The cold was harsh, wind blew continuously throughout the day, at least a foot or two of snow could be found in any direction; but the people, well, most of the people were accustomed to it by now, for this was Haven, and the cold never forgave the ill prepared. Soldiers were training under the formerly Knight Commander Cullen, who trains his soldiers tirelessly without fault to prepare for the wound in the sky that cried demons constantly, the breach. With "The Herald of Andraste", a female Elven rouge, recruited in this Inquisition, fights were sure to happen, riots were leashed with thread, and people struggled for peace with the Templars moving in to help fight for the cause.

All that of that wasn't on a certain young one's mind though, a young girl at the age of fifteen who's dark brown braids constantly caught the wind as she did her chores and helped out the Inquisition as much as she could.

"OUCH!" The young girl squealed in pain as she bounced back to hold her hurt toe through her leather shoe.

"Someone has butterfingers." One of the men who were helping with carrying the boxes of supplies commented as he passed by the poor girl.

She huffed before lifting the box again and nearly falling backwards, but someone or something had supported her and helped her stand up right. She looked up to see that a man with a rather large hat had stopped her from falling.

"Do you need help with that?" The man asked as he cocked his head slightly while the young girl turned around and took a step back in shock.

"Uh… Sure." She answered back rather hesitantly, due to the fact that the man looked awfully tired with his pale blue eyes and blond hair covering most of the top of his face. She could barely react though when he easily took the heavy box out of her hands.

"Where is this going?" He asked.

She had to blink a few times before gaining her cool and grabbing a lighter box, "To the kitchen," she looked away for a moment before leading the way, "Thank you, my name is May." She kindly smiled at him, "What's your name?"

"I'm Cole." He answered, "I came to help because I heard you got hurt due to this box, did you make it mad?"

May was taken back for a moment, but quickly shook it off, "No, well… I don't think I made it mad, I just dropped it is all."

"Things don't like being dropped." He retorted rather plainly.

"No, I guess they don't." she replied while letting out a light giggle.

"What's funny? Did the box say something and I didn't hear it?" He asked curiously while looking at his and her box.

She giggled more, "No, I just thought what you said was funny, that's all."

"Oh…" He contemplated for a moment, "So, I'm funny? Most of the time other people don't understand me well, and I have to repeat myself in a different way."

"Well, you're making sense to me, so don't worry." She smiled up at him and he returned the favor with a small smile, showing life in his life-less face.

A moment had pass before the silence got to her, she at thought that at least Cole would say something else, but he was just quiet. Struggling to find what to say, she asked, "Hey, what do you like to do?" She chirped, trying to get him to talk again and keep a conversation going.

"I like to help people." He stated rather proudly.

"That's cool, I like helping people too." She replied.

"Really? So you like to untangle the hurt and make the people feel better?" he turned his attention to her and was rather happily curious as to what she had to say.

"I um…" she was stumped, "I do chores and help people that way, I don't really help them emotionally." She laughed awkwardly while looking away.

"You do help them though." She looked back at him curiously, "It's like a table, if one leg is too short, then everything that's on the table will eventually fall off. So, you're just as important as the next person who's carrying supplies."

May smiled brightly, "Thank you Cole." The sounds of swords and shields clashing could be heard from their left; May took a quick glance to see him, then turned her attention back forward with a stiff posture.

"Is something the matter?" Cole asked after seeing her rather odd posture.

"Huh?" She looked back up at Cole, then looked back at him. "Oh, no, it's nothing, really?" she sheepishly said before looking back forward.

Cole raised an eyebrow and kept eye contact with her, "You're lying. Why are you lying to me?"

May had a hard time swallowing the lump in her throat, "I just… I don't know…." She looked back at him again.

Cole followed her gaze to the soldiers, then the person who stood out the most in the middle of the training soldiers, "Is it Commander Cullen?" She hesitantly nodded. "Why are you nervous to admit that you were staring at him?"

"Um…" She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "I like his hair."

"Is that it?" She nodded, "People shouldn't lie." He stated

She sighed, "Yah… You're right, I'm sorry."

"It's ok May." He paused for a moment, "Do you like my hair?"

"What?" May arched an eyebrow at the boy.

"Is my hair alright? Like Commander Cullen's?"

She contemplated for a moment while seeing the only hair that showed out of his hat, "I can't tell, you're hat's in the way.

He thought to himself in silence for a moment, then abruptly put the box down and took off his hat, "How about now?"

May giggled, "You have hat hair."

"Is that bad?" He tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Hmmm…" She studied his hair for a moment, "It looks alright."

"How can I make it better?"

"Well, you could lose the hat and ruffle your hair a bit, women love messy hair." Cole turned around and was met with the only Qunari in all of Haven.

"I like my hats, The Iron Bull." Cole replied by putting his hat back on and picking up the box.

May smiled brightly, "Hey Bull!"

"Hey kiddo," Bull complied with a small wave and a nice smile, "Feel like being tossed around later? My men need the practice."

"Sure, I'll be back later." She answered, before leading the way again to the kitchen with Cole sticking by her side.

"You like being tossed around? Like a rag doll?" Cole asked with curiosity.

"Yah," she chirped, "It's fun! Iron Bull picks me up and tosses me over to his boys." She looked over at him to see his face had a hint of worry in it, "They never drop me though, so don't worry."

"Fire searing, wood falling, adrenaline pounding like a hammer to an anvil, a child in one arm, a two handed weapon in the other. "I can't fight with an injured kid!" Rage building, muscles sore from the heavy weapon, he put the child down for a moment, and the child died due to his injuries. "Wasn't fast enough, couldn't get the kid out in time." No pay rewarded." Silence fell harder than a boulder as May tried to understand what he just said.

"Cole…?" She asked hesitantly, "Who are you talking about?"

"Hm?" Cole looked over at her, "The Iron Bull of course, he uses you to train his men so then another child won't die because of him. He feels guilt from it, but forgets about it most of the time, knowing he won't let that happen again."

May tilted her head to the side, "You're interesting Cole…"

"Oh? Why thank you! You're quite interesting too!" Cole exclaimed rather joyfully.

"Thanks." She giggled, "You know, if there's anything you want to ask me, you can."

"Really?" She nodded, "What do you like to do? Besides helping people, I mean." He seemed nervous with his words for some reason, "Usually people like to do more than one thing right? Or is that only with some people?"

"Well… I suppose it just depends on the person, everyone is different. To answer your question though, I love reading books, like books about fairytales and such are the best, and princesses and everything." She happily admitted while adjusting the box, "That's what I sort of imagine Orlais to be like, which is why I adore Vivienne! She looks like she just walked straight out of a book."

Cole looked at her questioningly, "I… don't think she's walked out of a book."

May giggled, "Not literally of course, she just… looks so elegant in her attire." She paused for a moment, "Have you talked to her? What is she like?"

"Yes… I have." He looked away for a moment, "The Fade calls out to her, but she ignores, never listens, she thinks she knows what's best." He shook his head, "She calls me a demon, and refuses to let me help her."

"What?" May was taken back, "Why would she call you a demon?"

"Because I'm a spirit in human form."

May stopped in her place from disbelief, "A… Spirit?"

Cole looked back at her with a tint of sadness, "Does it bother you? I can make you forget if it does after I'm done helping you."

What… a spirit? He doesn't even look like a spirit, could he be crazy? Is that why he's so quiet and insecure? No, if he were crazy, he'd be like Sera. She took a deep breath to calm her mind and at least try to speak normally, "I don't care if you're a spirit or demon, as long as we're friends, ok?"

"Friend?" Cole questioned, "Usually people are scared of me, you're not?" He quickly answered himself, "No, you're not scared of me, I don't feel that you are."

"So… you can feel what other people feel?" May questioned, "What kind of spirit are you then?"

"He is a spirit of compassion," A voice spoke out from behind May, "He helps people by delving into their minds and healing the pain they have through compassion and understanding, then afterwards, he makes them forget because he is no longer needed to them."

May turned around to see a bald elf in non-servant or soldier attire, "Hi Solas."

He nodded, "Good evening, May."

"So, he's a spirit who helps people? I thought when spirits or demons came out of the fade, they look different, and not in a good way." May stated.

"They usually do," Solas replied, "Cole is special though, we don't know how he became this way, nor does he, but he is a crucial ally in the Inquisition now, and is well respected by only a few, mostly by Lavellan's company."

May looked back at Cole, "You're with Lavellan? The people who's been calling her "The Herald of Andraste"?"

"Yes," Cole plainly replied, "Is that so weird?"

"Well…" May chose her words carefully, "You just don't seem like the type of person to fight."

"Why not?" He asked.

"I just…" she shrugged her shoulders and looked away for a short moment, "I shouldn't have judged you, I'm sorry, I did just meet you after all."

"It's alright," He reassured with a small smile, "A lot of people misjudge me."

"I can imagine…" she mumbled.

"Just curious," Solas spoke up, "Where are you taking those supplies May?"

"Huh?" She averted her attention from Cole, "To the kitchen."

"The kitchen is back there, isn't it?" He pointed towards the center of Haven, which wasn't too far from where Solas normally perched, "You must have skipped it while talking to Cole."

"Oh!" Cole was surprised, "I'm terribly sorry, I did not mean to distract you, May."

"It's quite alright Cole," She reassured with a shy smile, "You're nice to talk to."

"So… It's ok to forget about a chore because I'm nice to talk to…?" Cole asked with slight confusion while tilting his head to the side.

"I guess it's not when you put it that way…" She sighed heavily before turning around and leading the way to the kitchen with Cole tailing her.

"Oh? Did I upset you?" Cole asked with a hint of worry.

"No, you didn't," She turned her head just enough to catch his eyes in her peripheral vision, "it was my fault for not noticing, not yours."

"But I distracted you," He retorted, "So it's at least partially my fault for distracting you."

May grunted in defeat, she wasn't going to convince this boy that she normally doesn't forget and was going to take the blame for it all, but he was just so… compassionate. She caught her thoughts and laughed on the inside at her own words, knowing very well she just described the boy for who he is, literally, "Alright Cole, you win, it was partially your fault." She sarcastically said while giggling.

"I win?" He questioned, "Were we fighting?"

"Well, not really…" she looked away for a moment to think, "If we were fighting, one or both of us would be hurt."

"Yes… but, was this hurtful to you then?" He hesitantly asked.

"No Cole, I'm fine, thank you." She gave him a cute smile before turning her attention to the back entrance of the kitchen, "And thank you for helping!" She chirped as she opened the door, showing the kitchen staff cooking and others cleaning.

"You're welcome, May." He replied as he put the box down next to the door.

"It was nice meeting you," She put the box down next to his then turned around and held out her hand, "I hope we can become friends."

Cole seemed distracted though, he was looking over his shoulder to see a couple soldiers walking by, "Mouth watering, stomach aching, churning, wanting something to eat like mother's cooking. "Her cooking was the best, if the meat wasn't so dry, it may remind me of her. I miss my mom"." Cole mumbled to himself.

May tilted her head to the side, "I thought spirits didn't have moms."

"May, are those the supplies?"

She turned around and saw a man calling her over, "Yes uncle." She turned back around to see that Cole was gone. She hesitated to go outside to look for him, but closed the door and helped with the supplies due to her uncle needing her.

"Two boxes? You didn't carry these yourself did you?" Her uncle questioned her as he ruffled her hair, "The last I check you didn't fucking grow muscles overnight"

"No, a guy helped me, he's with The Herald." She replied as she helped him set the tools in their correct places.

"Really? What's his name?"

"Cole, I think he's new here, I haven't seen him before."

"Never heard of him, probably is new." He complied as they finished unpacking, letting him go back to cooking.

She paused for a moment, contemplating what Cole had said about the meat…

"Why are you just standing there like dry paint? If you have something on your mind, speak up!" Her uncle stated as he pulled out some meat.

She snapped out of it and went over to her uncle's side, "I think the soldiers would like stew for a change." She claimed as she tailed him.

"Hm? Why's that?" He curiously asked.

"Because they think the meat's dry, so it might be a nice change, wouldn't it?" She asked with hopeful eyes.

"Alright, why the fuck not," He stated as he turned around to face his kitchen staff, "Hey, we're making stew today!" He ordered, "So get the ladles and the vegetables and get to chopping!"

The staff obeyed and did what he said as May happily got some broth and helped them cook.

An hour had past, the stew was made and already being devoured by the hungry soldiers and The Herald's companions.

"Hey kid, May init?" May went over to the blonde elf, "This was your doin yah?"

May nodded, "Yah, do you like it?"

"Well, it's hell of a lot better than last night's meal, didn't think that grouchy uncky of yours would change it up a bit." She at a spoonful of the stew then wiped some of the contents that were on her face onto her sleeve, "Thanks a bunches May."

May nodded and smiled, "You're welcome Sera." A heavy hand patted her on the back, nearly making her fall over.

"Thanks kid." She turned around and met Bull, "It's a nice change, you should get them to cook more variety often."

May giggled, "Thank you Bull, I'll try."

"Hey May." She turned back around to see that Cullen had called her over, "Thanks, this is really good, you should take over the kitchen more often."

"Really?" a spark of excitement pounced onto her soul, as he nodded. "Thank you Commander Cullen!" She held in her nervousness just enough to be excused and go back to her Uncle's side.

"The soldier's look hell of a lot happier thanks to your suggestion." Her uncle complimented as he ruffled her hair, "If they'd speak up more we'd know what the fuck they'd want. Good thing you're around, huh?" They both shared a laughed.

She looked up at her uncle in his blue eyes and smiled brightly, "Thank you, but it was Cole who listened to the soldiers, sort of."

"I'd thank him if he were here," he started to help clean up the place, "If you see this Cole again, tell him to get his arse over here so then I can thank him in person."

"Sure." She snuck away after their conversation and went to the cupboards on the other side of the room, opening it to reveal one warm bowl of stew she had saved for Cole, because she hadn't seen him in the mess hall yet and didn't want him to go hungry or anything of the sort. So she took the bowl and walked out of the kitchen to find Solas.

With one swift scan of the room, she found him about to head out the door and quickly caught up to him without spilling a drop of the stew, "Hey Solas, where's Cole?"

Solas turned around and looked down at her, "He's probably somewhere, I'm surprised he let you remember him actually."

"Oh, ok." She looked away with a little disappointment.

"Goodnight May." Solas finished as he walked out the door.

"Goodnight Solas." May replied before heading back to the kitchen, wondering where Cole would be.