In League With The Wolf - The Elves of Fen'Harel Book 2 (Dragon Age)

Changing

Varric had grabbed her in a hug on their return. He fussed over the state of her face and leg and told her she'd better not volunteer for anything like that again. Dorian found her a draught of lyrium, which restored her strength.

She couldn't even begin to explain how glad she was to see Haven, to see people smiling and talking, to see the sky a clear blue, marred by only a much smaller Breach than the one she had grown used to over those weeks in the future.

It didn't feel real. She'd seen Cassandra and Bull, alive and well. Claudette, without scars, had given her a nod as she'd left for Haven.

As they had passed the tents where the Chargers camped, she saw Marcus. He looked so different, strong and healthy, talking heatedly with a friend. No doubt he was less than pleased to see their new mage allies. She couldn't keep her eyes off him, almost taking a step towards him, but Solas pulled her back. "He has no idea who we are, Tilda."

As if sensing he was being spoken about, Marcus turned and met her gaze. His eyes narrowed with dislike as he spotted himself being stared at by two mages.

She couldn't relax. Back in her old tent, she lay back, her muscles tensed, waiting for attack. She knew she was being paranoid, that Haven was safe, but she couldn't settle. Before her eyes, she saw those rotting bodies, saw her friends die, saw the walls of the lyrium well pressing in on her. She could still hear it singing to her.

"Hey Comet." Varric crouched in the opening, peering inside. "You ought to get your leg looked at."

"It's fine. Claudette dealt with it." She answered, her voice blank.

"Red also wants you and Chuckles up in the Chantry. They need to understand everything that happened. From what I can understand, it was crazy, right?" He looked at her expectantly.

"Solas was with me the whole time." She answered, looking away. "He can tell them. I...I don't want to talk about it." She wanted to talk to Marcus. How silly she felt. This Marcus wasn't her Marcus, the one who had saved her life, told her about his parents, protected her.

"I can go with you?" The concern in his face made her want to cry.

"No, thank you, Varric. Could you let them know? I'm just a little tired." She rolled over in her blankets.

By the next day, Haven was swarming with mages. The atmosphere was tense, to say the least. Anti magic sentiment had abounded even before Lavellan's open display of support. Cullen seemed to be everywhere at once, putting out fires, calming arguments before they descended into something worse.

Tilda walked among them like someone in a dream. Dazed and confused, she was still limping, but Claudette's initial healing in the future had held. Leliana had caught her, trying to ask some questions and Tilda had snapped at her.

She was angry, and she didn't know why. She couldn't seem to control it, the fear, the fury, the paranoia.

Heading out of Haven's gates, she stared up into the falling snow. Across by the training soldiers, she saw Cassandra, arguing with a mage. "And what are we supposed to do, exactly?" The long haired man asked belligerently.

"Do what you always do...complain." Cassandra retorted in a voice like ice.

"We've already spoken with Commander Cullen." The mage continued irritably. "No one listens. We want better quarters." His voice rose. "We want the Templars kept at a distance. And some respect for..."

Tilda had had enough. Rage burst through her again. After everything they had done, everything the rogue mages did in destroying the world, and here they were, believing themselves hard done by. Lavellan could have left them for the Templars, or conscripted them but she hadn't.