Judy: I'm glad you think so, thankyou!


Chapter 28 - Those that dance

'Okay time for the pièce de résistance,' Tallis said as she took out the blood and splattered it up both herself and Katza, who had her eyes closed and tightly closed lips.

'Ugh, why is that still warm?' She muttered as she wiped her eyes. Tallis giggled and cleared her throat as she practised her nug call. Garrett covers his mouth as he tries not to laugh and Fenris gently hands Makatza a cloth so she can at least wipe her face clean.

'What? Oh I see, you go up to your elbow in wyvern shit and yet I'm the weird one?' Tallis says annoyed and making Garrett hold up his hands in defence. 'Come on Katza, we gotta start moving.'

'Why am I bait again?' Makatza asked Fenris as she handed him back the cloth which was now really only fit to be burnt. She watched as Tallis danced across the open field making a horrid squealing noise. 'I don't think I'm needed,' she adds with a giggle. Garrett gives her a small shove and a thumbs up as he grabs Fenris by the arm and drags him to the bushes so they can hide. Makatza rolls her eyes and leaps over to Tallis and basically copies her, minus the god awful sqawling that she was doing. There was a rustling and both the women stood still as it became apparent that something was watching them. Makatza felt her heartbeat pick up in anticipation and nerves as she spotted a pair of eyes in the brush, she moved her hand in a circle very slowly as she crouched. It was a subtle signal that they had decided on before setting the trap, she could sense Garrett and Fenris shifting as they got ready to move.

'I still do not think this was a good idea, what was wrong with luring a small one?' Fenris said bitterly, this whole day had rubbed him up the wrong way. They had found themselves drifting into natural pairs and it wasn't helping that there was something about Tallis that he found himself distrusting. Also, he didn't trust Makatza to be left alone with just Tallis as he doubted that she would protect her against a large attack, such as a wyvern.

There was a low hissing noise from the bushes as it circled it's so called ''prey,'' the women didn't move knowing that as soon as they did it would attack. 'Ready?' Makatza whispered without moving her mouth, her eyes tracking the creature.

'Y'sure?' Tallis said unsure that Makatza was going to be able to do what she said she was going to.

'Positive,' she says simply. Tallis sighs and nods and within moments of each other they had both moved. Tallis dashed to the left while Makatza dove towards the creature. The wyvern leapt towards the rogue before realising that half of it's catch had run towards it. Makatza ignored the beast as she slid into the bushes and technically out the way. It skidded on the grass and roared, it's jaw separating into three segments as it protested. Tallis was still to the left of it but Fenris and Garrett were now to it's back. It flicked grass out from it's claws as it chittered and hissed. 'Doesn't seem like a very big one,' Makatza murmured to herself as she watched it look for her. She was pretty sure she was well covered from the branches, there wasn't much she could do in this fight except to literally distract it without getting poisoned hopefully. Flank it and attack from the sides and behind was the advice they had been given. She stilled as she felt breath down her spine, daring not to move as she lay against the grass and realising that she was covered in blood and other dragon gloop she mentally swore. Luckily for her though it stepped over her, it's talons as large as her forearm as it walked past her head and out the bushes. This was the real alpha Wyvern and it had spotted the lesser male trying to hunt on it's territory, so it ignored the possible meal and focused on the rival. 'Shit!' She mouthed as it parted the foliage slowly stepping out to her friends.

Garrett paused and motioned for Tallis to run to the nearest tree as he spotted a much larger, much fiercer looking Wyvern with larger frills and more red than yellow markings. 'Fuck,' he said. 'I think that's the Alpha and that's a rival,' he whispered to Fenris. 'We've just set off a turf war and Makatza is behind that big brute.'

'What do you want to do?' Fenris asked feeling anxious, noticing that Tallis had managed to get away and up a tree without the beasts noticing. The wyverns circled each other, pawing at the ground and trying to size each other up without making the first move.

'Take a leaf from Tallis' book and go up a tree. We can fight whatever survives,' he says simply. 'Leave your sword down here,' he said in a rush as the Beta leapt at the Alpha with a screech. The Alpha was stronger but the Beta was faster, Garrett and Fenris moved out the way just as the Beta was thrown into their hiding place. Makatza caught sight of Fenris helping Garrett into the higher branches of the oaks that surrounded them and then looked for Tallis who was waving at her. She pointed to an aged elm behind where Makatza was hiding and motioned for her to go up it. Makatza nodded, she wasn't too concerned about the wyverns, they seemed more interested in each other than their meal. She had to jump to grab the lowest branch but she managed to pull herself up into the leaves. Garrett breathed a little easier as he saw his cousin seemingly unscathed as she climbed into the tree behind her.

The fight was brutal and terrifying, Makatza watched most of it from behind her fingers as they scratched and bit at each other's throats and flanks. They didn't seem to use their poison, maybe it didn't affect other wyverns. The smell of fresh blood was fierce and stained everything it touched, with a last desperate cry the Beta hissed at the Alpha and slunk into the trees with it's tail between it's legs. That's when Makatza's trouble started, the Alpha sniffed the air and turned it's head in her direction, it's frills flaring as it spotted her in her tree. 'Ah fuck me,' Makatza said her heart pounding in fear.

'Makatza jump!' Tallis shouted trying to gain attention by throwing a branch she had torn off at the beast. It fell a few feet short and didn't do anything to disturb it's focus.

'Oh, why me?' Makatza moaned as she looked around, she was about six foot up. The wyvern could easily reach her without even having to jump, to the left was another tree and to the right, bushes. So I can risk impaling myself and jump into the bushes or I can attempt to jump into the other tree which makes me in the same position I am in now. Choices, choices, she thought sarcastically to herself. To her relief she didn't actually have to choose as Garrett had taken that moment to throw a fireball at it. In a screech of pain it whipped around to face it's new target, flanking the beast Fenris swiped through it's foreleg with a deep, crippling swing of his sword, Tallis leaping over it with a shower of blades. Makatza took the chance to climb down and drop out the tree slowly. When she emerged from the sidelines she could see that the others were having trouble, the wyvern wouldn't sit still and leapt from place to place attempting to pin one of them. Garrett was making it difficult with blasts of fire and it didn't target Fenris as it remembered the wound it had already received from the elf. It focused on Tallis spitting poison and attempting to cut her off where ever she ran. Tallis slipped on some of the previously spilled wyvern blood and went crashing to the floor, the creature seizing it's chance and pouncing on her. Makatza ran out throwing up her hands and capturing it in place with a wave of her mana. It fought to be free making Makatza's bones hurt with the strain of keeping it still. 'Kill it!' Katza screamed at the rest of them. She could feel herself weakening as it thrashed and howled at her. Tallis had slipped out from under it, holding her arm tightly from where it had caught her with one of it's claws. There was a pulsing around her as she began to draw magic from the earth around her as hers was depleting fast. Garrett bombarded it with fire and rocks and Fenris lined himself up with the creature and thrust his sword into it's chest up to the hilt. It screeched in a gurgle before going limp and collapsing on the ground. Makatza fell to her knees wiping her mouth and seeing a fresh streak of blood up her arm.

'Maker, Katza,' Garrett says running to her and helping her up, the grass and flowers around them were dead, brown and brittle. She was panting and he could tell that she was drained. 'Fuck,' he murmurs as he catches eye contact with Fenris who wore a serious look on his face as he takes in their surroundings. Garrett wipes the fresh blood from her lips with the corner of his sleeve.

'I'm okay, I just bit my lip,' she said in a breath as she leaned over holding her thighs. Her mana was weak and felt more like a thrum than a pulse. Her arms shook and she felt nauseated, 'fuck he was a big bastard,' she cleared her throat.

'Yeah, he was,' Garrett agreed as he pulled her arm over his shoulders and almost carried her to the other side of the field before sitting her down and giving her a skin of water to drink. Garrett lit the flare he had been given with a small flame and watched the firework burst in the sky signalling the kill. Makatza's legs were shaking even though she was sitting down and Tallis came over to sit next to her.

'What the fuck did you do?' She asked as she looked over at Fenris who was inspecting the large circle of dead plants and dry soil. Makatza coughed and shrugged a shoulder no wanting to explain. 'That's not fucking normal,' Tallis muttered looking at the young woman.

Makatza again shrugged her shoulders and spotted the gash on Tallis' arm. 'Would you like me to heal you?' She asked simply.

'Are you going to destroy more stuff?' Tallis says narrowing her eyes.

Makatza sighed and gave her a look. 'I'm what the Dalish call an Bellanaris Elgar, Eternal Spirit, Naturalist, you name it, all means the same. I don't have a pool of mana that replenishes over time, I draw mine from the world around me. I've never needed to use that much mana before and so I had to improvise,' she murmurs. 'I don't think I will be doing it again,' she adds as she looks away from the dead area.

'Could you do that to people?' Tallis asks curiously.

'Yes, though I won't be,' Makatza says firmly. She didn't want to admit it but she had started to see people in a different way when she closed her eyes and relied on her other senses. Mages had an aura around them as their mana shone, normal people were a pale, flickering shadow; she could sense the potency of their blood as a mana source and Fenris, well he was something else all together. He stood out like a star, his lyrium markings bright and glittering. It was something that she wasn't ever going to tell anyone, she didn't need to worry them. 'Do you want me to heal you?' She offered again. 'I'm quite good at it and it's not going to take a lot of mana,' she reassures. Tallis nods after a moment and moves closer so that her upper arm is nearer. With little concentration Makatza heals her easily and soon there's just a fine line across her skin. Tallis thanks her and then gets up to regroup and talk with Garrett. Fenris takes her place and Makatza stiffens. 'If you're here to have a go about what I did I don't want to hear it,' Makatza said bluntly.

Fenris inhaled deeply and after a brief pause shook his head. 'No. I am not. I understand why you did,' he says. 'It is a terrifying thought that there is a...mage such as yourself,' he spoke quietly and looked at the dead wyvern. 'Truth be told, I do not like the idea at all and it puts me on edge,' Makatza felt her heart clench in anxiety. Fenris looked at her and brushed her fringe from her eyes. 'I do not like the idea of you being hurt more so,' he admits. 'It is nothing more than collateral damage, as if Hawke had scorched the area with the fire he uses,' Fenris explains, making himself feel better as he spoke.

'Thank you, Fenris, that means a lot,' Makatza smiles as she looks over the field feeling reassured. He nods and they simply sit in a comfortable silence as the rest of the hunting expedition makes their way over to the victory. She can see Garrett giving details and probably fudging up some of the actual facts in order to protect her, she wears a bitter smile as the beast is lifted by several men onto a cart that had been brought for the very purpose. 'It's a shame, that creature probably wasn't causing any harm,' she said leaning on her hand. She still felt weak but that was just the exertion.

'No, but a calculated hunt every year is better than many of the beasts being slain for bragging rights whenever a lord takes a fancy,' Fenris says softly. 'Besides, I have no doubt it's brethren will have revenge on hunters in the years to come. There are more than likely men that will not be returning home today.'

'I suppose,' she nods as she stands holding the tree as she gets up. 'Maybe I was too keen to be involved with your running about,' Katza says as she sighs heavily. Fenris stands up, he wants to agree with her but the truth was he knew that they would have suffered heavily if she wasn't here to help. 'Ah well, come on, Garrett is waving us over,' she said as she started to walk to where her cousin was waiting.

'You can ride back on the cart if you like, Katza,' Hawke suggests.

'With the dead wyvern?' Makatza says in deadpan.

'Well... yeah, but you'll be able to rest,' he points out.

'I think I'd rather walk,' she says sticking out her tongue in disgust. 'What about Fenris' sword?' She adds as she looks around, it was last seen sticking out the beast's chest. 'We got everything?'

'They'll have it cleaned and given back at the celebrations,' Garrett reassured. He wrapped an arm over Makatza's shoulder and pulled her close as they began to walk back to the manor. It took about an hour and she had started to wish that she had taken the offer to ride back in the cart with the dead thing. Once they were back though she was directed to a set of rooms with Tallis in order to have a wash and put on clean clothing. Makatza sat at the vanity as she brushed her hair having given it a rinse to get the leaves and other twigs out of it.

'I didn't ever think I would be getting ready in a room like this,' Tallis said as she swished past. They both had dresses on that hid their real clothing underneath, she spun for her own amusement.

'Aunt Leandra is always trying to get me to wear this sort of thing,' Makatza said as she applied some make up, she had to look the part so that they wouldn't suspect anything. She flicked her hair over her shoulder with a twist so that it would fall nicely and got up. 'So, shall we?' She asks as she grabs a hairband from her other world and shoves it into her cleavage for later; she couldn't go running about with loose hair as long as hers. Tallis grins and they make their way into the courtyard where guests were already mingling around. Makatza has to stifle a grin as she sees Garrett in his clothing. 'You look handsome,' she teases as they come close.

Garrett rolls his eyes and tries to loosen his collar, 'I feel like a prize turkey that's been stuffed,' he mutters.

'You scrub up nicely,' Makatza smirks. 'Where's Fenris? What's happening with a plan?' She asks as she looks around, the fourth member of their party hadn't arrived yet and she was a little concerned. Garrett got his chance for a little payback and grinned wickedly. He didn't get the chance to speak as Tallis batted him on the arm and pointed across the courtyard. There Fenris stood adjusting his cuff and looking a little uncomfortable, he had clearly only just arrived. He ran a hand through his hair and the women next to him began to whisper furiously with calculating eyes. He wore a black tunic and matching leggings but it was clear that he had made an effort as there was silver embroidery around the collar, shoulders and cuffs of the tunic.

'Fuck me,' Tallis said approvingly as she glanced at Makatza who had gone pink around the ears and was inconspicuously looking into the fountain. Tallis shared a grin with Garrett and they made the unanimous decision to wander off. 'I'm going to check the perimeter,' Tallis said innocently as Garrett caught Fenris' eye and waved him over.

'I'm going to help her,' Hawke said making Makatza frown at his sudden attitude, she realised too late and cursed him to the fade in her mind as Fenris made his way through. Bastard! She hissed as she attempted to make herself look like she was comfortable at the situation.

'Hawke said we were to blend,' Fenris says clearing his throat. 'It is not difficult for him or yourself,' he says simply as he looks around.

'Oh I don't know, I feel like a fish out of water,' she said as she sat on the fountain wall leaving enough space for him to sit next to her. 'You fit in nicely, at least what you're wearing is flattering, Garrett looks awful,' she grins. Fenris chuckles and sits down crossing his legs, resting an ankle on his knee. 'Though I think that's the style at the moment? Clashing colours and god awful cuts?' She says as she looks around. He wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful, that she stood out as if she was the only blooming rose in the garden but he had to bite his tongue. He couldn't afford distractions and that's essentially what she was, he was still on the run from Danarius and he couldn't have attachments. With a mental sigh he tuned back into the party, Makatza smiled brightly at him and he felt his chest tighten like usual. This was going to be a long night.