"I swear; if this country becomes even colder, I'm going to have icicles dangling down my nostrils," Alistair comments dryly as they walk down the dirt road, away from Honnleath.
Shale is stomping happily behind them. "What did I say about my body being convenient? I feel not cold nor heat. The things that inconveniences it does not inconvenience me," the talking golem comments, admiring the newly-fused gems adorning his 'armor.'
"'It' is standing right here, and 'it' doesn't like to be referred to as 'it', thank you very much," Filauria scowls, kicking the ground idly with her right foot. On a normal day she'd probably be happy that a new ally has been added to their team… but it wasn't a normal day.
Going back to camp meant cautious stares and depressing atmospheres.
She casts a glance at Zevran and finds that even though it is he who had provoked her to do what she'd done, she couldn't find it in her to be angry at him.
In a way, she needed to take all that anger out of her system
He knew it as well.
"Ah, in a weather like this one, it is hard to not miss Antiva," Zevran muses out loud. "It is a warm place; not cold and harsh like this Ferelden. In Antiva it rains often, but the flowers are always in bloom… or so the saying goes."
"And it has assassins," Filauria comments under her breath, rolling her eyes.
Zevran casts her an amused look. "Every land has its assassins – some are simply more open about their business than others."
When she does not answer, he simply continues. "I hail from the glorious Antiva City – home to the royal palace. It's a glittering gem amidst the sand, my Antiva City." He turns to her good-naturedly. "Do you come from some place comparable?"
"Oh, yes, the Circle Tower of Ferelden is very marvelous," Filauria answers with feigned excitement. "Overlooking the northern windows is the northern mountains. To the west is Lake Calenhad – it looks absolutely magnificent during sunrise. To the south is another part of the lake; in here you can just see the side of the village near the docks."
She closes her eyes for a moment and she can almost imagine looking past the large, barred windows with longing. "And to the west, you can see the vast forests that the circle mages are absolutely forbidden to see," she continues, her tone gaining ferocity. "The villages of the people they are absolutely forbidden to mingle with because they are dangerous and should be kept locked inside a tower because they are monsters."
She feels Alistair stiffen beside her, suddenly wary of her little outburst. She almost sends him an exasperated look, but Zevran catches her eyes.
He smiles at her, but his smile is sad, almost… sympathetic.
"I apologize if I'd offended you, my warden," he says, stopping a few feet in front of her.
She hadn't realized she'd stopped walking first. Alistair, James and Shale had stopped walking, too, the last watching the scene curiously.
"For what it's worth, I was not referring to the Circle of Magi," he continues. "I was referring to your life before that." The assassin turns around and starts walking again, continuing his stories of Antiva. Filauria follows at a distance. Alistair gives her a concerned glance, but she brushes his concern off silently.
Later that night at the campfire, while the others are curiously hovering around Shale with different questions, she sits beside Zevran.
"I've no recollections of my life before the Circle," she tells him quietly. She watches the campfire flicker before her eyes. "It was not a life I would've wanted for myself or for anyone but… I guess I also felt happy, at times."
She remembers the feasts Irving would throw them whenever someone would pass the harrowing. She remembers the childish pranks she and her classmates would do – fart bombs, buckets of water by the doors. Most of all, she remembers Jowan.
"That was all I wished to hear," Zevran said quietly beside her.
A/N: Sadly, I am behind my writing so instead of every three days, I will now be updating every 5 days. I'm sorry guys I know I promised regular updates but my busy schedule ruins all.
Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. Btw, James is Filauria's mabari. :)