Calliope had fallen asleep no more than an hour ago. Her arm was draped over Anders' middle and one of her legs was tucked between his. Her black hair was almost tickling his jaw. He ran his fingers through it, making her unconsciously snuggle into his shoulder closer.
It had been a rough week.
Cali always wanted to take the most damage of the group – to protect the others, she would say. Anders would have none of it, of course, and used most of his energy to heal her when she was hurt. It took a toll on him, but he believed that she was worth it.
This week was no different. She always was at the front of the group with her daggers. For being a rogue, she wasn't very stealthy. She liked to scream and yell and carry on while she hacked away at their enemies. Fenris found it annoying. Varric found it funny. Anders just wished she would take better care of herself.
She had a few scratches on her arms. Probably from falling. I swear, she's the epitome of grace on the battlefield, Anders thought, but Maker forbid she not fall on her arse when she was shopping in Lowtown.
Cali had tripped (she swears the ground was uneven) on her way to the Hanged Man. Anders fussed over a small scrape she had on her arm. She just laughed it off.
Anders hated seeing her hurt. He wrinkled his nose at the scratches on her arms. Might as well...she can't get too mad at me for it, he thought. He hovered his hand over said scratches and the familiar feeling of static-like healing magic protruded from his fingers.
There was something wrong. There was something...else. Anders hovered his hands over her body, trying to find the abnormality. Find it he did.
He felt something pulling the magic towards Calliope's belly. Since that was pressed against Anders' hip, he had to settle for her side.
The...leech thing was very small. It was around the size of a blueberry. It didn't seem to be giving Calliope any pain. She hadn't complained of any discomfort. Then again, she never does.
There was a time, not long before then, when Calliope sustained a rather nasty gash on the back of her leg. She didn't say anything until she nearly collapsed in Anders' clinic. He sighed, remembering.
"Fuck," she grunted, her leg giving out.
"Hawke!" Anders said. He half-carried her to a table and made her sit. "What in the Void?" He looked at the leg that had betrayed her.
"You need to tell me when these things happen," Anders said quietly. He went to a cabinet and grabbed a numbing paste for the pain.
"I don't want to be a burden," Calliope said, almost too quiet to hear.
Anders turned and looked at her. He had never heard her say...anything quietly. There was something wrong.
"You're not a burden, Cali," he said, matching her volume. His brown eyes met her green ones. "You've never been a burden."
She snorted. "You're a bad liar."
Anders crouched and began carefully spreading the paste onto the gash on her leg. He didn't say anything to her after that. He was too worried that he would make her upset.
Once the paste was spread evenly along the wound, he let the staticy feeling of magic run down his fingers and onto her calf. He watched the wound close and leave a pink scar.
He stood up. He looked at her again, and there really was something wrong. She wasn't making jokes like she usually did. She always tried to lighten the mood somehow. This is different. This is wrong.
"I wasn't lying," he said. She wouldn't meet his eyes. "You've never been a burden to anyone here."
"I don't believe you." Calliope started to stand.
"You should rest for a while. There's only so much my magic can do. You have to do some of the healing yourself," Anders said.
"Anders..." Cali started to argue. She finally met Anders' gaze and sighed. "Fine. I'll stay for a moment or two."
It was hard to believe that the pair had gone from that, to lying in bed together.
Bed... Anders thought. He could feel the blood draining from his face. The leech.