[Continues the story of Talita da Motta, Templar from Rivain, as written by her own hand, recounting her early days in the order. She has been shipwrecked on the shores of Fereldan, with a mage, Juca, who has been placed in her charge]

[Ferelden, Dalish, Templars: they all belong to Bioware. *sigh*]

Chapter 16: Elves

I awoke warm and comfortably snug.

I did not open my eyes, but could feel the sunlight on my face. I heard the sounds of the sea not too far off. The scent of fresh pine surrounded me. It was so nice just to be warm…

The warmth of skin sliding against skin.

I opened my eyes in shock.

I was lying half atop Juca.

Neither of us was wearing a single stitch of clothing!

Maker!

I jumped up, trying to avert my eyes, and climbed out of the nest we had made of soft pine and fern fronds. The morning wind lashed cruelly at my body and I shivered. I vaguely remembered finding our little nest after we'd made our way just into the forest. We had been miserable, unable to get warm in our sea-soaked clothing...

Juca had pointed out that our clothing would dry better out in the wind.

I blushed as I found my things. They were still very damp and cold, but it was all I had. Shivering and shaking, I pulled on the clothing and tried to remember exactly HOW our clothing had made its way into the tree branches. And what we did we DO after it was there?

We didn't…did we? I certainly hoped we hadn't, because I didn't remember a thing.

The thought made me blush even more. I meant, of course, because it was my job to protect the mage. Not to seduce him.

No, I decided, as I fumbled with the salt-stiff leather of my armor, we both had been exhausted, and simply glad to be alive.

Now we had to survive.

My boots had not fared well in the sea, although thankfully one of my knives was still shealthed. I winced as I had to squeeze my foot into …

"Good morning!"

I turned, half bent, half leaning on a rock. Juca was standing, and ... stretching.

I hastily looked away.

"Good morning," I answered, still struggling with my boot.

"Here, let me –" he offered

"No! I mean, no, I've got it…you should get dressed."

He chuckled.

I blushed. He wanted me to look at him!?

While he examined what remained of his gear I stepped out of the trees and hopped up onto a rock. Injuries that were not healed by the magical potion complained, but not loudly. Happily, the sleep had magnified the effect of the elfroot potion. Shielding my eyes, I looked out onto the rocky coastline. The sea still frothed unhappily, and the horizon looked unfriendly. There would be more rain soon.

Something metal glinting near the shore caught my attention. I hurried in that direction. There, caught on some rocks…

My swordbelt, scabbard, and sword! I picked it up, shaking off sand and sea. The leather was a mess, but the sword…I pulled it from its sheath and it gleamed in the sunlight. It was only a standard issue sword for a trainee, but I was ever so happy to see it. It still held the keen edge I'd put to it …was it only a day ago?

Juca stepped from rock to rock, moving in my direction. I sheathed my blade and walked back to meet him. At least he was properly dressed now. The rogue.

"I wondered where I dropped that," he said.

I blinked. "You brought my sword?"

"The ice broke the buckle. I tried to keep it from falling into the ocean. But when we hit the rocks here…"

I nodded, still humbled by his quick thinking in the water. It brought my thoughts back to just why we were in the water in the first place.

"It was Everado," I said, after a long moment.

Juca frowned. "I thought I saw him. And I know we are not his favorite people…but murder?"

I sat down on a smooth, round boulder large enough for both of us. "I think…there is more to this than we know. He seems to hate me because of Angelo."

He sat beside me. "Or the Lyrium problem is deeper than we suspected."

I nodded and frowned. "We need to head for Gwaren. It was three days away before the storm took us. If we are lucky, waves might have brought us even closer."

"If the Seadance survived, she will be there."

"If she didn't, we may find evidence of that, as well."

He nodded. It was a somber thought. And yet, Everado waited on Seadance, if the ship still survived.

Something settled in the air between us. Juca nodded. "We'll set this right, Talita." He promised.

"And I will escort you to the Circle of Magi," I promised in return.

Juca raised an eyebrow. "That is a long and dangerous journey from here, bonita."

I shook my head. "I don't care."

He chuckled at my determination. Here we stood, shipwrecked on a foreign beach, half frozen, with no food and no water, and I was making grand plans…

My lips quirked into a smile despite myself.

He laughed. I gave in. Juca's laugh is an impossible thing to resist.

"New plan, then" I said, feeling better about our chances even though nothing had changed. "We can start by finding some water to drink. With all this rain, you would think a river or stream cannot be too far off," I said optimistically.

~'~~,~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

"Optimists are fools," I grumbled, hours later.

Thunder rumbled overhead, but there was no rain yet. I wondered, if it rained, could we find anything to catch enough water so we could drink? We were so thirsty…

Walking along the rocky shore was difficult work. Walking within the forest had been worse – neither of us could tell north from south in there once we were far enough from the ocean.

So we stuck to the shore.

My feet throbbed in my ruined boots. I was tempted to pull them off and have a go at traveling barefoot.

Juca was watching the treeline, and the foliage. He could identify a surprising number of the plants. The acorns he'd found for us earlier still rattled around in his satchel. Using the pommel of my sword against a rock had been a crude way to open them, but it had worked for the most part.

Now if we could just find water, that wasn't seawater, we'd-

We topped a rise on the edge of the forest, and looked down the slope.

Wreckage.

Half of a ship lay on its beams a few hundred feet from the shore. Debris was strewn everywhere. And bodies. Yet, there were a few people moving…

Juca grabbed me. We stood perfectly still. A few survivors were on their knees, on the shore, hands cupped behind their heads. Three strangers in greens and tans with wicked-looking bows held them at arrowpoint. Elves.

"Dalish!" Juca hissed into my ear, and I nodded. I'd never met a Dalish elf, but I'd heard of them. We needed to back away, slowly.

Until I saw one of the heathens thrust his sword into the kneeling, begging survivor.

My vision flashed to a different blade: the qunari elf's blade as it cut deep into my mother's chest…

I was screaming with rage, running down the hill. This time, they were going to pay.

not the brightest idea she's ever had, hmm? review, if you would be so kind. Still working on pacing, description and dialogue balance. any ideas or suggestions please let me know! ty ty!