Adventurous by Necessity

"This must be the place!" Hawke exclaimed. She had practically run the distance from Vigil's Keep to the Bannorn. She had laid out plans for the homestead and clinic to be built with the dwarves that Nathaniel had brought in to assist her and Anders with their efforts. This had her extra excited and completely full of energy to burn. That, coupled with the full week's reprieve from running at the Keep, and it was no wonder the woman had all but flown to the property that she and Anders were now – unofficially – the proud owners of.

Through the days since the messenger returned from Denerim with news of the successful transaction, she had done nothing but fantasize over the property. She had seen the sketch of the property lot…knew every tree drawn on it…pictured what it would look like as they approached it. But when they arrived at the land…when she saw it for the first time, it was better than she could have ever imagined. She stood at the dirt path that led to the front of the lot. A row of unkempt hedges lined the lot; several small stands of trees, also growing out of control. She could see the small shed further back on the property, falling apart with a broken window at the front.

Anders walked up to her and slid an arm around her shoulder. She responded by wrapping both her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder, not once removing her eyes from the sight in front of her.

"This is ours," she said dreamily. "All of this is ours."

"Would you ever have imagined this?" he replied. "Two apostates as landowners?"

She looked towards him and smiled widely. "With the help of a certain Grey Warden, of course." The arrangement would never have gone so smoothly without the assistance of Nathaniel. He had been instrumental in arranging the land transfer and burying the names of the true owners under mountains of paperwork – should the 'wrong' people come looking for them. They had never been happier for bureaucracy.

Anders turned towards the group following them; he began to direct them to the property. The dwarves and their carts of material began moving further back into the land. The other mages – Koehemar, Lafatria and Grymm – also walked towards the lot. The two elves looked around at the expanse of land where they would soon help build a home and chattered to each other happily. Grymm found a large tree he seemed to appreciate and like the practical man that he was, began to set up his tent.

"The dwarves will be starting on the ground work for the homestead first," she said. "And in a few days, Carver and Merrill will have set off from the Keep. We should see them within a week's time. Perhaps there will be good progress by then."

Anders nodded. "I look forward to getting my hands dirty for this."

"As do I," she replied. "It will be good to create something like this together."

"This building will be so much more than a home for us," he said. "This is the beginning of our new life. The foundation of our family."

"I…" she started. He looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "We almost…I almost left you behind in Kirkwall. I can't imagine how I nearly made that choice back then. I can't fathom what life would have been like now had I stuck with it. Would I even be here?"

"Hush, love," he interrupted. "Don't dwell on those thoughts. There are so many reasons why you should have left me behind. But I'm glad you ignored the logical choice and decided to rescue me after all."

"I'm glad too," she said. She squeezed him tightly and he leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

"Let us set up camp for ourselves and the dwarves," he said. "We have much work to do!"

The two rejoined their group, setting up shelter for themselves and the group of dwarves who would be helping to build their permanent home. The day was bright and sunny – a welcome change from some of the darker days they had travelled through. As the shadows grew long and the day marched to night, Hawke viewed her group with satisfaction. This really was to be the start of something…exceptional. She knew her life – as transient and out of the ordinary as it had become – was about to change for the better. It was what she'd always dreamed of as a little girl who had discovered that she was not 'normal'. What she never thought she'd have in all the years they were on the run from the templars before settling in Lothering. When the darkspawn came, they were forced to run yet again. And then in Kirkwall, never feeling safe – even as the city's Champion.

But this felt different to her. She assisted the dwarves in digging holes for the foundation of the building that would soon be her home – and she felt a sense of permanence; as though the laying down of foundations would be akin to laying down roots. She was in no way naïve – there would be difficulties. Perhaps even retribution from those who did not appreciate the rebellion and war that she and Anders led across the lands. But she knew they would face down the threat as they had done for so many years…together they would overcome the dangers.


The dwarven masons that had come along from Vigil's Keep were a wonder. They were hardworking and stopped for nothing but a quick meal and the darkness of night. Within the first five days of construction, they had already bricked up the four walls of the main portion of the home, and had started to work on the wing that would house the sleeping quarters for the three mages that had joined Anders and Hawke for as long as they decided to remain with them. Hawke had been working on a stone structure running the length of the front of the property – a welcoming, yet boundary-defining waist-high wall. A few days prior, she had discovered some twisted pieces of steel and other metals near the shed on the property. With the help of one of the dwarves and a little magic, she fashioned the pieces into a functioning gate that she intended to attach to the wall she was building. The two elven mages had been clearing debris from the vast fields of the property, cleaning it up in preparation for its use in growing crops. It was too late in the season for many crops, but they intended to grow potatoes, carrots, beets and other vegetables that could extend their growing season into the colder months. Grymm was assisting Anders in stockpiling wood – the healer would chop pieces into smaller usable chunks, while the hulking mage would carry large pieces of fallen trees, or would chop down trees that had been damaged from winds or age.

Anders couldn't help but chuckle to himself when he caught his love unawares – staring at him while he worked. She had a slightly dreamy look on her face as she did so, similar to one he had seen many times when they battled together. It was a look of appreciation – he knew that much. Though what she appreciated as he worked away, he could only speculate.

A short while later, he stood up to stretch; his back was sore from the constant bending and lifting and chopping of wood. He looked around, but could not find Hawke. He wiped his forearm across his face, attempting to dry up the sweat that had accumulated at his brow. He was starting to exhaust himself from the hard labour, and needed to rest.

"Let's take a break," he said to Grymm, slumping against the wood pile that had amassed. The man nodded at him and headed over to where the tents were set up. As Grymm left the area, Anders elongated his legs as he sat on the pile. He leaned forward, closing his eyes and stretching his back.

"Slacking off, I see?" Hawke said, forcing Anders' eyes to fly open in response.

"Never!" he stated emphatically. He stood up, smiling at her – a little unsure of why her hair was soaking wet. "Just taking a well deserved break."

She moved in front of him, clasping her hands with his. "I know," she said, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "You've been working very hard."

"Yes, and you were staring," he replied.

"I was doing no such thing," she said. "Staring…bah!"

"You were! I don't know how you can deny it. Still…it's no wonder. I don't blame you for watching. I know it's difficult to pull your eyes of a specimen such as myself," he joked.

She groaned. "You're lucky I'm so hopelessly in love with you, you silly arse!"

He pulled her close to him, resting his hands on her hips lightly. "But…you were staring."

"I'll never admit to it," she said defiantly. "In any case, I was off collecting some water from the stream that crosses the southeast of our property. I figured that you might be happy to have some."

She pulled the water skin from her hip and held it out for him. She hoped that it would change the subject from a battle she could not hope to win against him. She knew well that he had in fact caught her staring…quite luridly as well. She had glanced in his direction as she hefted some rocks from the pile to add to her wall, and nearly dropped them on her toes as she saw him swinging his axe down to split the wood in front of him. She could see the sweat glistening on his forehead, and a fire lit in her belly like the moment she first saw him – when he had healed the boy in his clinic in those first years in Kirkwall. It was a fire of instant attraction, and her mouth fell open a little – just shy of letting her tongue loll out of it. She had realized that she'd never seen him completing any tasks that required manual labour before, and she was shocked at just how much she…appreciated seeing him in that way. He was strong enough, considering how fit they had become from all the traveling and fighting they'd been involved with. And she never realized how sexy the mage could be completing such a menial chore as chopping wood.

Much of his hair was pulled back – now long enough to do so – save for several errant strands that she envisioned pushing back from his face. He was wearing a loose fitting pair of trousers and a tunic that he had torn the longer sleeves from – and there was just something about the way the sweat marked it that made him that much more alluring to her at that moment. She could picture herself peeling the layers off of his sweat-slicked body. She was so utterly entranced by the vision of him that she didn't realize he was looking right back at her as she gawked. It was only when he turned around, bending over to pick up some of the split wood, displaying in full view the backside that she rarely got to appreciate in such perfect form, when she realized that she had been acting like an overly passionate teenaged girl for the better part of this display. She shook her head, smiled to herself and headed down to the southern part of the property in search of the stream she knew she needed to dunk her head into to cool her thoughts.

He finished gulping back the water and noticed that her eyes were glazing over as she stood, deep in thought. "I hate to interrupt the delicious thoughts I'm sure you're having," he said, "but I'm a little curious about the…wet hair."

"Oh, uh…" she started. "I just…I needed to…it was hot."

He eyed her suspiciously. "You're a terrible liar."

"I'm not lying," she said. And she wasn't…but she also wasn't about to admit to what kind of heat she had attempted to refresh herself from.

"Right then," he said. "Keep it to yourself. I know the truth." He smirked at her and she turned to bring water to the others. While still in his reach, he smacked her bottom playfully and she flashed him a mischievous look before carrying on in the direction of the tents.

"You'll pay for those lies later you know," he called after her.

"I know!" she replied, without turning to look back. "I'm counting on it!"

He shook his head and chuckled as he pushed himself off of the wood pile. There was much more work to be done before the play he intended to partake of with her that evening. It was that thought that drove him to be more productive that afternoon than any day previous. He loved that woman to his core – couldn't wait until his hands were on her body. Until he could drink in her image, her sound and her smell. He couldn't wait.


As the days rolled by, the homestead grew up and out – the dwarves built tirelessly. They were dedicated to their craft, and the workmanship showed it. After all, these were the men and women hired to maintain the integrity of Vigil's Keep – if they couldn't build a simple home after looking after a fortress, then Nathaniel must have misjudged them. However, he did not, and Hawke and Anders were quite pleased with the progress.

About a week after they arrived, Carver and Merrill also reached the site, along with two more cartfuls of building supplies sent from the Keep. Anders continued to be amazed at Nathaniel's enthusiasm to help them, but he never suspected an ulterior motive. He was willing to accept that the man was simply happy to do so. Hawke agreed – there was no guise behind which an agenda was hidden. She saw it as his desire to see some good come to pass for the people of Ferelden, especially after the destruction caused by the blight.

Merrill was excited to see the progress that was being made on the homestead. She was more than a little happy to see her friends finally settling down after their lives on the run.

"This is so wonderful," she exclaimed. "You'll only be a few days' travel from the Keep. I have missed having both of you in my life. And, just between you and I, your brother has as well."

Hawke smiled at the elf. "I'm missed you both so much," she said. "Those four years…I just…. I feared for my life every day. But more than that, I feared I'd never see either of you again. And now, here we are…we all have our own lives to begin anew."

Merrill grabbed one of Hawke's hands between her own. "I'm so glad you came back to Ferelden. But I am having a difficult time imagining you just…settling down like this though."

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

Merrill shrugged. "After all of those escapades in Kirkwall? I always saw you for the adventurous type."

"Adventurous by necessity," she replied. "I'm not the warrior that I was forced to become back then. And I'm certainly no leader of a revolution by choice. Always by necessity. Besides…I think there will still be some exploits for us…" She trailed off, looking past Merrill into the distance.

"Ah," Merrill said, "you speak of Sebastian then."

Hawke nodded, still not meeting her eyes. "I'm afraid that we have not yet seen the last of our fair prince." The woman's face looked haunted, as if the past that she was afraid of coming back was about to bite her in the ass at that very moment. It was likely for good reason – the assault on Sebastian's forces that she and Anders led was brutal for the man's troops. They faced severe losses when the mages descended upon them, and Hawke suspected she'd have never heard from the Starkhaven prince again. Their time in Nevarra made her realize that she was wrong – and she knew that the only way he would stop was if she and Anders lay cold and dead.

"We will certainly keep our eyes and ears open at the Keep then," the elf said. "We have Wardens out on regular patrols all the time. We're bound to hear something before even the guards at Denerim, or the King's Army. Who, by the way, I've met! How exciting it was to meet him!"

"Yes, I recall when I met him back in Kirkwall," Hawke said, thinking back when King Alistair had attempted to reason with Meredith. But the woman would agree to nothing with him due to his attempts to give the Ferelden Circle its independence. She suspected that perhaps he might even be a possible ally in the future, and made a mental note to contact him in the future. If not for assistance, then to simply let him know that she and Anders were back in the country – for the good of the country. Not many would understand everything that the two mages had gone through, but she had a feeling if any one noble would, it would be the King.

"Hawke?" Merrill questioned, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"You're…quite distracted today. Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No Merrill," the woman replied. "You've just given me a lot to think on, I suppose." The fact was that Hawke was very concerned with what had happened in the Fade no more than a week previous. Her agreement with Justice had been plaguing her for some time. She knew that while Anders was busy helping with the work on the property, his mind wasn't actively considering where there might be injustices in the world to 'fix'. But what would happen when there weren't so many things to occupy his time? To fill up his thoughts? Would the spirit keep his word and not push Anders into a cause he didn't wish to take up the mantle for? Or would Anders stumble across some other new wrong to right? Her stomach twisted in knots when the thoughts crossed her mind. She would truly have to work hard to keep the mage happy…even-keeled.

The elf smiled at her friend widely. "Don't worry Hawke," she began. "We'll do everything we can to keep Anders the way he is right now. We all like him so much better this way. You know…without the mean old spirit showing up and ruining the party." It was as if she had read her friend's mind. She squeezed Hawke's hand and then ran off to join Carver as he toiled away at tilling soil. She stood on her tiptoes to whisper something into his ear. He looked at her, and then glanced over at his sister. She gave him a small smile, and he returned the same.

Despite the time apart, Carver could always tell when his sister was in need of something. And at that moment, he knew that she needed support. She needed to know that the decisions she had made to that point were the right ones…were the only ones that she could have made. He caught her eyes one more time and nodded to her. With that simple look, she knew he was there for her…for Anders. It was times like these where she regretted more than anything the foolishness of the rivalry they once had. They were the only family the other had – if one excluded Merrill and Anders, which neither ever did. Though slightly dysfunctional, they were certainly as close to a family as they could get. And that suited Hawke just fine.