A/N: I couldn't help myself last chapter! I love Hawke's cute side. It's one of my head cannons. So, like I promised, I'm letting you guys know that my new DA fanfic is up. I't called Dragon Age High School. Not for those who like 'serious' stuff. Just sayin. Enjoy the chapter~
Mina woke up that night, more comfortable than she'd been in ages. More rested, but she'd only been asleep for a few hours. She stretched and looked over at the sleeping man beside her. His face was peaceful and he was snoring barely. It was adorable. She smiled to herself and tried to slip out of bed without waking him up. But, of course, she failed. She felt his arm around her waist before her feet hit the floor.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked. His sleepy voice was slightly deeper than his regular voice and it made Mina's stomach flutter. She shoved it down and told herself that it wasn't right when she'd just lost Anders.
"I got an assignment from Varric earlier today." she said honestly. She didn't want to leave just yet or tell anyone because she knew they'd all worry. She was going to check up on one of Varric's leads about mages stirring up trouble. Apparently they'd been threatening a Dalish clan for some reason. Hawke frowned and pulled her back into his arms, much to her delight.
"Do you have to go right now?" he pouted, "Can't you stay for just a little longer?"
She hesitated a moment, but ended up giving in, "I suppose there's no harm and leaving a little later."
He grinned and kissed her nose. Her heart pounded in her chest. It wasn't like he'd kissed her lips, but they slept in the same bed- only them- and they'd been cuddling. She denied that she wanted it, especially as bad as she did. She swore to herself that she'd loved Anders, but she knew in her heart she was wrong. She was far from loving Garrett, but she refused to admit that she still had strong feelings for him.
"Stop that!" she said with a blush as he kissed her face over and over. This time he saw her blush and laughed at her. He pushed her bangs out of her eyes and stared at her, smiling. Her breath caught in her throat at the look in his eyes. It was as if he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world and that she was all that mattered in that moment. She was suddenly bashful and buried her face in his still bare chest. He let her and began running his fingers through her hair and humming. She liked the tune. It was dark sounding but grew hopeful, and his voice complemented it nicely. She didn't know he had such a nice voice.
'He should sing or hum more,' she thought absently. Her mind was distracted by his voice, and she didn't realize it until he paused. She also realized that she'd been pressing light kisses against his chest. She screamed at him in her mind, pleading that he didn't notice.
"Mina... are you kissing my chest?" He seemed surprised, but pleased.
'Maker's hairy fucking balls!' she cursed in her head.
"O-of course not!" she tried to play it off. He tilted her head up by her chin so she was looking at him. He didn't buy it; not one bit. Her face was aflame from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears.
"You're a bad liar. I could feel it. Why'd you stop?" His gaze was almost too much for her. She felt like she was going to melt from how embarrassed she was at that moment.
Her mouth betrayed her. "Because I didn't want you to know..." she muttered sourly.
His eyes filled with wonder and his face contorted with confusion. She wished she was anywhere in the world but there at that moment.
"Garrett, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" she began, trying to wash away the awkwardness she felt.
He crushed his lips against her's and held her tightly in his arms. She was surprised at first, but her surprise quickly dissipated and longling drowned it out. She kissed him back, feeling all of her loneliness and her doubt fall away. She felt her body press up against his, and him welcoming her by sitting up and pulling her into his lap. She found she loved how his beard tickled her cheeks, she loved how soft his lips were, and she loved how rough his hands felt against her back. She hadn't even noticed that he'd slid his hands under her shirt. She didn't really mind as long as they stayed on her back.
She pulled away to take a breath and look at his handsome face. She grinned sheepishly at him and started to turn away. He didn't like that. He kissed her and pushed her backwards onto the bed, holding her hands above her head. His fingers twined themselves with hers. She couldn't help herself and wrapped her legs around his waist. It was a perfect moment, exchanging kisses and laughing at each other. And then they heard someone clearing their throat.
They both jumped and untangled from each other, but it was too late. Anders stood in Mina's doorway along with Varric. The look of anguish on the mage's face pissed Mina off. She didn't even care about the evil grin on Varric's face. She crossed her arms and glared at the man who'd left her.
"You know, this is my room. It'd be nice if someone knocked every once in a while," she said to both of them.
Anders looked down. 'At least he has the decency to feel ashamed. Arsehole.' But her thought came too soon.
"I came to check on you, but it seems you've found yourself better company," he snapped.
She snarled and flung herself at him. He had no right to say that! He was the one that had broken it off with her! He hurt her and had no right to be hurt. Maybe she shouldn't have kissed Garrett so soon afterwards, but she didn't give a shit. Her short temper got the best of her. She punched Anders in the chest and smacked him.
She didn't expect him to retaliate...
Mina felt cold wash through her body in an instant. It was hard to breathe; it was impossible to move. The look on his face was horrified. She looked down to her stomach to see a huge shard of ice sticking out of her.
And then she was falling. Garrett was shouting as was Varric, but she couldn't hear them. She was cold again. It felt like when she should've died.
"Anders..." she whispered, "I-I'm sorry." His face was close to hers and he was crying. She felt bad about hitting him. It was her fault he was sad. She may have been mad at him for dumping her, but she didn't want him to cry. She smiled at him to try to reassure him, then everything was black.
Her wolf was in front of her again. He was laying next to a river surrounded by a thick fog. Mina recognized it as the same place she'd seen when she'd touched the mirror. She smiled at the wolf and walked towards it, feeling no malice from it. It simply raised its head and sniffed her direction. She held out her hand to it, making sure it knew she meant no harm. She could swear she could see it smirking at her.
She knew it had to be the Dread Wolf she'd heard about from Merrill and her Marethari. And yet, she didn't feel that he was a danger to her. He didn't seem to be trying to seduce her or trick her. Maybe they'd been wrong.
"You're the Dread Wolf, Fen'Harel," she said boldly to the enormous beast. It looked at her, its six eyes unblinking. She didn't expect him to respond.
"Indeed I am. You share the blood of my people, Da'assan. You are brave to seek me out time and again," he said softly. His voice was like two people whispering together.
She furrowed her brows. How'd he know to call her Da'assan like Fenris did? What's more, she hadn't tried to find him at all. He'd just appeared in her dreams. And she had no idea what he meant about her being brave. He wasn't scary. It was as if he'd read her mind.
He laughed, "I can see a few of your memories. You are comfortable with being called Da'assan. And, I know you did not intend to come find me consciously, but your inner mind is curious about me. Ma emma harel."
He spoke in perfect Elven, but she still understood him. 'You should fear me' he'd said. She snorted at his comment and started petting his head in defiance.
"I will not fear you. You are not that scary. If you can read my memories, you can see that I'm not from this world. And, I'm not one of your people. I have nothing to fear from you, trickster," she sassed back at him.
That drew deep laughter from him. He flicked his tail gently at her and shook his head.
"There is something of me in your spirit, Da'assan. I am not a trickster, I am the God of Rebellion more than anything, and you are rebellious. History is not always right. But, I shall not tell you how," he paused and looked at Mina a long moment, "You are indeed of my kin's blood. You just do not know it yet. I feel you will find it soon."
A raven cawed from a tree Mina hadn't noticed was there. She looked at it with suspicion. There were no creatures there last time besides Fen'Harel and... and that man. The wolf growled softly at the raven. Mina looked closer at it and saw that it was not black, but white. It was crawling with shadows like Fen'Harel had been when she saw him approach her the first time. She took a step towards it, but Fen'Harel's growl intensified.
"No! Do not get near him, Da'assan. Dirthamen is not welcome here and he would do you more harm than I," he snapped.
"Gelsomina, wake up, child. You need to wake up now. Falon'Din comes for you if you do not wake up," the Raven's deep calm voice cawed at her.
Mina took a step back and reached for her bow, which was not there. Fen'Harel stopped snarling and tilted his head with curiosity. Mina didn't like the stupid bird. He felt wrong. Like he was keeping ominous secrets from the world. It was as if one whisper from him could destroy the world.
"He is right. I can feel the spirit of Falon'Din gathering strength. You need to get out of here, Da'assan," the wolf conceded.
Mina looked at them both, almost panicking, "I didn't even know I was dreaming! How am I supposed to get out?!"
Fen'Harel put his forehead against hers, "Where did you think you were? This is the Fade. You can shape your dreams. Think of a door. That would be the easiest way for you, I think."
She did as he said and, sure enough the door to her room appeared before her eyes. She looked back at the raven, intently watching her. He did help her, but she still didn't like how weird he felt.
"Thank you, Fen'Harel. I will see you again, I'm sure. And... thank you Dirthamen. I know Falon'Din is your brother," she said quietly. The raven fluffed his feathers and flew off. The wolf-god bowed his head to her.
"I am sure I will see you again. Guard your mind, Da'assan."
Mina woke up to searing pain. Immediately she began to scream. She had to quit doing this! It was the second time magic had hurt her. She was beginning to hate it. She gritted her teeth and fought against whoever was holding her down. She swore if it was Anders, she was going to kill him! She stopped screaming and fought to control her breathing. The white spots in her vision cleared and she saw Garrett above her, holding her arms. She looked down at her abdomen to see a white haired Elf pouring some liquid over the disgusting hole in her stomach. It was just below her breasts and right above her belly button. It wasn't as big as she'd thought it would be, but she should've been dead for a second time. Or maybe a third.
The more pressing question was, who was this Elf? She'd never seen him among Merrill's clan. She filed the thought away and drug her eyes back to Garrett's face. She was fighting the pain with every breath and seeing him took the edge off of it. She wouldn't let herself pass out from pain again.
"Mina," Hawke breathed, "Please, stop struggling. He's stitched you up mostly, and now he's pouring a healing poultice on the wound."
She grimaced as another wave of pain hit her. "GARRETT!" she screamed as she kicked, "MAKE IT STOP!"
She felt two more pairs of hands holding down her legs. She looked to see Isabela holding her left leg and Varric holding her right leg. The stranger looked at her then, a mix of sadness and frustration in his eyes.
"Please, try not to squirm. I need to get this closed or you'll bleed to death," he said calmly.
She took a deep shuddering breath. She swore he sounded just like the raven in her dream. Maybe she'd heard his voice and substituted it in because she had started to come to. What was more shocking was that his eyes were an eerie red-brown. Just like hers. Maybe it was common where she was, but she'd never seen anyone in Kirkwall or in the Sabrae clan with her same eyes.
"W-what's your name?" she asked him as he pulled another bottle out and uncorked it. He didn't look up at her or stop working. For a moment, Mina didn't think he was going to answer.
"I am called Thalion. I am of Clan Lavellan, as are you," he said casually.
Mina was going to question him further, but another wave of pain rode through her body and she screamed again. She let loose a string of mixed Tevinter and Elvish curses she'd picked up and tensed up.
Mina groaned as she saw Thalion reach for what she assumed was another bottle, but instead he produced a roll of cotton cloth and began to wrap her torso with help from Hawke, Isabela, and Varric. Mina ground her teeth together as they lifted her up. It hurt to move, it hurt to breath, and it hurt even more when they sat her down once more. She looked around her room and didn't see Anders anywhere. The bastard must've ran off. She scowled at nothing in particular.
"Anders ran off. He couldn't stand to see what he'd done to you," Varric said hollowly. He knew she was looking around for him. She was sorry that she made him cry, but now that she was fully aware, she was pissed at him even more. He'd lost control of Justice like he promised he'd never do around her. Bitterly she thought about the promise he'd made to her about never letting her go. He'd broken that one as well.
"Thanks guys. I'm glad you're all here," she said to her friends with a weak smile, "By the way... where's everyone else?"
Isabela sighed, "Fenris is helping Ceras with something to do with slavers. Personally, I think they snuck off to fu-"
"Isabela," Hawke snapped.
"Fine, sorry. Merrill is sitting in Varric's room. She got queasy when she saw you."
Thalion laughed humorlessly, "She would've gotten in the way anyways."
Mina frowned and turned to the man, "Don't insult my friend like that. You don't even know her."
He bowed his head and stood up, looking around uncomfortably. Mina leaned back on her pillows, watching him.
"Izzy, Varric, would you two mind going to see Merrill, I want to talk to Thalion," she asked tiredly. She'd had a full night's sleep and because of this she was drained. Stupid magic.
Hawke raised his eyebrows and knelt down beside her, "You want me to stay?" She nodded and watched her other two friends leave. She felt safer with Garrett, and now Thalion was less likely to get stabbed or shot if he said something.
"First thing's first, how did you know I needed help?" she asked.
Hesat down in a chair a few feet from her bed, "Your Dwarf sent for me. I was to be your guide to Ostwick and on to my clan."
Mina nodded and proceeded with her questioning, "Ok, makes sense. He told me about the mages bothering your clan. Earlier you said that I was part of your clan. What did you mean?"
Thalion's brows knitted together as he thought about what to say. Mina was too tired to demand an answer. Sensing her frustration, Hawke started to rub her arm to sooth her. He kissed her head and remained silent.
Thalion shot a glare at Hawke when he kissed Mina, but he didn't say anything. Mina sighed and asked again, "How am I part of your clan? I'm not even from here. I've never been to Ostwick! Or wherever your clan roams."
Hawke looked at her curiously but she ignored him. Finally Thalion answered her.
"I know you are part of my clan. I know you. I haven't seen you since you were born, but a father knows his daughter. And I have been looking for you, your sister, and your mother."