As always none of the characters belong to me except the idea of Osiam. Enjoy.
No smut in this chapter however Zev does happen to get an eyefull LOL.
Osiam thought sleep was going to be a welcome treat; he was horribly wrong. Whispers of planned assassination teased him from afar while darkspawn and dragon alike ran their tainted claws over his skin, blackening everything, reshaping it until a blistered monster was all that remained. He could swear, through the puss filled boils that obstructed half of his vision, he saw the Archdemon coil out of slumber, it's neck tilting back like a snake while it stared at him in comfort. He didn't scare the Archdemon in the least, no, it was very assured that it's minions would find and end him before he could even pose a threat.
A last rumbling hiss signaled the end of his dream, blackness overtaking him finally before he jerked from his dream in a flash of blinding firelight and furious sweating.
"...Did... Did you have a dream?" The question sounded hesitant at first, but after the first word fell from Alistars lips it was quick and demanding.
Osiam lifted his head, eyes squinted in mild discomfort at the fire's glare. He brought the palm of his head to shield out some of the light, in order to gain himself some consciousness, then looked over at Alistar from behind his fanned palm. "..." He twinged his mouth and shrugged it off. Alistar was the last person he wanted to talk to about it. The elder Warden would only try to comfort him and explain further the meanings of his dreams, it was all too depressing.
"Right...It's still a long time till sunrise...Do you..want to get more sleep?" Though posed carefully, Osiam could tell it was Alistar's way of checking on him.
Sometimes he was grateful for the brotherly protection, other times he wished one person in the group would have some faith in him. He could deal with his own past, deal with his own emotions, deal with his own dreams. He didn't need Assassins questioning him, Old people babying him, or even good friend's coddling him. Getting into an argument over it seemed like it'd only cause more headache though.
Reluctantly, after glancing around, he nodded and eased back onto his sprawled mat. This time, the elf didn't dream. For once he'd woken up and wasn't entirely exhausted. The fight drained him and forced him to sleep well, perhaps too well. Osiam gasped roughly as he whipped himself into a sloppy sitting position.
"Oh! Uh..." Came Alistar's voice almost instantly. "I thought..you know..you'd want more sleep! Usually you don't turn down an offer to keep watch so...I figured you were...tired." His voice died down sheepishly as he realized Osiam wasn't exactly thrilled about sleeping off the whole early morn.
Osiam sighed and shook his head, it was done now and instead of griping about it and wasting time, he might as well make use of himself.
Wynne was still sleeping, no one dared to stir her. She needed as much rest as she could get. In all honesty Osiam felt badly enough that he couldn't somehow magically pack an entire bed for her. He didn't like her having to sleep on the cold hard ground.
Zevran was nowhere to be seen, this stirred pause in the elf warden. "..." He cleared his throat after a good stretch, and stood up; deciding it best to branch out for some secretive snooping. Zevran was quick to mention assassination attempts last night, and now was off doing whatever. Osiam didn't like it, and intended to find out just what his whole notion was all about. He was slightly surprised when Alisar didn't question him, probably thought Osiam was going to go relieve himself, which was half true.
The forest easily swallowed Osiam, it tilted up and strangely held some pockets within tree-lines that weren't drenched in snow. The thick makeup of twigs under his feet snapped every other step. And though normally he wouldn't care, Osiam couldn't help being even the a little nervous after their encounter with the drake. His body language suggested the very same. How his eyes roamed searchingly over the hazy horizon above him at the top of the mountain, the way his legs waded like a rusted lever, through the clearing fog. It gave much away.
He began to relax a little when the normality of the forest revealed itself. A fawn sprang from behind a log close by as he passed and threw itself up a few tightly packed rocks, to where it's mother was startled from her eating to look over the ledge at Osiam, who continued to press on after watching her silently for a short moment. The uptight elf even braved a relieved smile as his fanned ears took in the distant sound of water crashing over a half frozen river. It wasn't long before he saw it come into view.
"..." Osiam drew a quiet breath at the sight of lightly frosted pines towering dominantly over the jutting cliff, the very same that roared a glimmering, sun bathed waterfall from it's sky pointed maw. This was why he did it, this was what deserved to be saved from the Blight. Even if most of the people he met weren't worth it, there were scenes of beauty and innocence he could not deny. There were children who didn't understand why the earth was punishing them by sending monsters to devour their parents at war. There were boys and girls just unfolding into adulthood who wanted to be something in their community or the next town over, to guard, to entertain, to serve. And their chance would be snatched from under their youthful feet if Osiam didn't at least try. Even his own beginnings of adulthood were ruined by betrayal and darkness.
Osiam shook his head slowly and decided to scout a spot to stop and..drain the dragon as it were.
Two pines stood close together behind a few bristling bushes just off to the left of the waterfall. Perfect!
Osiam strolled casually through the clearing, a rare beam of sun warmed it through the clouds for a moment before the elf warden reached his destination; it was a welcome change.
He shuffled trough the brush and undid the front of his loins, his gaze drifting back to the scenery to watch tiny glimmers of sun beams try breaking through the vast blanket of clouds, blasting light against the waterfall which would in turn cast faint rainbows against the haze at the bottom of the fall. There was no question that the sight helped Osiam along in his little...predicament.
"Oh my."
Osiam tensed as his eyes widened in utter shock.
"Warden! You hide such wonderful things from me. why is th-" Zevran had no time at all to finish his questioning before Osiam had released hold of himself, and shoved his elbow back into the Crow's gut. Zevran stumbled back a good ways, holding the injured area with a winded chuckle, recovering in time to see a laced up warden barreling into him.
Rage fumed in the pit of Osiam's stomach, he was certain it might cloud from his ears in the form of smoke, if at all possible.
The two tumbled and rolled back down some of the mountain side, being stopped momentarily by rocks which would give Osiam time to throw some punches at Zevran's face before they would struggle enough to begin rolling again. It was only as they were tossed at the base of the hill that they broke apart forcefully. Both scuffed and panting. "Please tell me you're this enthusiastic in the tent." Zevran growled in a hushed whisper as he stared with flare in his eyes.
Osiam spit a wad of saliva and dirt to his side, glaring swords and dragon breath at the uppity bastard in front of him, though both were sprawled out on their hands an knees, it was obvious who'd come out on top of their brawl.
Zevran chuckled as he reached an arm up to brush the blood from under his nose, giving one more little laugh when Osiam flashed him a snarl. "It was only a joke." He cooed, a sly smirk still slapped over his face. A face Osiam would love to get his knuckles into right now.
"Hey!"
Both males jerked their heads over at the sound of a sudden shout.
"You'll bleed if you've done anything! Step back!" It was Alistar, his command as sharp as his sword.
Zevran slowly got to his feet, his hands throw up disengagingly to the sky as he took willing steps away.
"You alright?" Alistar scuffled in a bent position to grab hold of one of Osiam's arms, and then his waistband, dragging him to his feet quickly as if he thought a moment of slowness would see Zevran's dagger through their back. "I told you we can't trust him! I let the two of you off for one breath, ONE breath!"
Osiam was still panting, but revealed one questioning eye on Alistar. The man sounded more like a nanny at the moment.
"I simply caught the charming Warden off guard! He was spooked, things got out of hand, ehhh, you know how it is. I assure you I tried nothing ...dangerous." He put both eyes on Osiam as they squinted slyly.
To which Osiam responded by gently shrugging Alistar's hands off him. "...Leave it." He muttered.
Alistar stared in mild shock as the younger Warden trekked back towards their temporary camp.
"Now you done it." Alistar sneered back at Zevran after Osiam had started to wake Wynne. "He doesn't just sputter things randomly, if he spoke you must have done something horrible. What was it elf?"
Zevran, though a little surprised himself, gave Alistar no time to see it, his smirk already returned. "I told you, dear Alistar...I've simply snuck up on our fair Warden- as a game, you know, a joke! Eh -heh. He didn't take it so well." Zevran's voice trailed off like a child who had just realized their mistake. "I'll make it up to him, yes?"
"No!" Alistar cut in. "You will do best to leave him alone. No amount of horse play or mockery will make him like or trust you anymore than he already does, Maker smiled on you with mercy that he even gave you this much trust. Why do you find it your place to try that trust every chance you get?" There was defiance in Alistar's face, and he believed it rightfully so.
Zevran on the other hand, saw overreaction in the equation. "I didn't hurt the Warden, my Templar to be. And I never will. Though you two don't believe me, I know there will come no day when my intention is to cut him down. Afterall, he is the one who will stop the Blight, no? why would I want it to carry on and possibly kill me as well? No sense at all!" He gently scolded Alistar, a playful look of 'tsk tsk' on his face.
"You're bold to assume he will stop it. It could be any Warden...Besides we don't know if the other Wardens wont come by then. For all we know a much older, much more experienced Warden will step in...At least I hope so..." Alistar mumbled, his temper having subsided for the moment. "B-what do you care! I shouldn't even bother explaining all this to you. You" Alistar pointed squarely with his gloved finger. "Just stay away from him." He then pointed over his shoulder at Osiam, who had started to pack up their harvested food and beds.
Hours had passed, each companion holding a bit of the cargo they'd obtained. When they had first set out, heading for the snowed mountains, they only had mats and some cloth to bed on, so Wynne had offered to carry them without a moment's hesitation. But now they had a few wraps worth of dragon meat, so each of the remaining men had taken their own share without being asked.
Zevran stole a glance at the Warden who trudged on with his head down and his shoulders tensed as if struggling forward through a blizzard. For a moment he considered trying to make up for what he had done. A simple sorry was in order yes? But it wasn't as if he'd felt his dear Warden up, no, only stole a joking glance. At least, it was meant to come off as a joking glance. Did the young elf know what Zevran was up to? He must...with how he so violently resisted everything Zevran said or did.
"I think I can see some steps." Wynne called gently from the middle of the line. Her head lifted with her gaze set curiously on the grey structure ahead of them.
"I see it too!" Alistar called back, though he was only a few feet ahead of Wynne. He began to hurry ahead. When he reached them, he saw they indeed were steps! Covered in snow at the edges, and lined by tree's, but they lead up to a platform they contained shops and conversing men. Behind all of that was the great doors to the dwarven city!" Ah, Maker! Finally." He breathed.
"Well well well, boys. Look who finally arrived." Came an expectant voice, it was casual, the same as a family member welcoming their loved ones home.
Osiam stopped dead in his tracks and glared up at the collecting group of three, infront of them.
"We been waiting for you lot. Kill 'em all men." The head of the group ordered roughly, though one was obviously a female mage. Right on command all three readied themselves and engaged.
Not another battle...Not so soon after the first...