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Morrigan hissed, leaning away from the ice cold hands slathering elfroot into the weeping gash on her lower back. The tent’s thin walls gave an illusion of privacy, one hindered by the sounds of camp activity just beyond the flaps.
“That could have gone a little bit better,” she quipped. The hands on her back trembled, before stilling and pulling away. Morrigan slipped her top back into place, and turned to face her partner, “I—“
She stalled as she looked into the elven woman’s eyes. The Warden’s eyes were dark, her brows pulled together and tears building behind the lashes. The silence stretched, Morrigan shifting back and forth, at a loss. The Warden was violently scrubbing the flaking red stains off of her boots, her face set in a scowl.
Morrigan stood to clean up the bandages scattered throughout their tent, grimacing as her body reminded her that it wasn’t pleased with her actions. The wound remained an angry throbbing thing, her stomach did a weird flip each time she thought of it.
The party had been on their way to Denerim when they were ambushed by a group of bandits, most likely profiting off of the chaos caused by the Blight. It had been a normal fight, but the leader managed to break their defenses. He’d charged right at the Warden, completely in her blind spot, and Morrigan’s feet had moved on their own as she pushed the Warden out of the way of the blow. A strike aiming right for the Warden’s stomach ended up slicing Morrigan’s own back instead. She had never done it before, never had anyone she would ever even think of getting hurt for before.
She shivered. The silence in the tent had grown unbearable, feeling like an itch growing just beneath her skin. The Warden still wasn’t looking at her.
Morrigan forced humor into her voice in an effort to gain composure, drawling, “Darling had I known this was all it took to silence your droning I would have thrown myself upon a sword months ago—“
“Stop.” The Warden’s hands were clenched around the rag she was furiously scrubbing against her boots, her gaze fixed on the metal.
Morrigan scoffed, “It’s only a joke,” she paused, and frowned. “What’s wrong? You’ve been quiet. It’s...” Unnerving. Saddening. Frightening. “...odd.”
“Do you have any regard for your safety?” the Warden asked, quietly.
“Of course I do,” she said, reaching out to rest her hand on the Warden’s shoulder. “Come with me, darling, let’s just forget this exhausting day.”
She brushed away Morrigan’s hand, standing up and snapping, “You don’t even wear armor!” Her voice cracked on the last syllable.
“I—” Morrigan swallowed, trying to shake off her unease. She didn’t wear armor because she was good enough not to need any. She was trained to not need any. Morrigan was about to tell her so, but the Warden’s expression cut her off.
The Warden looked hopeless, devastated. The woman who could look down armies and grin looked defeated. They should be laughing it off, why is today different? The last time the injury had been worse, swiped in the leg by a hurlock. Morrigan had grumbled about her lack of mobility and the Warden had joked about it for weeks, letting Morrigan use her as a crutch through the wilderness’ uneven terrain.
The Warden turned away from Morrigan, putting her face in her hands. “I just—I can’t lose you too, okay?”
Morrigan was reminded of the way the Warden’s face would close off anytime she spoke of her friend from her clan. Morrigan couldn’t even remember his name. Tamra? Tanen? She felt helpless. Morrigan blinked away tears. She didn’t know what to do.
“I—I’m sorry?” she hedged, standing up and moving towards her partner.
The Warden sighed, turning to face Morrigan, her eyes rimmed with red, “No, it’s not your fault. Just — be safe, please?”
“I—” She took a deep breath, speaking before her mind could talk her out of it. “I would jump in front of the sword again, and again, and again.” Her voice shook. “It scares me.”
The Warden stepped forward, leaning into and embracing Morrigan. They both trembled, Morrigan ignoring her tears as the Warden pressed her face into her shoulder.
“I love you,” Morrigan whispered into her ear.
“I love you too.”
The Blight was far from over, and they had grueling challenges ahead, but for a moment Morrigan felt she could envision peace.