Chapter Text
As the sun began dipping behind the mountains, a murmur passed throughout the camp, wondering where the Inquisitor had gone to. The Exalted Plains were still relatively dangerous even now, with Freemen and the occasional demons still lurking around, and it wouldn't do to have her wandering around in the dark.
It was Cassandra, returning from the nearby stream where she'd scrubbed off the grime of the day, who happened to catch a glimpse of the Inquisitor by a rocky outcropping. She would have continued on to camp and left the Inquisitor to whatever she was doing if not for the... strange sounds she was making.
Cassandra approached to find her crouched before an entire pack of wolves. A sight which would have been much more alarming if she did not also have the Token of the Packmaster around her neck, but the entire thing still gave Cassandra pause.
Mostly because she was cooing at them. She was cooing at a pack of wolves.
Cassandra slowly stepped up next to the Inquisitor, cautious not to make any abrupt moves. The wolves were still lulled by the amulet's magic, but there was a difference between having it as a safety measure, and testing its limits like this.
"Inquisitor," she greeted.
Pippa Trevelyan's hand was outstretched towards the nearest wolf, who was watching her with curious yellow eyes. She stood still as it sniffed at her palm, and Cassandra felt a twinge of apprehension. Some creatures were unpredictable, and their behavior erratic and inexplicable. The Inquisitor was a prime example of this.
"Cassandra," she returned the greeting, and then added, "I'm going to give a wolf ear-scritchies."
"I see." After a beat of silence, Cassandra hazarded the question. "Why?"
"Don't you think wolves like ear-scritchies?" she said.
"I..." Cassandra was at a momentary loss at how to even address this. "That is not the issue. Inquisitor. Wolves are not pets. They are wild beasts. Treating them like friendly Mabari hounds is liable to get you a limb snapped off, even with the magic of the amulet protecting you."
"Maker, it's like you have no faith in me!" Pippa replied, sounding offended. "It isn't like I was planning to jump straight to the belly-rubs, I was saving that for the second date."
A few seconds passed in complete silence as she moved her hand slowly within the nearest wolf's field of vision, making sure her motions were obvious and non-threatening.
"Putting aside the choice of words," Cassandra began.
"Yes, that was an unfortunate context for the word 'date'," she muttered, brows knitted together in vexation.
"Putting that aside," Cassandra said, "what is it that you hope to accomplish?"
"If I'm lucky, wolf pettings."
Finally, her fingers brushed just under and behind the wolf's ear. Its nostrils flared, but it allowed the touch. Pippa wiggled her fingers, carefully at first, but then more firmly when the wolf pressed into the touch with a friendly whine, as if amazed by the experience.
Soon enough, all the other wolves were mobbing Pippa, demanding their own... ear scritchies.
She threw a smug look to Cassandra over the head of the furry crowd. Cassandra made a quiet, disgusted noise to herself.
The Inquisitor was going to give her a heart attack one of these days.