/mashes things together that should not go together

[whowhatwhy]

[ It was a dark and stormy night.

What? It was.

Anyway, the rain was coming down in sheets when a cloaked figure collapsed outside of the gates of Castle Dunbroch. He wasn't injured, at least nothing serious beyond a few scrapes and bruises. Cold, sick, and exhausted? Most certainly. He was brought inside, and it quickly became apparent, thought the insignia on his armor and the papers he carried with him, that he was a Grey Warden. There were only stories about the Wardens this far out, and everyone had to wonder what one was doing so far from his home. Hopefully nothing having to do with the creatures the Wardens were famous for fighting.

But far be it from the king and queen to deny a Grey Warden shelter. He was kept secluded, mostly. Only a few members of the castle staff kept an eye on him, and no matter how much the triplets tried to get a glimpse, they never managed. The castle was buzzing with gossip for over a week, as the exhausted Warden in the tower room rested and healed.

And then, on a relatively quiet day, once the weather had warmed, the Warden emerged. No one was quite sure how he got from his room to the castle's training yard without being noticed. He was just... suddenly there, loosing arrows at a target with deadly accuracy. Obviously, a visit to the king and queen had been first on his list, but since they were both away on some business or other, he contented himself with some exercise.

He feels like he's been in that Andraste-be-damned bed for way too long. ]

Comments

[bearmyfate]

[ don't worry. He'll have a stalker Clydesdale after him once he hits the road. ]

[whowhatwhy]

[ Nathaniel is just walking, because that's how Wardens roll, but it's pretty easy to tell after a while that he's being followed.

So one moment he's there, just ahead, and the next he's just... gone. ]

[bearmyfate]

... He's taking me for a dafty, is he?

[ ugh how do you lose someone who's on foot?? She'll at least try to put her woodland expertise to work by looking for any sort of sign of his directional progress. ]

[whowhatwhy]

[ He's a rogue, Merida. He does that.

He's also in a tree, bow drawn, but he quickly falls out of attack mode when he sees who's been following him. ]

What in the name of Andraste's holy pyre are you doing here?

[ Still in the tree, by the way. ]

[bearmyfate]

[ and she's drawing her own bow before she even recognizes that it's him-- and then she has to lower it and now she does feel foolish. ]

Going with you, a'course.

[whowhatwhy]

[ This is a Nathaniel Howe Long Suffering Sigh^TM ]

What do you think it is Grey Wardens do, princess?

[bearmyfate]

Fight the monsters, defend the land, get loads of grief for it...

[whowhatwhy]

In part, you're correct. Becoming a Warden... it's not fun, it's not easy. It's not for you. I've been a Warden for nearly a decade now. The least you could do is take me at my word.

[bearmyfate]

You think I'd want easy? I'm not just some... numpty of a princess!

[whowhatwhy]

It is a death sentence, Merida. If becoming a Warden doesn't kill you, if the Darkspawn don't kill you, the taint in your blood will. You're too young. You have your whole life ahead of you. Please, go home.

[bearmyfate]

... What?

[ ah, the things they don't tell the young ones. ]

[whowhatwhy]

I shouldn't be telling you this, but if it's the only way to make you see... [ he's about to explain further, but he feels that familiar tugging at the back of his mind. Darkspawn.

His gaze snaps up the road, and he has his bow at the ready in an instant. He briefly wonders what darkspawn are doing so far out, but it's a thought for another time. ]

Go, Merida. As fast as your horse can carry you. We're no longer alone in these woods.

[bearmyfate]

[ she has so many questions she wants to ask, but Angus is already close to plunging as is, scuffing the ground and snorting his anxiety. Merida focuses on the most important one. ]

What about you? I can't just leave you!

[whowhatwhy]

I'll be fine. [ He hops from the tree, landing soundlessly. He gives the horse a good smack on the flank. ] Now go.

[bearmyfate]

[ Merida's ready to keep protesting, but Angus had already wheeled around, taking off in the opposite direction at a ground-eating gallop. This bothers her, though. Who would run away? ]

[whowhatwhy]

[ It's for the best. She doesn't know what she's getting into.

No sooner are the horse and rider out of sight, than a small unit of darkspawn crest a nearby rise. Nathaniel sets himself and begins firing arrows with well-practiced focus. ]

[bearmyfate]

[ this feels wrong. This feels wrong, and Merida hates every bit of distance they're putting between them and the Grey Warden.

It's why she tugs at the reins in a moment of sharp determination and turns Angus back around. If he can handle himself, then at least she can verify it herself. If not, then she'd rather risk herself by helping him than hiding safely away while he faced the monsters on his own. ]

[whowhatwhy]

[ Nathaniel seems to have picked off a fair few of them, but now they're closing in. He grits his teeth, drawing a long dagger. He's done this before, and it shows- besides, darkspawn are not the most organized things in the world. He plunges a blade into one creature's neck, and whirls on the next without missing a beat, another blade suddenly in his free hand. ]

[bearmyfate]

[ ... he's holding up admirably so far, but Merida's not convinced enough to guide Angus back into a run for safety's sake. Instead, she liberates her bow and reaches for an arrow and fits it to the string, drawing it back to her cheek. And she waits, to see.

If one gets past his guard, it won't be getting any further. ]

[whowhatwhy]

[ One does- it gets brave while Nathaniel is tangling with a rather large hurlock with an axe. It's making a break for a hole in his guard- he sees it, but there's not much he can do about it. ]

[bearmyfate]

[ that, she can handle. It's present in the whistle of an arrow whipping through the air and lodging into the monster's neck. Merida's braced to fire a second strike, another arrow already set to the string. ]

[whowhatwhy]

[ There is surprise all around, as Nathaniel's Warden senses tell him that the treat at his back is suddenly gone. The hurlock is shocked too, which gives Nathaniel enough time to break its guard and shove a blade through its throat.

The look he shoots Merida is nothing short of horrified. ] I told you to go!

[ He barely gets it out when a pair of darkspawn erupt from the bushes nearest the princess, moving to drag her from her horse. ]

[bearmyfate]

I-- [ she begins hotly, ready to insist that there was no way she could, he'd been in trouble and--

except that's before the darkspawn launch themselves at her. She has barely enough time to fire off her other arrow, which scores a hit in one eye, but then Angus is rearing in panic and there are blackened arms hauling her down and--

Well, she's pretty sure her horse just kicked one of them in the head, but she's also pretty sure that's a blade in her stomach. ]

[whowhatwhy]

[ No. Nononono. He will not let them take her. If nothing else comes of this, he must get her out of here alive. He leaves his blade in the fallen hurlock and takes up his bow again.

The darkspawn with the arrow in its eye has long since fallen and failed to rise. The one that took a hoof to the head looks dazed, but its still standing, and Nathaniel puts an end to that with a well-aimed arrow through the back of its head.

Then he's running, trying to get to her side. There are a few darkspawn left, but now Nathaniel's goal is survival. ]

[bearmyfate]

[ at least the blade itself is lodged not in skin, but the ground, although she vaguely regrets that, because everything hurts a lot more now. Angus has attempted to keep her upright by letting her hold onto his neck, but her knees are weaker than they've ever been and when she tries to take a deep breath, there's a coppery, unpleasantly wet feeling in her throat that she keeps choking on.

This doesn't feel right. ]