Title: Love and War and Snow
Notes: Basically what the title says. Love. War. Snow. In Kirkwall. F!Mage!Hawke/Fenris.
Inspired by rabbitzoro's picture on DA. 'Fenris-something there'.
Read. Review. Roadkill.
White snowy flakes dotted the air outside her window, Hawke staring at them intensely with a gleeful smile on. A snow storm was fast approaching and Hawke wanted to be the first one to take a walk during the blizzard. She didn't bother bundling up, only pausing for a short moment to snatch her fingerless gloves from her mother and dashed outside. The cold winds hit her hard, Hawke's ears already feeling numb. The snow was up to her ankles, bound to rise faster as the snow pelted her. There was not a person in sight except for a guardsman who seemed to be praying for the next shift to come faster, wanting to be out of the snow.
Hawke trudged along, not exactly knowing where to go just as long she kept moving. Subconsciously she found herself walking toward the direction of Fenris' mansion. Hawke started treading her way through the snow faster, her cheeks burning and arms freezing, finally reaching his door. Relishing the nice inviting warmness of the mansion, Hawke inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly, stomping her feet to get rid of some of the snow present on her boots.
She practically ran up the stairs and toward the fireplace in the room Fenris occupied. "Hawke?" Fenris sounded surprised at her sudden visit, especially in this dreadful weather. His gaze followed where her snow prints started and where they stopped. "You tracked snow in." He said bluntly, not entirely pleased at that.
"And?" Hawke said in an almost challenging voice, wanting him to go on.
"Just stating the obvious." Fenris watched as Hawke knelt beside the fire, shivering, her normally alabaster skin now bright red. Fenris produced a blanket from his makeshift bed, wrapping it around Hawke tightly. "Doesn't your mother have warmer clothes for you to wear?"
"Perish the thought. I won't be weighed down by my extra clothes when traveling through the snow. Thus being eaten by mabari dogs once they find me and see that I cannot move anymore. And that would quite embarrassing." Hawke stood up from her spot on the floor, holding the blanket tightly around her.
"True. But freezing to death is more likely." Fenris was entertained by the thought of a mage being eaten by dogs but Hawke…never. "So what brings you around my desolate mansion?"
"Aha! You admit it. Your mansion really is gloomy indeed." Hawke was smiling that little grin of hers, arms raised as if to show him how bleak the place was.
"I was never denying it." Fenris shrugged. He gestured for her to continue, watching the flames flicker in his hearth.
"Okay to be honest…it was half wanting to be near heat. Your fireplace thawed me out quite nicely." Hawke shook off the blanket, the smell of dust and Fenris wafting toward her nose. A sudden silly image of Fenris sleeping in a pile of dust for a bed popped in her head and she chuckled softly to herself, said man glancing up at her.
"And the second half?" Fenris inquired, the fire growing even larger as Hawke used her magic to create a small fireball.
"Well…I was wondering. If you wanted to…take a walk. The first walk through the first snowfall." Hawke's infatuation with snow and her walks through them each year was well-known by her friends but she never invited anyone with her. Surprised, Fenris whipped his head around to meet her's, confusion written all over his face before he wiped it off with a blank look.
"I'm a uh…" Fenris cleared his throat and took a great interest at a spot on the floor. "If you wish, Hawke."
"Great! Time to hike through treacherous winds and avoid being attacked by vicious snow creatures!" Hawke always liked making everything sound like an adventure. Fenris laughed his enduringly awkward laugh and Hawke grinned even wider if that were possible. "I'll meet you out front."
Hawke sneezed, the smell of dust even more intense as it wafted around her sensitive nose. Fenris could hear her echoing sneezes as she was moving further and further away from him and he let out one laugh before coughing to cover it up. Hawke went out the front door of his mansion, the snow engulfing her when she stepped outside. Goosebumps lining her arms, shivering furiously, Hawke was narrowing her eyes at the snow gathering up on the ground. It was going to be a futile attempt but she had to try. This wasn't going to be the blissful calm walk through the snow she imagined…
A crunching sound emanated from behind her and Hawke swiveled around to see Fenris' tiny feet hidden in large black boots. That's when it struck her. "Fenris…you've never worn shoes before. Why the sudden change now?"
"I prefer to lead by example. If wearing slightly better snow wear than you that means I'll have a lesser chance of freezing and when you do finally freeze, I'll be able to take you back home. That will have taught you a lesson to wear warmer clothes." Fenris saw the tinge of a grin appear on Hawke's face, her amusement with him clear as day.
"And you plan to do all that by wearing boots?" Hawke simplified his plan, making it sound even more dumb. "Lead on." Fenris and Hawke walked side by side and Hawke barely noticed Fenris was even there (despite the fact he was slightly taller than her) because his white hair blended in with the falling snow. "Here."
Fenris gently took hold of the small package Hawke handed him and curiously opened it up, bird feed flying everywhere. Bits landed in his hair and got caught in his armor, the rest settling on the ground. Slowly raising his head to see Hawke's expression, he started grumbling to himself. Hawke was too busy giggling to give an explanation as to what was all over the elf, slapping both of her hands over her mouth to suppress the laughter. "Hawke…?"
Suddenly birds came out from nowhere, circling Fenris and diving for the food on him. Fenris awkwardly bent down on one knee, not sure what to do. The tiny birds seemed to have grown accustomed to him, mistaking his head of hair for their nest and stayed put on him. "Hawke." He said more urgently, trying hard to gain her attention.
Hawke could only stand there and watch, bouts of laughter interrupting her every time she tried to talk. "I-Fen-Oh Maker." She lost it again and Fenris sighed, careful not to move around too much.
After awhile when Hawke finally settled down from her laughing fit, she kept the mental image of Fenris being swarmed by birds in her head for later and shooed the birds away. "Having fun?"
"What. Was that?" Fenris pointed at the last remaining birds, dusting off any leftover bird feed off his shoulder.
"That. Was birds." Hawke imitated him, talking in the same manner, smirking. "Adorable, aren't they?"
"Yes. Quite so." Fenris grumbled, scratching his head momentarily. Hawke took Fenris by the hand, the snow now falling down from the sky slowly, drifting around them. Not a sound was heard from the streets, quietness greeting them as they turned a corner. Hightown was better this way, no nobles or street gangs.
"I think it should snow more often." Fenris waited for Hawke to continue, tilting his head at her. "Haven't you noticed that we haven't run into anybody yet? Less people, less fighting. I think Ferelden could've stopped the Blight with snow. Nobody likes the snow, thus no fighting in the snow." No jokes came from these sentences so Fenris took her for serious.
"So you're saying snow is peace?" Fenris smiled at Hawke's perspective. It was…refreshing. "If only it had snowed in Tevinter then."
"You say the word snow as if you haven't even seen it before." Hawke quirked an eyebrow.
"If it had snowed in Tevinter I wouldn't have known. I stayed inside for my duration as a slave. But you lived in Ferelden. I heard it has snow and the cold is a usual. You must be used to this…weather." Fenris gazed upward at the falling snowflakes, a blanket of white covering the usually blue sky.
"Don't forget the dirt and the smell of wet dogs. There's that too." Hawke looked to the stone ground, the extravagant architecture of the mansions and estates all around. It wasn't like Ferelden at all.
"Do you…miss home?" Fenris trailed off, looking sideways at Hawke, a little worried of her answer. If Hawke decides to return to Ferelden, he wasn't sure what he'd do. There'd be littler point in sticking around. Not that she was the sole reason he was here. He's dealt with loneliness before. It wouldn't be so bad…
At least that's what Fenris was trying hard to convince himself of.
"I do miss the dirt. Not the wet dogs however." Hawke sniffed the cold breezy air, sighing contently. Hawke glanced over her shoulder at Fenris, smiling knowingly. "Ferelden is my home. But I can see staying here. For the right reasons."