"Bloody pissing rain" Fayne grumbled under her breath as she pulled her cloak's hood as far up as possible. They had been walking for about six hours straight and the weather had continuously made life difficult for them. Her boots were no longer black, but a reddish brown from all the mud they had to walk through.

At her exclamation, Alistair laughed, "You have quiet the mouth for a noble woman". Fayne just hunched her shoulders and picked up her pase, brushing past him. He wasn't supposed to have heard her, but in the end she knew everyone felt like her; sick and tired of the rain.

After Leric had told Fayne of their little escapade in the Lothering tavern, Fayne thought it prudent for them to take less traveled by routes to Redcliff. That meant navigating their way through rough bush and slimy forests. She had been sorely mistaken when she thought that the gigantic junipers would offer a shield against the rain. Leric was about a meter a head of the group with Leliana, scouting and acting as their guide. She begrudgingly had to admit her lack of knowledge within the realm of forests.

"You knowwww, I thought that you would have been used to the rain, Highever always has the worst storms" Alistair was like a bug buzzing in her ear. And in response to his poorly chosen words, Fayne stiffened and gave him a deadly stare.

"Oh sweet maker, I forgot, Fayne look I…I am sorry" he began getting redder than the clay filled mud they were walking through, "Ahh…do you want to talk about it? I am a good listener?" Alistair rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and smiled at her.

His expression stopped her in her tracks. She could see now how so easily this man, should he desire, could get almost any woman he wanted. Innocence mixed with a charming smile could drop any number of small cloths. He was too good for her and in a way he made her feel…sick. Realizing she was rudely staring at him, she shook her head and sighed, "It is fine Alistair, I am not going to fall apart."

"Are you sure, I mean you were brought here so suddenly by Duncan, did you even get a chance to mourn the loss of your family. And then your broth—,"

"It fine, really" Fayne cut him off with a sudden desire to change the subject. In her mind the incident with her brother never happened, and him talking about it was going to destroy her illusion,"

"We should camp here for the night" came Leric's voice from the front of the group. He looked over his leather clad shoulder at both Alistair and Fayne. The wind whipped his braid across his green eyes which surprisingly wore a frustrated and annoyed look. It was centered on Alistair. Did he hear the conversation?No that is just stupid, he can't hear that well. But even as Fayne denied it, she began to wonder if indeed he could, after all she knew so little of the Dalish and the elves that made up their camps.

Leric led them to a small clearing where they could take partial shelter under large spruce trees. Morrigan quickly had her tent up and promptly disappeared under the grey canvas. Leliana was next to finish and she then came over to help Fayne.

Pushing the red head's hand away Fayne mumbled, "I can do this on my own you know." Lelianna had stood up then and crossed her arms, sighing Fayne turned her head to look at her while tying a knot at the base of the tent, "I…am just used to doing things my way, that's all. Don't take it personally."

"Of course warden" Leliana walked away and started to dig in her pack. She watched, in a wary sort of way, as the woman pulled out a pot and began slicing some of the provisions they had gathered in Lothering. Had she angered another person so quickly after her exchange with Leric? An old shame filled her then, she was unforgivably rude to the elf, her father was probably rolling in his grave. If he was given one that is she thought.

Fayne stood up and walked over to where Leric was seated by his tent, he was just about to duck in from the weather when Fayne grabbed him on his upper arm. He had frozen almost instantaneously and she realized that such a touch was probably a mistake on her part.

"Ah, sorry Leric" she removed her hand and fiddled with her fingers. Realizing that she was fidgeting and that the Dalish's eyes were gazing at her appraisingly she stilled her hands, "I have figured out what I want my my vah…vahlis…"

"Vahalisin?" interjected Leric

"Yes, that. I would like it to be centered on revenge"

He looked at her through a dark braid that had landed in his eye. Without thought he brushed the strand away while he looked at her. Leric, it seemed, had no problem making and keeping prolonged eye contact. It bothered Fayne enough that she let her gaze drop to the man's intricately woven boots.

"Don't' do that" came his voice and it startled her.

"Don't do what?" Fayne was confused, was he talking about the tattoo. It had been his idea in the first place.

"When I was looking at you, you lowered your gaze. In my culture that is a sign of weakness if both parties are of equal rank. Since we are both wardens you have the right to look me in the eye. Only children and wrong do-ers lower their gaze as such." Leric's voice was not unkind, but it held the same tone that Aldus would use with her when trying to press an important fact upon her.

"Oh… I did not think that such things mattered" stated Fayne some what perturbed by being corrected.

"Well that is not surprising, aren't Shemlin noble women just bred for blood, not brains?" the question seemed genuine.

Huffing Fayne rolled her eyes at him, "Yes all noble women are just dolls to look pretty and make babies, we don't have a mind." Fayne stalked off then, perturbed by the elf and also at the general truth about her statement. Not all noble families let their daughters act so liberally and have such a broad education.

Yelling over her shoulder at Alistair she let the camp know where she was going, "I am going to find a lake and wash up" She had seen a small river not to far from camp. And even though it was miserable outside she still wanted to wash out the gore and blood that stuck to her hair, and disturbingly enough, to her small cloths.

Leric POV

Leric watched as Fayne retreated into the thick woods, her shemlin boots creating loud crunching noises, well at least I don't have to worry about her running into wild animals, he thought as he sat next to the red head that was making some sort of food. Alistair was no where to be seen and so was the witch. Thinking about the blonde man, Leric came to the conclusion that he talked too much, too much indeed. Hadn't the shem known that talking about Fayne's family would have distressed her, didn't he see that upsetting one of the group's leaders was a stupid move. Yes I only care about how he was affecting her performance, not her feelings. But even then Leric knew that for some reason he felt the need to watch over the girl, who was in reality almost the same age as he. He still hated her, a little, but she was just like a Dalish child. Her annoyingness was only due to her ignorance.

A sharp trill caught his attention and made him look to the left. His head then quickly swivelled to the right as another trill sounded. This isn't right, those birds don't live in Ferelden, and they are from warmer climates. Just as he had come to the conclusion that these calls were false, an arrow whizzed past his face glazing his cheek with a sharp sting. The assault caught both Alistair and Lelianna's attention and they both let out a startled cry in unison. Alistair's morphed into a battle cry as two weapon clad figures lunged out from behind a tree.

"The warden's die here" came a laughing accented voice right behind Leric. He turned around and came face to face with a blond haired elf with markings on his face. For a painful moment Leric thought that it was a Dalish brother, but when the man's smirk highlighted the fact that his facial markings were shem designs, that hope was destroyed.

The two men circled each other and then they both charged. Leric only had his hunting knife on him so he was at a disadvantage. The blond one seized this and lashed out at Leric on all sides. Little cuts, shallow yet painful, started to blossom all over his body.

"Bloody fucking flat ears" roared Leric as he grabbed the elf around the forearms and pushed the man back into the mud. Leric had put so much force into the push that it caused him to stumble and slip face first into the thick paste that the ground had become. Quickly realizing his disadvantages position, he sprung up into a squatting position. He looked left then right, yet the elf was no where to be seen. Leric stood up and glanced at his companions. Most of the other bandits had been dispatched by Alistair, and the stragglers were being picked off by Leliana. A purple hue filled the air and it tasted of lavender and steel. He was not surprised to see Morrigan a few feet away casting spells which hummed as she spoke.

But where is the last elf, he said he wanted us dead? Then Leric realized not all of the party was in the camp site.

Fayne POV

"Ahhh" Fayne let out a content sigh as she stood waist high in the clear water. Even though it was raining outside, and the wind was biting, it made the water seem warmer than what it actually was. She dipped her head under again and scrubbed viciously at her red locks. She had already done the process ten times, but dark blood, brown from age still seeped into the water around her.

Once her basic cleaning had been finished she hung her clothing on a low hanging branch so it could dry somewhat. She then raced back into the water, diving like a fish. All around her silence was the only thing she heard, she was luckily far away enough from camp not to be disturbed by the noises of their goings on.

She sunk deeper until she was swimming along the bottom of the little lake. It was beautiful and the feeling allowed her to forget for just a second that her family was dead and that the fate of Ferelden rested on her shoulders. Little bubbles leaked out of her nose and mouth as she attempted to stay under longer. Closing her eyes she started a slow assent to the surface of the water, she had run out of oxygen. She sucked in a deep breath as she broke the surface and with her eyes closed she stood up, the water again only coming to her waste.

The smile on her lips was destroyed the minute she opened her eyes.

There in front of her stood a man covered in weapons. He stood like her, it the waist deep water and smirked at her. Immediately goose bumps rose on her skin as her mouth started to form a horrified expression. He didn't seem startled by her response, rather his smirk turned into a toothy grin as his eyes took in her very naked form.

His contemplation didn't last long though, because the minute Fayne went to turn and swim away, he lunged at her with enough force to make her feet slip from underneath her. From what she had seen of the man he had looked lean, and for a moment she thought she could overpower him. However she was sadly mistaken. One of the man's hands wrapped around her throat, covering it completely. Slowly the pressure started to increase and Fayne let out a startled breath. His other hand dug painfully into her uncovered should and it bent her backward closer to the waters surface. She struggled fiercely and managed to hook her foot around his leg and cause him to stumble. However the move also cost Fayne her balance and the combined momentum and pressure on her shoulder made her body drop into the lakes depths.

I am going to die she thought as she glimpsed the strained expression of the man above the waters surface. His face was blurring as she was looking up through the water at him. Her legs kicked fruitlessly under the water and her nails were bloody from trying to pry off his grasp. Her mouth and noose were full of water and slowly her vision was going black. Her kicking slowed to nothing and the water became calm as she lost the ability to fight back. Once the froth had cleared she could see the man's face again, could see his blond hair and tattooed face. She tilted her head to the side as she calmly regarded him through quickly fading vision. He watched her just as closely from above as her form stretched out beneath him under the water. She didn't know whether her head movement or her scrutiny made him act faster, but his grip on her neck almost tripled in strength causing a sharp crack to sound from somewhere around her shoulder. The pain and lack of oxygen caused her eyes to roll back and a strange thought entered her mind as she slipped into unconsciousness, I know this man, I've seen him.

Leric POV

Leric ran, really ran for the first time, in a state of panic. His stomach felt heavy and his hands shook ever so slightly. Just like Tamlin, he thought as he wove in between the trees towards the river. Like Fayne, he too had seen the lake from their hike, so he knew where she had gone.

He nimbly jumped over logs and in-between trees. He heard no noise as he approached the standing figure of a man in waist high water. The minute Leric spotted the man's golden locks; he froze and crouched down, surveying the area. She must have escaped, but why is he standing there?

However after watching the man for a couple of seconds he realized that the bandit was not just standing there, he was also gripping something under the water. Leric could only see a long dark shape under the him, but he realized that it must have been large enough if the blond elf had such a determined look of concentration on his face. Suddenly the elf's vein stuck out on his arm as his grip hardened on the object underwater. Leric looked closer and glimpsed a thick red strand of hair float to the surface of the water.

Wait, that's hair. Even as he realized what it was he was on his feet and running towards the blond elf. So consumed the other man was with drowning Fayne, that he didn't even notice Leric come up behind him and pull him backwards. The elf's eyes widened as Leric dragged him out of the water and pushed him against the nearest tree. Surprise was the only upper hand Leric had and he took it without mercy. It one quick movement the elf lay on the ground in a heap, his nose broken and bleeding.

Leric tuned and saw a pale body start to float to the surface; it was enough incentive for him to slosh his way back into the lake as fast as possible. When he neared Fayne's body he froze, large black bruising covered her neck and her shoulder had deep groves in them where the elf's fingers had been. Overtaken by sudden anger he pulled Fayne out of the water roughly by the middle of her body and dragged her back to shore. He felt like he was playing with a doll, except this was a fully mature woman who was completely naked. He had to keep his imagination under control especially as her cold breast brushed against his arms.

Leric gently lay Fayne down on the mud and brushed her wild hair from her face. She was a startling shade of blue. He touched her pulse point, like he would do on an animal, and felt for a heart beat. It was there, but slow and light and fading rapidly. He thought about whether or not he had time to get her back to the witch, she had been healed by her once before. But the weak heart beat told him that action had to be taken now if he wanted to save the human.

Gently parting Fayne's pink lips he opened her mouth and tilted her head forward. A hard smack on her back let the water in her throat spill out and onto her body. Yet she still did not breathe. Leric took a deep breath and brought his mouth to hers, filling her with his air. Whoosh, he could hear it enter her lungs and then her smacked her again and watched as more and more water came out. He was about to put his mouth on her again when her eyes flew open, dilated in fear. His lips were lightly touching hers as she took a deep and shaky breath. Fayne's gaze met his and he slowly sat back up away from her. After a moment Fayne sat up quickly and started to throw up next to him, gagging on the water still in her system. Her breathing became quick and her body started to convulse in panic. Without thinking Leric leaned over and rubbed her bare back in comfort. She has smooth skin. Again inappropriate thoughts burst into his mind, and what happened next did help him at all. Fayne, feeling his hands, turned around and hugged him fiercely; her arms circled him as she brought her knees up to her chest. She didn't cry, but she shook and clung to him hard.

"Thank you" he could barely hear her whispered gratitude, and when it finally reached his ears, the fact that a naked human was hugging him became less repulsive. He even allowed himself to rest his head on hers. After all he was just as exhausted as she.

Eventually Fayne must have realized that she was as naked as the day she was borne and she retracted from him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Where is the other man" she asked in a croaky voice.

Leric pointed behind her and he watched as she looked at the man, a curios expression in her eyes, "What should we do with him?" he asked

After a time she spoke, "Give me his clothing and tie him up."

"Why do you want his clothing" asked Leric as he stood and walked towards the unconscious man.

Fayne replied, "I am NOT going to be the naked one in camp, he will be."