Chapter Text
Evie let out a grunt of effort as she lugged the backpack off the ground and onto her back. She'd spent the majority of that morning packing everything up so that she and Ser Barkley could leave. She had also spent time trying to figure out where they would go. Highever? Denerim could be good for a few months…
"Alright, Barkley, let's go…" Evie turned around to look at Ser Barkley, only to find he wasn't where he had been napping ten minutes before. "Barkley?!" She called, panic forming in the pit of her stomach. This was bad, if she lost Barkley, she didn't think she'd forgive herself.
"Barkley?!" She yelled this time, her eyes anxiously surveying the area to see if she could spot the mabari. She heard an echo of a bark in the distance and before she had known it she had started running in that direction.
It hadn't been long before she had found Barkley nuzzling into a rather familiar looking man. It surprised her since the last man who had tried to pat him had almost lost his arm. But it was a relief to see Ser Barkley and it must have shown as the man looked up to see her, surprise clear on his face.
"Hello, wasn't expecting to see someone out here. Is he yours?" The man spoke up, scratching behind Ser Barkley's ears, eliciting a happy whine from the mabari. Evie's brows furrowed as she tried to recall how she'd known the man originally as she slowly nodded.
"Yeah, Barkley's my boy. It's odd to see him like this with another person. The last person who tried to pat him almost lost his arm." Evie mused as she cautiously made her way over, eyeing the man as he looked back down to Barkley to continue patting him. "He must really like you, then." She had to smile when the mabari let out a happy bark in response.
"I like him too. Who's a good boy?" The man gave a half smile as Ser Barkley wagged his tail happily and he chanced a glance back at Evie. "I'm Alistair. You are...?" He asked kindly, causing Evie to inhale sharply. No wonder he looked familiar, he'd been the bloody King of Ferelden when she met him, and one of the Grey Wardens, to boot!
"Oh, right. I'm Evie, nice to meet you." Evie regained her composure by offering her own half smile. "I'm surprised to see another person around this far out from Lothering, though. Are you looking for supplies?" She asked him casually, causing him to snort quietly as he continued to pat Ser Barkley.
"Sort of, my group and I are packing up our things so we can head off north, after we've gotten supplies. I finished a while ago so I went for a bit of a walk and came across your mabari." Alistair chuckled when Ser Barkley barked up at him happily. "What about you, what brings you out here?"
"I got down here a few days ago, but with all this talk of Darkspawn coming back… I'm heading back north. I want to keep Ser Barkley and I relatively safe," Evie admitted, adding, "Although, by the looks of things, I don't think Barkley wants to leave you just yet." She joked, her smile unwillingly growing as Alistair's chuckles became a full blown laugh. He'd opened his mouth to say something when someone cleared their throat from behind them. They turned to see a group of people looking at them with various looks on their faces.
"I see you adopted a few strays." A female spoke up, and as soon as she had, Evie instantly recognised who was standing in front of her. Morrigan. Although she'd only known her for a short while, the witch had made a lasting impact on her, so to see her now, younger than she had ever known her… it was weird, but she knew it was only going to get weirder.
"Actually I believe Ser Barkley adopted him, I'm just here to mess with him." Evie joked and nodded to Alistair, causing the elf of the group and another woman to chuckle as Alistair pouted at her. Morrigan seemed to regard her for a few moments before her lips quirked upwards.
"Oh, I like you." Morrigan mused aloud, and Alistair couldn't help but huff.
"Watch out with that one. First it's 'I like you', then she turns you into a frog." He warned Evie, causing Morrigan to scoff and wave her fingers at Alistair mockingly. The elf let out a louder laugh this time as he shook his head.
"Come on, you two, behave in front of our new friend. Speaking of, Alistair, who is your new friend, hmm?" The elf asked, turning his gaze to Evie. She gave a half smile and bowed her head politely.
"You may call me Evie, sir."
"Sir? I'm not that old, am I?" The elf chuckled quietly before continuing, "You may call me Theron Mahariel." He bowed his head politely back. Evie blinked in mild surprise. Wait, Mahariel's first name was Theron? Could he really be…? No, surely just a coincidence. Wait, if Morrigan and Alistair were here with Mahariel, that meant...
Another woman appeared besides Theron and Evie knew instantly she had been correct. Leliana definitely hadn't changed much in the future, it seemed. "I am Leliana. It's nice to meet you." The bard spoke kindly, offering a smile that Evie returned before her gaze turned to the unfamiliar woman beside Leliana.
The woman spoke up, a slight smile that didn't reach her eyes on her lips, "I'm Odessa Cousland, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She bowed her head low, and Evie's breath hitched as she remembered reading about the Couslands, how all but Fergus had been wiped out. Her heart went out for Odessa and her brother, she couldn't even begin to imagine how she must be feeling right now.
"You may call me Sten."The Qunari of the group spoke up as he nodded towards her. He was nothing like The Iron Bull, yet he was similar in a way. Damn, she missed Bull.
Morrigan cleared her throat, pulling Evie's attention to her. "And you may call me Morrigan then, since it seems you're a new addition to our group." Evie's brows rose in mild surprise at this declaration, casting her gaze upon everyone else to see their reactions.
When they didn't disagree, Evie hummed quietly. "Well then, looks like you lot are stuck with me." Ser Barkley let out a bark of delight as he headbutted Alistair's leg, eliciting chuckles from a few members of the group. "Oh, and Ser Barkley too."
She knew things would only get more hectic, now that she'd joined the Wardens. She had the feeling she wouldn't regret it though.