Here we go,
going it alone
into the dark and
wonderful unknown...
-Wonderful Unknown, Ingrid Michaelson

We should stop.

The thought was an insubstantial, unpersuasive thing that barely pierced his brain, clouded as it was with all the sensation that kissing Elissa entailed. Alistair had no idea how long he'd been sitting under this bridge with her perched on his lap, her hand pressing against the back of his skull as they continued to explore each other's mouths. Her kiss was intoxicating and indulging in a few minutes of this bliss hardly seemed like such a crime, given how long he'd (stupidly) waited for it.

Still, as much as he enjoyed the weight of her in his arms, the thought popped up again after a few moments that maybe it was time to stop. They weren't exactly in the safest of locations-bandits or city guard could appear at any time and both would be equally disastrous.

But the longer he kissed her, the less he wanted to stop. That was another, different kind of danger, and when Elissa paused for a breath and shifted so that her hand snaked between their chests it became the more compelling and urgent one.

She must have heard (or more likely felt) the hitch in his breath at her movement, for she pulled back just enough to allow her to whisper into his mouth, "don't open your eyes."

The strangely alluring command delivered with a puff of breath on his lips shot a spike of desire straight to his groin, so he could only dutifully obey when she once again pressed her mouth to his, and kept his eyes shut tight. The internal voice had turned into something of a shout now (What are you going to do? Take her right here underneath the bridge?) but he felt powerless to act contrary to Elissa's command.

Her hand lowered and fumbled with something at her waist and he found himself holding his breath...but then her arm jerked outward and though his eyes were closed he got the sense that she...threw something? There was a tinkle-pop noise and a flash of light bright enough to see behind his eyelids, and then the weight of Elissa was simply gone, and he opened his eyes to see two figures standing on either side of them, stumbling around as if blinded.

It was a testament to his training that he was able to so quickly shift from the heated throes of passion to battle-ready alertness. With a wordless shout he scrambled to his feet and drew his sword, pointing it at the figure nearest him.

"Keep your hands where I can see them," he heard Elissa hiss behind him, and gave a gulp of relief that she'd managed to get the drop on the other figure. He wouldn't risk turning his head behind him to look, not wanting to take his eyes off the man in front of him.

A familiar chuckle came from the darkness behind him. "Bella, I will put my hands wherever you command."

"Zevran!" Elissa gasped, and in spite of how he'd spent the last twenty or so minutes, Alistair's stomach sank at the excitement in her tone. He heard a rustle of movement and surmised that she'd sheathed her blades. "You're alive!"

Alistair didn't think that was any reason to let down their guard. He kept his sword pointed at the other man...No, elf, he corrected, as the man turned his head and revealed a slim, pointed ear. He was easily the tallest elf Alistair had ever seen-they were practically the same height, though Alistair guessed he had a stone or two on him.

The elf lowered his hand and seemed to perceive the sword aimed at his throat for the first time. He looked up at Alistair, eyebrows rising over a handsome face. There was something familiar in the tattoo the elf's face bore, but he couldn't quite place it.

"What in the Void did you do to them?" He blurted out after the elf blinked up at him blearily and raised his hands in surrender.

"A flash bomb," Elissa said, and Alistair didn't have to turn toward her to tell that she was beaming. "Completely useless during the day, but at night or in an enclosed space the light it gives off is bright enough to temporarily blind someone." She drew in a breath after her quickly spoken explanation. "I am sorry for using one of your own tricks against you, Zev, but I suppose it only serves you right for trying to sneak up on us."

He risked a glance to his right to see Elissa standing in front of Zevran with her arms crossed, looking amused.

Zevran narrowed his eyes. "We weren't sneaking, my fair Warden. If we had been, you would not have detected us." He paused. "Especially as distracted as you were."

Elissa looked over at Alistair with a blushing smile that made his own face feel warm, but a second later her brow furrowed into a frown. "Why are you still pointing your sword at him?"

Alistair's eyes went wide. The elf in front of him wore chainmail that was scored with both scratches and a copious amount of blood. He held up his arms in a gesture of surrender, but his raised hands were also conveniently close to the giant, two-handed sword on his back. "Because! What if he's a Crow?"

He heard someone heave a huge sigh behind him and assumed it was Zevran.

"Crow, huh?" the tall elf said, one eyebrow screwing up in amusement, even as he raised his hands in surrender. "Haven't heard that one before." He looked off in the distance, a look of gleeful contemplation crossing his handsome face. "Darrian the Crow. I like the sound of that!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Elissa scoffed. "He's no Crow. Obviously."

At that, Alistair couldn't help turning back to Elissa with an incredulous expression. The one she bore was serene. Alistair let his sword down...partway. "Oh, is that so?"

"That man is Darrian Tabris." Elissa said, shooting a triumphant look at Zevran. She grinned at the elf knowingly as Zevran stepped closer to them. "And it turns out he helped you, didn't he? He was the man that killed all those bandits with you." That...did make sense, though how Elissa knew the man's name was beyond him. "I guess I was right after all, wasn't I?"

Alistair wasn't sure why Elissa seemed so jubilant over the elf's identity, but she seemed disappointed when Zevran didn't flinch from her teasing tone. Instead, Zevran fixed his amber gaze back on her and raised his eyebrows ever-so-slightly.

The expression was enough to make Elissa pause and stare at the assassin for a few seconds, and it seemed almost as if the two of them had a silent conversation. Lovely. The thought left Alistair vaguely unsettled.

Elissa gave a little nod, and then turned back to the elf...Tabris, she called him. She frowned. "And why did you do that? What is it that you want?"

The elf's eyes went wide, the whites of them standing out in stark relief against the black mask tattoo that surrounded them. He licked his lips and took one small step backward. "Hey now, don't forget I helped you," he said, shooting Zevran a pleading look.

Zevran appeared unmoved. His arms crossed in front of him and the look he shot the other elf was cold and calculating. "Yes, a fact I did not question at the time for practical reasons. The bandits you helped me kill were a terrible inconvenience." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "But now I find myself as curious as our fair Warden. What is it that you hope to gain from helping me?"

Tabris ran his hand through his short, spiky brown hair and it dawned on Alistair where he'd seen him. "The Wanted posters!" he practically shouted and turned to look at Elissa. "That's how you know his name. You saw it on the Wanted poster wall."

Elissa shot him a strained, patient smile. "Yes, Ali. That's Darrian Tabris." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "We've established that."

"Um, right," Alistair said, feeling chagrined. There still seemed to be a wealth of subtext to this whole encounter that he wasn't getting, but he didn't want to ask any more stupid questions. Still, a troubling thought occurred to him. "So he's a criminal then," he said, turning back to the elf and lifting his sword so that it pointed at his chin again.

Darrian's mouth twisted into a grin, though he kept his hands raised. "Well, you shouldn't believe everything you read on a Wanted poster you know. Besides, if I'm a criminal then so are you two...Elissa Cousland...the Grey Warden."

This time Alistair shared a grim look with both Elissa and Zevran. For once, they were all on the same page. "Speak," Elissa said, frowning up at the tall elf. "Quickly."

Darrian gave a quick nod. "I saw you-this morning. At the Wanted poster wall. I saw you take down my flier."

Elissa reached into the pack she wore against one hip. She pulled out a folded piece of parchment and unfolded it, making a show of letting everyone see it.

Darrian nodded at the flier. "Aye, that's the one." His face contorted suddenly into one of rage. "It's full of lies, you know."

"Of course," Elissa said, shrugging a shoulder. "It's completely fabricated." She brought the flier closer to her face and examined it. "Vaughan's appetites were well known. If I were to venture a guess, I'd say he was the one who kidnapped those poor elven women, and you went on your rampage to avenge them." The elf didn't meet her gaze when she looked up to peer at him, and her eyes went wide. "Of course," she said with a frown, turning to look at the flier in her hand again. "He… took someone you cared about." Her voice sounded unexpectedly thick.

Alistair could tell Elissa had got it right almost immediately. All the swagger went out of Darrian Tabris-his shoulders slumped and he bent his head, and it suddenly dawned on Alistair that the tall elf was really just a kid.

Kicking the dirt at his feet, Darrian gave a curt nod. "They took my cousin, and...and they took my wife."

The silence that settled after that was a tad uncomfortable. Elissa's face contorted into an even deeper frown as she stared down at the parchment in her hands. After taking a deep breath, she shook her head and then turned to shoot a quizzical look at Zevran. "He followed us?" she said, a challenging note in her tone.

At that, Alistair thought Zevran might have looked just a touch chagrined, but before Zevran could defend himself, Darrian piped up. "Well, I didn't follow you, but I have plenty of eyes and ears on the street willing to look out for me." At their surprised faces he gave a modest shrug. "The people here...they don't have it off much better than us elves in the alienage. And nobody really cares about them, either." He smirked and looked over his shoulder up at the buildings above them. "They appreciate having an elf like me around, let's say." He turned back to Elissa and raised an eyebrow. "I make myself...useful."

Elissa's eyes narrowed. "Go on," she said, gesturing with the hand that still held his wanted flier.

"So, yeah. I heard all about your day through my little vine of nobodies." Darrian's gaze traveled from Zevran to Alistair and then landed back on Elissa accompanied by an amused grin. "You've had one hell of a day."

Elissa tensed and shot a look at Zevran, who stared at the other elf with a steady frown. She turned back to Alistair and he saw that she was blushing furiously. Oh, right. Elissa's day had included getting completely shitfaced drunk and puking all over herself, he remembered with a frown. He still had no idea what that was all about. He cocked his head to the side and shot Elissa an inquisitive look.

She didn't seem inclined to explain at that moment, either. "All of that is irrelevant. Obviously you do want something or else you wouldn't have appeared out of thin air to rescue Zevran." Zevran made a little noise in his throat at the word rescue but apparently thought better of correcting Elissa. "Tell us-why should we trust you?"

"Because...we're on the same side, I swear." Darrian swallowed, and took a deep breath. "You're an enemy to Loghain, and you're my only hope. I need your help." His gaze shot around to all three of them in turn. "Something's wrong with the alienage."

Elissa turned her head to the side and regarded Darrian out of the corners of her eyes. "The alienage is closed due to a plague."

Darrian shook his head. "I'm not even sure there is a plague!" he said, waving his arms in exasperation. "I just know that they closed it, and now I can't get any messages in or out of there." He looked up at Elissa with a pleading expression. "Please. This is all my fault. They raided the alienage after I...after what I did to Vaughan. My pa-, my father is still in there, and I don't even know if he's alright."

Alistair found himself lowering his sword. It was hard to see the kid as a threat any longer. Elissa's expression seemed to soften as well. She looked off into the distance, chewing her bottom lip for a few seconds. "I should have investigated the alienage when I first heard about it," she muttered.

Zevran stepped closer to Darrian. "What is it that you suspect?"

Darrian seemed to note the change in the disposition of his questioners, for he let his arms drop slowly. Seeing no resistance he relaxed visibly. "I don't know, exactly," he said. "I just...I've got the entrance to that place watched night and day and no one ever sees any elves leave...on their feet or on their backs." He shook his head. "And I ain't seen no burial fires burning neither."

Elissa's eyebrows rose and she gave a little nod. "Indeed. If it were a plague worthy of quarantine, where are its victims? And if there are no victims-?"

"Then why the quarantine? Exactly!" Darrian's voice brimmed with excitement. "Finally! Someone who will listen." He licked his lips. "Please...I...I get the feeling you're about the only one who can or will help me. I've gotta know what's going on in there."

Alistair tried to catch Elissa's eye, but she stared down at the dirt, lost in thought. Her lips moved as if she was whispering something to herself, but he couldn't hear it. He shot a curious look to Zevran, but the elf was watching Darrian with a thoughtful frown.

With a sigh, Alistair sheathed his sword and then rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright, well...I think we all agree that it's a matter worth investigating, perhaps, but not now. We need to find our way out of the city." He looked over at Elissa for confirmation, but she still wasn't looking at anyone. Instead she stood there, slowly bringing up her hands to cover her face in what looked like a pantomime of a gesture of despair. "Elissa?"

She bent her head into her hands for a brief second, only to drop her hands an instant later and return his gaze. "No," she said, her mouth set into a grim line. "We can't wait. We have to investigate tonight."

Alistair could see that she had that look in her eye. "Why? What is it?"

She frowned at him a few seconds before turning to Zevran and asking him in a quiet voice, "Have you ever been to Kirkwall?"

"What is she going on about?" Darrian asked, his voice cracking in disbelief.

Zevran waved his hand impatiently. "Quiet," he hissed, and then reached out to touch Elissa's shoulder. "Kirkwall...I haven't been there. What is it about the city that intrigues you?"

"Kirkwall is guarded by giant statues, put there ages ago by Tevinter slavers," she said. "They are called the Twins, and they stand like this." She put her hands over her face again, and bent her neck downward.

Darrian made a strangled noise in his throat. "Why is she giving us a lesson in geography right now?"

Alistair could sympathize, but Elissa didn't give him any time to explain. "Because," she snapped, turning to face him, one hand on her hip. "There were two ships in the harbor that had figureheads that bore a remarkable resemblance to those twin statues. Do you know what that means?"

"Brasca," Zevran swore under his breath as Alistair felt the blood run out of his face. He finally realized what Elissa was insinuating.

The young Tabris however, was apparently too sheltered to catch on. His eyes darted around the three of them. "No! What does it mean? I don't know what it means!"

"Two Tevinter ships, and an alienage cut off from the rest of the city...it's far too suspicious." Elissa turned to face Alistair, and the moonlight revealed a pinched and miserable expression. She spared a glance for the two elves before moving closer to him. "You understand don't you?" She peered searchingly up at him. "If we … if we go back to camp tonight and come back tomorrow to find them all gone ...I could never live with myself."

It filled Alistair's chest with warmth both to see that Elissa assumed he'd managed to keep up with her unspoken conclusion (for once) and to see that she cared so much about helping people that she'd never even met. To think, at one point he'd thought her cold and calculating. Still, it all seemed so unbelievable. "Do you really think Loghain would stoop to this?"

Zevran gave an indecorous snort and Elissa turned to face him. He arched an eyebrow. "From what I have seen there is little that Loghain is incapable of doing."

"Alright," Darrian screeched. "Will somebody please tell me what is going on?"

Elissa's face softened once again as she looked up at Darrian. "I'm afraid...I'm afraid Loghain is selling off alienage elves to Tevinter slavers."

Darrian's jaw dropped and he stared at Elissa in silent horror for a few seconds. "No," he finally managed. "That can't be true."

"Indeed it appears to be," Zevran said. He gestured with his head at Elissa and Alistair. "I can think of no previous occasion in which the three of us have ever been in such accord." His smile turned grim. "Let us go confirm this miraculous event, shall we?"

Darrian stood there frozen, gaping at the three of them as the shock of the news sunk in. "Yeah," he said at last, rubbing a hand over his face. "Yeah, okay. I...I think I can get you all in." He nodded at Alistair. "Assuming Ser Points His Sword A Lot is a decent enough climber."

There was no way he'd sit this mission out. "Alistair," he offered and after a beat he extended his hand. "Grey Warden and fellow criminal."

Darrian stared at the hand for one skeptical beat before giving a small shrug and clasping it briefly and firmly. He turned to Elissa and inclined his head. "Thank you, Elissa," he said. "I … I wouldn't have the guts to go back there myself, but if you're right…" His face blanched and he trailed off.

Elissa gave a crisp nod. "We are," she said firmly. "But don't worry. We'll stop them." Her eyes narrowed and she clenched a fist in front of her. "Loghain won't get away with this."

Darrian stared at Elissa with wide eyes. "You know with the way you talk, I actually believe you." He grinned down at her. "You are literally nothing like I would have expected." He shot Zevran a look before turning to Alistair and raising his eyebrows. Finally his gaze landed back on Elissa. "Anyway, I'm...uh...glad you can fit me in what with everything you've got going on right now."

Elissa looked at her feet and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Um, right," she said, before looking up at Alistair and biting her bottom lip. "I think...I think we should have a word before we depart."

Alistair's eyes went wide at the request, and he felt an unsteady dread settle in his chest. "Um...sure," he said, glancing over at the elves. Darrian was staring at the two of them in open amusement.

"Come, Darrian the Crow," Zevran said in a mocking tone. "Let us give our Warden friends some privacy." He gestured and then the two elves moved down the passage by the channel to stand at the foot of a stone staircase that led back up to the docks district.

"What is it?"

Elissa stared up at him for a few seconds, before taking a deep breath. "Well, really it's nothing I would have thought significant enough to share, ordinarily. It's hardly relevant or important," she said, shrugging one shoulder. She shifted her weight to her other foot and rubbed the back of her neck. "But then I thought...perhaps a person might read more into my not sharing the fact than is warranted? A person might ascribe some significance to the action when really...there is none." She looked up at him with a pleading expression.

He screwed up one eyebrow. "I'm sorry...what now? Is there something you want to tell me?"

"No! I mean, yes. I mean, I don't want to….I don't particularly think it's relevant or meaningful, like I said, but then I think…" She twisted her hands together in front of her, and kept her eyes on the ground between their feet. "Then I think perhaps my instincts in this arena are not the best, and perhaps I should endeavor to do what my mother would advise." She looked up at Alistair with a wince then. "She always said that openness and honesty were important."

It was just another surreal part of his day, he thought, as he watched Elissa stammer and fluster in front of him. That she could be this nervous about revealing something to him made him a little nervous, but mostly he was touched at the vulnerability she was willing to display. He reached out and brushed her cheek with his fingers. "Just tell me, 'Liss. I'm sure it's not a big deal."

She stared up at him, holding her breath for the span of a few heartbeats. "I kissed Zevran."

He froze, eyes going wide as his brain raced away from the fact. No. He refused to believe it. He let his arm drop to his side and gaped at her. "What?"

"I knew I shouldn't have said anything." She winced up at him. "You're angry aren't you?"

"I…" His mouth gaped open, but he was unable to fill it with any words. He looked over her head to see the silhouettes of the two elves lurking about twenty feet away. "I'll kill him."

Elissa shook her head. "No! He didn't do anything! In fact, he pushed me away and said I'd regret what I was doing when I was sober. Don't blame him." She swallowed and looked up at him with brows knit together. "Blame me."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and then opened them and looked down at Elissa with frown. "Why did you do it?"

She licked her lips. "It just sort of happened! I was...I was inebriated, as I told you before...and...and keep in mind that as far as I knew you wanted nothing to do with me anymore! You told me that you and I weren't a good idea-"

He shook his head. "You said that too-"

"But, you said it first!" After the words were out she blushed and ducked her head. "Maker, I sound so immature." She looked up at Alistair with another wince. "I told you I was bad at this." The burning ball of jealousy that had settled in his gut lessened a little at her nervous candor. She took a half step toward him, still twining her hands together in front of her. "Please don't be angry with me."

"I'm not….I'm not angry," he repeated, looking down at Elissa helplessly. "I'm just...I…" He took another deep breath. He wanted to believe her; he didn't want to let his jealousy get in the way of things with her yet again. "Do you still think that? That we're… not a good idea?"

That was all that really mattered, wasn't it? He held his breath as he waited for Elissa's answer. She put one hand on the middle of his chest. Looking up at him under dark lashes, she said with a little smile, "This feels more real than just an idea now, doesn't it?"

He blinked down at her for a few seconds before a grin slowly broke over his face. "That it does," he said lowly, and bent down to capture her lips in a brief kiss. The contact melted away the last of his bitter jealousy. He pulled away and then glanced over at the elves with a sudden start. "You know...they're elves." He raised an eyebrow at Elissa. "They can probably hear everything we're saying."

"I know," she said, not taking his eyes off of him. She gave a little shrug. "I'm not hiding anything. And now you know that he knows that I…" Her mouth hung open for a few seconds and she averted her eyes to look at her hand on his chest. "That I prefer you."

It was hardly the declaration of emotion poets wrote about, but it filled his chest with warmth even still. He grinned down at her and put his hand over hers. "Well I prefer you, too."

She smiled up at him for a few moments before she gave a little cough and stepped backward. "I'm glad that's settled." She looked over at the elves and then back at Alistair. "Shall we get going?"

"Lead on, boss," he said, following Elissa into the night, feeling lighter than he probably had any right to, given what they could be facing if they even managed to sneak into the alienage without detection.

Maker, being with Elissa was a bit like navigating a choppy river of rapids, Alistair thought. But it beat not even being in the boat.

As they drew up with the elves Elissa sidled up to Darrian and started rummaging through her pack. "I have some potions that you should have on you, in case anything happens," she told him.

Alistair stole a glance at Zevran. The assassin kept his eyes trained on the pair in front of him as they walked, but there was a knowing smirk on his face. "It appears congratulations are in order."

Alistair tried not to appear too jubilant. "So you heard," he said, glancing again at Zevran out of the corner of his eye. "She prefers me," he couldn't help adding, feeling his chest swell. It wasn't too terrible of him to enjoy this moment, was it?

"Indeed," Zevran said, his lips still twisted into a smirk. "It appears you have captured the Warden's attention." He glanced up at Alistair and raised one golden eyebrow. "For the moment."

Alistair rolled his eyes, but he wasn't going to let Zevran get to him. He felt too happy not to be magnanimous. "Er, right. Whatever. Anyway, I… wanted to thank you. For not … I mean… for not...you know...being a creep." That probably could have come out better.

Zevran's eyebrow remained raised. "Such flattery will get you nowhere, dear Warden," said drily.

Alistair gave a grunt of frustration. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, you're thankful I'm not a rapist. I'm truly overcome by your high opinion of me."

Alistair sighed. It was a lost cause anyway. "Look, you don't have to like me-"

"So generous!" Zevran said in a mocking tone. "Now you even permit me to dislike you. Truly, I am blessed with your association." He stopped and gave Alistair a mocking bow.

Alistair threw up his hands in disgust. "Fine! Have it your way-be a spiteful git for all I care. I just…" He stopped then, and looked pointedly at Elissa. "I just want you to know...Elissa trusts you. So that means….that means I do too, I guess." He frowned down at the elf, whose expression had turned more thoughtful than mocking. "Until you give me a reason not to. Again."

Zevran regarded him with a shuttered gaze for a few seconds, before giving a nonchalant shrug. "That is...a fair enough arrangement, I suppose."

"Great," Alistair said, with forced cheerfulness. "We understand each other, then."

"Indeed."

They fell silent as they followed Elissa and Darrian into the darkness of the city, and Alistair tried to convince himself that the conversation had done some good. He told himself he didn't really care what Zevran thought. The important thing was that he'd tried. For whatever reason, Elissa seemed to trust the elf, and though he didn't, he trusted Elissa.

That would have to be good enough, for now.