Secrets
Alistair
He jolts awake, breathing heavily, letting the remnants of the nightmare fade, then, exhaling, falls back onto his bedroll. He listens to the sounds of the night, debating with himself whether to try and sleep or get up and ... do something. He isn't sure what. The sounds of crickets reach his ears, and then the patter of rain on the canvas. He instantly thinks of Morgana, wondering why this seems to have become her weather to him now, and manages to make a decision. He'll get up. Not because she might be awake from a nightmare too, that's just ridiculous, but because he has jobs to do. Yes. Jobs.
As he stumbles out of the tent, still bleary-eyed and half-asleep, the sound of female voices reaches his ears; one of them is Orlesian, and they're coming from the woods - as if they've gone somewhere they don't want to be heard. The rain manages to jolt him awake, and he can't help but listen to the conversation; he stays as quiet as possible, sitting by the dead campfire (the ground isn't too wet yet) and using the "you can't see them, they can't see you" principle.
"Where exactly did you hear this?"
"A history book. I was a Tower mage, Leliana - we read."
"Amongst other things, I hear." He can hear the raised eyebrow in Leliana's voice, and cringes, remembering what the templars said about the mages' promiscuity.
"That's not true! Well, maybe some of it, Anders had every girl in the Tower - " He frowns, hoping that number didn't include her. It bothers him, somehow. " - But that's beside the point. Is it true?"
"I suppose it is. In Orlais..."
Morgana's anger is quiet, icy, and she rarely interrupts anyone, but now she is loud, aghast. "You just... neglected to mention that you were a bard?"
"I was. I am not now, so why should it matter?"
Rain's dripping down the back of his neck, and he has to stifle a cough.
Leliana sighs. "Alistair, stealth has never been your forte."
He heads towards the voices, soon finding himself in front of the two women, slightly shamefaced. "I... ah... archdemon nightmare?" he tries, cautiously.