A/N:Thanks for the comments, as always. Gives me encouragement to continue. I make no apologies for the two year wait. I don't abandon stories, I just get horribly distracted.

Part 13: Feather Patterns

"So is this the part where you drag me off to some secluded spot and have your way with me outta sheer spite?"

"Yes, Daveth, we're going to make mad passionate love on the freezing stones of these ruins for hours on end and come stumbling back to the tent at First Bell while walking funny and Jory asking why we're all scraped up on our backsides."

"The idea of Jory eyeballing my backside long enough to notice something like that shrivels my bits," Daveth shivered once. "If you intend to have me perform you're going to have to warm up those words, luv, and not mention any blokes ogling me."

Kallian barked a single laugh, "Alright then. That blond number I overheard you chatting up sees the error of her ways and comes running back to you, then while in the throes of passion she asks why you're smelling like another woman."

Daveth grinned wide, "Now that's more like it! Let's get this thing started, have some fun and get back at Lord Jealousy, right?"

He opened his arms and pursed his lips like a fish for a kiss. Looking at him flatly, she planted the palm of her hand on his forehead, preventing him from getting any nearer.

"I'm not about to lay with you just to get back at him, ya git," she scoffed.

He was already chuckling as she pushed him away in a playful manner. The playfulness calmed her nerves some, but perhaps not enough.

When she came stomping back to their camp, she snagged Daveth and snapped at Jory just to say they were going for a walk. Daveth had only protested as he wasn't done with his stew, but he came along despite it. Once she got to ranting at him about Aedan's words, the anger in her gut dissipated a good deal. She was still upset, but at least now she could think clearer. Unfortunately, she was also beginning to feel sheepish, which only kept her on the verge between being embarrassed and being angry in general.

"Well then, what are you going to do?" He tucked his arms back under his cloak as they both continued to walk through the camp and ruins. "If this keeps up he might think to do me off and kill the competition."

"There is no soddin' competition," Kallian quipped. "There be nothin' between me and him. He can go on and be jealous and judging if he wants. I ain't his. Just like I ain't yours."

He raised an eyebrow and muttered out in a dejected tone, "Well, just close the door on my face, why don't you?"

A frustrated sigh escaped from her, "That' not what I meant."

"Then just what do you mean?" Daveth stopped and looked at her. "Look, I'm not tryin' to take the man's side, but you do have something of a chip on your shoulder. If there's something he's done to you to be this way... "

Kallian felt her eyebrows furrow before coming to a stop as well in order to face him, "Well, y'know he's . . . I mean, he's got the title and all that and you know how them noble sods can be."

"Whot, rich?"

"No," she huffed. "You know, all thinkin' he's better than us and can push us around, do things to us, and tell us how to live and all that."

"Wait, wait," Daveth held up a hand. "I thought you were alright with the squire leading the way for us."

"I am, but that's not what I'm talking about!"

"Then what are you talking about?"

"That... well, you know," she motioned at him as if that would explain all her thoughts in a nutshell.

Daveth shook his head, "No, I don't. Just tell me straight up what he's done to you. That way I can feel justified when I break my fist on his chin."

His grin and the joke did nothing to alleviate the tension in her furrowed brow. She didn't say anything and only gave another frustrated sigh, starting again on their aimless walk. Hearing Daveth catch up with her, she let her mind simmer on the fact that she couldn't point at one thing that Aedan had done to her that would have justified her outburst. She did think Aedan was thinking too much of himself by putting Daveth down as he did. It certainly spurred her temperament to a quick flash fire of words, but if she had just spoke instead of shouted, reasoned instead of raging, then maybe she would still be back there helping him get a set of armor instead of off sulking with Daveth for really no good reason.

Kallian managed to put her own hackles up about Aedan from the get go. Lord Aedan Cousland of Highever was just another noble's son, just like- . . .

No, she thought with a tinge of bitterness, he's not like him at all.

"Look, if you don't want to explain, you don't have to," Daveth said, interrupting her thoughts. "We only met jus' today and though we seem to be hittin' it off …" He let the sentence drop and Kallian looked over at him in question, "It's none of my business if you got some history with him or something."

"It's not him," she admitted, and then shifted her shoulders to adjust her own cloak and keep it tightly around her as a chill breeze wafted. "It be someone else and I've jus been . . ." she gave a hapless shrug, "taking it out on him."

"Someone else?" he asked. "And who is this bloke that's earned your ire?"

Again, Kallian hesitated, but this time she looked around. There was hardly anyone nearby to overhear and she looked at Daveth, wondering if he could trust him. She wanted to tell someone, needed to. Duncan already knew and with Aedan she was honestly too afraid to talk to about it. He might have overlooked her stealing his family sword, but out and out killing a fellow noble? Rendon Howe killing his family was one thing. He was a noble. She was just an elf and justice never worked the same for one of her kind.

Daveth was cut from a different cloth. He knew what it was like in the slums of the city. He knew the masses that huddled around Pauper's Field and the high walls of the alienage with its high built wooden huts that threatened to spill right over them. He knew the alleyways to stick to and the ones to avoid. He was common born, common bred, and could beat a living off of the streets. Daveth had that swagger one can only earn by living that way and through it Kallian felt a certain kinship.

Cutpurses and elves are one in the same, she remembered a shem saying once. That was enough to convince her.

Coming to a full stop again, she looked at him square, and spoke after a short huff of breath, "Can you keep a secret?"

Aedan came back to camp, tightening the cloth strap about the padded leather bracers he kept. He managed to procure a serviceable set of chainmail from the Quartermaster at a very fair price, mostly due to trading in his much finer set of Cousland engraved armor. The Quartermaster was almost hesitant to take it, but he did after telling him to sell it only through his "special stock". It was almost a case of blackmail, but the Quartermaster was much easier to deal with after letting him know he knew of it. Getting to the fire, he stopped and looked around. Jory still sat in the same seat he was in, a second serving of stew in his hands, but the other two that Aedan wanted to speak to were not there.

"Where are Kallian and Daveth?"

"She came back not long after you two walked off," he answered after wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "She said something about going for a walk, grabbed her cloak, grabbed Daveth and off they went."

Aedan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Great."

"I know it is none of my business," Jory started, looking at him a little worriedly, "but was there a problem between you and the elf woman?"

A pang of irritation hit him and he frowned, "Her name is Kallian, you know."

Jory's eyes widened just a little, seeing that he committed some sort of faux pas, "I did not mean to offend, I simply... Sorry, my Lo- . . ." He stopped himself with a wince and sighed. "I am sorry, Aedan, I am having difficulty trying to break old habits."

Aedan let his shoulders relax and he shook his head lightly, "This situation is new for all of us. We're all supposed to be on equal footing, yet all we seem to be doing right now is stepping on each others toes." He offered a short smile to Jory. "Hopefully we'll get used to things in time, so don't take offense should I correct you every so often."

"Please do correct me, m- Aedan," he offered back a sheepish smile. "It is becoming apparent I need the help." Aedan chuckled once, but then Jory set him with that worried look, "So is there a problem between yourself and Kallian?"

Unsure if he should say anything he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Was there a problem? Yes. Should he babble about it to Jory like some fishwife who just wants to complain? No. He was about to say as such, when he saw Kallian and Daveth returning. Both of them looked at him as they neared.

Kallian, while not looking as angered, still glowered at him as she passed by. Without a word she went into the tent, closing the tent flap behind her with an audible "fwoomp".

When Daveth approached, Aedan squared his shoulders expecting something of a confrontation, but something about Daveth gave him room for pause. The man was looking at the tent rather than him and he was shaking his head. There was a mixture of concern and amusement on his face. If anything, Daveth almost looked exasperated.

"So," he started, then looked at Aedan, "I hear you and she had something of a spat."

"I take it she spoke to you," was his quiet response.

"Oh, a right earful, squire," a grin turned up on his lips. "Your ears must have been burning."

Aedan couldn't quite read Daveth. He didn't look upset, but that grin made him leery. Did he have some sort of ploy to get back at him at some later date? Was he going to put Aedan at ease only to stab him in the back later? Unable to decide, he chose to do what he thought of earlier. He'd have to deal with the consequences later.

"Look, I need to apologize-"

"Oh, come on," Daveth interrupted. "You ain't got nothing to apologize for. Not your fault she's touchy."

He felt his eyebrow quirk up. It certainly wasn't a reaction he was expecting.

"But what I said about you ...," Aedan's words came to a stop as Daveth was already waving him off.

"All you said was the truth, squire. She could do better than me," the grin on his face widened at his self deprecation. "It's no lie that I ain't the squarest one around these parts. I think it's good you're looking out for her like that. Keep it up. She might not like it right now, but just give her time. She's got her reasons."

The words were vaguely familiar. Something similarly said to him back in Highever. Kallian hadn't just told Daveth about what he said, she told him about what Duncan had only hinted at before. Suddenly, Aedan did feel a pang of jealousy. She had trusted Daveth, a man she met that morning, with her story, but not him.

She might have earned your trust, Aedan thought, but what trust have you engendered with her?

"She's told you things?" he hazarded, fighting the urge to ask Daveth everything.

"She's told me enough," the grin faded as he glanced at the tent once. "Just between us three, since Jory do be listening in ..."

"Should I leave?" Jory replied in an indignant tone.

Daveth smirked and shook his head before continuing, "We're all in this now. We got to work together, aye? So between us three I can safely say that she's got her reasons for being that way. Just know that it ain't you, squire."

"I ...," he almost didn't know what to say. It felt odd to have Daveth reassure him of things when Aedan felt he didn't deserve the kind treatment. At the same time, he felt as if he could now commiserate with Daveth on Kallian's behavior. An ally where he thought he had an enemy.

"That is a relief," he managed to say, then looked at the tent, "I'd still like to make amends, though."

"Bah," Daveth waved a hand dismissively, "just let her stew in her own juices for a while. She needs to get over a few things. If she can't then she needs to get over herself."

Again, Daveth surprised him. While the words were less eloquently said, they reflected Duncan's sentiments. Even though the man was obviously attracted to her, he apparently wasn't agreeing to her thoughts. That spoke loudly of his character. Aedan was likely wrong to misjudge.

Thoughts began to realign in his head, then he grinned lightly while motioning at him, "She seems to take to you better. Perhaps if you kept talking to her, then maybe she'll stop jumping down my throat every time I jar her sensibilities."

"No promises, but I'll see what I can do, squire," Daveth replied while returning the smile.

Aedan paused, then held his hand out to give him the proper greeting he should have at the start, "Just call me Aedan, please."

The smile faded from Daveth's face to be replaced by a surprised look. Apparently it wasn't the reaction he was expecting either. After a second, the grin returned and he clasped Aedan's forearm, "Alright, Aedan. You can call me anything but a bastard. I know who my father is."

He had to laugh at that. The word had crossed his mind a time or two, "I think I'll just call you Daveth."

"Fair enough. Now where's my bowl of stew? I'm starving."

A/N: Next chapter - Vultures Picking Up Stones