"You know, the elves might have paid us more than even they realized," Krem joked as he put away the bag full of coin.

"What do you mean? It was us who gathered most of the herbs." Rush gave him a curious look.

"Yeah, sure, but would you know the right ones to pick if they didn't show us? Even Stitches didn't know some of these were valuable." Krem looked around to see a smugly content Stitches and a long-suffering Grim bartering a different batch of herbs for some nice new armor. Expensive new armor he never could have afforded if they didn't harvest what felt like half the Emerald Graves on their way back from the job.

The elves really came through for them. While they did give the team some Rashvine for the help, they felt that it didn't truly show their appreciation. Before they parted ways, Taven took it up as his personal duty to show them everything harvestable in the forest and help them gather it. Rush felt as if she learned more about herbology in those few hours with the elves than she did in her entire life at the Circle with master herbalists.

Combined with the pelts they gathered from the bears they were sent to kill, this was a really good pay-day for them.

"Hmm, I have to admit, their advice was very valuable," Rush agreed. "I don't know how useful it will be in other places, though. Will we know which herbs are valuable in the desert or on the coast?"

"Heh, if we don't, we'll go and get help from another bunch of elves. You sure made friends with them fast, Rush." Krem checked her over and teased, "Maybe they mistook you for one of them, your ears being so big…"

"Hey!" Rush exclaimed mock-seriously and covered her ears with her hands.

Krem laughed and she joined him a moment later, when they heard a familiar deep voice behind them, "Having fun?"

Rush whirled around to come face to… chest with the Iron Bull. One look at him and she had the uneasy feeling that he already knew what happened. Or at least that more happened than it should have.

"Hey, Chief," Krem greeted him as if nothing happened. At Bull's narrowed eyed look, Krem straightened up, but didn't look away.

Bull looked from one to another, just waiting for them to squirm and give up the 'big secret' about what happened during their job for them to be suddenly so friendly. They must look like guilty children to him, Rush thought.

After a moment, Bull grinned and shouted, "Ha! Krem de la Crème and his charms win again! Just look at how well you play along now."

Krem just snorted, but wisely didn't say a thing.

Bull was not to be deterred, though, "So, how did it go?" He gave them both an expectant look.

She suddenly had an uneasy feeling that lying to Bull, if she ever needed to do that, would be extremely difficult. Instead of trying to figure something out, she turned to Krem. As Bull's lieutenant, he must know how to deal with this. Right?

Krem didn't even hesitate, "We managed to get an extra job on the side, chief," he tossed his full coinpurse in the air and caught it with an easy grin.

"Oh?" Bull asked in a deceptively sweet voice, "What kind of job?"

"Nothing much," Krem began with an innocent look that wouldn't fool a five-year-old, "We only went and killed a huge ass giant! Rush blew him to little bits." He grinned at her proudly and she couldn't help the blush that spread on her cheeks.

"That's what I like to hear!" Bull shouted and several heads on the market turned towards them, then quickly looked away when they saw who exactly was so loud. Then Bull leaned in conspiratorially, "But you know what I'd love to hear more?"

Rush, seeing that Bull was perfectly fine with their extra job, inserted half-jokingly, "That drinks are on us tonight?"

There was a moment of silence as they both stared at her as if she sprouted Qunari horns, then Bull exploded with laughter and Krem joined in, then put his arm protectively over her shoulders, "Chief, she's one of us already!"

Bull nodded his massive head, "That she is," he smiled.

-rushing-ahead-rushing-ahead-rushing-ahead-

Her second night with all the Chargers went much better than the first one. For one, there was much less tension between her and Krem, and Rush felt she knew these people better now.

Not that she became best friends with Grim or even Stitches, but they had a relaxed camaraderie between them now, as only people who had each other's backs in a tough fight could have. She now felt that she could count on them, if things turned rotten. It was a strange, but far from unpleasant feeling.

Rush had also seen Krem act as the lieutenant he was. Talking to people seemed to be second nature to him, and before they left the market, he had at least ten new small tasks for the Chargers that only needed Bull's approval before they could get on with fulfilling them. Krem truly was a professional.

"…and that's when I told him we'll get the rest of the Chargers to look into it. Shouldn't take one of our teams more than a couple hours to clear it all up." Krem finished his report to Bull over a couple drinks.

Bull gave him a smile, "Good job, Krem. Any ideas why he wants us to salvage that one particular crashed ship?"

"Not really, chief. The only thing I know is that his lord's wife died on that ship… when it crashed near the shore. So we will probably find her corpse in there somewhere. Funny thing, though, that Lord Adlebrent or his captain didn't ask us to retrieve it for proper burial." Krem exchanged a look of dark suspicion with Bull, while Rush watched them.

There was something wrong here. She wondered what they'll find… and how Bull will deal with it. But that was a worry for another time, now she had a more pressing question, "…Chief?" It still felt a bit unnatural to call him that, she thought.

"Yes, Rush?" He turned his massive horned head towards her and she had to fight a blush that wanted to spread on her cheeks. That name… she still shivered when she heard it spoken. Especially in her Chief's deep voice. There was something special in how he said it.

"I wanted to know… where are 'the rest' of the Chargers?"

Bull started to smirk and Krem unsuccessfully tried to hide his own smile behind a drink.

She narrowed her eyes and continued, "I've heard Krem mention 'other teams' several times today, but…"

"The rest of the Chargers are around somewhere…" Krem inserted with a mischievous smile.

Bull nodded and joined in, "They went to get better drinks."

There was something here, something they weren't telling her. Her eyes narrowed further and their smirks grew. "And when will they return?"

Bull leaned in with a wicked grin, "When they realize that there are no better drinks than with the Chargers."

Wait, did that mean they… But that was…

Rush couldn't help it; she started laughing. Bull and Krem clinked their tankards together and finished their drinks in one strong gulp.

When she finally calmed down enough to speak, she shook her head and tried to confirm if what she guessed was right, "So you tell the nobles there are more of you and get paid as if you were a huge company, but… there are only the, what, eight of us?"

At their nods, she started laughing again.

Bull poured himself another drink and explained, "Many nobles think that being clever means screwing over those 'beneath them'. They also think payments for services they ordered are optional. We usually get some form of compensation out of them anyway, but if we want to live well, we need to get money wherever we can."

"Yeah, we don't want to end up like most of the mercenary companies around here," Krem snorted and relaxed back in his chair.

"What do you mean?" Rush asked as she drew her first and only drink for this evening closer to her chest.

It was Bull who stated dryly, "Stretched too thin, desperate for coin and willing to sacrifice their own people for another job."

"Oh."

Rush had no idea things were that dire for mercenaries. But she could well imagine some of the nobles, even the Circle mages, trying to weasel out of paying once the job was done. "So that's why…"

"Hmm?" Bull gave her a curious look and waited for her to explain.

"That's why your people seem so happy." She looked him in the eye and confessed without a trace of guilt, "I actually… did some research, you could say, before I first approached you."

"Research?" he asked with a small smirk.

"I walked around the marketplace and watched several companies going about their daily business. Most of them were desperate, just as you said, and they were obviously trying to save coin by skimping on their equipment." She took a small sip of the drink in her hands, "Then I've seen the Chargers and they… you… seemed happy with your lives. So I asked to join."

She didn't want to mention that the thing that actually persuaded her to ask was Bull himself. Most mercenary companies had leaders that looked simply… wrong. Harsh, cruel, bitter bastards who wouldn't hesitate to kill their clients if the pay wasn't good enough. She's met enough templars like them to recognize the type.

But Bull… She remembered how he handed a battered silver medallion to that old woman… and didn't ask for payment. It was clear the woman couldn't have afforded to pay anyone to find it, yet the amulet was important to her. That simple act of kindness was the main reason she decided to become a Charger, even though the Iron Bull was a Qunari.

There were a lot of things worth respect, but none as much as kindness.

She should know. She lived without anyone showing a hint of it long enough to know its importance.

She tore herself out of her thoughts and lifted her head… to look Bull right in the eye. For some reason, looking away would have felt very rude. So she didn't.

They stared at each other for a long moment. His one good eye piercing; Rush felt as if he stared into her very soul. The demon that tested her on her Harrowing had a look less invasive. Just when it was becoming too much for her to stand, Bull smiled at her and turned back to Krem. Rush had to suppress a relieved sigh. Looked like she passed… whatever that was.

Bull went back to the topic at hand. "I'll take this job myself. You take Dalish, Grim and Skinner to deal with the bandits on the eastern road; I'll go with Rocky, Stitches and Rush here to check out the ship."

"You sure, Chief? This could turn rotten real fast. Shouldn't we be there as backup?" Krem looked at him, worried.

"Eh, I'm not some weak human in need of coddling. I'll be fine," he growled playfully and dismissed his lieutenant's worries.

Krem accepted with a weak grin, "Just don't get your horns stuck underwater, then."

As the conversation descended into what Rush now realized was their usual playful banter, she leaned back in her chair and looked around the tavern once more. The rest of the Chargers sat around playing cards (or challenging all passerby humans to duels, in Skinner's case) and were generally a loud and happy bunch of mercs. The rest of the inn patrons didn't pay them any attention, too consumed by their own drinks or games.

With a smile, she stood up and went to join Skinner. Time to see if she can make friends with the… brusque elf too. And maybe get some tips on fighting with daggers before she had to face Krem in that promised training session. Because, if you're not cheating, you're not trying, right?