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Free as a Bird	By : Letticiae Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 9737 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age, nor do I own the characters. I do not make money/profit from writing this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 8
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Chapter 9 – Good Night

The next day Hawke, Isabela and Varric went to the docks to retrieve some suspicious cargo for one of the pirate's shady friends and ended up making some extra coin for killing Carta assassins that were after Renvil Harrowmont. Later they went to Hightown to check the Chantry's board for work.

Hawke was thrilled to see a tall, handsome man in a shiny white armor boldly fire an unwavering arrow straight to Grand Cleric Elthina's hand, sticking back in the board the piece of parchment she was holding. Sebastian sure made an impression on the other three rogues and they ran to get the vellum before anyone could rip it off, all curious to know what kind of job he was offering. Learning he was Prince of Starkhaven made it even more interesting and they went to get Anders and hunt down the Flint Company right away.

Varric knew where the mercenaries could be found and after clearing their ranks from the Wounded Coast and the docks, Hawke decided it would be best to deal with the ones in Sundermount the next day. Since she also had to take Flemeth's amulet to the Dalish elves settled there and the mountain was a four-hour walk north of Kirkwall, they would leave early and probably need to camp there for the night.

While her companions went to rest and prepare for the journey, Hawke found herself at Fenris' door. She tried to convince herself she was there only to make sure he wouldn't rat Anders to the templars, but there was more to it than that. There was something about him…

Before she could knock though, four Guardsmen Pretenders surrounded her. She stunned them with a miasmic flask and sliced their throats. Three more were coming, so she vanished in smoke before their eyes and reappeared behind them, killing them with precise backstabs. A lot more showed up. She threw a second miasmic flask on the closest ones and jumped from one to another, burying her daggers in their chests. An arrow lodging on the back of her left shoulder made her fall to the ground. She knew a good archer didn't need more than one second to strike. The next blow wouldn't miss her. This is it. A pointless death to a pointless life.

Suddenly, she saw a blast of bright blue light and an enormous sword standing between her and the remaining thugs. Fenris moved as fast as lightning among them, ripping hearts out and splitting them in half with his mighty blow attack. All the foes within sight were down, but others could turn up at any second. It wouldn't be wise to linger outside, so he rushed her into his mansion avoiding touching her even though her armor covered her skin from head to toe.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to see you," she panted. "Andraste's ass, this hurts! I need to go to Anders."

"It's not safe to leave now. There are more of these men out there. And you don't need that mage." He looked and sounded so calm it pissed her off. Couldn't he see her blood soaked armor and a frigging arrow stuck in her shoulder? She needed a healer.

"You've got to be kidding me! I'm going." She motioned towards the door, but he grasped the arrow making her gasp and squeak in pain. She wanted to stab him, but even the tiniest movement made it hurt more.

"I'm not letting you put our lives at risk like this, woman. You'll stay here!"

"Hey, I think I'll pass on the extra pain, thank you very much."You cruel elf.

He saw her watery eyes and let go. "I'll tend to your wound."

Hawke leaned her good arm on the wall and slowly lowered herself until she was sitting on the floor. He was right; it would be unwise to go to Darktown hurt, alone and at that late hour.

He carried a bucket of water, some rags and a health potion to a table next to the hearth.

"I need to pull it out. Please come sit closer to the fire," he tried to be gentle, secretly wishing she could go by herself and he wouldn't have to carry her.

Hawke practically dragged herself to his side, but didn't ask for his aid. "Get me something to drink. Do you have whisky?"

"Uh, there's a well stocked cellar here. I know there's wine. There must be whisky too, I guess."

"Get some, to ease the pain and you can use it to disinfect the wound too," she said breathing heavily.

A few seconds later Fenris was back with the bottle which she quickly downed by a third, not bothering to use a glass. "Do it," she told him, gritting her teeth, screwing her eyes shut and clenching her fists, readying herself for what it was coming.

Kneeled behind her, he held her shoulder tightly to keep her in place and pulled the arrow out with one swift move. Her painful scream probably awakened half of Hightown and tears rolled down her cheeks. He briskly covered the wound with a clean rag and applied pressure on it until there was no more blood spurting out. After taking a few more gulps, she passed him the whisky, which he poured on the injury making her wince.

"Hawke, you need to stay still for me to properly clean your wound. There might be fragments of your armor in it," he said after taking a closer look.

"Shit! I got this armor yesterday and there's already a hole in it!"

She had noticed how he had avoided touching her anymore than what was strictly necessary, so whimpering in pain, but deciding it wouldn't be a good idea asking for his help, she started removing her armor and clothes and laid on her stomach on the cold hard floor only in her pants, boots and breastband. His mouth suddenly went dry and he licked his lips.

"I'm feeling a bit light-headed. I really needed to lie down and I believe this way will be better for you to clean the wound, right? Does it bother you?"

"It is fine." He sat on his heels, watching her for a moment. Her body was shapely and well-built. And that dragon… he wondered where its tail ended.

"Fenris?" she muttered weakly making his eyes shift to her face.

When did it get so hot in there? He wiped the sweat from his brow and started pouring water on the wound, cleaning it thoroughly and then pressed a rag soaked with whisky on it. With one hand she swiftly unhooked and removed her wet and blood-stained breastband, trying to make herself more comfortable. There was blood caking all over her back and along her left arm and he meticulously cleaned it all, amazed to see how her breathing was hushing and her body relaxing under his care. Danarius had inflicted him many injuries and the other slaves had always been ordered to tend to them, since he was the magister's favorite pet. However, this was the first time he was doing that for someone else.

"Hawke, you have to take the health potion," he remembered as he attentively dried her up with a soft towel.

There was no answer. She was sleeping which was expected, since she was tired, hurt, probably drunk and had lost a lot of blood. He dismissed the idea of carrying her to his bed, not wanting her to think he might have taken advantage of her. And that was when he felt like waking her up and lecturing her. They had met the day before and she was already half-naked, drunk and passed out on his floor. Was she always this reckless and irresponsible? Had she any reason to trust him like that? Nevertheless, if she weren't hurt and in pain this wouldn't have happened. But again it was foolish of her to wander alone in Hightown at night.

Still, there was no point in interrupting her sleep and scolding her now, because she most likely wouldn't remember a thing in the morning. He couldn't decide if he was angry with her or not, but he knew she would surely wake up parched and with a headache from the whisky and the blood loss, so he left a jug filled with fresh water and the health potion within her reach. And then he was wiping the floor around her, removing her boots, covering her with a blanket and even darning the hole in her boar hide armor, not really certain why he was worried about making her feel better.

He got a furry rug from another room, stretched it out beside her and slumped on it wearing only his leggings and undertunic, watching her sleep until the fade claimed him too.

Dawn was breaking when she opened her eyes and it startled her to see Fenris' big green eyes staring at her. As she tried to move, the pain in her shoulder reminded her of what had happened and where she was. He gestured at the jug and the potion as she sat down holding the blanket against her bare chest.

"Who is Arthur?" he asked making her choke on the water she had been so eagerly drinking. "You were thrashing on your sleep and called this name," he tried to explain why he was asking her that, seeing how disturbed she was by his question.

"No one," she answered getting on her feet so fast she felt dizzy.

At the sight of her naked breasts, he forgot what they were talking about. His lips parted as his gaze lingered on her small nipples, peebled with the cold air of dawn.

"Thank you for all you did last night. I guess our debt is settled now. No need to worry about that expedition," she said hurriedly putting on her clothes and armor, shaken by his question.

"I will walk you home." He was disappointed at how fast she had managed to get dressed.

"No need. I'm stopping by at Anders' first and-" she noticed he looked frustrated. It was not his fault he had heard her call that name and she actually wanted to have him around. He had proven himself trustworthy this past night; he was a great warrior who was also much more available than Aveline and so handsome… "You owe me nothing, but I'd like to have you along if you want to join me. Even if you don't, when your former master comes back for you, I'll gladly render you help against him."

His eyes lightened up. "I truly do not expect your help when that day comes, but I would not turn it aside."

"Come with me to Sundermount today. I have to make a delivery and hunt down some mercenaries. The usual, you know," she smiled.

Anders and Fenris were clearly displeased at the sight of each other, but Hawke ignored them. She told the mage about her injury and he immediately put his hand over her wounded shoulder and cast a healing spell. It bothered the elf that she had resorted to magic even though he had spent so much time taking care of her.

The three of them went to the Hanged Man to have breakfast and pick Isabela up. After Hawke hastily sneaked into Gamlen's to change her underclothes and leave a note for her mother telling she was ok and wouldn't be coming home till the following day, they were off to the mountain.

The four-hour walk seemed much longer with the constant bickering between Anders and Fenris about mages. Isabela was not a morning person and remained silent half the way, still sleepy. Hawke was grateful when the pirate finally started talking, making the men uncomfortable and embarrassed with her over-the-top flirting and advances. As long as they didn't argue about mages anymore, Hawke could put up with anything else.

When Isabela and Anders found out they had met before, at the Pearl in Denerim of all places, and got into the specifics of it, Hawke caught herself wondering for a long time about what was this "electricity thing" Anders did. And surely there must be plenty of other spells to use during sex. Sleeping with a mage would be most interesting... She had been alone for over a year now. Maybe it was time to jump in bed with someone, just for the fun of it, if nothing else.

It was a very long day at Sundermount and they had come down the mountain with a blood mage tagging along and a highly pissed off Fenris, who had also learned about Justice. By his angry glare, Hawke wagered he would never want to see her again once they got back to Kirkwall. At least, she would be well rewarded for taking down the Flint Company for Sebastian and some Amaranthine conspirators for Sergeant Joanna. Also, Merrill, who seemed to be a sweet girl with unique talents, would be joining her band. Thus the day wouldn't be a total loss even if Fenris wanted out of the group.

The sun had already set when they reached the Dalish settlement, but the elves didn't seem willing to let shemlen spend the night there. About a mile away from the clan there was a lake and Hawke decided it was a good place to set camp. She had let Isabela in charge of getting provisions, tents and bedrolls for the journey, which proved to be a mistake. Though Rivaini had gotten four bedrolls, she had gotten only one very large tent for all of them to share. Hawke cursed herself for not foreseeing that Isabela would obviously do something like that.

"What? It's much more fun this way!" the pirate said, disregarding her companion's complaints.

Luckily Hawke had reminded Merrill to get a bedroll before they left the clan and the tent was big enough for all of them, but remembering how Fenris loved mages, she thought he would probably prefer to sleep outside. Making his way back to Kirkwall alone in the middle of the night was not an option and no matter how pissed he was with her, she wouldn't let him go. Surprisingly, he didn't even try.

Anders lit up a fire and sitting around it, while organizing their guard duty schedule, they ate a cold dinner with the provisions Isabela had packed. She had also brought a flask with rum from which everyone took a sip to help them feel warmer in the cool night. Not used to drink and not included in the guard duty schedule, Merrill retired almost immediately, seeing no problem in sharing a tent with people she had just met. Anders followed her shortly, though not so eager to sleep close to a blood mage and a mage-hating elf.

"I enjoy a man with markings like that," Isabela purred.

"You've enjoyed many, I suspect," Fenris said, keeping an impassive face.

"Where I come from, they're called tattoos. Sailors get them all the time."

"Not made of lyrium, I'd imagine."

"Not a one. And the pictures are different – usually breasts."

"I suppose a pair of lyrium breasts tattooed onto my chest would make things better," Fenris uttered.

Was that a sense of humor? Hawke wanted to hug Isabela. The pirate really had an effect on men and maybe she could get Fenris to stick around.

"That's me. I'm a helper," Isabela jested.

You really are, Hawke thought satisfied. She shuddered when she noticed the elf leering at her.

"Hawke has a tattoo," he said.

"She does? Oh! I can always tell when people had sex! How did I miss it this time?" Rivaini said in mocking outrage. "I want all the dirty details. Does he still wear the shackles of his life in bondage under his clothes? You know what they say about men like that, don't you?" she winked.

The elf rose to his feet abruptly and Hawke could see he was blushing as he walked away.

Now he is definitely not staying. Damn you, Isabela! "No, and I don't want to know. And we didn't have sex. The tattoo is on my back. I was attacked and Fenris helped me. I got an arrow stu-"

"Never mind then. That is no fun," the woman stopped her.

The first watch was Fenris', so Isabela got into the tent and left Hawke to set things up with the elf, who was by the lake, staring down at his reflection in the water. She admired for a few moments his beautiful profile under the silver moonlight and sighed. There was definitely something about him.

"Fenris," she approached and laid a hesitant hand on his shoulder. Even though he had his armor on, he twitched and pulled away. "Your markings, they hurt, don't they?"

"You don't want to know the answer to that."

"That is an answer, Fenris."

"I've wanted to leave my past behind me. But it won't stay there," he said in a low voice. "Tell me, have you never wanted to return to Ferelden?"

"I have no home left to return to."

"That's it? You leave it behind so easily?"

"It was not easy and it was not just my home. I lost everything to the Blight." Even myself, she thought. "My watch is next, so I better get some sleep now." She headed back to camp, running away from the painful subject.

"There's more danger in that tent than out here," he stated.

Not this again. She pretended not to listen and got into the cursed tent.

Hawke was a heavy sleeper and two hours later Fenris was awakening everyone else, trying in vain to wake her up without touching her for her turn in guard duty. Isabela finally lost her patience and shook her rather violently until she was up so they could go back to sleep.

Lazily, Hawke put on her boots, sheathed her daggers and stepped outside. Fenris was leisurely cleaning his bloodied sword by the lake. If he wasn't going to sleep, why had he awakened her? Blasted elf.

Hawke stared indiscreetly at him while he removed his chestplate and gauntlets. In the morning she hadn't had time to admire how pleasant he looked without that menacing spiky armor. When he was done with the cleaning, he came to her.

"How long have you been on the run, Fenris?" She instantly picked a topic, not wanting to give him opportunity to ask something about her that could make her push him away.

"Three years, now. Danarius has a way of finding me – perhaps is it the markings? Whatever the means, it never takes him long to follow. This is the first time I have given him reason to pause. I suppose there are advantages in numbers."

Does this mean he'll be sticking around, then? Hawke cocked an eyebrow. Unlike her, he seemed willing to talk about his life, so she kept asking. He told her how he had lost his memories, some of his duties as a slave and his decision to live in the mansion until Danarius came for him or to hunt the magister down eventually if he didn't show. Waiting to confront the man was his only plan for the future, his only goal. It saddened her that his former master, even from afar, was still depriving him of a life of his own. Flemeth was right; she had said earlier that though his chains were broken, he wasn't truly free.

Her guard duty was over and she headed back to the tent, surprised to see him following her and spreading his bedroll beside hers as she awakened Isabela for the next watch.

"Are you really going to sleep next to these evil mages?" she whispered, teasing.

"As I had told you earlier, the greatest danger is in here. You might need me to rescue you again, so I'm staying close," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to protest but gave up when Anders let out some inarticulate groans, probably pleading to them for silence.

The first thing Fenris saw as he opened his eyes in the morning was Hawke's face. Glowering at her, he casually reached his hand to tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear. He halted halfway as Anders burst in announcing his watch was over and it was time for them to wake up and head back to Kirkwall. The elf, then, quickly backed out his hand, now clenched into a fist. What was he doing? For the first time since he could remember he had willingly motioned to touch someone for a purpose other than killing and he had done it nonchalantly, as if it was natural. As if he was a normal person. But he wasn't. And he couldn't just do that. It wasn't that simple. It was a good thing the abomination had interrupted him.
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Free as a Bird