Surviving Circumstance

Chapter Five

     "How is it that we've only been here three days and we're so far ahead of schedule?" Cassandra asked Christopher quietly as all but one member of their party gathered around the campfire. The young Mage looked at the woman for a moment and then his eyes traveled to Iron Bull, Varric, and Solas. The question had been on all their minds, but no one wanted to answer it; in truth, all credit was due to the small redhead already asleep in her tent. The day they'd arrived she spent a lot of time scouting the area, getting used to moving around in her new armor, and adjusting to the weight of the daggers Christopher had given her, all while claiming it helped the stiffness from her being on the horse for so long. They had been so busy setting up and going over their plans that it wasn't until two hours later when Varric pointed out that it had been a while since Raven had been seen that she came walking back, as if on queue. Splatters of blood streaked across her face, in her hair, and blended into her armor; she dragged a ram behind her with one arm and held two fennecs in her other, smiling proudly. Cassandra had been the first to speak, clearly shocked, but all Raven had replied with was that she caught dinner and asked Varric if he could help her skin the fennecs. The dwarf later let it slip to the others that she wanted a warmer coat to wear around Haven and had heard of the warmth fennec fur brought. Nugskin did the same, but apparently she hated the color white.

     She had been the first one up the next morning, or so Christopher had been told by one of the guards keeping watch. Just before dawn she came out of her tent, already in her armor with her hair twisted in a braid and sat against one of the logs around the fire pit, humming a tune unfamiliar to them, and sharpened her daggers as the moon set and the sun started to rise. Solas had come out of his tent shortly after dawn and sat next to her in in silence while she told him where they needed to go for the wolves. She also suggested that it might be smarter to take care of the rift down by the ravine at a later time. At first they thought it was something she saw during scouting the night before. During their task to find the wolves the directions given to them had been checked multiple times and despite Cassandra and Christopher wanting to go up the hill just slightly downstream from the rift at Forannan Ravine, Raven had insisted on continuing downstream. Solas had offered to go with her in case something happened, so they split into two groups. By the time Cassandra, Bull, Varric, and Christopher realized they'd gone the wrong way and had backtracked downstream, Solas had frozen the last wolf in the den from the inside out and Raven had brought both daggers down, shattering the beast.

     It hadn't just been the wolf incident either. Raven somehow knew where to go for everything that needed to be done and it slightly unnerved them all. When asked about it, she just smiled and answered in two simple words: trust me. Even in the eventful moments between clearing out the Templar encampment and taking care of the Mages in Witchwood-which she'd given them almost exact locations to-she seemed to busy herself with gathering more plants than were needed and metals for Harritt. At the end of that first day dozens of resources were divided by need: some would be used for requisitions, while others would be put in a chest to bring to Haven with them. The second and third day were no different.

     "Maybe she's been studying the maps," Cassandra suggested and that was all any of them could think of. Christopher's eyes focused on Solas, the elf looked deep in thought as he stared into the fire.

     "Have you seen anything in the Fade?" He asked. Solas looked at his fellow Mage and let out a frustrated sigh. For weeks he'd been looking for something to explain where she'd come from, but all his theories had fallen through. He'd even asked his old spirit friends and none of them had heard or known anything.

     "Unfortunately, I haven't." he finally replied. "None of my friends have any idea, but I'll keep looking."

     From inside her tent Raven was lying on her stomach, watching her traveling companions. She wasn't surprised when conversation drifted to her. She knew it had been careless to complete all the errands and quests she'd already known about, but it was so hard to control herself. She knew the area and what had to be done; Christopher hated the Hinterlands and wanted to leave quickly, so she decided to take matters into her own hands instead of wandering around for longer than necessary. Now they were wary of her again and even had Solas scouring the Fade trying to find something, anything to answer their questions. She wanted to tell them, but knew she couldn't. She cared for them and it was eating her alive, knowing what would happen no matter which decision was made. The game was so much easier-sure people died, but she could control so much more. Here she was powerless to stop it and if she were to help and tell them, they'd demand answers and want to know her full reasoning behind it. She was helpful already, but they still didn't trust her. Raven could only imagine their reaction when it came to more than just quests in the damn Hinterlands. Her mind drifted to her father and she wondered what advice he'd give her, wishing he were there with her. She ignored the sudden ache in her chest. Now wasn't the time to break down and think about being separated from him. She knew that even if he couldn't give her advice, he'd still offer a hug and, deep down, she missed those more than anything.