"Yes… Of course." He sighed some, taking the bottle quick in his hands. He was glad to hear her conscious and still speaking to him. Not that his treatment would have been any slower or panicked otherwise, but at that moment, he needed to hear her voice. Anders had already lost one person; he wasn't prepared to lose another just as fast.
The mage opened the bottle and then concentrated on a small flame into his right hand, holding it up for light at the moment. He was at least able to see Leliana's eyes; reassuring her sight that he was still there. However, at the moment, he was looking more towards the arrow wound in her chest. The injury required his attention, and the more that it was there—staring back at him—the more worried he was upon seeing it.
"It doesn't look deep, but it might be poisoned." He hesitated, and glancing towards the fastenings of her leather armor. "I'm going to get this out of you and suck out any poison as quickly as I can before putting this directly on it. My magic can heal faster without having to worry about poisons in the body. I am sorry for this, but you'll have to bear with me on it."
Anders reached for the arrow but paused at the moment, looking back towards her. "Hold your breath, and on the count of three, grit your teeth… One. …Two… Three."
The mage quickly jerked the arrow up with all of his might, pulling the arrow almost clean through, if it hadn't been for a few pieces of flesh being torn. He tossed the arrow over his shoulder and quickly unbuckled the leather fastenings of Leliana's chest-plate. Her breasts were revealed to him; which was hardly anything he had even time to really hesitate over. The wound. He was worried about the wound!
By then, his fire in his hands had closed, and Anders hovered slightly over the injury with Leliana in his arms. He placed his lips over the bleeding tender flesh and started to draw out blood from his mouth. On the occasion, he had to turn away and spit what he drew in, back out to the ground next to him. In his quick actions, Anders hardly even realized the approaching flame behind him.
"What are you doing?" Oghren's voice asked from the flame behind them.
Anders exchanged his actions in between drawing in blood and spitting it to the side. "I have to get the poison out."
"Hey, uh… Buddy?" Oghren's voice called again.
"Not now, Oghren!" Anders said frustratingly and then continued.
"Buddy, this arrow's not a poisoned one." Oghren's voice stated quickly.
The mage froze with his mouth still over the injury of Leliana's wound. It was only then had that voice and memory recollected for him to realize that it was in fact Oghren behind them; and from the guessing shadows on the other walls of the cave, he was the one to carry a torch currently. He lifted his head up slightly, but his eyes remained still staring back at Leliana's breasts—as if he was still a bit stunned.
"…Are you sure?" He finally asked the dwarf.
Oghren started to walk closer towards them and lifted his lantern up for light. "Hey, man. If it's one I know, it's axes and arrows… But if you're gonna—"
He paused a moment, realizing that the situation might have been something completely different, and the dwarven's mischievous mind had already began its own fabrication of what was currently going on. He started to grin and chuckle some, looking back towards the blonde male once more.
"Oh, I get it—eh-heh. Trying the ol' poisoned arrow, huh?" The dwarf spoke almost as if all-knowing.
"Dear Maker…" Anders exasperated and moved quickly to apply the painkillers that Leliana had handed him.
He knew she desperately needed them by then, and would have probably been even more impatient for him to heal her wound than before. This in turn shifted his left hand to glow and quickly formed a healing spell over the injury.
Her eyes widened at the mentioning of the word poison. "Wha-What..." She exclaimed, part of her strength came back to her if for a moment to wave her hands "No it can't be, not that." Even then a part of her completely forgot about being able to suck poison out from a wound. So when Anders mentioned it she of course went along with the idea. Knowing her luck the arrow probably was poisoned. She watched as his hands traveled up to her armor latches. She went to stop him, at first. But stopped herself. Usually she wasn't as... Shy? It's like he wasn't the first to ever see her body. It was just going to be awkward after all.
She closed her eyes, her jaw began to clench down and her hand held onto anything she could reach, possibly his upper arms since he would be in so close proximity. As an aspirated groan passed through her now loose lips as her whole facial expression loosened once he pulled out the arrow.
At first when the Mage began sucking upon her wound, she wanted to smack him over the head. She wasn't sure if that hurt worse than the initial wound or not. "Do you have to be so rough?!" She asked, her hands pressed against his chest as her fingertips dug deep into his feathered cloak. Peeking through one eye she began to see a figure begin to walk up to the duo. She tried to tap Anders on the shoulder to grab his attention. As she was thinking the worse. What if it was another Templar? One that was in the cave before them. But as the figure got closer, and the more she began to open her eyes she saw an old comrade.
"Oghren?" She asked. But obviously he didn't hear her as the males began to speak to one another. And then when Oghren so happened to mention the arrow NOT being poisoned, a blink of her eyes and a confused look came over her. She looked to Anders his lips still pressed to her breast. Then she looked to Oghren who had this smug look on his face. All she could imagine was that he was thinking of the most naughtest things one could have. Greatttt. Hes never gonna let this one go. She thought In a sudden reaction once Anders had placed his hands on Lelianas chest, she reached out swinging her arm while her other concealed her other breasts. The palm of her hand made a solid hard contact with the cheek of Anders', as she shook her head in disbelief. "You jerk!" She muttered. "You did that on purpose... Who knows what you would have done if Oghren hadn't shown up!"
Anders's face was tilted away from the smack, and still he carried the look of shock. He did so, probably because all of this had happened a little too fast-paced for him. "…Ow."
"Eh, I don't blame you, Anders. I'd try to get a piece nearly anywhere I could these days too." Oghren sighed and started to turn his attention towards Leliana.
"Oh, for Maker's sake… Hold still." The mage shook his head some, as if coming back to Thedas, and reached for the bard's wrist to hold her arm still in order for him to finish his spell. Once he was done, he then reached for her armor and lightly folded the cloth back over her breasts for the time being. "There."
"So, Leliana. Looking good. Looking real good." The dwarf laughed some and started to fold his arms. "Are you still single?"
"That's not what you ask an injured woman." Anders said; however his tone gradually turned sweeter and yet still a bit sarcastic. Once he stood up he held his hand out towards Leliana to grasp, but he wasn't certain if she'd really take it or not. "But in an answer to your late question, we're both just fine now—and kind of still running from templars. So, if you don't mind, could we still get a move on, please? That'd be great."
"Sure, sure." Oghren boasted but he was still watching Leliana in concern for the moment. "But are you able to walk?"
Leliana looked to her grasped wrist, slightly pulling away. But this didn't break the Mages grip obviously; she just wanted to hit him one more time for good luck is all. Shifting her hues back to her chest, she began watching the magic of the Mage. Feeling the pain from before disappear and the wound that was once was, was no longer there. A smile came over her as she pulled her belonging closer to her, and began to pull on her clothing again.
"Didn't you make a comment once what the Chantry sisters wore under their robes once Oghren? Looks like you got curiosity pleased. Though I wouldn't call myself a sister anymore." She replied "But yes I am single. Believe it or not Dwarf... It gets very lonely, whats a girl to do...?" She said in a kidding tone while shrugging her shoulders. Hoping he wouldn't have some odd comment to that. But he always did... Didn't he?
Leliana shook her head at Anders words of defending her in some way against Oghren. "Don't worry I'm use to it. I had a tent next to this bugger when we were off with the Warden. The worst person to be sleeping next to." She paused as she looked to Anders hand, and actually after all that 'fun-ness' she grasped it, standing to her feet again. Leaning into Anders to finish her sentence in a whisper. "He snores... And pretty loudly from what I remember" She said with a pause. "But come on Anders here we were just having so much... Fun and you have to always ruin our moments with wanting to run off." She replied towards his comment with not wanting to stay in this area too long. "Don't worry Oghren... I'm fine... Where did you come from anyways?"
"Oh, well that was more than I hoped for, eh-heh. You know you can always give ol' Oghren a holler when you need it." Oghren started laugh some in response to Leliana's responses to—and about him. More proudly, he even started to boast once more. "The ladies don't call me 'Aaawh—gren for nothing."
"That was stale back then and it is now." Anders teased him, but he didn't stay long to dance in between. For all he really knew, there would have been more templars coming to the cave soon. Though the moment, he had smiled a bit wider towards listening to Leliana more. Above anything else at the time, he was just glad that she was healed and feeling better.
"Yes, well, it's not brave of me, I know… Being as I don't want my head chopped off or to have my body tied to a tree to be pecked at, at some point, I'd just like to keep moving all the same." The mage piped up chipper still, though it was a bit of a snarky comment.
"You topsiders and your weird traditions…" Oghren made a wince at the thought when he looked at Anders briefly. He turned to take the lead for the moment, but he was continuing to talk. "Well, as you all know, I came from the stone, of course! I'd uh-"
The dwarf paused some from his entrance and then looked back up towards Anders and Leliana. "Oh. Wait. Hey, Leliana. Did you know I made the cut? I'm a bone-a-fide Grey Warden, now."
Leliana jolted back in a confused manner at Oghren's name he said the ladies had called him. She didn't need to know such a things, and she thought many women wouldn't come close to Oghren really. With him smelling like a brewy almost all the time. "Really... Do you have any names that surpass Oghren's here Anders?" She asked her eyes narrowing to Anders in a suspicious manner.
"But it would be so much fun watching them peck at you Anders" She nudged, giving him a smile. "I mean after all you let that arrow impale me, so I need a good laugh here and there once in a while." She ended with a wink of her eye. "But thank you Anders if you weren't here I would of been a goner for sure."
Before she could begin to start to even take one step towards the way Oghren had come from, she was stopped by him speaking of becoming a Grey Warden. Of all things her little dwarf was a Warden. "Wow... Really?" She asked turning to him. "Looks like the order is picking up finally?"
The mage had held his tongue for the most part. He was still a little bewildered that Oghren and Leliana knew each other. Then again it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise; not after Leliana mentioned that she knew the Warden; from what he could now assume as the Hero of Ferelden. Thedas just seemed to have gotten a little smaller to him right at that moment.
"Yep." Oghren beamed, happily still boasting on. "The Grey Wardens there just took one look at me and said, 'you'd make a fine addition to the team!' Heh-heh. Ol' Anders, here, is one too—"
"Ex-nay on Warden-ehy…!" Anders winced when the dwarf thumbed his attention over towards him.
"What? Are you hiding from them or something?" He asked him curiously then.
"Sort of." Anders said and finally started to give in to the stroll to where Oghren was taking them. The further they got away from the sealed off entrances and past the dwarven secret entrance, the better he was starting to feel. It wasn't his greatest moments of ease, but it was at least better.
"To tell you the truth, we all thought you were dead. We saw the body and everything at Amaranthine." Oghren added soon afterwards.
Anders's smile couldn't have gotten brighter upon hearing that. "Perfect… If anymore Templars, or Grey Wardens happen to cross your path, tell them exactly that."
Leliana listened to the men speak to one another, as she walked slowly behind them. Amazed by what she heard about Anders from the Templar's to the sisters as they so happened to leave out the little detail, that Anders was a Warden. She picked up her pace in a short run until she was by his side looking up at him. "A Warden huh? Why did you never let me know? And why are you running from the Wardens what I got from them was that they were pretty badass?!" She then looked over to Oghren for reassurance.
"Did the body actually look like him?" She asked Oghren when he spoke of this body they found. "Maybe if we get it around enough people will believe your dead, and then we don't have to keep running." Reaching up, she began scratching at the back of her neck. And with looking further ahead she began to see the end of the tunnel and a smile began to form upon her lips. She looked down to Anders hand, which she grasped and practically begun pulling him along. Once again she picked up her pace to run towards the exit, un-hesitant what may lay on the other side. "Come on slow poke." She hollered at Oghren and looking back to Anders before telling him in a jokingly tone. "Maybe you should heal me more often it seems like it helps energizing me."
When Leliana questioned Anders about why he hadn't mentioned that he was a Grey Warden like Oghren, and especially after seeing how boastingly proud the dwarf was at the moment from taking compliments from a pretty lady, it nearly took everything within himself to keep from rolling his eyes. While he could understand the great pride and traditions the Grey Wardens generally had as a whole, he knew that because of his 'special condition' they would have treated him no different now than of what the templars would have done to him. Besides, Anders was more of a coward than brave hero; and he'd rather not risk his neck when he didn't need to do it…he never did.
"Let's just say, there are some things they and I don't really get along on, and just leave it at that." He answered her after a while.
Oghren glanced over his shoulder, looking up towards him. "You're still pissed that the new Warden Commander made you get rid of your cat, aren't you?"
"Ser Pounce-A-Lot did nothing to him. All he ever did was cuddle my neck." Anders gave a slight fake pout and folded his arms. Though, despite his joking aside, it was clear to see that he really didn't agree with the decision of having to give up the kitten. He paused briefly and looked back down at Oghren. "…Speaking of Stroud, is he with you? …I'll give you a sack of honey-mead from the Free Marches, if you keep me being down here a secret."
"Done and done." Oghren laughed and looked on ahead, "But you know, you'll have to do some bargaining with Sigrun too."
"Wonderful!" Anders started to chime, but Leliana's question had Oghren a bit slow to answer. The dwarf really wasn't certain, of course. It was years ago.
Suddenly his hand was tugged and Anders was being pulled even farther into a sprinting run. Having his hand being guided faster and more into the dwarven city, the better he was feeling. They reached the nearest tavern…well the only tavern in that area…of where Oghren and Sigrun were staying together. After a few strong drinks, the group had started to catch up even more.
"I just can't believe it…" Sigrun had started to say as she started to sit down at the table, sitting across from Anders, but next to Oghren. She reached up with her tiny hand to touch the stubble on Anders's chin and grinned. "I mean… We all saw you down. The arrow went right about here… or maybe it was the neck."
"Let me guess: a man in robes, badly burned…?" Anders asked sharp-wittingly and reared back his head slightly. "Do all mages look the same to you?"
"Well, it's good to see you, still… you need to either make up your mind if you're going to grow out that manly beard or shave it off!" Sigrun teased.
"Hey, hey! Women like my peach fuzz, thank you." Anders teased back.
Oghren started to snicker. "If you grew it out more, there'd be something a woman could actually hold on to, if you know I mean. Right Leliana?"
When they all had made it to the tavern and Leliana found herself around the others, she just listened while the others teased Anders about his facial hair. Reaching out with her hand, she would cup his chin, and if he allowed her she would turn his head towards her. "Hmm." She replied to Oghren's words. "There are other things to grab." She then reached back ruffling his hair about for a moment before dropping her hand back to her side. While using her other hand to grasp onto her drink. "Now Anders remember no over drinking this time." She teased.
Looking to Sigrun and Oghren she leaned into the table completely ignoring Anders presence next to her as she made a motion with her hand as if to draw the two dwarfs in. "Why don't you guys tell me about good old Anders here?" She asked excitedly. "I doubt the lump will tell me much, after all he left out the goods of him being a Warden after all." She said looking back to him. Remembering him saying something about a kitten, a kitty? Whatver it was. She was surprised the Warden had made him give it away when she was given a Nug from the very same person "Do you even know where you cat is? I mean, the Warden once got me a Nug and I still have him to this day. Not with me of course poor thing would be neglected but the Warden heard how much I adored the thing and got me one. Then again I could make him do anything for me..." She said with a wide smile. "Such a cute nug he is."
He raised a slight eyebrow towards her when the woman practically looked him over like a piece of meat to be judged. Not that he minded at all; it was just a little unexpected of reactions from her. Still, her answer had him grinning a bit and soon another eyebrow wiggle of approval towards the two dwarves next. The continued question about the whereabouts of his cat made the mage shrug some and look off to the side. He really didn't like discussing it since it did cause him to miss his feline companion.
"You took a dwarven delicacy in as a pet?" Sigrun asked, a little confused and then started to gasp in a bizarre connection soon to come. "Wait! So, does that mean topsiders consider cats as delicacies?"
"What? No!" Anders quickly protested in shock of the question; which in turn left Sigrun quickly apologizing to the mage left and right. Her big cheeky grin was proud on her face, but it was the look of a foot-in-mouth moment.
"It was a different Warden Commander, not the Hero of Ferelden." Oghren started to explain and reached for his mug. "After the battle over in Amaranthine, an Orlesian Grey Warden Commander named Stroud took in charge of our ranks. The Warden that you and I know, has gone off in search of another adventure somewhere else. 'Said something about finding Morrigan…"
"Stroud and Anders had their disagreements, but the rumor claimed that it was stemmed from him forcing him to get rid Ser Pounce-A-Lot." Sigrun added.
"The warden said he …made me too soft, so I had to give him away." Anders finished for the both of them, and took his mug to drink; whether just to rebel or to have a toast to his lost cat, it was unsure. All the same, he chugged back a long drink, and kept on gulping.
"Anders and Justice use to banter all the time back then too." Sigrun added, causing Anders to choke on his drink in the background. "Justice use to say that Anders enslaved the cat by forcing him to be his companion and Anders felt it necessary to explain to Justice what the term 'pet' means. It was so cute."
"For the record, Sigrun, I never harmed my cat—would ever dream of harming my cat—and certainly never planned of having my cat harmed in our future untold adventures. There was just no place of safety I could keep him." Anders responded quickly and sat back up, placing his mug back down to the table.
"I know, I know." Sigrun beamed brightly again. "Your point is—and was—still valid. With all the darkspawn running around. You were a good Papa-cat-owner, Anders."
"Thank you." Anders nodded back with a smile in return.
"Justice was another member of the crew too. Somehow, I got dragged into the Fade with the others, in the mix of that mumbo-jumbo, this spirit claiming himself to be Justice was spat back out into the real world. He inhabited an old Grey Warden's dead corpse and the Warden said it was good enough to join the club." Oghren laughed in his explanation; remembering the good ol' days. He then scratched under his nose at his mustache some and leaned slightly against his chair. "Whatever happened to that old Justice spirit, I wonder…"
"What do you mean?" Anders asked, feeling a slight bead of sweat glide down his forehead. "He's dead, you know that."
"Yeah… But still…" Oghren paused some and looked back towards Anders. "Do you think he made it out of Amaranthine too?"
"Justice was strong, but his body wasn't." Anders added; though his tone sounded more like a confirmation that "Justice" was dead, and then leaned back to order another round of drinks for the meantime.
"A shame… a real sodding shame." Oghren shook his head to the thought.
"Yeah. I hardly knew him as much as either of you two did." Sigrun frowned a little.
"Oh Anders don't let it go to your head." She joked, when she saw his expression of him wiggling his eyebrows. "That sounds nothing like my Warden." She stated, as her brows began furrowing as she spoke. While she began resting her back against her chair. "This commander though sounds like a jerk. I would of told the guy to shove it if he told me to get rid of my precious Nug. Then again I do have charm in other areas with men then you do, so it probably helped me getting my Nug and keeping him? Have you ever thought of getting a new kitty?"
Looking to Sigrun, Leliana rose her arms shaking them left to right as she mentioned her Nug being a Dwarven delicacy. She couldn't help herself when she saw such a cute animal. "I can't believe you guys eat the poor things. There so adorable with those floppy ears and those squeaky squeaks. I could never see eating my poor Nug."
Next she looked to Oghren, as he spoke of their past Warden and searching for Morrigan kind of angered her. She crossed her arms over her frame firmly, as her orbs glued to the floor board. "I'll never understand him... Looking for that witch. Its not like there's anything great to find, once he does and if he does find her." She said in a kind of irritated tone, she was horrible at hiding her emotions. Specially when it came to someone she cared so deeply for once. The odd hatred and jealously towards the witch didn't help. But who wouldn't if their Warden left to find such a woman?
After sighing she looked to Anders and his explanation of his cat making him to soft for the Wardens brought a smile to come to her lips as she rested her arms back to the table. "You are a bit of a softy." Leliana added. "Just look how easy it was for me to convince you to let me come along with you." She teased.
Reaching out, Leliana grabbed onto her new drink which was placed on the table. Her fingers interlacing with one another as she listened of this Justice they spoke of. She was strangely confused now. They spoke of him, Justice as they knew him. The last she heard Justice was a part of Anders. Her confused expression showed it all as she shifted her head wanting to say something. But halted as she began to open her lips to begin to speak as she saw Anders whole stature change before her. "Dead?" She began to question curiously uncertain if her single word would be heard, as she brought her drink to her lips taking a small sip. "Where are all these Warden's popping out from anyways. It seems not long ago the order was so small." She asked hoping not only to change the subject but put more ease on Anders. She paused though so she could have began counting to herself on her fingers of how much time had passed. "Err.. Okay maybe its been a few years but still..."
"There was help from the Orlesians once they had word of the straggling darkspawn still lurking about after the Blight." Oghren shrugged some in his explanation, "And after killing the Arch Demon, the Grey Wardens immediately looked to recruit more numbers for Ferelden's protection. It's been a struggle ever since, but we're winning."
"So! Is that why you've tunneled yourselves back underground here or did you just miss the dirt?" Anders beamed brightly in a tease; however, the laughs he got from the dwarves showed that they took it as a true compliment.
"Maybe a little of the first part…" Ogrhen started to say, but Sigrun finished for him quickly.
"Stroud is having us force back the straggling darkspawn surfacing from around the edges of the other dwarven tunnels." She explained and reached out to hold Oghren's hand before turning towards him and giving a smile. "And when the time comes, we're going to join the Legion of the Dead together."
Anders could feel a cold sweat collect from the back of his neck once more. He didn't like the talk of the Legion of the Dead; not after everything he learned about what it meant and why—for whatever true reason Ogrhen had—for wanting to go back underground. He was certain the dwarf didn't want to really talk about something that personal, and Anders certainly didn't want to hear it.
But being the slightly naïve one to Grey Warden traditions and knowledge, Sigrun turned to look back towards Anders. "Why are you hiding from Stroud, again?"
The mage kept his smile pleasant while the waitress came by to exchange drinks and deliver the next round for them. "Come on, Sigrun. There's so much more I want to do before digging around underground… and if I have to listen to Stroud's prattling on and on about his proud mustache, I'll probably hurl!"
She laughed and reached for her glass to clink it against the others before taking a sip.
"I have to admit that is one thing I do not miss on our adventures." She said, speaking towards Oghren about the Darkspawn. "Bloody darkspawn were enough to give you nightmares just the way they looked, you didn't need to become a Grey Warden to get that luxury." Looking down to the table Leliana's hues caught onto Sigrun's and Oghren's hands holding one another. A smile had come over her as she looked to the two but more so to Oghren as she spoke. "I see you found someone to put up with your crazy antics?" She teased.
When the next drink was placed in front of her, Leliana looked to it, and then her current drink which she found herself not even finished with… Yet. Picking it up her older drink, she began to chug it until there was no more. Before setting it down she began looked over to the crew, raising her glass to clack it with the others, and begun to sip on the newer one. "Who's gonna pay for this?" She asked with a pause. "Its not going to be like in that other town where we just left now is it Anders?" She asked in a teasingly tone.
Looking ahead Leliana saw a few bards, and instruments. Her eyes lit right up as she rose a hand and an index finger to the group signaling she would be right back. As she stood from her chair and made her way over to the bards, taking her drink along.
"Can you play me a song?" She asked one of the Bards.
The bard nodded his head in a response, standing to his feet grabbing his instrument in hand, he gestured his friends in the back to follow. Slowly started the lute, then the drums, and a small harp in the far back could be heard softly, following the mans words, as he began to sing.
A smile smeared across her lips, as she twirled around and ran back over to the table setting her drink down. "Anders…" She said in a sweetly toned voice, in it could clearly be heard of her wanting something from him. She extended her arm out, her hand reaching out for his. "Wanna dance?"