Moonpriestess30: I know exactly what you're feeling as I am doing the exact same over here. My condolences, for you and your family. I'm glad you liked the chapter, i hope you enjoy this one too.

Judy: I'm happy you think so! Thankyou!

Chapter 5

'She looks ver' sweet.'

'She looks like she needs a bath.'

Mena heard recognisable voices as she began to stir. There was a strange feeling on her skin and a heat on her back that she couldn't place. Shadows crossed her face rapidly, dancing in front of her eyes. They continued to talk as she stirred, it seemed brighter than she had ever known and the light didn't dissipate. After a moment she realised that she was being carried, the sway she was feeling was because she was on someone's back. With a sniff she caught the scent of quality leather and a spice that was comforting and reminded her of feeling cold. 'Fenn...is?' She mumbled as she moved her head a little.

'She is awake,' Fenris stated as he stopped. Mena had her arms draped over his shoulders and weakly she lifted her head and blinked heavily. Merrill ran over to his side and looked up at Mena who coughed lightly and caught sight of her. Her face was lit up in a strange way, Mena couldn't understand it.

'Lethallan!' Merrill said happily. 'We made it! We're outside! Revas!'

Mena tilted her head as she was slowly put down by Fenris. He still had one arm around her back, holding her under her arm as her leg would be healing for a while yet. The woman looked around and her face seemed to just fall blank, the sun catching her eyes through the trees. A breeze wove around them all and Mena's grip on Fenris' arm became that little bit tighter. 'Elgara,' she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Varric and Garrett were simply watching her and making sure that she didn't freak out. If anything, she seemed a little shell shocked about what's going on. Peaches was sniffing the undergrowth and left to it. They had been taking turns to carry her and it just so happened that Fenris was the one carrying her when she awoke. Fenris tactfully leans her into Merrill so that he could be free of her grip as he walked over to Garrett. 'We can afford to take a break here. I think if we try to move on without giving her time she will panic,' he stated simply.

Hawke tilted his head as he scratched Peaches behind the ear keeping half an eye on Merrill as she led Mena to a small grassy area off the trail. 'Why do you think that?' He asked honestly not really knowing why she would.

Fenris cleared his throat and looked at the floor. 'Because it is the first thing I did when I became free,' he admitted. He knew that her situation was very different but the overwhelming sensation was bound to be the same. Garrett didn't press him further and simply nodded, stating that he and Varric were going to hunt something to eat while Fenris and Merrill set up a fire and found a suitable area.

It had become midday and Mena was sitting next to a river that they had found, a nice flat bank with good tree cover should the weather turn. True to Fenris' prediction, Mena did have a couple of moments when it came to the local wildlife and sudden cloud cover that blocked out the sun. The scents and sights were new and she became heavily overstimulated at one point, resorting to simply curling up and crying. Merrill had managed to calm her down during that time and found that sitting her next to the water relaxed her. Varric and Hawke returned with a small deer that they had hunted and Merrill gave them a good fire to cook it on. Mena looked over as they prepared the animal for the spit before coming over to the river. Hawke pulled off his breastplate and tunic, Varric removed and folded his coat and under-shirt. Both of them chatted while they washed their arms and faces, glad to be properly cleaning after weeks in the Deep roads. After a while Merrill and Fenris exchanged places with them, Mena figured that she was supposed to do the same. She pulled off her top, over her arms and unwound her belt. She left her leggings on as her leg hurt too much to remove them anyway.

Fenris was washing behind his neck when he turned his head and caught sight of Mena, half naked trying to copy them. His face flushed red and he quickly looked away. He cleared his throat, 'ah, Merrill,' he said surprising her with the use of her name. She raised her head from where she had been washing her face.

'Hmm?' She asked.

'Mena... requires your assistance,' he said looking at the water, praying that she didn't notice his reddening ears. It wasn't that he had never seen a naked woman before but it didn't feel right. She was like a child and it was wrong.

Merrill leans further forward and realises what he meant. 'Ah! Mena! Mena!' She said getting to her feet and running over to her. Mena jumped at the urgency of her voice and lost her balance crashing into the rather deep river. 'Ahhhh!' Merrill screamed. 'I dinnae think she'll be able ta swim!' She shouted at the men as she stuck her hand into the water and tried to grab Mena who was flailing around.

Fenris swore and rolled his eyes as he dove into the water, grabbing her around the waist as the current pulled her further down towards him. He kicked hard and they broke the surface, Mena spat the water from her mouth and clung onto his neck. Merrill and Hawke took a hold of his arm as he swam towards the embankment. Varric wrapped Mena up in a cloak as she was passed up into their arms, the ochre and charcoal running down her face. She shivered and coughed shaking the water from her hair. 'Ma serannas, Fennis,' Mena mumbled.

'You... are welcome,' he replied as he pulled himself from the river, the perfect height for Peaches to lick his face, much to his disgust. He pushed the hound to one side and gratefully accepted the other dry cloak from Garrett as he dried his hair. 'Let us avoid that in the future,' Fenris stated bluntly making Hawke smirk. Merrill took the opportunity to completely wash Mena's face and arms, her hair was still dripping wet and with some encouragement she convinced her to lean over the river so that she could rinse it through thoroughly. The men settled themselves in front of the fire giving the two women some privacy. Merrill appeared about half an hour later and rooted through her pack until she found some of the cleaner spare clothing that she had stashed.

The deer had almost cooked when Merrill and Mena returned from the river. Years of grime had been removed, making her look like a completely different person. Dressed in something similar to Merrill she smiled brightly. A little uneasy about the fact that her facial paint had gone but Merrill assured her that it was a good thing. Her skin was pale from all the time she had spent in the dark, her hair was in fact not a deep brown that they had thought but a light copper. Merrill had to shave half of it away on the left side, the matting of hair proving too difficult to untangle. The rest of her hair had been brushed over to the right and although had been cut at different lengths depending on what Merrill could save it was still long enough to pass her shoulder. The slightly spiky look suited her though and when she smiled, they could all agree that she was pretty. 'Hey, there she is!' Varric said as she leaned on Merrill as they walked closer to the fire. 'Wow, aren't you something,' he smiled.

Mena didn't really understand him but his tone was positive. Merrill sat her down on a log and Peaches wandered over for some attention. Everything was going well so far and once they had all eaten, they attempted to camp down for the night. Their next problem was that Mena… panicked when the sun started to disappear. She had never been in true darkness before, there had always been something that provided a source of light. Their problems multiplied when she tried to climb a tree to sleep in, her damaged leg was hindering. She utterly refused to stay on the ground and in the end, Garrett boosted her into a lower branch.

Mena settled down in what seemed like an impossible position and after a while it seemed that she had fallen asleep. Fenris looks over at Garrett who had just finished saying goodnight to Merrill, 'why are you indulging this... fantasy?' He asked as he laid down on the grass using a pack as a pillow.

'Context, Fenris,' Hawke said simply as he chucked another log on the fire.

'Mena,' Fenris replied. 'I cannot see how she will adjust to living in the city. She is dangerous-'

'Fenris, friend. I'm gonna stop you right there,' Garrett laughed lightly. 'You are dangerous. I am dangerous. She is... innocent. She doesn't understand the way of things. Merrill will be able to teach her,' he pointed out.

With a sigh Fenris rubbed his eyes. 'What I mean is that... Merrill... she is … she can be … oblivious at times. Her own socialisation around humans is not exactly ideal.'

'Well, no, that's true. I get what you're saying but I trust her. And Mena... she deserves to have a normal life,' Hawke laid down on in his own makeshift bed. Peaches wandered over and curled up next to him, feeling his arm drape over her shoulders.

'What would be a normal life for a woman like her?' Fenris asked honestly curious.

'Not having to look over her shoulder for the next thing that could kill her,' Varric said out of nowhere from where he was leaning against a tree, the uncanny skill of being able to sleep sitting up. 'Being able to understand the people around her and who knows, maybe being able to have a family if that was something she wanted,' he added. The conversation seemed to come to an end with no conclusion.

The fire had died down when Fenris was woken by acorns. As in, they were landing on him. With a flash of his tattoos, he jolted upright and looked up. Mena was on the lowest branch and dropping the acorns and leaves on him, he couldn't see her expression but he could hear the noise she was making. 'Fennis,' she whispered.

'Mena, what are you doing?' He asked annoyed at being woken. Her tone suggested that she was scared or at least worried about something. Mentally he scolded himself, remembering that she couldn't understand him.

'Fennis,' she repeated reaching down a hand. The Tevinter elf sighed as he stood up, taking her fingers in his as he helped her out the tree. She was shaking but he knew it wasn't from the cold. 'Fennis, Ir abelas. Ir souveri, ir isala halani,' she murmured as she held him tightly, not knowing his aversion to touch. He recognised some of what she said and it was the most that he had ever heard her say at once.

Feeling incredibly uncomfortable he led her over to where Merrill was sleeping soundly. 'Here,' he said as he shook Merrill's shoulder as gently as possible to wake her. Mena tilted her head and wondered what he was doing.

Merrill stirred and looked up, 'Fenris... lethallan, what be the matter?' She asked as she covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned.

Fenris gritted his teeth and spoke with a kindness he didn't really feel at this time in the morning. 'Mena... is scared. It would be easier if she slept next to you,' Fenris stated simply as Merrill sat up.

'Oh, aye, of course,' she smiled weakly, the only light was from his markings and Mena was looking between them wondering what was going on. 'Lethallan,' she said as she opened her arms. Mena looked at Fenris and he nodded, helping her lie down next to Merrill who pulled the cloak she was using to keep warm over her as well.

Mena looked back at Fenris, 'ma serannas,' she mumbled before she buried her head into Merrill's chest.

He nods, 'hamin, Mena,' he said as he walked back to his pallet. While he didn't mind that Mena was starting to trust him, it was tiring. Literally in this case. He looked up to the sky and figured that he had a few more hours before dawn, he'd be able to catch a little more sleep if he was lucky. Thankfully they weren't far from the city, if they made good time in the morning they would be there before nightfall. Barring any altercations from wild animals or robbers they would be pretty safe on the journey. Fenris was ready for this whole endeavour to be over, he had had enough of the deep roads and traitorous dwarves. The first thing he wanted to do once back in the city was have a bath. A proper bath. With something that would feel that it was removing the top layer of his skin. After months travelling in the grime, meeting Mena in the fashion that he did and now throwing himself into a river, he just wanted to feel clean. That wasn't too much to ask, was it?