The trek to Skyhold was tedious. Rose frequently tired of the walking, which resulted in plenty of whining. She probably spend half of the trip being carried.

"My feet hurt," she said with a pout. Cullen sighed and picked her up, not wanting to fight. The three-year-old was relentless. He quickly learned that any sort of resistance would result in a temper tantrum. No one wanted that.

She snuggled into his arms, falling asleep quickly. She seemed to be a very touchy child. She was comforted by physical contact, one way or another. Sometimes she complained that his armor was too cold or hard, but she kept coming back.

"I think we've started taking turns without noticing," Mira said with a small smile, jogging to get to his side. "She likes you, you know."

"I've noticed," he laughed. He looked at the toddler in his arms. "I think I brought this on myself, actually. When we retrieved her from your clan, I tended to carry her whenever she asked. I think I was the one that carried her the most."

"That was sweet of you," Mira said. She ruffled the child's hair and winked at Cullen before jogging ahead of him, apparently off to converse with more of the ragtag group of people she'd collected.

He sighed like a lovestruck adolescent and watched her go, a goofy smile plastered to his face.

The nights were long and usually restless. Mira stayed up a good portion of the night making sure the refugees were comfortable and had enough food. She often gave her meal away for a family without one. Cullen found it admirable, albeit a bit foolish.

Mira put Rose to bed in their tent, kissing her forehead before crawling out.

She made her usual rounds, giving her dinner up for the third night in a row. Her stomach complained, but she couldn't bear to see people suffer. She smiled at the small family she'd given her food to and made her way to Cullen's tent, where he was standing outside and watching the commotion.

"Hey, you," she said, smiling up at him. He was at least a head taller than her.

"Evening," he said. He seemed to be in high spirits. He returned her smile, even though he felt his cheeks flush.

"I didn't thank you for being so great with Rose. She didn't get a lot of positive contact with other people with the clan. This is good for her," Mira said. She shifted on her feet, not meeting his eyes. Apparently, the mountains in the distance were very interesting.

"It's no problem," Cullen said, "I enjoy her company. She's a good kid." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. "If...if you don't mind my asking-"

"He's dead," Mira cut in, "Her father is dead. He died before she was born."

"I'm sorry," he said.

Mira nodded, still looking away. She took a shaky breath, closing her eyes and regaining her composure. She toyed with a necklace, and Cullen realized that it was a simple string holding an equally simple ring.

"He, uh...he was shot down. By my clan. He was a city elf, and they tended to not like city elves. We met when I was hunting...he kept a bear from killing me, actually," Mira said. She huffed in nostalgic amusement, looking at her feet. "We screwed around, and then I didn't have a chance to tell him about Rose. She actually looks a lot like him." Mira looked at her tent, sighing.

"If there's anything..."

"There isn't. It's just me and her now, and that's going to have to be good enough. She's strong. She'll turn out okay."

Cullen nodded, considering reaching out to her. She looked so small and sad. She was a leader, and she commanded respect while she was telling soldiers and scouts what to do. He was unused to her seeming fragile.

She shivered, rubbing her arms and drawing herself in more.

"Are you cold?" he asked, biting the inside of his cheek. She made him nervous. He commanded the Inquisition's forces, and they respected him as their superior, but he got nervous around a woman. She was beautiful, though. He would blame it on that.

"A bit," she said. Her cheeks and nose were slightly red. She smiled up at him. "You humans have it good. It's easy for you to put on fat to keep you warm. But elves? We're built to be fast and lithe. It's harder for us to stay warm in this Creators-forsaken snow."

Cullen decided to swallow his fear. He shrugged off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. "My armor is warm enough," he said, averting his eyes from hers.

"Thank you," Mira said. She seemed surprised as she wrapped it around herself. Her stomach made an embarrassing noise, making her cheeks flush from more than just the cold.

"Have you eaten?" Cullen asked, looking back at her. He saw her shift uncomfortably.

"I...I think I ate yesterday," she replied, "There was a family and they didn't have enough food to feed all four of them. I didn't want anyone to go hungry."

"I'll get you some dinner."

Mira watched him go. She wrapped herself in his coat tighter. She glanced around her, making sure no one was looking, before she buried her nose in the feathers. She learned that she loved how he smelled. They had gotten closer over the weeks they traveled. She liked his company more than she did the others.

She saw him coming back, two plates in his hands. She straightened herself, not wanting him to see her like that. It was embarrassing. She was a grown woman that was confident in herself (or that's what she told people). She shouldn't have to be embarrassed about her affections.

"You didn't have to," she said, poking an arm out of the coat to grab the plate.

He smiled. "I wanted to. You need to eat."

They found a log to sit on and ate in silence. She felt as if she sat too close to him, but he didn't complain. Their arms almost touched.

"We've a long day ahead of us," Mira said. She looked up at him and swore she saw him jerk his head away.

"That we do," Cullen replied. He glanced back at her and smiled.

"We should get some sleep," she said. She got up, still wrapped in his pauldroned coat, and started towards her tent.

He would let her keep it for that night.