It was a few days before Gale woke and found herself in an Inquisition tent, Samuel passed out in the seat next to her bed. She sat up, feeling very drained still, but otherwise fine.

'What happened?' she wondered, trying to recall the last thing she remembered. She looked around the tent, trying to get her bearings, but then a stinging pain came from her neck and she reached up to touch the tender spot on her neck. 'Oh, right...' Beneath the bandage, she could feel the raised bumps from the fang holes left behind by the demon that had attacked her.

"Gale?"

Gale looked over as Samuel sat up, sleepily. "Hey."

He stretched and leaned closer, looking at her very concerned. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright. Hungry, mostly, like really hungry."

"Do you remember what happened?"

Gale nodded. "Mostly, ya. How long have I been out?"

"A few days. We're still at the Inquisition camp."

Gale's stomach growled and she blushed, looking away as Samuel chuckled.

"Let me grab you something to eat."

Gale caught a scent as he stood that made something stir deep down inside of her. She reached forward and grasped his hand, stopping him for a moment. 'But why? What is this feeling?'

Samuel looked at her, his concern visible once more. "What is it, Gale?" He could sense something had changed with her, almost instantaneously, and that worried him. "Should I get the healer?"

Gale's grip tightened a moment on his hand and she shook her head.

Samuel watched her, seeing her trying to process whatever was happening to her. She had begun to pant a bit, like she was fighting as hard as she could against some kind of primal urge and was losing. His gaze shifted when he noticed something different with her teeth. Lifting up her chin gently, he pushed aside her lip and his eyes widened.

'Her teeth...'

A few of Gale's canines had become a set of double fangs, just like those of the demon's host body.

"Gale?"

Gale's body was heavy with hunger and the closer Samuel stepped to her, the more she had to fight the urge to bite into his flesh and drink his blood. A tiny voice in the back of head kept trying to urge her to drink her fill, to satiate her hunger. She let go of his hand and backed away, trying to put as much distance between them as she could.

"Stay away, Sam..."

Samuel looked at her in surprise. She had never once called him that, and while he liked the way it sounded when she said it- especially since no one ever called him that- it worried him to no end. "What's going on, Gale?"

Gale just shook her head and turned to run out of the tent. She avoided people as best as she could, but because they were still in an Inquisition's campsite, it was difficult. She ignored everyone that called out to her and she just ran.

Samuel took off after her, telling people she was fine and only disoriented after what happened with the demon. He told them to stay at camp and he'd go after her and not to worry, that he'd take care of it. He followed her tracks into a nearby field where he found her collapsed onto her knees, her hands balled into fists, her body heaving as she fought against these strange new urges to feed.

"Gale?"

"Stay away!"

"It's going to be alright, Gale." Samuel approached her cautiously, reaching down to touch her shoulder only to have her round on him and tackle him backwards onto the ground.

Gale was losing control quickly and she had Samuel pinned beneath her. She could hear his heart pounding, the blood rushing through his veins.

Samuel landed on his back hard when Gale tackled him and he looked up at her in surprise as she straddled him and pinned him to the soft earth beneath them with a strength he didn't know she had. He could see that she was losing control and somehow he knew that this was because of the demon. He reached up and touched her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear and letting his hand linger for a moment.

"It's OK, Gale." he said, slowly pulling her in.

Gale froze and stared at him, coming to her senses. "Sam..." When she realized what he was offering to her, she shook her head and released him. "I'm so sorry...!" She hid her face in her hands, feeling ashamed of this new predatory side of herself.

Samuel sat up, keeping Gale straddled over his lap as he reached up and moved her hands away. "Gale, look at me." He waited until she met his gaze and in the moonlight, her sandy eyes looked as if they were glowing. "This feeling you're experiencing? It's because of the demon."

"What do you mean?" Gale asked, confused.

"The demon that attacked you was a hunger demon. It must have left its host seconds before we killed it and taken up residence in yours."

"How do you know that?"

"Your teeth, they're fanged just like the host's were. I've only ever encountered a hunger demon once before, but it had turned its host into a cannibal. What this one has done to you... it's something different." Samuel searched her eyes, hoping that explaining what was happening would help her understand the severity of her situation. "You need to feed, Gale. The hunger will only get worse."

Gale shook her head. "I can't, Sam...!"

Samuel felt like he was losing Gale and he was not about to let that happen. He took his boot knife and drew it across his forearm, then offered it to Gale. When she again refused, he brought his forearm to his mouth and drank in as much blood as his mouth could hold before grasping the back of Gale's head and pulling her in.

"What're you- mmph!" Gale's eyes widened as Samuel pulled her in and pressed his lips to hers, forcing her mouth open to let the blood flow from his mouth into hers. She wanted to fight it, but his blood was so sweet and it had already begun to quell the hunger raging within her. Finally, she gave in and drank the blood he offered her. Once she swallowed that first mouthful, she reluctantly agreed to finish feeding from his arm as he presented it to her.

Samuel waited patiently for her to drink her fill, knowing that this was her first feeding and she would need a lot to begin with. When she sat back, wiping away the excess blood from her lips, Samuel took his handkerchief and tied it around his forearm. He was surprised to find the bleeding had stopped, even after Gale had fed. When he finished tying the knot, he looked at Gale.

"Better?"

Gale nodded, sheepishly. "T-Thank you..." She glanced up at him. "I am sorry though..."

"For what?"

"I went off alone that night..." Gale started, looking away as the guilt grew. "If I had just stayed at camp..."

Samuel sighed and pulled her forward, into his arms. "There's nothing you need to apologize for. I should have stayed with you, made sure to keep you safe. And I failed in that regard." He held her close as his arms encircled her. "I should be the one apologizing."

"Sam..." Gale sighed, relaxing into his embrace. 'He smells nice...' she noted, in a not so hunger driven way.

"I won't let anything else happen to you, I promise." Samuel said. "I'll see to it that you're fed, whenever you need it, and I'll make sure that no one finds out about the demon."

"I can't ask you to do all that, though." Gale looked up at him.

Samuel met her gaze and offered a smile. "You aren't asking, though."

"Just promise that if the demon takes over that you'll be the one to end it?"

Samuel's heart sank a bit, a strange new sensation, when he heard those words. But he knew she would not ask if she were not serious. "I promise."

Gale and Samuel kept to themselves the remainder of the time they spent with Elias and his companions, then when the chance came to go their separate ways, they took it. They took the main route back to Skyhold while Elias and the others continued their way on towards the Hinterlands to deal with some more rifts that had popped up in the area.

The road back home to Skyhold was a long and tough one as Gale continued to fight against her urged to feed. The hunger inside of her was difficult to quell, but they made it work by finding game for her to feed from. After that first night, Gale had continued to refuse to feed from Samuel- fearing that she may drink too deeply and cause him harm. One night, they stumbled across a group of apostates who attacked them more out of habit than anything else. They made quick work of them, save one that was spared Samuel's blade. The mage cowered in fear as Gale advanced, feeling his mana draining from his body as she placed a hand on him. Samuel watched as the mana surged around them before appearing to be drawn into Gale's body like one would draw in air to breathe.

"Curious."

Gale stood, leaving the mage drained of his mana and the life force attached to it, and looked at Samuel. "What is?"

"It would seem that mana or life force, found in blood, will sustain your hunger." Samuel observed. "How did you know to do that, though?"

"I think... the demon told me..." Gale said, glancing at him. "It's like there's a voice in the back of my head, but it's so weak and faint." She looked down at the mage's corpse. "I hate this... I never wanted this..."

Samuel stepped closer to her and pulled her into a hug. "I know, but this is what needs to be done. Until we can free you from the demon, you have to endure." He held her tightly, trying to comfort her as best as he could. "I'll be with you every step of the way, don't worry."

"What if... what if the others find out..?" Gale asked, fearfully as the tears began to slip down her cheeks. "They'd see me like every other demon or abomination..."

Samuel looked down at her, lifting her chin up. "Listen to me, Gale, you're not an abomination. And I won't let it get to that point."

"Sam..."

Samuel smiled at that, having begun to grow used to her calling him that. "I'll protect you, Gale, no matter what, alright?"

Gale nodded, leaning into his hand as he let it rest against her cheek. She had begun to notice that ever since that first night together, she and Samuel had gotten closer. 'I suppose travelling with someone for so long will do that, though.' she thought to herself, smiling a bit when she realized that she was actually grateful that they had grown closer.

"And remember," Samuel added, his face hardening a bit. "I did promise to be the one who ended it if the demon took control."

Gale searched his eyes, sighing in relief that he fully intended on keeping that promise- even though it clearly bothered him. "Thank you, Sam." she said, burying her face in his chest as she took comfort in his scent.

Samuel held her closer, wrapping his arms around her. "Anything for you, Gale." As they stood there a moment, Samuel was beginning to realize- just as Gale had- that they had grown closer. 'Ever since she left Ravensden in the storm, I find myself more and more drawn to her, wanting to protect her whatever the cost.' he thought for a moment. 'Why is that?'