"AGH!" Lavellan shouted as he slammed his hand against the war table desk. Cullen stood in front of him while Josephine took a step back. They hadn't seen their Inquisitor this upset before. Ozen Lavellan was seeing red. His elven ears were turning hot, his hair fell over his eyes. He tightened his fist, trying to stop the instinct to grab the blade that was on his hip. At this very moment, Ozen wanted to murder the one he had called a friend. Ozen could hear the news repeat over and over again in his head. He did not want to believe what was told to him. He trusted these people. All of them. To Ozen, the anger he felt was righteously justifiable. Cullen wanted to step up to try and calm down the elf but he knew that his efforts were going to be meaningless. He stood there, keeping an eye on Josephine who looked panicked. Morrigan stood at the ready to cast a spell on the hot-headed dalish. 

"Ozen..." Cullens's voice seemed to echo in his ear, Ozen Lavellan ignored the man attempting to calm him down. Ozen wasn't going to have it. Cullen was on the other side of the war room, close to the windows. Ozen was standing on the other side of the table. Cullen worried about the two weapons at his hips. Cullen's fingers were ready at the blade, praying under his breath that the Inquisitor wasn't going to do anything rash.

Ozen heard the doors open behind him. The squeak of the right door echoed in the war room causing the air to tense around them. Cullen and Josephine looked to the door wide-eyed. Lilianna stood in the corner of the room, enjoying the drama that was unfolding in front of her. Ozen could now smell the familiar cologne. His jaw tightened, and a snarl came out of his lips. Cullen wanted to step up, even Morrigan wanted to since she was standing beside Ozen. The Witch of the Wilds stood there, preparing for what was about to happen. She had never seen an elf quite so ticked before. Even the Hero of Ferelden had a sort of calm to him.

"Ozen I-" Dorian went to speak his plea to the Inquisitor but instead, with a blink of an eye, Ozen had him slammed up against the war room door with a blade to his throat. The same blade she had given him. Dorian gasped, he didn't mind being slammed around but not at this particular moment. His eyes grew wide with fear as he looked down the eyes of the Inquisitor. 

"You were supposed to look out for her!" Ozen shouted. Dorian could swear that the red in his eyes was growing brighter. He had never quite seen a set of eyes like his, white with red near the center. It was terrifying to see it change before him. Dorian made a mental note; if he were ever to see the color change in his eyes again, he was going to be prepared. 

"I-I swear..." Dorian stuttered, he swallowed hard, "I never meant-"

"Bull," Ozen growled.

"Ozen!" Cullen attempted to call out to his friend but instead, Ozen was quick to the knife in his boot. With the blink of an eye, the blade landed beside Cullen's head on the stone wall of the castle. Ozen didn't blink, he never looked away from Dorian. Ozen was a trained assassin and it was causing Dorian to shake. Dorian wanted to use his magic to move Dorian aside but doing that would put himself at risk. Dorian knew better then to use his magic against Ozen. Ozen would see it as a threat which would cause Dorian's predicament worse. There were other lives at stake then just his. 

If Dorian didn't know any better, he could have sworn the elf was cursing him in his native tongue.

"Tell me why I shouldn't murder you," Ozen growled.

"I didn't know that we were being followed!" Dorian panicked. He swallowed the last bit of saliva that was pooling in his mouth out of nervousness. Dorian lowered his voice so that no one could hear,

"I swear on it, Amatus."

Since Ozen had met Dorian, something clicked between them. Ozen found himself falling for the human mage. He couldn't bring himself to admit it though. He was human, for one. Something the dalish in him refused to like. Then there was the fact that he was a mage. There was a battle between the mages and templars, Ozen wasn't sure if he was for or against them. Early on, Ozen had made a choice to care for Dorian. Ozen wanted to see where this "relationship" would take them. Currently, despite what they have went through for months leading up to the current evens, Ozen was contemplating his romantic feelings for Dorian. Ozen had put so much trust into someone he shouldn't have trusted. His clan warned Ozen about humans. He was starting to think that his clans representation of the humans were right. 

Ozen growled again, shaking his head, he wanted to be angry. He wanted to kill the man who had put his family in danger. She was out there somewhere. The blade against Dorian's throat started to lower. Ozen's tight grip loosened.

"I want to be alone," Ozen muttered. He brushed past Dorian, leaving the war room with his friends behind him. Cullen could finally breathe again, Josephine glanced at Dorian who was straightening his shirt. All the while Cassandra stood there thinking about what Ozen was going through. Ozen ignored the people of Skyhold, making his way to his chambers. His thoughts swarmed, causing his hand to shake. Then he felt annoyed, betrayed, hurt... he had trusted Dorian to protect his family while he went off to fight demons. Dorian was a strong mage, surely he could have handled something so important to Ozen.

His clan was missing.

His beloved little sister is gone.

Ozen swore under his breath, opening the door to his room and slamming it shut. He didn't know where they could have gone. He didn't know what had happened to make Dorian put his guard down. Not knowing upset him more than before in the War Room. He wanted to put trust in his associates but even that was turning out to be difficult.

Ozen sat on his bed, putting his elbows on his knees and resting his head in his hands. He trusted Dorian, a mage.  To have him betray him like that hurt more than Ozen could have imagined. He thought back to the letter he had received from his clan. The day he heard from them made him the happiest he had been in a while. They received word that some Dalish were going to be joining the Inquisition. They wanted to do their part in helping. Ozen was more than thrilled to see his clan once again. He had worried about them for months. He missed them, the forest, gathering food for his people. He missed the simple life. He missed listening to the trees blow in the wind. When he and his friends found another clan in the Exalted Plains. Ozen's heart was filled with joy. The gods had heard his prayers! 

He gripped his head, digging his fingernails into his scalp. Tears of anger and frustration streamed down his face as his left leg bounced up and down out of nervousness. He gritted his teeth, his chest hurting. 

He hurt me! Ozen screamed in his head, I trusted him! I put my faith in someone I care for to watch my family! They are gone because of him! 

 If he couldn't find his clan soon, they were going to die. Ozen thought about not being too hard on Dorian, he had left him alone with his clan. Ozen should have been the one to protect them. He should have left Varric with Dorian or even Solas. There were several possibilities engaging in his brain. It was as if the chess board had been knocked down and he was trying to remember the better strategy to see if the outcomes would have come out differently then they had before. If he had done this, if he had done that...

Ozen sat there, muttering under his breath over and over again how much he had failed his clan. His clan just wanted to help the Inquisition. Ozen was going to show them what he had done to help this war. He wanted the people to meet his beloved clan. He had a moment of pride when he reviewed the letter. He had put so much thought into it. Then, of course, there was Ozen wanting to introduce Dorian to them. 

It's all gone.

Ozen started to rock himself back and forth, his mutters getting louder and louder. He wanted all of this to stop. He didn't want to be the Inquisitor. He didn't want all of this responsibility.

Knock, knock.

Ozen didn't answer. Whoever it was, they could just leave him alone. He still had his daggers with him. He didn't trust himself around anyone right now. He could have easily killed Cullen and Dorian. He frowned, the tears filling his eyes and falling down his face. He shook his head, not sure what to think. He straightened his posture, quickly taking his hand and wiped the tears away. Ozen got to his feet and started to pace. His hands were clasped behind his back.

Where could his clan have gone?

He was sure it could have been someone he had put in prison, a family member who wanted revenge on the mages he had murdered. There were a lot of potential candidates for this mystery. The only person who knew anything was Dorian. The last man he wanted to talk to right now. He also wanted answers to his several questions, sadly, Dorian was the only one that was around when it happened. Ozen swore under his breath again. This time, he heard the door leading to his chamber shut. Someone was walking up the stairs.

"I'm in no mood to talk," Ozen growled, keeping his back turned to whoever it was. He was eager to throw his blade at the person behind him.

"I know." Varric's voice filled Ozen's ears, causing him to be less tense and relaxed. If it had been Dorian, he would have thrown his blades at him. Varric was one of the only people he knew that could calm him the way he did. Maybe it was his voice or maybe it was because Varric was one of the first people he had met while running from Cassandra. Varric had put trust in Ozen, without question. It was a fast friendship, something Ozen was thankful for right now. 

"What do you need?" Ozen turned around, attempting to hide his emotions from the dwarf. Varric looked up at him, shaking his head and glancing away from Ozen. He could read the kid like a book. He wasn't in the war room then, but everyone in Skyhold could hear him shouting. The castle had many holes in it. Varric had thought of what to say to him. He wasn't on the mission this time around and part of him wished he was. He felt bad that Ozen's family was now missing.

"I just wanted to see if you are alright."

"Does it look like it?" Ozen snapped, "That bastard mage lost my family!" Ozen shouted, pointing out towards the wall.

"We will find them, Ozen."

"How do you know? How many times are people going to tell me it will be fine when I know it won't? Do you know how many people are wanting me dead?"

Varric looked down at his feet, thinking about the right words to say to him. Varric knew how it felt to lose family. It wasn't long ago when he lost his brother to some mysterious force that turned him into a monster. He witnessed Hawke's family get killed off one by one. Thankfully Bethany, Hawke's sister,  became a Grey Warden at the last minute.

"I'll help you look for your family. We can search the Exalted Plains and ask that other clan we had seen before."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Ozen had put into thought about what Varric had offered. It made the most sense. It was hard for Ozen to think straight with his emotions being everywhere. It was nice to have someone give a suggestion for once. Ozen took in a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds before breathing out of his nose. 

"Thanks, Varric," Ozen muttered. Verric nodded, taking his leave from Ozen's chambers. Ozen was alone again, left with his thoughts and memories, muttering prayers under his breath.

(Picture of Ozen above)