They spent their night laughing, drinking and generally being as loud as they could, to the great annoyance of several inn patrons, who didn't dare say a thing against them, from what Rush saw. Krem took it as his personal challenge to make her more relaxed around him, regaling her with tales of old contracts, and most importantly, teaching her the Chargers song to the great amusement of their Chief.

"… Our horns be pointing up!" the men finished with a yell for the fourth time this evening, making several not-too-drunk-yet patrons grumble into their cheap drinks.

Rush joined in both the singing and the victorious yells, feeling free for the first time since… since she found out she was a mage.

What surprised her the most was her new chief, The Iron Bull. She expected him to be like most Qunari and hate her on sight for being a mage. That's what they were like, right? She expected to have to fight tooth and nail to keep her place on his team and a long up-hill battle to prove her worth to be allowed to stay. Yet…

He accepted her. Just like that.

In her life, this was unheard of. Not even her parents…

But that didn't matter now.

She knew that the Chargers already had a mage from the time she spent watching them before she first approached Iron Bull; the little elf girl was about as subtle as a hooded dwarf with glowing blue casket. Which is to say, not at all. But then, she clearly didn't come in with as much baggage as Lady Evelyn Trevelyan, the Renegade Mage Extraordinaire and famous apostate, so she would not be important enough to be hunted… and most Templars wouldn't dare go against any mercenary captain, much less one as strong and intimidating as the Iron Bull.

Still, the huge man allowed Rush to stay, even knowing she was a hunted woman. There was a moment, when she thought she'd be sent packing, especially when she mentioned the accusation of being possessed, but then he decided to accept her instead.

That moment… No matter what happened next, she decided to remember that moment and treasure it, always. This was a rare gift, made all the more precious by the fact that there was nothing he could gain from pretense, that he had no use for her beyond her skill as a mercenary. This… had to be real.

She even had a new name, now. One that was not tainted by the memory of her 'noble' childhood or the Circle. One that she earned. The moment he called her Rush, she knew she will not want to be called by another name again.

The group settled down once again to continue drinking and playing cards. Wicked Grace, was it? Rush couldn't remember - it's been too long since she had enough friends to play a game with; any game, really. The Circle didn't exactly inspire camaraderie.

The Charger's lieutenant, Krem, returned with another drink and fell down on the chair beside her with a heavy grunt.

Rush couldn't help but tense up once again. His manner reminded her too much of the Templars… and nothing good ever came from having a Templar this close to you. She decided to try and talk to him; since they were supposed to be a team, she couldn't afford to keep her own fears and insecurities stand - that would just end up hurting them all in the end.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a voice as neutral as she was able to.

Krem smirked at her, not unkindly. "Not really. The right thing to ask is if I can help you." Before Rush could open her mouth to ask what he meant, Krem continued, "I noticed you tense up every time I speak. Don't try to deny it, it's obvious to all of us."

Rush only bowed her head. So, she'll have to go through the one thing she didn't want to go through until she got to know these people better - a confrontation. "I'm sorry. I'll…"

Krem only help up his hand, "No need, I understand. I had a couple rough patches with assholes myself, when they found out about me."

"What about you?" Rush asked, mystified. Did she misunderstand something?

"That I don't have the 'right' bits down there." Krem stated matter-of-factly.

Rush felt her eyebrows try to climb into her hair. That… explained a few things. Unfortunately, it didn't deal with her problem. "Well. Thank you for telling me. But that's not the reason I'm so… tense." At Krem's surprised look, Rush let out a nervous breath and tried to explain. "You… act like a Templar. The way you walk or speak… It reminds me of them too much. Gender doesn't matter."

Krem stayed silent for a second, "Oh. That's… Hmm."

Rush was quick to reassure him. "It's not your fault. I'm just… I haven't been around warriors enough to really get used to them not trying to kill me. Just… give me time. I'm sure I'll get over it soon enough, once we've fought together without trying to kill each other." She gave him… her… him a smile and felt herself relax despite her words just now.

Krem chuckled and stood up. "I'll have to ask the Chief to give us a job, then, for the two of us. Bonding time and all that."

"That would be great," Rush smiled at him and picked up her tankard once again.

Krem turned to go, then paused and looked back at her. "Hey, why don't you have a problem with Chief too, then? He's a strong warrior, and a damned big, intimidating one at that."

Rush paused with the tankard half-way to her lips, then put it down, lost in thought, "I… don't know. Maybe because he's Qunari? There are no Qunari templars. Or maybe because he seems so passionate, but still in control of himself… I… I just don't know why I feel safe with him."

Krem grinned at her and turned away to join Rocky and Stitches for another round of Wicked Grace.

Rush breathed a sigh of relief, then picked up her tankard once again. Crisis averted. She looked around the tavern to check her surroundings out of habit, and her eyes met the Iron Bull's. His gaze was… piercing. Without truly knowing why, she blushed and looked away.

Before she could really think about what just happened, the other mage, Dalish, called her over. Looked like she wanted to get those tips on how to use magic… or maybe how to avoid templars. Rush could help either way.

She finished the drink in her hands with a smile and went to learn more about her new family.