"Are you sure about this?" the young elf asked as he reached for the hand of his friend.

She smiled down at him, pulling him up the stone wall so that he could see the marketplace in full view. "The guards are switching their patrols right now so you won't get caught, I swear."

He sat down on the cool stone; his eyes glittering at the wide view of people walking around, enjoying their daily lives. The alienage was such a small, tight community that seeing what was beyond the wall was always an adventure and he had Casey to thank for it. The two hadn't been friends for too long but even if he wanted to stay away from her, he seriously doubted that she would allow him to. For a shem, she was very persistent. Nice, hyper, happy-go-lucky, but persistent.

"Hey. Thedas to Venos!" Casey waved her hand in front of his face. "What do you think?"

He pushed her hand away, never taking his eyes off the merchants and guards below. "I like it."

She smiled wide, pleased with herself. "Good, cause if you didn't I swear I was gonna be super mad." She kicked her feet against the wall in a rhythmic pattern. "You said you wanted to see the Chantry so I hope this will be enough."

Venos shrugged. Sure, he wanted to see it but he didn't understand why Casey had gone through the trouble of sneaking into the alienage just to let him see a building. She was always wanting him to tag along with her when she had an idea for an adventure in mind and she didn't care if he wanted to or not. He was going in one way or another. It wasn't that he didn't mind leaving the alienage but there were rules about it and he had gotten in trouble many times in the past few months because of it. From lectures from his mother to being brought back by force by the city guard, he had received a pretty bad reputation around the community for being a troublemaker. Casey didn't care.

"So what's so special about the Chantry anyway? It's just a building with a lot of people in it wishing for something that isn't going to happen." Casey pouted as she scooted closer.

"Mother said it's a place where you can go to calm your mind and become one with the Maker." It was a nice thought at least. "I'm not sure why she wants me to like the Maker though. She talks about the Dalish sometimes and they believe in other gods so why can't I like them instead?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not a big fan of the big guy myself but at least he makes people happy." She looked down at her feet with a weak smile. "You're happy in the alienage, aren't you?"

Venos turned to his friend in confusion. "I guess so? It doesn't really feel like much of a home anymore though."

"What do you mean?"

"Father's been yelling at me a lot more lately. He says you're a bad shemlen and I shouldn't be around you." He waggled his finger in a stern matter. "She's going to get you killed, my son, and in your state you don't need someone pushing you to the limit."

Casey gave Venos a slight shove and giggled. "What are you? Some broken toy that can't be touched?" she poked his cheek with a huge smile. "You're not any type of doll I've ever seen before."

"Come on, Casey!" he tried to nip at her finger but she moved it away before he could. "It's not funny! I look like a freak compared to everyone else."

"You look like a nice person to me." She said with reassurance. "So what if you've got white hair as a kid? It's what you do with your life that's important, not how you look."

He blushed slightly. If only others were like Casey, he wouldn't feel so afraid of everything and he could walk outside his house without a hood over his head. Maybe he could feel like he was wanted in his community instead of a burden for being the way that he was. With Casey, he didn't have the urge to crawl into a hole somewhere, away from the teasing kids and mean shems that looked at him like a parasite. If only the world was just him and Casey together forever…

"Casey?" he looked over to his friend, trying to hold back tears. "Thank you."

She stayed silent for a moment, not sure exactly what to say to him, until she reached for his hand and held it tightly. "Don't worry about it. Friends forever, right?"

"Wake up, Cousin!"

The feel of something warm and wet dripped from his forehead as Venos reached to wipe it away, only to find a red substance on his fingertips. Blood? He looked over to Casey to find that she had disappeared and in her place was a patch of ice. What was going on? His vision was getting foggy and everything was getting hot. He reached for his collar and started to pull it so he could breathe but nothing was working. All he could think of was to reach his hand towards the ice patch, hoping that the coldness would help him in some way but he couldn't find it. Why could he never find what he needed and why did Casey leave?

"CASEY!" he yelled to the now black area around him. "PLEASE! I NEED YOU!"

A cold flash rushed at him followed by the feeling of something touching his shoulder.

"What are you still doing in bed?"

…

…

"Today's your big day!"

The sheet covering him was torn away in a flash as the pale elf curled up in a sad attempt to block the cool air from hitting against his sickly pale body. Today was not a day that he wanted to hear cheerfulness, even if it was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.

"C'mon, cousin! You can't sleep the day away." Shianni smiled as she tossed the blanket onto his face.

He groaned to himself as he slowly rose up in his half-awake state. The lingering scent of alcohol made him want to crawl back under the covers but he knew Shianni would just throw whatever she could find at him until he was up and ready for the day. But honestly, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"You do know what today is, don't you?" her question just made him sigh loudly in annoyance.

"Well," he rubbed his face and placed his bare feet on the cold wooden floor. "According to your breath, it's get drunk before noon day."

He ran his fingers through his pure white hair and gave Shianni a weak smile. "No, you idiot! You're getting married and Soris too!"

Oh, yes. How could he forget something as important as the staple of true adulthood that his father had been shoving down his throat for the past week? It wasn't that he was against the idea of getting married, and after seeing all the effort his father had put into finding him a wife, but the thought of marrying someone that he hadn't even met before just made him feel really uncomfortable. Why did getting married have to be the way to prove he was an adult, anyway? He was twenty-three for Maker's sake and had been working since his mother was taken away by the city guard all those years ago. All he wanted was to have everything just stay the way it was but everything around him way pushing towards wedding bells and saying I do.

"…your bride, Nesiara, she's here early!" a cold sweat rolled down his neck.

Standing up, he walked over to the dresser next to his cousin and splashed some water on his face. She wasn't supposed to be here until this evening and now she's already here? There really wasn't any way for him to get out of this, was there?

"Venos?" Shianni placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry too much, ok? I know you'll be fine.

He took a deep breath, placing a hand on top of hers. "I'll be fine. It's just pre-wedding jitters."

Shianni chuckled, squeezing her cousin's shoulder slightly before letting go. "Shake those off as soon as you can. You don't want your lucky bride-to-be to be sad!" she spun around in a fit of giggles. "Besides, I took a quick peek. She's beautiful."

Venos rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Maybe you should be the one getting married, then."

"My day will come. Today is all about you and Soris so enjoy the party!"