Author's Note: I take a bit of liberty with Alistair's personality here and there. He's a bit more mature, although still very much the awkward goofy virgin. I always felt like the life he's lived, filled with disappointment until Duncan 'rescued' him, would have made him much more understanding and sympathetic in some of these moments with the human noble female than he appears in-game. Also, I'm sure they have many more dialogue time restraints than I do here, so hooray! I hope you all enjoy, and an extra special thank youto my reviewers and followers. You guys are the best!

Chapter 13 - A Bit of Fireside Conversation

Evening fell quickly as they moved through the swampy lands. Alistair led them to a small ruin northeast where they could camp relatively safely for the night. It was one of the few structures Serena had seen so far with part of a ceiling still intact. "We'll continue the search in the morning," he said. "There's no sense in running about in the dark when we don't have to."

They split into two groups, Daveth and Serena gathered nearby branches and set about building a warm fire to offset the freezing mist that had settled in the valley while the knight and Alistair set up two tents for them to share.

Once the fire was blazing, Daveth turned to the other men. "Just two tents then...? Interesting." The rogue paused, as if he was deciding something. "Well, I'm bunking with Serena."

"Funny," Alistair said, although his tone sounded much less than amused. "We only set up two because half of us will be on watch." He glanced at Serena, who let out a relieved sigh. "Nobody is bunking with the lady."

"On that note, I think I'll take first watch," Serena said, setting her pack down near the fire. She rummaged through it, pulling out a small leather bound book.

"Well, if I'm to sleep all by my lonesome, I suppose I should get a move on," said Daveth with a fawning look to Serena. "Positive you want to stay out here in the cold, my lady?"

"You know, that is just... so tempting, Daveth, but I'm really just not tired. At all. Ever. I don't even sleep, actually." She wiggled her fingers at him. "Goodnight!"

"If neither of you mind, I'd like to retire for the night myself," Ser Jory said quietly. He nodded to the two of them, and disappeared into the second tent, shutting the flap.

Alistair watched him for a moment, shrugged, and took a seat near Serena at the fireside. "I guess we're on first then," he said pleasantly, eyeing the book in her lap. "Is that a journal or something?"

"Mostly it's just a... I don't know," Serena admitted. "I write in it sometimes, but a lot of it is drawings." She looked up and her blue eyes locked onto Alistair's hazel ones. "I never thought I would leave Highever, you know? I thought... I thought the best I would ever do would be married off to some... some bann's wealthy son or something. It wouldn't be the worst life, but I guess I kept this journal to sort of... mark down all the things I hoped I would someday see."

She handed the book to Alistair, who took it and started to turn the pages. She saw his eyes go wide as he took in all the intricate drawings she had made.

"This is..."

Serena held her breath, waiting for him to laugh at how silly it all was. She was a teynir's daughter, he probably thought. She could just go about doing whatever she wanted, with no need to do any real work a day in her life. Serena frowned as she realized that was true.

"...Amazing," he finished. Alistair held the book lightly, as if afraid he might damage it. "You even added little notes about them..." He closed the book and handed it back to her. "Is that why you... volunteered... to join the Wardens?"

Serena sighed. "I... may have exaggerated that part, a bit," she said. "I did want to join, very much, but... oh, Maker..." She felt hot tears pierce her eyes and she wiped them back. "I'm sorry."

Alistair scooted closer to her, putting a hand over hers. "You don't have to tell me anything," he whispered to her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried."

"It's… it's okay," Serena said, her voice faltering. "I... you should know." She turned her hand and their fingers intertwined. Serena felt like she was gathering strength from him. "What I said was true, about Duncan coming to the castle. He was a guest of my father's. He had come to test one of our knights- Ser Gilmore."

"The night he came, another man, Arl Howe, was preparing with my father to ride south, here, to Ostagar. He sent my brother Fergus ahead with Highever's men, so the castle was nearly empty of guards, except for a small garrison to stay while they were in the south. That night, Howe's men attacked us." Alistair gasped, shock written all over his expressive face. Serena felt his fingers tighten on hers.

"They came into my room..." she continued, her voice quiet. "Luckily I had readied my things to ride to the wall with my father in the morning, otherwise... I would not have been prepared to defend myself. I... killed the men in my room, and my mother came along shortly after. We fled through a passage near my room to try to find my father."

"Duncan... D-Duncan saved him." A new tear streaked its way down her cheek. "One of Howe's men stuck him in the... he was wounded, but Duncan carried him to a servants exit in the kitchen. We met him there, and soon after Duncan came back. He told us the castle was surrounded, and my father begged him to get me and my mother to safety." She gulped and more tears fell.

"He a-agreed, but said he needed a recruit- that's when I volunteered. I had wanted to join anyway when I'd met Duncan during the day, but my father wouldn't hear it then. Now... he had no choice. Duncan offered to take my mother, but..." Serena dropped her head, her tears coming quickly now.

"She stayed behind, didn't she?" Alistair asked softly.

"She said I would... I would have a better chance- a better chance to survive without her. That she would p-protect Father while we escaped. I left them both... I left them both to die." The tears streamed from her eyes, and Alistair felt his heart break for her. He pulled her to him, holding her as she sobbed into his shoulder.

Serena's shoulders shook with each sob, and Alistair wondered if she had given herself time to properly grieve for her family, for everything she had lost so quickly. He stroked her hair, murmuring sympathetic phrases in her ear.

"You didn't abandon them," he whispered, hoping his voice was somewhat close to soothing. "Your mother wanted you to live..."

"I'm so s-sorry," she whimpered. "I... you've... you've barely known me for a d-day and h-here I am, bawling all over you..." She pulled away from him and straightened, wiping her face. He handed her his handkerchief silently and she took it, rubbing at her eyes. "I apologize," she said formally, her cheeks still red from crying. "I shouldn't have-"

"I asked," Alistair interrupted, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you told me, I think... I think it was good for you, too."

She nodded, pulling a ribbon from her hair and tossing the long brown tresses out. She re-braided it quickly, and Alistair thought it might have been just so she had something to do with her now restless hands.

"I never used to cry," she murmured. "I... ever since it happened, it feels like my emotions are so close to the surface now."

Alistair considered this for a moment. "Perhaps it is a strength, to feel such... to feel so passionate about things. Maker knows I am often accused of not thinking with my head as much as I should."

"Maybe," she agreed, her voice uncertain. "Still... I shouldn't have... I'm sorry. You barely know me…" Serena dropped her eyes, focusing on the fire. "You probably don't think much of me now," she mumbled.

"I think you've dealt with a great deal of change in a short amount of time," Alistair said seriously, one hand dipping under her chin so her eyes were level with his again. "If this is the first time you have truly let yourself feel since... since your parents, then I would say you have handled things much better than I would have."

"Thank you." Serena felt her face flush red. She held his crumpled handkerchief in her hand. "I... should fix this. I saw a stream just over there, I'll be right back." Before he could stop her, Serena stood up and headed into the darkness.

The water was chilly and felt refreshing against her overly warm skin. Serena hated crying, especially in front of people she barely knew, especially a handsome man she barely knew, and the water felt like it washed away the stains her tears had left on her face. She soaked the wrinkled kerchief in the water, hoping she hadn't ruined it.

To her right, she heard a low growl come from the bushes. Serena backed up from the stream, pulling her daggers from her sides. "Don't even try it," she called to the darkness. "I'm in a very bad mood, and feeling pretty damn stabby right about now."

A huge black wolf stepped forward, its yellow eyes glowing in the gloom. Serena planted her back foot in the ground, her daggers glinting off the little light she could still see from the camp beyond. "I'm serious, Wolf. I don't want to hurt you… b-but I will, so you'll do best to just walk away." The wolf seemed to consider this, as its head turned side to side.

Two more wolves moved forward then out of the bushes, and Serena realized she was surrounded. The first wolf took another step forward, and she readied herself for its attack.

Instead, the black wolf bowed its head at her, turning instead to stand next to her. It bared its teeth at his fellows, an obvious warning to back away. Serena didn't understand what was going on, but it appeared like the wolf was... defending her?

The other two wolves seemed as confused as she was, exchanging looks to each other. They turned back to her, and growled. One of them charged at her and the black wolf, while the other let out a deafening howl.

"Serena?" She could hear Alistair's shout from the ruins, but he was too far. She saw the wolf beside her slam itself into its brother, snarling wildly. She backed up against a tree, grabbing a low branch and swinging herself forward to kick the howling wolf in the throat.

It turned and attacked, grabbing her boot and tearing it off. She swung again and landed back on the ground unsteadily, reaching out a hand to grab at the wolf's scruff as he bit into her now-empty boot. The wolf yelped, and she pulled harder, using her dagger to slide across its throat. A soft whine escaped its mouth before it dropped at her feet, dead.

She looked over to see her huge black wolf pin the smaller gray one below him and rip into its throat. The wolf made a sick gurgling sound in what was left of its throat and laid still.

"Serena!" Alistair appeared out of some bushes, his sword brandished. "Maker-" He made to lunge forward with his shield at the black wolf, and before she knew what she was doing Serena felt herself move between them.

"Don't!" she shouted, putting her hands out before him. "He's good- he helped me!" The wolf slunk out from behind her, blood still dripping from its muzzle. It rubbed its furry head against Serena's thigh tenderly.

"What the..." Alistair's sword dropped to his side as he took in the scene. Two dead wolves lay in the clearing, Serena standing over one of them, while a third wolf stood beside her. He would have mistook it for a somewhat friendly, if thoroughly intimidating dog, if he hadn't seen it take down the other wolf at her feet. "Did you just say he's good?"

"I think he's just hungry," Serena said quietly, one hand on the head of the wolf. Was she scratching it between the ears? If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Alistair wouldn't have believed it. "I have some rabbit jerky in my pack he can have," Serena was saying.

"Hungry? I think his little friends were pretty hungry, too." Alistair's eyes dropped to the two wolf corpses nearby. "I don't even... let me get this straight. These wolves attacked you." He pointed to the two dead wolves. "And this one... saved you? Protected you?"

"Let me just take him back to the camp, feed him some jerky, and I'll tell you what happened." She picked up something from the ground and handed it to Alistair. He realized it was his handkerchief. With a resigned sigh, he followed Serena back to camp.

"I went to the stream to wash your handkerchief," Serena said, rummaging in her pack and pulling out a pouch. The wolf was settled down beside her, his head lying at her feet. She handed some pieces of rabbit to the wolf, who gobbled them back quickly.

"Then I heard a growl." Alistair watched as Serena placed a hand on the wolf's head again, stroking its dark fur. "It was this guy... I thought he was going to attack me, and I pulled my daggers. But he didn't. I just... I just looked at him and I knew he wouldn't." She fed the wolf some more rabbit, emptying the pouch. "Then two of his friends showed up."

"And those were the two... on the ground?" Alistair was still having trouble believing what he had seen in the clearing.

"Yes. This guy... he should have a name, shouldn't he? This guy helped me. He defended me." Serena ran a hand along the back of the wolf, and it closed its eyes, completely at ease.

"Well, I... I don't know what to say. I've never even heard of this before. Wolves just... befriending people." He sighed, pulling out some of his own rations. "Here, give it to him. Maker knows we can gather some more in the morning."

"Do you think Duncan will know?" Serena asked.

"Possibly... I mean, you're not a mage, right? I know some mages have a special affinity for nature. They can... communicate with animals."

"Well, I can't talk to him," Serena said. "I mean, not... I don't know what he's thinking or anything. And I'm certainly no mage."

Alistair considered this, his brow furrowed in concentration. "You said you have a mabari, though?"

"Yes, he's with Duncan right now." She smiled, thinking of her beloved hound. "It's kind of funny, actually. A man came to the castle a few years ago. He was a breeder... I was so excited, I begged my father to let me go see his pups. I must have been fifteen or so... The man told me mabari's are special in that they choose their master." She paused, and Alistair could see her face relax at the memory. She looked even more beautiful when she smiled.

"I think he said the process is called imprinting," Serena continued. "But one of the pups took to me immediately. I still remember... he ran right up to me, and... I don't know if you've ever seen one of the pups? They're still massive! He bowled me right over, you know, I'm not the biggest girl, and I was even tinier then." She giggled. "I... Oh, I was in love. The pup had these huge brown eyes that just said you're the one for me."

"And he let you keep him?" Alistair asked.

"Well, he didn't really have a choice. He told me once they decide, that's it. Whether I wanted the dog or not, he was mine for life. He said to think of the pup as a gift for the teyrn's daughter, but my father insisted on paying him regardless." Serena grinned at Alistair, her face made warm and rosy from the firelight. "That's how I ended up with Peanut."

"Wait. Wait... you named your mabari war hound... PEANUT?" Alistair's voice was nothing short of incredulous.

Serena simply shrugged. "He really likes peanuts."

"Hmm, maybe your new friend here sensed that, then," Alistair said with a laugh. "Not the peanut bit, but just that some people are really good with animals. Perhaps its as simple as that."

"Perhaps," she agreed, stifling a yawn.

"You should wake Daveth or Jory," Alistair said, watching her. "You've yawned about five times in as many minutes."

"No, no, I'm-" she yawned again. "I'm f-fine, really. Plus, I... don't want to leave you."

Alistair felt his eyes widen slightly in shock. Had she really just said that?

"If he's really just here because of me, I can't really leave you alone with him, can I?" Serena insisted. Alistair sighed, he had thought she meant... he shook his head to clear it.

"You could just... rest your eyes a bit, then?" he suggested, hoping his voice sounded light and casual. He pulled his bedroll from his pack and handed it to her. "I won't tell anyone."

"Well..." she looked at the bedroll now in her lap longingly. "Maybe just for a few minutes..." She looked up at him and smiled. "You'll wake me, though, won't you? If anything happens, or, or anything. Deal?"

He nodded. "Anything, yes." He patted the bedroll. "Rest up."

Serena laid out the warm bedding next to the wolf and laid back. "Thanks," she whispered to the Grey Warden. "I owe you one." She closed her eyes and Alistair watched her slender form for a long while as her breathing became slow and steady. Her skin seemed to glow from the light of the fire, and he felt his lips curve into a smile at the sight.

In the six months since he'd become a Grey Warden, Alistair had wondered many times why there weren't more women who joined the mostly-male order. Watching Serena sleep soundly near the fire, her chest rising and falling in a delicate rhythm, he thought maybe now he had the beginnings of an answer.