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And the saga continues...I hope you enjoy! : )
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Blessings!
Kai allowed Wynne to fuss over her for a moment before she directed the mage to see to Hessyn and any others who may have been injured, as the cut on her neck was shallow and had already stopped bleeding. "Well, little sister, life with you has never been boring." Fergus walked up and pulled her in close. He brushed her hair back from her face and looked at the cut on her neck before sweeping her into a fierce hug. He kissed her forehead before releasing her and stepping back. Grinning, he turned to walk up the hill to where Morrigan waited, clapping Zevran on the shoulder as he went past.
Kai watched as Fergus and the witch embraced. Zevran's fingers stroked along her neck near the wound. "Your brother is so right, my dear Kaidana. As a Crow, trouble likes to find me on occasion just to remind me that Fortuna gives with her right hand and takes with her left. With you, mi amada, trouble always knows right where you are at all times, does it not?"
Kai grinned, "I do seem to be the center of Trouble's attention ever since I was small." She grabbed his fingers and kissed them.
Zev was about to say something further when a rather irate voice sounded out behind them, "What by the Creators' tits and stones was that thing, Warden?" Kai turned to find Keeper Hyssan with a scowl on his face. Kai went to him, trying to assess the man's injuries and to formulate a response for the elder when she wasn't even sure exactly what the creature now lying in pieces of blue ice on the ground had been. A darkspawn, but not one Duncan had ever mentioned.
"Ali?" Kai asked into her own head.
"Duncan says the only speaking one he knew of was the Architect. Who this 'Father' is and how this talking darkspawn came to be, he cannot say." She could feel his scowl and pictured his eyes crimping at the corners as they did when he worried, "I do not like this mi' gra. Please be extra careful. If this Father's hench-toady doesn't return, I suspect he will send others."
"I will, beloved." Kai sighed, just one more thing she had to unravel on top of everything else. She repressed the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose again and realized that Hessyn was standing looking at her with his arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his face. Another belabored huff of air escaped her lips, "I am afraid I can only answer that in part, Keeper. It is a darkspawn."
"One that speaks in complete sentences? I thought only Alphas and Emissaries spoke, and they not more than a few simple words. Just what is going on here? Is this something else you have kept from us to garner our support?" Hessyn's bright green eyes stared into her blue ones.
"I give you my word, Hessyn, I did not. I know as much as you on this." Kai did her best not to flinch, though she felt guilty for having brought yet more trouble to the elves's doorstep. At the rate she was going, the elves would never trust humans again. At the rate she was going she might just start another war with them. Maker's blood!
Hessyn stood looking at her for several moments more, his expression unreadable. He then nodded and uncrossed his arms, "I think after the clean up is organized, we need to have another meeting, Warden." Kai watched as the keeper turned on his heel and began speaking in Dalish to his fellow elves, pointing at the chunks of darkspawn and the other bodies lying in various places. He turned and nodded his head once at Kai and then back at the way to the meeting tent indicating she should follow.
Kai sighed, a deep outpouring of breath, and looked down at her feet before making the move to do as she was bid. Her stomach gave a louder rumble of protest. Sod it! She still hadn't managed anything to eat. She did pinch the bridge of her nose this time, called to Argus and wended her way up the hill in the wake of Keeper Hessyn. She passed by Aneirin and Nissyen, stopping briefly to speak with them. Aneirin assured her they would help with the clean up, and she pointed them in the direction of the food, promising to find them lodging so they need not traipse through the forest in the dark. She continued up the hill and entered conference pavilion once more. She sat in her previous seat with Argus lolling at her feet while they waited for the leaders to return.
In the light of the lanterns, it was apparent that Hessyn had suffered some minor cuts, one of which leaked a trail of blood down the side of his head and around one pointed ear. Kai stood and approached the elder. She hoped she had not caused the injury when she knocked him and the genlock over, "May I?" She asked him and pointed to area of the cut. He nodded and allowed her to tilt his head to get a better look. The wound was shallow, but as head wounds tended to do, it had bled profusely and this one still oozed as she watched. Kai looked up to see Wynne and Zevran entering the tent as well. Both held a tray with food and drink on it. Wynne put hers down at Kai's nod in her direction.
Wynne began to tend to the keeper with a firm but gentle hand, "Thank you, Warden." He grimaced as Wynne tilted his head and placed a glowing hand on the wound. Kai wasn't sure if that thank you was a sarcastic one or not. Rather than take a chance on angering the man further, she decided to take it as sincere. She smiled and nodded and went back to her seat. Zev sat in his previous place and placed a bowl of baked fish on a bed of espinaca, which looked to have been drizzled with some sort of translucent brown sauce, in front of her and handing her a horn fork. It smelled divine and tasted even better, though at this point she could have chewed on the scarred wooden table before her and found it tasty. She kissed him by way of thanks. He grinned and nudged her bowl closer after breaking off a hunk of bread and buttering it for her. She figured Zev expected her eating to be interrupted, as it always seemed to be. Kai smirked to herself, but continued to scoop up fish and greens with her fork in a rapid motion, just in case.
The other elders filed in taking their places and looking between Kai and Keeper Hessyn with curious glances. Out of politeness, they looked but did not whisper amongst themselves as humans would have. They were content to wait patiently. Kai could see that "shemlen" or "quick children" applied to more than her species' short lifespan. Keeper Lanaya waited until the last of the Keepers and their Firsts had found their places before setting guards at the entry and closing the canvas.
Kai decided she had best start; she was the "Grey Warden" here, technically. She stood up and had a wild moment to hope she didn't have food stuck in her teeth, which made her want to giggle. Maker! Speaking in front of groups of people made her nervous. She cleared her throat, "Yet again, I owe you all an apology for bringing ill to your camp and clans. As you can see, Keeper Hessyn was correct, where I go trouble follows. The darkspawn were after me, so I will leave as soon as it is light. I will not endanger you or yours any further."
"It seems a little late for that does it not?" Hessyn stood up and leaned on the table towards her, "Did you know about this new breed of darkspawn?" Kai shook her head. "I would also ask you, Warden, were you aware that if I died in battle that Nelasyra my First would have been made Keeper of our clan?" Kai nodded. "And as you have been paying attention to these proceedings, you also know she sides with taking your round ear refugees?" Again she nodded at him. He cocked an eyebrow at her, "You could have let them kill me. I was too far away from the others, they would never have known you were close enough to save me. And yet, you still risked your life and risked capture to save me, shem." Hessyn straightened up looking her with his intense leaf colored gaze, "I would have let you die to get what I wanted, were I in your position. You know this?" Kai nodded again. "Hmmphf, we will take your refugees then. I agree to side with all the others. And I wish you luck, Warden. I just won't say what type of luck." And with this Hessyn laughed and stuck out his arm grasping Kai's in a warrior's grasp.
There were some hours of talk about where to meet again so that the refugees could be brought to safety. The coordination of each group, who would gather which set of escapees, which of Kai's allies would do the gathering, and what clans would take whom all had to be settled. Then, the arguments began again about the meeting point for accepting the new temporary members of the Dalish clans. An accord was finally struck that the clans would all travel to the area that had been stripped by the Tevinters near Gwaren. That area had been the place they had intended to hold their yearly meeting in any case. The elvhenan had been working on replanting the trees there. All the clans would be able to work towards that goal while they waited for the families and soldiers to arrive.
Kai sent word via procul globe and set things in motion from her end. Her Scath and her companions at Highever would see that the families from the north, west and southwest were gathered and escorted safely to the rendezvous point. Kai would gather a group in the town of Watersedge in the Bannorn of Rainesfere, working their way back down the Imperial Highway gathering the rest before meeting the others in the forest glade.
With the final plans all hammered out, and it certainly felt as if a hammer had been used on her skull, she stumbled off to bed. Kai had finally convinced Zevran and Wynne to go to their tents earlier and get some sleep. Zev had left reluctantly, but she convinced him that nothing fascinating or dangerous was likely to happen, that he might as well go and get some rest, and that she would be there shortly. That was hours ago. When Kai finally walked out of the council tent, the camp was dark and quiet. Only those guards on watch or those who couldn't sleep were present. The air had that soft, thick feeling of early morning an hour or two before sunrise. Sounds were dampened and muted as Kai made her way to the tent she and the others shared.
One lone pool of candlelight guided her to where Zev lay. He was sleeping sitting up with a book open on his chest. She took a moment to watch his face, so relaxed and unguarded. She changed as quietly as she could into her shift and bent down to stroke a hand along his tattooed cheek and to kiss his still lips before blowing out the candle. As her hand and lips touched him she felt a hand squeezing her throat. Amber eyes looked into hers with a passing of aggression then regret. His fingers released her throat immediately and before he could think about it more she grinned at him, saying before she brushed her lips to his, "I am glad that retiring from the Crows and settling down with a lifemate and two children hasn't dulled your reflexes any."
"I am afraid with you, mi cielo. I had best keep them more finely honed, now more so than ever." He returned her grin, and she wrinkled her nose at him before she went to her side of the bed and crawled in under the covers. Zev blew out the candle, placing his book on the nightstand before tucking her in against him resting her head on his chest. She fell asleep listening to his breathing and the steady beat of his heart.
Kai felt the soft grass beneath her feet and heard the chirping of the crickets singing into the still night air. Little points of light from fireflies danced and looped through the dark night, as if the stars had come to the earth to do a jig amongst the trees and blades of grass.
As always she felt the tug of the unseen connection between them before she even felt his warmth as he wrapped his muscled arms around her and buried his face in the hair at her neck, leaning her back against his chest. She took a moment to revel in the strong comfort and safety of him. He was her haven and her sanctuary, "Hello, lover." He gave a cynical bark into her hair, "Alistair, Ali, mi' gra." She turned around to face him, putting her hands on either side of his face, "I know you are worried, so am I. As if Anora isn't enough to deal with. But it is what it is. These mysterious talking darkspawn are just something else that will have to be dealt with as best we can and only as the problem arises. I have another task to worry about right now, and people's lives depend on it. You and I are just going to have to take it as it comes and trust that I have what it takes to succeed. Now if I can convince myself that I do..."
His hands gripped her waist as he pulled her to him, putting his forehead to hers, "I know you do. I never doubted it, not ever. It was obvious you had what it took from the moment we met and you told that mage off. It wasn't just that I didn't want to lead you know. I mean I didn't...really want to lead, you know that thing about getting stranded sans pants. But I knew you had what I didn't to end the Blight. It wasn't that I let you take over. It was just natural and for the best. My fear isn't that you don't have what it takes, my fear is that our children will lose their mother. And yet a part of me wants you back in the Fade with me, so I am...conflicted shall we say? And then I feel guilty because I'm conflicted. It is quite a tangle I find myself in."
"Mmm, me too, as I feel the same way." Kai murmured as she put her lips to his running her fingers in his hair as he pulled her closer, molding their bodies together. One thing she loved about the Fade, clothes were not a hindrance; if she wanted them gone, they were. For both of them.
Alistair looked down and grinned, "You are a saucy minx, aren't you?" In response she simply ran her fingers up from the base of his spine causing him to shudder, moaning as he took her lips with his before trailing them down her throat. He carried her and laid her on a blanket on the grass, his lips trailing lower before capturing her own once again. The taste of him slipped inside of her, like some spell binding her to him. When he demanded more, she followed. Her fingers kneaded shoulders and along the ridged muscles of his back, delighting her as she aroused him.
She reveled in the feeling of being with him once again, and the sensations he awoke in her. She always felt so blissfully alive. And more than that, she felt joyfully whole. They rose together and danced in the early summer air like the fireflies. Dipping and cresting, heart centered to heart, soul to soul, mouth to mouth. She was his, and he was hers.
Kai savored the way his callused fingers teased her breasts, the tips hardening causing her whole body to vibrate with pleasure. The softness of his lips in contrast to the slight scuffing of her soft skin from the stubble on his chin, which when applied to various parts of her body cause her to gasp. A sip here, a caress there, a nibble, a lick, all slowly given and taken as a treasure, one she knew she would have to carry with her back from the Dream Fade.
When he slipped inside her, their gentle rise and fall mimicked the dancing lights around them, mate seeking mate. Shimmering and building in slow waves of pleasure like waves on Lake Calenhad. No one, nothing else existed, and she could forget it all in this lovely moment of bliss. It filled her heart and overflowed as their lips met again. Their fingers entwined as they slipped off the world together.
Later, as she lay with her hand cupped on his chest the steady beat of his heart thrumming beneath her fingers with one of his hands covering hers, she realized her mind had created the Dream Fade version of the Brecilian Forest when they had been there during the Blight. She and Ali had snuck off to be together during the problem of the werewolf plague. She couldn't help but smile as she tucked herself tightly around him, head on his shoulder as he grasped her to him, and they both dozed off...
She woke curled on her side as Zev's fingers stroked her hair, and he blew air onto her ear as he whispered softly into it, "Mi querida, it is time to rise." His lips brushed her ear in a kiss. She opened her eyes and gave him a sleepy smile, rubbing her eyes a little. The yawn came unexpectedly and made her blush. Zev chuckled and gave her a sympathetic grin, "I am sorry, mi amada, I let you sleep as long as I could considering the time of the night you stumbled into our tent. But I know you are worried about Kylon and the others. You would not thank me, I think, if I left you to sleep as much as you need, no?"
She grinned at him, "No, probably not." She kissed him and threw back the covers to rise and get dressed.
"I have eaten my breakfast. Your brother, our delicious witch and the delectable Wynne are all breaking their fast. I am going to see to the Ceffyls, and I will get them saddled and packed up. I think you should join our intrepid group and eat while you can. We know how you and food seem to have a tricky relationship." He grinned wider and kissed her back before turning on his heel and leaving the tent. She found their bags already packed, and she folded her shift and put it in one of the packs before making her way out of the tent herself and to the communal food area.
After eating a quick breakfast and leaving a few coins with Lanaya for her and the other elders in lieu of their contributing to the food for all with hunting, Kai stopped by to say good bye to Nissyan and Aneirin. The old mage hugged her, handing her a sack of biscuits and a bracelet like a cuff in what looked like amber with writing which looked like ancient Elvish, though the design was worn down by the years. She looked to Aneirin, who merely shrugged and shook his head. And as she did not have the time to show it to the elders and make inquiries, Kai contented herself that she could ask when she returned with the refugees.
Once they hit the Imperial Highway, they made good time. They stopped overnight at Lothering which had been slowly rebuilt and repopulated with help from the Greif Argent. Lothering wasn't quite as pretty as a painting yet, but it was certainly better than the diseased and tainted husk it had been when they had passed by it on their travels during the Blight. They stopped again at Redcliffe, staying at the inn named Guilty Pleasures run by that fat coward, Lloyd, before heading out in the morning light once more. They reached the outskirts of a town called Watersedge in the Bannorn of Rainesfere. Kai hoped to get a couple of rooms for the night at The Hunter's Horn, an inn that she and Duncan had stayed at when they had been traveling to Ostagar what felt like three lifetimes ago.
"Remember your cheese dream? With the cheddar mice and the bread cat?" Ali's voice giggled into her ear.
"Our dream as you recall. You were there, even if we both thought it was our own separate dream at the time." She smiled. That was a pleasant memory now, though the circumstances that had lead to that dream had not been so pleasant. She had just traveled with Duncan tormented by horrible nightmares after she had lost her home and her loved ones to Howe's treachery. Kai absently rubbed the leather of her armor covering the scar on her forearm a little above the wrist. While she and Duncan had been guests at The Hunter's Horn, she had tried to kill herself, the trauma of the events at Highever having caught up with her a week after they began their escape. At the time, she had tried to end it all with a broken bottle, suffering through a fit of despair coupled with exhaustion. Now, she was planning to lodge in that very inn once again.
Luckily, the days were longer allowing for extended travel time. Still, twilight was falling fast towards dusk. They were drawing close to the town when she heard the sounds of spells being cast. She was very familiar with that sound, having traveled with two mages for over a year and a half. She gave her companions a quick glance before urging Luna into a gallop in the direction the noises seemed to be coming from.
A small bend opened to a straighter section of road where a man stood surrounded by corpses. In the murky light of the sun settling below the horizon, Kai could see that the body count appeared quite high. From the unique odor wafting on the warm breeze, she could tell some of the recently deceased must be darkspawn. She watched the mage's fingers spark with electricity as it arced into one standing body, a darkspawn hurlock by the look of it. It stood burning like a torch, twitching before falling to the ground as the man spun around to see who was coming up behind him.
As he turned toward them, the light of his spell jumped between his fingers glowing brighter as he began to cast in their direction. His intentions were stopped before they could come to fruition when the man found himself enveloped in the glowing rings of the paralysis spell that Wynne cast on him. Kai couldn't help but laugh as she heard Wynne exclaim in her best acerbic tone, "I think not, young man!"
Kai and her companions dismounted in front of him. She took a closer look at the mage standing frozen but for his eyes which followed her as she approached. She cocked her head to the side while addressing him, "If you promise to be a good boy, I will have my friend remove the spell. Blink once if you understand. Keep in mind that if you lie, I can easily remove your head." She gave him an impish grin and watched his hazel eyes blink at her, "Ah, mean to be nice then? I must say, you don't really play well with others do you?" She laughed as Wynne's spell vanished and she could see the tension of his body relax.
She was pleasantly surprised when he chuckled back at her while blowing on his fingers as if they were hot while shaking his hands. He looked around at the carnage, which included some Templars amongst the evidence of mayhem, "Yes, well...I didn't do it. Well, not all of it anyway. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not terribly broken up about them dying to be perfectly honest. Biff, there, made the funniest gurgle when he went down." Kai watched as he nonchalantly pointed to one of the corpses clad in Templar armor.
Kai heard Zev give a low little chuckle, "So, what name do you go by?"
"You may call me Anders, dear lady. I am a mage," He lowered his head like a mischievous and naughty child, "And sadly, a wanted apostate. We were stopping in the town here on our way to the tower. Just a short rest they said. Until I escaped them by lying about having eaten something that didn't agree with me and needing to use the outdoor privy. The others were about as smart as a bag of rocks, truth be told. My mate Biff there, well he was slightly smarter so he was in charge. And he wasn't the brightest star in the sky despite his rank. But Biff, to his credit, figured out my deceit. Hence he found me outside of town making my escape when these nasty looking fellows decided to join in and a party began. Now they're dead. Such a shame."
"So you escaped Templars only to get jumped by darkspawn?" Kai shook her head.
"What can I say, dear lady? I am so handsome everyone seeks me out, particularly the ladies," he winked at her. The light was rapidly diminishing. Kai laughed, "Look, I have no love of the Templars or the Circle or their rules. And I know what it is to be hunted and wanted."
"Oh, a woman with a checkered past, how...intriguing. My dear lady, you have me captivated." Anders leaned in close and gave her a charming leer at which he found himself with a very sharp dagger point gently resting under his stubbled jaw. His hazel eyes grew wide, and he grinned raising his hands in supplication, "Ah, you are spoken for I see. Well no offense, my elven friend, I don't poach. Well, much anyway." And the mage winked at Zevran with a saucy smile.
Kai snickered, " I also travel with another apostate, and she is proud of it." She waved her hand behind her to where Fergus and Morrigan stood with the Ceffyls. "We would be happy to have you along, if you would like to travel with us. It helps to have numbers against the Templars."
"Safety in numbers? Hm, yes you are probably right." He bowed and then smiled at her and produced two black iron keys that looked familiar from the last time she stayed at the Horn. "I believe, dear lady, we have at least two rooms compliments of the Chantry and the Revered Mother, may a thousand fleas rest in her..."
"Crotch?" Kai burst out laughing when he blushed. "Yes, that old bag and I have had a run in before. I agree with you. Well then, we need only secure a couple more rooms, and a meal for us all. Then you, Anders, may make yourself useful tomorrow."
"I could make myself useful tonight..." Kai laughed when Anders shot Zevran a coy look and raised his eyebrow.
"Don't even consider it, my friend." Zevran smirked as he mounted Rhia. The others all mounted their Ceffyls as well. Anders still stood in middle of the road looking nervously at the horses.
"Don't tell me a mighty mage such as yourself is afraid of a Ceffyl?" Kai inquired sweetly.
"Um, well...Chevals always look at me funny and then dance sideways. They all have it in for me."
"Anders, get on behind Wynne." Kai pointed to the elder mage sitting on Bran, her stallion. "These are Ceffyls, not Chevals. They are smarter, and if we say you are okay well then you will be fine."
"Really? That one? Couldn't I just walk?" Kai sighed and fought the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. Sensing her annoyance, he sighed, "All right, all right."
"Come up here with me, young man." Wynne put out a hand so Anders could swing himself up behind her. Bran stepped sideways just as Anders reached for Wynne's hand.
"See! I told you!" Anders whined. "Why does no one ever believe me?"
Kai looked at the Ceffyls, who had all started whinnying in horse laughter, tossing their heads in horsey glee. Her human companions had joined in. It was all Kai could do to stifle a giggle and sound firm, "All right all of you, enough." Anders tentatively reached for Wynne's hand again, and Bran allowed him to climb up, not without an almost human like snort of derision.
"Oh, I get it! There is some hazing to belong to this merry little band. Well all right, but if I wind up two weeks from now on a ship bound for Rivain in nothing but my smallclothes and a tattoo on my forehead, I'm blaming you, dear lady." His comment had her laughing all the way to the inn.