Dinner that night was an awkward affair to say the least. Everyone skirted around Shepard warily, acting as if at any moment she would turn into a monster, or worse, turn on them. Not that she couldn't understand their perspective. From what they knew, there was little they could do to stop her if she did decide to attack them. Sitting quietly on a log on the far side of the fire, she let out a huff, her mind racing. Shepard didn't know what she had really expected, introducing people whose most advanced technology was the wheel to her shuttle and abilities. Dropping her head to her hand she closed her eyes tightly, stress stiffening her back. To be honest, she hadn't really been thinking since she'd left the Normandy.

Mouth tight she allowed her mind to drift to her ship. Joker had given her such a stiff smile when Hacket had boarded to take her away. She could still feel Garrus's hand, gently and comforting on her shoulder. They hadn't wanted her to go. Jack had been the most adamant, offering to help Shepard jump ship and run, Grunt not far behind. The Krogan had been more than keen to fight the alliance officers. Letting out a faint laugh at the memory she shifted her weight and tilted her head to the unfamiliar stars. Somewhere out there was her crew. A smile curled her lips against her will. I hope they're okay.

A shuffle around the fire drew her attention back to the people currently with her. Leliana was stretching, reaching for a wooden instrument by her feet, the soft twang of strings filling the air. With the bard occupied Shepard turned back to her bowl of pink mush. Truthfully, it was a relief to not be the focus of Leliana's near obsessive gaze. All afternoon, the redhead had taken to staring unblinkingly whenever Shepard moved too close. Though, truthfully, the rest of the day after the initial attack had been filled with weighted, awkward silence, broken only by the occasional mutter. Aiden and Alistair had conferred quietly at the front of the group nearly the entire rest of their march, Aiden gesturing at Shepard in wildly distressed intervals.

Shoving away the thought she let out a soft grunt, pushing around the strange pink mixture in her bowl. Who would have thought she would ever miss Gardners food? Not only that, who would have thought she would miss field rations? Briefly she contemplated the energy bar stored in her belt, her very own high nutrient piece of home. She remembered Kaidan teasing her about hoarding the small bars back on Therum. Shepard smiled slightly, thinking back to his kind eyes, the slight rasp of his voice as he watched her steer the Mako. Their talks late at night, when his headaches and her nightmares had kept them both from their bunks. Her breath caught in her throat as Horizon flashed briefly through her mind, the pain and rage he had barely held in check pouring out in the wake of her striding up to him with Cerberus agents at her back.

"Not to your liking I take it?"

Shepard jerked upright, nearly upending the bowl into her lap in the process. Flushing slightly she glanced up at Alistair towering over her, brown eyes levelled on her evenly. She flicked a look at her bowl before levelling the warrior with a sheepish stare. "Just not exactly what I'm used to." she told him, forcing a smile.

He hummed softly in return, shifting nervously in his plate armor. Glancing around him he reached out, offering his hand. "Care to take a stroll with me?" At Shepard's dubious expression he gave her an awkward smile. "You looked all miserable and downtrodden over here in your little corner, I figured maybe you could use some company to clear your head?"

Humiliation briefly stung her cheeks as she took inventory of the campsite. It was true, she, the great Commander Shepard, had elected to sit off in a corner instead of tackling the situation head on. Exhaustion momentarily stole her breath. She was just so tired of trying. Shaking the intrusive thought away she turned to Alistair and regarded him quietly for a moment before reaching up and grasping his hand. "Aiden sent you here to get information didn't he?"

"Would that matter?" At her flat look he let out a faint scoff and pulled her upright. A shiver raced down her spine at the feeling his fingers wrap lightly around her own. For just a moment in the silhouette of the fire his brown eyes looked lighter, his hair darker, jaw straighter. Burned Shepard jerked her gaze away. Frantically shoving thoughts of Kaidan into a box.

Alistair, unaware, started herding her in the direction of the tree line. His voice was friendly and lilting as he continued, "How little faith you have! Maybe, instead of orders from grumpy wardens, I'm just a sucker for women who like to pick me up and yell at me?" At his quirked eyebrow and sly little smirk she smiled, gently extracting her hand and gesturing for him to lead them deeper into the forest.

"Lucky for me then." Shepard replied, covering her faint unease with a laugh and pretending to need to balance her soup bowl. Briefly Alistair's eyes narrowed, and she felt her smile become strained at the scrutiny. Instead of saying more he simply shrugged. Quietly they walked forward until they reached a clearing full of trees, bathed in moonlight. At one end a small waterfall cheerfully dropped into a stream, churning along the edges of the forest. With a slight tug on her arm he pulled her over to a bush situated against the tree line, releasing her as he reached down to pluck a handful of bright red berries.

"Here." He offered the handful smiling at her wary look. Reaching down he popped a few into his mouth. "See? Yummy! Just a might bit tastier than that awful food."

"Didn't you make that awful food?" she asked, watching him eating with hungry eyes. Pulling out her Omni she scanned the berries, waiting patiently to see if anything pinged the toxicology system.

He watched the beam of light with interest as he simultaneously leant back, voice taking on a high, put out tone. "The trust you show! How you wound me!" The scan finished with a chime and he leaned close to watch the display. A beat of silence and then, "Berries no longer scary?" He weedled lightly, grinning at her stony glare. "Awww, nothing?"

She rolled her eyes in response.

"Fine. Clearly my talents are wasted." He cleared his throat and offered her the food again. "Anyway, it was in fact Sten who cooked tonight. It's a good thing Qunari aren't easily insulted isn't it? What with the way you were poking that bowl. Thought it was still alive, did you?"

"No." Reaching forward Shepard grasped one of the fruit, plunking the red berry into her mouth grudgingly. Immediately the sweet taste burst across her tongue, making her nearly moan. Had it really only been two days since she'd last seen the Normandy? "What are these? They're amazing!"

Alistair smiled at her rapturous expression, offering the rest in amusement. "They're called Maferaths Sorrow. Not a very accurate name, I know." At Shepard's confused expression he smirked slightly. "Maferath was the husband of our prophet Andraste. Surely you've heard Leliana muttering about her?" At her nod he continued, "Andraste led the armies of the faithful in a march against the Tevinter Imperium, brought it to its knees. Her husband Maferath grew jealous of her popularity, enough so that he betrayed her to the Imperium. This little berry is named for his guilt in killing the Makers bride." He shrugged slightly. "Ironic isn't it? Considering how tasty they are."

Shepard paused, berry halfway to her mouth. "That wasn't your convoluted way of telling me they're poisonous was it?"

"Maker, no!" At his horrified expression she relaxed, eating another contemplatively. "Would that even be possible after you… did that thing… with your… thing?"

She couldn't stop a chuckle from breaking past her lips. "It's called a scan. It would have told me if it was incompatible with my physiology, doesn't mean it couldn't have left me with a mean case of sickness in the morning."

He let out a hum in acknowledgement, allowing silence to settle between them. As she continued to pluck the berries and add some to her bowl he shifted awkwardly. Finally after stewing in silence he took a deep breath and slowly started speaking. "They may have been my way of testing the waters, so to speak."

"Oh?"

"Yes, you see…" Alistair shifted his weight, bending to grab more of them with fluttering fingers. At his nervous silence she reached forward, plucking one of the berries from his hand, careful to leave her body language open and welcoming. "Ah, you see, the thing is… you and Andraste… seem to have some things in common, and well." He blushed, turning to catch her eyes with his. "I don't suppose you happen to have had a chat with the Maker? Maybe in a dream?"

Shepard choked on the fruit in her mouth, sending it hurtling into the bush, her hand clamping over her lips in horror. This was why first contact protocols were so important! She thought disparagingly, eyes tearing as she coughed frantically. Alistair's hand came down forcefully, thumping her on the back so hard she nearly crashed to the ground. "What?" she wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes.

Grasping her arm slightly he held her up, hand rubbing her back awkwardly though her armor with a persistent clack. "Look, this wasn't my idea, or even theory, really! It was Leliana, and then Aiden started listening to her and next thing I know, Aiden's asking me to ask you whether or not you and a certain prophet may be kindred spirits." At her incredulous look, he cringed. "Good news though! He doesn't think you are a maleficar any longer."

"I don't even know what a malifecar is!" she growled, eyes flashing in the darkness. She sucked in a harsh breath and closed her eyes. "Look, Alistair?" At her pause he raised his face to regard her, cheeks flushing a vibrant shade of red. Reaching out she activated her Omni-tool, allowing the glowing blade to extend along the length. "This is an Omni-blade. Not magic, not godly, and most definitely not any kind of prophets weapon. It's standard issue where I come from."

Next she activated her barrier. "These are my biotics. They're generated by my body and boosted by my amp here." She turned her back to him, pulling her hair aside to show him the metal port. Immediately he let out a distressed noise at the sight of it embedded in her skin. Shepard felt his fingers lightly flutter over the piece of metal in cautious concern. Steeling herself she pulled away and turned to face him. "I know Leliana is trying to find justifications for things she can't explain, but I promise, I'm normal."

He huffed in response, brown eyes wide. "Does it hurt? Your amp?"

She blinked at the question and then shrugged. "Sometimes, but there were others who were way worse off." She hesitated and then soldiered on. "One of my old crewmates. He used to get these debilitating headaches from his implant. Would lay him out solid for days at a time. Still would suit up whenever I asked him though." She smiled faintly at that, tension smoothing from her chest while reminiscing.

Across from her Alistair gave her a tentative smile. "Sounds like quite the stubborn man."

She laughed. "Wouldn't think it from first impressions of him, that's for sure." Still smiling she shook her head allowing the pain from the memory to fade. With a faint sigh she paused and dipped her head. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked, leaning forward to catch her eyes.

"All the… weirdness I've brought to your camp."

Immediately he scoffed and shifted forward to give her a friendly nudge with his shoulder. "Oh you are hardly the weirdest thing here, fret not! Have you met Zevran?"

"Zevran?"

Alistair nodded emphatically. "Watch him sometime when he cleans his gear. Believe me, then you'll see what weird really is. You'd think he was in love with his boots by the end of it."

She chuckled and relaxed back into the silence following his teasing. Part of her felt wrong footed, ghosts of crewmates and high command screaming in her head. Worries about how her being here could influence this little planet. Suddenly anxious in the stillness she cleared her throat softly. "So…"

"So…" He agreed, smiled at her nervously. A pause and then, "How do you feel about cheese?"