"Inquisitor! I hadn't expected to see you on the training field so early."
Evelyn turned at the noise, amusement making her lips twitch as she tried to keep a straight face in front of Cassandra.
"Oh, I just wanted to see how the men were doing. Haven, everything that's happened, it's nice to see that things are going back to normal." Their forces were growing by the day, hardly comparable to the handful of templars and farm boys the Inquisition had boasted when it was first founded.
"The Iron Bull seems to be settling in well too," she added, unable to resist, eliciting a snort from Dorian.
Cassandra frowned and looked more closely at Evelyn, finally noticing the Tevinter mage stood on the other side of her. For a moment she looked puzzled, unsure what business the two mages could have with the warriors, but it doesn't take long for understanding to creep across her face and shift her expression to disapproval.
"Right. I wouldn't want to interrupt such important Inquisition business. By your leave, Inquisitor, Dorian."
Cassandra moved off to start on her own morning regime, leaving Evelyn alone with Dorian. She glanced sideways at the man behind her and couldn't help the choked half-laugh that escaped as Dorian waggled his eyebrows at her.
The real reason for their early morning appearance strutted around the fenced off circle in the middle of the training field as he faced off against a pair of his Chargers. She marvelled at the ease with which he swung the two-handed axe he favoured and, going by Dorian's expression, she wasn't the only one who enjoyed the display of strength.
"I think his arm's wider than my waist," she murmured appreciatively to him. "Though I might need a little practical demonstration to be certain."
She was so engrossed in the show that she didn't hear anyone approaching, so the polite cough behind her made her jump. Reluctantly dragging her eyes away from the Qunari, she turned to look at the intruder and found herself face to face with the Commander.
"Inquisitor. If you've got a free moment, I have some documents that need your approval."
Of course he did. He took pains to avoid her company when he didn't need anything from her, so she rarely saw him without a pile of reports he needed her to sign off on. She gave him a tight lipped smile as she accepted the documents from him, good mood vanishing as she started to scan through the text. She suspected that the dry, long-winded reports were just one of the myriad ways he protested having to answer to her.
"I saw him bench press Krem once. While he was wearing full plate armour."
Was Dorian trying to distract her, or irritate the Commander? Her money would be on both, though Dorian's face was carefully blank when she chanced a glance up at him.
She scrawled her signature across the bottom of the forms as the Commander waited woodenly next to her. Despite having spent months living and working together, their relationship was no less formal than the day that they'd met. Possibly worse; when the Commander had found out about her alliance with the mages, he'd lost his temper entirely and had actually shouted at her while Lelianna and Josephine were watching. Since then he'd been frostily polite, though his dislike of her was no secret around Skyhold.
"There, Commander. Was that all you needed?"
"Is this going to become a regular thing? I do need my beauty sleep, you know, it isn't easy to always look this good."
"You didn't have to come with me. Feel free to go back to bed, I'm sure you won't mind missing it that much."
"I'm awake now, there's no point. Besides, who knows what bad decisions you'll end up making without someone to restrain you?"
Evelyn smirked and poached one of the pastries from the basket. She'd asked the cooks last night to prepare a breakfast she could take with her, supposedly to eat while she worked, and they'd outdone themselves with a colourful mix of Orlesian viennoiseries. The sweet little delicacies were the perfect accompaniment as she satisfied quite another type of hunger.
"Is that the Commander?" Evelyn frowned, eyes tracking the irritating templar as he stalked across to say something to the Bull. Having heard part of their discussion yesterday, was he attempting to ruin the show this morning?
"I think our dear Commander is challenging him to a fight! Look, they're getting all territorial."
It seemed unlikely, but she had to admit Dorian was right; the pair of warriors did look to be sizing each other up. Evelyn's eyebrows raised as she considered the implication of the match. Iron Bull seemed the likely victor, as the man was a formidable warrior and the Commander had been trained to face off against mages, not huge Qunari wielding greataxes. Templar abilities would not help him at all here. Still, a defeat by a mercenary captain would be an embarrassing loss for the Inquisition's military commander, and she wondered what had prompted him to make the challenge in the first place.
"It seems a little unfair. The Commander's wearing half the smithy, and Iron Bull's got most of a tent and a belt." Not that she was complaining about the Qunari's lack of clothing.
"If only he'd remove that armour." She shot Dorian a look at that, and he held his hands up in mock defence. "What, I know you don't like him, but you have to admit he's pleasing to the eye. Aren't you even a little curious what he's packing under there?"
She was, and that was the problem. Despite the easy friendship she'd struck up with Dorian, she had no intention of ever telling him about her more personal encounter with the Commander. Even if she did, she doubted he'd believe her.
"I'm not sure it comes off," she returns instead, eyes fixed on the spectacle below. "I'm pretty sure he was born with it on, plus the rod up his arse."
While she enjoys watching the two men try to pummel each other, she is disappointed when the fight ends in a draw, especially as she suspected it was a tactical decision on the Bull's part. Cullen was breathing heavily and was noticeably pink around the edges, though he smiled when the Qunari extended a hand to shake.
"Maker, they're bonding over hitting each other," she complained, irritated that the Bull seemed to approve of their esteemed military leader. "I will never understand warriors."
"Better than blood magic and orgies, no?"
Dorian's tone was light, but Evelyn knew the words were anything but. She'd heard the rumours – it was impossible not to, especially when people spouted their suspicions right to her face – and she knew that most believed the Tevinter to be an evil blood mage, sent to corrupt their precious Herald. Never mind that she was a mage herself, or that Dorian had sacrificed everything to help them. Even Vivianne had labelled him a threat.
"I'd prefer blood magic and orgies with you any day," she promised, mostly to see him smile. "We Circle mages did have to fill all that time doing something, after all."