Anger bubbles up inside Ana as she leaves Alistair. She knows that Duncan walked him to guide her around but how could she do that when he just called her an idiot? Wishing Much was around for comfort and protection, Ana strode with determined strides toward the sound of barks in the distance. Near a gate being guarded by a man accompanied by his own war hound, Ana finds the pens that Daniel had spoken of. Housed in small wooden palisade pens, Ana can just barely make out the muscled war dogs common in her homeland. She jogs over, walking along the side in search of Much, growing increasingly anxious as she sees no sign of him.

"Careful, Miss." A rough looking man with grey streaked black hair says from nearby. "Those aren't puppies in those pens."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she turns to look at him. "Have you seen a tall, red-haired man accompanied by a light brown mabari?" She asks. "He should have arrived recently."

The man shakes his head before spitting off to the side. "Can't say I have." He motions toward the pens with his chin. "These hounds belong to the king and the ash warriors."

"Ash warriors?"

"Aye." He nods, motioning to a stern looking man not far from them. "Lad over there can tell you more. I have to get these hounds ready for the King's next excursion into the Wilds." He frowns, shaking his head. "It would be best if some weren't sick. A couple of them swallowed some darkspawn blood. Nasty sickness."

Frowning, Ana looks over to one of the pens where a hound is lying down, whimpering softly. Darkspawn did this? Can this truly be a blight? "Surely there's some way to cure it." She says hopefully, turning to the man. "Will you be able to save a hound that has swallowed darkspawn blood?"

The man shrugs. "There's a flower found out in the Wilds here. When Duncan takes his recruits out later, I'll probably see if one of them can keep an eye out."

"He's sending them into the Korcari Wilds?" She asks, her eyes widening. "Is that what the Joining is?"

The man shrugs again. "I know nothing about a Joining, Miss. I simply just look after the hounds. If you have any questions about it, talk to Duncan. He's the Commander of the Wardens and I heard he just returned today—tall Rivaini man; Can't miss him."

Ana nods absently. "Right… Thanks." She turns away as the man returns his attention to the hounds before approaching a man leaning up against a column. He stands with his arms crossed over his chest with his hood pulled down over his eyes. Had it not been for the Warden insignia on the man's breastplate, which is similar to Duncan's, she would have mistaken him for a common cutpurse. Actually, it was very possible that that was what he was before he joined the wardens. She remembered hearing of how wardens had saved a few men from the executioners block a few times. Perhaps this man was one of them?

As she approaches him, she pauses waiting for him to move his head but he remains still. Raising her chin slightly, she clears her throat. "Excuse me?" His head tilts slightly but, with his face covered, she was unsure if he was looking at her or not. "Do you speak?" She asks impatiently. He nods and she rolls her eyes with an irritated sigh. "Do you know where General Loghain is? I need to speak with him, immediately."

The man nods once more and points back the way she came but says nothing. She eyes him with distaste before glancing over at the two giant tents before sighing. "Okay then…" She mutters, turning away from him. "That was not as helpful as I was hoping for." Walking off in an annoyed huff towards the tents.

As she keeps her gaze focused on her destination up ahead, she remains oblivious to the man walking full speed toward her.

"Try not to spill it this time, Carver!" His older brother calls out to him as he watches him with an amused glance, casually leaning against a column. "And don't spit in it either! I'll know!"

"You didn't last time." Carver mutters as he turns to face forward. His brother calls to him but he barely hears it, and waves it off. He turns his head. "Yeah, I heard you the first time, Na—" He begins to call before he runs into somebody. They topple to the ground and he quickly scrambles to his feet as his brother jogs over to them.

"Maker's Breath!" Carver mutters as he offers his hand to them. Ana glares up at him and his brows raise in surprise.

Noticing a few eyes watching them from nearby, heat rises to her cheeks as she slaps his hand away. "Watch where you're going!" She fumes before accepting the other man's hand as he approaches.

"Forgive my brother." He says, as he helps her to her feet once more. "He's a bit of a klutz."

"I didn't mean to." Carver sulks. "I was distracted by you yelling something to me."

"I was yelling for you to watch out because you were about to run into somebody."

"Apparently he didn't get the memo." Ana mutters, dusting herself off as best she can.

Carver's cheeks redden before he meets her gaze. "I'm so sorry… had I known—"

Nudging Carver aside slightly, the other man flashes Ana a roguish smile. "I'm Nate, by the way; Nate Hawke. As you've just met, this is my tit of a younger brother, Carver. If I may ask your name, my lady?"

Carver rolls his eyes as he crosses his arms over his chest with a pout. Still feeling gazes around them, she self-consciously smooths down her hair and tunic. "Ana." She mutters, looking up at him with an unimpressed glance. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go speak with the General."

Carver's eyes widen. "I promise you that our collision was an accident; honest! Please don't tell the General—" He begins to plead before Nate elbows his hard in the side. Carver glares at him as Nate gives him a look that tells him to shut up before smiling at Ana once more. "Again, forgive him. He's always been one to jump to conclusions." Placing a hand on his younger brother's shoulder, he bows his head slightly. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Ana. We apologize for disturbing you. Enjoy your meeting and we'll probably see you around."

Ana eyes him suspiciously before nodding. "Yeah…maybe." And with that, he shoves his brother away and they walk off in the opposite direction. She waits for a moment as she looks after them, half expecting them to come back but they continue on their way without even a look back. Shrugging, she continues on.