A/N: Heh, another story from me, this one another Tamlen and Mahariel, although it's not related to Masquerade. Took me some time to write this, so I'll likely only continue if I get a decent amount of rev's for the chapter =) Yeah, I'm a review whore, your point? ;D

Lina

She watches Morrigan argue with Leliana over chantry views, listens as Wynne scolds Alistair on his festering wound and smiles when she sees Sten and her dog, Rinoa, wrestling somewhat in the middle of the camp. Shale watches and clenches her fists; Zevran tries to sway Oghren into having a drinking contest to test if the Dwarf really can down as much as he claims. And Lina, she'll watch it all everyday and hates the consistency of it all. It's too familiar for her to like, yet she can't live without the familiar arguments and complaints.

And the elf, Zevran, he is so similar to him that she hates it, despite that his hair is too light, his eyes too odd a colour to belong to him. Zevran will flirt, woo and touch, be rewarded with a smack to the head with the flat edge of a sword, and will repeat the entire process an hour later. She had to chuckle at this, for the man was so insistent even though he knew his chances were slim even from the start. After all, if the 'adorable' Alistair hadn't gotten properly through, how could he?

Alistair. She hated him with a passion, because she knew she was falling for him. She didn't show it, didn't acknowledge it most of the time, but the truth was clear and simple and smacking her in the face like a wet fish. The only reasons she didn't give in was because Alistair was a human of all things, and the Dalish should never allow themselves to fall for despicable Shem like him. A second reason was because something was pulling her back, something that hid from her view and yet watched her with keen eyes, a longing that was not her own so powerful it stopped her from giving in and made her think on what could possibly be making the longing pit in her stomach the way it had.

She absent-mindedly traces her fingers over the drinking pouch attached to her belt. None of the camp members –except Alistair- had seen the object on her side, and if they had they made no questions about it, for it was clear by looking at the pouch that whatever was inside it was not water. The colouring had turned from a yellow to black over the days, and the pouch itself gave off a bluish hue.

Darkspawn blood and Lyrium.

She had saved it for one purpose and one purpose only. The day before the joining she had noticed a presence follow her in the wilds, and it had made her curious, especially when Alistair had said he could sense a tainted creature, one that was neither darkspawn nor human. Curiosity claimed her, and when she had awoken and Alistair and Duncan had left her to herself for a few moments, she had taken the pouch and poured the remnants of the cup she drank from into the pouch.

Alistair had called her an insane, stupid idiot when he found out, and told her that she should pour the blood away at the first chance she got, but she didn't, for he couldn't sense the presence that had been following them whereas she could. Lina didn't know why no one else sensed it - especially Alistair- for the presence seemed to have a tint of darkness prickling inside it.

Lina eventually found herself falling asleep on her bedroll for the first time in days, and as she curled up on the thin mat her thoughts drifted straight to the Archdemon. Typical.

The beast stared at her with eyes that weren't quite red, but at the same time they gleamed a golden yellow as they stared at her, daring her to seek it out within its fort of darkspawn. Its body was sleek and long, the scales shining in the green light that seemed to surround it. Lina wanted to move forward in her dream and touch it, and at the simple movement it reared its giant head back and roared fiercely, and Lina found herself wishing badly to wake up in the sheer terror it inflicted.

Wake up she did, Alistair's frantic voice waking her from her slumber as he warned her of the arrival of shrieks that had now surrounded the camp and were coming in from all angles. Her Dar'Misu and Dar'Missan were picked up from their place next to her on the ground and she bolted forward towards the fray that had gathered in the middle of the camp. Shrieks and their alpha attacked, and they all fought, Lina's Dar'Misu running up the length of one shrieks back, before her Dar'Missan found itself slashing the throat of the same shriek.

Alistair smashed into one with his shield with such force it flew backwards, only to have its head crushed by Shale's large stone fists as the golem made a little giggle at the sound. She could hear Leliana shouting that the shrieks would be guided by the maker as she filled them with arrows from her bow, the rogue smirking as each arrow slowed her target down as it tried to reach both her and Alistair.

Wynne and Morrigan both dispatched the Alpha and one other, whereas Zevran and a highly drunk Oghren slashed and tore at the creatures, the latter swinging his axe blindly and still managing to do more damage than Zevran with his critical backstabs.

Once they had all been taken care of, some moved back to their tents and mats, but Lina and Alistair still looked around, sensing the presence of something else. To Alistair it was foreign, but to Lina it was the same thing that had been following her for weeks. She turned swiftly on her heel, pushing her blonde hair from her eyes and locking her eyes on someone stood far away from the tent that he couldn't be seen by unperceptive eyes.

Lina cautiously made her way over to the person, watching curiously as the being clawed at his own face and argued with himself, words like 'can't kill, must kill' being uttered every few seconds. They stopped when they heard her approaching, and the being locked eyes with her dark ones and both gasped.

"You... Lethallan... No, you can't see me like this. Go away!" Lina couldn't even whisper his name when the ghoul had ran to the other side of the tents, his sobs being heard briefly by her as she watched him run, shock on her features accompanied with tears. Alistair, who had been next to her, looked shocked at the fact that the woman was crying, for none had seen her do so. He had no time to question her, however, for it had taken only seconds for it to sink in that it was Tamlen who had just spoken to her, and she ran after him, almost tripping from the speed and desperation to get there.

"Tamlen, is it really you? By the creators, I'm so sorry..."

"Stay away from me; don't want to hurt you Lethallan..." He muttered, swaying sideways as his human side fought to surface. Lina could see him struggling, and it pained her to watch him suffer the way he was.

"I can help you, Tamlen, just let me try." She was sobbing, tears slowly leaking down her face as she tried to move closer.

"No, no help for me. The voice in my head, it calls to me, he sings to me... The pain, please Lethallan!" His true words had gone unspoken, but Lina understood exactly what he was trying to ask her. She couldn't, wouldn't kill him, and yet she could hear her companions slowly edging towards them, staves and weapons drawn.

"I- don't ask me to kill you Tamlen, I can't." Pain flashed in both their eyes as she tried to move closer, only a few inches away from him. She had to help him, or at the very least try.

"Then I'll have to make you... Always...Loved you, I'm so sorry!" Lina would have him killed if he begged; maybe she could have done the deed herself had he not said the last two sentences with such sincerity and honesty. She had always loved him, and yet kept it hidden in fear he did not feel the same. And now he had told her along with a request for death? Impossible, for Lina at least.

But her companions had all already advanced, and moving in instinct rather than intellect, her hands moved out forward to jab him sharply and quickly on either side of his neck, stunning him momentarily before spinning the ghoul and whacking him sharply up the back of his head, knocking him out before he had a chance to recover.

Alistair and Zevran advanced with their swords and dagger drawn, ready to strike. Zevran did once, cutting Tamlen's arm sharply, but before Alistair could perform a critical strike Lina does something completely, totally, and utterly stupid.

She throws herself in front Alistair's sword before it can connect with her clanmate.