Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Origins, and Dragon Age Origins Awakening all belong to Bioware. They're my new favoritist muse ever, and I can't help but write! Blame anything creative on the BSN forums and the Anders and Fenris Fan-Threads, Facebook-groups, and other fun etc's. Like this one, where they managed to get Kirkwall High stuck in my head with a single typo. "Assasins Creek".. turned into Dawson's creek in my head, and then "Kirkwall Creek".. do you see what these people do to me?
Kirkwall High
Carver slamed the car door shut, his usual broody scowl plastered on his square jaw and hooded blue eyes. He sighed and ran a shaky hand through his dark hair. "Another new school. Did you really have to set the gym on fire?"
Angelica Hawke laughed at her younger brother. Obviously it had been an accident, but you couldn't tell him that. She gave her brother the once-over, committing his form to memory with her golden brown eyes. He'd gotten tall, finally growing into his feet and hands, during their stay at Lothering Prep. She sighed, the signs of training from his stint on the Junor varsity football team clearly showing in the bulky muscles he'd packed on. It had always irritated Carver that he couldn't draw more attention to himself.
"Well it wasn't as if it was on purpose, Carver Malcome Hawke. Its not easy trying to hide magic in gym class when you're being berated for being to weak to properly swing a wallop mallet" Her sister, Carver's twin, Bethany responded. Bethany was built like Angelica. She was petite, dark haired, and brown eyed. It was very clear that she and Carver were twins though.
".. but did you really have to set the thing on FIRE when you threw it across the gym?"
The sound of the twins bickering faded from Hawke's attention as she scanned the front of the building. The white carved stone building seemed to jut at angry angles out of the ground and other buildings nearby. It didn't look terribly different then the other ancient Tevinter style buildings in Kirkwall.
Hawke took a deep breath. She always hated new schools. They'd been to 5 different highschools, 12 different middle schools, and no less then Twenty Four elementary schools, thanks to Father, herself, and Bethany's magic.
Father had kept them moving. They told the schools, the districts, that Father was a traveling salesman who couldn't bare to leave his family behind. The truth of the matter was, Malcome Hawke had been trying to keep his daughters out of The Circle.
She sighed again, turning to gather her-still-arguing twin siblings, when someone ran by, bumping against her shoulder. She felt her backpack slide off of her back, and she screamed, "HEY!" It did little good, the red-haired thief was streaking his way across the courtyard towards the building.
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately for the thief, he didn't get very far. A crossbow bolt came launching out of literally no-wheres, pinning the thief against a wall. Hawke watched, wide eyed, as a Dwarf appeared from the crowd, slinging a very fancy crossbow over his shoulder.
"I once knew a guy who could charm the coin from your pocket with a smile. But you? You don't have the skill to work Hightown, let alone Kirkwall High." and with that, the dwarf slugged the red-haired thief directly in the chin.
With a single toss, her bag was back in her hands, and she was staring wide-eyed at the Dwarf, who had an extraordinary amount of chest hair, and a layer of stubble on his chin. "Varric Tethras, Archer, and Journalist, at your service."
The twins had ceased their argument, having moved behind their older sister. "A dwarf, here?" Bethany asked, curiously, her dark hair falling over one eye.
"Kirkwall is an equal opportunity city. Elves, dwarves.. there's even a Templar school, and a Circle across the lake. Its all housed in the old prison."
"And you're just allowed to bring weapons to school?" Carver asked, indicating the crossbow slung over the dwarf's shoulder.
"Bianca? I never leave home with out her. I'm captain of the archery team here." He explained, as if a dwarf with a crossbow at a highschool was perfectly normal practices for Kirkwall.
A voice behind her caught Hawke's attention. "Alright, you three. I'll be back at 2:15 to pick you up. I'm off to the barracks." Aveline, the perpetual guardian. She wasn't much older, only a couple of years out of school herself. The red-haired guardswoman glanced towards Varric with a veiled threat in her green eyes. "Stay out of trouble, please?" That warning, was for Hawke.
She laughed, "I'll do my very best to be a good girl, just for you, Aveline."
"That's what I'm worried about. Carver, please please, try not to get into a fight on your first day. Your mother asked me to keep an eye on you three, and the last thing I need on my first day on the job is to have to come down here and arrest you for punching someone in the face. Again."
Carver sighed, rolling his eyes. "Alright Aveline." Beth giggled, poking her brother, who was now glowering indignantly.
"And that goes for you too, miss Bethany. No more "interesting" uses for wallop mallets, okay?"
"Yes, Aveline. I'll be good."
"Good. don't forget, 2:15."
"Alright Aveline, we'll see you later." Hawke smiled, waving a hand as the red-and-white guard-car drove away.
"So you're related to a guard?" Hawke had almost forgotten Varric for a moment. She turned and looked down, a wide grin on her face.
"No, Aveline is a family friend. She came with us from Lothering after... after the blight came and we were forced to evacuate." It wasn't exactly a lie. The blight had come to Lothering, but not before the three of them and been unceremoniously kicked out for burning down the gym and library, though the library had been even more an accident then the gym had been.
"She's like a big sister, well.. older then Ang, anyway." Beth piped in from behind her.
"Yes, and almost more irritating. Almost." Carver finshed.
Hawke grumbled, resisting the urge to hit her brother. "I'm sorry, we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Angelica Hawke, though most people just call me Hawke. Behind me is my twins, Bethany.."
"Beth!"
"... and Carver."
"Oh so we're your twins now?"
"Who is making it a certainty that he won't live through the day."
Varric laughed, taking the hand the young woman had extended to him. "It's nice to meet you, Hawke, Sunshine, Little Hawke" He nodded in the direction of each of her siblings, to which Carver sighed heavily at being called 'little hawke'. The whole thing made Hawke laugh, but she did her best to keep it locked in her chest lest her brother cause a scene.
"Welcome to Kirkwall High. I know everything there is to know about everything here. Follow me and I'll introduce you to a few of my friends."
Utterly bemused at the situation, she followed behind Varric, her brother and sister following. Behind her, the twins were telegraphing back and forth with hand gestures and their secret-twin language that had continuiously driven her batty in their younger years.
The foursome walked through the crowded, noisy hallways, through one doorway, then another, and still another. They twisted left, then right, past classrooms filled with noisy teenagers. After what seemed like utterly ages, they stopped, and Varric gestured towards a door labeled, "The Hanged Man".
" The Hanged Man? That some kind of joke?" Carver grumbled.
"Nope, this is the journalism room. The Hanged Man is the school's newspaper. Professes Anders lets us hang out here most of the day, provided we actually show up to class once and a while." Varric smirked, pushing open the door.
"Varric! It's about time you came back. They're bickering again." A petite elf girl, her face marked by tattoos indicating her Dalish herritige, squeaked at Varric.
"Isabela's helping, I take it, daisy?"
"No, she's been egging them on. Helping? Why would you say that?" The green eyed elf peered at Varric as if the sarcasm had completely missed her.
Varric sighed, patting the elf on the hand. "Thanks, Daisy. I'll handle it." Varric turned towards the Hawk-trio and smiled warily. "This is Merrill. She transferred here from Sundermount Dailish Academy a few months ago. She's not quite gotten the hang of human life."
Hawke shook the hand of the girl named Merrill, "Its nice to meet you Merrill. We're new here as well. I'm Hawke, and these two are Bethany and Carver."
"Beth! and Hello! It's so nice to meet you!"
"Yes, uhm, hello." Hawke couldn't help but grin when her brothers voice cracked. Carver never was very good around pretty girls. It was just then, that she heard the yelling.
"... should ship you right back to Tevinter with that attitude!"
"Oh, and what you are isn't completely taboo? I should turn you in!"
"Will you two stop it? What do I have to do, get naked?"
"No."
"Maker, no!"
Seductive laughter came after that. Whomever had suggested she get naked seemed to be enjoying the uncomfortable silence that came after those no's.
Varric chuckled, closing the door behind them before pushing open another. There, standing behind a desk, was a tall blond man, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. A voluptuous young woman with exuberant amounts of mocha flesh exposed, was sitting cross-legged on that same desk. On the other side, a lanky teen-aged male, with white hair, pointed ears, and strange bluish tattoos was standing. His head was bowed, and from the look on his face he was trying to set the desk on fire.
"Are you three finished bickering so I can introduce you to our newest recruits?" Varric said, setting his crossbow, Bianca, in a black case. It looked to have been waiting there just for that crossbow.
"What? Yes, I'm sorry." The man was saying, looking up at Hawke and her siblings. Surprise crashed through Hawke as she looked at this man. Maker, He was gorgeous. He had strawberry blond hair tied in a half ponytail, deep brown eyes filled with sadness, the scruff of an unshaven face, his clothing looking slightly rumpled and disheveled.. perhaps he'd slept in this room the night before...
"Anders.. Professor Anders, actually, but I dislike titles." He was saying. He smiled and Hawke felt her heart melt into a puddle somewhere around her toes. What the hell was wrong with her? He was a teacher. He couldn't have been much older then she, maybe in his mid twenties.
"Isabela" a second voice purred, and Hawke tore her gaze away from the handsome professor. This voice came from the overly curvy girl sitting on the professors desk. Thigh-high leather boots covered most of the girls legs, but the mini-skirt left little in the way of covering the rest. She hopped down and sauntered, maker she wished she knew how to walk like that, over towards the three of them.
Isabela held out a single hand. Hawke shook it, but did little else. Carver was shifting his weight from one foot to another, fidgeting. If he'd been uncomfortable around Merrill, Hawke was 100% positive her little brother was going to explode in the presence of this Isabela girl.
"And the broody elf over there, is.." Varric piped in, just at the nick of time...
"Fenris." a surprisingly deep voice responded, sending little shivers down Hawke's spine. Her eyes fell on the elf who had moved to sit in one of the desks in the back of the room. Were all the people at this school ridiculously good looking? Hooded emerald eyes peered up at her, a smirk tugging at the corners of sensual lips. A shock of white hair fell over one of his eyes. The way he nonchalantly slouched, paired with the odd tattoos, instantly gave him that oh so tempting bad boy look.
She couldn't stop the words from falling out of her mouth, or the playful, snarky tone that came with them, "So is everyone in this school ridiculously good-looking, or just you lot?"
Isabela laughed, as if in agreement with the assessment. "We could say the same thing about you." Anders, Professor Anders, responded, smiling at her. She felt herself laughing. Behind her, Beth was giggling, and Carver managed to look more broody. She also pointedly noticed how very quickly those brown eyes slid down to the desk in front of him, or the color that flushed in those cheeks.
So the comment hadn't been meant to be said out loud, then. She made a mad dash to recover from the ever-growing awkward moment. "Well I wouldn't know about all that. I'm Angelica Hawke.. Hawke for short. This, is my sister Bethany, and my brother Carver." she motioned to the twins behind her.
"I can introduce myself, sister." Carver said bitterly from behind her, glaring daggers into the back of his sisters head.
"Well then?"
"What? You've gone and ruined the moment, now"
Hawke sighed.
Anders, Professor Anders was clearing her throat, "Well, if Varric thinks you're worth the time, you're welcome to spend it in here with us. He doesn't just bring anyone here, and I trust his judgment. I take it you're registered and settled in?"
"Not yet, we only just arrived when Varric here saved us from a would-be backpack thief."
Anders was nodding. He picked a pair of delicate looking glasses off the desk and slipped them on. They did little to take away from the overwhelming handsome of the scruffy man. "Merrill could you go tot he office and pick up the Hawke families class schedules for me? Tell Principle Elthena that they'll be joining us here in The Hanged Man, if you would."
"Alright Anders.." and with that, the little painted elf skipped out the door, mindful to latch it behind her as she went.
"Maker, what have we gotten ourselves into.." Carver grumbled, and headed towards the back of the room to take a seat.
