Interlude

Chapter 28: Gift

The sounds of explosives ringing in his ears.

The screaming of innocents.

The tearing of flesh.

None of these compared in pure unadulterated agony to Alistair's chewing. The man's lips loudly smacked against one another. The food inside made disgusting sticky noises.

Aedan's eye twitched. Under any other circumstance, he would tolerate this. However, as the templar's mouth hovered literally in front of his ear, Aedan had to hold down his own hand to keep himself from slapping Alistair. Furthermore, Alistair scowled at him, which both bewildered and annoyed Aedan.

"I'm sorry, Aedan," stated Alistair in a loud monotone voice, "am I being too loud?" He chomped down on his food extra hard and drew out his chewing.

"Just a bit." Aedan clenched his bowl. He wondered if breaking it over the other man's head would cause acceptable injuries.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Perhaps I should be more considerate to others when I do some sort of activity which involves noise." Alistair's eyes widened and he nodded up and down, as though expecting Aedan to do the same.

Slowly Aedan faced the templar, as not to unleash his rage by accident. "Subtlety isn't really your strong point, is it?"

"I don't know what you mean," spat out Alistair through his gruel. A little bit of spit flew onto Aedan's face.

Aedan wiped aside the stray bits. "Is this about the-"

"I believe it is referring to the daily fornication with the swamp witch."

The other members of the group looked down at their food and munched away, avoiding any conversation. Aedan had never experienced such an awkward silence. Twisting his body around, Aedan looked up at the culprit.

"Thank you, Shale," seethed Aedan.

The trip to Honnleath had been quite uneventful, save for the minor darkspawn infestation. By now, the group killed darkspawn regularly when travelling in the south. After Ostagar they spilled out and wandered. They had not yet assembled in large hordes since Ostagar; perhaps that battle sated the darkspawn. The so called 'darkspawn sense' had kicked in for Aedan. Darkspawn always flocked to him when travelling.

Better me than some clueless travellers, he thought.

One such traveller had donated a golem rod to Aedan. After some trouble, the group had welcomed Shale (or at least Aedan) with open arms. Shale did not care for the gesture. The golem seemed to care very little except for the eradication of birds, which had led to tonight's chicken soup.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. My previous statement was intended to be rather snide. Unless, of course, it would like me to say more?" Shale's statement dripped with such malice that Aedan simply didn't respond. He sighed: better that he deal with this now. Aedan had not yet discussed with the others anything regarding him and Morrigan. "Well, Alistair?"

"It's not you," admitted Alistair, trying his best to smile, "it's mostly her." Alistair looked to his fellow warden for a reciprocation of his grin. Aedan stared at him blankly with loathing eyes. Clearly Aedan did not want to talk about this, and yet Alistair was digging into it, so Aedan would make him suffer for it.

"As in?"

"Are you really going to make me say it?"

"If you're going to chew in my ear, you better be prepared to say it."

"She shrieks like a genlock, Aedan," blurted out Leliana. She clasped her hands over her mouth as soon as the words left it, but shook her head and took a deep breath in. "I'm sorry, but I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep for the past two weeks since you two started your...little tryst."

Alistair beamed: finally, an ally appeared. "See, I'm not alone! So, for all of our sakes, could you please tell her to, you know, close her mouth or something."

"Why not just tell her yourself?"

"I feel as though this is a sensitive topic that needs to be handled with the utmost care. Also it infuriates me to deal with her." Alistair crossed his arms,

Sitting on the other side of Aedan, having been ignoring Alistair the entire time and eating her meal, was Morrigan. "Do not speak as if I am not present,", growled Morrigan, who still didn't care enough to even look in the templar's direction.

"Can't see you. Out of sight out of mind."

"I'm literally a sword's length away from you, and that's at least within your useful distance, although even that is debatable."

Alistair threw his arms up in exasperation at Morrigan's snark. "My point exactly."

Indeed, Aedan feared what might happen, sitting between Alistair and Morrigan. Perhaps he might implode from their generated fury. Stranger things had befallen him. With that in mind, Aedan outstretched his arms and pushed Morrigan and Alistair further apart on the log all three sat on. "I feel rather uncomfortable discussing my sex life with you all. We all have gotten close over the past few months, but there is too close."

"We would not have to discuss this if she quieted down."

"Excuse me for enjoying myself," snarled Morrigan, "I least I don't 'go practice secret templar techniques' in the forest by myself."

Alistair reddened like a tomato, nearly dropping his bowl. "Wh-What are you implying!"

"It is implying that the templar masturbates."

Zevran had to hold both hands over his mouth to keep from bursting out into laughter and tears. "Thank you, Shale," seethed Alistair, who raised his soup-bowl to his face to cover his flushed face.

"Tis all it's own fault for treating me like a coat-stand and thinking I am not equally disgusted by it's actions. In fact, just the other day-"

"Thank you, Shale," said Aedan and Alistair together. The golem muttered something under it's breath and staggered off.

Out of the corner Aedan saw Morrigan gaze, grumpy as usual, fall upon him. Although his body turned towards Morrigan, Aedan avoided eye contact. He looked a little to her left and scratched his temple. "We could be a little quieter, couldn't we?" He glanced at Morrigan. The witch fumed and exhaled through her nostrils.

"I do not see why I should need to quiet down." A mischievous grin ran across her face, while staring right at Alistair. "If anything, the sounds I make are a direct result Aedan-"

Alistair plugged his ears with two fingers and droned, "Lalalalalala", till he saw Morrigan's mouth stop moving. Leliana cleared her throat and turned her blushing face away.

Aedan sighed; convincing Morrigan of anything would require more time and dedication. He lacked these at night. "Fire's dying. I'm getting some more firewood," he said, desperate for some excuse to escape. Aedan got up as calm as he could, then, once he was out of sight, sprinted away.


Morrigan glared at the rest of the group. Some, like Sten and Shale, remained ambivalent in their expressions. Despite the golem's comments, Morrigan honestly thought it could care less, and it just enjoyed stirring up trouble. Wynne and Leliana avoided eye-contact; those two steered clear of Morrigan. Only Alistair returned her menacing glare. He stared her down until finally, irritated by his stare, Morrigan relented.

"Fine!" She crossed her arms in front of her and sneered. "I will try my best to be quieter. Now go bother Aedan or something."

Alistair pumped his fist in the air, relishing his rare victory over Morrigan. He danced a little on his seat, much to the bemusement of Leliana and Wynne. Satisfied, he finished up his food and gave a content belch.

"Well, I guess I should be nicer to him, considering his gift," mused the templar. Alistair referred to the stone demon miniature that Aedan had found for him at the market. The templar would not tell anyone, but he liked to line them up in his tent whenever he went to sleep. "Although maybe he was trying to bribe me."

"He is quite considerate in that matter," Wynne nodded. In her tent, a pile books with diverse, interesting topics had been selected for her by Aedan.

The group usually left money management to Aedan. He'd divide the loot and share the profits equally. He always brought a sizeable amount back from the markets; Morrigan suspected that as a noble Aedan must have negotiated a lot.

As such, everyone procured and maintained their own equipment. If such things required extra money, then they'd borrow it from others. Their money separation was quite casual and just a formality. Sten usually elected to forgo his share, and saved the bare minimum, as did others occasionally (save for Zevran).

Leliana frowned in thought, playing with her bronze symbol of Andraste. "Raise your hand if he's given you a gift."

Everyone except Morrigan raised their hand.

"Come now, we all know you didn't magic that necklace out of nowhere," said Zevran, himself having received a rather nice pair of leather boots from Aedan. With an exasperated expression Morrigan raised her hand. She did not particularly enjoy group activities, nor did she particularly enjoy this group.

'And what would your ideal group be? A whole army of me? I'm flattered.' That man no doubt would tease her like that. Aedan had assembled a rather motley crew of individuals. While their combat skills excelled, their personal quirks bothered Morrigan. Most of all, they always demanded she act a certain way- 'civil', as Alistair put it. Did 'civil' behavior also include Aedan's gift giving habit? If so, Morrigan wished to have no part of it.

"Hmm. He's very casual about it, isn't he."

"Maybe we should give him something."

"What...does he like?"

The group sat baffled in silence.

Alistair scratched his head. "He's not particularly religious. I don't think he'd enjoy Chantry trinkets."

"I already warm his bed, so as turns out, I am the most generous out of all you, despite all your complaints suggesting otherwise."

The templar gagged. "That does not count as a gift in any way, shape, or form. Ever."

"But I even do-"

"Lalalala," went Alistair, plugging his ears. He continued for awhile until Morrigan stopped talking.

"Does he like reading?" inquired Wynne.

"Not that I know of."

"He just sorta...sits at the fire and talks."

"A good soldier," said Sten.

"A boring soldier," muttered Zevran.

Whilst the others bickered, Morrigan thought hard on Aedan's interests. What did she always see him doing and enjoying? They weren't wrong in their assessment of his daily activities. They spent the days travelling and finding information. They'd quell the occasional darkspawn, but most were still south. At night, Aedan really did just sit and stare at that fire. Of all of them, he took guard duty the most. It seemed redundant, now that Shale the unsleeping golem had arrived, but even with his new nightly activities, Aedan still continued to stand guard.

Sometimes, Morrigan would join him by the fire, simply to converse. She enjoyed their time together, though she couldn't quite put her finger on why, but at the very least he treated her with more understanding than the rest. Other times she'd just translate her mother's grimoire, sitting silently while he ate.

Ate. Eating.

"He eats...constantly."

Everyone turned to Morrigan. All their stares bothered her, so she looked off into the forest. An inaudible click went off in all the others' heads.

"He does, doesn't he?"

"He's always sneaking extra food or hiding bread rolls or something-"

"He took some of my cookies earlier-"

"I think he ate most of the stew last night-"

"Is he like a child-"

They all noticed, however, that their bickering had begun to louden. Their conversation quieted into nothing more than whispers.


"To our little pup's fifth birthday!"

The number of adults at the table made Aedan shrink in his seat a little. He had seen some of them in the castle sometimes, but nobody that he particularly cared about, save for his family and Uncle Howe. Fergus sighed in boredom and flicked at a piece of chicken off the table. Aedan's mother had said something about the 'moody teenager phase'. Aedan wasn't sure what she meant, but it always seemed anger Fergus.

"Look at him, my little boy is growing bigger and bigger every day!" His mother approached him from behind and wrapped her arms around him. She leaned in and planted a big kiss on the top of his neatly done hair. Her brown hair flowed down and tickled the tip of his nose.

Aedan's mother still towered over him. He wondered when he'd grow that tall. His mother and Nan always claimed that those annoying green things on his plate would help, but they tasted disgusting.

"Oh, and here's Uncle Howe's gift!"

Bryce Cousland lay a small wrapped package in front of Aedan. The young boy clawed the delicate paper to shreds. Inside lay a small ornate lockbox, with a strange lock welded on. The sheer shine of the gift overloaded Aedan's mind. The young boy sat staring at it in a daze.

"Howe, you bugger. You're making the rest of us look bad!" Fergus playfully punched Howe in the arm. The other man simply smiled and refused to return the blow.

"What is it, Uncle Howe?"

"It's a safe box. Dwarven-made. Every once in awhile, open it up like so-"

Howe walked over to the box and began shifting and turning the gears. Strange clicking noises could be heard from the box. After several minutes, however, he still couldn't get it open. Howe's forehead twitched. He made an aside to his guard, who gave the Arl a rather crumpled pamphlet.

After squinting at the crumpled paper and grumbling, his effort payed off; the box swung open and the inside revealed its interior, with red velvet with dwarven markings stitched in. Howe wiped his forehead and silently cursed the dwarves. "Open it up like so and put important things like money in there."

Aedan silently wowed at how amazing it looked. Aedan clung to Howe's leg and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you! It's so cool!"

He raced back to the the box and began turning it upside down and peering inside.

"Remember Aedan, every once in awhile take some money and put it in. Eventually, you'll have yourself a fortune. Learning to save your money will teach you to become a fine young man, worthy of being a noble."

Aedan beamed. "Yes, Uncle Howe!" In his fervor whilst examining the box, the lid snap shut. Howe groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"Oh, dear, it might take some time for us to get that open again-" muttered Bryce, who was then interrupted by a rather loud click. The lockbox swung back open again, with Aedan having done something to open it. The adults could only stare in amazement as Aedan closed it again, redid the lock, and unlocked it once more. Aedan seemed to enjoy the complicated lock more than the box.

"Did he just figure that out all on his own?" chuckled Howe. He laughed heartily, so much so that Aedan turned and smiled at him.

"Whatcha laughing 'bout Uncle?"

"Nothing child, nothing at all."

Howe wiped away tears from his eyes, and tossed the paper into the fire. Standing over Aedan, he ruffled the boy's hair. "I'm going to have watch out for you when you get older, won't I?"


"We have something for you."

Aedan seemed taken aback. Whether it was the package outstretched to him, almost in his face, or Alistair's rather too enthusiastic smile, Morrigan couldn't tell. For her, the latter usually caused the utter disgust for the templar.

"What?" Aedan scratched his head, and squinted his eyes at the package.

Alistair sighed and began to enunciate each word. "We. Have. Something. For-"

"I heard you the first time. It's just...kinda unexpected."

"You give us gifts all the time, why can we not return the favor?" piped in Leliana. She too had on such a sickly sweet grin that Morrigan felt like puking.

Aedan grasped the package that Alistair held out for him. He held it up to his ear and flicked his finger against it, trying to guess what was inside.

"Thanks, everyone."

"Twas the witch's idea to get you that item- you should thank her thoroughly later," snickered Zevran. The elf slithered away before Morrigan could bring her death gaze down upon him.

"How very considerate of you, Morrigan." Aedan smirked at Morrigan's slightly embarrassed and angry face.

"Tis just food, do not get overly excited."

With a gentle touch Aedan undid the wrappings. On his tenth birthday, he had unwrapped his present in such fervor that he accidentally ruined the gift; he had been vigilant after that. The contents extinguished Aedan's smirk.

"Is this salted smoked venison?" The package shook in his trembling fingers. He gulped, and his stomach growled. Morrigan swore she saw the man salivate a little. She crossed her arms and turned away.

"Yes, we thought you might like something meat based. And we travel a lot, so it's easy to carry and eat on the go-"

As Morrigan turned back to face Aedan, he already had it in his mouth, chewing on it like a dog. Morrigan scowled.

"What?" sputtered Aedan through a mouthful of venison.

"Don't eat it all at once, fool. Tis for the road."

"It's my gift. I get to do what I want with it."

"You look like a dog," snapped Morrigan.

"Coming from the woman who shapeshifts into one," replied Aedan without missing a beat.

For a moment, Morrigan considered inviting Aedan back to her tent for afterwards. She peered at him. The contentment on his face made her reconsider. She hadn't seen before this smile before- a cross between nostalgia and satisfaction. He seemed...calm. The witch smiled, leaned her chin on her hand, and continued to watch the man chew.

A quiet night wasn't so bad either.


Later that night, after everyone else had retired to their rooms, Aedan sat by the fireplace still examining all his gifts. One noble had given him a rather elaborate drawing set. Aedan basked in the warmth of the fire, and drew.

A rather crude dragon breathed scribbles onto a stick figure version of Aedan. A smudged army clashed with a horde of monsters. All his family held their three-fingered hands together.

Aedan's eyes drooped. His mother might scold him if he stayed up any later. After putting away his drawing kit, Aedan opened the box from Howe. He placed inside a single drawing- him and his favorite uncle, with sloppy words written at the bottom:

"Me and Uncle Howe."


Author Notes

So, just a brief respite from the main plot. A few callbacks here to previous chapters- the box Howe gives him here is the same one Aedan recovers in Chapter 21. Aedan's favorite meat is mentioned earlier as smoked venison (I forget which chapter). Originally I wasn't going to have any sort of flashback story this chapter, but the story of Howe's lockbox fit in too well for me to resist.

ChocolateTruffles: Yeah, it took awhile for them to get together didn't it (about a year and a half since I started writing this lol).

TLMonkey: Decided to forgo using the part title as the ending word this time because I wanted to end on the high note of Aedan and Morrigan, but I think it worked out better this way. Hope you like the arc format!

Guest: Glad that you like the flashbacks

Guest: Part 3's coming next week, the chapter's already done- and shits going down.

As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to review!