Night had come and gone before the darkspawn finished their slaughter and retreated back into the Wilds. At some point Duncan, she preferred calling him Pirate, had passed out. Jimmy and Fen stayed awake throughout most of the night, Jimmy dozing off towards dawn. When a wet thing pressed itself on the side of her neck she leapt awake with a yelp. Fen grinned at her as she scowled at him, silently cursing the wolf for his tricks.
"Time to wake up princess," he chuckled, rising to his feet and shaking his coat. "We need to get these men somewhere safer. Take off the king's armor and I will brief you on what is going on."
"If I'm a princess you must be an emperor," she muttered darkly. The wolf merely stared at her and she sighed. "Alright alright, let me find something to cut through any straps I find. Thank you, Tink-Tink, for being obsessed about the dark ages and never giving me a moment of peace when you went into one of your fits."
Scavenging through the battle field, she tried to ignore the fact she was pretty much robbing dead men. One of the fallen soldiers had a knife she pocketed and another had a sword she decided to take. She had no clue how to use one but decided it shouldn't be any different than wielding an iron pipe during a brawl. It was just sharper and there was a higher chance she would slice off a finger or two. She found a few more things, more of those red fluid bottles and some bandages before heading back to Fen and his charges.
She started on getting the armor off the bloody king as Fen began to tell her what was going on.
"As you can tell, a Blight is starting," he began, ignoring her eye rolling at the obvious. "Loghain decided to run off instead of following the plan to charge in when Alistair lit the beacon. It is quite obvious he has plans to take over ruling Fereldan through his daughter, who is currently queen. Right now he is trying to throw the land into a civil war to establish his rule. If he is allowed to accomplish that, the Blight will overtake the lands and the world will end. Our current mission is to take these men somewhere they can get help, better help than I can currently give them."
"You can't heal them? What kind of magical sparkly wolf are you?"
"I am not sparkly. My magic does have limits, the person who sent me didn't think I would need full access to my powers. Right now, if we head east, we should run into an old friend of mine. Mind your tongue around her, she is your elder and you will respect her."
"Alright," Jimmy said, rising to her feet to glare down at Fen. "I want to know who exactly sent you. I am sick of this whole, smoke and mirror trick of your's. Tell me or I will stay here and not lift a finger to save your precious world."
Fen glared at her and for a few moments they had a battle of wills, a giant silver wolf against a tall young elf woman. The seconds ticked by into minutes. Jimmy continued to glare at him, her hands in fists against her hips, her left leg forward in an aggressive stance. A low growl sounded from him and she matched it, staring at him. Finally he looked away with a scowl on his face. A smile crept onto her's, stubbornness always helped her win.
"Fine," he grumbled. "I will tell you but I want no more questions about this. You will learn more as you go about the business of saving the world. And no hitting me when I tell you! I don't want you to take your rage out on me."
"Deal," she said, extending a hand. The wolf placed his paw in her outstretched hand and they shook.
"I was sent to bring you here by your grandfather," he stated. When she opened her mouth to ask more questions he glared at her and she wisely closed her mouth. "He sent me to bring you here and guide you through your task since we both knew you would have little knowledge of this world. Now, will you finish your task? I would do it but as you can tell, I lack the thumbs to do it."
With a sigh she continued to get the armor off the king. Some parts were sticky with drying blood and she tried to ignore it as best as she could. Blood didn't make her faint but it was still gross to touch someone else's blood. It took time but she finally got the armor off and piled between them and the dead ogre. Quickly she got Pirate's armor off, ignoring as best she could the blood that soaked his clothing, and piled it up with the king's. Once finished she looked at her hands and grimaced, wondering what to do now when Fen bumped her with something. The wolf had a water skin in his jaws and she took it gladly, washing the blood off her hands before she took a small drink.
"Alright," she said, slinging the water skin over her pack. "How are we going to get these men to your friend? I am not carrying them the whole way. Nope. Nada. Mission impossible."
"We won't carry them," he said with a shrug. When Jimmy stared at him blankly, she followed the wolf's nod to a pair of large shields with long leather straps that looked like would hold the men in place. An even longer piece of leather sat at the front for someone to pull. "You're kidding me. Is that what you were doing while I was dealing with their armor? What about thumbs mister?"
He simply stared at her before trotting over to one of the shields. "Fine, ignore me. I don't even want to know. Maybe I will do something that will shock you into a heart attack you overgrown poodle."
"I heard that," he called back and she shook her head, grabbing the king in the same hands in arm pits fashion she did to Pirate and drug him to the shields. With Fen's instruction, she managed to strap the top half of the king onto the shield. His legs would drag but she quickly harnessed Fen to the king's injury wagon so she wouldn't have to pull him.
After dragging Pirate onto his injury wagon, she liked that term, and strapping him in they started on their way. Surprisingly the man wasn't as heavy as she thought he would have been. They kept a good pace, jogging for half an hour then walking for an hour, at least she thought it was those time intervals. With no watch or anything to tell time, the damn sky was still gloomy and no sun, she just followed Fen's lead.
They took no breaks, Fen claiming they needed to get to his friend as quickly as possible. Jimmy munched on some dried meat that tasted like boot leather, she had eaten boot leather before so she knew the taste, and had small sips of water. It was quiet fr most of the time, Fen breaking the silence to direct her or comment about how far they were. She hummed softly, thinking about the strange humming she had heard earlier. If she focused hard enough, she could still hear it in the back of her mind but it didn't bother her as much as before. She thought about asking Fen but decided against it. He seemed to be getting into a bad mood.
It was almost dusk, by Fen's words, when they reached a small clearing with a hut surrounded by swamp water pools and trees. An old woman was standing in front of the hut, humming a strange song. When Fen stopped Jimmy did as well, eyeing the old woman warily. She looked like some of the old women in the sewers that would sit in a corner and just rock back and forth with whatever things they had found. After a few moments of the woman ignoring them, Fen cleared his throat to finally get her attention. A wicked smile filled her face and she gave a cackling laugh.
"Fenny? Is that you?" she asked, walking over to them. "It has been too long old friend. The last time I saw you you were chasing some man that your master sent you to retrieve. Tell me, did you ever find him?"
"Hello Flemeth," he grumbled, looking miserable. Jimmy snorted slightly, looking away before he threw a glare at her. Fenny, she needed to remember that. "It is good to see you. We can catch up later, I have two men I need you to save. My powers aren't what they used to be so I need your's to save them."
"Alright," the old woman said, leading Fen and Jimmy to her hut. "I already have one inside that I saved from that tower. A fine looking young man, met him earlier that day with three recruits. Pity they all died."
Jimmy untied both men, unashamedly eavesdropping on the two as she did so. She decided if they were going t talk so loud, she would listen. At the old woman's direction she half carried, half drug each man into the hut. The king got the second bed while Pirate was placed on a pallet against the back wall. Each time she entered and left she looked at the other man Flemeth was caring for. He was pleasant enough to look at, granted he was pale and covered in bandages. With a shrug she went back outside to sit on a piece of wood near the hut.
At Fen's instruction she gave the woman some of the bottles that apparently held health poultices. Flemeth stared at her for a minute and Jimmy stared back. She was getting tired of being stared at and made a rude face at the woman, causing her to laugh.
"I like this one Fenny," she chuckled. "She has a lot of spunk. Is she one of his get?"
"Yes she is," he said, sitting next to Jimmy. "Leave her be Flemeth. She has had an interesting life before coming here and it has helped to build her courage. I don't think you shifting will scare her as much as the others."
"Spoil sort," Flemeth muttered and Jimmy grinned at her.
"Isn't he?" she asked with a slight chuckle. "Always has to be a stick in the mud, doesn't want to do anything interesting and he's the one who drug me here!"
That made the old woman laugh as she entered her hut. Fen glared at both women and went into the hut as well. Jimmy tried to follow but he just growled at her and she wisely sat back down. The door was shut with a smart slam, leaving her alone outside the hut. With a sigh she began to go through the things she had.
The dagger, at least that's what Fen called it, she tucked into the top of her new boots, admiring how it looked. The sword she set next to her, not to sure of how to have it on her hip. Next to the sword she laid everything else. So far she had several tightly rolled leather bundles, some bundles of cloth, little over a dozen health poultices, a couple wads of bandages, a small pouch that held needles and thread, several packets of food that consisted of cheese, dried meat, and dried fruit, and her old clothes with her new underwear. After checking all of her things she put them back into the pack, leaving one of the leather bundles out just in case.
Time was moving slow and soon Jimmy became bored. There was nothing interesting to look at, Fen and Flemeth were still inside, and she was getting anxious from sitting still. Finally, she took off her cloak and picked up the sword, testing it's weight like she would a metal pipe or a bat. It was a little bit heavier than the pipes she used when times called for it and obviously much sharper. She had seen Nix test the knife he carried around and she didn't dare try it. With her luck she would slice her thumb off so instead she swung it around a few times.
It sliced through the air easily, slicing a few plants in half she swung it at. That made her chuckle, remembering the game Owl loved that involved a kid wearing green and cut grass down and threw pots. She tried to remember the name of the game but gave up. Video games had never really been her thing back in her world, she had enough adventure living on the streets. Playing with the sword, however, made her feel less anxious so she swung it around and stabbed into the air, pretending she was a hero of old taking down her enemies. She kept at it until a cough sounded behind her.
Whirling around, Jimmy stared at a scantly clad woman who was staring at her. She had long looking black hair twisted up in a bun and golden eyes. The outfit she wore was something Jimmy would have expected on a hooker in her world. It showed ample amounts of her breasts with the collar of her shirt going down to her belly. Her hips were partially exposed and her skirt was short and in tatters. Thankfully she had pants underneath, at least Jimmy hoped they were pants. The woman stared at her as if she was the one wearing slutty clothes instead, her upper lip curled in distaste.
They stared at each other, neither saying a word to the other. Jimmy looked her over again and paused. Did she have feathers on her? She was right, the woman had some feathers on her left shoulder. This made Jimmy snort slightly, trying to cover her laugh by coughing. The woman wasn't fooled and scowled at her.
"Tis something amusing stranger?" she asked darkly and Jimmy gave up, laughing so hard she had to sit. Did she really say tis? Tink-Tink would have loved her.
"Where did you come from?" she asked, still laughing. "What's with the feathers? Are you trying to be all cool and lofty, putting feathers on your hooker outfit? And what is with you talking? Tis? Tis a fine morning m'lord. Would thy accept a cup of teah? You are hilarious!" She continued to laughing, now at the offended expression the woman had on her face. "What are you going to do next, zap me with some lightning? Man this is priceless!"
The woman scowled at her with a look of murderous intent. Jimmy heard a faint crackling noise and sat up, her laughter dying. Her gaze fell on the woman's hands and sure enough, there was electricity cracking in her hands. A groan fell from her lips as she fell on her back. One of these days she was going to be murdered for her mouth, today just might be the day.
"Morrigan," the old woman's voice called. "Don't kill our guests, they are important. Now come in here we have some new patients and I need your help. Fenny you really don't have much of your magic do you? Such a shame."
A rumbling reply that must have came from Fen was barely audible through the hut wall. None of the words were understandable but they must have been humorous for Flemeth began to laugh. The woman, Morrigan, glared at Jimmy, who quickly looked away, and went inside the hut, slamming the door shut behind her. Once she knew the woman was inside, Jimmy made a face at the door, giving it a rude hand gesture before she picked up her sword and sat on the piece of wood. Boredom set in again and she began to hum.
"This place sucks," she muttered darkly, kicking at the dirt. "No one has a sense of humor, I almost got fried, and now I am bored. At least none of this is a mask. I really am sick of fakes and masks. Wonder what it would be like if Nix and the others were here. They would be having fun and at least I would have Owl to take care of."
Depression fell on her as she began to think of her strange family. She missed them all but missed Owl the most. They all took care of him but she took on the bulk of the responsibility to care for him. No matter what he could make her smile and he always came to her for help or comfort, making her feel like she was important. Now she was important but not for her, just to save the world. A lot of responsibility fell on her shoulders now and she wasn't sure she liked it.
"At least I will have people to watch my back," she said, talking to herself. "If I remember correctly, there are about nine people you get to follow you around. Thank you, twins, for always playing this stupid game and making me watch. At least I know the basics, that's good enough. And I got Fen, he's like a walk through those guys found for their games."
Chewing on her bottom lip, Jimmy stared into the distance while she lost herself in her thoughts. From what she could remember of the game, Flemeth would send Morrigan with them. That thought made her shudder, surely the woman would kill her at some point out of spite. She pushed the horrifying image of being burnt alive out of her mind and continued to think. After the three men were well enough they would head to the town north of the Wilds.
"Loathing, Lorting," she muttered, trying to remember the town city place's name. "L Town, no too obvious. Geez I'll just learn it when we get there. Stupid, complex names, stupid video games that are actually real life, and stupid silver wolves that don't want to tell me anything. While I'm at it, stupid darkspawn monsters! Stupid Blight! STUPID SNAKE MAN WITH A COMPLEX!" Jimmy jumped to her feet and started shouting insults and degrading names into the wilderness.
She stood there, panting and glaring into the offending space when she heard a slight cough from behind her. Whirling around on one heel she glared at the offending person. If it was Morrigan with some rude comment she would punch the poorly dressed woman. Instead, a tall, sandy haired man with five o'clock shadow dressed in pants and only bandages around his torso smiled nervously at her.
"I didn't mean to intrude," he said slowly, bracing himself against the hut wall. Jimmy stared at him, then the wall, wondering if he would topple it over. "But Morrigan told me to tell you to be quiet and her mother's friend told me to tell you to calm down and stop saying rude names. I'm Alistair, by the way. Pleasure to meet you."
Jimmy stared at him for a few more moments, her brain processing the whole thing. "Just call me Jimmy," she finally said, rubbing her face. "I'm going for a walk. This place is insane. Absolutely. Insane." Without another word she picked up her sword, grabbed her cloak, and headed down a random path leading away from the hut. She needed to blow up somewhere more private. Maybe I'll cry and throw things while I'm at it, she thought darkly as she stomped through the undergrowth. Half naked men running around, wolves telling me to mind my manners, what else is going to happen? A dancing piece of cheese is going to sing to me?
After a few minutes of walking she ran into a small clearing surrounded by trees. She looked around, satisfied it was private enough and no one followed her. Without a second thought, she sat on the ground, cloak bundled up so she could hug it, and broke down. Try as she might, sometimes someone just had to break down after awhile. Everything she tried to absorb came rushing at her. The possibility of dying didn't bother her, there was always that chance in her world. The thought other people's lives depended on her would scare any seventeen year old so she took the time to just sit and cry. Things would get better, she hoped.
Notes: Mendi, I'm glad you love it and I hope I keep up with your expectations :) You caught me there, this is definately my first fanfic but not my first story (I have a lot of short stories laying around my office and a much, much longer story I am working on but sadly I have writers block! Working on this is helping a lot!) About Fen, he isn't the Dread Wolf but he does work for someone very important :) Maybe I'll tell you sometime who ;) The society Jimmy comes from is just something I threw together listening to some interesting songs. Very fake, like everyone is wearing a mask and those who are down trodden are looked down upon and hidden! Very dark in my opinion :)
Poor Jimmy is having a panic attack! She's a strong girl however, soon enough she'll be spitting fire again! I do enjoy the banter you hear Morrigan share with other party members but girl, get a different outfit! Everyone is all bundled up and here you are strutting around half naked! I can never bring myself to change her outfit though, none of the others seem to work for her haha! Alistair is my favorite out of them all, with Leliana and Ohgren right behind!
As before, please enjoy! Leave comments, reviews, whatever they are if you desire and read away! I forgot this before but I DO NOT OWN DA:O or any of those games, just Jimmy, Fen, and the mayhem my mind decides to put in here! I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee.