Shepard flushed as she struggled into the useless excuse for undergarments the woman Leliana had given her. Rough string and cloth were hardly as comfortable as her sport bra and shorts, but of course those were currently a sodden bundle at her feet, and so she tightened the stupid breast band, wrenching her under armor on overtop. Angrily she seized her breast plate, clamping the buckles beneath together with a metallic hiss of air. Embarrassment and shame swirled in her chest in confusing cacophony. It had been years since she had to bunk with others. Years more since she'd woken teammates with her own screams. Aggravated, she rubbed her face. What an amazing first impression she'd given these people.
Frantically shoving the thought away she turned instead to contemplating the handspun wool now resting scratchily against her skin. Things you can control first. Sighing, she reached out to grab the ties on the tent. There probably isn't a single spec of modern plumbing on this entire planet. Shepard though, casting her eyes skyward in despair. At least she couldn't really feel the scratchy underwear if she didn't think about them too hard. Besides, she'd taken a piss in worse situations.
Heaving a deep breath she turned her thoughts instead to Alistair's horrified face as he'd fled her tent. Yes, the beat red flush that had extended from his ears down to the waist of his pants was far more entertaining to think about than her inevitable date with a bush. "And what a nice chest too." Shepard breathed with a faint laugh. Dead once already or not, she could still appreciate a good view when it cropped up from time to time. Immediately she frowned at the intrusive thought. Not dead, Shepard. She gulped in a breath of air and held it. The air was cool and reassuring against the nausea building in the back of her throat. She had always had bad dreams, who didn't? But never as vivid as last night. Sighing she closed her eyes, the taste of smoke curling across her tongue. Real, vivid, and alive. Not dead. Reassured she flicked her gaze back down to her armor, sliding her shotgun reassuringly into the magnetized clamp at the small of her back.
"Um, Shepard? Are you… decent?"
Speak of the devil, she thought with a snort. "Yes Alistair, what is it?" Plucking up her gauntlets she shifted the ceramic cuffs into the correct position, watching in amusement as he cautiously poked his head through the tent flap, hand clasped over his eyes.
"Breakfast!" He held out a bowl of some kind of stew in her general direction like a shield between them, brown eyes peeking cautiously through his fingers as he assessed her. Reassured that she was outfitted he allowed his hand to flop down. "Aiden says we have to be out of here soon, so why don't you eat this and I'll get your tent all sorted?"
Shepard paused, crossing her arms across her chest. "Is this some kind of apology for tossing a bucket of freezing water on me?" As he started sputtering she grinned. "Because it's working. No soldier ever says no to food." Reaching forward she plucked the bowl from his hands, watching in amusement as his face reddened.
"I didn't toss the bucket." He muttered sullenly, walking forward to untie the canvas against the roof.
She couldn't help it, she laughed. She hadn't thought a guy dressed head to toe in plate armor would be able to slouch in embarrassment, but somehow he was pulling it off. Reaching forward she gently touched his arm. "I know, Leliana told me." At his confused look she smiled, "Thanks for the help with the tent." Then with a thump she smacked his arm, watching in amusement as he nearly fell over in the process.
"Andraste's ass woman! Why are you so freakishly strong?"
Shepard chuckled and weaved around his pouting form with a shrug."What can I say? I ate my vegetables."
He let out a sarcastic snort. "Oh plleeeassseeee."
Leaving Alistair to his work with a laugh, she stepped outside,setting the bowl down and stretching gratefully. Her ribs ached fiercely as she pulled to the side, but whatever they'd applied to her head seemed to have done its job. Satisfied she paused, glancing around curiously at the camp she'd only glimpsed briefly in the darkness before. Around her buzzed an odd assortment of people all loading equipment or wolfing down food. Along with the strange AI and the chatty redhead who had given her clothes, she glimpsed a pair of short fellows and a giant humanoid with grey skin. She raised a hand in greeting as his violet eyes met hers. In return he simply turned back to the tent he had been rolling. Slightly dismayed, Shepard continued her scan until her eyes lit on a blond man sitting across from her.
He acknowledged her attention with a wink, rising gracefully from his perch on a fallen stump. As he made his way closer Shepard felt her breath still in her chest. His ears were pointy! Like a…elf? Her brain blanked, mentally turning over the short men (dwarves?) she had seen earlier with this newfound information.
Stopping before her he gave her a sultry smile. "Like what you see?" he asked, all suave accent and warm smile.
Shepard paused, eyebrows climbing towards her hairline. Ah, he was one of those types. "I am a bit jealous of your hair, and your ears." She edged closer examining the pointed tips for signs of scarring or stitches. Next she noted his too large eyes and the smoothed bridge of his nose. Not surgery then. Not with the technology it seemed these people possessed. The native species to this planet maybe? A mix between the humans and the giant man's species?
With a chuckle the man tossed his head, drawing her attention from her thoughts. His eyes raked over her from head to toe in an overly exaggerated way. "My dear, let me assure you. An exquisite creature such as yourself has no need for petty jealousy, for who could compete against a lovely goddess?" At Shepard's snort he reached forward, grasping her hand and bowing low over it. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zevran Ariani, or Zev to my friends, one of the merry companions helping to assist the Wardens on their rather doomed quest." As he straightened he kept his grip on her, his brown eyes flickering from her face to her boots.
She smiled, bowing slightly to him in return. "Commander Shepard of the Normandy."
"Ah, Shepard. Such a beautiful name, a sure match for such a gorgeous lady."
Immediately she quirked a brow, amused. "I don't think anyone has ever said that about my name, Zevran."
"Well what can I say?" He smirked in return. "Women with titles just have something special about them, no? Though I must say, I've never encountered armor quite like yours before. It is, custom made? Yes?"
She hmm'd in response, gently extracting her hand from his. Bending down she grabbed the bowl of food and turned her head to watch Zevran complacently. "You could say that." At his sharp glance she smiled. "Your boss tell you about me?"
He flicked his wrist in a dismissive gesture. "Only that you are apparently well acquainted with storytelling. Perhaps I can offer a word of advice, you should choose something a little more believable next time. Stars and ships in space?" He made a tsking noise. "Amature."
Shepard simply shifted her weight, meeting his eyes solidly. "Who says it's a story?" At his skeptical look she shrugged. "I doubt anything I could say would make you believe me unless you could see it with your own eyes." She sighed, moving around Zevran to sit on the log near the firepit. With a companionable tap of her gauntlet she gestured for the other man to sit down. "So Zevran,tell me then. What's your story? How did you end up here? Judging from your armor you're not a Grey Warden."
He hesitated briefly before sitting gracefully beside her. "No indeed! I was, in fact, sent to kill the Wardens! Funny how these things work out, no?"
She blinked as she dipped her spoon into the bowl. "Assassin?" Mentally she checked him off the list of companions Alistair had told her about. She thought of Thane and the man next to her. Different would be an understatement. Viciously she shoved down the pang in her chest at the thought of the drell. Later.
Zevran puffed up slightly, chest jutting forward. "You are correct! Of the Antivan Crows to be precise!" at her blank look he deflated. "The most famous assassins in all of Thedas? Usually our reputation precedes us and yet here I am! Second time in so many days with nary a flicker of recognition! You Fereldens!" He shook his head disparagingly.
"Uh-huh. And how does an assassin end up working for the people he was sent to kill?"
Immediately Zevran flung his hands forward with a flourish. "Ah now that is a tale my new friend! One of strife and heartache! Truly magnificent!" He leaned forward eagerly as Leliana stepped into view.
"Allow me to simplify it for you." the bard interrupted. "Zevran's ambush failed and we killed all his hired help. He then grovelled for the warden to take him along."
"Grovelled? My dear sweet Leliana!" He shook his head with a disappointed huff. "How you wound me. You have spent entirely too much time with these southerners."
"South?" Shepard inquired. Mentally casting back to the planet she had seen through the viewports as they crashed. Anything she could use to help pinpoint her location was a godsend, who knew how big this planet was? At Zevran's nod she relaxed back.
"Am I to take it then that you do not know the basic geography of Thedas? Have you never heard of my beloved Antiva?"
She shrugged as he frowned. "Nope. Is Thedas the name of this planet?" At his scowl she smiled.
Leliana moved between them, interrupting Zevran as he snapped his mouth open in reply. "Zevran, leave the poor dear to her breakfast. We have a long day ahead of us."
"Ah Leliana, surely breakfast can wait in the face of our blooming, relationship no?" Again his eyes travelled from her head to her toes, this time the glint in them was calculating, lingering on her shotgun and belt.
"I'm sure." The redhead replied with a smile. "But we must leave soon, Aiden is in quite the mood."
"When is he not?" came the sardonic reply.
Turning to Shepard Leliana ignored the other man and held out a leather pack clinking with glass bottles. "This is your portion of supplies for the day, use them well, yes?" At Shepard's confused nod she smiled, turning to make her way to the giant silver haired man.
Peering into the sack she saw more of the red liquid Alistair had used on her head the day before, along with an assortment of bandages, bottles and dried strips of meat. Cautiously she opened one of the glowing blue bottles. "Is this eezo?" she asked, startled by the tingle she could feel through the glass. They couldn't possibly be carrying it around in nothing but a glass bottle, could they?
"Lyrium, actually." She turned to Zevran, confused. "For your mana, yes?"
Shepard shook her head, alarmed. "I've seen eezo before and i'm pretty sure this is it. Are you telling me you regularly just carry this shit around? Drink it? It's radioactive!"
"Hm! Does radioactive mean dangerous? For it is certainly that, and addictive!" Concerned, she whipped her head to face the elf. Something in her wide eyed alarm must have translated across her face as he let out a faint huff, shaking his head. " According to the Templars at any rate. I have no personal experience with it myself. That would perhaps be a better question served to our large warden friend." Clapping his hands to his knees, Zevran stood with a brief wave of his hand. "Until later my dear."
Blinking she quickly stowed the vial, thoughts stumbling. Did these Templars, who Alistair had used to be, drink eezo? She sucked in a worried breath at the thought. On planets like Thessia, burgeoning with element zero, ingestion wasn't unheard of. The people and wildlife had adapted over thousands of years. However, natural resistance or no, drinking the stuff pure was a death sentence. Is that what a mage is? she wondered. Someone naturally biotic? Opening the cloth top Shepard instead pulled a red bottle. Uncorking it she sniffed it hesitantly, jerking back at the putrid odor of crushed herbs. "Ugh! That smells worse than I remember." she coughed waving a hand beneath her nose in irritation.
"That's why it's generally inadvisable to run around sniffing them." Came Alistair's voice from behind her, chuckling slightly as he strapped his shield to his back.
Shepard held the bottle away from her, mouth twisting as she studied the murky red liquid. "What was this again?" Gently she shook it, lifting to stare at its bottom. In the broad light of day she was more than a little concerned he had poured this on her open head wound.
Alistair reached around her, plucking it from her grasp. "A health poultice." He replied, glancing at her in mild confusion. "You don't have these up in your space home?"
She shook her head, handing him the cork. "We have medi-gel, but it certainly doesn't smell anything like that if you remember." Pointing at the offending bottle she told him, "That can't possibly be safe to consume." Assessing, she regarded the man in front of her. If what Zevran had said was true and he was drinking eezo on the regular, there should be signs of it. Shifting to catch his eyes as she looked for the telltale blue shean of eezo poisoning. Finding nothing but the slight reddening of his cheeks at her intense gaze she relented. "Speaking of things not to ingest," she pulled out the blue bottle and shook it in his direction. "This."
He quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "I assure you, the health polituce is quite safe. Though, yes, I wouldn't recommend drinking that." He gestured to the blue bottle with an incline of his head. "For a mage it wouldn't matter, but for yourself it'll cause all sorts of problems." Plopping the bottle into her open pack he gestured to the bowl still clutched in her hand. "Best eat that quickly. Never know when the opportunity for food will come up again. Then you'll get hungry, and grumpy, and no one wants that."
Ignoring his deflection she gestured to the blue bottle again. "I heard you say you were an ex-Templar last night, not that I really even know what a Templar is. What I do know though is element zero." She shook the little vial. "According to Zevran, you ingest this stuff regularly then, right?"
Alistair's mouth pulled into a faint mew of annoyance. "I wouldn't trust much from that assassin's but yes, Templars do take lyrium. As for myself? I was recruited before I took my vows into the Grey Wardens. Got to skip all the fun addiction and eventual mind numbing decay." Reaching forward he pulled the glass from her hand, shifting it instead to his own pack. "I've never heard lyrium called element zero before. What is that exactly? Do you have the same substance on your world?"
Shepard grimaced as he stepped back. "Looks about the same. We use it to power our ships." she gestured to his pack, "It's toxic, you know that right?"
He simply grinned in response. "Fear not dear lady! I promise I won't expire on the spot!"
She huffed in return. "That's not-"
"Alistair." Aiden interrupted, walking stiffly towards them. "We just intercepted a scout on the way from the tower. The situation there is deteriorating fast, we need to move out immediately. Round up the others and load Bohdan's cart. You can chat with Shepard later."
Snappin upright he nodded. "Of course." With one last lingering smile to her he set off quickly across the camp.
Her mind still turning over the eezo Shepard turned contemplative eyes to Aiden. "Trouble?"
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." He told her, face pinched tight. "Just get yourself ready. We'll be passing by your shuttle if we can but it'll have to be brief."
She nodded, finally putting a spoon of her breakfast into her mouth. Immediately her eyes widened In horror. With a gag she nearly spew the offensive concoction back out, face contorting around a pungent mouthful. "Shit!" Eyes watering, she met the other warden's gaze as he burst into a chuckle. She frowned up at him in return. "You realize I've eaten months old field rations right? And even they tasted better than this!" Desperately breathing through her mouth she gestured to the bowl. "What the hell is this crap?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Stew." At her glare he smirked. "Alistair cooked." As if that somehow explained everything, he walked off. Blowing out a disparaging breath she grudgingly choked down another mouthful. Food was food, but damn if rescue couldn't come soon enough.