Campground - Camp Fire

Drake waited for Calliara to get her pack then walked with her to the fire. He looked about calmly for a moment, watching the others before speaking, still holding Calliara's hand, "Where is Nygozy?"

The man was sometimes not very good at speaking much more and he was not in the mood to do so at this time. He had figured that the Dwarf would be drinking or in her room but figured it was easiest to ask here first. If she had come out the drinkers may have noticed her, depending upon their sobreity unless it was Garoll ... who likely would notice even with his face in the dirt.

" hello my lady, How are you on this wonderful night? May I have a drink?"

Jez looked up, surprised to see Kai standing there asking for a drink and being ... well, polite. She blinked a few times, completely confused by this behaviour. He had never acted that way on their trip out for him to be Nygozy's guard.

"Was something wrong out there? I thought you'd be watching over the Hero of Fereldan. Uh ... I mean Nygozy."

"What a pleasant surprise chantry boy. Out-drink a dwarf? Now this I've gotta see. I bet ya can't even out drink little Jez here. Let alone that old man. And if yer really good, you'll be able to out drink me."

She smirked, "Oh, Royce! Ianto looks like he can drink a fair amount." The healer put a hand on Ianto's arm, "Can't you?"

"Where is Nygozy?"

The voice caught Jezarine by surprise and she gazed at Drake and Calliara, "Nygozy went to check something out in the woods. There's a lot of that going around today."

"Well I was. I just came out to get a drink for the lady. No reason she can't enjoy a bit of ale even if she's not here. And besides that It gave me another chance to see you my dear girl." 'Kai' gave a wink to Jezerine and laughed a bit as he went to fill a mug with some ale. "Why is it you look so surprised?" he asked her innocently.


Kai had been hoping to hide as they neared the camp. With his brother there maybe he could convince her that he'd moved on ahead. It was, however, too late for that. Just as he started to hide it seemed Kyon was noticed. "By the stone."

The assassin looked down at the little dwarf. "I don't suppose you want some kind of explanation?"

(Alex has gone camping and given me permission to play Kyon while he is away.)

Aayugara finally reached the campsite and came up behind Nygozy and Kai, as he did so he could feel the tension and awkwardness lingering in the air. Trying to understand the scenario better he edged past Kai and saw the elf already sitting at the fire wearing an eyepatch. "Uhhh..." he said, as he whipped his head over to look at the man next to Nygozy. However, that was definitely Kai. He looked between the two of them for a while, the only noticeable difference being the eyepatch. Looking at the real Kai, he asked "Okay, what the crap is going on here?"

Kai sighed and looked at the two that stood with him. He looked then to his brother at the campfire briefly before looking at the two others again. "Okay so I have a brother. A twin brother. He was watching our camp, trying to find the wardens. He'd left our Dalish clan in search of them in order to help with the cause, or that's what he told to me at least."

Kai looked over to his brother again. "As for what he's doing over there with my eyepatch...I honestly cannot say. He just sort of...took it and ran off before I had a chance to stop him. If I had to take a guess at his intentions however, I would say that he's either trying to impersonate me or embarass me...Maybe both."

Calliara smiled softly when Drake and her arrived and saw the others. She let him speak and ask for Nygozy while enjoying the view: the dwarf and the pink-haired guy were obviously drunk and trying to get Jezarine drunk as well, and there wwas again that elf that was surprisingly familiar for her but she cannot put the finger on it yet. And he was acting strange... And then everyone arrived and suddenly there were too far many people again and she started to be nervous and...

The Dalish blinked, looking at Kai, then at Kyon, then at Kai again, and finally at Kyon. Twins. And Dalish. And then, suddenly, she understood.

''... Kai? Kyon?''

"Well I was. I just came out to get a drink for the lady. No reason she can't enjoy a bit of ale even if she's not here. And besides that It gave me another chance to see you my dear girl. Why is it you look so surprised?"

"She is so surprised because Kai does not act like that. Good try, mind you." Nygozy stepped out from the woods and stared at the man trying to act like her protector.

"Uhhh... Okay, what the crap is going on here?"

"Okay so I have a brother. A twin brother. He was watching our camp, trying to find the wardens. He'd left our Dalish clan in search of them in order to help with the cause, or that's what he told to me at least. As for what he's doing over there with my eyepatch...I honestly cannot say. He just sort of...took it and ran off before I had a chance to stop him. If I had to take a guess at his intentions however, I would say that he's either trying to impersonate me or embarass me...Maybe both."

''... Kai? Kyon?''

Nygozy looked between the two men then smirked, "Really now? It looks like we will have to take this elsewhere and let the drinkers get back on with it. No need to mess with fun and revelry, now is there? Kyon is it? Come with us. Drake and Calliara, you're with us as well."

With that the Dwarf turned from the campfire and walked to just past the small house to a destroyed patch of garden, well enough away from the fire so that they could all have a relaxing chat without bothering the drinkers.

((And over to here for Kai, Kyon, Calliara, Drake and Aayugara if he wants - and if anyone else wants. It will probably be a fast moving thread - https://dragonageafter.forumotion.com/dragon-rest-f8/campground-family-ties-t88.htm#1090))

For a long time Marcus was quiet. He had put an arm around Jezarine's shoulder and sort of left it there. He was thinking about how she would look as a statuette, and smiled when she said she liked bunnies. "Then a bunny thou shalt have, my dark beauty." He said and then lapsed into carving into a block of wood, tuning out the conversations and arguments that marked daily life in this camp. He focused on the wood and the carving knife ever ready in his palm. Maple shaved off by iron, and a small pile started to build up at his feet.


Meanwhile, Garoll was already drinking and enjoying the bet. He had already downed a small keg of rum by himself and was still working on another. "Weeeeee're gonnnnnaaaaaa DRINK AND FIGHT AND DRINK AND FIGHT AND DRINK AND FIGHT Su'more" He burst out in a jovial drinking shanty.

The campfire was warm, and Ianto was in a good mood, which probably spoke for the rather wide grin on his face at the moment. There seemed to be a lot going on by the fire, but he was too wrapped up in his own good mood to really care. Jezarine was talking to him, though, so he turned his eyes to her with as much attention as he could spare, the rest of it rather happily focused on the drink in his hand.

"I'd love to hear you talk about herbal healing, Jez," he said with a definitive nod, catching himself before he sloshed his ale over his shirt, taking a drink instead. "Believe it or not, I think that that would be really interesting." After all, one could get sick of tall tales and such after a while- sometimes, you just wanted to sit and listen to someone talk about something practical like that. It would also be something nice to know, really.

Then Ianto turned his eyes on Royce, who he hadn't really looked at quite yet, and returned the man's handsome smile with the best one of his own, which kind of just ended up being a confident grin. "No offense to the lady, but I'm pretty sure I could out-drink little Jez here. As for you, pretty boy, no problem." He turned to Jez who was giving him a rousing cheer, and grinned at her. "Of course I can do it, Jez. Especially with you so confident in me." He laughed at that, glad that the air was light and filled with humor. He really was feeling good. Then again, it was hard not to feel good with a beer in hand.

With the elderly Dwarf's song shouting through the air, Ianto began to make due on his promise to out-drink the greying man. He had to catch up to what the dwarf had already drunk, or else it wouldn't be a fair game, would it? He left Royce to catch up.

Royce smiled to Ianto, the man tried to protest Roy's teasing. "Of course chantry boy. Of course," he laughed, moved between Ianto and Jez, wrapping an arm around both their shoulders. He reached up and kissed Jez's forehead, "Don't feel too badly my little keeper."

Turning to the other man, Roy smirked. "Pretty boy you say?" He laughed heartily and pulled them both closer to him, hugging them tightly. "Maybe I am. But that's better than being a chantry boy," he teased giving Ianto a kiss on the forehead as well. "Poor little chantry boy, doesn't know how to drink."

A great clamor of snapping branches and disturbed underbrush reached the campground from the nearest segment of forest, as though a creature of considerable girth was barreling through, closing in on the edge of trees. Moments later, a shadow separated from the darker parts of the forest beyond, revealing something vaguely the size and shape of a bear, but the shadow began to warp even as it came closer before it lumbered through the final barrier of bushes, revealing, not a bear, but Margaid on all fours with a salmon in her mouth.

"Hur hout h' hair!" She exclaimed around the still wriggling (though weakening) fish. She waited a beat, and then it suddenly seemed to occur to her that that hadn't come out quite right. Spitting the fish out and grasping the quickly slackening tail, she stood up, waving her hands (and fish) around for emphasis.

"I fought a bear!" She screeched to no one in particular. "It was in the water and it was big! Looking right up at me...with teeth! It wanted to eat me, with teeth! So I killed it first! Like that!" She demonstrated by punching the fish (now dead) in the face. "But I reached down into the water to get it, and all I got was this lousy fish..." She looked at her consolation prize sullenly, mumbling something about hating fish and their tiny bones a helpless maleficar was likely to choke on, before looking up at the group. She blinked and after a pause, shoved the fish out towards their direction, a useless gesture, seeing as she was a good five to seven feet away from the closest person. "You wan' it?" the wild mage asked, again addressing no on in particular. She seemed to have trouble with that, realizing that when speaking, it was helpful to clarify to whom she was speaking.

But then again, the whole 'associating with other sentient creatures' was a rusty skill for her and one that she was likely going to have to readjust herself to.

"Then a bunny thou shalt have, my dark beauty."

"Oh yes! A bunny would be very nice, thank you, Marcus!" Jezarine smiled as she watched him for a few moments to see how he was able to whittle with that little knife and shook her head, "I'd cut myself if I tried that. I can't even darn my own socks well. I poke myself all the time and doesn't look good but it gets done, even if it usually has a bit of blood on it."

"Weeeeee're gonnnnnaaaaaa DRINK AND FIGHT AND DRINK AND FIGHT AND DRINK AND FIGHT Su'more"

The dark Elf laughed as the Dwarf sang. She clapped her hands in time with the offbeat music then looked at Ianto as he spoke to her.

"I'd love to hear you talk about herbal healing, Jez. Believe it or not, I think that that would be really interesting."

"Really?" Her eyes brightened even more with those words. It was a special thing to have someone who wants to learn, even a little bit, of what you know. She enjoyed teaching others but most people gave up with how she sometimes rambled. Ianto seemed to enjoy her rambling so that was all the better, "Well, we will have to start at the beginning I suppose but the best would be things you could even use as a Templar." She smiled wickedly, "I've read lots of books on what Templars can use to extend their abilities."

Jezarine took a drink of her ale then looked aghast, "Oh! No that didn't come out right. That sounded really really ...oh I'm sorry I didn't mean anything so taudry even if I do know of herbs and stuff that makes that go a long way too but oh my that was just too much information ..." She blushed deeply, her tatoos turning a dark shade of red making the flowers look more like real flowers.

"No offense to the lady, but I'm pretty sure I could out-drink little Jez here. As for you, pretty boy, no problem. Of course I can do it, Jez. Especially with you so confident in me."

She had put her head down but as Ianto spoke again she peeked up from under her lashes, "Oh no you're right. You could out drink me. The dog could probably out drink me. But you're a good size and probably have much more experience drinking than I do."

"Of course chantry boy. Of course, don't feel too badly my little keeper."

Jezarine was startled when Royce got between her and Ianto, put his arms around them then kissed her forehead. She blushed again and looked shyly at the two, "I don't feel badly. It's true and I think Ianto can do it."

"Pretty boy you say? Maybe I am. But that's better than being a chantry boy. Poor little chantry boy, doesn't know how to drink."

The kiss to Ianto's forehead didn't surprise the Dalish as much as the kiss to her own had. Ianto was good looking and a sweet man. She was ... well, her. Her eyes shifted to gaze into Ianto's then to Royce, "Why wouldn't he?"

That was when the maleficar returned, fish in her mouth looking completely pleased with herself. Jezarine put a hand over her mouth to stiffle a laugh.

"Hur hout h' hair!"

Margaid seemed to notice the fish in her mouth and changed tactics to screeching instead.

"I fought a bear! It was in the water and it was big! Looking right up at me...with teeth! It wanted to eat me, with teeth! So I killed it first! Like that! But I reached down into the water to get it, and all I got was this lousy fish. You wan' it?"

"Maybe we can cook it for morning." She said, "I believe someone said Nygozy was a good cook but that's one fish so it wouldn't feed us all unless we made a stew."

After about five kegs, Garoll was getting groggy. Slurring his sentences he chuckled. "Yer shurfacer shtuff ish purty poten'. I'll give yeh tha'... IIIIIIIIIIII'mma gonna soddin' sleep now." He then keeled backwards and started to snore, passed out. The Dwarf had had quite a dry spell if he was passing out after a measely 5 small kegs (By Dwarven standards, that's about average, but to Legionnaires, they can handle more usually).

Meanwhile, Marcus listened to the conversation between Jezarine, Royce and Ianto. Clearly this could get to be a messy situation if he chose to pursue her like the other men were. Still, her herbalism savviness was on par with his own and that only intrigued him more that they could share the knowledge of the environment around them. Still, he carved for her regardless on what happened between them. The wheel turns as the wheel wills. He mused to himself, referring to the mythical wheel of time. He was quiet though, unlike his usual boisterous buffoonery. For those who cared to look they were seeing the true Marcus Kel'thor, the quiet, contemplative young man with a past that still haunted his memories.

Finally the carving was complete, and he smiled as he handed it to the dark skinned mage. "For you, dear one." He said as the adorably lifelike wood carving passed from his hands to her's. Standing up, he nodded his head to those present at the fire. Once more donning the oafish persona, he made his exit. "Alas, alack, the time has come for the gentleman mercenary to soundly sleep in yon stables. I leave the farm house to the decent folk among you." He said and started off to the aforementioned stables.

Ianto was a Chantry boy, that was true. And, in quite the opposite of what most might meant, that meant he was intimately familiar with lewd language and less-than-innocent innuendo. So when Jez went into her accidentally double meaning-ed tirade, he was far, far too amused to get her to stop right away. Then, she seemed to finally realize what she'd accidentally said, and her hurriedly trying to explain it away only made him laugh harder. Finally he laid a hand on her shoulder and, still not quite up for talking, he just shook his head with a smile, telling her to stop worrying about it.

Royce used that time, with Ianto still recovering from his spontaneous laughing fit, to nudged himself between him and Jez. At first Ianto looked at the other man curiously, then frowned (almost childishly) when he gave Jez a kiss on her forehead. The kiss on his forehead stunned him out of it, and for a moment he stared, confused, with Jez up at Royce, and then he frowned once more.

"Are you kidding? All we do in the Chantry is drink! There's nothing else to do in the Circle!" Well, there were some other things to do, but they either weren't as interesting as drinking, or they weren't the kind of thing he really wanted to talk about. At all. "I'm a very good drinker, I'll have you know." As if to prove it, he finished the rest of the ale in his mug, and placed it down, glaring challengingly at Royce.

The dwarf passing out right after that made Ianto smile rather uncontrollably, and he could barely suppress the giggle mounting in his throat (grown men didn't 'giggle').

"See?" He said, looking back at Royce smugly. "If you want proof, I'll keep drinking, too, just so you can't say it's because I started after him." He winked at Jez, his smile now too infectious to keep off of his face. Maybe it was starting to go to his head...

Keeping up with Margaid had been a task like none Iauron had ever faced before. Most creatures- sane creatures- had a pattern to what they did. Margaid had a different pattern entirely. It was like trying to trace all the flights of all the bees in the air, and even Fa'hallen had trouble understanding the woman's random nature.

Luckily, though, she was pretty good at not getting herself killed. She'd lumbered off into the forest as a deer first, and then as a bear, and he was confident enough that she'd find her way back to camp to actually hunt for some food. It wasn't a job he enjoyed, but he knew that his own preferences didn't outweigh the need of the camp to eat, and keeping a group of more than ten people alive on berries and nuts was something of an impossibility. Hunting was his forte, though, and at least he'd be able to do it quickly.

Fa'hallen had walked beside him through the forest, as silently as if she was a spirit rather than a full grown halla. She accepted hunting for meat even better than Iauron did- all things must eat, and some things ate meat. A rational predator did not willingly give up food when it was presented, simply for the worry of killing another living creature. Food was food, and she knew the two-legged creatures to be among the most skilled predators. If she were a wild lion, she would not let a lamb go free while her own cubs starved, but then, two-legged creatures often did things she didn't understand.

The halla and elf had found a young buck not long after starting into the forest. The weather was cold, and it was alone, imposing in its winter coat of thick fur. It looked at Fa'hallen in wonder, entranced, and Iauron bit back his trepidation to shoot an arrow as swiftly as possible toward the deer. It bucked, stunned that it had been shot, but hardly made it a few steps away before falling to the ground, legs kicking a moment before it stopped. Iauron knew that one arrow wouldn't kill it immediately, so he went forward quickly to put the poor creature out of its misery, and uttered a silent prayer to Falon'Din and Andruil, god of Death, and goddess of the Hunt.

It didn't take too much time after that to find Margaid again. Well, 'found' was the wrong word. The body of the buck was draped over Fa'hallen's back (a heavy burden, but nothing she couldn't handle), and they two had started off to find the wild mage, when she had suddenly lumbered past them as quickly as four bear legs could carry her. At least, he assumed the bear was her- most bears didn't just run past a hunter in the woods.

He and Fa'hallen shared a glance, he shrugged, and elf and halla started off in the direction Margaid had run. They arrived at the edge of camp a few minutes after Margain had made her entrance.

Iauron only caught the end of what she'd said, and put the tips of his fingers to his forehead as if to stave off a headache. She had fought her reflection in the water. Wonderful. The poor thing was more than half-mad (much more), and it probably wouldn't be easy for her to adjust to living in the camp.

Still, he had something else to attend to, and with a nod of greeting to everyone sitting around the camp (he'd given up on keeping track of everyone until the morning, when he wasn't quite so tired), and walked past, Fa'hallen following next to him. He unloaded the deer carcass in a clear spot near the fire, laying it down carefully. It was big, and it would do fine in feeding the camp. But, this was where his job ended. He'd have no part in preparing the poor thing for eating, and so he excused himself, intending to find some quiet spot behind the house to finally fall asleep, with Fa'hallen as his willing pillow.

"Come here you two," The tipsy man snuggled his head into Jez's hair, his hand petting Ianto's. "If either of you feel that you would be too cold alone tonight, do not fret to ask. I will join you in a heart beat." he laughed merrily, hugging them both close to him.

He turned to look to the Templar and grinned cheek to cheek. "You look about ready to clock out my boy," he chuckled, amused by the man's stifled giggle. "You're not going down without a goodnight kiss," and without a second thought, Roy locked lips with the other man. Pulling back from him, his grin didn't change.

Now he turned to Jez, putting his hand on her cheek, staring deep into her eyes. "And you my little elf, you too need a good night kiss. But I would not want to give it to prematurely. Are you as close to passing out as our Templar Boy here?" he asked as his thumb stroked her cheek gently.

Some time after dozing off last night, Ianto must have actually fallen asleep. He blamed the alcohol, or else he would have gotten up to move, though he wasn't quite sure where he was, now. He wasn't sitting on the log from last night anymore- that he could feel pretty well- and whatever he was sitting on was infinitely more comfortable. Still, whatever ground he was sitting on paled in comparison to whatever his head and arm were curled against. It was almost like being back home with a proper bed and pillow and the works, and a small smile worked it's way onto his face in his half-sleep. He murmured some nonsensical happy sound in the back of his throat, and it would have been a crime not to curl further into the warmth, so he did.

That's when he started to realize how uncomfortable he was. It wasn't his position, or whatever it was he was lying against. In that respect, he hadn't been that comfortable in a long time. But there was this really strange feeling in his arms and legs, and mostly in his chest and head- it was a tightness in his muscles, but unlike the sort he often got after a hard day of fighting.

The feeling was enough that he began to open his eyes, finally coming out of his all-too-pleasant half-sleep. He looked around blearily, and for a moment the good feeling took over the bad, but then he noticed just what it was he was sleeping against so warmly.

His back was resting against the log, which had a shirt thrown over it to make it more comfortable. Some looking around told him that it was his own outer shirt. He was sitting on the grassy ground in front of the fire, but what startled him most was that his head and arm were rested against Royce's lap. It was way more comfortable than it should have been.

Royce, in turn, seemed to still be asleep himself, and was slumped over Jez, who seemed to be similarly dozing. For a moment, Ianto regretted waking up, a thought to which he reacted with his face heating up like a young girl, but then he remembered exactly what it was that had awoken him.

He glanced down at his hands and saw that they were shaking, and now that he was more aware, he could feel that his heart was racing far faster than normal for a sleeping man. He swallowed hard, and tried to mentally calculate the last time he'd had a lyrium potion.

It had been a little too long for his taste.

Slowly, he got up, and stared around for a few moments. He could hear people moving around, though they were out of sight, and he assumed that he and his fellow entanglers were among the last to wake. It was alright, though he kind of wanted to find someplace private...

He stepped away from the other two sleeping, and stumbled around to find his bag. He heard the comforting sound of potion bottles clinking together inside, and swallowed hard again, this time in relief. Circling around to the back of the house, he was glad to see that he was alone. Setting his bag down, he reached in and drew out a neatly wrapped packet of lyrium dust, and then two flasks- one empty, and one of a magically enhanced distilling agent. Pre-made lyrium potions might have been easier- and more efficient- for calming his hands, but he always found the process of making them for himself to be worth it.

Royce's teasing for a kiss had caught the dark Dalish off guard and she blushed heavily. Her eyes turned to Ianto then back to the fire, "I'm not so much a catch." She said while staring into the fire.

It wasn't long after that when she fell asleep. She hardly even realized that she was tired but apparently she was much more tired then she had expected to be. It wasn't surprising as she had traveled a long way with Kai and then ended up meeting the Hero of Fereldan immediately foreshadowed with a large, harrowing fight with Darkspawn and now was at a fire with two handsome men paying attention to her. No one but her. Well, each other as well but she was part of it too.

There was movement and she considered it must not be from her. Dark brown eyes opened to see Royce leaned against her and Ianto walking away. This was strange to her somehow, the look on his face and how he seemed to slink off made her rather curious.

Tenderly she got out from under the flirty Royce and stood, smoothing out her shirt then followed Ianto to behind the building where he had hunkered down to do something. He seemed rather shaky.

That was when she noticed him taking out the ingredients to make lyrium potion. She came up behind him, knelt and put her hands on his, turned her head and looked up at him. This she had seen before. Lyrium deprivation. He was hooked. She sighed, "Here. Let me help. You're too shaky."

There was nothing on her face but concern and the wish to be there for him. She wondered if he would reject the help, push her away or become upset that she found out that he was addicted. It worried her. She didn't want him to push her away or be hurt by his addiction but she had to help. Jezarine did not know how if he spurned her for it. Worry crept into the light of her eyes as she watched his, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't react like others she'd seen in this condition.

From afar, still as a picture, The Shadow watched those gathered at the campfire in curiosity. What strange creatures, these surface dwellers were. He had been watching the group for hours now, never moving a muscle as he lay in the tall grass nearby. Long enough that even the animals around had grown accustomed to his presence. He wouldn't make the same mistake he did before.


Garoll harumphed as he woke up from his awkward spot where he passed out. "Sodding hell, time for another round" He murmured and then started to drink once again, watching everyone head off to bed. His years spent in the Deep Roads had him accustomed to short rests with little sleep.

Margaid had gone to sleep that night unsure of what to do with the fish, so after gnawing on it for a time, she left it by the pit of fire people seemed to be storing their food around and slunk out of the camp. She found a comfortable spot in the forest away from the house, towards the back where, she noticed, seemed to have the least amount of congregating people. Yet as she lay on her back against grass and leaves she had called her bed for years now, sleep did not come easily to her. There had been too much excitement that day, too much change, and Margaid was frankly terrified. What if one of the members of this group was a Templar? What if they sent her back to the Tower? What if they used her as darkspawn bait or got really hungry and ate her?

Margaid sat up in bed with a jolt of sudden paranoid alarm. "No, don't eat meeee!" She pleaded of no one in particular. To her favor, no one seemed to be around to make a late night snack of her bony deerish hide, but just to be sure, she checked around, in some bushes and under some rocks and the like. Satisfied again that she was alone and safe - just how she liked it - she settled back down and curled up, transforming into the shape of a wild dog. She always slept better in animal form, deeper and with less thought to occupy her mind, and in that form, she drifted off.

The maleficar woke up the next morning with a terrific headache, the kind she knew meant she had spent the night transforming fitfully in her sleep. She glared uselessly at the nearest bush, demanding answers for why it felt like she had a mouthful of wool and as though a branch had dropped on her head. It was like her stomach was missing and waking up on days like these, she usually wasn't able to transform until sunset or later. That usually meant hiding all day and Margaid distinctly did not enjoy that.

She stood and stretched, feeling the ache only worsen. Maybe if she was with other people, though, she wouldn't have to hide all day today. They had all killed a bunch of those darkspawn things yesterday; a rabid bear couldn't be much harder to fight off. She wasn't exactly crazy about sticking around their more human threat without her magical defense, but if things went south, well, humans were easier to outrun on her human legs than rabid bears.

On her tippy-toes, Margaid poked her head out of the bushes she had concealed herself amongst last night, and peered out. There weren't many humans milling about on this side of the house. Actually, there was only one. The bigish guy with the funny hair was crouching down in the dirt by the house, looking as bad as Margaid felt if the shaking and dark circles under his eyes were any indication. Not that Margaid could remember. For all she knew, shaking was normal. Didn't look much fun, though. He was making something though, with a bottle, and Margaid kind of hoped it was food, because the fish she had gnawed on last night was kind of disgusting and she hadn't eaten anything since the grass she had been plucking at in deer form when that guy shot her. She shimmied through the bush, and poked her head out to get a better look. In the time it had taken her to push herself through the bush, another human had joined him, the kind with pointed ears that looked more sensible to Margaid than her own rounded ones. She pursed her lips and pondered for a moment. Approaching one human might not be so bad, but two was kind of pushing it for her, but the desire for food won out in the end, so she tugged herself out of the bush and crept up to them, though a soundless approach wasn't exactly going to keep her presence concealed. There was distressingly little cover between where she was and where they were at the house, so all she really managed to pull off by being discreet was to look really strange as she half-crawled up to them. When she made it to their spot, she crouched back on her heels, sitting there with her palms on the ground before her in front of the male human, looking wide-eyed between the both of them with her one eye, bewildered. Then, quick as a striking snake, she snatched the square of powder-like substance that looked more like food than the stuff in the bottle from the male and held it close to her face to inspect it.

"Are you food?" She asked it, before shoving her nose into it and taking a big whiff, like she would when making sure meat was still good to eat. Immediately, she regretted it as whatever-it-was burned all the way up her nose and made her eyes water. Then her vision swam and colors suddenly became sharper, and the hollowness in her stomach seemed to fill, her headache becoming a pleasant buzz. She giggled, a stupid smile spreading across her face, before her expression snapped back to bewildered.

"...Woah..." She toppled over onto her back and just looked up, feeling her magic singe under her skin as electricity began to spark in her hands. She lifted her hands up to her face and watched the small bluish purplish currents jump between her fingers. "Preeeettyy..." She cooed to herself, feeling more magically charged than she had in days, weeks even.

Ianto probably should have been worried that he hadn't heard Jezarine coming up to him until her hand was atop of his, but it merely reaffirmed grimly in his mind that he'd have to be more careful about his lyrium schedule. Being this out of it would probably only spell his messy doom later on, or, at the very least, would make for a startlingly humiliating display of nerves around the campfire.

Eventually he had to physically shake his head to re-order his thoughts, frowning as he more consciously realized that he was having trouble concentrating. That wasn't good, either. He looked around at Jez's face, realizing that he'd been staring at her hand atop of his own hand rather than at her. He gave her a weak but genuine smile, and relinquished the bottle in his hand to her.

"Be my guest, Jez," he said wryly, leaning back to rest on the house wall. In truth, he absolutely hated it when people saw him like this, as rare it was, but Jez was a healer, and she'd bypassed the whole 'have you tried quitting' conversation in favor of offering help. That, at least, made him feel a little better.

Then he caught sight of that mage girl crawling up to him from the corner of his eye, and he leaned forward a little, despite how it made his head hurt. He quirked an eyebrow at her, and wondered what in the Maker's name she was doing, squirming up like that.

And then her hand reached out so fast for the lyrium powder that attempt to grab for it left his eyes swimming in his skull, for how it made his head feel. He clutched both of his hands to his forehead, and by the time he'd looked up, her nose was buried into the lyrium dust (thankfully it wasn't his only packet). He watched in trepidation, his head still mostly in his hands. If she was an apostate, she wouldn't be familiar with lyrium. The instant renewal to her magic reserves would be shocking, to say the least.

Or, maybe, 'shocking' was the perfect descriptor. Elictricity was now flowing freely from Margaid's hands, and she was looking at her fingers with the kind of reverence and wide-eyed fascination that he usually only attributed to drug addicts. Well, if that was her first reaction, maybe she was well on her way to being addicted to it...

"Er, Margaid? Wanna stop with the sparks? And maybe give me that paper back?" He reached a shaking hand out to take the paper pouch of lyrium back, wondering idly if she was going to bite his hand off for it or something.

He was in the throes of withdrawal making it a concern that he was so far gone that he didn't even notice her coming. Templars were supposed to be aware at all times yet when withdrawals hit it could be extremely difficult on them and there were many who believed that the addiction was easy to manipulate. Those who said that the addicted were weak becoming addicted to lyrium were idiots, as far as Jezarine figured.

Templars were the worst for wear when it came to this. Of all references towards lyrium addiction the hardest seemed to be of the Templars who were forced to use the substance on a regular basis so even if they were able to cut down they were still addicted. It was the Circle's way of controlling them, keeping them at their service. Jezarine figured it was to keep the Templars willing to kill because if you get the person to hate mages enough, be so dependent upon the substances the Circle gave and so lost enough in a world of lyrium that they truly did not care for anything but doing whatever it took to get more then it was easy to control all within that being.

Jezarine had seen addictions often enough to not force anything upon the afflicted. She looked into Ianto's eyes when he finally did look at her and ducked her head a bit shyly as she went to take the powder from him.

Ianto was now looking past her and a voice came from behind, "Are you food?"

"What?" She looked at Margaid, startled as the woman took the powder and huffed some.

"...Woah... Preeeettyy..."

"Er, Margaid? Wanna stop with the sparks? And maybe give me that paper back?"

"Oh my. Here. Let me get some more from my pouch." Jezarine took out a packet of her own and started to combine it with the contents of the vial. She kept a partial eye out at Margaid then handed the potion to Ianto, "Here Ianto."

Jezarine turned to Margaid next, "Margaid. How do you feel?" She took a strip of jerky from her pouch and rubbed an herb on it then held it out towards the maleficar, "You asked the powder if it was food. Want some food?"

Ianto took the finished potion that Jez handed him without a word, but with all possible thanks in his heart. He didn't bother with manners or whatnot as he downed the potion greedily, gasping for air once he'd swallowed it in one go. It always burned down his throat in a way that was completely different from any sort of alcohol. It burned like magic, like actual fire and lightening sliding down his throat. His body shuddered at the now-familiar feeling, a far-too pleasing comfort that had become far-too commonplace washing over him.

For a moment, he just listened to Jez try and coax something intelligible from the malificar as his body registered that it had been fed it's poison of choice. It felt like forever, but soon his hands began to calm, eventually settling on a light shudder now and then. It would be another half an hour at least before they stopped shaking completely, but it was a start. Most thankfully of all, his headache started to abate almost immediately, for which he was eternally grateful. He could deal with shaking hands and sore muscles- a fuzzy head could get him killed faster than both of those combined. Even lyrium, though, couldn't get rid of the remaining headache- that was his own fault for drinking all night. Maybe he could ask Jez for some herbal remedy or something.

It felt like too long after that he opened his eyes again, leaning like a sack of bones against the wall. He was good now, or, at least, as good as he was going to get for the moment. He turned his head, now with 90% less pain than before, to look at Jez and give her his best, most grateful smile. "Thanks for that, Jez," he said, voice still rough from waking and the recent pain. He cleared his throat to try and make his words sound more normal.

Maybe the maleficar was so hopped on the dust that she couldn't think of anything else now. It was strange. How could a person become so wrapped up and lost? Well, she did know many ways that could happen as books mentioned about it and she had seen others who had been out of their minds. Margaid seemed very much the same but the problem was to find exactly what was going on in her head, if one wanted to. It could be that there was so much going on within that you could not figure it out. So then, what started this or was it always there for her?

With a sigh Jezarine turned her head to look at Ianto, "It's no problem. I will always help you." She smiled at him then blushed, "If it's what you wish. I mean, I wouldn't butt into anything if you didn't want me to but I will help wherever I'm needed and I like being around you and Royce too but oh I'm babbling again aren't I?"

Ianto smiled tiredly up at Jez, leaning heavily against the house-wall. His skin was still sensitive from waking up so irritable, and the rough wood of the wall was scratching through his under-shirt. It was almost a comforting feeling, though- it was something solid, after feeling like so much horse-crap.

"Thanks, Jez," he said again. It seemed to be the only thing he was saying this morning, but he was meaning it every time. He'd probably still be feeling like shit if it wasn't for her. "You don't even have to ask. I'd have to be possessed to reject your help." He paused, and looked thoughtful, then turned his eyes back to her. "In fact, if I do send you off, ever, then you can go ahead and call a Chantry exorcist for me. That would probably be a good idea." He nodded in confirmation, and then smiled reassuringly up at her. She seemed to need it.

He couldn't help his smile widening as she continued to ramble on, even as she called herself out on it. "I doubt Royce would ever get tired of you, either. He doesn't look like he's the kind to forget the people he likes. As strange as that is. Or maybe it's a good thing... I guess I'm the one rambling now, huh?"