"C'mon Brother, it's only a little water!"

Carver looked up, wide blue eyes meeting the expectant stare of his twin, who held out her hand to him in support. He made a face and shuffled back from the river.

"This is stupid," he protested, insulting the activity to bury his fear. "There's nothing on the other side of that river but more trees and bushes. Let's go somewhere else."

Bethany sighed, standing amidst the river on a flat-faced stone that protruded from the swift-moving water. Their elder brother hopped from stone to stone ahead of her, almost to the other side. The eldest Hawke paused on one of the few remaining stones on his path to the shoreline, casting a look over his shoulder at the twins who still hesitated by the opposite bank. Seeing his little brother hesitating on solid ground, Garrett turned.

"If you wanna go back, Carver, then go! Beth and I will go explore the other side together!"

Carver bristled, even more so as his sister turned away from him and began stepping carefully from stone to stone across the river, her pigtails bobbing with every step. He refused to be left behind, but...

His blue eyes found the water below, unable to explain why it made him so uneasy. Bethany and Garrett didn't seem to have a problem with it, and they all knew it wasn't too deep at this part – Garrett had already tested the depth with a stick. But the thought of crossing it on those stones, no matter the fact that the other Hawke siblings had proven their ability to do so, made him queasy.

The youngest Hawke took another step back, shaking his head, lifting it to shout more complaints about their passtime, surprised to find his brother perched on the closest rock to his side of the river, giving him a lopsided, goofy grin. Bethany was already on the other side.

"Come on, little brother," Garrett insisted, stepping back onto the shore and approaching his hesitant sibling. He clapped an arm around the younger boy's shoulders, "I'll be right behind you every step of the way, promise."

"I don't need you to baby me! I'm not a kid anymore!"

Those words, coming from a stubborn, seven-year-old boy, would've been laughable. But as frequently as the eldest sibling took pleasure in laughter and jokes, he knew now was not the time. Three years seniority didn't put him very far ahead of his twin siblings in the ways of worldly wisdom, but he did know how to handle his brother – laughing at him would sending him marching back home to tell father what they were up to.

"Okay, okay." Garrett released his brother and held up his hands in surrender. "I get it. Do it yourself, then."

"I will!"

Carver ploughed forward with new found determination, taking the steps as surely and as bravely as his sister did before him. He was aware that his brother was one or two stones behind him, but made no comment, focusing instead on keeping his balance as he hopped from stone to stone.

"There," he said upon reaching the other shore, landing on both feet with finality. "I told you I could do it myself."

Bethany giggled, understanding what her twin did not. Garrett shrugged, picked up the stick he'd been carrying with him since the trio had started this little adventure and lead the way into the thicket. The younger twins followed, aware that Carver had been right – they wouldn't find anything more than trees and bushes – but it was the thrill of going somewhere they had not yet explored which enticed them forward.

The Hawke siblings advanced deeper into this undiscovered terrain, walking closer together as they noticed their surroundings beginning to darken. The sun still hung high in the sky, but here the trees grew nearer to one another, their branches beginning to form a thick canopy of leaves that let less and less light through to the forest floor.

"Maybe we should turn back?" suggested Bethany, her soft-spoken words cutting into the thick silence of the forest with surprising volume.

Garrett looked over his shoulder to the twins, the younger of which was scrunching his nose up in distaste.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Beth," Carver said flatly, all fears now absent – he'd overcome his most recent tribulations all by himself, nothing was scary any more. But Bethany was not as self-assured as her brother was, or perhaps her abilities just gave her more insight into the true dangers of the darkness. Whatever the reason, she linked arms with her brother, laced their fingers and clung tightly.

Carver puffed out his chest, ready and eager to be brave for the both of them.

"If you really want to turn back -" Garret began, only to have his suggestion stopped as the youngest Hawke marched right by him with their sister in tow.

"If you wanna go back, brother, then go," he said in a mockery of what he'd been told only a short while ago. "Beth and I will explore this side together."

Garrett grinned and chuckled, admitting inwardly that he probably deserved that, then went to follow the twins as they advanced.

But even little Carver's bravado had its limits. A few more minutes walking straight into the dark and he was behind his brother again, on his heels and close enough to draw comfort from the eldest Hawke's presence, but not so close that it was obvious he was doing so. The forest was now not only dark, but silent. No birds chirped below the tree tops, no insects hummed loudly into the shade, no little creatures scurried about the forest floor. There was only a deafening silence.

Suddenly, Bethany planted her heels into the mulch of leaves on the ground and forced her twin to stop. Garrett took only a few steps further before realizing he was no longer behind followed. The Hawke boys looked to their sister with matching expressions of concern.

"I-I...something feels wrong in here." Bethany pressed her forehead to her brother's shoulder and shut her eyes. Carver felt nothing but a little creeped out, so he was a little surprised when the normally cheery-eyed Garrett approached looking grave and nervous.

"We'll turn back now," he said quietly, leaving no room for arguement. Under any other circumstance, Carver would've protested to being told what to do, but now he only pursed his lips and nodded in agreement. Bethany getting scared was one thing, but the expression of unease on his carefree brother's face meant that something probably was wrong here.

The siblings turned around to retrace their steps and go back the way they came, only to find that the darkness had thickened in their wake – like a heavy fog – and shrouded their exit. Before the trio could react, the darkness shifted and hissed as if alive.

Bethany screamed, her cry swallowed by the darkness and plunging them back into silence.

"Children," hissed a voice that spilled forth from the shadows. There was something moving in the dark. "There is no need to be afraid, I mean you no harm. I only wish to talk to such...talented...youngsters." Garrett, automatically assuming the elder-brother role, pulled his siblings back to stand behind him, now holding that stick in both hands like a staff.

Like a liquid, a dark shape melted out of the shadows, looking like the Shades of scary stories, but moving much slower than the creatures of those tales. It moved like molasses, slow and gradual. Dark, translucent cloth wrapped its form and gave it an organic shape, one that made it all the more untrustworthy to the Hawke trio, who stood frozen in place.

"You...the both of you...such hidden wonders within you...tell me, children, do you know of the powers you wield?"

The thing wove through the air, circling Garrett, who stood his ground, whipping his head 'round to follow the creature's movements. It then shifted its focus to Bethany, who whined and clung tighter to her twin, who wrapped her in a hug and shut his own eyes tightly. It wove back to hover just before the Hawkes.

"You have nothing to fear from me, I am but a visitor, drawn here by such wondrous, untapped talents." Its voice was smooth, like to the feel of velvet around them, but it was cold and sinister and while Carver could not feel it, exhumed a constant, tantalizing pressure on the minds of the elder two children. "How would you like to better understand the gifts you possess? I can offer you...an alliance...of sorts...that will put to rest your concerns and insecurities about your...abilities...All I ask is-"

Garret cracked his stick against the ground, his opposite hand bursting into flame. Carver knew it to be nothing more than a display of skill. The eldest Hawke had yet to do much more with his magic than look flashy. Whether that fire would burn very hot or for very long was unlikely.

"Enough," he commanded with an authority that was very unlike the aloof eldest. "We know what you are. We'll have no dealings with a demon."

This thing was a demon? Carver shivered, he had thought demons could only appear to mages – and only in that place their father called the Fade. What was one doing here? How was it here?

"I can sense...your confusion, children...I am...as I said, a visitor...I cannot hold my shape here long in this...unholy place where the boundaries between our worlds is so...insubstantial...It is rare...but not impossible."

The demon suddenly dipped forward, coming to a halt directly in front of Garrett and kicking up a breeze that put out the flame the boy had summoned. Bethany whimpered, clinging tighter to her twin. She'd picked the wrong time to peek.

Garrett held his ground, despite the way his muscles quivered with fear. The faceless thing simply hovered in front of the child for a time, and Carver had a feeling something else was happening that he could not understand, for without warning his eldest brother crumpled to the ground, his head in his hands. Carver flinched, backing away as the demon turned its attention to the twins.

"Ah...but what of this one? ...This one...that hides in the arms of the weaker..."

The boy's fear was almost shoved aside by the indignity that remark dug up. Almost.

"What say you...child? I can sense...sense your feelings...towards your brother's progress...do you wish to catch up to your elder...to surpass him?"

From somewhere within, Carver felt a surge of protectiveness and with this emotion came an untapped reserve of bravery. He shoved his sister behind him and stood in the demon's path.

"You leave my family alone!" he demanded, stooping down to pick up the stick Garrett had abandoned and holding it at the base like a sword. The demon floating in front of him did so in silence, as if thinking. Carver waved the stick in what the child hoped to be a threatening manner. Behind him, Bethany began to cry out, as if in pain. Her hands flew to her head, to press her palms into her ears. She too slumped to the ground, but where Garrett had hit his knees, Bethany had toppled over and curled up in the dirt.

"Bethany!" Carver resisted the urge to abandon his post in front of the demon and drop to his sister's side. He instead charged forward, slashing the stick down like a blade and cleaved the demon in twain.

The creature's shape fizzled into nothing, but the darkness remained, creeping towards them ominously. Carver stood nervously over his twin, unsure where to turn, where to aim his next attack. Nearby, Garrett was pushing himself slowly back to his feet.

"Brother!" Carver called, grabbing his senior's arm and pulling him close. "What's going on? What's wrong with you and Bethany?"

Garrett took some time to muster up a response, his palm pressing hard into his temple as if he were plagued by a headache.

"The demon...it's speaking to us...telling us..." The eldest Hawke stilled his tongue, pulling his hand from his temple and shaking his head to clear it. He turned to Bethany, who whimpered sadly against the ground. Garrett lifted his sister off the forest floor, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding her to his front, his arms folded underneath her rear to keep her from slipping. "We need to leave...now."

Carver could only nod to his brother, who looked about ready to topple over himself. Understanding that Garrett was perhaps not in the best shape to lead and Carver still held the stick, the youngest Hawke stepped forward to take point, cleaving his way through the darkness with his makeshift weapon, his elder brother falling in step behind him.

The fog-like shadows hissed around them, whispering things that Carver could not understand but made Garrett flinch and intake sharp breaths between his teeth. Concerned, the little warrior paused.

"Don't stop!" Garrett gave him a shove with his shoulder. "Keep going. We can't...can't afford to stop."

Carver didn't ask why, he simply pressed forward, slashing through where he believed the fog was beginning to thicken and trying to pick up the pace, concerned for his siblings and the speed at which Garrett could carry them. Much sooner than the youngest Hawke was expecting, he could see the river and the stepping-stones they'd used to cross.

"It's just ahead, brother, don't give up yet!"

He could hear Garrett's breathing behind him, heavy and gasping from exhaustion. He stumbled towards the riverbank, the sight of the water giving him the same hope it had his little brother. He shifted his grip on Bethany to better see around her and made a hop for the first stone. Carver skidded to a halt at the banks, turned and held his sword out, standing his ground to protect the path while his sibling crossed. The darkness that seemed to snake after them through the woods hesitated away from the riverbank. Taking that as a good sign, Caver backed onto the first stone, aware that Garrett was almost to the other side.

The darkness was definitely not crossing the river, encouraging the boy to retreat to the next stone. He cast a look over his shoulder in time to see Garrett landing on the opposite bank. Carver backed up onto another stone, never taking his eyes off the shadows for long, relieved that they seemed to be receding back into the darkness of the forest.

With his next step, his footing slipped. The stone was wet and impossible to get a purchase on, forcing the youngest Hawke to tumble into the water where the current began to drag him, sputtering and kicking, downstream. He called out, though he was unsure to whom. His head went under and muffled his cries, his boots scraping against the riverbed but being pushed too forcefully by the current to get a foothold.

As he began to consider the fact that this was his last great adventure, he felt a warm hand grip his wrist and pull him against the current, to a warm, familiar body. He clung to his elder, taller brother who dragged them both to the bank. They stumbled out of the river together, collapsing in the wet dirt at the shores. Garrett rolled onto his back and laughed at the sky, while Carver coughed and sputtered indignantly.

"W-what's so funny?" Carver demanded before coughing further, tears springing to his eyes at the irritation in his throat. Garrett's chest heaved as he gulped down all the air he could between chuckles.

"I don't even know, little brother. Out of the frying pan and into the fire with the three of us, I guess. We escape a demon only to have you take a tumble into the river. If it's not one, it's the other, eh?" Garret chuckled again.

"I don't see how that's funny," wheezed Carver, before his scornful expression jumped to one of concern. "Where's Bethany?"

Garrett tilted his head back and gestured upstream. Bethany was lying in the dirt but a few paces away, appearing unconscious, but otherwise okay.

"I have a brilliant idea, little brother," huffed Garrett, giving the canopy of trees a cheeky grin. "Why don't the three of us chalk this up to a bad dream and not tell father? He'll have kittens if we tell him this."

Carver's jaw clenched and his mouth set into a hard line.

"I know a friend who positively loves cats."

Garrett laughed at the return of his joke, only to have his laughter die down when he realized the littlest Hawke was not laughing with him. Defeated, the eldest let out a long sigh.

"Oh. Balls."

"I am so unbelievably cross with you, Garrett Hawke! How could you endanger the twins like that! You're supposed to be looking out for them! You should count yourself lucky I don't summon that demon back here to finish his work with you! Why I never-"

Carver narrowed his eyes and let himself out the back door, no longer so eager to hear Malcolm tear his eldest son a new one. So he settled instead for heading out to the scarecrow, who would be the target of Carver's practice swings with his little wooden sword until Malcolm came out to find him and express his disappointment in the twins' decision to follow their elder sibling into danger. But of course, Garrett was taking the blame, so he wouldn't be spoken to nearly as...loudly.

The boy flew at the dummy as soon as he was close enough, hitting it angrily a few times and giving his very best frustrated war cry. So wrapped up in his anger and guilt was he that he did not hear his twin approaching until she spoke. He nearly flew out of his skin, momentarily suspecting his father was finished with Garrett so soon.

"Carver...we should be the ones in there...not him," she said, staring at her feet as she spoke guiltily to the dirt. The boy gave the scarecrow another solid whack for good measure, not quite ready to admit his guilt as his sister was.

"Why? Father's right, we were his responsibility."

Bethany frowned at her brother, unhappy with how readily he used Garrett as a scapegoat, but knowing the bitterness in his tone meant he wasn't any happier about the reflex.

"Crossing the river was my idea, Carver. Going deeper into the forest was yours."

"He didn't have to agree! We didn't know what would happen! He should've said no...he should've turned around!" Carver whacked the scarecrow so hard that it spun on its pole. Bethany didn't flinch at her brother's contained violence, and only kept frowning sadly.

"Would you have listened?"

Carver stopped, letting the thing keep spinning until it came to a gradual stop.

"When that...that thing was talking to you...it talked about how you wanted to catch up to Garrett. To...surpass him..." Carver spoke slowly, one hand on the shoulder of the scarecrow as he caught his breath. "Why didn't you ever tell me you felt like that?"

"Well that's just it...I never did." Bethany looked puzzled. "Father tells me all the time how well I'm doing, that I'm already doing much better than Garrett was when he was my age...that comment from the demon didn't make any sense to me, because I'm really happy with what I can do...but it was the only one of the sort it said."

Carver tightened his grip on his training sword and gave the scarecrow another good whack, confirming what he'd been worried about. The demon hadn't been reading Bethany's wishes, but his own.

"What did it say to you?" Carver asked, moving the subject along so he wouldn't have to give the issue of his jealousy any more thought. Bethany blushed and shook her head, her gaze back to her shoes.

"I don't...I can't say. I'm just glad it's gone."

The boy sliced at the scarecrow and said nothing further on the matter, both of them quite uneasy with the subject.

"D'you think Garrett's gonna tell father that it was our idea to go that far?" Carver asked as he jabbed at the spot where the dummy's ribs would be. Bethany settled onto the ground, picking at a piece of hay.

"He never has before," she mumbled.

Carver whacked the straw man hard and it wobbled on its mount. He uttered a curse and hit it again, and again and again and again, each strike backed by anger and guilt equally until his sword snapped. Taking no more than a second to realize what he'd done, the boy threw the broken thing aside and stomped back towards the house.

He told himself he was going to tell father the truth. It was his idea to go as far as they did, that it was his fault and he should take responsibility for his own actions.

He was only through the door for a few moments before his courage left him and he was chased back outside by the shouts of his father, shouts that weren't even directed at him.

Carver awoke with a start to darkness, panting and drenched in a cold sweat. He wiped the tears from his eyes with urgency, as if afraid of being seen. But in the dark and quiet of night, he knew there was little chance of that.

Taking a moment to compose himself, Carver gripped at the blanket pooled in his lap, studying the walls of his room, the familiar shape of his furniture, the silhouette of his twin sister across the room, sleeping soundly.

He'd dreamed, for the fifth night in a row, of that demon, of the darkness of the river, and each time his siblings weren't there, but their voices chided him in his head, scorning him for not taking the blame for his actions. He always woke up just before he drowned, just before the demon took him within his cold, sharp claws, but each dream lasted longer.

Each dream hurt more.

Carver covered his face with his hands and let out a shaky breath, closing his eyes to the memory of rushing water and bittersweet promises. He hissed, throwing his covers off and storming out of the room, managing to keep quiet despite his exasperation.

He marched down the hall and stopped at the door to the neighbouring room, took a moment to steel his nerves and let himself in. His brother was asleep in his bed just under the window, and for a moment, Carver wondered what he was doing there. What was he going to say? Why was he here? Would Garrett even take him seriously? Maker knows the eldest Hawke had the attention span of a banana and found amusement in the smallest of things.

But before he could convince himself to leave, Carver found himself at his brother's side, nudging the elder boy's shoulder and calling his name into the dark.

"Garrett. Garrett, wake up."

Slowly, the eldest raven-haired child woke, mumbling things under his breath and lifting his head, groggy with sleep. He blinked a few times at his little brother, trying to bring his vision into focus.

"Carver? What're you doing up? Is the house on fire? Is Bethany having a girly moment? Sheila have her pups yet?" he paused to gasp, "did father actually have kittens?"

"No, stupid." Carver gave his brother a shove, who didn't fight it at all and sprawled back on his bed with a content sigh.

"Right, well if all is hunky-dory with the world, I'm gonna resume sleeping, okay?"

"No! No, stay awake. I..." Carver hesitated, finding these words difficult. "I want to talk with you."

Garrett lay still for a moment before pushing himself upright.

"Are you having a girly moment?"

"Garrett."

"Right." The elder Hawke shuffled over, crossed his legs and rapidly patted the empty space beside him. "Come cuddle, then."

Carver threw up his hands and made an exasperated noise.

"Please, could you take me seriously for once in your life?"

Garrett patted the space beside him again and smiled sweetly. Admitting defeat, Carver crawled onto the bed, but sat at the foot of it, facing his elder brother who was giving him that lopsided smile.

"I...I'm sorry about...what I did."

"Hmm? Are we talking about the time you used my staff to pole vault the neighbours fence and snapped it? Or the time you 'accidentally' locked me in the cellar after getting me to check it for giant spiders? Or wait, is this about that time we were at the Woodrich's lawn party and you told Arianna Woodrich I made a hobby of snogging the toads I collected from the marsh?"

"No, No Garrett – Maker, would you just listen!"

"She still kissed me, you know. Funny girl. Must've had a fetish for toads, too. I'm sure she was positively heartbroken when I told her you were lying through your arse."

"Fine. Coming here was a waste of time, you obviously don't want to listen to me."

Just as Carver went to shuffle off the bed, Garrett chuckled softly, a different sound to his usual laughter. This one was quiet, humbled.

"I know why you're here, Carver. You feel bad about what happened that day we crossed the river."

The younger boy hesitated, his legs dangling over the side of his brother's bed.

"If you're feeling guilty, don't. I should've turned us around, I'm just as much at fault, if not more so. After all, I am the eldest." With those words, Carver rounded on his brother, snapping his head around so quickly and narrowing his eyes in such a way that Garrett actually leaned back a little.

"No! Stop saying that! Just because you're the oldest doesn't mean you have to take responsibility for us...doesn't mean you're the leader."

"No, no, I'm pretty sure father has the 'man of the house' thing all locked up."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Carver grabbed fistfuls of the covers beneath him, gritting his teeth. "I don't want to grow up being stuck behind you. Whenever we all do something, it's 'Garrett took the twins and did this' or, 'the twins followed Garrett to this place' and 'Oh, Garrett, when are you going to start setting a better example for the twins?' It's not fair. I'm more than just part of 'the twins'. I am capable of doing things without you around."

Garrett stared, his expression level for the first time that night.

"So why don't you?" he asked. "Nothing was stopping you from walking up to father and telling him it was your idea to go for a pleasurable romp into the darkness. Nor did you rush in to stop him from blaming me for every little thing that could have gone wrong and did."

"Why didn't you?"

Garrett shrugged.

"It would sound to him like I was just making excuses. Plus, explaining things to him takes so much effort. I find it's easier to just let him talk until he's blue in the face and then apologize. "I'm sorry" is much easier to say than, 'It was all Carver's fault the little prig made me do it.'"

Carver gave his brother a bitter look, feeling as if he should be insulted but unable to drum up the anger it would take to be offended.

"I'm not stopping you from stepping out and shouldering some responsibility, Carver, and I don't know what you'd have me do otherwise. I can't just stop existing any more than I can miraculously make you older than me."

The younger Hawke sighed, stuck without a way to argue with his brother on this and unsure how he'd even go about trying.

"What would you do?" he asked instead, looking for guidance from the person he'd just finished complaining about. "If you were in my place. If you were the twin, the youngest, what would you do?"

"Me? I would put my feet up. Read a book, have some tea and biscuits. Ransack some houses under the guise of some ne'er do well thief who leaves twenty-seven cats behind as a calling card. I could get up to a lot of dastardly deeds if everyone was looking at someone else to blame."

"Garrett, I mean it."

"And I'm not kidding. Not even a little. Twenty-seven cats exactly."

Carver buried his face in his hands.

"Really, Carver, I'm not. I would enjoy it while you can. Eventually, people are going to start looking to you, and how you handle yourself in situations like these is going to affect those around you. You might want to enjoy the time you have as a kid to do kid-like things. Go play in the mud, catch some bugs, roll down some hills with a smattering of puppies. I don't know why you're in such a hurry to take the blame, trust me when I say it's not exactly the most enjoyable spot in the world."

The younger boy sighed and nodded dejectedly, unable to argue but not exactly feeling that much better about the whole thing. Garrett reached forward to put a hand on his brother's shoulder, offering him a modest smile.

"Carver, whenever you're ready to step out, I'll be behind you one-hundred-and-fifty-three percent. Until then, taking the blame is what I'm good at. Don't beat yourself up about every little thing you get away with that I take the heat for. Let me do that for you instead!"

Using the grip he had on his brother's shoulder, Garrett shoved Carver out of bed, who landed ungracefully in a heap on the floor. He cursed, something that would've made mother shreik at the indignity, and picked himself up off the ground.

"You're an ass, you know that?"

"It's all Carver's fault, the little prig made me do it. Now away! I have some beauty sleep to catch up on."

With a huff, the youngest Hawke brushed himself off and made for the door, hesitating at the exit to look back to his brother, who was settling back into the covers with a content sigh.

"Garrett?"

"You're welcome."

Carver chuckled, shook his head, then shut the door behind him, returning to his own bed with a spring in his step.

KAH-KAW

Hello, DAO/II community. Don't hate me for turning my childhood-butchering habits on this lovable trio. I promise I won't drag it on for too terribly long. This one will be shortish and sweetish. I live for the ish.

So yes, this is a prologue of sorts to a pre-Champion life. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone with my ideas, I assure you, that was only part of the desired effect. It starts here, and will end with the Deep Roads shinanegans. Which shinanegan, you might ask?

WE SHALL SEE.

I might do alternate endings for all three options. But that would require effort.

Anyways, please, don't hesitate to send a review my way. I read every one and am likely to respond as well, so if you have any questions, comments, expressions of your unadultered rage, throw them at me!

I can take it, I'm a big girl 8| -lower lip tremble-

Thanks so much for reading this far!

Toodles~

Shmee