Kala was able to settle into the Inquisition easily enough, but she remained distant around people- Cullen especially.
She was glad to see Nina moving so quickly to resolve the matter of the Breach and was more than happy to assist her assault on the temple ruins. She stood with the rest of the mages and lent her strength to the Herald, pushing her own energy a bit further than she had originally intended. Once their task was over, they all returned to Haven and Kala stood off to the side- watching as the festivities commenced. But then, out of nowhere, the bells began to ring and soldiers were running to the defenses. Cullen came out of the Chantry and began shouting orders, the soldiers ran to their positions, and the townspeople began to panic. Kala left things to Cullen and the Herald while she tried her best to calm everyone down and get them to a place of safety.
Cullen and his men began spreading out, protecting the village, while Nina took the Iron Bull, Varric, and Blackwall with her to reach to trebuchets. The one closest to the gates needed time to prepare, but the Venatori were already closing in. They did their best to fend off the Venatori until the trebuchet was ready, then fired it at the enemy and watched as they hit their mark. One of the soldiers asked them to check on the other trebuchet and they were off.
In the Chantry, Kala was trying to comfort people as best as she could, but then the roar of a dragon sounded from outside and her heart dropped. She ran outside, seeing what looked like an Archdemon soaring around the skies above the village. Soldiers were flooding in through the gates, Cullen ushering them inside. "Move it, move it!" he ordered.
Once everyone was inside, Cullen helped slam the gate doors shut and bar it. He started to head up the stairs but he stopped when he saw Kala taking to the sky in her dragon form. "Kala, wait!" he tried to call, but it was of no use.
While Cullen, Nina, and the others try to come up with a plan of attack, Kala did her best to fend off the dragon.
'This is no Archdemon...' she noted at one point. She had seen the Archdemon of the Blight ten years ago, but this creature was different.
The dragon's attacks were almost purely animalistic, with no real intelligence behind them. It was like she was a shadow of her former self, lashing out like a beast trapped in a corner with no way out. She pitied her, but that would not stop her from bringing her down if it meant protecting everyone.
Upon the mountainside, Cullen stood with the rest of the Inquisition as they cleared the tree line. Cullen couldn't see Kala any longer and began to fear the worst as one of the Inquisition mages shot a fireball into the sky to signal Nina and the others. It wasn't long after that that they watched as a giant boulder came hurtling towards the mountain, slamming into the stone and releasing an even bigger avalanche the first.
"Maker, please let them have gotten out..."
"They'll be fine."
"We need to continue forward, find a safe place to make camp, tend to the wounded, wait for the Herald's return."
And with that, the Inquisition pushed onwards until they were far enough from Haven to feel some sense of safety and could make camp. Once their tents were set up, the healers went to work on the wounded while the others did what they could to compile information and resources. And not long after that, Varric, the Iron Bull, and Blackwall had caught up with them. They were weary and cold, but otherwise unharmed. However, neither Nina nor Kala was with them.
Cullen joined a few others to go search the mountains for any sign of Kala and Nina. They reached the pass near where they had last stopped to rest before making camp in the valley below and out of the frostbitten winds and flurry of snow came Kala in her dragon form with Nina slumped against her neck.
"There! It's them!" Cullen said as he and the others came around the bend.
"Thank the Maker!" Cassandra added.
Kala had been knocked from the sky just before the dragon had rejoined her master and cut off Nina's escape. She had been stunned for a moment and changed back into her elven form, but forced herself to her feet and hurried to Nina's side when she heard her crying out in pain. She had reached Nina just as she set off the trebuchet and turned to run, then tried her best to shield them both from the avalanche. They had been knocked down into an icy cavern and Nina was even worse for wear than Kala, so Kala pulled her arm around her neck and lugged her through the cavern until they reached the open mountain air. Kala had set Nina down for a moment, then transformed back into her dragon form and helped Nina up onto her back. She had tried to shield them from the snow with her magik, but she was weak and it didn't do much to help. She had trudged through the heavy and deep snow, sniffing at the air and searching for any signs of the Inquisition, and followed the path set down by them as they had stopped periodically to make camp and was relieved when she finally found them. She had sighed heavily and let the soldiers pull Nina from her back, then shifted back to her elven form.
"Let's get back to camp, quickly," Cassandra ordered.
Cullen looked Kala over and saw her covered in nearly as much blood as Nina was. "Where are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Kala replied, brushing his hand aside.
Cullen watched as she made her way down the mountain trail behind Cassandra and the others, then followed right after with the rest of the search party.