For the record it was not as pretty as a picture or a painting or anything. A fug of smoke and just shit hung low to the ground making everything murky. Shadows moved within it, I'm hoping that they are refugees and not like psychopathic killers lurking in the mist. There is a lilting sing song coming from the only really visible thing, the spire to the Chantry. I think I may have reflected the sneer that lifted Morrigan's lip. Alistair looked happy to be there, leaning over the stone fence with a sort of grin on his face. Maybe he thought they wouldn't even make it here. I tried to close out the bickering but it escalated into really mean shots at each other. By that I mean from Morrigan to Alistair.

"Pathetic, a grown man."

Whoa, that wasn't in the game. Totally inappropriate. I turned from my perusal of what I could see of Lothering to look at the two behind me. The witch really wasn't holding back and Alistair was physically shrinking back from the onslaught. I looked to Finn but he didn't look like he even knew how to attempt to stem the tide. I did. I hope that my body could dodge the flames or electricity that was undoubtedly gonna fry my ass. Taking a deep breath I strode forward and slapped her. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. The next sequence of events surprised me. Morrigan's hand rose but to cover the instant red I had caused on her face not to send anything my way. My arm was grabbed again and I was spun behind a large metal clad body. I don't know if it was Alistair or Finn, and while I was awkwardly thankful for the decision and everything, this was my battle. When did I grow such a backbone. I twisted my arm all weird and managed to shimmy out from the grip and slide around him to face Morrigan.

"Enough! Did you not hear me before? This is hard enough and everything, everything has been taken from these two and they are given us in return. I realise its shitty for you, and yeah things are pissing you off but enough. He just lost the man that was his father, everything that he had just got destroyed and you are just being a bitch for the hell of it. If you absolutely need someone to rip into shreds than give me a go. I will give it back but maybe the effort you put in might make you a nicer person the rest of the time."

"Maharial you don't have to."

Alistair was quiet. Oh. Maybe he didn't appreciate the tiny elf standing up for him. I looked at him and he did, he looked like a lost little puppy. But when he met my eyes he seemed to shake it off a bit. I nodded and moved away. The mabari trotted after me and tried to goad me into patting him, which I did after putting up a token show of ignoring him. Yeah. It was too much. I could feel that little quivering in my chest that either presaged crying or that I was really cold. I tried to convince myself I was cold, I mean I was cold and wet with stupid clothing and everything, but this wasn't a temperature thing. I oozed to the ground and sat fully on the stone, my arm around the dog who snuffled my ear. This emotion was far beyond anything I had encountered, the anger at Kane, the disappointment at not getting to the audition to show them what I can do. I mean that had been mega, but face it. I mean I was lost, not even the relative security of my own familiar body, in what is proving to be not a hallucination but real life. In the middle of a very dangerous not human threat, about to descend further into chaos with a civil war and just horrible arguing between people who are supposed to be trying to save everyone. I mean I knew, knew that she was mean that's who she was I mean look where she came from, but ripping into a guy whose life is literally in the shitter? I don't expect everyone to get along, but did you have to actively try and destroy someone like that? The mabari whined a little, and the jaws that had scissored across and through spawn bodies now opened so he could lick the tears from my cheeks. I loved him then for that gesture, whether it was futile or what but I hugged him tighter,

"Thanks Wolfie."

I don't know if he appreciated the nickname but he didn't growl so I took it as an okay sign. I didn't listen to the words floating from behind me. The slap and the words had taken it out of me and all I really wanted was a hot coffee or a cookie or maybe just a hot meal.

"Ana."

I stood with alacrity. It took a little more time to meet her eye but I did. The redness was gone and there was no swelling.

"Morrigan, I'm sorry I shouldn't've done that."

"No, you probably shouldn't have, I did not enjoy it. But I understand."

"It won't happen again. Can we you know, get along?"

I didn't want to ask to be friends it was too early and maybe it would always be too soon. But maybe now we had an accord, of sorts. Alistair and Finn turned to face us, they had been talking quietly together but seeing Morrigan and I, headed towards the depressing doomed Lothering.

I knelt at the riverside, letting Finn talk to the three city elves that had been taken for a ride by the now very dead bandits. After rinsing my hands I rubbed the wetness over my face, getting rid of dried sweat dirt and any last trace of my tears (and of course dog saliva). I had my eyes scrunched closed, waiting for my resolve to harden enough to open them and look at my reflection in the water. It took longer than I thought; it was a presence at my side that had me whipping them open. Thanks Dog. It seemed to laugh at me. But my eyes were open and I quickly swapped its grin for the water. There was no sharp focus, but there was enough for me to have a rough idea what I was working with. I did look remarkably similar to the elf warden that I had created. But there was a more not human caste to my face, not just the ears marking my new species. My eyes were lighter too, quite a light purple, these too were slightly more cat eye shaped? I still looked around the same age that I had been, was, am. Damn it. I had lost some height though I think, but I guess I was the normal height for an elf, not that I had measured myself against the female elf nearer the bridge.

"I hate to break up this intimate moment with yourself, but can you spare yourself?"

I took a bit more time before I stood and nodding to Finn with a little smile. Wolf now swapped me for his most loved person and trotted so close to Finn he was nearly inside him. I nearly lost sight of them as he entered the fog, surprising the panic that surged in my chest. I felt useless. At seeing my new face my brain seemed to have reset. No scratch that, not reset it was on hibernate. Damn, I could feel the tears prickling again, I thought I might have been past that. I made no overt gesture, but managed to snag the line of moisture with a totally nonchalant hand wave. You know, even for the amount of time that I hadn't known either of Alistair or Finn, though of course indirectly the whole game thing…um…right. This time, the whole real person aspect knowing them, thinking back to standing up to Morrigan and worrying if I would get Alistair killed thing, there was quite a sense of emotion towards them. Granted yes, some of it was possibly misplaced anger for Kane via Finn, but for all my tiny and possibly useless body, I wanted to look after them. Jeez, maybe I was a mother hen in my last lifetime. I'm not sure if that extended to Morrigan, that one could look after herself, that was more than obvious, but Finn and Alistair, for being you know a royal bastard (still funny) and the son of a Teryn, they still seemed maybe the word was awkward. Though they could fight like motherfuckers. 'Scuse le French. But I'm more than a little certain that the treaties could take a backseat to ripping Loghain's limbs from his torso, and Howe's too of course. He hadn't come up in our 'conversations' yet, but there was still time. Glancing up, thankful that the little moment of autopilot still had me following the wall of armour in a reasonably straight line. He didn't move for the Chantry, nor did he make to head straight to the King's Way, instead he deviated towards the noise of the tavern. The best place to hear news, not propaganda that would come from the Chantry. I followed, eager to see the next addition to our 'gang'.