Sunny walked with Cullen through the hallways, their silence, companionable. She found him odd, most people hated silence and tried to fill it with anything, from small talk about the weather to food. But if anything, Cullen was more comfortable in the silence together and seemed to get more flustered when they talked. He timed his steps with hers, she was used to following her King at a certain distance behind him, always a few steps behind, and from before the king, not many elves walked with her then either, she was always in front of them, facing them, no one was by her side. But this Templar, Cullen, she found if she slowed her steps, he would slow to match her, and if she sped back up, he followed suit. Her knuckles gently knocked against his and he looked over to her watching him and quickly averted his gaze, clearing his throat. Sunny smiled.
Upon reaching the harbour, she realised it was only the two of them, both their packs already in the boat. He readied the small boat and steadied it with one foot in it and one foot on the dock. She grabbed his hand before he offered it, her face etched with worry, he wondered why she didn't like boats. She stepped too swiftly into the small rowboat, rocking it, and she sank to sit quickly. Cullen laughed at her as he regained his balance, earning him a scowl.
"It's not funny." her hands were white with how hard she was gripping the oars. "I've never liked boats, they make me feel unwell"
"Then I will make this as quick and as smooth as I can." Cullen spoke trying his best to keep his face neutral, but watching this woman use magic in a way that other mages only dreamed of, becoming so flustered by a boat trip was laughable.
They travelled on the boat in the same comfortable silence. They needn't talk. And didn't feel they had to. Upon reaching the shore Cullen helped her back out of the boat and she sighed, rolling her shoulders as if she hadn't realised that she had tensed up so much. A young stable hand brought over a bay coloured mare just as Trigg, the mabari, came bounding out of the woods. Giving the horse a fright. Stomping its hooves at him as Trigg tilted his head.

"Hey boy," Sunny spoke softly to the dog. "Do you think you can run ahead of me and let them know I am on the way? Find them for me and meet me at the edge of the forest and lead me to them." Trigg yipped in return before looking over at Cullen, he huffed before turning tail and running through the underbrush.

Sunny watched Cullen load their equipment into the saddle bags of the horse. She was a beautiful mare. Big and strong. Her shining fur rippled over her muscles as flies landed on her, swishing her tail to swat them away. Her hooves stamped with impatience as Cullen mounted her with the practised ease of someone who had been riding a long time his hand out to take hers. Sunny hesitated.

"It's an awfully long way on foot" he sighed, when she looked from his hand to his face.

"I've walked further." Sunny turned, her hair swishing behind her as she started down the main road to denerim. She heard a thump behind her. Cullen had dismounted and led the horse by the reins to follow. "You can ride, I'm not bothered. I need to stretch my legs anyhow, after being cooped up in those walls"

"It was only one night." Cullen shook his head, confusion knitted his brows. She shrugged in return. "Besides, it won't look very good, with me on the horse and you walking behind me." she smiled at him, a real smile. One that made him stutter and look ahead bashfully.

They made small talk as they travelled, between stretches of silence. The roads were quiet, the noise of the horses hooves a welcome melody. They camped the first night. Cullen had brought a spare tent for her to take with her, as she mentioned in passing hers had been damaged and she hadn't been able to replace it yet.

"There's no point in putting up both," Sunny spoke as they ate.

"W-what?" Cullen choked on his food.

"The tents. There is no point in putting up both of them, yours is large enough for the both of us and we can save time and cover more ground during the light. We could make it to Olvers Crossing tomorrow and stay at an inn. I know Ferelden well. I could lead us through the Bannorn, though it may be safer to travel along the main road that borders the lands of Highever." Sunny spoke excitedly. Finishing her meal quickly and sucking each finger clean of the meat juices from the rabbit she had caught for their dinner. Her eyes not leaving Cullen's face, or missing the fact that he watched her lips as she licked and sucked each finger clean. Watching his cheeks grow red when his amber eyes flickered up to meet hers and realised she had watched him, watch her. He shuffled nervously averting his gaze as she got up and practically skipped to her pack. Rustling through and grabbing some scrolls. At first he thought they were scrolls of magic but as she rolled them out on the log beside him she squatted just off centre to him. He noticed that they were maps. Small sections of the local area, highly detailed sections of the local areas. She spoke quickly and animatedly, lining up the maps of a route they could take through the bannorn. But after she saw the look on his face, she mistakenly took it as one of disinterest, but he was surprised. She shut down slowly. Returning to the emotionless mask.

"It's probably best to stick to the main road." Her voice was flatter. And she rolled them back up. "There's a patch of elfroot and other healing herbs nearby. I'm going to go pick some." and just like that she packed up her maps and had left their small camp before Cullen gathered himself enough to speak. He looked at the edge of the trees that she had gone through. She was enchanting. In the short time he'd known her, she had barely shown any other emotions except anger, disinterest and disgust. But just then, her maps in hand. She glowed. Her face lit up with excitement, her voice took on a sing-song quality. And as quick as it appeared it was gone.

Sunny was verbally chastising herself as she picked through the local flora picking healing herbs as she went. She had forgotten herself. And let her excitement run away with her. One of her hobbies was charting maps. In all her time travelling with Calenhad and helping him reunite Ferelden he had her chart the areas. Take down anything of note and she found she enjoyed it. And as the years went. And the roads changed. She loved to make new maps.

She had strung out collecting herbs long enough and night had started to fall. As she made her way back to camp, she realised she had acted like a child, at first getting over excited and then hiding away in the woods in the hope he would go to bed before she got back.
He hadn't, she saw him pacing back and forth looking out to the woods and muttering to himself, his hand rubbing at the pommel of his sword. He seemed to be in two minds about going to look for her, when she broke through the undergrowth just off to his left.

"Oh, you're still up" her tone was flat. And he frowned at her, that stupid deadpan look in her eyes, that stupid disinterested tone she used.

"Yes! Of course I am," Cullen bit out. His annoyance, palpable. Her eyes widened in surprise for a split second. "There is a Blight coming in case you hadn't noticed, and you have been gone for hours. What if something had happened to you?"

"Well, I would have been fine. A few darkspawn are no cause for concern" Sunny returned his frustrated tone.

"You don't know that!" he all but shouted.

"Why do you care, Cullen?" she returned his volume as she squared up to him. "To you, I'm just another mage right?"

"Why would that make a difference? I'm going to bed." he turned away, and went into the tent. She shouted after him in Elven. Childishly repeating what he said with a more childish tone, a trait she had learned from Maric. She was wishing that she had set up the other tent now. But to set it up now or to sleep outside would just make her seem more childish than she was already being. For centuries she was able to keep her emotions mostly in check, and she meets this one Templar. And all of that goes out the window.

She sighed. Starting up some deep slow breaths. In. And. Out. Over and over. Until she felt some semblance of calm and climbed into the tent. Cullen was already under a blanket and a lamp emitting a soft glow beside him. She didn't change out of her armour, she didn't have anything else, Cullen had let her borrow a cotton shirt of his own back at the tower and she didn't think it would be right to ask again, she would wait until they stopped in another village. She sighed as she laid down next to Cullen he had his eyes closed but he faced her, and turned the lamp off.

"Templar… Cullen. I… I am sorry." Sunny whispered in the dark. Her hand reached out to touch his brushing her fingers across his knuckles, he flinched under her touch and she withdrew. "I am not a good person." Silence met her. "I am brash and hard-headed. Overconfident and ill-mannered. I am indifferent to too many things, people, and full of hate for so many more. Not many people like me and I do not blame them. If you wish, in the morning, I can leave and travel by myself."

"No." Cullen sighed.

"No?"

"Just… go to sleep. We will make our way to Olvers Crossing. Find an inn and plan from there." he grunted.

Sunny couldn't help the small smile that crept on her face. A small noise of affirmation leaving her as she let herself relax enough to sleep.

She woke to the sound of rustling outside, and the bedroll empty beside her. She shot up to a seating position, it wasn't like her to sleep through someone else moving around. She must have been tired, could she really still be catching up from her time awake in Redcliffe? After rolling up and sorting the tent's contents she stepped out into the midmorning sun. The sun reflecting off of Cullen's golden curls, his profile near serene while feeding the horse an apple, having already cleared most of their makeshift camp.

"Good morning," Cullen spoke, double taking her appearance, his calm expression turning tense when he looked at her. "Did you not change? For bed I mean"

She looked down at her armour. Not the most comfortable way to sleep. But she didn't have any night clothes with her.

"Um, no. I forgot to bring my night clothes." She picked up both bedrolls walking over to Cullen to put on the horse, as he rustled through his pack.

"Here, it's not much but it will be more comfortable for you." he handed over one of his cotton shirts. She took it, he made sure not to touch her.

"Oh, I couldn't. I will find something in the next village." She tried to hand it back.

"There's no point wasting coin if you already have some. And I have plenty of cotton undershirts." He didn't smile but his frown was gone, as he shrugged, turning away from her again.

"Thank you… Cullen." She bowed her head slightly, and put it in her pack. She returned to take the tent down as Cullen sorted their breakfast.

"I feel like we should have done this the other way round." Cullen gave her a lopsided smile as he handed her an apple and some bread, and she passed him the tent in return along with a smile that mirrored his.

"Next time you can do all the heavy lifting" she bit into her apple, with a wink and turned to hold the horse's reins and gently lead it when Cullen had finished tying the tent on the saddle.

"To Olvers crossing then." Cullen said.