Disclaimer: blah blah. I don't own this blah blah
Theron woke to the sound of snuffling in his ear and a whine. "Diana, ma mor dharlin (stop, you big puppy)," he groused and pushed the dog back, "I'm awake." He stopped when he realized what he was saying and opened his eyes. "Fen'nas?" He sat up, unable to believe his eyes and looked around, "the Beyond looks a lot like Haven." He heard a chuckle and looked over to see Zev next to the bed. "Vhen'an? (heart)" He asked, heart jumping into his throat.
"I am here, amor (love), and neither of us is dead, last I checked," the Antivan smiled. Theron launched himself out of the bed and held onto the Elf tightly, afraid if he let go, he would disappear.
"How did you get here?" He asked when he finally let go.
"Leliana found me," he smiled, "or rather, her agents did. She explained what happened and I can understand your anger, amor. She seems to be trying to make it up."
"You're telling me to forgive her for imprisoning me and thinking I killed all those people?" He snorted and patted the dog on the head.
"No, I'm saying she seems to be trying to make it up," Zevran shook his head.
Theron smiled and finally got up only for his knees to buckle. "How long was I lying here?" He asked.
Zevran helped him up, "three days."
Theron looked down at himself, "please tell me you dressed me."
The Antivan laughed and nodded, "don't worry, mi amor."
The archer leaned close to him, "I hope it wasn't you who chose this outfit." He kicked off the shoes while leaning against Zev.
"It wasn't me who chose your pajamas," he leaned in close, "we can have some fun getting you out of them."
Theron wrapped his arms around the other Elf, "I've always enjoyed your idea of fun."
They leaned in close but a gasp and the clatter of dishes stopped them. "Hejo de un perra (son of a bitch)," Zevran swore and both turned to see the servant.
The Elven woman dropped to her knees, "forgive me, my lord, I did not realize you were awake."
"I only just woke up," he tried to console. He looked over at her, "why are you still bowing?"
"Forgive me, my lord," she stood up, "Seeker Cassandra will want to know you've awakened. She said 'at once'."
"Where is she?" He asked.
"In the Chantry," the servant answered, backing towards the door, "'at once' she said."
"Shall we go see what the lady Seeker wants?" Zevran asked.
"If she accuses me of blowing up the Conclave, please stab her," Theron requested and detangled himself from the other Elf.
Zevran laughed and nodded, "you needn't worry, mi amor, I will defend your innocence." The way he said "innocence" made Theron turn and glare at him. "We waste time just standing here, amor; as much as I enjoy your gaze, perhaps we should see what this Seeker wants, yes?"
"Edhis ("penis" he's calling Zev a dick)," he grumbled and arranged his braids.
"It is not an insult when I don't know what it means," the Antivan chuckled.
"It is when I've offered to teach you Elvish before only for you to refuse," the hunter countered and reached for the door.
Zevran's rebuttal died on his lips when Theron opened the door to see what seemed like all of Haven standing in front of the hut he was in. "Mierda santa (holy shit)," he breathed.
Theron sighed and swore under his breath, "Mythal's mercy, not again." He stepped out and started walking as whispers started to make their way through the crowds. Fen'nas clearly didn't like it and growled at anyone who got too close to his Master for his liking. Zevran wasn't much better, but at least he was only glaring at the crowds with a hand on his daggers. The Dalish Elf rolled his eyes and kept walking, "my mighty protectors."
By the time the trio had gotten to the Chantry, Mahanon and Zevran were bickering over the necessity of having a former Antivan Crow and a Mabari war hound scaring off any who even thought of approaching the archer.
"I'm not made of glass, Zev, I don't need you and Fen'nas scaring off anyone who gets in a five-foot radius of me," Mahanon argued.
"Need I remind you that since returning to Fereldan, you've already had a building fall on you-" Zev started.
"The building didn't fall on me, Lath (love)," the other Elf interrupted.
"You were caught in an explosion!" The assassin countered. "You had a crazed Seeker after your head mounted on a pike, a Fear Demon try and cut you into pieces, AND an assassination attempt on you while you were unconscious from the tear in the sky trying to kill you; and you haven't even been back in Fereldan for a week yet."
Mahanon waved him off and opened the door. "Chain him. I want him prepared for travel to the Capital for trial!" The Chancellor ordered.
Zevran drew his blades and forced himself between the love of his life and the guards. "You are a magnet for trouble, amor."
The archer realized belatedly that in their squabbling, neither of them had remembered to grab his bow. "Fenedhis (curse word. Literally means "wolf dick")!" He cursed and pulled free one of Zevran's spare daggers from his belt. "I never said I wasn't, vhen'an; I said I wasn't made of glass."
One of the guards shifted to move toward them and the snarling Mabari leapt at the guard, sending the armoured man to the ground with a 200lb(i) war dog trying to get at his throat. The other guard surged forward. He stopped in his tracks when Cassandra barked an order to stop. "Belay that order," she commanded, "he is not a prisoner."
"Atisha (peace), Fen'nas, amahn (here)," Mahanon ordered and the Mabari promptly hopped off the guard and trotted back to his Master with his stubby tail wagging. "Yes, yes, on dhar (good dog)." He glanced over at the other Elf who still had his blades drawn, "you too, Zev, sheathe 'em." Zevran hesitantly sheathed his blades and Mahanon returned the dagger to its rightful place.
"So the dog gets praise for obeying, but not me?" Zevran placed his hand over his heart in mock hurt, "it wounds me, amor."
The hunter shook his head in amusement and patted Zevran on the head, "you're a good dog too, Zev."
"Dog?" The blonde Elf sputtered in almost real indignation.
Cassandra, the Chancellor, and the guards watched the two interact in stunned silence while Leliana just stood there, used to the way her friends behaved.
The Seeker shook herself from her shock and looked at the two guards; one was still sprawled on the ground with holes in his armour from Fen's fangs and the other was helping his comrade up. "Leave us," she ordered and the two saluted and left.
"You walk a dangerous line, Seeker," the Chancellor growled.
Cassandra walked around the table to stand face to face with the holy man. "The Breach is stable but it is still a threat; I will not ignore it," she argued.
Mahanon looked over at her with a raised brow and Cassandra saw once more a Commander and not a civilian. "So does this mean I'm still a suspect or no?" He asked; a glance at the blonde Elf and the Mabari told her how she answered would dictate whether the guards needed to come back or not.
"You absolutely are," the Chancellor snarled.
The Dalish didn't even spare him a glance, "I'm not interested in your opinion, Shemlen."
The Chancellor sputtered his outrage. "No, you are not," the Seeker answered.
Leliana walked around the table to join Cassandra. "Someone was behind the explosion at the Conclave. Someone Most Holy did not expect," she stared pointedly at the man, "perhaps they died with the others or have allies who yet live."
"I am a suspect?!"
"You, and many others."
"But not the prisoner."
"I have a name," Mahanon griped, but was ignored by the Humans arguing.
"I heard the voices in the temple. The Divine called out to him for help."
"So his survival, that thing on his hand-all coincidence?"
"Providence. The Maker sent him to us in our darkest hour."
"You realize I'm an Elf. A Dalish Elf," he deadpanned.
"I have not forgotten. No matter what you are, or what you believe, you are exactly what we needed when we needed it." Cassandra walked to the back of the room to collect something.
"The Breach remains, and your mark is still our only hope of closing it," Leliana answered, trying to appeal to her friend's sense of duty.
"This is not for you to decide," Roderick scowled.
"Neither is it for you," Zev commented, arms folded across his chest.
Cassandra walked back over with a rather large looking book and let it thump onto the table. "You know what this is, Chancellor," Cassandra pointed at the book, "a writ from the Divine, granting us the authority to act. As of this moment, I declare the Inquisition reborn." She walked over and poked the Chantry man in the chest, "we will close the Breach, we will find those responsible, and we will restore order. With or without your approval."
The Chancellor glared at them all before leaving the room in a huff, Fen'nas barked happily as he left. "No need to be rude, Fen," Mahanon patted the hound, "that's his job."
Leliana covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smirk. "This is the Divine's directive; rebuild the Inquisition of Old. Find those who will stand against the chaos. We aren't ready. We have no leader, no numbers, and now no Chantry support."
"But we have no choice: we must act now," Cassandra looked at the dark-haired Elf, "with you at our side."
Mahanon stared at them in a rare show of what Cassandra believed he was: a Dalish Elf deeply out of his element. "What is the 'Inquisition of Old'? This isn't the first time you Shem have done this?"
Leliana shook her head, "it preceded the Chantry; people who banded together to restore order in a world gone mad."
"After, they laid down their banner and formed the Templar Order. But the Templars have lost their way," the Seeker explained.
"Really? Slaughtering innocent mages is 'losing their way'?" The Antivan asked blithely.
"Templars are necessary to protect mages," she scowled.
"We are not having this discussion right now," Mahanon ordered.
Cassandra nodded, "we need those who can do what must be done under a single united banner once more." She held out her hand to the archer, "help us fix this before it is too late."
Mahanon stared at her hand in thought then shrugged, "darem i'tel i've (gone without before)," and shook her hand, "seems to be my calling to save Humans from themselves." Cassandra gave him an odd look at his comment, but said nothing since it worked in her favour.
They were walking up to the War Room and she caught Mahanon staring at his mark on his hand. "Does it trouble you?" She asked in a voice she hoped was gentle; she knew the two of them could not have started off on a worse foot and was now trying to prove to the Elves that she was their ally.
Mahanon stopped and stared at the mark before shaking his head, "Dalish are trained to be able to withstand pain so we can receive our Vallas'lin and become adults."
Cassandra nodded, not sure how to respond to that, "what's important is that your mark is now stable, as is the Breach. You've given us time, and Solas believes a second attempt might succeed provided the mark has more power. The same level of power used to open the Breach in the first place. That is not easy to come by."
Zevran sighed and grabbed his lover's marked hand, "it never is." The assassin smiled charmingly at the woman, but she knew he was only being pleasant because Mahanon had told him not to cause trouble. It had been a rather…loud argument.
"I hope you have something in mind," he brought his free hand up to cup Zevran's cheek.
"We do," she nodded and gestured for them to continue.
(i) Some Googling informed me that Mabari are around 4'4" tall and 215lbs
