When I Look at You (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

Joining

They walked toward Duncan's fire, not speaking. Una, mindful of her father's training, carefully considered what she had learned of her companions. Daveth was a rogue fighter—not a leader, but good at flanking and stealth. Magic and superstition had a powerful hold over him, however. Jory was spoiled. He liked his comforts, and whined about anything that took him out of them. He was a good, strong fighter, with little concern for the terrors of magic, but would never put himself forward and would avoid discomfort whenever possible.

Alistair—well, there was just no getting around it, Alistair was the most attractive and desirable man she'd ever met. His jokes, his already-obvious habit of fixing his hair after every battle, the confidence in his fighting stance were all fascinating to her. She forced herself to consider him objectively, however, hearing her father's voice in her memory. "Pup," he'd said, "you must care about the people you fight with. You must care enough to see them for who they truly are. Once you stop recognizing their flaws, you become dangerous to them. And vice versa."

With that in mind, then, she considered Alistair as dispassionately as she could. When fighting, he was powerful, thoughtful about tactics, and alert to the shift of the battle's center. Outside of combat ... she assumed he had hung back through most of the Wilds on orders, to watch the rest of them. But he had also stayed in the background as much as he could during the encounter with Morrigan and her mother. Una wondered what his training had been before the Chantry. He seemed cowed, in some ways. Unwilling to put himself forward. And it hadn't bothered him at all when she had taken the lead with the two apostates. She suspected there was a sharp brain in there, but that he'd never been pushed to make a lot of use of it. She'd have to see about that, she thought. Oh, Maker, listen to me, trying to change the man already, she thought, rolling her eyes at her own foolishness.

Alistair had, indeed, been charged with watching all of them. He'd seen Una's awkward lope disappear the moment her sword cleared its scabbard, the way she paused to scope the field before attacking, the directness with which she took charge of the team. He'd also been impressed by the way she'd handled the apostates. His own Templar training had kicked in, and he'd been little more useful than Daveth or Jory, but Una had been straight-backed and unafraid as she'd faced the other women. Duncan had done it again, Alistair thought. The two men were decent fighters, sure. But the girl—the woman, he corrected himself, for no mere girl fought like that—was a find. Why her noble parents had let her go, Alistair couldn't imagine. He hoped she would survive the Joining.

In front of Duncan, Daveth and Jory postured a lot, acting as though they'd been the leaders. Una's mouth quirked up sardonically. Men were always doing that—the ones she'd sparred with, and beaten, at the castle had always felt the need to pretend that they'd let her win. Looking at Duncan's shrewd eyes, she could tell he didn't entirely believe the story he was being fed. And Alistair caught her eye, grinning and shaking his head just slightly after a particularly pompous comment of Jory's. At least the two actual Grey Wardens didn't seem to think less of her because she was a woman, and a young one at that, Una thought in relief.

Alistair stayed behind at Duncan's fire when the other three were sent off to get ready for the Joining. "What did you think of our recruits, Alistair?"

"Daveth's good enough," Alistair said. "And willing. Takes direction well. Jory," he made a small face, "is not happy about this. Doesn't like fighting the darkspawn, doesn't like being led, doesn't want to put himself forward. Not a coward, exactly," Alistair said slowly, wanting to be fair, "but not ... brave, either. Soft? Soft." He nodded. It was the right word.

"And ... Una?"

Staring into the fire, Alistair said, "She's amazing, Duncan! A born leader, a natural fighter—she'll be an excellent Warden." His enthusiasm flagged a bit at the thought of the Joining, and he said more softly, "I hope she gets the chance."