A/N: This contains spoilers for my other story, "Why The Hero of Ferelden Owes Me Lunch." If you haven't read through Chapter Eight: Stories, be warned - there are major spoilers.

Of course, this is also a stand alone one-shot that does not require any previous reading to make sense.

Now that I've cleared all that up, I'd just like to say that Landon and Kya are my favorite characters ever. :3

Landon Amell couldn't help but break into a wide grin as he walked into the apprentice dormitories. He walked over to his bed, just a few feet from where his friend Jowan sat on his own bed.

"You'll never guess what just happened."

Jowan looked up from the tome he was studying, his eyes distant and disinterested. "What?"

"Oh, come on," Landon teased, grabbing the book from Jowan and tossing it on the shabby nightstand between their beds. "You've got to stop worrying about the new mentor assignments. You'll be fine," he consoled him. "Now guess."

"I don't know," Jowan sighed. "You've already met your new mentor?"

Sitting back on his bed, Landon scrunched his face up in concentration. "I have, actually. Her name's Wynne. You know—that old healer who's always lecturing the new apprentices." He shrugged. "That's not it, though."

Finally, Jowan cracked a smile. "You? A healer?"

"I know. It's going to be, well, interesting," Landon admitted, looking away. There would be so many issues with his training as a healer that he'd never get a break from Wynne's chastisement. Turning sharply back to his friend, he insisted, "Guess."

"Uhh, you—Maybe, umm," Jowan sputtered, twirling his hands as if searching for the words. "I've got no idea."

"I did it," Landon announced proudly, crossing his arms and offering a smug little grin. "I kissed her."

"Kya?" Jowan spouted in thinly-veiled disbelief. "You kissed Kya Surana?"

"Yep."

"Are we talking about the same Kya? The elf we used to steal food for because she always got lost in the Tower on the way to dinner? The elf who set my robes on fire when she found out about…" Jowan trailed off, wincing. "You know. About… the blood magic."

"Yep."

Ruffling his mop of raven-black hair, Jowan whistled lowly. "Really? How'd you manage that?"

Reaching into a pocket in his robes, Landon pulled out an apple and tossed it at Jowan. "She was in the pantry stealing food. I went in the pantry looking for one of these." He pulled out another apple and waved it around, as if to prove his point. "No templars this time. Just a pretty little elf who said she was going to kill me for scaring her when I walked in."

Jowan took a thoughtful bite. He wiped off a bit of juice that had dribbled down his chin, then looked down at his robe sleeve in disgust. "So, you said you weren't a templar, and just kissed her?" he mumbled through a mouthful of apple.

"No." Landon set his own apple on top of the book on the nightstand. "I've been working towards this for weeks," he admitted. "It's hard work, getting a girl to kiss you."

"That's not what Anders says," Jowan sighed.

"Anders?"

"The apprentice that escaped last week. He ate breakfast with us once."

Landon shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. I wouldn't want to hang around with him, anyway," Jowan sighed. "First Enchanter Irving took a whole hour to yell at him personally after the templars dragged him back here." With another quiet sigh, he set the core of his apple on the nightstand. As he reached for the headboard to pull himself up, the sleeve of his robe slipped down to the crook of his elbow and Landon caught a glimpse of a jagged red line that ran across Jowan's arm.

"You've been practicing again," he stated, his voice barely above a whisper.

Tugging his robe back into place, Jowan whimpered, "Just a little. No one caught me."

As Jowan turned to walk off, Landon grabbed his arm and forcefully ran a quick healing spell over the damaged skin, allowing the magic to work until only the barest trace of the cut remained. "You know what Kya said," Landon whispered into Jowan's ear. "There have been rumors about us using blood magic. We have to stop."

"I don't care," Jowan insisted. "This is who I am now, Landon. This is who we are." Lowering his voice, he added, "You've been okay with practicing blood magic for the last six years. Are you really going to let Kya change your mind?"

"Yes, I am going to listen to Kya," Landon spat. "I was eight years old, I was scared, and I made a mistake. That doesn't mean I have to let…" He glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then continued under his breath, "I don't have to let blood magic define who I am. Neither do you."

Jowan shrank back, taken aback by the venom in his friend's voice. "It doesn't define me. I'm just… curious."

"I know," Landon sighed, letting his head drop into his hands. "I'm sorry, Jowan. It's just that we aren't children anymore."

"Come on." Jowan held out a hand to Landon. "Let's go get something to eat, then we'll feel better and we can put this behind us. And who knows," he smirked, "maybe Kya will get lost and you'll have to go find her."

"I don't get lost anymore, stupid."

As Landon let Jowan pull him to his feet, he searched through the crowded dormitory for Kya. He finally found her petite figure, her staff in her right hand and her robes several sizes too big. "I tried to tell him that, honest," he smiled.

The elf rolled her hazel eyes and plopped a hand on her left hip. "I'm sure that's all you told him. I swear, boys are worse gossipers than the senior enchanters." With a dainty flip of her loose auburn hair, Kya turned to walk to dinner. "Come on, or I'll eat without you," she called over her shoulder.

"Maker," Landon breathed. "Is she angry, or…?"

Jowan shrugged and shook his head. "Girls."

Following his two friends, Landon made his way down the hall. As they went upstairs, he caught up to Kya. "So, about earlier…"

"Oh, calm down," she grinned. "I was just joking. I don't care if Jowan knows. I'd be surprised if he didn't, actually. But…" She pursed her lips for a moment, deep in thought. "What were you two talking about so intensely?"

Before Landon could answer, Jowan's voice echoed down the stairwell. "All the fun secrets were over. We were talking about secrets of a more sinister nature."

Kya nodded in silent understanding, her eyes flicking over towards Landon in concern.

He shook his head, assuring her that he hadn't been practicing blood magic. Never again, he promised himself. I'm not going to use blood magic ever again. I don't care what Jowan says.

Never again.