His voice was deeper than she imagined. He wore mostly Dalish armor, but she could tell that his boots, pants, and staff weren't. The gauntlets were a charcoal grey decorated with metal filigree which matched his chest plate and spaulders. Though he didn't wear much armor, she could tell it was well made. He lowered his hand as she did her leg.

"Sorry to startle you. I was just watching," he said causing her to relax.

She hadn't even heard him approach. And I call myself stealthy. "It's ok. I just didn't hear you come up that's all."

"I always come down here to practice myself. You must have just come into town."

"Yeah, just yesterday. I'm Sicilia, by the way," she held out her hand.

"Haiden," he said taking her hand for a gentle shake. "Where are you from?"

"Ayesleigh." She glimpsed at his staff. Is he a mage? It was made from a dark wood and carved with symbols she didn't recognize. The top part had a blade embedded on either side extending up to a spear-like head. At the base of the head, there was a large sapphire surrounded by more metal filigree.

"Never been there. I'm originally from Llomerryn, but I came here a few years ago." He saw her staring at his staff and, laughing, said, "Yes, I'm a mage, but I don't just rely on magic in fights."

"Oh, sorry, I've just never seen a staff like that before," she blushed.

"It's fine. I had it specially made before I left Llomerryn," he stated. "I would ask to spar, but our techniques are so different I don't know if it would be good practice."

"Then it should be great practice. How am I supposed to fight well unless I know how to defend myself against every technique?"

"Good point. Alright then," he removed his staff and set it next to her daggers. "Allow me to warm up first?"

"Go ahead." She watched as he removed the tie from his hair and pulled it all back into a low pony tail. His first kick was a bit unsteady, but as he picked up pace, they became well aimed. Unexpectedly, he did a spinning kick, then, while still spinning, come down and did a back flip, kicking up each leg. Impressive. Now that would probably hurt…

He laughed at her wide-eyed expression. "Ready?" He took a stance as she did. Sis made the first move, but also took the first hit. Haiden made the hit light so she wouldn't get hurt. Their sparring continued. Haiden had been winning at first, his flexibility and quickness amazed her. After becoming accustomed to his technique, she knew just when to hit to throw off his balance off and she quickly knocked him to the ground.

Sicilia stood next to him as he tried to catch his breath. With a grin on her face she said, "I win." Grabbing one ankle, he pulled it up causing her to lose her balance and fall onto her back. "Auff!"

"How 'bout a draw?" he asked catching his breath. "I must say, I'm impressed. You caught on quicker than I'd thought."

Once she caught her breath, Sicilia started to laugh. "You're impressed? I've never seen a technique like that before nor someone so flexible. Where did you learn that?"

"It's bits of styles I've picked up from different places, but mostly just stuff I came up with to be able to fight with my staff. Where did you learn to fight?"

"My brother. He learned it from our father. I was too young to learn before he passed so my brother taught me years later."

"You must be pretty close."

"Not anymore. He converted to the Qun and is now an Ashaad."

"What about your mother?"

"She's still in Ayesleigh. She's a seer."

"Really? How'd you end up here?"

"She told me to come here. She didn't say why, though, and I didn't ask."

"Hmm. She must be pretty good for you to not even question it."

"Yeah, I don't remember her ever being wrong. What about you? How'd you end up here?"

"I needed a change. My father is Dalish, but my mother was human. They weren't married and never planned to. Once she realized I was a mage, she abandoned me at the Dalish camp my father lives in." He sat up and looked at the sun, which was just peeking above the horizon. "I love the Dalish, but some of them didn't accept me because I don't even look Elven."

"I think you do. When I first saw you, I thought you were, but your ears aren't pointed so I wasn't sure." Sicilia sat up and pulled her feet in to massage her arches. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "I should get going. My friend is probably waiting on me for dinner; she'll be pissed off if I don't show." Getting to her feet, she brushed some sand off her and walked to where she left her boots.

"You should come back tomorrow and spar with me again. I'm sure next time we'll both be more prepared; it'll be fun," he commented standing and brushing the dirt from his clothes.

"I'm sure it will, but I can't tomorrow. I have a job that I need to do. I'll definitely be back the next day, though." She gathered her weapons and strapped them on.

"Sounds good." Haiden picked up his staff and, once in his stance, began practicing again.

Sicilia stopped halfway up the coast to glance back as he did another back flip. His style of fighting was more like a dance, but she was sure it was as deadly as any other style. It was dark by the time she got to the inn; Gwen was waiting downstairs. She was propped up on her elbows at a table talking to a guy who had an ear full of piercings and a tattoo down one arm. While Gwen didn't have many piercings, she liked guys who did and it wasn't just for their evident status either. Sicilia also had pierced ears, in four places, but for her, it was only for appearances; it wasn't because she had a thing for them.

"Ah, Sis, there you are. I've been waiting for an hour! Where were you?" she quickly left the table leaving the guy a little saddened.

"I was at the beach. You ready to go eat?"

"Yeah," she said taking the girl's arm and racing out the door.

The tavern wasn't as full as the previous night, which was good because it wasn't nearly as noisy. The two girls ordered the same food as they had the night before and Gwen ordered yet another jug of ale.

"So, I met this guy at the beach," Sicilia said nonchalantly.

"What? Was he cute?" Gwen's face light up with excitement.

"He was. We sparred."

Gwen's eyes went wide. "You what? Did he pin you to the ground? Tell me what happened!"

"No, actually, it was a draw, but he seemed like a nice person," she said taking another drink of water.

"Sparring sure seems like the way to go with someone like you. It's as physical as you can get without having sex," she giggled at the thought.

"I'm not interested in that at all. Maybe we can become friends, but you know I'm not into all that courtship stuff."

"Oh, Sis, you're never going to find a husband thinking like that and who's to say you can't just have a little fun without the attachment?"

"I don't want a husband or a bed partner, Gwen," she laughed. "I got a couple jobs lined up today," she mentioned remembering the contacts she was given. "Did you find anything today?"

"I mentioned to the inn's owner about needing a job and he said that he had been looking to hire a couple new people, but he said he'd need time to think about it."

The two girls finished their meal and Sicilia once again had to carry a drunken Gwen back to their room. Why can't she just stop after two ales? This really pisses me off when she just leaves it to me to make sure she gets back home.

A/N: So what do you think of Haiden? I have a bit of a thing planned for him, but I won't tell you what. ^_^ HAHA!