Riding swiftly south, they stop as the sun begins to dip below the Southron Hills near the Brecilian Passage. Making camp at the edge of the Brecillian Forest, Ana stands off to the side, listening to the gentle flow of the water nearby while Duncan removes the packs from the horse. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glances over at him. "Is there a tavern nearby that we can stay at instead?" She asks.

Setting the packs down, he shakes his head. "No. There's none close by and even if there were, it's not safe."

"Figures." She sneers. "Maker, what I wouldn't give to have a bath."

"If you wish to wash, there's a spring not too far." He offers, standing from his previous crouching position. "The water is warm and its said to have healing powers."

She thinks about this for a moment. "And where is this spring?" She cautiously asks. "Will you be bathing as well?"

He offers her a smile. "Only before or after you." He reassures. "While you are bathing, I will keep guard. I promise you, I will not look." Even if I am curious to see that beautiful figure in its natural state. "Then once you have bathed, I have some clothes you can change into."

Her eyes narrow. "Where did you get another dress?" She wrinkles her nose. "It's not one of those chantry robes, is it? I refuse to wear that."

"It's not chantry robes." Although that would have probably been better. He picks up the packs once more and walks over to the horse. Once the packs are attached, he takes the reins once more. "It's apparent that as long as you're dressed as a noblewoman, travelling discreetly will be difficult. We need to disguise you a little. I didn't expect Howe's men to have reached as far as Hatfield yet. We were lucky enough to escape this time but, in the future, we need to blend in." He emphasizes the last part, hinting towards her earlier behavior. She rolls her eyes.

"He tried to sell me dust and call it Andraste's ashes!" She exclaims, crossing her arms over her chest. "It was insulting! I'm Ana Cousland, daughter of—"

"You need to relax." He cuts her off. "We can't keep having close encounters because of your outbursts." Turning from her, he looks around them before pointing off through a row of trees. "The springs should be that way. It'd be best to do it with what little light we have left."

Ana sulks as she follows Duncan through the forest, occasionally stopping whenever Duncan needed to look around to ensure they were going the right direction. Entering a small clearing, Duncan stops suddenly and almost collides with his companion. He smiles as he points ahead of them. "There."

Walking around him, she gapes at the small pool. She watches the steam rising from the water as the golden rays of the setting sun filter through the trees and glance off the surface.

Duncan motions to it. "After you, My Lady." He smiles.

She bites her lip as she looks at the water. After sleeping on the ground the night before and travelling in the rain and on a hard saddle for hours, the water was practically calling her name. She glances at him. "Perhaps it would be best that you go first." She offers, catching him by surprise. "After all, you're the one who can fight here. It would be worst if I was caught dressing or undressed if and when somebody attacks us."

"That is true." He nods. "Very well. I will wash first."

He ties the horse to a nearby tree and begins to unpack the blankets to dry off when Ana looks longingly at the water once more.

"Perhaps we should bathe at the same time!" She exclaims, suddenly. Duncan shifts, the blood from his quickened heart going straight to his groin at the thought. His expression remains passive as he shoots her a glance, making a blush creep to her cheeks. "What I mean is that the pool is big enough so that we could be on either side." She quickly explains. "If somebody were to attack, I could cower in the water, covered, while you fight."

Duncan, who aside from offering to bathe separately out of respect, has no problem bathing near each other. Being a Warden, he was usually always on the move recruiting and had on occasion had to share intimate spaces with men and women alike during his travels. Given, most of the time, the women who were present tended to visit his tent at night to see if the rumors of the sexual prowess of the Wardens were true.

"True…" He nods. "I will do as you choose."

She looks at the water once more. "Together." She says, raising her chin. "I'll go in first. That way I can choose which side I want and submerge myself." Duncan nods before reaching into one of the packs for the small brick of soap. Pulling out his dagger, he slices off a piece and hands it to her

He turns away from the water and Ana cautiously walks behind him towards the edge of the pool. Pulling off her shoes, she steps on the cold ground and winces. She takes off her cloak and sets it off to the side, her heart quickening. She clears her throat. "Duncan?"

"Hm?"

"I need help with my dress." She says, the heat rising to her cheeks. "I need you to unlace the back."

Turning around, he waits as she moves her hair from her neck. His eyes pour over the gentle slope of her neck to the smooth breadth of skin between her shoulders. Stepping forward, he gently pulls the strings, pausing as he hears her breath catch. She's nervous, just like she was when you laced her dress. He thinks to himself. She's probably only used to Ser Gilmore doing this.

Picking up the pace, he loosens the laces before standing back. "There." He says, calmly. He turns away and she mutters a quick thank you. Glancing over her shoulder to ensure he's not looking, she slips the dress off her shoulders and wriggles it off her hips to the ground. She steps out of it and moves it with her foot, covering herself with her hands as she peeks back.

Holding her hands out for support, she carefully steps into the pool and feels the warmth radiate through her. Anxiously she steps in before crouching down to submerge herself up to her jaw. She gives a soft gasp as the water envelopes her sore muscles from riding.

Hearing her gasp, he puts his hand on his pommel and turns to look before his eyes fall on her. He gapes at her, his hand falling from his pommel as she leans back, her eyes closed, as she wets her dark hair. As if from a fantasy, he sees her pert breasts peek out of the water, her dark pink nipples erect. Feeling his growing arousal, he reluctantly turns back around.

Ana opens her eyes to look up at the dark green canopy, smiling. Her eyes flick over to Duncan who is still waiting patiently with his back to her. Looking around, she moves over to one side of the medium sized pool and lowers herself down into the foggy, jade colored water, submerging herself far enough to cover her from the neck down. "Okay." She calls. "I'm in."

Duncan, whose eyes are still closed to keep the erotic image he has just witnessed in his mind, turns his head slightly. "Are you covered?" He asks, his voice husky.

"I am." She calls, reaching up to cover her eyes. "And my eyes are covered."

Not that you need it. He thinks, smirking to himself. Feel free to look all you like.

Unsheathing his sword, he sets it near the edge of the pool before he begins to unstrap his armor. He strips down to his trousers before he casts a glance toward Ana.

"Are you in the water?" She asks, her voice slightly muffled behind her hands.

He grins. "Almost. One moment." Looking down, he sees that the front of his trousers are already tented from his arousal.

Ana's heart quickens as her curiosity starts to eat at her. What could it look like? She wondered. She's only seen two in her life with Darrien and Roderick. She hears something enter the water ahead of her and peeks through her fingers, worried it's some animal. Instead, she catches a glimpse of something and turns to look as Duncan carefully lowers himself into the water. Her eyes travel down his scarred and muscular torso, covered in downy black hair. Ana bites the inside of her lip as she looks downward and sees the erect shaft, sprouted from a tuft of wiry black hair at the center of his thighs. She quickly looks away, her heart pounding in her chest, before she could take in any more features. Strangely, it wasn't as she thought it would be for a man his age. The shaft was a slightly darker shade than his already tanned body and head was a dark pink-ish purple, it's tip slick looking.

Turned away, she opened her eyes and kept them cast down toward the water as she absently scrubbed herself. To distract herself, her thoughts turned to Roderick and she could feel the tears beginning to well up. Where could he be now? She wondered. Is he safe? Is Much? Her grief stabbed at her like a searing knife at the thought of anything happening to either of them.

Once she was sufficiently clean, she let Duncan know and he told her where her blanket was to dry up. She casts a quick glance at his back before hopping out and taking the blanket from the pile. Wrapping it around her, she ties it off near the top to keep it on. As she starts towards one of the giant rocks to sit and wait, she hears a twig snap in the distance. Her eyes widen as they dart in the direction of the sound. "Um… Duncan?" She says, uneasily.

Whirling around, he reaches for his sword on the ledge before starting toward the edge. He looks up to see two Dalish elves, one male and one female, with one bow drawn toward the blanket clad Ana and the other with one trained on him. Holding up his hands, he gently sets his sword down.