When all of the bears are finally dead I take a second to examine our group. Duncan is licking a deep scratch in his side; Morrigan is completely fine and looks like she wants to bite my head off; and Leliana is counting her remaining arrows. I'm soaked in blood, but my only injury is a sore wrist from stabbing a little too deeply into a bear. I put my weapon up and strip the bears of their goods. I get give decent hides and a neat tooth. I take the prizes, then decide what to do with the white flower I saw and picked. It's a pretty flower; however, I've just never been one to keep flowers. It'll wither if I keep if for too long, so I need to get rid of it quick.
Throwing it on the ground to be trampled or crushed seems like a waste. Can I give it to someone? I probably can't keep it until camp, so I'll need to choose someone with me. Duncan would just want to eat it and Morrigan might react negatively to me. Leliana seems like she might like it. My face and neck burn a little at the thought of giving her what can be seen as a 'romantic' gift.
I can always write it off as just a friendly gesture though. I pull out the white flower and twirl it around in my fingers for a few moments. Finally, I accept that I need to give Leliana the flower before I chicken out and end up tossing it. I whistle as I turn around and get everyone's attention turned to me. I motion at Leliana and quietly ask her a question I'm afraid she'll say 'no' to.
"Leliana, would you mind coming with me so that we can have a word?". Leliana nods and begins walking closer to me. Morrigan grumbles and sits down on the ground. Deuncan begins walking towards me, but I shake my head and hold out my hand to motion for him to sit down. My Mabari whimpers a little before flopping down beside Morrigan. I make sure neither of them are going to follow, then walk over to the small area where the first bear was hiding from us. Leliana looks slightly confused as to why I brought her here, but she remains silent and waits for me to be the first to speak.
"I got you something.". I barely manage to squeeze the words out and they're more of a squeak than anything else. Leliana offers me a small reassuring smile and motions for me to keep going. I panic a little at the sight of her kind smile, then practically shove the flower at her. Leliana backs away a small amount when I thrust it at her. Then, she sees what it is and quickly takes it. Neither of us speak as she looks at the white flower in her hand. I've seen them grow in the square back home, so I know they're called 'Andraste's Grace'. That's all I know about the flower. Leliana, however, might know more than me. The sister raises it to her eyes to inspect. Leliana's face seems to suddenly twist into a mask of pure joy. A tremendous smile splits her face and her eyes seem to light up in the happiness.
"These were my mother's flowers! She use to sprinkle them in her clothes!". Well, that's a really, really lucky break for me. Now it'll mean more to her than if it was just a regular old white flower. Leliana keeps looking at the flower in happiness and I quickly think of something that's sure to make her even happier.
"Smell them.". My companion brings the flower up to her nose and takes a deep whiff. Then, she does something I'm not expecting. She throws her arms around me and traps me in a deep, tight hug that makes me tense up. I can't help it. I violently push Leliana away and wrap my own arms around myself while taking a few steps back. Leliana looks like I've just stepped on her puppy, but I honestly don't care. I've had this conversation with her before, and she needs to learn. I was okay with some small touches earlier, but now that I'm calmed down I don't want it. The rogue looks at the ground a little and kicks a rock. I decide to try to explain it to her and give her some reasoning.
"I'm sorry. I just don't like humans touching me before I know them a little better. I just want to get to know you some more, then touching will be completely okay.". Leliana nods a little and tries to make up for what she's done.
"I'm sorry to. I'll make sure to tell you the next time I want to touch you.". I keep rubbing my arms a little, but don't give her anymore trouble for the situation. Leliana carefully wraps the flower and places it in her bag, then gives it a pat for some reason. Finally, we both sense it's time to head back to the group. Duncan and Morrigan both stand up when they see us.
"Are you two done wasting precious time now?". Leliana glares at Morrigan while I ignore her. Everyone stands around for a few seconds before I begin walking up the path. The path leads to another wooden bridge above a small pond. It leads to a small section of land with three wooden bridges. One leads to us, one leads to the alternative path we could've taken to get to this area, and the final bridge leads deeper into the forest.
I take one final glance behind me to see everyone looking at me. Once I'm assured everyone's fine and following me, I cross the bridge onto the strip of land. Suddenly, movement across the bridge from deeper in the woods catches my attention and Duncan starts barking. I let out a deep sigh and wait as three werewolves burst from the undergrowth. The beasts snarl and growl as they charge over towards us. I reach for my weapon, but something happens before I can get my blade beasts stand up and the biggest one cocks his head. Then, he speaks.
"Hrrr. The watch-wolves have spoken truly, my brothers and sisters.". His voice is a deep, growling thing that sounds like he has rocks wedged in his throat. That doesn't seem to stop him from speaking, though.
"Another Dalish come to repay us for our attack, to put us in our place.". I've already grown tired of this conversation. I'm talking to a damned idiot dog that can't tell one elf from another. I decide to tell the beast that, so that he may die with a little more brains in his head.
"I'm not a Dalish! Can't you tell the difference?!". The werewolf snarls and gets down into a pouncing position.
"All of you are the same! The only good elf is a dead elf!". I curl my fingers around the hilt of my blade, but the werewolf stops me by standing up and continuing to speak.
"You speak to Swiftrunner. I lead my cursed brothers and sisters. Hrrr. Turn back now, go back to the Dalish and tell them you have failed.". He takes a step backwards.
"Hrrr. Tell them we will gladly watch them suffer the same curse we have suffered for too long. We will watch them pay!". I take a step forward and am practically smashed up against the werewolf. I only come up to his chest, but I make sure he can feel my armor pressing up against him. I turn my gaze upwards and meet the beast's eyes. His ears are flattened, but he isn't making eye contact. I take another step forward. Swiftrunner breaks and backs up a few feet so that we're not touching. I scoff and give the beast one simple command.
"Begone, beast, or suffer the consequences.". The beast lets out a high-pitched noise from deep in his chest, then snarls at me. However, his snarl is hesitant and not nearly as powerful as last time. He's terrified of me. Good. Maybe he'll learn that dogs shouldn't attack elves unless they're willing to suffer for their idiocy. Swiftrunner suddenly speaks and proves my theory of him being afraid right.
"I do not wish for any more of my brothers or sisters to die today.". He looks over his shoulders and lets out a long, low howl. Then, the werewolves turn around and begin fleeing back into the woods. I smile and look at my group. For once, everyone actually looks pleased. Morrigan is smiling (most likely because I intimidated someone); Leliana is nodding at me (probably for avoiding any death); and Duncan has finally stopped barking his head off. I clap my hands together and turn back around. We cross the bridge into the deeper woods and are instantly met with resistance. Five rabid werewolves and three regular wolves come streaming out of the bushes and attempt to flank us. All of my team is already prepared.
Morrigan slams her staff into the ground and takes a few seconds to transform into a bear; Duncan and I are already charging forward; and Leliana has her bow out and aimed. Two wolves and a werewolf surround Duncan; a wolf and three werewolves focus on me; and one werewolf tries to rush Morrigan. Morrigan and her werewolf end up locked together and rolling on the ground, but she's having the most success. Duncan howls and stuns his (well, all of his besides one) and begins biting at them; however, it's slow going before he'll actually be able to hurt them significantly without assistance from someone.
I currently have my own enemies to vanquish. The wolf is snapping at my heels and running around me, so I ignore him for the moment and attack my stronger foes. The werewolves and currently jostling and shoving one another in an attempt to surround me. I choose one randomly and drive my sword into his fatty shoulder. Blood spurts and the werewolf howls in pain as my blade digs into him. That's when all of them attack. The wolf clamps down on my ankle and holds me still as his three fellows begin snapping and clawing at me. The one on my right bites into my arm and begins shaking his head; the werewolf to my left begins swinging his clawed hands at my side; and the wounded one tries to grab my midsection.
I wrestle my sword into a stabbing position, then strike out at the wounded one. My blade goes in his chest and he goes down. Unfortunately, it's too late to really help anything. The regular wolf wrestles me to the ground and a werewolf pounces onto my stomach. I see his clawed hands raise into the air and a roar come to his lips. Then, an arrow sinks deep into his chest and the beast tumbles off of me. I kick out and snap the normal wolf's neck before rising to face my last opponent. The werewolf leaps and tries to pin me to the ground. I raise my sword and allow the creature to impale itself on my blade.
The monster lets out a single loud roar before falling to the ground. I smirk and look up at my fellows who are still fighting. The rest of my team is still swarmed with enemies (excluding Leliana). I shake some blood off of my blade and begin charging the nearest werewolf. Hopefully, this fight goes similar to the last one.
Note: Sorry about the wait, but begin to expect it. Some personal stuff is currently happening.