Despite all Rush's protests, Bull was determined to walk down to the common room to have a celebratory drink with his team. It was routine. Their own private little system, and he liked his systems just fine, thank you very much.

As flattering as it was to have Rush try and take care of him, he was an adult, and capable of taking care of himself, he told himself firmly. Thankfully, she relented once he put his foot down; he was not so certain he'd be able to withstand her arguments, if she chose to say them. They were no doubt valid. But that still didn't stop him from making his way down to his men.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye, as she put her armor back on. Unsuccessfully trying to hide her ripped tunic. He grinned.

Thinking about it just made him think about the wild sex they had. He licked his lips, staring at her, and had to tell himself that the little ritual he had with his men was worth leaving the bed for. But it was a close thing. That thing back there… He shivered when he thought about it. A woman, a pretty little human woman who was able to take all of him and keep up with him, even when he let his control slip. Damn, but that was…

Initially, he planned it to be a thank you, a gift for all the help she gave him, to celebrate the successful completion of their mission. But it quickly turned into more. He really should have expected that by now, he thought as his lips curved in a self-deprecating smile. He walked over to help her with her armor.

Once they finally made their way down, after a good long session of groping while they pretended they were getting dressed, Bull scanned the tavern and aimed for the table farthest from the door that still had good view of all the possible entrances. Krem was already there, and Bull was once again grateful for having the man around. He just knew Bull so well.

Krem took one look at them and rolled his eyes. "What, had your own 'little death' up there?"

Bull grinned at him and didn't even pause as he took the chair with the best view, "Yeah, and we were pretty quiet about that 'death', too." Stitches only chuckled at their antics.

Krem snorted into his wine. "Great. I hope you had a good time."

Rush smirked and pulled a chair over to sit down between Bull and Stitches. "The best."

Krem only lifted an eyebrow and took another gulp, but didn't comment. Bull was glad she wasn't trying to hide it… and wasn't ashamed for having sex with him. Many people were. But then, he didn't really expect his Rush to do that.

Bull smiled and called the serving girl over to get his own drink.

The serving girl's eyes widened when she spotted him. She looked him over in a very familiar way. First the horns, then chest, biceps,… Very, very familiar, especially since her eyes skipped to the bartender, probably to check if he was looking in her direction, then she strutted up to him. "Can I get you anything, honey?"

Hmm, he wondered what Rush's reaction will be. He only hoped it wasn't jealousy. There might come a time when he needed to use his other skills to get information, which would be a bit complicated if she reacted the way humans usually did.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye… and found her watching him, with a calm yet expectant look.

'Heh, testing her is kind of hard when she's testing me right back', he thought with a mental grin and turned his attention back to the serving girl. "Just an ale. Thanks," he ordered with his best charming smile.

The serving girl pouted, but took his order and then left once Rush added her own.

Rush slipped a hand under the table and squeezed his thigh. Bull had no idea if that was a reward or a thank you, and at his current mood, wasn't even about to analyze it. He only chuckled, threw his arm over her small human shoulders and pulled her over to him to place a biting kiss behind her ear. She squealed and held on tight, but didn't try to fight him off. Didn't even look around in shame or embarrassment. Instead, she snuggled closer and turned her head to give him better access.

Bull smiled into her hair. A human who was not ashamed for having sex with him. That was a new one. The serving girls were usually happy to pretend nothing happened. The nobles wouldn't even greet him if they passed him on the street. This was… really nice.

Rush squirmed, "Your beard prickles."

He paused and pulled away a bit, "Should I shave it?"

She smiled with a sidelong glance at him, "Now, I didn't say that."

He smiled back and pulled her into his lap properly. If they were doing… this, whatever it was, they better do it right.

Krem rolled his eyes at them. "Will we have to suffer public displays of affection from now on?" he mock griped with a teasing smile.

"No need to get jealous, Krem de la Creme. If you wanted to join in, you could have just asked." He growled back playfully.

"You still can. I don't mind if Chief cuddles us both, Kremlicious," Rush grinned at him.

Krem paused with his bottle half-way to his mouth. Stitches lifted his head from the beer. Even Helisma turned her face towards her and they. All. Stared.

Rush lifted an eyebrow, "What?"

Then Bull and Stitches started laughing and Rush joined them when Krem moaned, "Oh, Maker. There's two of them now."

Rush snuggled closer to Bull with a content smile. He looked down at the small human in his arms. 'Interesting', he thought. His Rush was really a fascinating human. Every time he thought that this time, she will surely act like the others of her race and religion, she surprised him, again and again. He leaned in once more and took a deep breath, his nose stuck in her hair.

"Now, now, don't traumatize the Tranquil," Stitches commented and cast the sidelong glance at the extra member of their party.

"You cannot traumatize a tranquil," Helisma replied in her usual flat voice and Krem snorted into his drink.

Bull looked at the mage, or ex-mage as the case might be. While usually he would have found the flatness of her tone almost amusing, now he only felt sadness. To see her alive, and then watch the fire slowly go out of her eyes… He shuddered.

Rush returned back to her seat and watched the Tranquil as well. She looked almost curious. "Are you all right, Helisma?"

"I am… well. Thank you." Helisma answered politely, but Bull paused and took another close look at her. Was that a hint of hesitation he detected?

"Hmm." Rush stared at her intently. Looked like she noticed it too. "You seem a bit… spirited for a tranquil. I believe there may be some after-effects of…" she looked around the full tavern, "the cure. If we… applied it again, and perhaps applied it regularly over a long period of time, the cure might be permanent. What do you think?"

Bull approved of her discretion, even if he didn't agree with her approach. She was sometimes a bit too nice for her own good. If she wanted to know whether the girl, Helisma, still had some life left in her, it was better to poke her a bit. Get a rise out of her. "Think? The tranquil don't think, isn't that the point of them being tranquil?"

The tranquil turned to him. "Do not mistake our lack of emotion for lack of intelligence." Helisma stated, but there was no insult or defiance in her eyes. There was nothing in her eyes. "Tranquil are capable of understanding, we simply care not to contradict. Protesting only leads to more pain."

Oh. Well. That didn't work.

Only now did he realize that the other mages and the templars would probably abuse these people, since they couldn't really fight back. Insults and attacks would be ignored thanks to skills honed through years of practice. Instead of drawing her out, it might actually push her back. Damn. He should have thought of that sooner. Some Ben Hassrath he was.

"Why do you even live, then?" Bull asked her quietly. He didn't know whether to be sad and enraged. Say what you want about the Qun, at least his people didn't turn the Saarebas into unfeeling freaks.

"Living is comfortable, and predictable, if one adheres to a certain schedule. The mage rebellion disrupted our lives considerably, but it is not unbearable."

Bull stared at her for a couple seconds, then shuddered and looked away. Krem and Stitches quietly did the same.

Rush seemed to be the only one to still willing pursue the original topic. "Are you willing to test the cure again, Helisma?"

"It was not a pleasant experience." Her voice was completely uninterested, as if she wasn't talking about a recent trauma.

"Well, it might have something to do with the fact you were almost murdered. People usually consider that to be a very unpleasant experience." Rush argued calmly.

The tranquil cocked her head in a manner that would suggest curiosity, if not for the dead look in her eyes.

"Look, it might be different if you get your emotions back while you're already in a calm, safe environment." She hesitated, unsure what arguments she could possibly make to persuade a Tranquil. She definitely didn't want to force the poor woman into something she didn't agree to do.

Bull could almost see the arguments right as she formed and discarded them in her mind. What could Rush use? That Helisma will be the first to be cured? That appeals to pride she doesn't have. Possibility of a normal life with emotions? Appeals to hope she doesn't have. Also, she didn't seem unhappy with her life right now. Only empty. Same went for arguments about family, friends, happiness, and anything that would persuade a normal person. Even Bull with all his skills of a Ben Hassrath didn't know what to use.

Rush narrowed her eyes. "As an experimental subject, you'd be considered too valuable to harm. Even those who don't want Tranquility to be cured wouldn't touch you, since they don't want the mages to come and kill them for it. The templars and other mages would leave you alone."

Helisma stayed silent for a moment, then she calmly nodded. "I find that argument logical. Very well, it is acceptable to test the cure on me."

Rush sighed in relief. "Good. We shall try it later then."

Helisma only nodded and that was it.

Bull clasped his hands together to shake off the gloomy mood they all fell into once the tranquil started speaking. "Great. Now that that's done, let's celebrate." He grinned at his men who were only too happy to return his smiles. Then he got an evil idea. "Since we have a guest here, it's only fair that we share." He took a gulp of his own drink, then slammed the half-empty tankard down in front of Helisma. She stared up at him with an almost surprised look,. He leaned in closer over the table separating them and grinned at her conspiratorially. "Come on, mage girl, drink up."

"Tranquil don't need to drink alcohol. We do not have any strange reactions others find amusing," she blinked at him slowly.

"Suuuure, but that doesn't mean they can't drink." Seeing that she wasn't moved, he added with a smirk, "Drinking feels really nice. Have you tried it?"

Helisma blinked again, then reached for the tankard. Bull's grin widened. She took a long drink, set the tankard down… and coughed. A dainty, girlish cough without any emotions, as if she were half-asleep, but still a cough.

Bull laughed and slapped his hand down on the table "Another!" The serving girl and bartender were only too happy to comply.

And so it went.

Bull was happy to drink… and trying to get the tranquil girl drunk as well. Once the rest of the tavern realized what was happening, several of them came over to watch, cheer… and bet on them.

Slowly, his men who joined round two excused themselves and stopped trying to match them drink for drink; even Rush eventually gave up, and simply sat there with a smile, watching their little game. All the while, Bull tried his hardest to out-drink the tranquil.

"Ox-man! Ox-man! Ox-man!" chanted the first half of the tavern patrons.

Bull was too drunk and too happy to care about the insult to his race, even though he noticed Rush watched who exactly shouted that. He wondered if she had anything planned for them. If her plans included something like what she did to the little idiot for the 'knife-ear' slur, Bull wanted to be there when she put her plan in action.

"Tran-quil! Tran-quil! Tran-quil!" chanter the other half.

Helisma looked almost overwhelmed. But she kept drinking obediently and watched Bull as he finished his own drinks.

'Surprisingly tough, that one', Bull thought. But so far, she accepted the challenge and kept drinking with what almost could be considered a spark of defiance. Or it might have been the drink talking.

Countless rounds later, Bull slammed his tankard down and waited for the tranquil to finish hers. She did, set the tankard sedately down on the table… and her head fell down on the table, unconscious.

Bull roared with approval. "Anaan!"

There were both cheers and groans of disappointment as money changed hands between the inn patrons. Several of the patrons clapped him on the shoulder, as if they hadn't shouted insults at him just moments before.

Bull simply grinned back at them, mostly drunk himself now, and let the bas do what they wanted. Who knew? Maybe he impressed them enough that they will have some jobs for his men come tomorrow. Wouldn't be the first time he impressed humans with drinking habits that would get him demoted or outright re-educated under the Qun.

The impromptu mini-party slowly died as the gawkers left. His men finished their drinks too.

Bull tried to stand up and staggered. Damn, but that tranquil was tough. If she wasn't so damn creepy with those emotionless fish eyes, he might have admired her. He watched his men lift the tranquil and carry her up into their room, while he tried to find his balance. That's when he felt Rush slip one of his arms over her shoulders and support him.

He smiled down at his girl and leaned closer to nibble on her ear.

She chuckled, "Let's get you up to our room, Chief."

"Already?" Bull grinned at her. "Don't rush me, woman."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Let's just go."

"Just go? What if I want a repeat, from, you know, earlier?" He leered down at her drunkenly.

She threw him a mischievous smirk. "After this many drinks? We can certainly discuss it."

He laughed, "Oh, we will definitely do more than discuss this, you minx."

Instead of answering, he felt her other hand, the one not supporting him, slip around his waist… and 'accidentally' brush against his ass.

Bull leaned in again and whispered into her ear, "Rushing ahead, hmm? Challenge accepted."

He saw her smirk in response, but her eyes were hooded. Daaamn, looked like he found a girl who didn't mind him and his 'special ways' when he was drunk. One who wanted him even after she saw him at his weakest. He felt his eye go misty, no doubt from the stupid booze and the tavern fire's smoke and swallowed to clear his suddenly clogged throat.

He could get used to this.

A/N: Btw, I heard somewhere that 'orgasm' in French is literally called 'the little death' (le petit mort). Seemed fitting to use here since they spend most of their time in Orlais, the Thedas 'France' ;) (And did it right after Bull got poisoned with Quiet Death…)