of grass and gorse, arrested by its appearance. "Morrigan, that greenery… does that look unusually flat to you?"
The mage's eyes narrowed as she considered the area Kalindra indicated. "I suppose it does."
As she veered to take a closer look, Alistair called for a halt. A curious Fen'len was soon at her side as she knelt in the grass, running her hand over the patch of ground that had gotten her attention.
When Morrigan reached her, followed closely by Alistair, she pointed at what were clearly indentations. "It's an imprint of some kind of wheel or slat. Perhaps a wagon?"
"It could be," Alistair ventured, kneeling next to her and trying to measure the grooves with his gauntleted hand. "Certainly I can't imagine a beast or darkspawn that could create tracks such as these." He looked at Kalindra with a smile. "I'm impressed you noticed this."
Kalindra couldn't help but to smile back, though she waved her hand towards where Morrigan had taken a step back. "I never would have known what to look for without Morrigan's advice. All those years living in the Wilds taught her much."
Her fellow Warden glanced at Morrigan, expression dubious. "I suppose…"
"Your vote of confidence is so very overwhelming."
Alistair opened his mouth to retort to Morrigan's barb, but saw Kalindra's silent plea to play nice. With a sigh and a weak grin, he nodded to Morrigan. "Your wisdom has guided us," he said, though each word showed the strain. "Thank you."
Morrigan simply shook her head. "It is simply proof of what we already knew: that the Dalish are in the Brecilian Forest. We shall have to hope they are more tolerant of trespassers in their territory than the Chasind are, and less likely to shoot arrows first and ask questions later."
"Thanks," Kalindra said dryly, and Morrigan's mouth twitched as she almost smiled. Turning her attention to Alistair, Kalindra said, "Please let the others know we will be heading that way." She pointed at the slightly darker depths of the forest into which the tracks led.
"Right." With a last uncertain glance at Morrigan, he stood and headed back to the group, going first to where Sten stood glaring into the forest around him with suspicion.
Looking at Morrigan, Kalindra admitted, "And now I feel like an idiot for not requesting your aid earlier."
The woman considered Kalindra momentarily before she nodded. "'Tis heartening you thought to ask at all. Mother told me many tales of leaders who failed simply because they assumed that the title bestowed perfection upon them."
Kalindra snorted. "Idiot I may be, but even I'm not that stupid. I'd rather be made to look the fool than made to fail."
With a thoughtful nod, Morrigan replied, "A wise conclusion. And… thank you." At Kalindra's querying glance, she clarified, "For asking."
"Thank you for answering." With a final little wave, she stood and brushed bits of bracken from her knees, eyes remaining now on the tracks that led deeper into the forest. With their closer than before, her mind again wandered ahead to the Dalish.
What would she find? The tales of her mother, though alive in this forest, didn't hold the answer to that simple question.