"Oghren! Something is wrong!" She would have called Kaala if she could, but the elf had walked away quite a bit; Leliana could barely just make her out in the distance between the ruins. Staring at the small figure, she wondered why the young elf would walk that far away, but that thought was interrupted by a huffing and puffing Oghren.

He stopped a few paces away, obviously still uncomfortable even with the dragon sound asleep.
"I don't know what to do, I mean look at her, she's all skin and bones!" Leliana knew she was being hysterical, but she simply couldn't stop worrying over the enormous creature next to her. In the midst of what she had thought would be a transformation or at least some kind of connection between the two of them, the High Dragon had simply closed its eyes and lain down. The beast was snoring peacefully at the moment, however labored her breathing might be.

It still was hard to think of the huge reptile as Morrigan, but she at least knew it to be true after their encounter in the clouds.
"What happened?" She was bent over the enormous dragon's skull, watching the steady breaths leave the nostrils that were bigger than her own head.
"I don't kn… I'm not sure. She just… she went down." For the first time since the dragon had collapsed, Leliana looked at the amulet in her hand. The amulet that had caused all this. Or… a lot of this. The connection the hair had to Morrigan was undeniable, as even while the witch was sleeping here in her dragon form, the locket that held the strand of hair together glowed in an unearthly way. Purple and warm was the light emanating from the jewelry. For a moment the rogue was glad that it didn't burn her hand still, but her relief was soon overshadowed when the gigantic dragon next to her sniffled slightly in its sleep.

"She's sleeping while prey is nearby…," Leliana whispered. For a moment the small dwarf just stared at her, but then his eyes grew wide in understanding:
"You mean us."
"I…"
"You just called us prey!"
"I… well… no, I mean… yes, but… we are prey to her. I'm not certain how much she remembers. I saw bits and pieces of her memories, jagged pictures and nothing made sense. It's all foggy and confusing, Oghren."
"But you're sure this… creature is Morrigan?"

"I think so." Her hand came to rest on the dragon's skull, gently stroking one of the scales that shimmered brighter than the others. Another huff escaped the High Dragon's nostrils, and scared Leliana somewhat, until she realized it might as well have been a sigh. There it was. The connection she had felt so many times before. A tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach, strong and relentless.

However strong it felt, it was weak compared to the intensity of the bond they had shared in the skies. She had felt Morrigan's whole being envelop her in purple tufts of energy, embracing her, swallowing her whole. They had become one entity with one purpose and one line of thought. It had been more intense than anything she had ever experienced before that. Now she could tell that the mage had reached her limits. She could feel the energy coursing through Morrigan's body, but it was weak and streaked with red, as if someone had ripped bloody holes into it. It was a sight Leliana was accustomed to, something she saw fairly often.

The animals she frequently called to help them in their fights, they had the same ragged aura, no matter which color the animals had in the beginning, their aura turned more red the more they were hurt. This, here, this was not an exception. The aura before her, no matter its size, it was the same as the other animals' aura she had seen on their travels. It was weak. Red. Deep red, indicating that something was beyond wrong. That the creature was hurting. Leliana's heart went out to the dragon; to the woman she… loved.

"I need to do something."


"Are you even serious?! You can't just 'stay here' with her!"
"I can and I will, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise!"
"Listen, you have to come with us, she will be fine!"
"If you could see her aura, you wouldn't say that! Don't you care about her?! You connected to her, it was your friendship that brought her down, that made her realize you're not food!"
"I know…"
"Then let me stay! Take Zevran if you're so keen on picking locks!"
"It isn't that, you know that! I can pick the blasted locks myself!"
"Then whyyyyyy?!"
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU GETTING HURT AGAIN!"

Leliana stepped up to the elf and took her hands; tenderly.
"I won't. I promise. She won't hurt me." Hugging the smaller woman, the bard pushed her away and held her at arm's length for a moment, looking into green eyes.
"Listen, I need to take care of her. Don't you understand that, Kaala? I need to… I need to be there for her." Like you were for me.

The Dalish elf shook her head, a grim look shadowing her usually so friendly face.
"I know." Then Kaala turned around, waving for Oghren and Kahless to follow. Leliana could just barely make out the wetness in her eyes before the elf had turned around completely, but she chose not to comment on it.


When Leliana cut the deer's throat, there was a determined yet sad look in her eyes. She had never used her skill as a ranger for the hunt before. She preferred actually stalking the animals or setting traps. Somehow, willing them to come for her had never crossed her mind. Even when she hadn't caught something, she had never needed to resort to her abilities.

Today was different. She had pondered whether she should leave the sleeping dragon, whether she should go and hunt the proper way, but she had decided against it. Morrigan was not safe down here. Had the dragon fallen asleep atop her mountain cliff, things would be different, but down here, she didn't feel that the witch was safe. At any time someone might come up the mountain, who knows what was going on down at the foot of the mountain; their companions might be dead already, killed by Darkspawn or fanatics.

She let the lifeless body drop to the ground, watching the snow soak up the blood that was flowing freely from the neck of the small animal.
"You better eat this. Or else…," she muttered, as she moved a few paces away, sitting down on one of the bigger rocks. It was not that she was afraid of the dragon, it was Morrigan after all, but she also was not sure how the beast inside of her would react to fresh meat. As of yet, the dragon had not stirred, so she decided to help her along.

Picking up one of the rocks on the ground, she instinctively closed her eyes before she flung the hard object at the dragon's head, anticipating a cry of outrage as well as some fire or… in fact, she did not know what to expect.
When hit by the stone, the dragon didn't even flinch, however Leliana could see one of the eyes opening lazily, taking in the surroundings. Fixating on her.

That did not bode well.

Leliana gulped, uncertain how to proceed. Stiff and slightly afraid she sat there and waited for the dragon to move. Should Morrigan choose to attack, she would not survive. Her weapons were safely planted next to a bundle at the foot of the rock she was sitting on. Not the smartest idea she had ever had.

She was lucky. The dragon's enormous nostrils picked up the fresh blood and within moments the dead animal was crushed by sharp fangs and swallowed hole. Leliana watched as the reptile enjoyed its food, and so she didn't miss the moment when yellow eyes turned into something else.
"What…"

With unbelievable speed the dragon had advanced on her, and it was all she could do to press herself against the cold hard stone she had been sitting on. The gigantic head of the dragon was mere inches from her face, forcing her body into a lying position atop the rock. Between a rock and a hard place. The situation she was in was so beyond normal that she almost laughed out loud.

Instead, her body chose to whimper. The obviously hungry creature was drooling all over her armor, and if Leliana hadn't been too afraid to move even a single finger, she would have shoved the slobbering beast aside. That was not meant to happen, however. So she just lay there, staring at the purple scales and white teeth in front of her face, hoping she would not end up like the deer she had offered the witch.

They seemed to stay like that forever, neither of them moving much, except for the dragon's snarls. A skinless mouth just hung above her, from time to time swaying to the left or right, fixating her with a yellow glowing eye.

She couldn't have been sure what prompted her to move, but she did, surprising herself as well as the female dragon. One of her hands found the way to the pointed tip of the reptile's nose, resting there for mere moments before the beast shook its head and got rid of the apparently unwanted touch. Leliana was glad that Morrigan didn't attack, but that alone just was not enough. She would have to help the witch remember, to make her revert into her old form so she could hug her and keep her close and never let go.

"Morrigan," the dragon's head snapped up at the word, listening intently.
"Morrigan, it's me. Leliana. You…" love me. "You're my friend." When no reaction came forth, the bard decided to try a different approach. She closed her eyes and focused on the locket she wore, hoping to connect with the witch on another level yet again. She let her spirit flow and was instantly greeted by dark purple tendrils floating around her, still streaked with red, but hardly as off-putting and frightening as before the dragon had fed.

Leliana tentatively let their auras meet, and when she felt no resistance, she started sending pictures, memories, trying to trigger the dragon to remember who she really was. There was no spark of sudden recognition, nothing, but the rogue kept trying, until she felt like she couldn't keep it up anymore. She was growing tired fast. Her body needed rest. It was with that thought in mind that she detached from the dragon's presence and went back into her own body, feeling ever more tired now that she was in this human form again. Without thinking, she pushed the dragon away like an annoying dog.

The result of her action presented itself to her when she clambered down the rock. Morrigan had curled up, the previously slobbering head neatly folded on top of her long tail. Golden eyes watched her curiously as she made her way to the fire that Oghren had made earlier while Leliana had argued with the Warden. It was almost gone, but a few branches did the trick and as it started licking at the wood, Leliana instantly felt better.

"You know, you have it easy. I present you with food, you eat it, and now you get to curl up and sleep without being bothered by the freezing cold up here…" With that, Leliana huddled under the makeshift tent she had built, a pelt and linens held up by two branches. It was still cold, but with the help of the boulders nearby it at least protected her from the wind.


When she awoke she realized that breathing was becoming an issue. Opening her eyes, she stared into absolute darkness and her hands found fabric on all sides. Apparently her tent had collapsed overnight. And since no one had woken her, it meant her companions were still gone. Off to get the Urn of Sacred Ashes. Leliana wondered what had happened to them while clawing her way out of the mess of linens and pelts. Once she was outside, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. While she had slept, the dragon had crawled closer and curled around her, destroying her makeshift tent in the process.

So now she was stuck between the dragon's slowly moving chest and massive head. It was surprisingly warm and comfortable, and before she knew it, she was falling asleep again, safely wrapped in a High Dragon's embrace.

TO BE CONTINUED.