It was official: Hawke's sense of curiosity sucked. Not to mention it always landed her into some sort of trouble.
Here she was, in the Vinmark Mountains - a place she never wanted to see again - with her usual crew: Aveline, Isabela, and Anders. The last she couldn't help but swoon over. Sweet Maker, was that man made of sin... Having a father and a sister who were both mages immediately made her sympathetic to his plight, even though she couldn't command the forces herself. But he just made it look so effortless, so damned sexy...
"Hawke, you're doing it again," Isabela couldn't help but quip.
Blinking back into focus, she couldn't help but discreetly check the corners of her mouth, before leveling a glare to the snickering woman. It wasn't her fault she decided this line up of party members... okay, yes it was, but the principle was the same! And it wasn't like she only had Anders on her mind... Despite her attraction to him, she felt that something was rather off. It didn't just stop at the hintings of this ancient darkspawn, locked away in a stone fortress in the middle of nowhere, with her father's blood as the lock. And it didn't stop at the sorry state of the Warden they were following, Larius. It was here, in Emily Hawke's hand.
The ever-mysterious key, that insisted on trying to become a part of her hand.
It started out like every other fight: see the people trying to kill you, kill them first, and loot the bodies as a reward. Aveline was the only one who had qualms about the last step, but could never complain about the regular donations Hawke made to the Keep. But as the dwarven leader's body was rolled over, Hawke's curiosity got the better of her. The glowing light held her entranced, even as she told herself to not touch it, to walk away from the suspiciously glowing orb of light. But... she did. And shrieked when said orb turned into a wicked looking bow in her very hand!
Emily winced as some thorny... thing separated itself from the bow and stabbed into her hand, wrapping around bone and muscle to lock the digit in place. This made her worried, for sure, but the one person she could tell this to and have immediate understanding was Anders. Normally, she wouldn't waste time, but he was a Grey Warden surrounded by darkspawn, and possessed on top of that. An odd sense of guilt would trump her wishes to confide, though she knew she needed help.
With each lock being opened, another vine would stab into the next finger.
With each step, she could feel herself growing weaker...
o0o0o
'I have to do something,' Anders thought, watching as Hawke tripped over her feet again. This wasn't the first time he caught her like this during their adventure, and now he wasn't the only one taking notice. Aveline looked ready to throw their fearless leader over her shoulder... knowing how Emily would take to that display was what prompted him closer to her side. "Hawke," he murmured, pulling her to a stop.
"Anders, we can't stop now," she interrupted, looking away from him. "Corypheus is right there-"
"And can wait a few more minutes," he cut in. "If you're exhausted, there's no way you can fight him." When that silenced her enough, he cast a healing spell, watching as it filled her with her normal strength before it quickly leeched out of her again. Confused, he tried again, switching to his arcane healing when seeing the same results.
"Anders," she tried again.
"Emily, what's happening to you?"
"... it's the bow," she finally answered. She regaled him with what she knew and figured out from her days of constant holding, what had factored into the strange life drain from her, and her fruitless efforts of removing it from her hand. He listened as her tone grew quiet, edged with desparation, while she apologized to him. "I know I should have told you sooner, but you had your own troubles and... Anders, I'm so scared..."
She was wrapped in his embrace soon after that. "It'll be alright, Hawke," he said. "Corypheus's prison is right across this bridge, and this is exactly like every other fight you've ever had. It'll take no time at all to put the sod out of his misery, and when that's done, think of the party we'll have at the Hanged Man later, celebrating your great achievement."
"I'd rather celebrate with a sexy mage warming my bed," Emily replied.
"That, my dear, is inevitable." As she giggled, he cast a quick glance to the guard and pirate, waiting patiently for the most part. Ignoring Isabela's sly winks and hand gestures, he drew back to gaze at Hawke's tired face. "I just want you to promise to stay close to me when we fight him. I can keep you up and moving, but I know how excited you get during a fight, especially when they're easy ones."
"You're sure this will end quickly?"
Given the recent streak of luck they didn't have? No. But someone had to help support the brave front she was close to collapsing under, and his pride demanded that it be him. Pinning her with a roguish grin that would out-charm Varric's, he replied, "What's the worst that can happen?"
o0o0o
"That's it! The second he pulls a dragon out of his arse, I'm leaving!"
Bent over her knees, pulling in the precious few deep breaths she could afford herself, Emily agreed wholeheartedly. What she hoped would be an easy fight with a regular emissary wound up being an uphill battle with one of the original Magisters of Old. His power was great, and it showed: walls of flame, mazes of stone laced with electricity, falling shards of ice... anyone else would simply quit out of frustration! Somewhere in the happy, fluffy part of the Fade had to be a sadistic Maker who was currently laughing His ass off at the whole lot of them. The thing was, it ceased being funny to Emily. They needed an idea, fast.
"Heads up!" Aveline shouted, affording Hawke enough time to look up and see Corypheus suddenly bearing down on her, before she was easily tossed off her feet and into a wall. She weakly coughed air into her lungs, watching as a blast of fire from Anders melted some ice aimed at her into harmless pieces. Who was she kidding? This was pointless! The four of them against a powerful magister who appeared to have too much time on his hands? The best they could hope to do was chip away at his health, and not run out of their own in the process. They couldn't let this loose on Kirkwall; he'd turn it into his own playground! Oh, it must have been a miracle that her father's blood could keep something like this at bay for as long as it had. Emily could barely keep herself upright as it was, but this was...
Wait, was that it all along? Using the wall as an aid, she worked an arrow in between her bloodied palm and the bow, holing this crazy plan would work. If not, then it would give Aveline a chance to catch a breath while she kept him distracted. The arrow was notched as quick as she dared, her breaths slowing in concentration before she let it fly...
The magister shrieked in pain, soon finding a celebrating Hawke as the source. The cheers faded as he started his new approach on her. 'Damn, I need to think these things out more often,' she scolded herself before leading a chase. The next arrow was given the same treatment, though far less easily as the first. Her normal tactic of waiting for the right moment was cast aside as another buffet of power pushed her off her feet. She used the momentum to whirl back around, slashing at him with the arrow.
She saw the effect as it connected, burning the skin around the cut. "What magic be this?!" he cried aloud, fingers curled in pain.
"Why don't you ask your buddies when you see them again?" Hawke offered, shooting a killing blow. His close proximity helped with her aim, since her own eyesight was currently blurred... with increasingly dark edges... But as both hero and villain fell, even she could agree that those were fantastic last words. Not even Varric could have come up with something as epic as that.
He would, however, have easily entered what she really last said, when the bow chose that moment to release her. "Gyaaaah! You son of a... nug hummp..."
o0o0o
I"It's hard to make sense of, isn't it? To know that Malcom had this life and never said anything. It may be that he accepted that burden so he could shield us, give us a life of our own choosing. Much as you do."
Ayup, that's me. Banging my head against the walls of tyranny.
"You know, your father was the same way, taming the shadows with questionable wit. The best of him- the best of all of us- is still with you. It's what makes you try so hard. You will always have that."
Hmph, I'll have a questionable something, that's for sure. ... My curiosity, my wit, even my choices-
"- Will be mastered with the same grace you've always had. You never could stop selling yourself short, Emily."
Not unless it was true. Even you must admit that some of the decisions I've made could have been handled better. I'm amazed I've been put up with for this long, in those moments.
"Darling, you're not seeing what I have seen in you, and in your father. Everything you two have ever done was out of love. You know that you do care for your friends enough to move mountains for them, we both know you're madly in love with Anders, and you need to /I accept-"
Feeling her shoulder being pressed with emphasis startled Hawke awake with a throaty cry, jolting nearly upright. She was stopped by Anders' firm hands on her, calming her back down. "It's alright, Hawke; it's just me," he added, laying her back down on the soft surface. As she looked blearily around, Anders continued. "You're back at the estate. How are you feeling?"
"'m fine," she replied. Relaxing further, she slowly blinked at him. "I was... getting yelled at..."
"Ah, so it seems you remember that little bit..." It wasn't his proudest moment, scolding a mostly unconscious woman, but he had done stranger things for less important reasons. His actions could be justified.
"Mmm?" she asked, before shaking her head. "No... by mum."
His hands slowed, smoothing a blanket back over her. She wasn't near death, but was really weakened; the mind could play tricks while her body caught up to her willpower. "What did she have to say?"
"T' not... sell myself short... why're you yelling?"
"Maybe I should start with you hurting yourself. While it wound up being a brilliant plan-"
"Wasn't *that* bad, Anders-"
"Next time, don't use poisoned arrows."
"... oh."
"Not only that, you insist on doing the exact opposite of what I tell you to do. You poke at wounds when I tell you not to, you run off when I tell you to say close-"
"'N I fall in love... when you tell me not to..."
Despite the leftover fear and anger from her actions, his expression softened when she spoke of her love. More than once, he had tried to make her see reason, that being with him would give her nothing but trouble. Now he was starting to see she could find it just fine by herself... maybe instead of pushing her away, he should allow himself a bit of leniency, instead? "So you did," he agreed.
"Hey, don' lookit me... mum told me to."
"Well, then it seems Leandra has great timing. I may have done the same."
Emily smiled sleepily, reaching up to hold his hand as he tucked errant strands of hair from her face. "Stay with me?"
"Of course," Anders easily replied. He kept a watch over her until she drifted off herself, taking a few extra minutes to make sure her home was secured this time around before re-entering her room. He paused when spotting his staff next to the bow key, where he had left them while tending to Emily. It took a bit longer than he liked, but it felt right to him seeing her regular bow in its usual place instead.
Maker knew, he wouldnt have her any other way... but the two of them had enough crazy between them to last a lifetime.