The next morning found Rush ready to take on the challenges of the day.
She woke up comfortable in… an admittedly crappy bed, but with a strange feeling of elation and safety. For the first time since she realized she was a mage. She had enough coin not to worry about her next meal, with enough left over to feel good about her future. She had roof over her head, and best of all, no one was actively trying to drive her out of here.
There was still Rylan, of course, but the troubles of Circle and the Mage Rebellion seemed so far away, they might as well be happening on another world. She rose from bed full of energy, put on the old, ill-fitting leather armor she pulled off some bandit corpse a long time ago, went down to get breakfast and join her Chief on their journey to the Storm Coast.
The moment she stepped foot outside her room, the Iron Bull's door opened as well. Rush turned, a polite greeting on her lips, but froze when she noticed who stepped out.
It was one of the serving girls.
Marissa if she remembered correctly, who brought them drinks yesterday. Her neck was covered in huge purple love bites, the bodice of her dress had torn laces and she was walking strangely, but she also wore the biggest, most satisfied smile Rush ever remembered seeing.
Rush watched incredulously as Marissa waved back at Bull in his room, smirked at his sleepy grunt and swaggered downstairs.
That… was a surprise.
Didn't Qunari have something against sex? Or… at least against relationships. But then, that thing there didn't seem serious; more like a one-night stand. She blushed and pulled the leather jacket closer to her body, then aimed for the stairs as well. She was definitely no innocent herself, so she knew about… taking comfort in the arms of another. But it was still surprising to see the results of such a passionate interlude, first thing in the morning.
She couldn't imagine having a man that big above her. How would that even work? The Iron Bull was just… too much. Too much of everything.
She sat down at the closest table in the common room, ordering breakfast from the surly bartender. She poured herself a tankard full of water and realized with shock that her fingers shook a little as she lifted it to her lips.
How long she sat there holding that tankard, she had no idea. She also couldn't figure out why the sight of the serving girl shocked her so much, but it did. The approaching voices of Dalish and Skinner woke her, and she hastily grabbed a fork to stuff a piece of already cold scrambled eggs into her mouth.
"Good morning, Rush," Dalish chirped as soon as she saw her.
Rush only nodded and continued chewing. Then she looked back down at the plate in front of her. She couldn't even remember when the bartender brought it over, or if she even paid for the food already.
Dalish and Skinner exchanged a look, then Skinner aimed for the bar as Dalish pulled a chair close to Rush and sat down next to her. "Is everything alright?" she asked cautiously.
Rush swallowed hastily and coughed, "Fine. Just…" she waved with the fork still in her hand, almost hitting Dalish with a bit of egg, "… fine."
The elven mage looked at her with such an incredulous look that Rush couldn't help but blush.
"Breakfast, dear?" Marissa asked when she half-limped to their table.
Dalish looked at the serving girl, back at Rush and the way she wouldn't meet either of their eyes, staring down at the table and tried to suppress a smirk. She quickly ordered her own food, then turned back to her new sister in arms.
"So…" she began teasingly, "Got an eye-full, did you?"
Rush chanced a quick look at the girl sitting next to her, then sighed heavily. No sense denying it. "Not exactly. Just watched her walk out of Bull's room." She was behaving like an idiot and knew it. Still, she somehow couldn't get over the surprise.
Dalish stayed silent for a while. Just when Rush started to wonder if she said something wrong, she leaned in and spoke quietly, so only Rush would hear her. "Don't worry. Bull is a good man; he'd never ask for anything you wouldn't be willing to give. Plus, there are always more than enough serving girls that want him so he'd never even suggest anything unless you do."
Rush lifted her head to stare at Dalish in shock. "N…no! That's not… I'm not worried about that!"
"Really?" Dalish stared at her, unconvinced. "Our Chief can be terrifying when he wants to be. There's no need to hide it if you're scared of him."
Rush expelled the breath she unconsciously held. "I'm not. It was just a surprise. I didn't think Qunari had sex with humans. Or wanted to."
Dalish hesitated for a second, then light of understanding entered her eyes and she suppressed a giggle. "Let's just say he's a special case," she smirked knowingly.
Rush resisted the urge to cross arms over her chest.
"Anyway, Bull will be down soon enough. If you have any problems, you should talk to him about it." At Rush's disbelieving stare, Dalish lost the fight with herself and giggled, "No, seriously. He cares about his people and doesn't like to let things fester too long. If you don't want him to deal with it himself, you better get over your 'surprise' before he comes down."
Rush palmed her red face, mortified. "Thanks for the advice," she croaked.
"No problem." Dalish chirped. "Enjoy your mission on the Storm Coast," she added with a knowing smirk and stood up to rejoin Skinner at the bar.
Rush shook herself, trying to get the vivid imagery of the Iron Bull above her… or any other woman, not her, out of her head.
By the time Bull came down, she managed to finish her breakfast and put the matter behind her. Mostly. Still, she couldn't help but blush when she saw him stretch arms above his head as he went to the bar to get his own food.
To get her mind off of things, she pulled out a piece of cloth and started polishing her daggers. They were old and battered enough when she found them; she couldn't afford to neglect their upkeep.
She lost herself in a trance-like state, her complete focus on every detail of her weapons.
When she lifted her head a while later, it was to see Bull watching her work. His stare made her feel… strangely aware of herself, but before she could ask what was wrong, he turned back to his food.
She shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention back to the task at hand.
Some time later, the rest of their team was prepared to leave as well. They gathered around Bull, who stood with purpose and grabbed his axe, throwing it over his shoulder with a grin.
"Ready, Chargers?"
"Ready!" his men shouted.
"Then let's move! Horns up!"
Krem gestured at his team, who followed him out to deal with their task, while Bull led his team out of the tavern… to the market?
"Chief?" Rocky asked the huge man uncertainly. "Shouldn't we be on our way to the Coast?"
"We will be, soon," Bull agreed amicably and led them to an armor stall. Rush suddenly had a weird feeling this was about her, which only intensified as Bull added, "But there is one issue we need to deal with before we go."
He turned to Rush, "I've noticed you don't seem very comfortable in that armor, Rush. Any reason you won't get a better set now you can afford it?"
"Habit, I guess? The more you wear a set, the more comfortable it gets, right?" She tried to quip, but it fell flat. Especially since it was such a blatant lie. When Bull just continued to stare at her, she sighed and admitted, "I'm saving money. I don't want to waste gold unless I absolutely have to."
Bull threw one look at Rocky and Stitches who stayed behind to give them more privacy, then he led her gently by the elbow to the stall. "Any special reason for that?"
She hesitated for a second, then decided to tell the truth, since it was not particularly dangerous. Just private. "After… my escape, I sold something important to get money for food and basic amenities until I could earn enough coin to survive. Now that I'm safe, I want to buy it back, if I can."
"What was it?"
Rush looked around, but nobody was paying them any special attention. She lowered her voice anyway. "My Spirit Blade." She realized Bull might not know much about Knight-Enchanters, so she explained, "It's part of the initiation into the ranks of Knight-Enchanters. It's a lazurite blade hilt that contains a willing spirit and can create a very powerful blade."
"Wouldn't using it make it obvious you were a mage?" Bull asked neutrally.
She sighed. "It would, true. But I don't really want it back to use it. It's… You see, a Knight-Enchanter can only ever create one spirit blade. No other spirit will answer your call, once you've bound one to your weapon. The one who heard my call, who was bound to my blade, was a spirit of Valor. The same spirit who helped me get through my Harrowing." She smiled at the old memory, "Most spirits try to help mages during this test by giving them weapons. Staves. But Valor, the moment we met, took one look at me and offered me his sword. Ever since then, he was… is… my friend."
Rush looked down at the armor and weapons laid out on the stand nearby, then closed her eyes. "I wouldn't have sold him, if I had any other choice. We had to separate, otherwise the templars could have tracked me by energy signature of the blade alone, just as easily as they could track my phylactery. If I hid him somewhere, he'd be found and 'confiscated' by the templars, meaning I'd never see him again. He was safest with a merchant - at least this way, I have a chance to buy him back." She sighed and added pragmatically, "Plus, I needed the coin."
Bull came to stand beside her. "How much to buy the blade back, then?"
Rush snorted, "That's the problem. As you might have noticed, ever since this war started, prices went up. A lot. Gold isn't worth as much as it used to be. The merchant I sold my blade to promised me he'll hold it for five years… but he'll also ask for more coin, since he knows how important it is to me. So, considering current prices, I'd estimate… three thousand gold. Maybe more."
Bull whistled.
"Yes, well. I better work hard, right?" She hugged herself but smiled anyway. Including the pay from her first mission with Krem, she currently had about five hundred at her disposal. But she also needed to pay for food and lodgings. So… it might take her a year, to earn that much, if she resisted the urge to spend her savings on things she didn't need.
Like new armor.
She heard Bull sigh behind her and bowed her head. She knew having proper equipment was crucial in this line of job, but unless it literally threatened her life, she was determined to use armor and weapons she found on the bandits she was sent to kill, and not waste money on new things.
"Very well." Bull said from behind her, and she sighed with relief. Then she jumped and stared at him in shock, as he continued, "I will buy you a set, then."
"No, I can't ask you to do that…" she tried to protest, but Bull interrupted her in a kind, but uncompromising voice.
"You're not asking. I'm offering." He saw that she was still not ready to accept, so he added gently, "I will not place my men in danger, not even if they insist on being stubborn. Consider it an investment and a welcome gift to the Chargers."
Rush stared at him for a moment, valiantly resisting the urge to cry. Why was it that this man surprised her so much with everything he did? She knew he had a deep well of kindness in him even before she joined the Chargers. It was simply much more… intense, to be the one he turned his attention to. Throat too tight to speak and heart clenched in her chest, she simply nodded.
He smiled down at her and led her to the merchant, who just finished trading with another customer. "Let's get you outfitted, then."