When Brielle wakes the next morning she is feeling less confident about her training session with the soldiers than she had the previous night. Everyone had been making such a big deal about her that she was afraid of letting them down; she didn't want the men and women of the Inquisition to feel that she was unworthy or incapable. The first rays of sunlight are peeking out over the mountain tops as she leaves her room and heads to the practice fields outside the main gate. She joins the troops and begins lacing up her under padding; they are very welcoming to her and engage her in drowsy small talk as they prepare for the day's training. When Cullen approaches the soldiers line up in formation in preparation for him to begin running drills, he gives her a smile and a nod to show his appreciation of her coming and starts assigning groups different exercises.

Her group begins with practicing various strikes and maneuvers on dummies before they rotate to an obstacle course designed to increase endurance in rugged terrain and then finally they pair off and practice attacking and defending alternately. By the time they complete the circuit her shield arm is feeling weak and her breath is coming raggedly from continuous exertion and she is extremely grateful when Cullen tells them to take a break. The soldiers line up at a nearby tent and each takes water from one of the several buckets set out for them before taking a moment to sit down and catch their breath. As Brielle exits the tent with her small tin cup of water Cullen pulls her aside.

"You're doing great out there," He says with an encouraging smile, leading her back towards the practice area. "Several of the men have approached me to say how impressed they are with you."

Brielle blushes slightly but her eyes beam, "I'm so glad, I was worried I'd disappoint them."

"You have nothing to worry about," He gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "That is… besides being my sparring partner today." His mischievous grin makes her stomach tighten and she bites her lip anxiously. Sparring with him alone was one thing, but in front of half the army? That is daunting. Especially when she is so exhausted she can barely hold up her shield.

She gulps and nods, giving him a nervous smile. "I suppose that's what I get for teasing."

He laughs wryly and calls out for the rest of the soldiers to pair up and begin sparring. She is grateful that at least everyone else will be focused on their own opponent and not watching her get schooled by their Commander.

They each pick up a practice shield and blunted sword and move to face each other. Cullen raises his shield to signal his readiness and Brielle follows suit, putting up her defense and giving him a nod. They circle each other for a moment, sizing each other up and searching for weaknesses. Cullen is first to strike out and Brielle blocks his sword easily but is caught off guard when he follows with a quick bump of his shield against hers that sends her stumbling back a few steps. He smirks and she glares back at him, planting her feet firmly as he moves toward her again. This time when he strikes out she catches his blade with hers and bashes her shield against him with all her might. Disappointingly, he stands fast, catching her shield with the edge of his and sending it clattering to the ground. She winces at the wrenching of her shield from her already sore arm and grips the hilt of her sword with both hands, determined not to go down so easily. They continue for a while longer, striking and blocking against each other in a kind of brutal dance. Brielle is becoming extremely tired, she spends most of her time traveling from place to place and fighting for short amounts of time; she is not used to this continued abuse to her body.

Cullen appears winded as well and is becoming increasingly lazy in his defenses, perhaps thinking she wouldn't be able to break through his guard. Brielle has been paying a great deal of attention to his style of combat and is beginning to catch on to his patterns. She charged at him and then stopped short, confusing him and prompting his attack on her; raising his sword high in an attempt to knock her back with a heavy blow he leaves himself vulnerable at the flank. Brielle tucks her sword at her side and lunges into him, her shoulder connecting with his ribs and sending them both to the ground with her falling on top of him. She quickly moves to straddle him but before she can bring her blade up to his throat he flips them both over and blocks her sword with his own, holding the dull weapon against her neck gently. She pants harshly and looks up at him in shock, both at being flipped so suddenly and at the position they were currently in.

He had turned her flat on her back with one forearm pinning her to the ground and the other pressing his sword against her flesh; but due to her straddling him before being flipped he was now hovering over her, his knees pressing into the back of her legs and her thighs spread wide over his causing his hips to press into hers. She isn't sure what's more disorienting at this moment, her struggle to catch her breath or Cullen's groin ground against her own. It is overwhelming and confusing all at once; her heart hammering against her chest in anxiety all while she can feel heat pooling between her legs at the intense contact that is entirely new to her. She bucks her ups against him in an attempt to move him off of her but instead she just grinds herself into him further; she feels him hard and thick against her through the light padding she is wearing and it sends a spike of pleasure through her belly. It's too much.

"Yield!" She pants and he immediately pulls back, giving her room to breathe. She looks up at him as he drops his sword to the side and leans back. She can't help but stare at him for a moment; his chest heaving with each breath he takes, sweat glistening across his brow and through his golden curls, her legs still spread around his hips. When she looks up to his eyes she sees him looking down at her in the same manner and she wonders what he is thinking. His eyes catch hers and he blushes slightly, as if being caught doing something shameful. He stands and extends his hand to her, helping her up and pulling her into a one armed hug.

"You did well, Brie." He smiles down at her proudly.

"Pfft! You put me to shame!" She sighs, still trying to catch her breath after being thrown to the ground.

"You knocked me down! That's something the men have never seen." He laughs as he brushes the dirt off himself and leaves her to tell the rest of the troops they are finished for the day.

She rushes off to a nearby tent where there aren't any soldiers gathered and begins stripping off her padding. The cool breeze through her sweat soaked clothes feels wonderful against her heated skin as she dips her cup into a bucket of cool water and drinks greedily. She hears Cullen enter the tent behind her as she splashes some water onto her face and when she turns she is surprised to find that he had already removed his under padding and shirt.

Her breath catches at the sight of him, chiseled muscles dotted with tiny beads of sweat that slowly trickled down his tanned skin. His chest and abdomen are dusted with fine blonde hair which grew darker as they trailed down his stomach and down past the waistband of his trousers and she can't help her eyes following along the cut lines of his hips that delve into his pants. The feeling in her belly intensifies, growing into a dull ache at her core as she gapes at him. Maker's breath, he is the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen. He only makes it worse when he dips his own cup into the bucket and pours it over himself to cool off; he runs his fingers through his wet curls and sighs in relief. Brielle continues to stare until her eyes catch his.

"Are you okay?" He's looking at her questioningly with a quirked brow, as if both concerned and amused. Brie immediately looks down and away, trying to hide her flush of embarrassment at being caught wide eyed and slack jawed ogling him.

"Ahuh!" She squeaks. "Good… I'm good. I just eh… need to wash off." Frustrated with herself at her nervous stuttering she quickly gathers her padding and flees the tent to preserve what dignity she has left before she starts drooling over him or finds some other way to further humiliate herself. She leaves Cullen in the tent alone, confused about what he'd done to make her so uncomfortable.

Brielle rushes to her room and starts a bath. As she undresses she pictures Cullen; shirtless and sweaty, tanned skin taught over defined muscle, the way he moves- like a predator on the hunt. He is the perfect example of masculinity and in different circumstances, or if he were someone else, she would thank the Maker for these feelings. But, as it is, her feelings are only causing her stress, and a stomach ache. She slides into the warm water as she contemplates what she should do and begins scrubbing herself free of sweat and dirt. Most likely, she thinks, he doesn't feel the same about her. Cullen is a good deal older than her and is very well respected and admired, he surely has many women vying for his attention, older and more experienced women. Brielle, on the other hand, had been raised in the Chantry and had never so much as held hands or been kissed by a boy. Unless she counts the few times she had run to Cullen in tears after being punished and received a comforting hug and kiss on her forehead. But no, those definitely don't count; and if he did that to her now she'd probably just burst into tears anyhow, considering she doesn't want him to see her as that little girl anymore. Now she wants him to see her as a woman.

With an exasperated sigh she gets out of the tub and dries herself off. She pulls on some clean clothes and heads over to the tavern to find Sera. The two of them have become close in the few weeks that Sera has been at Haven and Brielle now heavily relies on her as a friend and confidant. If she can't keep her mind off Cullen, perhaps at least Sera can help her work through her confusion. As she expected, she finds Sera tucked into a corner in the tavern already half drunk and engaging in light banter with the waitress bringing her a frosty mug of ale. Feeling relieved she sits across from her friend and they begin to hash out Brielle's fears regarding Cullen.

Alas, after nearly an hour of explaining herself to the pretty elf she gains no sympathy and is instead left with a morsel of wisdom that is typical Sera.

"Oh hush up now, Teetness!" She waves off Brielle in exasperation at her rambling over this obsession with Cullen. "Listen you, it's obvious he loves you and by the looks I've seen him givin' ya it ain't like a sister." Sera waggles her eyebrows at Brielle at the comment, "And you clearly love your Cully Wully. So, the solution's simple, innit? Just jump 'im and get it over with yeah?"

"Thanks, Sera. Helpful as always!" Brielle replies sarcastically but with a grateful smile, wishing it really is as easy as Sera makes it sound. As if she wouldn't be ruining the only relationship that remains from her past if he doesn't feel the same. These feelings she can handle, him pushing her away she can't. She resigns herself not to actively pursue seeing Cullen in the coming days as she needs to think things over, though she doesn't have much time anyway since in two days she'll be leaving to meet with the Templars.