A/N: So I haven't written in awhile, but I've been playing the games again and I'm still working from home, so I've decided to use my free time to work on my fanfics. Honestly, those of you who left comments and PM'd me inspired me to start with this particular fic. I can't say I'll be updating regularly, but I will be posting every now and then (don't worry it won't be years or months!). Thanks for reading!

Chapter 7

One part Pirate, One part Witch, Two Parts Trouble

She had said yes. Far be it from her to let her inexperience with camping stop her from pursuing answers from the enigmatic artist. Still, she groaned as she packed, it would have been somewhat less stressful if she actually knew a thing or two about camping. Thankfully, Merrill had camped with her family plenty of times and had helped Morrigan choose what supplies she would be needing. Hawke had called the night before saying she had a tent that they could share, but then babbled on how Morrigan could also take her own if sharing made her uncomfortable. She assured the artist sharing would be fine; plus, as it was, her two mid-sized suitcases were jam packed.

"Hawke's here!" Merrill announced from the living room.

Morrigan scurried to put a necklace into the pocket of her backpack. It was a crystal stone Morrigan had imbued with properties that made it glow in darkness. The light it emitted was the same blue she saw in Hawke's eyes; she figured it would be a good gift in return for the metal rose Hawke had crafted for her.

Morrigan rolled her two suitcases to the living room and was greeted by the artist with a firm but hasty hug.

"Are you ready?" Hawke asked as she pulled back.

"I believe so; I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to camping."

"No worries, " Hawke smiled gently, "I'll show you the ropes."

They bid Merrill farewell, and when Hawke took hold of one of Morrigan's suitcases, she used her free hand to take her customary hold to the end of Morrigan's scarf. Hawke wasn't quite sure where they were in terms of being more than friends, but she didn't want to scare the chemist off with her naturally affectionate nature. Sure, she had said it was a "date", but Hawke wasn't really sure if that was made clear. As she pondered such a likelihood, Morrigan took Hawke's hand in her own. Hawke glanced at the chemist but found that Morrigan was focused on the path ahead. However, her blush was not missed by the artist and Hawke laced her fingers in reciprocation.

"The others are waiting by the vans at my place. They should be done with loading by now." Hawke explained. "We have two groups going, so in our van it'll be me, you, Varric, Fenris, Leliana and Beth. Daylen is in charge of the other, so I'm not too sure on who he invited."

Morrigan hummed in acknowledgement but said nothing more as they pulled up to the vans and Hawke went ahead to load her suitcases. Morrigan followed and found herself being watched by a very mischievous gaze.

"Well, well, looks like we have a princess joining us, considering the amount of luggage she's packed." Isabela jested.

Morrigan's brow raised and when she looked back at Hawke, her suspicions were confirmed-the artist had been unaware of Isabela being on this trip. Although she hadn't heard much about Isabela from Hawke, Merrill was surprisingly good at gossip and had picked up from Daylen and Hawke's friends that Isabela had been more than a muse to the artist.

"Isabela?"

"The one and only," Isabela smiled. "Daylen was kind enough to recall how much I enjoyed it the last time I went camping with you all, and invited me." She smirked once more as she drew closer to Hawke. "Though I had been hoping you might do the inviting like you did the last time, but I see I've been replaced. I wonder, did you invite her the same way you invited me?"

Hawke's jaw clenched, "no, and I prefer it that way." She muttered but said nothing more. She could feel Morrigan's questioning gaze on her, but there was no way she could explain that without sending the wrong message. "Can't you go bother Daylen or something?"

"If that's what you want," Isabela shrugged and left with a smug grin.

Hawke sighed and turned to Morrigan. "I'm sorry, I had no idea she'd be here."

"What did she mean invite me the "same" way?" Morrigan asked.

Hawke shook her head. "Isabela tends to rile people up for no other reason than to ruin their day."

Morrigan pursed her lips but pushed no further. Hawke was as bad a liar as there was, but Morrigan figured there was a reason why she wasn't disclosing the truth. "Alright."

Hawke frowned but couldn't exactly say Morrigan's curtness wasn't expected. She hadn't really explained her prior relationship with Isabela, and she didn't think that was the best place to start, but with Isabela present, she doubted timing would be on her side.

"Morrigan!" Beth walked up from behind and gave Morrigan a hug.

"I did see you yesterday," Morrigan stated as she meekly returned the hug she thought was a bit much.

"Yes, but I wasn't convinced you would come today," Beth chuckled and nudged Morrigan's shoulder. "What's got your panties in a bunch?"

Hawke nearly choked while whipping her head to look at Beth, while Morrigan stood expressionless. As soon as the artist recovered she walked up to her sister and flicked her on the head.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Ouch!" Beth yelped and swatted her sister's hands from making further attempts to flick her forehead. "I was only kidding, I was just trying to lighten up the mood!"

Morrigan chuckled and took Hawke's hand as she pulled her back from Bethany. She wasn't sure what secrets Hawke was keeping, but she supposed she would learn in time.

"Leave your sister alone," Morrigan commanded as she gave Hawke's hand a squeeze.

Hawke blushed and nodded as she stood by Morrigan and Beth raised an eyebrow.

"Wow," Beth approached her sister and took her other hand and squeezed before saying, "now apologize."

With inhuman agility, Hawke freed her hand from Beth's grasp and flicked her once more on the forehead. Beth yelped again and looked to Morrigan for empathy but only received a crooked smile.

"You might have deserved that one." Morrigan replied.

Beth stuck her tongue out and put enough distance between herself and her sister to not be subject to any more forehead flicks.

The trio made their way into their van and took the furthest row in the back.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" Beth exclaimed as she scooted for them to sit, "next time Merrill should join us."

"She would have joined this time, but she has to make up lab this weekend."

"Are you sure she'll be alright?" Hawke pondered as she nestled between her sister and Morrigan. "What if she gets lost on her way home."

"She's assured me that she's come up with a solution for our absence." Morrigan assured her. "But she wouldn't tell me exactly what it was… surely she will be alright."

"Well, regardless, you're going to have a blast on this trip." Beth pulled out a first aid kit from her bag. "I've come prepared with the necessary tools for all the shenanigans this one usually gets us into."

Hawke rolled her eyes and muttered, "it's not always my fault. You make it sound like I intentionally want all of us to get injured."

"Like that time you swore you saw a golden halla and all we had to do was help you cross the raging rapids so you could prove it to us?"

Hawke opened her mouth to offer a retort. "Look it was pooping right before you all came with your boisterous voices and scared it off. But I guess, technically, what ensued afterwards was my fault."

"That's what I thought," Beth said with a smirk. "Maybe Morrigan will keep you more grounded."

"If you indeed did see a golden halla, I could have confirmed it for you from a distance."

"What? How?" Hawke asked.

"Golden halla's droppings are different than a normal ones… if you had binoculars I could have pointed those differences out for you."

Morrigan smiled as Hawke's face practically glowed with admiration.

"As long as it keeps us away from raging rapids, I'm happy." Beth stated with a chuckle before pinching her sister, "stop ogling her like that."

"I am not ogling her!" Hawke blushed and murmured to Morrigan, "I was just admiring, I promise."

Morrigan felt her face warm up and quickly looked away to recover her normal, pale hue. Beth chuckled once again, calling them hopeless before Leliana jumped in the van.

"So there's been a mix up with the rentals, there's not enough room for all of them in the other one, so we'll have an additional person in ours."

"Don't tell me-" Hawke began.

"Looks like I'll be joining this party," Isabela's honey voice poured into the van as she took a seat in front of Beth. "Neither Zevran, Alistar, or Shale wanted to make the sacrifice."

"It's fine," Hawke sighed. Surely Isabela meant no harm and she really was the only one that was willing to come to their vehicle. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yup, everyone's stuff is loaded; let's hit the road." Varric confirmed as he hopped into the driver's seat.

The ride was pleasant, save for the few snide comments Isabela managed to slip in every now and then. Hawke shared with Morrigan what their trips usually consisted of-setting up camp, bonfire at night and then hiking during the day time.

"I, uh, I packed two tents, but mine is really big so we could share, or I could set up yours and you'd have your own space." Hawke rambled for a bit before pausing to read Morrigan's expressions.

"I think," Morrigan paused as she felt the weight of Isabela's gaze on her. "Sharing is probably best."

"Is that right?" Isabela snickered. "Smooth."

"I only meant that I've never camped before," Morrigan clarified; embarrassed by the implications of her prior statement. "It's intimidating."

"Of course," Hawke agreed and ignored Isabela. "I'll set up your air mattress in mine; we'll be tent mates." Hawke flashed her boyish smile and Morrigan felt her heart return to a normal pace.

"Thanks," Morrigan murmured.

After some time, Morrigan had noticed the extra weight on her shoulder and was trying to keep still until Beth rescued her in an unorthodox manner.

"Check this out," she said as she shuffled to the furthest side of the seat, pulled Hawke's lower body until there was enough room for her to lay perfectly on Morrigan's lap.

"Mmmm" Hawke murmured but surprisingly did not wake.

"She was up late last night, and when she hasn't gotten any rest, she sleeps like a log."

"I see," Morrigan looked bashfully down at the sleeping girl. She looked so content on her lap; completely at ease. Gently, the chemist moved a few strands from her face. "What kept her up?"

"She was nervous and excited," Beth chuckled. "She called me after your dinner and said you'd be joining us for camping. So then she started unpacking and repacking, saying she was going to show you this or that… my sister tends to be rather childish when it comes to liking someone. She'll want to share all kinds of things with you. Hopefully it doesn't bother you too much?"

"Bother me?" Morrigan shook her head, "She is rather strange, but… I like it. I'm not too familiar with the whole… well, dating thing."

"That's right, Merrill said you've never dated before." Beth recalled. "But I doubt you've never had admirers; you're beautiful after all."

"I'm finding that my roommate tends to have very loose lips these days," Morrigan sighed, "but, it's true, I've never sought romantic interests. Although my face may be pleasing, I tend to scare most away with my taciturn nature. It's worked in my favor so far."

"Does that mean you've never," Isabela butted in and bit her smirking lip, "well, you know?"

Morrigan's brows furrowed as she leered at the sun-kissed girl. "That is none of your business."

"I'm just asking, sweet thing, because that one," Isabela said as she pointed to Hawke, "well she'll want to share more than memories with you. In fact, she's quite the voracious lover."

"Bela…" Leliana sighed; she had really hoped Daylen had more sense in his bones than to invite Isabela. Regardless of Morrigan joining the group, Hawke and Isabela hadn't had the best of endings. If Carver hadn't passed, Hawke wouldn't have gotten into the mess she had with the business student, and Isabela would have just become another casual encounter for the artist. But that's not what happened, and the artist was left hurt… almost beyond repair. "At this point, you've slept with most of the people on this trip, myself included, so while I'm sure you're well informed, I doubt we all want to know about your sexcapades."

"Hey!" Isabela pouted, "I've only...well let's see, there's Hawke, you...Daylen, Alistair, Zevran of course…I guess you're right."

"You have tainted everything good in this world," Fenris muttered at the mention of Daylen's name.

"You only say that pretty boy because you have the hots for Daylen." Isabela teased and received a glare in return.

"That definitely is a part of it," he retorted and then looked back at Morrigan. "Try not to let this heathen be the definition of Hawke's friends. We're a good lot… with a few bad apples."

"Anyways back to my private conversation," Beth stated and turned back to Morrigan. "May I ask if there's a reason you've kept from dating… if you can't tell me now, maybe we can chat about it later."

Morrigan relaxed her brow and sat back. There really wasn't a reason for her to keep from dating; she simply wasn't interested in the drivel that usually decided to approach her. Overly confident boys or stammering girls had always been the ones to confess their feelings. Hawke… well she was certainly flirtatious, but there was also something genuine in her manner that others lacked.

"I saw no reason to pursue something I had no interest in. Suffice it to say, your sister may be the very first person I've ever thought was interesting."

Beth smiled; that was an answer she could believe and support. The rest of the trip was uneventful, but Beth watched as Morrigan ever so often played with her sister's hair or let her gaze linger on her sister's sleeping features. She was glad that Morrigan had joined and that she seemed smitten with her older sister even if only when she thought no one was watching. When Carver passed, Beth had mourned and it was Marian who comforted her. She had been strong and kind and put together while she had fallen apart. It wasn't until some time after that Beth realized her sister was actually putting on the best facade ever, but no matter how many times Beth tried to reach her, her sister would never let down her defenses. Perhaps their newest addition would be the one to bring back her sister's fire.

When they arrived, Morrigan had to nudge the artist awake. Hawke woke sluggishly and had to blink a few times before she realized she was in Morrigan's lap.

"I'm sorry, I guess I dozed off," she murmured as she remained on her lap. "You do make for a great pillow, however."

"Glad I could be of service," Morrigan retorted and playfully flicked the artist on the head. "Now rise so I can stretch my legs."

Hawke chuckled and did as she was told. Morrigan exited the van and smiled warmly at her surroundings. Great oak trees surrounded their clearing and, in the distance, Morrigan could hear the sound of rushing water. Hawke stood by her and observed her expression.

"What do you think?"

"I think I may prefer this to the city," Morrigan noted. "Away from the incognate beasts."

"Well you may meet a few of those here, but I promise it'll be fun. Wanna help me set up the tent?"

Morrigan nodded and the two began unraveling the tent supplies. With Hawke's direction, the assembly of the tent was rather straightforward, but had she been left to her own devices, all the smaller pieces would have annoyed the chemist. As Hawke pounded the stakes in to keep the tent grounded, Morrigan found herself enamored with the sight of Hawke's arms. The artist had rolled up her sleeves and her skin was covered by a light sheen of sweat.

"Now you're the one ogling," Beth popped up behind her and whispered.

"Nonsense," Morrigan muttered even as she blushed. "I'm going to get us some water."

By the time she returned with water bottles, Hawke was nowhere to be found. Her tools were left outside the tent opening, so Morrigan bent down to peer inside. Her eyes widened as she registered the space within. She could almost stand, and in the far left corner was a rather large air mattress blown up and had a bunch of beautifully, decadent blankets thrown over it. On the far right was a rack of sorts that could easily store their luggage, and in the middle, Hawke had somehow managed to fit a small, Orlesian coffee table with two plush pillow seats. She slowly eased herself to sit on the bed and took a swig of her water; she hadn't been expecting such a luxurious set up.

"What do you mean you think she's in the tent? I told you to distract her!"

Morrigan heard Hawke outside of the tent and raised a brow. Before she could ponder further, Hawke popped in with a wooden bucket filled with ice, two cups and a bottle.

"Hey," Morrigan greeted, "sorry if I ruined your surprise… this is," Morrigan glanced at everything, "wonderful."

Hawke smiled wide as she placed the bucket by the table and took a seat by Morrigan. "I was afraid I had gone overboard, but I really wanted your first time camping with me to be special… but uh, I kinda might have forgotten something important."

Morrigan looked around and then back at Hawke with a arched brow, "which would be?"

"So I somehow packed an extra tent, but I only packed one air mattress." Hawke patted the one they were sitting on. "I can just throw a lot of blankets on the floor and sleep next to you," she began.

"Don't be stupid," Morrigan interrupted with an almost glare. Truthfully, she felt just as bashful suggesting that they share, but she'd be damned if she let Hawke sleep on the ground. "It's not like we haven't slept together before." Morrigan muttered, "just stay on your side."

"Scout's honor!" Hawke raised a hand to salute and only received another glare from Morrigan. "Although… technically you were the one who was laying on me when we woke up that morning."

Morrigan scoffed and looked to the side, "it was a small couch. Anyways, what's that?" She gazed at the bucket near the table.

"Oh, right! Since the first day is spent setting up camp, we won't hike until tomorrow. We finished quickly, but the others will take a few hours before we all start to work on the campfire. So I thought, since we finished early, we could spend it alone…. or we can-"

"Pour me a cup," Morrigan requested to put the artist's nerves at ease. She wasn't sure when it had started, but everytime the artist began to ramble, she also felt her heart pace quicken. At least this way, she could keep her nerves intact.

"Your wish is my command," Hawke eagerly took two cups out of the bucket and served the chilled plum wine. Morrigan followed and took a seat on one of the large pillows. Hawke handed her a cup and offered hers up to cheers.

"To Merrill for being a victim of my haphazard walking and, through a chain of fortunate events, dragging you to the art co-op party. If which had not happened, who knows if I would have ever met you."

"To Merrill." Morrigan chuckled before taking a sip of the cool drink.

"I'm really glad you came, even though Merrill said being outside wasn't really your thing."

"Merrill tends to let many things slip… and frighteningly enough she's usually telling the truth. But on this, I've just never had any reason or inclination to be outdoorsy." Morrigan took another sip as she thought of other things Merrill had let slip; things about Hawke and Isabela. "May I ask you something?"

"Sure, shoot." Hawke replied.

Morrigan turned her body towards Hawke, "why me?"

"Why you?" Hawke paused and looked at Morrigan who refused to meet her gaze. "What do you mean?"

"You must admit, I'm nothing like… well like a person you would normally be attracted to."

Hawke's face turned several shades of red, "I'm not sure I understand. You're easily the most captivating person I've ever met."

Morrigan took a large gulp of her wine and caught the sound of Isabela's laughter. She wondered how Hawke could go from someone like Isabela to someone like her. Since encountering the rambunctious girl, Morrigan had wondered if she was the safer option; if Hawke found her interesting because she wasn't as wild as the sun-kissed girl.

"I'm nothing like her." Morrigan stated, unsure if she was speaking out of fear or anger.

"You mean… Isabela." Hawke sighed and followed suit in downing her wine.

"She was pretty forward about her past relationship with you."

"Right…" Hawke winced at the possible things Isabela could have said while she was sleeping. "We dated some time ago… it didn't end well." Hawke caught Morrigan's gaze and decided the best thing to do was be honest. "I'm not looking for her in you…"

Morrigan tried her best to find a fault in Hawke's features; something that would have indicated she was lying, but all that she could see were Hawke's pristine blue eyes looking earnestly at her.

"Good, because you wouldn't find any likeness." Morrigan said sternly but ended with a hiccup.

Hawke smirked and assured, "I don't really do comparisons. When I look at you, you're all I see."

Morrigan felt her cheeks flush and nearly choked on the wine she was sipping.

"And…" Hawke's expression grew more bashful, "I feel like you see me. Like you did at my party, when you offered me a drink."

"She took your cousin away, I remember… are they?"

"Dating? No," Hawke shook her head. "But they hook up every now and then. That's the way with Isabela."

Morrigan couldn't hide the distaste on her face, "and you let him escort me to your party?"

"He beat me to it!" Hawke asserted, nearly throwing her wine out of her cup. "And he's not a bad guy, he's just… daft."

"Daft asswipe," Morrigan slightly slurred.

Hawke laughed. "You know you're the first person I've ever met that isn't completely enamored with my cousin. You know, we're often mistaken for twins."

Morrigan rolled her eyes, "I don't see it."

"Not even in my blue, blue eyes?" Hawke leaned forward.

Morrigan leaned forward and playfully examined her eyes, "nope."

"Our dark, short hair?"

Morrigan gently took a lock of Hawke's hair and brushed it behind her ear, "nope."

"Certainly you can see it in our well-defined jaws?"

Morrigan traced the side of Hawke's jaw,"most certainly not."

Morrigan's pale moon eyes dipped to Hawke's lips. She could smell the plum wine on Hawke's breath and felt a small shiver when Hawke's hand rose to caress her cheek. Her eyes flitted back to Hawke's half-lidded eyes and as her eyes closed shut a crashing sound, followed by a portion of their tent caving in, caused the two to jump apart.

"Shale, really?" Lilliana shouted.

"It was a pigeon!" Shale grunted as she picked herself off of Hawke's tent. "I'm sure Hawke is fine," she added.

Hawke gave Morrigan a sheepish look before crawling to the front of the tent and peering out. "I bought this tent solely to endure your crushing abilities."

Shale chuckled, "see, she was prepared."

"No one, darling, is prepared for all of this," Isabela ran her hand along Shale's massive arm.

Morrigan joined Hawke outside of the tent and had to hold her jaw from dropping at the sight of Shale. She had met many a female of various shapes and sizes, but she could easily say Shale was a first-her stature large, her shoulders broad and her limbs as thick as the trees that surrounded them. She could easily lift at least three of them. If anything, Morrigan thought, the easiest way to describe Shale's build was to compare her to a golem.

"Keep your hands to yourself, you slattern," Shale pulled her arm away.

Morrigan let out a horribly concealed laugh at Shale's unsavory way of referring to Isabela.

"I know you like my touch, big girl," Isabela responded, unfazed by the comment.

"Anyhow," Leliana approached Hawke, "we need to go get some kindle for our fire, and you are my designated kindle collecting buddy." She laced her arm with Hawke's and pulled her away.

"Don't burn a hole through her now," Beth teased as she linked arms with Morrigan. "Couples aren't allowed to be partnered."

"Why?" Morrigan asked.

"They don't come back in time," Beth winked and then added, "so you didn't deny it, you're a couple then?"

Morrigan shook her head as Beth led her towards the woods, "I didn't confirm it either. We're just… tent buddies."

Beth chuckled and decided not to tease Morrigan further. She liked the pale, dark-haired girl and wanted her to have a good time. She had already chewed out Daylen for inviting Isabel, but he had assured her it wasn't done with malice. That kind of worried her even more; while she found Isabela entertaining, she wasn't sure of her intentions for her sister.

"Is she always like this?" Morrigan asked while picking up a few sticks.

"She who?" Beth asked for clarification.

"Hawke… does she fall… how do I say this?" Morrigan was still slurring a bit and Bethany had to keep her from losing her balance.

"I forget you're a lightweight, and I can't believe my sister already broke out the alcohol… actually maybe I shouldn't be too surprised; she's a bit of a lush." Beth sighed, "but I know what you're asking… does she fall in love so easily?"

Morrigan gave a slight nod; regardless of her stoic and tendency to seem unaffected, Hawke's feelings not only excited her… they scared her too.

"Not since Isabela, and before her, my sister was a bit of an unattached flirt." Beth admitted. "Marian was… is still dealing with the loss of our brother; I think she's been afraid to let anyone in… yet here she is, inviting you to one of her most time honored traditions. Here lets sit for a while; Marian always goes overboard when she collects tinder." Beth situated themselves along the roots of a great oak tree. "So I'm going to let you in on our camping tradition… how it really started."

"You mean it's not just a wild gathering of art students and their muses?" Morrigan genuinely asked.

"Well… I mean if you count my father, my sister as the art student and the rest of us as their muses, you're not too far off."

"You came camping with your father...before he…"

"Returned to the sky, like my mother always says, yeah." Beth looked up at the leaf-covered sky. "He would take us out here camping, Marian would always have the most exciting adventures lined up for us much to my mother's dismay. There was always a magic in these woods that drew us all closer together. After my father left, Marian kept the tradition alive; at first it was just me and Carver, my mother said her bones wouldn't agree with all the bending. After some time, she extended the invitation to her closest friends and only once before to a lover… so I think it's safe to assume that my sister has only the best of intentions with you."

Morrigan's eyes teared a bit but she quickly blinked the wetness away. "Thanks, Beth. It's honestly all so new to me… and I hate being unprepared, yet I'm not sure I could have prepared for someone like your sister."

Beth chuckled and helped the lithe girl off the floor, "that's the best assessment of my sister yet, but I have a really good feeling about you… and her."

Morrigan offered a smile but said nothing more. She wasn't sure what more this camping trip would entail, or if Hawke and her would continue where they left off in the tent, but she did know that she was still willing to find out. She never thought getting close to someone would be so scary, and she knew it had to do with her own feelings towards Hawke. She also knew it was foolish to trust the artist so fully, but maybe now was the time to be foolish.