The party was in full swing. Dalish sang a terribly off-key version of the Charger's song. Rocky and a chuckling Stitches joined her a moment later. Krem watched them all with an amused yet fond look, quietly drinking his wine.

Rush was not in a mood to join, however. She was still uncomfortable about her chat with Bull. Uncertainty wracked her as she wondered what the repercussions of that stunt at Adlebrent's estate will be. Docking her pay couldn't be the end of it, right?

Krem and his team were successful too, bringing back a lot of coin, even though they had no bonuses to their pay today. Both team's loot was gathered in one corner, hastily stuffed in several chests and sacks. They will sort through it later.

Her first tankard of the evening still more than half-full, Rush sighed and looked around the tavern. Despite being here for such a short time, it has become familiar. She'd hate to leave. Or maybe she'd only hate to be alone again, she admitted to herself and stared moodily at the strong drink in her hands.

"Why the gloomy look? Everything went well, didn't it?" Krem asked as he pulled up a chair to sit down next to her.

She looked at him, hesitating whether she should tell him what happened. Then she thought screw it all, Bull would probably tell him anyway. "I messed up today. Badly."

He raised his eyebrow at her. "Really? The Chief didn't look disappointed. He was actually kind of pleased, from what I can tell."

"We finished the job and were paid, true, but…" Rush sighed and added in a voice so quiet Krem had to lean in to hear her, "I've revealed my magic, right in front of Lord Adlebrent and his guards." She then went on to explain the situation, still staring gloomily into her drink and missed the narrow-eyed, contemplating look Krem gave her.

"What did the Chief say about it?" Krem asked as he leaned in closer.

"That I endangered the whole company, as you'd all be at risk for harboring an apostate," she sighed again. "And he's right. I should have found another way, not just…" There was a lump in her throat and she had to stop and take a gulp of her drink. It didn't help.

"Ah." Krem hesitated, then took one of her slightly trembling hands in his own. With a mild shock, Rush realized that she didn't feel any urge to flinch or pull back, despite only knowing the man for a short time. He had that effect on people. Just like their Chief did. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Chief doesn't hold grudges, you know. If he says it's fine, then it's fine."

"Oh. Well, thank you." She nodded to Krem, despite the fact that his words didn't make her feel any better. And that Bull didn't in fact say that things were fine.

Krem squeezed her hand in his once more, then stood up to get refills.

Rush looked around once again and noticed that Bull finally came down to the common room. Only… he didn't join them.

His eye found Krem, who in that moment lifted his head and noticed Bull as well. They exchanged a look, then Bull nodded his head in the direction of his room, turned on his heel and walked back upstairs. Krem only sighed heavily, put his bottle down and went to follow.

That brief exchange sent a wave of unease through Rush. She didn't want to be too paranoid, but this… she had a feeling they wanted to discuss her. In private. That didn't bode well. Before she could start stewing, however, Dalish called her over to join them. Despite the nervous flutters in her belly, she couldn't really say no to the cheerful elf and went to join her.

She barely managed to finish her drink when Krem returned, more disapproving than she'd ever seen him. Her shoulders slumped and she held back a resigned sigh. The moment their eyes met, Krem wiped the expression off his face, but it was too late. Rush has already seen it.

"Hey, Rush! Come here for a moment," Krem called her. Dalish and Rocky gave her curious looks, but didn't try to stop her from leaving. The moment she got close, Krem continued, "We need to sort through the loot you brought back from the Coast. There are some items there that belong to noble families and the Chief thinks that since you're a noble, you might be able to identify them."

"Oh," she looked at him, surprised. She hated to disappoint him, but… "I'm sorry, Krem, but I'm a Marcher noble. Used to be. A long time ago. I don't really know many Orlesian noble families or their crests."

Krem hesitated for a moment, then grabbed her by the elbow anyway and gently steered her towards the chests and sacks. "Still, out of all the Chargers, you have the most knowledge about human nobility. If nothing else, you'll know which items are common and which could be precious family heirlooms."

Rush allowed him to lead her away from the party. While she thought Krem would be just as good at identifying an item's worth, she wouldn't protest spending more time with him.

An hour or two later, Rush was completely exhausted. Turned out many of the Orlesians had Marcher relatives, and that she actually remembered a lot of their crests, family history and importance. Also interesting tidbits like which family feuded with which clan and who should be the first one they will return items to, according to their status, title and importance so nobody had cause to get insulted. Her information might have been at least a decade out of date, but could still prove useful.

"That's it, I think," Krem sighed, just as tired as her. He gathered his notes to read later. He listened to her for less than ten minutes before he stopped her and went to get some papers to write it all down. "I'll take it from here. You gather the Adlebrent items and bring them to Bull."

Rush jumped as if he kicked her. She hoped to avoid their Chief for a couple days, to let him cool down and perhaps forget what happened. But she really had no good excuse to refuse. So she only nodded tiredly to Krem and pulled herself up, "Sure."

"And while you're at it, don't forget to bring him this," he said and handed her Adlebrent's dagger. The Adlebrent dagger. The one used to kill the lord's wife.

She winced. So much for keeping a low profile.

She sighed and took the dagger from Krem's hands with slightly trembling fingers. Then she shook herself and used the old trick she learned at the Circle to mask her feelings. Her face settled on a politely neutral expression.

All this made her feel a bit pathetic - that she feared failure, and facing failure, so much she had to run and hide from her own Chief. Especially since, if what Krem said was right, he already put it behind him.

But she still hated to see him disappointed in her.

She gathered all the items and went to Bull's room with a heavy heart.

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

She knocked on the door twice. Confidently yet politely, just as she learned at the Circle, whenever she entered the private quarters of any enchanter or templar important enough to warrant their own room in the often times cramped tower.

She waited several moments, but there was no response. Knowing Bull was not the type to let someone wait at his door, she tried the handle. She was mildly surprised to find it unlocked.

Bull's room was illuminated by a single candle on his desk. Bull himself sat behind the desk, head laid down on a muscular arm, breathing deeply in his sleep.

Rush sighed in relief and closed the door behind her. She approached the table, trying to make as little noise as possible so as not to wake him. But it seemed she need not have bothered, as he didn't even stir at her approach.

His desk was covered in papers and unmarked folders. Part of her wondered at the content of all these documents - no way were these all just mercenary company ledgers. But if Bull wanted her to know, he'd tell her and if not, she shouldn't pry. She turned away to lay the items down on the floor by his desk. He'll find them when he wakes up.

She hesitated with the dagger still in her hands. Would it be seen as a threat if she left it at the table? She sighed heavily. There was nowhere else she could safely place it, so she put it down next to the coin bag, no doubt containing the rest of her pay. The part she won't get any time soon.

The reminder of her failure.

Rush turned to leave, when a sudden gust of wind through the open window made her pause. She looked back at Bull, dressed as he usually was in his leather harness. Half-naked in the quickly cooling night air.

She sighed in exasperation and went to close the window. It shut with a quiet click. Scanning the room once more, she spotted a blanked neatly folded on Bull's bed. She grabbed it, quietly chuckled at how large it was, then stepped back up to Bull.

She covered his back with the blanket, tucking it at his sides.

Once more, she was awed by the sheer size of this man. She couldn't help it and kneeled next to him, gently caressing his arm in a calming gesture her nanny sometimes used when she had trouble falling asleep. The muscles under her hand were tense, despite his sleep.

When was the last time their Chief relaxed? If what she knew about the Qun was at least half right, the answer was never. He probably didn't have anyone to relax with, in the first place. She wondered if she could be the one to make him more relaxed.

If he'd allow her to be that someone.

Rush pulled her hand off his arm and stood back up. Better to leave before she woke him, she thought and tip-toed out of the room to rejoin the party downstairs, somehow feeling much better than when she came in.

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

The moment he heard the door close, Bull opened his eye to stare at it incredulously. This…

He expected many things but this… was a shock. He pulled the blanked covering his back tighter around his shoulders and sat up. When he set up the test, the only thing he expected (and maybe even hoped for) was that Rush will resist the temptations he placed before her.

Because that was all this was about.

In the short time she's been here, Rush managed to fit in perfectly. Too perfectly. Shy at the oddest of moments, but focused and determined when faced with enemies or a confrontation. She made friends with all of them, faster than he's ever seen anyone do before. Respected yet joked around with Krem, listened to and taught Dalish, shared quiet drinks with Stitches and Grim or bloody anecdotes with Skinner, then showed explosive spells to Rocky; she managed to find a way to get close to all of them. Not even he was immune. The more he knew her…

The 'sleeping test' was something he made all his team go through. Make them angry, set up a situation with several temptations and seemingly no consequences, and let them decide if keeping their spot on his team was worth more than a single coin bag or satisfying their curiosity. All his men resisted, and he could be certain of their loyalty.

Bull looked around his room again. The coin sat innocently at the edge of his desk, as did the old, worthless Ben-Hassrath reports. As did the dagger she carried in with her.

Money, secrets, power. She had all that at her fingertips… and she chose to cover him with blankets like a damned Tamassran.

His horns pointed down as he bowed his head in shame. He usually gave his men much more time to get used to the company, to him, before he tested them. He failed her and failed himself when he set this up so soon after she joined. Wanting her to disappoint him, so she wouldn't get so close to his heart.

And then she passed his test; better than he could have hoped for.

"Damn," he muttered, but clutched the blanket even closer.

The opportunity was too perfect to pass up. When Louis pulled the dagger on their client, Bull took one look into the man's eyes and knew that they'll have to use Rush's magic in a surprise attack if they wanted to finish the job and keep their client alive. But even if she failed and went for her dagger, it would be no great loss. Couple days unpaid travel and a single botched job would never harm his company. No matter the outcome and no matter her choice, he'd be able to get them out of any trouble.

So he tested her on the spot.

She could have reached for her hidden dagger and failed the job so she could protect herself, to adhere to her precious rules on what a mage on the run should and shouldn't do. Or she could put her life on the line to finish what she started, trust him as her Chief to get her out of trouble. He was truly impressed when she chose to put her trust in him. Even more so when she argued with the snobby asshole to get them their pay… and succeeded.

Bull stood up with a heavy sigh, allowing the blanket to fall down on the chair, then went to clear up his table. Only seconds later did he realize that he did it to avoid facing her. In doing so, he put his whole team on edge, as they might think she managed to kill him here.

He abandoned the clean-up and walked to the door. Hopefully she won't be too angry with them all. Bull realized he truly hoped she will stay; she made for an excellent Charger.

This whole thing made him feel like an imekari again, going to face his Tama after he got caught lying.

That… wasn't so bad, actually.

He opened his door with a smile.

A/N: You people have no idea how many times I squealed and almost wrote back 'YES! YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!' when you commented on how quickly Rush was accepted. :3 How quickly she considered herself part of the Chargers. Way too quickly.

Telling Bull her full name on their first meeting, spilling the details of her escape the moment she was accepted into the company. Salivating over her chief before their first official mission together….

Trust me, Bull noticed too. Hence the test. ;)

The test scene was the first thing in my head (and in my TextEdit) when I began to write this fic and is THE scene that characterizes both Rush and their relationship.

Also, who else dislikes the 3 choices that the game always pushes us into? Or worse, only choices 1 and 2. Rush is always like 'Fuck you, I'm going Special' whenever she can. Like when she uses Nobility knowledge to sort through loot… and isn't it weird that LADY Trevelyan doesn't have Nobility knowledge unlocked at start? Anyway, this time, she picked the Flirt option ;)