Chapter 53: Oghren

Alistair was exhausted. The Deep Roads and Orzammar had done something to him, maybe because he was a Grey Warden. She noticed that with Elissa, too. Starr didn't have the heart to wake him just because she couldn't sleep. She looked down lovingly at him, her husband. Husband. That word had so much weight to it, and came with so much joy. Maybe that's why she couldn't sleep? No, the air felt different. There was a silence she wasn't used to hearing, and it was heavy. She peeked through the tent flap; it was snowing. She sort of remembered seeing snow fall before, but not like this. The flakes were so big she could see the lace detail of each one, and so many! She quickly pulled on a shirt and britches and stepped outside, barefoot. She looked up at the sky, reveling in the wonder of the moment and knew what she had to do.

Quickly and silently, she made her way to the tent of the newest member of their group. Opening it, she was met by the odor of stale beer and odd foods. Fortunately for all of them Elissa had insisted Oghren bathe regularly and clean his armor if he was going to travel with them so the smell was not as bad as it could have been. Starr ignored it and pulled on the arm of the sleeping dwarf inside, "Come on, come on, this won't take long," she whispered as Oghren slowly opened his eyes and looked blearily at her. Grumbling under his breath about idiot humans, he started to pull on his armor. Starr stopped him, "You don't need that. Come with me, I want to show you something," and pulled on his arm some more. She finally pulled him hard enough that they fell out of his tent, Oghren on top.

"Built like the best dwarva, alright, Alistair is a lucky man," and he took advantage of the situation to waggle his chin and beard across her breasts. He was careful to grumble at her while he savored lying on top of all her curves, it had been a long time since he'd been this close to a woman, "I'm out. Whaddaya want?"

Starr pushed aside the intriguing notion of getting Stair to grow a beard and rolled Oghren next to her. "Look up, it's snowing! And not just any snow, big beautiful pieces of lace are falling down, aren't they exquisite?" and she swept her arm as if encompassing the night.

Oghren looked up and felt wonder. He sat up and held out his hand, and watched the flakes fall and slowly melt against his skin. He looked down at Starr, her eyes sparkling blue with innocent joy as she watched the snow. Fat crystals caught in her hair and lashes, gruffly he replied, "Yeah, beautiful," and looked away into the night. She sat up next to him and tried to catch the flakes on her tongue before sitting quietly. Oghren didn't think he had ever shared a moment of quiet companionship with anybody before. Branka had never been given to silently looking at things and just experiencing the moment. "Why did you want me to see this?" he finally asked.

"I wanted you to see something wonderful. Snow like this is rare, or at least I haven't seen it before. I know you've never been on the surface before; I know what it's like to find yourself surrounded by people and an environment you don't understand. It can be, I don't know, overwhelming and disconcerting, even frustrating." Starr looked at him with gentle understanding, "You have a friend, Oghren, if that's what you want. I want you to know you can talk to me if you feel like you don't know where you are or whether you're upside down or right side up. That's all," she took his hand in hers and turned her head to admire the snowy picture all around them.

Oghren was touched, though he would never admit it. "Humph, thanks," he snorted, but kept his hand in hers. Finally, he noticed she was shivering, and while he could admire the way her nipples stood out through her shirt, now clingy and damp from melting snow, he wasn't going to repay her kindness by letting her get frostbite. He stood up and pulled her to her feet, gulping at how close her gorgeous breasts came to his face, "Come on, you need to get back inside before you freeze to death. Crazy humans," he muttered under his breath.

In the short time it took to reach the tent she shared with that sodding pike-twirler Alistair, Starr was starting to turn blue and she was shivering. Oghren snorted, "Look at you, you're as cold as one of them thingamabobs, icicles!"

Starr looked at him, and in spite of her shivering her grin was one of pure wicked delight. "Then I guess I better find a way to warm up fast, don't you agree?"

Oghren snorted and pinched her bottom before pushing her inside. He stood outside the tent for a minute, listening. He was rewarded when he heard Alistair's yelp and startled shout, "Ow, Maker's breath you're cold!" Seconds later, "How did you get so cold, even there? Never mind, I don't want to know." He wandered off to his tent, picturing the scene behind him and grinning. Maybe the surface wasn't so bad; it had snow.