The Queen Rests - VK

As camp was laid out, Fremelda found a secluded spot so she could be away from prying eyes while she rummaged through her pack and pulled out the children's book she had. She held it to her breast, closing her eyes before opening it and placed her finger on the page, and began to read- haltingly- the words aloud. It was probably the only thing she was embarrassed about; her illiteracy. Sophia had been teaching her, and she was grateful for that, but when one has carved her way through countless targets, crawled out of the brothels to become somebody notorious, being illiterate was a detrimental trait to have.

"And...then... the bear... licked the honey... Hm. Sounds kinky." she muttered to herself as she read aloud. The wind blew across her red locks, and she brushed some of it out of her face. Sophia wants me to grow it out... but wouldn't it get in the way? she mused to herself and sighed, then continued reading at her slow pace.

Kassina was in wolf form again, having left the main camp site to hunt for some dinner. Dartmoor kept trying to interest her in "normal" food but so far it wasn't going very well. As she was following the scent of a rabbit she picked up the scent of a human female.

Interested as to what someone else was doing this far from camp she went to investigate and saw the red-headed woman reading a book. Stories! The wolf got excited and trotted out of the trees and into the clearing. She moved slowly so as not to frighten the woman. Kassina recognized her from the travel group but did not know her name.

Choosing to stay in wolf form for now Kassina sat across from the woman and stared hopefully at the book and made little whining noises, hoping to encourage the woman to continue to read.

Fremelda was deeply immersed in reading the book when she heard something approach. Immediately, out of instinct, she dropped the book and placed a hand on the hilt on Thorn. She looked up to see a wolf standing in front of her, whining? "Huh...?" she sounded, warily. Why was there a wolf here not bent on attacking. "You hungry? Well you're not getting any meat from me! I'm damaged enough as it is."

Hungry? Was the woman suggesting, ewww! The wolf whined and shook her head in disgust. Very slowly she moved closer to the woman, seeing she was on edge. She'd already almost been stabbed once today and didn't have any desire to repeat the experiance.

When she was within reach of the fallen book the wolf laid down and then nudged the book with her nose and whined again. Then she looked up at the woman with a questioning and expenctant look in her blue wolf eyes.

Fremelda couldn't believe her eyes. A wolf that didn't want to eat her, and had some interest in her book. She lifted an eyebrow. "You...want me to read to you?" She asked, tilting her head. Insane though it was, she found herself picking up the book, though the tension at the back of her neck didn't settle. She was wary of this seemingly intelligent beast. Opening the book to the start, Fremelda frowned. "I'm... I'm not very good at reading. This is about all I know." she said in an embarrassed tone. Spirits take me, why the hell am I speaking to a wolf? Much less reading to it. Maybe I have gone mad. she mused to herself before she began to haltingly read the book aloud as she had before, to the wolf.

The story was of several animals and the way they played together. There was a bear, a mabari, a wolf, and a fox. All of these were indigenous to Fereldan, so children could understand better. There was a storm that drove the animals away from each other and the rest of the story was them finding each other again and playing once more. Fremelda cherished this book as it was what taught her how to read.

Kassina was happy the woman understood her message and began to read the story. She still smelled tense, but didn't look as if she was going to attack, so Kassina laid just out of reach and listened to the story. The wolf enjoyed the story immensly because it was one she could actually understand, being about animals, not a city full of things she didn't know.

Kassina barked a thank you and then got up and darted into the forest. She could smell a family of rabbits not far away and she was starving. As she approached the rabbit burrow she thought that maybe she should bring the woman some dinner to say thank you for reading the story to her.

The wolf returned a few minutes later and dropped a dead and only slighly drooled on rabbit a pace away from the woman before moving off a few paces and laying down to begin munching on the rabbit she had caught for herself.

Fremelda had to admit, it was nice having someone to talk to, even if it wasn't human. The wolf listened to the story intently and when it was done, it seemed pleased. The Queen of Thorns smiled slightly, until the wolf darted off and then she frowned, alone once again. A few minutes passed and the wolf returned, dropping a dead rabbit at her feet. "Cute. I can't eat it like that though. I have to cook it." She said and picked it up by the ears and went about skinning it with her dirk that was stashed in her boot. When she was done, she set up a fire and stuck the rabbit on a spit and began to roast it.

Kassina shook her head at the human going about ruining perfectly good food, but continued to munch on her rabbit in silence. The human had a good fire going by the time Kassina was done eating and she moved slowly and cautiously toward it. She laid down again close to the fire, still just out of reach of the human and then looked up at her.

Being near the fire reminded her of sleeping by the fire with Dartmoor in the big stone place in the city. She wanted to bring him here with her, but the human seemed shy and wary. She might not appreciate human shaped company. Instead Kassina chose to lay by the fire and wait to see what this human would do next.

Once the rabbit was cooked enough, Fremelda took it off the spit and started to eat, using her knife to carve off some flesh. She sighed at the bland taste, she had no real knowledge of cooking after all. Then she looked to the wolf. "So how come you can understand me, huh? You a spirit inhabiting a wolf?" she asked curiously.

A spirit inhabiting a wolf? The wolf shook her head and whined. Kassina was torn about whether to reveal her true form or not. She didn't want to frighten the woman, but at the same time it kind of felt like lying not to tell her.

The wolf slowly stood up and moved off a few paces and then sat down again. Suddenly the wolf was gone and a young blond elven woman in a leather tunic and pants had taken its place. She looked over at the other woman and smiled. "Me Kassina. Not spirit. Mage. Who you?"

Fremelda's question was answered with a shake of the head and then a transformation as the wolf changed to an elf girl. She was cute, but Fremelda's lips tightened a bit in disappointment. She believed in spirits, after all. She sighed and nodded. "I am Fremelda. Nice to meet you, Kassina." She said, and bit her lip. "Nice trick... being able to change into animals." She said and lay down beside the fire, shivering a little. The night air was cold and she wasn't used to sleeping outdoors.

Her transformation seemed to have upsert the woman. Kassina was a bit saddened by this, but quite used to the reaction. Many people seemed to be wary of mages, even more so than wild wolves.

"Being animal keep Kassina safe. Many bad people." Kassina watched as Fremelda lay down by the fire and saw her shiver. "Fa... Fre.. mella? Names hard. Cold? Why here? Why not sit others? Bad people make Famella scared too? Kassina scared lots people."

Kassina sat and observed the other woman for a moment, trying to think of how she could be warm. She had always slept in a den full of wolves so warmth hadn't been an issue. "Want warm thing? What word? Warm sleep thing." And she mimed covering oneself with a blanket as she did not know the word.

Kassina seemed like a nice kid, for an elf. Fremelda let her guard drop a bit. "Um... call me Fremmy." she combed her fingers through her red hair. "I don't trust anyone is why I don't sit with them. There are a lot of people who would want me dead if they knew who I was. As for warm thing, you mean a blanket? Sure. I neglected to pack one." she muttered and curled up into a ball on the ground to keep warm.

Kassina nodded her head in understanding as she listened to Fremelda speak. "Many people no like mages. No like elves. I know why Fremmy no trust. You weak human nose, no can smell lies. Wolf nose strong. Kassina be back."

Once again the elf was gone and a wolf stood in her place for a second before dashing off into the trees.

Several minutes later the wolf returned with a blanket across her back and a small bag in her mouth. She placed both on the ground near Fremelda and then back away and transformed into an elf once more. "Kassina wolf pack keep warm. Kassina no need bl.. blanket?" The last word she played around with a bit until she got it right. "Bring some people food. Dartmoor say buns good. And buddar." She made a face at this, not liking the stuff herself.

This elf girl had a peculiar manner of speech, but Fremelda figured he was just not used to talking to others. She scrunched her face humorously at the mention of having a weak human nose. "Well Im not a survivalist. I know how to kill, and how to make the right noises in bed. That's about it." Her chest heaved a sigh. She took the bag of bread and butter from Kassina and nodded, patting the head of the elf. "Thanks. I don't think I've seen you before tonight." She said, then again, she hadn't met most of the Warden-Commander's companions in general.

"Noises in bed?" Kassina looked at the other woman totally confused. "What noises? What mean bed?" Kassina shied away from Fremelda's hand a bit as the woman went to pat her head.

"Kassina live forest. Only come stone place join warden pack few days. Glad pack leave stone place. No like. Noisey. Smell bad. Many many people. Food all burn. But whole room full stories! Kassina like stories. Kassina no read but Dartmoor, Mag, Cesta they read to Kassina." Then Kassina halted, seemingly out of words.

Da'Vhenan was trotting about checking about the woods for anything she could find to eat. Guremi was in the camp with that strange elf so she decided to take off for a while. She noticed another wolf moving about and had watched her, sneaking around upwind from the other canine until she found a spot to hang out and listen to the woman read.

When Kassina changed into an elf, Vhenan sat up looking at the strange girl then hid again to watch and listen. What was this? Magic? Oh but magic could not do that could it? She couldn't remember whether she knew of what magic could or could not do but something about it caught in her throat. She was a wolf. How was she to know about things two leggeds got into.

Fremmy spoke with Kassina then Kassina went off to get something. She came back and they spoke some more but by this time the wind had shifted and Da'Vhenan got up to sneak into a better spot but her attention had been on the other two and not on where she was walking.

Her foot landed on some leaves but then there was a buckling and a loud SNAP as a spring trap closed on her front right leg. She yowled in pain then started yelping, pulling and biting at the trap, tears coming to her eyes as she tried to force herself free.

Fremelda lifted an eyebrow at Kassina. "Sex. Mating, but without the intention of reproducing. As for a bed, it's what a person sleeps on. When we get to Vigil's Keep, I'll let you share mine, so you don't have to sleep on the hard ground." She said and then Kassina went into her tirade about how she didn't like the 'stone place' which Fremelda assumed was Denerim. "Denerim's not so bad if you know how to move about. The night is actually very quiet in Market District. As for stories, I love them too... but you know what? Try asking that pretty lady with the black hair, and the ribbons on her arms. She is a fantastic story teller. You'd like her. She's been teaching me how to read." She said.

Then she heard a snap of a trap nearby and instantly, her dirk left her hand as she threw it towards whatever made the noise, sticking into the ground beside another wolf. Fremelda turned her nose up. "Come to steal my food have you?" she asked in a warning tone.

Kassina listened intently as Fremelda spoke. She was learning so much every day it was amazing. Before she could come up with more questions to ask she heard a snap and a wolf yelping. She knew that sound only too well and ran toward the trapped wolf as fast as she could.

"Shhhh, hold still! Kassina help. But no move." She said gently as she knelt beside the red wolf. She then repeated her instructions in the wolf language before setting to work on the trap. Many of her packmates had been traped in these things over the years and she had gotten quite good at removing them.

"You with horned female. Kassina see you. Camp outside stone place." She talked soothingly as she worked on the trap, repeating everything in wolf after she said it out loud.

Within moments she had the wolf's leg free of the trap. She put her hands on the wounded leg and did a simple healing to stop the bleeding and mend the bone. "There! Ok? Have name?"

When the knife fell beside her, Da'Vhenan snapped at it then glared towards Fremelda, realizing where it had come from. Then Kassina was there beside her, helping and getting her out of the trap. She breathed out in relief as her leg was healed then whimpered, putting her head on Kassina's shoulder.

The red wolf backed up and cocked her head to the side. She knew both languages even though she had no idea how but she could only speak wolf, "Guremi, elf-qun sister. Da'Vhenan my name. Name means 'little heart' in elvish. Sometimes calle Vhenan for short but mostly Da'Vhenan by Guremi."

Fremelda watched the scene before her mutely, Kassina freed the red wolf and began speaking to it in some short barks and whines. Bizarre as it was, Fremelda couldn't help but be curious. She walked over to fetch her knife. "Sorry, reflex action. I don't like it when people sneak up on me." she said and yanked the dirk out of the ground.

Returning it to its place in her boot, she walked back to her spot where she was eating at and pulled the blanket back over herself and resumed eating the rabbit while watching the other two.

Kassina listened to the red wolf and watched as Fremelda came over to get her dirk before returning to the fire.

"Fremmy dis Da... Da'Vhe..." Kassina stopped and shook her head. She really needed to work on picking up names. "Friend. Come with horned female. Gu.. Gemmy?"

Kassina went over to the red wolf and began checking her leg to make sure she hadn't missed anything. "Leg weak. No run!" Now that she was closer to the red wolf and not concentrating on the trap or the healing she picked up something odd in the wolf's scent. "Da'Vhe no smell right. What wrong?" She cocked her head to the side as she thought. There was something other than wolf in Da'Vhenan's scent but Kassina could not figure out what it was.

"Go see dark garden elf? She know much."

"Ven. Can call me Ven and Gur ok for Guremi." Da'Vhenan said with some amusement that the elf could not say names. Was she not used to being around people? Da'Vhenan was always around people except when she went to visit other wolves. Guremi did not like that though.

She stood, testing her leg and got a big smile on her face, "Almost all better! So good thanks Kassie! So go see dark elf, the one with the big man who is scary but isn't scary? I think I go see them but what about Frem friend? Won't she be lonely?"

Da'Vhenan was not sure about the woman but she seemed sad and she hated seeing anyone lonely or sad.

"Yes garden elf with big human. Garden elf litter mate of Mag. Mag friend. Garden elf smart." Kassina stopped in her rambling and turned to the red headed human. "Fremmy come Kassina and Ven? Find garden elf? Need ask stuff. Not want leave Fremmy all alone."

Fremelda listened to another exchange of barks and whines until finally Kassina addressed her directly. "'Garden elf?' Oh... Jezarine I think her name was. She was at my Joining. Right... Yeah, sure I'll come with you and... Ven." She said, trying to wrap her head around the fact that a wolf has a name. She then stood up and dusted herself off before following the wolves to Jezarine.

When they found her tent (which she shared with a templar, of all things), Fremelda folded her arms over her chest. "Knock knock. Don't bother getting dressed, dear, I've seen it all." She said and walked in. "Apparently Kassina has some questions for you and she didn't want to go alone."