Into the Woods (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

What a Little Moonlight Can Do

The sun beat down on the weathered deck of the Enterprise. Most of Hawke's team was enjoying the sun, except for Oghren, who lay moaning and vomiting in his bunk. The big dwarf had trouble enough on land, and he was impossible on the sea. Anders was staying down below to mitigate the worst of the symptoms, for which Varric and Fenris were highly grateful—they had to share the cabin with Oghren, and the odor of vomit wasn't conducive to good sleep. Especially for Varric, who struggled with seasickness of his own. He dealt with it better than Oghren, at least, finding the open air easier on his stomach than the enclosed cabin. He was stretched out in a deck chair with a blanket tucked around him, watching Fergus practice.

"Don't you need stable ground for all that fancy footwork, Cousland?" he called out.

Fergus smiled, pushing his hair back off of his forehead. "Not always. It's good to practice in different atmospheres so that you're ready in case you have to fight in them." He looked at Jennie, who was leaning up against the rail and watching him. "Are you sure you won't spar with me?"

She shook her head. "I don't know why you would want to. My knife skills aren't nearly as good as Isabela's."

"Exactly why you should spar more, especially with a sword-and-shield fighter like myself, since that's the most common fighting style. Besides, Isabela won't come down from the rigging."

"Damn right I won't." Isabela's voice floated down from her perch. She spent as much of every day climbing the ropes as she could. There was no question, Jennie thought, looking up at the pirate, that Isabela was a different person at sea. Calmer, more in control, less flippant.

Nonetheless, Jennie didn't want to fight the man. "Come on, Isabela," she called beseechingly. "Give us all a show."

"You mean, unlike the one we already have?" Zev looked up, grinning. Isabela's hem flapped in the wind, although the ropes obscured the view considerably.

"Bugger off," Isabela called down, but her voice was tranquil.

"There, you see, Hawke?" Varric said. "Rivaini's not coming down, and Flash here is too comfortable to get up."

"What about Fenris?"

"Also too comfortable," Fenris said. He was stretched out on a bench in the sun, contentedly rocking with the boat and looking more relaxed than Jennie had ever seen him. "And your knife skills do require more training, Hawke."

"Thanks a lot." Jennie reached into her pack and drew out a set of blunted practice daggers. She resented having to perform for this man who had walked into her comfortable existence and pried her out of it. Without him, she could be at home, quietly reading or ... well, she couldn't think of anything she much wanted to do in that big empty house by herself, but it was better than being ordered around. "Ready?"

For answer, Fergus stepped toward her, his shield moving in fast. She ducked at the last minute.

"Hey, I wasn't ..." she began to sputter, but his blade was moving as well, and Jennie spun out of his way. So that's the way he was going to play, was it? She didn't stop to set herself this time, but leaped up, kicking at his midsection. Fergus jumped back to avoid the kick and Jennie launched herself off her back foot, stabbing at him with her right-hand dagger. He blocked that blow with his shield, his other arm swinging the sword. Jennie brought up her left-hand dagger and the two blades clashed, the sound ringing across the deck. They stared at one another for a moment, gauging the other one's next move, and then both stepped back, circling around each other.