Alexandra needed to get away. Their glances at her were getting too much. This time it had nothing to do with the clothes she was wearing since she replaced the Chasind Robe with her old mage robes. This look was much worse because it was ones of sadness and pity. It almost felt as if they weren't expecting to see her last to tomorrow, after the Joining. She couldn't take it anymore, so she snuck out of camp the moment the guards weren't looking. The last thing she need right now was to be caught sneaking around the camp and to be thought that she was deserting when she was not. She already had seen what happens when they catch someone.
Once she was safely out of the camp, she realized that she had no real clue of where she could go. She could have asked Alistair earlier but he had left just like Duncan asked him to, right after he showed her to where they had set up a tent for her. He did not even give her a chance to thank him before he left. She would just have to find something to do on her own. Ostagar was a pretty big place in the light of the day, but it seemed even bigger at night. Every shadow seemed to stretch for miles away from her getting deeper and deeper every step she took forward. It was unsettling, especially as she realized that darkspawn were still very close in Wilds. Maybe one could slip by the gates, grab her, and...She shivered. She didn't even want to think about what could happen after that.
To soothe her nerves, she settled to looking up sky above her. The full moon was out among its starry cousins that covered the dark blue sky like a blanket across a sleeping child. The thought made her smile bringing back a long forgotten memory of her mother tucking her into bed. Her mother's face was hazy as it always was. She remembered something different about her this time. She was singing her a lullaby, but its actual words had simply faded with time. All Alexandra could remember was soothing melody that always seemed to calm her.
She began humming it to herself, quietly at first but becoming a little louder. It suddenly made her feel so much less alone and apparently she was not the only one to experience that feeling as a sudden bark sounded caused her to stop short. Somehow, she had made her way towards where the Mabari were being kept. Apparently she was only that could not get to sleep that night as most of the dogs were sleeping soundly, all except for one of the hounds. The tan hound barked wagging his almost non-existent tail as soon as Alexandra looked his direction. That's went she recognized him as the mabari she help muzzle yesterday. He seemed to have remembered her and recovered from his encounter with the darkspawn blood.
He barked again louder this time as if trying to tell her something. "What is it, boy?" She asked as she walked toward the pen that he was held in. He took this as invitation to keep barking, much to Alexandra's dismay. She knew he kept barking like that someone would eventually come to check out what was making that racket. She would be in big trouble. So she found herself trying to reason with dog, "You can't keep barking like that, boy. If I sing to you, will you promise to stop? ...Do you understand?" He did seemed to understand all right as the hound silenced himself immediately, sitting down. She guessed that the kennel master was right. The mabari hounds were at least as smart as the average tax collector.
The sight of the mabari's brown eyes waiting for her to do what she promised caused a smile to form on her face. She began to hum again but she felt an unexpected rush of the words of the song come back to her. She could hear her mother's voice almost as if she was small once again. She could see her old room. Alexandra closed her eyes as she sang along with her mother, now lost within her own memories.
Sleepy little child,
May Fade be your friend,
The good spirits of the dream world,
Will be there to see to that end.
Sleeping little child,
Please do not fear,
For the demons will not get you,
As long as they are near.
Slumbering little child,
May your dreams be your guide,
For tomorrow has yet to come,
The night will not hide.
Dawning little child,
You'll never be alone,
It will soon be time to awake,
You'll be back home.
The mabari listened, feeling sleep wash over him. He closed his eyes, laying back down getting comfortable. Towards the middle of the song, his ears pricked up hearing the unmistakable sound of heavy boots approaching but he did not want to interrupt her to alert her to the new presence. He could distinguish from the scent alone that it was the male that was with her earlier in day when she returned with the flower to help him, the one with the bright hair that was always looking at her funny. He could not believe his master would allow that one to follow her around as if he was a puppy. Master, had he just used that word for her? Yes, she was going to be his new master, that he decided right then. She would need him to protect her, especially if that puppy intended to stick around.
That puppy, otherwise known as Alistair, stood silently as he watched Alexandra from a short distance away. He was completely transfixed by her both by her song and her voice. When he had heard the song being sung while he was heading back to the camp, he had no idea that voice could have been real let alone anyone he knew. It sounded so pure and beautiful that he thought it seemed to come from the cosmos. He realized that must have been what the Maker felt the moment he heard Andraste singing for the first time. 'Way to go, Alistair,' He thought sarcastically at himself before adding, 'The Revered Mother would have been very pleased with you for that blasphemous reference...not.'
He just couldn't find any other things to compare it to, or any words for that matter. Even long after Alexandra finished, he stood silent until she happened to look in his direction. Her eyes widen in fear and her mouth open and closed a couple of times as she struggled to say what she wanted upon seeing him. "I-I didn't know any-anyone was listening." She finally managed to stutter out thoroughly embarrassed to find she was no longer alone. She desperately tried to find something to look at, only to find that there were only three things to look at in the darkness: a sleeping mabari, Alistair, or the floor. And out of the three, the floor won.
Even not looking at him, she could hear him walk closer to her. A few feet away, suddenly she felt his hand gently nudge her chin up, so she was now staring into his eyes. "You don't need to apologize, Alexandra. It was beautiful...You're beautiful." He said and as soon as those words left his lips, Alexandra felt strange tinkling surge through her body. It was exhilarating and slightly scary. Suddenly, she felt very, very light-headed. If Alistair had not place his other hand on her arm to steady her, she was sure that would have fainted on the spot.
"Are you okay?" He asked looking at her with concern, silently cursing his apparent lack of timing. He did have a bad knack to put his foot in his mouth especially around girls he found attractive, but never this early on. Alexandra nodded, getting her bearings together. "Y-yes...It's just no one has ever called me beautiful before." She blurted out and instantly began to blush almost two shades darker then before. "Well, maybe they should because it's true." He answered with his face turning as red as hers. He couldn't believe he had just said out loud. He quickly let a nervous laugh before adding, "Pretty girls need to be told that all the time, right? Something about their fragile girl egos and cats...Well, I won't bore you with the specifics."
"Alistair!" Alexandra groaned, shaking her head. "What?" Alistair answered pretending to look like he had no idea what she was talking about, before laughing hysterically. She sighed. He just had to go and make a silly joke now after he was doing so well. 'It's for the best anyway. It's best not to get too attached. He's still a templar and you're still a mage, no matter if you're Grey Wardens or not. You do not belong together.' Her thoughts chided in bring her back to reality of the situation. She stepped away from him causing his hands to fall back to his side as his laughter died down.
"Look, the sky is getting lighter. We better head back to camp before Duncan sends all the Grey Wardens to find us." She stated much to Alistair's disappointment. It appeared she was back to being serious and that meant his fun was over for now. "After you, Alexa...I mean Alexandra." He corrected himself, flinching slightly just in case she would yell at him. Alexandra stopped in her tracks at his slip up. She was going to yell. She allowed no one to call her that since before she went into the tower.
She thought about it for a second before responding, "No, it's alright, Alistair. You may call me, Alexa." She heard herself saying much to her surprise and Alistair's as well. "Really?" He asked blown away, for sure he was going to get a severe tongue lashing, but that didn't happen. "Yes, under one condition. You can only call me that when...the sky is this color." She spoke quickly looking back at him over her right shoulder, trying to hide a growing smirk. "Wow! That's...Wow-Wait...Hey!" Alistair whined as Alexandra's condition finally registered in his mind. It was a few hours past the middle of the night and any other time he would be sleeping right now. So, he wouldn't be able to use it, ever...
Before he even got to say another word about it, she was off running at full speed back to camp, laughing all the while. "You're stubborn-stubborn woman you know that?" He yelled after her to which she turned around and stuck her tongue out at him before returning to running away. Now just who was supposed to be childish one around here? Her? No way! 'Well, two could play that game.' He thought before taking off after her, taking a different path to cut her off. He did know this place better then she did. He would catch up to her and scare then beat her to camp that would show her not to mess with him. The thought made him begin to laugh just as bad as she was.
The mabari waited until both of them had left before raising his head to show he was not completely sleeping just yet. He had been watching them the whole time. He didn't need to be a human to understand the feelings that were going on between Alistair and Alexandra. It was beginning stages of love, puppy love. Something he knew a lot about. Speaking of puppy, the puppy did seem to have it bad for her already. He could see it when Alistair thought no one was watching him.
His new master, well, she seemed to be a little more reserved on her feelings. He sense there was pain, a lot of pain hidden in that decision. She would definitely need his protection especially to keep the puppy from breaking her heart. After all that what his name meant: Argus, the "vigilant guardian." With that decided, he finally set his head down, and fell asleep. It would be a long day tomorrow especially since he had to get ready for the battle, one that he could only hope they all survived, but time would tell...