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It wasn’t often they found themselves without their weapons. The Warden almost never put her’s down, and she didn’t think she’d ever seen Alistair without at least his sword, if not his shield as well. The rest of their companions were much the same, Sten especially. The Warden was almost certain she’d seen him sleeping with his scabbard still on after they’d recovered Asala, though she couldn’t blame him after everything he’d gone through.
Still, they had to be prepared for the worst-case scenario and keep their skills sharp. Which was why she and Alistair had decided to end the day with a few rounds of sparring, setting their weapons aside to rush at each other with fists and elbows and feet. The others had watched them for a while. Sten had called out critique, Leliana and Zevran had cheered them both on, Wynne scolded them for not pulling their punches, and Oghren had– well, he’d been Oghren. The Warden was glad Zevran had noticed her discomfort with his hungry eyes and led him away under the guise of conversation.
One by one, their companions had dropped away from watching them, going to tend to their own needs: making dinner for the group, doing laundry, bathing, cleaning weapons. The only one still watching them avidly was Barkspawn, barking excitedly every time they tumbled past in their attempts to win.
They’d been sparring for some time now. Long enough that the sun had dipped most of the way below the horizon and their muscles were beginning to feel like jelly after their combined workout and day of intensive travel. But they were tied for rounds won, and the Warden refused to quit until a winner had been decided.
Then again, they’d never made any rules about fighting dirty .
The Warden fought down a smirk, not wanting to give away her plan too soon, and rushed toward Alistair again, using her smaller form to dart inside his space and slip around his form. He cursed under his breath, but she could hear the amusement in his words. She grinned as she slipped behind Alistair completely, then reached out her hands to squeeze at his sides.
Alistair jolted and let out a laugh, stumbling forward to escape her hands. “Now that’s cheating!”
The Warden let out a laugh of her own, jumping back out of Alistair’s reach as he turned and made a grab for her. “Sorry, darling, but I don’t recall us making a rule against it. Do you?”
A slow grin spread over Alistair’s face. “You’re going to regret that.”
“Oh, am I?” He lunged for her again, and she jumped back with another laugh. “I think you’ll have to catch me first.”
With that, she darted back into his space, giving a few quick squeezes to his sides and stomach before trying to make her escape. This time, she wasn’t quick enough, and Alistair managed to grab her with a triumphant sound through his laughter. She let out a quiet squeal as he dug his fingers into her ribcage.
“Regret it, yet?”
She threw an elbow back into Alistair’s torso, earning a startled grunt as he released her, and danced out of his range. “Gonna have to try harder than that . I still intend to win this one.”
“Oh, we’ll see about that .”
Needless to say, Sten had quite a few words for them about professionalism and vigilance when he came to fetch them for dinner.