Alaina had fallen asleep in her bed last night, she was sure of it. She had one glass of wine during her weekly bubble bath, as she normally did, then fell asleep under her pink down comforter listening to a relaxation mix on her phone.
Growing up she had always had wild dreams, even occasionally sleepwalking outside, and that had slightly decreased into adulthood. However, the dream she was currently having was the most vivid dream she'd had in years.
As she lay on her back in the fresh snow, she could see a green light flickering above her. Snowflakes were dancing down and cascading onto her still form, stinging her exposed flesh with their chill. Her auburn hair was damp from the melting ice, her skin was hot and feverish, drops gathering where the frozen crystals landed. Why was she laying in the snow? It was June.
The viridescent light would shift and reform into shapes in the sky above her, almost as if it was sentient. Her hand reached up to touch the glowing, and she paused, staring intensely at the limb. The extended arm was thinner than her own, but the most confusing part were the dark claws that protruded from her nail beds. Long and sharp, they looked as though they could slice through steel. The pale skin of her arms were missing their signature scarring, the upraised pattern of lines across her forearms were gone.
As she struggled to sit up, she barely rolled onto her stomach in time to avoid being hit by a massive gnarled branch. No, not a branch. It was an arm. Alaina gasped as she saw what it was attached to, a spindly body with greenish-black skin. A grotesque face with a multitude of eyes watched her with a hungry gaze. Letting loose a deafening screech, it dove toward her, its eyes focused on her face.
The redhead forced herself off the ground, her body moving with a quick grace that was much unlike her normal clumsy motions. She found that she was easily dodging its blows, frustrating the strange creature immensely. Suddenly it seemed to dig into the ground beneath its own feet, a strange portal opening beneath it as it fell through. This action seemed oddly familiar and as she struggled to locate its new position she realized why.
Alaina had seen this creature before, in a video game! But which one? She threw herself backward, barely avoiding the bulk of the creature as it ripped open a hole where she had just been standing. It had managed to bury a single clawed hand into her left shoulder before she had time to react. Blood dripping down onto her pale nightdress, she was shocked at the sudden stabbing sensation of pain. Did one normally feel pain in dreams?
The demon crawled out and growled loudly, a long tail thrashing in the air, obviously irritated it had not killed her with its strike. It charged at her and as she focused on sprinting toward the woods just outside the clearing something slammed into her side.
A bright flame ate at her side as a molten creature rushed toward her, moving across the ground in a puddle as if it was levitating. She gasped and tore at her clothing, expecting to feel pain where the fire was eating her clothes, however all she felt was a dull ache where the ball had slammed against her ribs. Pale skin remained untouched under the singed material of her nightdress.
As she turned to run from the fiery beast, she found herself cornered. A demon on one side and a pile of moving lava on the other. As the tall spindly demon reached out to grab her, the woman threw her arms around herself. Her form dropped to the snow-covered ground, the ice biting into her skin. Alaina pressed her eyes tightly shut and screamed, waiting to die.
"There's a woman here, be careful not to hit her!" A low masculine voice shouted from nearby. Footsteps crunched across the stiff snow as the man approached.
"Got it!" A woman's reply came almost immediately, "Hear that creepy?"
"I won't hurt her." A clang of metal resounded and ached against her eardrums.
Alaina could practically feel them fighting around her, trying not to strike the scared girl who lay curled up in the middle of the battle. Flames licked at her skin, not damaging anything but her clothing once again. This isn't real, it can't be.
A loud rumbling sound intensified until it was blaring in her eardrums, the vibration overwhelming all other senses. Then, all at once, it stopped. As the noises quieted around her, the only thing she could hear was the soft crackle of the fire burning something nearby.
"Miss, it's okay. You're safe now." Alaina lay still, her body tensed, waiting for another strike. A soft hand rested on her arm, "Are you injured?"
"Of course she is!" The feminine voice was indignant, "Mage, come heal her!"
"Is she still alive?" Frigid hands touched her side where her ribs had been exposed to the cool air and she flinched back, her eyes finally opening. A warm pressure that had been spreading through her limbs suddenly cut off.
"Eh?! What is she?" A blonde woman looked at her with wide blue eyes, her hair was crudely cut into a pixie cut. The bald man who had been kneeling beside her was staring at her with curious eyes. His face was elegant, almost pretty. The sloping, long pointed ears and high cheekbones gave him a noble look.
The female elf was too loud, her voice grating on Alaina's frazzled nerves. "Look at her eyes!"
Alaina crawled backward, her hands clawing at the snow before a hand grabbed the back of her neck to prevent her movement. The grip was firm but quite gentle as though the person was scared to hurt her. Her head leaned back to stare at the massive man who was currently holding her still. His enormous hand was cool against her neck and as she took in his rather unique face and large horns, his name suddenly appeared at the forefront of her mind. The Iron Bull.
"Lacking, lost, looking for where she belongs. She knows you." A soft voice spoke, commanding her attention. Her eyes reeled and suddenly she saw him, Cole. A young man, shaggy blond hair and an outrageously large hat. The young rogue had been one of her favorite characters in Dragon Age Inquisition. This was not possible. He seemed perplexed by her train of thought. "I have not met you before."
"Do you think she's a spy?" A bearded man stood to the side, a thick fur coat sitting on his shoulders. He was unfamiliar to Alaina, this was not a character she recognized like the others.
"I don't even think she's human, Inky." The Inquisitor then. The petite woman scoffed, Sera, "Look at those weird eyes! She's probably another demon like Creepy."
"I'm a spirit," His correction was expected, the redhead had added him to nearly every scout group when she played. "Burning, blistering, blurring, everything is too bright." His blue eyes stared at the shaking girl in The Iron Bull's grasp with an intense focus, her clothing was burnt in places and her eyes were wild. She had many hurts to untangle.
Alaina considered what these characters would do to her if they brought her back to their base thinking she was a spy. She would probably be tortured and killed when she refused to give up who sent her there, not that she knew how she got here. Thinking of the horrific torture devices she had seen laying on tables in museums originating in medieval times, she felt herself begin to fall into a panic attack. Reaching up, she dug her sharp claws into the Iron Bull's wrist, her serrated nails cutting until they almost hit bone.
"Fuck!" His voice boomed as his blood coated her hand, but he released his grip from her neck. She crouched and leapt away, her mind reeling. This has to be a dream. Since her body felt too light and unbalanced, she flew farther than she intended.
"What is she?" Landing about twenty feet from the group she instinctively bared her teeth at them. They had all shifted into a battle stance, weapons pointed toward the strange woman.
"Some sort of demon!" Sera notched an arrow on her bow, taking aim at the small woman.
"Wait! Please stop!" Cole's raised voice made her pause and suddenly he had reappeared at her side, pulling her swiftly against him to avoid an arrow. His hands were cool and comforting against her heated flesh. "Disjointed, disoriented, disbelieving. A dream, it must be." He looked down at her with a puzzled expression. "My hands are soft on your bare skin."
His breath brushed against her face and she jerked from his grasp, this time standing only a couple of feet away. He was taller than she thought he would be, over a full head taller than herself. His blue eyes were a shade lighter than she remembered, like the sky on a snowy day. His features were sharp and handsome in a slightly youthful way. Her hand reached up and gently, not wanting to scratch him, she ran her finger across his cheekbone.
"Cole, have you met this young lady before?" Solas's voice was questioning as he slowly approached the two. The redhead stilled, moving her hand from the spirit's face. If anyone could convince the Inquisitor not to torture her, it was the Elven Mage.
"No, but she knows me." The young man played with the wraps on his gloved hands, "Dreams, floating images, flickering past her eyes. Scared, please don't hurt me."
"Like a projection crystal?" The bearded man asked, his dark eyes doubtful, but he lowered his sword. He seemed to trust the blond who stood beside her, Cole must have saved him when he faced the Envy Demon then. It seemed to allow for the most trust of the spirit from the start.
"She knows the things that came before and will come after," The blond gave her a quizzical expression, "The memories are far, like fishing through the fog."
Alaina pressed the back of a clawed hand to her forehead, an ache blooming behind her eyes. She could practically feel him fishing through her mind, pulling and plucking at threads to find what he was looking for. Gathering her thoughts into a tight knot, she pushed at the foreign presence.
"You..." Cole stepped back giving her a shocked look, "You kicked me out."
The young woman couldn't remember a time in the game that the spirit hadn't been able to find someone's pain, save for Solas who had managed to cut off images as Cole was viewing them. However, he was an Elven God after all; Fen'Harel. She felt immense relief at the lack of the throbbing tendril in her mind. Even as he tried to reconnect, she kept herself firm, refusing.
"I didn't know that was possible," The qunari laughed, popping back a reddish liquid in a glass vial. She watched in amazement as his skin stitched back together where she had clawed him. He leaned down to look into her eyes with his own singular eye. "So, are you a spy?"
"No," Her voice was quiet and soft, a strange unfamiliar musical lilt to it. A strange accent in her tone made her pause momentarily. This was not her voice she was hearing. "I fell asleep in my bed and woke up here."
"Which village are you from?" The Inquisitor approached them, taking small steps to avoid scaring the young girl once more. "How do you know us?"
"I don't know where I am or how I got here," Her green eyes stared at her hands, not sure if she wanted to see her face after their reaction to it. "I can see things, vague images of what you are and what you will do."
The Inquisitor seemed excited at this statement, "You have an ability to see the future?"
"It's vague, and there are many possibilities that change the outcome. So nothing is definitive." How could she possibly explain that their whole existence was laid out into a game? She wondered if they had always existed or if they were brought into existence by the game's writers.
"Every individual choice changes the path of the future?" Solas questioned from nearby, his face showing an expression of wonder. It would only make sense that the path was not stagnant and the future could be a culmination of variables.
"Only some of them," Her head was hurting, and the wound on her shoulder that had been only partially healed was aching, having retorn through the clotted flesh when she jumped away. "Are you guys going to torture me?"
Cole made a startled face, as though he hadn't expected this response. A gloved hand reached out toward her as though to offer her some comfort, but her sudden flare of embarrassment made him pause. He couldn't remember a time when his touch caused such a reaction in anyone.
"Do you remember anything about where you are from?" The Inquisitor standing before her seemed to share the spirit's repulsion to the idea of harming her, and gave a sickened expression. He was a tall man, nearly as tall as Cole but more filled out. Wide shoulders connected to a burly frame reminded her of a Viking. Long dark hair contrasted against pale skin, a thick beard resting on his chin made him look distinguished. He was very different from the small Elven Inquisitor that she had played as.
Alaina wasn't sure whether she should lie or tell the truth, "I'm not sure. I have only vague memories of what happened before I woke up in the snow." It was true, in a way, she didn't remember how she got to this place.
The arrow that had been fired at her was deeply embedded into the bark of a nearby tree. Her form shuttered as she thought about what would have happened had Cole not pulled her out of the way. This world was kill or be killed, it wasn't the ideal universe for her to fall into. Solas might be able to figure out a path back to her world, though she couldn't imagine the destruction magic would cause in an already broken system.
"We don't plan to hurt you," The Inquisitor was within touching distance now and shrugged off his jacket, holding it out to her expectantly. "We just were surprised when you clawed at Bull."
"I'm not cold," Though she should be shivering in this snowy climate, her skin felt hot instead, as though she was on fire. Perhaps she was running a fever? She ran her fingers over her arms, feeling strong wiry muscles under her soft skin. No marks, no small tattoo on her bicep. Was this even her body?
"It seems that the rage demon did some damage to your clothing," The older man was blushing softly, and as Alaina looked down she could understand why. The fire had eaten away at a large portion of her soft pink nightdress, leaving a gaping hole directly over her right breast that ran down to her hip, almost exposing her pelvis.
Blushing, she quickly grabbed the offered jacket and pulled it over her shoulders. Though it dwarfed her and brushed the ground, it was better than giving them a free show. It was a supple, sturdy black leather with an incredibly soft fur collar. Though she typically didn't wear fur, she figured she could make an exception since she was nearly naked.
"Is she coming back to Skyhold with us?" The female elf asked, drawing the attention of the group. "Do we really need another demon?"
"She doesn't appear to be a demon, but there are pieces of the fade clinging to her." Solas nodded, observing her keenly like another one of his tomes. "She is not an elf either, though her ears are slightly pointed; her teeth are much too sharp."
"She isn't a demon," Cole agreed, his consciousness brushing against her own. He frowned when he couldn't gain entrance into her mind. "I can't help the hurt when you won't let me in."
"My mind is my own place," The redhead shook her head, loose copper curls contrasting on the dark material of her borrowed coat. She stuffed her hands into the deep pockets, feeling a few small trinkets and what seemed to be a wood-carved statue. Her tongue softly touching along the edge of her teeth, she found a set of four pointed teeth where her own blunt canines should sit. "I don't like how it feels when you pull at the thoughts."
"You'll have to teach me that trick," The Iron Bull laughed and clapped his hand on her back a little too hard, knocking her forward. The singular uncovered eye ran over her red locks in an appraising manner.
"Touching, tasting," Cole observed from nearby, "Red hair spread over sheets, bare skin, soft moans. He wants to take your clothes off, slowly."
The large horned man narrowed his eye at the spirit. "If I could keep things like that private that would be great."
"Ignoring that," The dark-haired man nearby gave an awkward chuckle. " I do think she should return with us to Skyhold."
Alaina was wishing she had finished the game at this moment, would she even be safe in Skyhold? She doubted Leiliana, the Spymaster, would let a random girl wander around the castle without properly vetting her. Suddenly the thought of her appearance entered her head once again, "What do I look like?"
"What do you look like?" Sera asked, her voice incredulous. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," She gave the pretty blonde a curt nod, "You all were scared of my face when you first saw me."
"It's not yer face," The petite elf shook her head, "Yer face is quite pretty, it's your eyes. Like a cat's. It's freaky. And you've got these sharp teeth too." Sera held up her hands in front of her mouth dangling her index fingers to indicate the long canines.
"Like a cat's? What does that mean?" Her hands jerked up to her face to touch her eyelids, shocked. The redhead thought of her small Tuxedo cat back home waiting in her apartment. She was very thankful that she had given her best friend a key to the small place, at least Theo would be fed and cared for until she could get back. "Like a slit pupil?"
Solas nodded this time, observing her eyes closely, "Or like a dragon's I suppose. I've never seen anything like it."
"Why would you want to do 'that' with a dragon?" Cole tilted his head to the side, a confused expression in his light-colored eyes as he stared at the large Qunari. Alaina let out a soft laugh, glad that she could seem to keep him from saying the things that ran through her mind.
"Enough of this. I am Inquisitor Christopher Trevelyan," The bearded man shook his head, "The big guy is The Iron bull, the female elf is Sera, the elven mage is Solas, and the rogue who saved you from Sera's arrow, " He sent a pointed look at the blonde woman who simply shrugged, "His name is Cole. Though it seems you already knew that if I understood Cole correctly."
"What is your name miss?" Solas asked politely, walking closer to the strange woman. Her slitted pupils narrowed and flickered to his face as he did so, but she showed no signs of attacking or fleeing.
"Alaina," The petite woman didn't seem to wish them any harm, aside from the small wound she gave The Iron Bull. Which had been done in a panic to distance herself from them, an understandable reaction.
"Well, Alaina, would you like to return to our base with us?" Christopher had made up his mind, perhaps this red haired young lady would be a powerful ally. Alaina seemed fast, and her strange looks would serve as a good research project to keep Solas busy. He wondered if she had the skills to be refined into a good rogue.
"I won't be hurt?" Her question was meek and shy, her green eyes peering up at the taller man. She didn't have much of an option, she was dropped in this world with only vague memories of it.
"I will not let any harm come to you," He extended a hand to her, "So long as you do not harm any of my people, you will have a room and training to become a useful member of the Inquisition."
"I swear I won't hurt anyone," The pretty woman wrapped her slender fingers around his and her claws brushed the back of his hand as she shook it. He didn't know what kind of creature she was, but as his skin touched her own he felt a strange connection to her.
"Then I will send back a letter to let the others know we will be arriving soon," He outstretched his arm, and as if on cue a large raven landed on his forearm.