Since she joined their little group, Lalin was sticking close to Azabeth. Every waking moment was spent talking quietly about the things that they had missed out on when they had been separated. Lalin told her about the Grey Wardens, about Faer and Dolain. She had spilled her heart to her sister, knowing that Azabeth would listen to her without judgment. She did the same for Az when she needed to complain about Conlan. Which took an embarrassingly long time for Lalin to understand what she was talking about. To find out that her Conlan was Azabeth’s Conlan... it was a shock she wasn’t expecting. Even as she was finding out, with each new face that she recognized from her past, just how much smaller the world was than she realized.
She walked next to Azabeth, speaking every so often, but for the most part saving her breath. They had been walking for an ungodly amount of time, though Lalin didn’t want to be the first one to complain about the pace. It would be weak and embarrassing, especially since she knew they had time they needed to make up for. So she kept silent.
But as they walked, a high buzzing started to sound in her ears. She felt pressure on her head and a slight feeling of nausea. The further along they walked, the more she felt the symptoms. Suddenly, Falina was retching into the bushes and Conlan was calling out that Darkspawn were on their way. Oh, Maker’s Balls, that feeling! It meant Darkspawn was close! It was the same thing that she had felt at the Joining. They had been warning that they would sense encroaching Darkspawn, but Lalin hadn’t been ready for the feeling and hadn’t recognized it for what it was until they were almost on top of them.
She stuck to Azabeth’s side for a moment, before glancing back; trying to find a high place that she could shoot down from. She took her bow off of her shoulder as her eyes darted around. The act of taking an arrow and notching it in the string was as natural as breathing. “Az! You pick off the edges; I’ll watch your back.” Lalin darted back to climb up onto a stump where she could get a better view of the battlefield. As soon as one of the creatures came into her range, she fired, drawing another bolt almost instantly.