Waiting for three wounded men, two in a more critical condition than the other, was quite boring in Jimmy's opinion. The first day she stayed around the hut, unpacking and repacking her bag until she knew where every item was. She then played around with her sword which led to Fen forcing her to practice under his command.
"If you are a wolf," she began, nursing her foot that she ran into a rock with. "Then why do you know so much about using a sword and shit? Shouldn't you be more interested in sleeping and chasing your tail?"
"If I don't teach you who will?" He drawled as he lifted his nose in the air. "The last thing I need is you falling down and impaling yourself on it or slicing off your arm. Now quit complaining and practice."
With a grumble, Jimmy continued to wield her sword under Fen's strict instruction. As much as she hated to admit to herself, he was a help and he would use his body to direct her feet correctly. Strange, but helpful.
After the first day everything fell into a pattern. She would check her belongings, practice for a bit in the morning on her sword work, clean up, and finally roam around until dinner time. Just sitting around wore on her nerves so she tried to stay active. Occasionally Morrigan would send her to find some plants or fetch water. Most of the time, however, she tried to learn wood ways, like tracking and learning different plant kinds.
The third day, after her morning workout with Fen and nursing some bruises, she tried her hand at fishing. She found a stick that was almost as tall as her, used her knife to make a point, and went off in search of some water with fish. The first few ponds were empty but she finally found some with fish. She hovered on the shore, waiting for one to come close enough for her to stab it.
A faint rustle sounded behind her left side. She froze, slowly turning her gaze in that direction. There were no bird noises, like usual, but the few insects that had been around fell silent. As she waited, she slowly set her makeshift spear down and gathered herself to run. Another rustle sounded, then the sound of twigs snapping. As she prepared to run off, Alistair stumbled out of a bush, falling on his face in the result of tripping on something. Jimmy raised an eyebrow at him, watching the tall man get to his feet sheepishly.
"Sorry," he said, blushing fiercely. "I didn't mean to startle you or fall over like that. My body still doesn't really want to listen to me."
"It's alright," she said. "What I want to know is why you are out here. Shouldn't you still be laying in bed, healing?"
He stared at the ground, scuffing his foot on the dirt before replying. "They don't know I left. I couldn't sit in there any longer so I escaped, in a sense. Fen told me you were roaming around so I thought it would be good exercise to come out and join you. "
"Meanwhile you proceeded to fall over at least once," she drawled, rising to her feet with her hands on her hips, scowling up at him. "Very stupid, you know. What if you got wounded and we had to stay here even longer? Think of everyone else, I am going insane sitting around here waiting for you three to be good to go."
"Sorry," he said sheepishly, scratching his head. "Um, what are you doing by the way?"
"Fishing," she replied. "At least I was trying. None of those damn fish will come close enough for me to poke them and I'm not going in that nasty looking water."
"With a stick?" Alistair asked with obvious confusion.
"Yep. I read about how people used sticks to stab fish but it's not working out for me."
He slowly nodded his head. Jimmy glared at him for a moment before sighing. She grabbed her makeshift spear and threw it into the water. It wasn't going to work so why leave it laying around? They stared at each other for a few moments longer.
Jimmy broke the silence by stating, "Well, let's get you back gimpy. Flemeth is probably wondering if you are still alive and I don't want to be blamed for you getting hurt."
"Alright," he sighed, following her as she headed back towards came. "By the way, where are you from? I've never heard of an elf being as tall as you and the elves I've met aren't as talkative as you."
"I don't like following stereotypes," Jimmy sniffed with her nose in the air. "Just because someone is different doesn't mean they are strange or scary. As for where I am from, let's just say my home is very, very far away from here. A place I don't like to talk about."
Somehow the thought of telling Alistair that she was from another world didn't appeal to her. It would have more questions and explaining she really didn't feel like answering. Soon she would need to talk to Fen about what to tell everyone. Hopefully no one would question her too much about where she was from.
By the time they made it back to the hut, Flemeth was standing outside with Fen at her side, frowning at both of them. Slowly Jimmy crept to where she and Fen slept at night, busying herself while Alistair got lectured by Flemeth. The man humbly took the scolding and went back inside, muttering apologies. For a second she thought she would get away scot free but when Flemeth turned towards her, frowning, she knew her luck wasn't with her.
"Where did you run off to?" the old woman asked, raising her brow at Jimmy. "Don't be taking my patients off into the wilderness where something could eat them. You need as many allies as possible to stop this Blight. Stay near here and out of trouble or next time I'll throw you in the pond."
"Yes ma'am, " she sighed. Flemeth watched her for a few more seconds before snorting and returning inside.
Quickly Jimmy turned to glare at Fen, who was grinning at her. The wolf wagged his tail innocently and she stuck her tongue out at him, causing him to laugh. With a grumble she walked away from him to sit on her log.
After that day she wisely stayed near the hut unless Morrigan or Flemeth sent her out to find something. Alistair wandered out in the afternoons under the watchful eye of Flemeth. After the third day she kicked him out of the hut, claiming he was well enough to sleep with Jimmy and Fen outside.
The other two, Duncan and the king, were healing well. Flemeth kept her and Fen updated on their condition. Apparently Duncan was conscious and Cailan was coming in and out. It was better than them both be unconscious but Jimmy still wanted to move. Though both Flemeth and Fen assured her the dark spawn had retreated, she still had a strange feeling of unease. The sooner they could leave the better.
Finally the day came. Duncan had been released from bed rest the sixth day and Cailan was able to move around, if a bit slow. The elder Grey Warden was swarmed by Alistair who was ecstatic the man was going to survive and was on the road to perfect health. He took it modestly, handling the young man's hovering presence when he got used to his body again. When Alistair finally calmed down and left him alone, Duncan tended to stare at Jimmy and Fen, more at the girl to her discomfort. She didn't like the older man taking an interest in her or even being the little bit curious about her. It made the hair on the back of her neck crawl.
Soon after Duncan had been freed from bed rest and kicked out of the hut he began practicing with Alistair on their sword work. Jimmy sat on the sidelines and watching, hungry for knowledge of how to better use her own sword. This made him occasionally stare at her but she ignored his stares. Instead she watched their feet, how they placed them with each swing and how they handled the impacts of their hits. Finally Duncan approached her, sword in hand.
"You've been watching us," he stated plainly, raising a brow at her. "If you wish, I can help train you on how to properly use a sword or expand your knowledge if you already know how."
She eyed him warily, scratching Fen's neck as the wolf leaned against her. "What do you want in return? Nothing comes without a price."
"I don't require anything," he replied, frowning. "You are someone who wishes to learn how to defend them self. That does not require a payment."
"Well Fen," she said, looking at the wolf. "Do you mind if I practice with him? You have been my primary teacher all in all."
The wolf snorted and shook his head, chuckling softly. "I don't mind," he said. "Go and learn how to face a real opponent. I'm going to take a nap."
After that, Duncan took over Jimmy's training. If she thought Fen was rough, this man was even rougher. He constantly smacked her with the flat of his sword, barking corrections at her whenever she made an error. Every time he did she glared at him, shooting daggers with her eyes. During the training he gave her at Flemeth's hut, she smacked him back every chance she had, which were very few and far in between each other.
Cailan was finally given a clean bill of health from Flemeth. The old woman stood outside, talking to Duncan and Fen, when the king finally exited the hut. He looked around, looking first at Flemeth, Duncan and Fen who stood a few feet away talking then turning his gaze to Jimmy and Alistair who were playing tic tac toe. She had taught him the game, and others, to hurry the hours of the day. He still didn't have a good grasp on the game so Jimmy was able to beat him almost every time. They stopped the game to look back at Cailan, Jimmy looking at him with a raised eyebrow while Alistair stared with a mixture of emotions.
"Look who finally crawled out of bed," Jimmy snorted, muttering softly to Alistair causing him to grin. "I thought we were going to have to drag him on a sled to where ever we are going next."
"Don't be rude," Alistair chided, hiding a small grin with a cough. "You shouldn't say things like that about the king. He could have your head chopped off for treason."
Jimmy shrugged. "It's not like he's my king. He's your problem. I'm just an innocent traveler exploring the world around us."
That made Alistair snort with laughter. She had made it a game to tell him every time he asked where she was from to make up another story and avoiding the question. First she had told him she had crawled out of the swamp, grew legs, arms, and a head, and wandered around. The man had believed her until Fen blew her cover and told him she was lying. The wolf had no sense of humor.
"I haven't heard you use that one before," a man's voice said behind them. Both craned their heads back to look at Duncan who was standing behind them, hands on his hips and frowning. "Is your tongue always crooked or do you tell the truth from time to time."
"Look who's talking Pirate," Jimmy sniffed. "Shouldn't you be off sailing on a ship, stealing peoples treasures? Maybe you should get a bird to sit on your shoulder. That would complete the whole pirate image."
Duncan sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I told you to stop calling me Pirate. My name is Duncan and I am a Grey Warden."
"Warden fordom boredom," she drawled, rising to her feet. "I'm going to bug Fen. I'll meet you later for sword practice Pirate."
The older man grumbled as she walked away, causing Alistair to chuckle. Duncan hated it when she called him Pirate and hated it even more when she wove tales to avoid the truth. Granted she had no idea how to tell them she wasn't really from this world and she didn't relish the thought of trying to tell them. Their reactions could be dangerous so she decide to shy away from the truth until she came up with a plan.
Fen was dozing in the sun, his whole body sprawled out to take in as much of the sun's rays as he could. She knew he was getting edgy just as he was. Once in awhile she had caught him staring off in the distance, zoning out. She tried to talk to him about it but he merely huffed it off and went on his way. His actions were making her both curious and nervous but she didn't know why exactly.
Sitting down next to him, she stretched out next to the wolf to also enjoy the sun. The rays weren't the strongest with there always being a thin layer of clouds between them and the sun but it was better than thick clouds. Fen cracked an eye open, staring at her as she stared back, then shut it, grumbling.
"What do you want?" He sounded thrilled.
"I thought you should know the kingliness is awake and moving around outside," she said, tucking her hands behind her head. "Soon, in a day or two, we should be able to continue. Where should we go first? I've been eavesdropping on Alistair and Pirate and they have been talking about a place called Lothering and another place called Redcliffe."
"Both are cities north of us," Fen grumbled. "Redcliffe is to the north west while Lothering is almost straight north. Either place would be good but we need to gain more allies."
"I know I know." During the night, when everyone was fast asleep, Fen told her what exactly they needed to do. Apparently the Wardens had treaties for the elves, mages, and dwarves. They would travel around getting said three's support, meanwhile gathering more companions and dealing with problems here and there. Loghain, or Snake Man as she called him, would being trying to get support to deal with the political issues and would be rallying a civil war in the process. None of it sounded very fun to her but it was the way things were going to be.
"You do know I need a cover right," she continued. "Pirate is getting irritated with my lies and jokes and I know Kingliness is going to demand answers. I feel it, in my belly."
"What is with you and nicknames? Pirate and Kingliness? Just use their names please."
"Hell no. Now help me figure out a story to get them off my back."
Fen sighed again, rolling onto his back so he could sun his belly. She glanced over at him, noticing he was staring into the sky with a slight frown. "I forgot that would be an issue. I'm sorry for forgetting. Now let's see." He quieted, thinking for a few minutes. Jimmy thought he fell asleep with his eyes open when he finally spoke. "You are a scout of the small nation of elves, far to the west of here. Your ship crashed an you have no idea how to get back or where you ever washed up because that night is all a blur of screams and chaos. The meaning of your mission is secret, only you and I allowed to know. You stumbled upon the battle and decided to help those you could. Sweet, simple, and easy to remember."
"Can't I just say I was a fish person and swam to shore to become a normal person?" she grumbled, rubbing her eyes. "I guess that story will do and it will keep everyone off my back for a little while. I think, however, I'm going to wait until Pirate asks me again where I am from. No point in sharing too much information."
During Fen and Jimmy's talk, Flemeth had exited her hut and was talking to the three men. What they had been talking about in the beginning she did not know but when she focused on the conversation they were having, she overheard them talking about treaties and forming armies. She shrugged and got to her feet, wandering over to sit in on the conversation. Alistair gave her a smile when she approached and Duncan frowned slightly at her. Only Cailan looked at her with mild confusion. She gave him a cheerful grin and a slight wave before turning her attention to the old woman.
"How nice of you to join us dear," Flemeth sniffed, gazing down at Jimmy. "Have you decided to participate in the planning of your journey?"
"Naw," Jimmy shrugged. "I'll just sit back and let you all figure things out. Planning and responsibility isn't my favorite thing to do."
Duncan scowled at her, a disapproving look filling his face. She ignored him and looked over at Cailan who was still staring at her. For a few moments they stared at each other. Jimmy crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at the man, causing him to blush and look away. Next to him Alistair snickered, giving her a grin. She grinned back as Fen walked up.
A sharp pain flashed at her ankle and she yelped, jumping away from the wolf. He had kicked her, a sharp, claw digging kick. Scowling at him, Jimmy edged closer to the group and further away from him. This made Fen snort, a smug little sound that made her want to kick him back.
"Jimmy," he drawled, sitting next to her. "You know you want to help. It is, of course, in your best interest to take a part in the planning and decisions. What if they decide to send you off on a dangerous mission you are ill prepared for? You don't want that do you?"
She scowled at him again but shook her head, crossing her arms across her chest to sulk. Annoying as he was the wolf had a point. Based on what she had seen from three boys playing and endlessly talking about this game, she would most likely have the final say in what was decided. She didn't want that responsibility but maybe a word here and there would keep them from the more stupid and dangerous things.
While she had been sulking and thinking, the small group continued their planning. Duncan wanted to by pass Lothering and head straight for Redcliffe. Cailan and Alistair agreed with him but Flemeth was frowning slightly at their decision. Duncan's reasoning was that they had no money to get supplies and it would be best if they didn't draw attention. It sounded like a good idea to Jimmy as well but something was bothering her. She had a gut feeling they needed to go to Lothering but wasn't too sure why.
"We should go," she said suddenly. When everyone stared at her, she continued. "To Lothering I mean. There should be plenty of people there, you know, fleeing from these monsters. We need supplies, you all need some improvement on armor, and maybe we can pick up on the latest gossip of what is going on out there."
This made Duncan raise an eyebrow in surprise. "How will we even buy supplies and armor? We have no money."
"We could always use our fingers. Maybe do an odd job or two?" She paused, looking down at Fen who was staring very intently at her. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Give it up," he simply said, staring at her.
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Yes you do. Now cough it all up. I know you hid it all over your body. Now is not the time to be a hoarder."
Jimmy scowled at him. Their companions frowned in confusion, looking back and forth between her and Fen. The two battle wills, trying to conquer the other with stares only. Fen won and he gave her a smug grin, tilting his head expectantly. She sighed and began to dig into her pockets.
Slowly a pile of coins appeared, mostly silver and cooper. Alistair, Duncan, and Cailan stared in shock as she pulled the coins from her hiding places. Flemeth and Morrigan, who joined them after Jimmy and Fen glared at each other, sniggered softly at the men's faces. Jimmy ignored them all, pulling coins from her pockets, pack, breast band, her hidden pockets that sat at her ribs, small of her back, and behind her neck. She stood there, scowling, her hiding laces empty.
"All of it Jimmy," Fen sighed. She glared at him and finally threw her hands in the air with a huff. Off came her boots and socks, the last of her coins exposed. It was all gold. Duncan knelt by the small pile and counted it all. A smile slowly spread across his face as he counted.
"We will have plenty for supplies and some armor," he said proudly, looking up at everyone. "Jimmy, thank you for keeping hold of all these coins. We are in your debt. Now let's pack up and get ready to move. Lothering is a distance away but if we start now, we should get some good distance."
Jimmy scowled at Fen who merely grinned at her. Grumpily she walked over to her sleeping area, packing everything she had out into her pack. The loss of her hard found, secreted away coin put a dent in her mood. On the upside, Duncan and the others trusted her more than before. On the downside, her survival instinct was upset over the loss of an important resource. Fen walked over to her, sitting down at her side as she packed.
"Quit your act," he muttered softly. "I know you didn't cough up all of your coin. You have some more in your undergarment don't you?"
Jimmy grinned at him, winking. "I'm sure they all would have had heart attacks if I fished that coin out," she chuckled evilly. "We'll just keep that money for us in case we need to split from the group. Now my friend, lets prepare for this adventure we are going to have."
She shouldered her pack and watched s Flemeth approached the three men, daughter in tow. Curious she wandered over. Something was going down and she wanted to know what and why. Flemeth, she learned, wanted to send Morrigan with them but Alistair was against it. Even Duncan seemed unsure of having her with them. Morrigan was angry at her mother for kicking her out this way so Jimmy stepped in between the two groups, hands raised.
"Shut up," she said. "Alistair, quit freaking out. Morrigan, calmed down before you lay an egg. The rest of you, she's coming with us. Get over and get ready to go."
"Who put you in charge?" Duncan growled, glaring down at her.
She stared back at him. "As the only neutral party here and the rescuer of you two, I think I have the right to have the final word in a decision. You say this Blight is going to be bad? Well we can't be too picky about our allies if we want to stop this thing. Besides, you two are technically dead so neither of you can move around as freely as you'd like. Speaking for that, we need to fix your appearances if we are to keep travelling. Flemeth, Morrigan, think you two can handle it?"
"Of course sweetie," Flemeth chuckled. She guided the two men into her hut before either could say anything, Morrigan following behind.
Jimmy sighed and sat down, twiddling her thumbs. She had pushed herself into a position she didn't really want. In truth she didn't really want to intervene but something inside her took over. Sighing again she leaned back on her pack, an arm across her eyes. This wasn't going to be easy and that was a strong gut feeling.
Notes: Sorry for the super late update! My three weeks home was busy, hectic, and full of various family and friends visiting! I'll try to be more consistent again!
As we can see, Jimmy is doing well in this new world though she is starting to butt heads with people. I think she and Alistair are going to be very good friends in the end. I honestly can't wait to bring in the other characters so they can interact with Jimmy. Honestly I am looking forward to when she meets Sten and Zevran heh heh. Cailan didn't talk much here because I am still trying to get a feel for him. Currently he'll just be in shock and will open up soon!
As usual, I only own Jimmy, Fen, and any mayhem they cause to Fereldean. All else belongs to Bioware and such. ENJOY!