37. Home Sweet Home

The trip back to the Vigil is largely uneventful. Two or three days in Sigrun gets so bored she starts playing with Mal's hair-with his permission, of course-to "keep myself sane" as she puts it. Mal assures us he doesn't mind; that it can't hurt to have help figuring out what to do with it, now that he actually has choices.

"Just don't hide all those glorious curls," I tease.

Sigrun rolls her eyes. "We'll take that under advisement, Commander."

"But we cannae maeke promises," Mal finishes with a laugh.

In the end, after several days' worth of experimenting, Mal settles on a style much like what Zevran and Nathaniel usually do, only his braids are looser, more devil-may-care.

"En keepin' weth yer weshes, Commander," Mal jokes.

"Y'know, Mal, unless you have plans to join the Wardens when we get back, you really don't have to call me Commander," I point out. "Rahna's fine."

"Yeh sure?"

"If she had her way, everyone would use her name, right boss?"

"Pretty much, yeah." I decided I don't have the energy to deal with the consequences of griping about the 'boss' thing right now and let it slide. "Unfortunately, lots of underlings and pretty much everyone who outranks me refuse to cooperate."

"Aw, poor yu," Declan teases.

I throw a pebble at him and grin in satisfaction as it bounces off his arm. "Shut it, you."

"Ow!" He rubs his arm instinctively. "Where's th' fun en tha'?"

"Tormenting your commanding officer is your idea of fun?" I demand, looking for something else to throw at him.

"A' course no'," he protests. "Tormentin' yu es my idea a' fun."

I glare at him, but get distracted when I hear Jowan snicker. "What?!"

"Nothing," he deflects innocently. "Just... you are awful fun to tease."

I huff in exasperation. "How did I know that you'd only break your silence to pick on me?" I fake-pout

"I haven't been silent!" he protests, crossing his arms against a sudden gust of wind.

"After the first day you were," I contradict.

"Sorry. Just was thinking..."

"No brooding allowed," I remind him playfully.

"I said thinking. Thin-king, Rahna."

I smirk. "Those often mean the same thing where you're concerned."

He shoots me a dirty look. "Thanks, boss."

"You're welcome," I reply sweetly.

"Okay, seriously," Sigrun chips in. "Would you two just kiss already?"

Jowan goes scarlet and yanks the hood of his cloak as far over his face as it'll go. I glare daggers at the grinning dwarf.

Declan laughs, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Kellin' yer own men es bad form, Rahna."

"Even if I just do it in my head?"

"Aye," he nods. "And even ef yeh thenk they deserve et."

"Rats."

oOo

Sigrun does apologize when we stop to make camp, but the little minx does it in such a way, she's only apologizing for making us uncomfortable, not for saying what she said. Still, it's better than nothing, so I accept it and then let things go.

Part of me still wants to kill her, but I resist the temptation. Payback can take other forms. And revenge is so much more fun when it's not expected.

oOo

I think the dwarf can read my mind, at least a little. She's jumpy and suspicious the rest of the way back to the Vigil.

"You act like you think something's going to happen, Sig," I tease.

She shoots me a dirty look. "Not funny, Commander. Would you just get it over with?"

"Maybe I like watching you squirm a little," I retort gleefully, and the dirty look intensifies.

Declan coughs to cover a chuckle and Sigrun turns the glower on him. "Stop that, Pretty Boy!"

"Och, c'mon, Seg, yeh know et's deserved after yesterdey."

She glowers a bit more, and then hunches in her seat as the wind picks up yet again. Wind that has gotten increasingly brutal in the days since we left Templar's Rest.

We slip in and out of varied conversations, small talk, mostly, especially since Jowan clams up if anyone mentions Lily. There's something at least somewhat unresolved for him there, but I know better than to push.

oOo

The day we finally get within sight of the Vigil is so cold I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it snowed. I'm equally unsurprised by our furry, four-legged welcoming committee: Fade and Varlan both come running full-tilt the second the gates are open.

Fade knock me on my backside as Varlan dances back and forth next to the cart-which Magpie doesn't particularly like-trying to get to Sigrun.

"Pretty Boy, would you give my poor dog a boost, please?" she demands playfully, shooting Declan a cheeky grin.

He makes a face at her as he complies, scooping up the wiggly puppy and depositing him in the cart, which Magpie likes even less. She snorts and shifts uneasily, moving forward in small, jerky motions.

Seeing as I'm trapped under a significant amount of muscle, fur, and tongue, Jowan moves to quiet the pony. Fade is distracted a few seconds later when Honey shows up. He abandons me to nip at her ears, playful love bites that she returns in kind, and both mabari are rolling on the half-frozen ground in short order.

"Commander," Nathaniel greets me with a small smile as he offers me a hand up.

"Nate," I return with a wry smirk as I accept the help. "You manage alright without me?"

"Just fine," he chuckles, hauling me to my feet.

"No attempted mutinies?" I tease, raking wisps of hair out of my eyes and back toward my loose braid.

"Unless Jerin wanting an archery rematch counts, no."

I shake my head. "Being the best two-weapon fighter here's not enough for him?"

"Apparently not," Nathaniel laughs. "Now, do I get an introduction?" He nods toward Mal, who is currently trying-with little success-to fend off an inquisitive mabari pup.

"That's Mal. He's a friend of Declan's we found in Aeonar. Mal, I wanna introduce you to Nathaniel."

The elf's head snaps up, and he nods in the general direction of my voice. "Pleased tae meet yeh, Nathaniel."

The archer's brows raise, though whether at Mal's accent or his unmistakably clouded eyes, I can't tell. "The pleasure is mine, ser. Now, am I right in assuming none of you would mind continuing this conversation indoors?"

"Damn straight," Sigrun chirps, pulling Varlan into her lap so he'll leave Mal alone. "You gotta be freezing out here, Nate."

I concur," I add, raising an eyebrow at Nathaniel's lack of a cloak.

He shrugs. "Trust me, I've endured worse."

"While I believe you, I still don't need my second in command getting sick," I chide. "So, inside. Now."

"Commander, I ken get Mags settled en th' stable an' taeke care a' th' cart ef yeh'd like tae go weth hem," Declan offers. "Jest need someone tae help Mal an' Seg."

"Get the puppy out of my lap, for starters," Sigrun laughs. Declan promptly reaches in and lifts the wriggling lump of fur back out. Varlan yips in dismay, but races off to tackle his parents the second his paws touch the ground.

Nathaniel offers Sigrun a hand down, eyebrow rising again at her leg. "This must have been some prison break."

She snorts. "Things were complicated."

"When are they not?" he returns dryly. "Is my simply carrying you going to be easier than walking?"

Sigrun goes bright red and shoots a look at Declan-who's smirking like mad-before nodding reluctantly. "Probably, yes."

As she gets a good grip and transfers her weight to his back, I step up to help Mal. "You trust me?" I ask, only half joking.

"Aye," he replies without hesitation.

"Well, I'll try to deserve it this time," I comment with self-deprecating wryness in my tone. "Fortunately, Vigil's Keep is familiar territory, so I should do better at avoiding things that might trip you up."

He simply chuckles at that as I slowly, carefully help him down from the cart.

Soon as both elf and dwarf are clear of the cart, Declan takes the reins and clicks his tongue, leading Magpie toward the stables. "See yeh enside."

"Yep." I move Mal's hand to rest on my elbow and feel his grip tighten as Fade and Honey nudge against his legs. "That's just the parents of the little scoundrel who was climbing on you earlier."

"Eny more lurkin' abou'?" he asks with a smile.

"Three more pups," I answer as we follow Nathaniel and Sigrun toward the keep. "But Lucy mostly keeps Ruby in the barracks, and Honey-that's one of the parents-mostly shadows Nate or stays in his room."

"They're mabari..." he murmurs, free hand tracing over Fade's ears.

"Mm-hm. That one there's Fade. He's mine, and a bit of a troublemaker."

"Fetting," the mage teases, grinning.

I roll my eyes. "Very funny."

"I thought it was," Sigrun calls back, which earns her an admonition from Nathaniel to hold still so he doesn't drop her.

"Yeh dinnae mention th' other two pups," Mal encourages.

"Mm. Revas belongs to Jerin-"

"Dalish?"

"Yeah, how did you-"

"I read a lot. Before. I know a bet a' Dalish," he explains.

"Alright, this'll be interesting... Anyway, Revas is a bit of an explorer, but I dunno how much Jerin lets him roam. And the last one hasn't picked an owner yet. so he doesn't have a name and usually stays pretty close to his mama."

"Actually, Rahna, there've been some... changes there," Nathaniel calls back over his shoulder as we near the keep. "Still hasn't imprinted yet, but we've taken to calling him Brandel, just to have some way of getting his attention when we need to."

"Okay... Does Brandel explore a lot?"

"No. Spends most of his time curled up on Varel's bed. Laziest dog I've ever seen," he chuckles.

"Varel's bed, huh?"

A nod. "I think it was the soup bones."

"Ah, bribery," Sigrun chuckles, tightening her grip as Nathaniel pulls open the door.

"You sure he hasn't imprinted on Varel?" I press.

"Quite," Nathaniel promises, heading for my office without need for encouragement. "He still shows equal affection for anyone who slips him food and doesn't seem to have singled the seneschal out as anything more than the person who spends the least amount of time in his room."

I shake my head. "Doesn't surprise me... I'll have to talk to that man..."

"Because you're so much better?" the archer prods with a wry grin.

"Touche," I concede with a laugh as we reach my office. "For now, how 'bout we talk about the past month..."

"I have a feeling there's only about a day or so's worth of that that's really interesting," Nathaniel replies, lowering Sigrun into a chair.

"Maker, do you have that right..." I chuckle, and begin.

A/N:Argh, I really wish that last puppy would imprint already. *headdesk* But every time I think of someone for him to imprint on, something feels... off about it, for lack of a better word. Maybe it's that all my options feel a bit cliche? *shrug* Hopefully I'll figure something out soon.