Just another Day

(in the life of Hawke)

The day started as usual. Darien Hawke woke up in the morning to the dog's bark or Sandal dashing around the house. His head also pounded with a raging headache, and the barking wasn't helping. His dog, Cutie, kept barking and barking at something; Darien hadn't been able to tell as he stayed curled up in his bed not wanting to get up to face the morning. Sandal was giggling loudly and Bodahn was trying to calm the boy down.

"Not the salamanders!" he heard Bodahn groan, and in the next instant a loud boom shook the house.

Darien shot up in his bed with a start, his heart pounding and his ears ringing. Not bothering to properly dress himself, he ran out to the hall only clad in his shorts and skidded to halt once he saw the damage. Dark smoke was pouring out of the study room where Bodahn and Sandal were rushing out, and his dog Cutie pacing around the two.

"Oh, messere!" Bodahn said, looking downright ashamed. "I should've told you about the salamanders."

"Salamanders?" He could barely hear Bodahn as his ears rang still from the blast. Darien went over to the windows and yanked them open, hoping that it would help clear the room. "What in Andraste's name would the salamanders have to do with this?"

Sandal grinned. "It went boom."

Bodahn sighed and said in a low voice, "I think that's where the boom comes from. I'm deeply sorry messere, I can pay for it…"

"No need. I was planning on redecorating anyway." Darien frowned as he looked into the study room, his eyes tearing up from the smoke. Luckily there was no fire, but his study room had turned into a mix of ashes and a completely frozen wall, with the stairs half broken and covered in a foot of ice. However Sandal had managed that, he would never find out.

His front door barged open and Fenris came dashing in, his great sword raised above his head. He paused once he saw there was no immediate danger and lowered his sword with a disapproving scowl, probably feeling that he had come all the way for nothing. Cutie pranced over to him, wagging his tail.

"I presume everything is under control?" Fenris asked, leaning over to pat Cutie on the head.

Darien ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. "Under control as always. I think it's a bit much for an alarm clock, don't you think?"

"A bit much for your home, as well."

"You're going to have to speak up." Darien pointed to his ear. "I'm afraid my hearing still hasn't come back all the way." He rubbed his ears, trying to use his healing magic on his ears and found that it mostly got rid of the ringing, but not all of it.

"So the mighty Champion has lost his hearing?" he heard Varric say.

Varric came through the door, waving a hand in front of his face to clear the smoke. "Some morning wakeup, huh? There I was in the Hanged Man, sleeping away, when I hear a small explosion. My first guess that it had something to do with you, Hawke. Though, let me guess some more: You were having lovely dreams about the First Enchanter and the Knight Commander at each other's throats, and you couldn't help but throw in your two bits as well? The two bits being the explosion, of course."

Darien smirked. "I'll leave that to Anders. It seems more up his alley with his whole mage manifesto."

When Varric chuckled at his comment, he could almost read Varric's mind scheming, probably coming up with a new story about the explosion, and mainly about Hawke being in his underclothes. Dammit. Isabela would love that.

"How'd you get here so fast, anyways?" Darien asked him.

"I know the shortcuts. If it means climbing over roofs and running through several open windows, so be it. And let me tell you, the people's reaction to a dwarf scrambling through their bedroom was all worth it."

Darien didn't believe him. "You were gambling at Fenris's again, weren't you?"

"Longest game of Wicked Grace we've ever played."

"Maybe you two can chitchat while we clean up this mess," Fenris said wryly, leaning his sword against the wall. "And Hawke, maybe you should dress into decent clothing."

Varric placed Bianca by Fenris's sword as he walked in the study. "The Champion braved the ferocious explosion only clad in his underclothes, as there was no time to even think. The fire was so large, swallowing his home up in flames. His most trusted Varric and his broody elf Fenris dashed gallantly to Hawke's rescue…!" Varric's voice faded as he entered the study and Darien rolled his eyes.

As Fenris passed him, he said, "Wicked Grace, eh? Why wasn't I invited?"

"We're the ones who dragged you here last night after you drank yourself into a drunken stupor at the Hanged Man, remember?"

"Oh. That would explain the raging headache."

"And your black eye."

"Now that I don't remember."

"Ask Edwina."

"Ohhhh. This is getting more exciting by the minute."

"Hey Hawke, I think you're gonna have to use your fire magic on the ice," Varric said, leaning around the corner.

"Be there in a second." Darien looked around for Bodahn and Sandal, not too sure where they had gone off too. He headed up the stairs and found the two sitting in chairs right by the window. Bodahn still looked ashamed as ever.

Sandal sat in his chair, a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry," he said. "No more boom."

"That's right. And no more salamanders," Darien said. He placed a hand on Bodahn's shoulders. "Don't worry Bodahn. Truly. I have more than enough money put away to use for this. We're just lucky that nobody was hurt."

"If you say so, messere. I can't thank you enough," Bodahn said.

"Now. I best get dressed. If I remember right, I promised Anders to help him search for Drakestone…" The Drakestone located at the Bone Pit. As Darien donned on his clothing and belted his armor on, he realized he was not looking forward to walking to the Bone Pit. It was a half a day's trip, and they would most likely encounter some form of bandits as they always did. Or spiders. Darien shivered. Even as a well experienced mage he couldn't handle the spiders completely. Many years ago when he had been traveling with Varric, they had encountered a spider infested cave and were trapped in the cave for several days with the spiders. That had been the start of Darien's hatred of them. Nasty critters. Horrendous Darkspawn and gigantic Ogres he could handle; something with eight legs just made him feel queasy.

When he returned to the study he found Varric trying to make an ice sculpture with one of his arrows, chipping away at a large block.

Darien stopped to mock admire it. "Trying to carve my handsome face, hmm?"

"You? Heh." Varric picked up his unintelligible ice sculpture. "It's Bianca, of course."

"Doesn't look a thing like her." Fenris commented, sitting on the floor with a block of ice in front of him.

Darien laughed. "What? You too? What were you going to carve?"

"Probably Anders," Varric said. "He would get his satisfaction for the day by smashing the ice sculpture into pieces."

"Speaking of Anders, we need to go to the Bone Pit today to help him gather Drakestone. I'll need both of your help."

"Why you insist to drag me a long with the mage, I'll never understand," Fenris glared at him. "But fine. I could do with a bit of walking."

"Yes, we do a lot of walking don't we?"

"And here I was hoping for another day of Wicked Grace. Sure Hawke, I'm in." Varric got to his feet, holding his Bianca ice sculpture proudly. "Isabela will want to come too; she's been complaining about being cooped up in the Hanged Man."

"Good. We'll pick her up along the way to Darktown." Darien walked over to the staircase, still slightly in awe of Sandal's mysterious power, but he needed his staircase to be unfrozen. He laid his hand on the ice, his palm warming from the fire magic that flowed from his hand. The fire spread across the ice and soon beads of water were dripping to the ground and all the ice was melted, leaving a very drenched staircase. He chose to ignore the destroyed bookshelves and the still smoking hole in the wall.

"We have a lot to do today, gentlemen. Time to get a move on," he said. "And Varric, you're going to have to leave your sculpture behind."

"Bianca would get jealous anyways," he sighed and set the sculpture aside. "Come on, brooding elf. Time to get your pirate."

"She's not my pirate," Fenris muttered.

"That's not what I heard."

Darien rolled his eyes. The secret that Isabela and Fenris were… enjoying each other's company was no secret. In fact, Isabela had proudly declared to everyone that Fenris's underclothes were indeed red, though a dark, deep blood red color as Isabela had exactly described it, much to his embarrassment. There was a spark between Fenris and Isabela, and if anything were to become of it, Darien wouldn't know.

He grabbed a pack of food on his way out. As the trio left the house, they encountered a large crowd of nobles waiting outside, all looking worried and upset about their Champion because of the explosion. Darien tried his best to calm the nobles down, and after much persuasion they eventually went back home. He noticed Knight Commander Meredith standing in the distance, arms crossed and glaring daggers at him. Despite the sudden urge to kick her in the face, he smirked at her and went on his merry way to Darktown.

The lower levels of Hightown were filled with merchants and the lower nobility, running their morning errands. Children scampered down the roads giggling at each other with their servants running after them.

Varric pointed to a potion stand. "Wanna buy some potions, Hawke? You know what spiders do to you."

"No. Dear Andraste, you've got to stop teasing me about that."

"One of these days I'll find something better to tease you about."

"I…" Darien was cut off by Hubert running up to him, clearly out of breath. "Dear god man, what's the matter with you?"

"The cart…" Hubert wheezed, pointing behind him. "The horse… can't speak!"

"Either he's drunk, or he's been madly in love with the horse, only to find it can't speak," Varric offered.

"I'd say he's more worried than heartbroken," Fenris said.

Darien put a hand on Hubert's shoulder. "Calm down, Hubert. Did something happen at the mine?"

Hubert pointed behind him again, and this time Darien noticed the horse and the bloodstained cart. He dragged Hubert along and looked inside the cart, which was full of bodies whose faces had been burned off, and some of the body parts were missing. It was a gruesome sight. They were clearly miners, as their clothes were covered in soot, while the rest of their clothing was the color of ash. The smell of burnt flesh floated around the cart and he had to take a step back to stop himself from having the urge to vomit.

"I knew today wasn't going to be a good day. No worries, Hubert, we'll go check out the mine today. You just take it easy and see to it that these poor corpses are returned to their families, alright?" Darien clapped him on the shoulder and without a reply from Hubert, he strode off at a quick pace.

"You're sure having bad luck today, huh?" Varric said.

"Oh, I don't know. Could get worse. It's not even mid morning yet, what else could happen?"

"Should we pick up Merrill or Aveline too, just in case?"

Aveline. The thought of her made him irritated. Throughout all the years he had known her he had respected her, even fallen for her, and that just made him even more irritated at her. Who was she to fall for Donnic, of all people? What made him so different? He couldn't see what Aveline liked in him, and he hated the fact that he disliked Donnic just because of Aveline. Donnic was a good man and treated Aveline well.

"No," Darien said. "Merrill's busy today with something in the alienage and Aveline is probably busy with the guards. If we just grab Isabela and Anders, we'll be fine. Besides, when haven't we been able to handle something?"

"Last night," Fenris said in a quiet voice.

Ah. Darien slightly remembered. He had been upset over Aveline and her news that she and Donnic were to be married soon, and in response he had drank too much wine and gotten drunk over that. He couldn't remember much of last night and that was probably for the best.

"Last night was not a battle. Besides, I don't remember much of last night, so it doesn't count. Ah, Lowtown, here we are." Lowtown: The dirtier and smellier version of Hightown, plus more dangerous and crowded. It was still better than Darktown, and the food they sold was decent enough.

Darien bought an apple from a street urchin and munched on it as they headed to the Hanged Man, where Isabela was sitting on the ground outside, looking bored as ever. "Finally!" she said, straightening her bandana over her hair and jumping up to meet them. "Where we headed to today, Hawke?"

"Anders and the Bone Pit."

"Sounds like a bad novel."

"Oh, it could be."

"Hey hey, that could be something," Varric said, his voice thoughtful. "Anders and the Malicious Bone Pit…"

"Please. There's no story there except a whiny mage who can't find the ingredients on his own," Fenris said.

Darien chucked his apple core at the nearest crate that was already fully of trash. "Anders isn't that bad, Fenris. You just have to… get to know him."

"Once you strip out that whiny personality, there'd be nothing left to get to know."

"Not his fault."

"Justice's, I know. Or so he claims."

"Oh, enough." Isabela punched Fenris lightly in the arm. "Why are you so broody this morning? Did you lose at Wicked Grace?"

"He owes me five sovereigns," Varric pointed out.

"Not so bad. That wouldn't explain the broodiness."

"Alright. Time to stop picking on the poor brooding elf." Darien shook his finger at them. "What do you say we grab some horses so we can get to the Bone Pit faster? I'm a bit worried for the mine."

"It would save us some time, I agree, but do you remember the last time I rode a horse?" Varric asked. "It ended up with a bruised shoulder and a splinter in Bianca."

"We'll see if we can get a smaller horse. Ugh, that smell. Reminds me why I don't like Darktown."

Isabela wrinkled her nose. "I can't imagine what the sewer smell does for the appetite in the morning."

Darktown was an ugly place to be. Not only was it dirty, but it was crowded, with refugees around every corner and with tons of thugs as well. Darktown was located under the layers of Lowtown and Hightown, a place where a person tried to avoid if they could. The streets of Darktown, if they could be called streets, were rotting and stank from the discarded human waste. It was a truly disgusting place where Anders seemed content to live in.

When the group turned one of the corners, a person nearly ran into Darien. "There you are!" Anders said. "I was wondering what had happened earlier this morning. I was walking by the old wine cellars and I could hear a faint explosion. Thought I'd imagine it."

"Sandal had a bit of fun this morning," Darien shrugged, rubbing his ear. "My hearing and my house has suffered because of it."

"Oh! I didn't know this." Isabela grinned. "We can gossip while we travel to the Bone Pit!" With that said she leaned over to Varric and said something in his ear, whatever she said causing him to laugh.

Darien glared at them, wishing the ringing in his ears would go away. "Gossip all you want. I can still hear perfectly fine. I've nothing to hide."

"That's not what Edwina told me."

"Me too," Anders said.

"Fine!" Darien threw his hands in the air. "I don't even remember what happened last night!"

All four of his companions grinned. Except for Fenris, of course, but he did have a mischievous glint in his eyes. "It's better that way," Varric said. "So! Onto the Bone Pit."

Darien grumbled to himself as he led the way, wondering what on earth he had done to poor Edwina. He didn't even remember meeting her. But no, it was best to move on and not dwell on the past. They left Darktown and headed for the stables right outside Lowtown. If things could get worse than they already were, it was drizzling. By the time they reached the Bone Pit, they'd be soaked.

Worse yet, his companions were oddly quiet. Every time he looked back to glare at them, they were smiling as if they had been talking behind his back. And if he knew Isabela, she was. Darien didn't know how she came up with all the juicy gossip as she did, but Varric loved to comment and offer his own gossip as well.

"Sorry, Champion," the stable master apologized once the group entered the stables. "We have three large horses available, and we do have a sturdy pony the master dwarf can ride."

"Pft! This'll be the last time you put me on a horse, Hawke," Varric warned him with a smirk on his face. "Bianca might not be able to forgive you if she gets another splinter."

"Woah," Darien laughed. "I don't know if I'd be able to handle Bianca's wrath."

"Good. Fear it, Hawke. You'll have a sore rear end with an arrow embedded in it. Thank goodness for your healing magic, no?"

Darien groaned. "Today is just going to end badly. I just know it. Isabela, ride with me?"

"Of course, darling," Isabela smiled at him. "It's not often that I get to brag about getting to hold the Champion in my arms."

"On second thought…"

"Kidding. Though that's a good subject for a story, isn't it Varric?"

Varric shrugged. "A better story would be Hawke sweeping somebody off their feet, holding them protectively in his arms."

"Enough about sweeping. I haven't swept anyone off their feet just yet." Darien walked over to a dark brown horse and lifted himself onto the saddle, then reached out to help Isabela up. She swung up gracefully and snuggled in close behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

"You smell like smoke." She sniffed loudly a few times. "Had a really rough morning?"

"You have no idea."

Darien led the way with Fenris riding to his left, with Varric and Anders following in the back. They rode at a quick pace, the rain soaking them. At first it had been a drizzle, but now the raindrops came down in large sprinkles and Darien regretted that he had left his cloak at home. As they traveled everyone was silent, the thought of the Bone Pit looming on their minds. It was a depressing place, filled with endless skeletons and usually Fereldans who had nowhere else to work. Hubert didn't care one inch about his miners, but Darien visited when he could, lending in his moral support showing he still cared. He owned half the mine, anyways. If he didn't lend in his moral support to the other Fereldans, Hubert wouldn't have anyone working for him. Darien didn't really like Hubert; too selfish and uncaring about human life.

By the time they were close to the Bone Pit, the gray clouds had turned into a blanket of white and the rain had stopped, with some sun rays peaking through the clouds. A good sign, Darien thought, but by the time they reached the Bone Pit, he realized he had thought wrong. Dark smoke poured from the mine and from the smoking wooden structures lying around the Bone Pit, and the smell of putrid burnt flesh filled the air.

"Dragons. Why is it always Dragons?" Darien asked, mainly to himself. "We'll find your Drakestone first, Anders. There might be Dragons waiting in there for us instead of spiders, who knows."

"I can't thank you more than enough for helping me," Anders smiled. "Come. The cave would just be over there."

Isabela jumped off the horse with ease and Darien followed suit, stretching out his sore legs. It had been awhile since he had ridden a horse, the last time being they had visited Sundermount in pursuit of the Antivan Crow Zevran. He was a peculiar elf, claiming he had a deep affection for the Hero of Ferelden, even refusing Isabela's advances. That had been an interesting day, to say the least.

Around the paths of the Bone Pit there were countless bodies of the miners lying about and Darien couldn't help but feel a little angry that he hadn't been there sooner. If anything, they should check the surrounding area before they search the mines themselves. No doubt there were several Dragons; the body of one Dragonling confirmed that it was probably a whole nest that the miners had discovered.

"This is the cave. Ready to go in?" Anders asked them.

"Let's hurry this up then," Darien sighed and followed Anders into the dark cave. There were already a few torches along the wall, lighting up the cavern enough to see in front of them, but when Darien looked up to see the roof of the cave it was too dark. This is why spiders loved caves, so they could pop out of the darkness and attack. He hated it.

"Looking a little pale there, aren't you Hawke? Should Fenris take you by the hand when we fight the spiders? He could provide ample protection for you, I'm sure."

"No thanks," Fenris growled.

"Oh, yes. Let's all just hold hands and sing a lullaby. We'll put the spiders to sleep and kill them while they're dreaming away," Darien muttered.

"You're just making me full of good story ideas, Hawke!" Varric laughed.

"That's what I'm here for."

Anders laid his staff against the wall and grabbed a small dagger from his waist. "Here. I believe this is a Drakestone deposit. I'll need a few more scrapings from other deposits we'll find. We'll have to head in deeper in the cave in order to find more."

"Lovely. I was just beginning to enjoy the beauty and wonders of this cave," Isabela said. "Can't wait."

As they went further in, Anders discovered three more deposits and claimed that he only needed to find one more. They followed one path that was poorly lit with dimmed torches, traveling through a small doorframe which led to a wide cavern, giving Darien the chills. No doubt there was some mother spider hiding away here, ready to attack them.

"There's some more Drakestone," Anders pointed. "We'll be out of here sooner than we guessed."

"Good, because this room…" Darien stopped when a web instantly formed over Anders body, enveloping him in a thick web. "Dammit." He brought his staff up, moving the sword end through the layers of the web, cutting them in half. Anders broke through the web with his arms and wiped the web off his face, then grabbed his staff, holding it in a defensive position.

"A spider is here. Somewhere," Darien said, trying to pinpoint exactly where. The breathing of the spider became apparent behind them, and the group swerved around, weapons raised. It was the largest spider Darien had ever seen, easily being twice as tall as him, with large hairy legs and the eight beady eyes that Darien could swear was looking directly at him. He tried to quench the silly fear that flowed through his body; he was the Champion, after all. He had a reputation to live up to, and the story that the Champion was afraid of a silly spider was unfounded. Of course it was. He gripped his staff harder, knowing that he only half believed that his fear was irrational.

Isabela disappeared as Fenris charged forward, raising his mighty great sword and pounding it on one of the legs, only to have it bounce off. The spider lifted a leg and kicked him in the stomach, sending him back a few feet against the wall. Darien swung his staff, sending a wave of ice at the spider, hoping to freeze him in place, but the spider shrugged it off and charged for him.

Isabela stabbed her two daggers into the rear end of the spider near the pinchers, her daggers only making it in a short ways. Anders kept his distance while making sure everyone was well healed while Darien bounced around the room, dodging the spider's legs and throwing elemental spells when he could. He tried to confuse the spider with a spell and it worked when it turned its attention to Fenris, who jumped into the air and dug his sword deep into one of the legs. It resulted in Fenris being kicked away again by another leg and he landed squarely on his feet and hands, his lyrium tattoos flashing brightly as he gathered more power.

Varric had climbed a ledge and was aiming his arrows at the spider's eyes, and had aimed successfully, with an arrow stuck out one eye. The spider screamed and danced around quickly, his eight legs making sharp little squeals as they dug into the ground. Darien aimed a few lightning spells at the spider's wounds and attempted to freeze the spider, as it was weakening against them.

Once it knocked Fenris back for a third time, it charged at Darien who dodged too late and was sent flying against the wall, the sharp pricks of rocks stabbing into his shoulder as he landed on the ground. He rolled out of the way and stood up, aiming the end of his staff at a leg, barely fending it off. Fenris came to his rescue, taunting the spider away from him, and aimed for the leg he had been attempting to cut off. With one slice the leg fell away, blood sprouting from the wound. The spider screamed in agony and blindly tried to attack Fenris, who quickly dodged the spider and was able to throw in a few more hits on the spider's body, working on detaching another leg. Isabela had hopped up onto the spider's back, aiming her daggers directly above the spider's heart, bringing them down with all her strength.

"Haha!" Varric called out. "The spider's completely blind now! We have him now."

With one loud roar the spider spun, one of the legs catching Darien full in the stomach, surprising him. He was tossed directly at Fenris and together they hit the ground.

"Tch!" Fenris growled and kicked him away. "Stupid mage! Can't ever hold your ground!"

Darien spit out the blood that had gathered in his mouth. "Yes, this is reminding you of the fight with the Arishok, isn't it? Fine, blame the poor Spirit Healer. All I ever do is keep you alive, anyways."

From the collision Fenris had gotten a bloody nose which he wiped the blood away irritably. Darien healed it with a wave of his hand, plus any other scrapes that was visible. "Now get to defeating that spider, oh powerful one."

Fenris glared at him and charged at the prancing spider, where it looked like Isabela was holding on for her dear life with her daggers dug deep into the spider. The lyrium tattoos on Fenris glowed brightly as ever and with one last mighty hit, he cut off two more legs which sent the spider tumbling to the ground, where it lay shivering, too weak to move.

The group gathered in front of the spider, breathing harshly. "Took care of that, didn't we?" Varric said proudly.

Fenris wiped the blood from his face. "That took longer than it should have."

"Yes, it was one nasty bastard, wasn't it?" Anders commented.

"Last time I looked, all you did was stand in the corner casting your healing spells."

"Hey," both Darien and Anders protested.

"Enough. You guys fight like two hormonal females," Isabela said, crossing her arms. "I want to get home and take a nice warm bath. These spider entrails on my shirt just aren't attractive for me."

Without another word Darien led the way to the exit. He didn't even have to look back to know that Anders and Fenris were glaring daggers at one another. The ride home was going to be even more silent than usual, he could tell. When they left the cavern the sun had risen high in the sky with a grey cloud covering blocking it. Darien could see rain in the distance and again regretted that he had forgotten his cloak.

"Great. I get dry, only to get wet again" Isabela sighed.

"Hey. At least it'll wash all the guts off of you." Varric reasoned.

"Oh. I suppose."

"We aren't done yet," Darien said sternly. "If there isn't anything outside the mining cave, then we'll have to search for Dragons inside. For now, let's go search the bottom of the Bone Pit."

A bit sullenly, they headed down the path where most of the skeletons were, piled high on each side of the path. At the end of the path were two posts, with skeleton heads piled up inside the cement. It was a marker to warn people away, as if the piles of skeletons already didn't do that.

"Well. Nothing's here," Darien said, looking around for anything. The Pit was deep and empty… and oddly quiet. Alarm went through him and he grabbed his staff, holding it in front of him with two hands. A ferocious yell confirmed his suspicions and he pivoted on his foot, becoming still when he saw what flew towards them.

"That's no normal dragon," Anders said in awe. "A High Dragon? Here?"

"The fowl beast must have been deep in the mine, waiting to be set free," Darien said in a low voice.

The High Dragon swooped downwards, opening its large mouth, and with a wave fire poured out and shot at them. The group dove away to not get hit and the Dragon flew closely over them, swerving around and landing deep within the Pit, screeching at them, folding its scaly wings behind it.

The group gathered and Darien pointed at the beast. "Isabela. Distract the beast, and Fenris, strike when you can. Varric, keep your distance and watch out for fireballs. Anders, stay with Varric and try to block the fireballs if you can. I'll fight closer and watch over Isabela and Fenris. Sound like a plan?"

His companions gave a firm nod, and rushed to do what they were told. Darien ran with Isabela and Fenris, halting when he gained a close enough distance where he couldn't get hit, but still watch over the two and fight when he could. He cast a spell of protection over Fenris and Isabela, then began casting elemental spells as Isabela caught the attention of the beast.

The Dragon snapped at Isabela, who danced out of the way and brought her daggers against the snout when she could. Fenris aimed his sword around the Dragon's heart, the slashes making bright red scrapes against the Dragon's dark red scales. From overhead Darien could see Varric's arrows whizzing pass, lodging them into the Dragon's thick neck.

It started out easy enough, Darien reasoned. Isabela had bloodied the Dragon's snout completely, but they were only flesh wounds yet, as were Fenris's heavy swipes with his sword. If anything, they could bleed the High Dragon to death, right? Heh, no. Darien knew it that it was going to get worse before it got better.

And worse it did. A normal Dragon appeared on a ledge of the Pit, followed by several Dragonlings. The Dragon flew down towards Darien while the Dragonlings followed on foot, their cries filling the air.

Darien lifted his staff in front of him and cast an ice spell at the Dragon, successfully freezing one wing, causing him to fall to the ground. He then threw a lightning spell, which was powerful enough to shatter the wing, causing the Dragon to screech in pain and lash forward at Darien. Fenris and Isabela were rushing toward him, killing Dragonlings as they ran. The High Dragon was nowhere in sight.

"Hawke!" Fenris shouted and swerved to point at a ledge, where a fireball was coming directly at them. Darien ran and jumped over a Dragonling, slicing his staff through the fireball with a large ice spell, making it fade away.

"Time to fight the nest, I take it?" Darien said, knocking one of the Dragonlings square in the face.

"And making it none too happy that we're killing her family, I assure you." Isabela swerved around and aimed her daggers behind her, stabbing the Dragon cleanly in the heart. It stumbled to the ground with one last cry while more Dragonlings appeared around them. She ran off towards Varric and Anders, who were fighting a bunch of Dragonlings as well.

"Aim for the High Dragon," Fenris called out. "I'll deal with these Dragonlings."

Darien didn't know what good his attacks would do against the beast, but he did as told. He ran out a bit so he could get a good look at it, then laid out his attacks, pouring all his strength into them. In response the High Dragon aimed a fireball at him, and as Darien cut through the fireball he noticed another just a second too late, and he was sent flying back, flames licking at his skin. The fire faded as he jumped back up to his feet and he wasted no time in healing the nasty burns he had acquired. "Oh, no you don't," he muttered to himself and shot even stronger spells at the beast.

Meanwhile Fenris was facing off another smaller Dragon, and Anders threw a quick ice spell at the Dragon, freezing it just in time for Fenris to shatter it to oblivion. He looked none too happy about being helped by Anders and made it so by saying, "I do not need your help, mage!"

Anders was busy fighting off two Dragonlings and with one sweep of his staff, the Dragonlings collapsed into a pile of soot. "Stop being so proud, dammit! We're in a middle of a battle!"

"Shut up, you two!" Isabela yelled. "Watch out, here comes the mama again!"
Everyone returned to their original positions again. The High Dragon tried to grab Isabela, but she was too quick. Darien aimed his spells at the wound Fenris had created, further deepening it, causing the beast to aim another fireball at Darien and then Varric, who had aimed his arrows at the same wound.

Fenris was slowing down, taking much of the beating from the beast. The front foot of the beast swept over his chest, the long claws raking deep into Fenris's armor and ripping out a good portion of skin on his right arm. Darien healed him, getting worried that the fight was taking so long. Not only was he feeling tired, but he had seen Isabela using some of her potions. Fenris had even used some; Darien's healing spells weren't enough right now. The High Dragon waved its tail which Fenris barely hopped over in time, but it caught Isabela above the knees, causing her to fall flat on her back. Darien could see that she was struggling to get up and Fenris was cornered by the Dragon who stomped in front of him every time he tried to pass.

There wasn't time to think. Darien ran forward, belting his staff to his back. Isabela was at risk of getting stepped on, so he ran with all his might and swept her up in his arms and ran the other direction towards the wall of the Pit.

Her leg was badly bruised and he laid his hand on her knee, letting the healing magic do its work. Her skin cleared as he then healed the bump that she had received on the side of her head.

"Oh, what would I do without you?" she said cheerily. She brushed her dark hair behind her ear, her brown eyes sparkling. "Let me back out there." Isabela hopped up and ran back to help Fenris, fully healed but less energized.

Darien made sure to check on Varric and Anders, who scrambled towards him as the High Dragon took flight and landed directly where the two had been standing. It roared, breathing flames of fire in the air. Darien ran to cover Fenris and Isabela while Anders held up a protective shield over Varric.

"Oh, for the love of…!" Darien growled as he struggled against the wave of fire. His protective shield was weakening against the onslaught, and he was being pushed back, his feet digging deeper into the sand.

Fenris leaned against his sword, taking deep breaths as he tried to regain his strength. "All right, mage. Hold out a little bit more."

"I'm trying!" Darien yelled, sweat beading down the sides of his face. He struggled to keep his staff held above him.

"The moment it stops, I'm charging for it. Make sure to distract it, Isabela," Fenris warned.

Isabela nodded. "Just to warn you, I'm out of potions. I don't know how much longer I can last."

"Don't worry about that," Darien responded. He could feel the fire weakening. "Now, Fenris!"

Fenris moved at lightning speed, his body a bright blue as he lifted his sword. Isabela moved directly into the High Dragon's eyesight, yelling and hitting at it when she could. Fenris dodged the High Dragon's tail by sliding underneath, then he rolled and moved to where the bloody wound rested on the end of the High Dragon's neck. When he brought the tip of his sword to the middle of the wound, the sword went through flesh and bone, sinking all the way in. The High Dragon Roared so loudly it dazed Fenris and Isabela for a few seconds, blood seeping from their ears as the roar had damaged their eardrums. Both of them stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.

The screech had also damaged Darien's ears. He quickly healed them as Varric and Anders came running over.

"My arrows aren't doing anything, and I'm running out," Varric said loudly. "I'll do what I can here."

Anders was sweating from head to toe. "Varric and I encountered a group of Dragonlings during the fire wave. Nearly was the death of us."

Darien tried to heal Fenris's and Isabela's hearing best he could. "Dragonlings? Almost defeated by Dragonlings? Varric, what would your fans say?"

"They'd still love me. I mean, it's the chest hair that does it for them," Varric said while aiming Bianca at the High Dragon's head, and letting loose a stream of arrows. "And it's your loveable black hair and irresistible masculine body that does it for you, Hawke."

"My beard. Don't forget my beard."

"Of course."

"Enough chatting and get back to healing, you stupid magical human!" Fenris shouted, rushing to grab his sword from the High Dragon, who was prancing round and round trying to claw at the two. Fenris's sword was still stuck in the High Dragon as he had lost grip once the Dragon had dazed him.

"I'll take that as a compliment, you short broody elf!" Darien was worrying about Isabela, as she was moving slower. He healed her small wounds best he could and almost thought it was hilarious that Fenris was still trying to grab with his sword, jumping side to side. He used his fist on several occasions, striking the beast on the inside of the skin, but he did not have enough energy to use his lyrium powers for long.

With one cry the beast took wing, the force of wind making Fenris and Isebela stumble backwards. Darien wasn't about ready to let it fly away again. With one final ounce of strength he shot strong ice spells at the start of its wings, freezing the wings with such a great power that he hadn't know he was capable of. With his hand he yanked it to the right, forcing the High Dragon back to the ground with a great force, causing the ground to shake on impact. The beast cried in agony as he lifted it in the sky again, bringing it down with great force, making the dragon still.

The breathing of the dragon could still be heard. Darien walked up to it calmly, breathing deeply, trying to keep himself steady. He brought the sword end of the staff up, looking the High Dragon directly in the eye. Tons of Varric's arrows were nestled into the snout and the area around the eye; the beast looked up at him with such agony and hatred. With a final cry Darien dug his staff into the beast's eye, and it was no more.

Fenris grabbed his sword and yanked it out, blood spurting out from the wound, the sand hungrily soaking up the blood. He moved to stand by Darien, as did the rest of the companions. Darien wobbled slightly on his feet, finally giving up and letting himself fall on Fenris, who was completely unprepared for the action. The both of them crumpled to the ground, with Fenris on bottom and Darien's head on his chest.

"Get up," Fenris demanded weakly, though it was clear he was too exhausted to do anything about it.

"Nu uh. I need to rest," Darien sighed. Isabela sank down to the sand as did Varric and Anders, all breathing deeply from exhaustion.

Varric chuckled. "Whaddya know. We defeated a High Dragon, of all things. How would you compare this to the Arishok, Hawke?"

"Less running. That's about it."

"Wait till I tell everyone about this. I'll make the High Dragon ten times bigger, you understand."

Isabela giggled. "And Hawke fighting it in his underclothes, no less."

Darien groaned while everyone shared a laugh, though their laughing was mostly from the idea that they had all fought a High Dragon and lived. That was the important part, he thought.

"Heh." Varric stood up and dusted the sand from his clothing, a grin on his face. "Well done! I think we've got ourselves a story for today."

"At least this got your mind off Aveline," Anders grinned. "And spiders. And kittens."

"You and your kittens," Darien quietly said.

"Well, I'll go gather the horses, if the High Dragon didn't already snack on them during the time we were in the cave," Varric said. "Coming Blondie?"

"Wait for me," Isabela said and headed off with them.

Slowly and painfully Darien sat up, feeling utterly exhausted and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Fenris stood up and with a slight hesitation, offered a hand to him. "Good fight, Hawke."

Darien stared up into Fenris's dark green eyes and nodded, grabbing the hand and allowing himself to be pulled up. "Anders is right about one thing. It did get Aveline off my mind."

"Donnic's a good man. Not bad at Wicked Grace, either."

"You play Wicked Grace with him?"

"You're welcome to come, too."

"Yeah, I think I'd like that. Time to move on, right?"

Fenris's green eyes became even more serious. "Yes, Hawke. Time for you to move on." Without another word he walked off after the other companions, leaving Darien alone.

With one last look to the High Dragon, he yanked out his staff from its head and followed his friends. Yes, Darien thought while staring at Fenris's broody face, it was time to move on.

Dragon Age, how I love you. 3

To explain the dog's name "Cutie" ... the back story that I came up with is that he was named that because of Bethany. She found the Mabari when it was a puppy and brought it back home, calling it "Cutie." The family agreed to name it that, though to everyone's surprise Cutie imprinted on Darien and followed him around everywhere. In my other games, I name my dog "Cheerio" "Dog" and "Chief." ... since I barely used the dog I was not inventive. XD

This is just a story that I couldn't get out of my head. Fighting the High Dragon. The irrational fear of spiders is actually my reaction to the spiders in the game. They seriously make me almost have a heart attack each time they pop out...!

To anyone who reads: Thank you! I wouldn't mind a review too, you know ;)