I'm glad Isabela's introduction went over well!...Not that I wrote most of that dialogue...hmmm

Hawke groaned as he tried not to trip of the steps of the Viscount's Keep. The ambush near the foothills of Sundermount had taken a lot out of him-out of all of them-if Carver's panting and Varric's limp were any indication; not that Aveline showed any sign of slowing down. When that woman was on a mission…Maker… And now they were running back to the Keep to inform Aveline's Captain. Hawke stopped as they approached flight of stairs, trying to shake a wave of dizziness from his head. Carver paused besides him, giving him a concerned glare.

"That was a lot of bandits," Carver said mildly as Hawke pinched the bridge of his nose.

Hawke grunted. "A lot of bodies now," the elder muttered dryly. He inhaled deeply, collecting his thoughts, and slowly felt his mana replenishing as the headache and dizziness faded. He started up the stairs again and entered the guard barracks just in time to see Aveline enter the Captain's office.

Hawke approached the closed door and sank to the ground next to it. The voices in the office started low, barely whispers that Hawke couldn't make out, but soon one voice, the captains, rose until everyone in the barrack was staring at the door.

"I don't know how they do it where you're from guardswoman, but here, I decide the patrols, not you and your 'feelings'!" the captain voice drifted through the door, the disdain evident in his voice. "I don't need any self important show-off's under my command. Have I made myself clear?"

Hawke winced as he listened to the Captain's words. His jaw clenched as he bit back the urge to fire off a retort on the red head's behalf. Aveline was the furthest thing from a show off. Her intense dedication to her moral compass could make her seem self-righteous at times…a lot of times, but she'd kept that moral compass even when they were in servitude. It had kept both him and Carver in line, had helped keep them from embracing the villainous lifestyle they'd been thrust into. And no matter what they went through, she'd stuck by his side; even when it would have been easier for her to ignore or even turn in the apostate.

"Return to your post before I have you and your Fereldan accomplice jailed!" The captain added hotly. The door to the office burst open and Aveline walked out quickly, not looking at anyone as she strode towards her quarters.

Hawke followed after her, trying his hardest to hold back a sarcastic comment; he knew she wouldn't appreciate one, but damn, it was still hard.

Aveline stared out the windows of the barracks, her shoulders tight and her breathing deep. He gestured for Carver and Varric to stay back. Sometimes, when Aveline got like this, she wasn't the easiest person to deal with. And so far he was the only one who had proven able to take her anger. "That was a lot of yelling for doing your captain a favor," Hawke offered, trying to sound supportive.

Aveline stayed silent a long moment, her freckled face flush with indignation, "We killed a band of highwaymen. What does it matter whose patrol it was?" She bit her lip, "Something is very wrong Hawke," she added quietly.

"When is it not," he muttered lightly, flashing her a smile he hoped was comforting. She moved towards the duty roster and he followed silently.

Another guardswoman approached, thanking Aveline for taking the patrol; Aveline's action saved the woman's life in all likelihood. And it also only served to make the Captain sound more and more suspect of some sort of illegality. Absentmindedly, Hawke scratched his chin, surprised by the amount of stubble he felt beneath his fingers.

"So another guard is going to walk into the same trap," Hawke murmured.

Aveline nodded, her eyes scanning the duty roster, "Guardsman Donnic-good man," she murmured, "His patrol isn't for a few hours. We should reach him well before the trap is sprung," Aveline said firmly.

"Stepping on the toes of those in government? No, it never gets old," he said flippantly, nodding his head in support. Aveline smiled.

"Then we best start back towards Lowtown. We can get to Donnic before his patrol even starts."

Hightown:

Hawke followed Aveline down the steps of the Viscounts Keep; the red head was clearly on a mission.

"There you are!" A silky voice said suddenly.

Hawke paused and spun towards the voice. "Isabela," Hawke said lightly, a small feeling of panic in his chest as he felt Aveline's eyes staring holes into the back of his skull. Shit he was in trouble.

"I've been here for hours," Isabela continued, her eyes darting around nervously, "Hayder hasn't shown…no one has…I don't like this," she concluded, biting her lip.

Varric chuckled, "I don't like this? That's right up there with 'What could possibly go wrong?" the dwarf said in his usual charming way.

"Hawke, we need to go," Aveline said tersely. Hawke sighed and scratched the base of his neck before turning to Aveline.

He pulled her aside, "I promised Isabela I'd help her," Aveline's eyes narrowed and she started to protest, "We can still make Donnic's patrol. This shouldn't take long," he promised.

Aveline seethed, her lips pursed into a thin line, "Fine Hawke. But if anything happens to Donnic because we stopped to help this…this whore…it's on your head," she stormed away.

Hawke pushed his unruly hair from his eyes and rejoined the group. Isabela was biting back a small smile. She seemed amused by Aveline's blatant dislike of her.

Suddenly a group of raiders emerged from the shadows. As the first wave struck, Hawke began to realize just how long of a night he'd signed up for.

Later:

"Stab first and ask questions later?" Hawke grinned as he approached the former pirate captain who was standing over Hayder's dead corpse.

Isabela bit back a grin, ignoring the excited flutter she felt in her stomach as he approached; the adrenaline rush of a good battle always left her ready for a…duel…of another sort. "Trust me Hawke, it's better this way," she affirmed.

He raised an eyebrow in amusement, but the look didn't quite meet his eyes. He was skeptical of her, not that she blamed him. She hardly inspired confidence.

Hawke glanced back towards the dead body of Hayder and his men. He reached down slowly and wedged a knife out of one's chest. He spun it deftly between his fingers and handed her the hilt, "Don't forget this," he said dryly.

She grinned and took the knife silently. Glancing around at the utter devastation she realized she may have misjudged Hawke. She figured he was just a body to put between herself and Hayder; a man who would be good with his sword but not much else. Leaning down she wiped the bloodied knife off on Hayder's shirt.

"So, you're a mage hmm?" she asked innocently, watching the way his eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly, before his typical grin bounced back onto his face.

"I believe the proper term is apostate actually," he asked lightly. "Is that a problem?"

She shook her head, "Not at all," in fact that knowledge was quite the opposite. It meant his red headed guard friend would be in no hurry to explain what had happened here to any of her superiors; the nights excursions would remain relatively unnoticed. And that was a very very good thing. "You handle your…staff…extremely well," she added quietly, knowing he would catch her drift.

He did, and the corner of his lip twitched. "What was Hayder talking about? A Relic?" Hawke asked, ignoring his impulse to respond to her flirtation.

Isabela sighed, mildly irritated she hadn't been able to divert his attention, "Castillion has me tracking it down as payment for freeing 'his' would-be slaves," she grit her teeth, still furious that she'd almost remained ignorant to her part in his human trafficking; the bastard. "Freeing them seemed like such a good idea at the time," she mused. "But to pay him back, or rather, so he doesn't kill me, I have to get him this relic; simple as that," she shrugged indifferently. Hawke really didn't need to know the details, they weren't that important…

"Relics. I've always hated history," Hawke sighed, running his hand through his hair in what Isabela could already tell was a self conscious gesture, "What's so interesting about this relic?"

"I….don't really know," she fibbed, "It's ancient and…valuable I suppose." He looked ready to question her again, "I really hope it's shiny," she added. He stared at her for a moment, and Isabela got the uncomfortable feeling that he still didn't fully believe her. She tried again, "I think he just wants me dead," she admitted, allowing her voice to tremble slightly, "but that would be letting me off easy," she finished, offering a hollow chuckle.

His hand went through his hair again and his eyes darted back to the impatient looking red head who was standing with her arms crossed, glaring at the both of them furiously. "If getting the relic gets Castillion off your back, I'll help you retrieve it," he offered, watching her expression closely.

Shocked, Isabela felt her eyebrows shoot up. She hadn't expected that. Not at all. She sighed. He was expecting sex wasn't he? And lots of it probably; until they found the relic. Well, he had certainly proven himself to be more than useful…and he could handle himself in a fight. Her eyes drifted across his body quickly; she could probably work with that. His muscles flexed again as his hand again went towards his hair and she felt a shiver run down her spine; yes, she could…suffer…through that. A smile stretched across her face; this arrangement had turned into more of a win/win then she'd anticipated.

"I still don't know where it is," she admitted, "But you'll be the first to know if I hear anything," she added, giving him a small nod of thanks. She chuckled wryly, "So I guess I'll be around for a while and…" she leaned in closer, "I have a room at the Hanged Man if you're looking for…company…later," she added with a smirk, letting her hands trail down his bare chiseled arms.

He raised an eyebrow and returned her grin.

"Yes, you're a whore, we get it. Hawke, can we go now?" the red-head chimed in dryly.

Isabela bit back another grin as she watched Hawke's cheeks turn red; he was positively adorable.

"Yes Aveline, we'll go to Lowtown right now," he promised, turning from the pirate quickly. He offered her one last grin and a wave as he followed the red head out towards whatever they so urgently had to get to Lowtown for.

Isabela bit her lip as she watched the group fly down the Chantry steps. Hawke obviously wasn't fucking the red head….so why was he so eager to help her? She spun the knife in her fingers delicately as she pondered the members of the group. She recognized Varric; he lived a few doors down from her at the Hanged Man and was funding an expedition to the Deep Roads…but clearly the guardswoman wouldn't be a part of that? What an odd rag tag bunch they made.

Isabela sighed irritably. She was giving them-Hawke-way too much thought. More than he deserved. She smiled happily; with Hayder out of the way, she could go enjoy a nice evening at the Hanged Man and wait for Hawke to show up. After ten minutes and a few body shots with him, she'd know everything there was to know about the young mage. Men were so predictable. She chuckled.

Lowtown:

"If we miss Donnic because of that whore-" Aveline was still brooding. She increased her pace and Hawke glanced over his shoulder, flashing Varric an apologetic smile as the short man's legs just weren't able to keep up with Aveline's ridiculous pace. Varric grinned broadly, rolling his eyes at Aveline and her inuman stamina. Even Carver was starting to fall behind the furious red head; though that was probably because Carver knew to stay clear of her when she went into mission mode.

"They would have killed her Aveline, as a guard you help out everyone don't you?" he challenged, keeping his voice light.

She glared at him, "I'd rather keep Donnic alive than some whore you met at the Hanged Man," she muttered half-heartedly.

"She's not a-"

"I don't care," Aveline interupted heatedly.

Hawke chuckled in between pants; Aveline wanted to help everyone, it was just in her nature-often times she wanted to help regardless of whether a person actually wanted her help. She was understandably worried about her fellow guards, but she never would have turned her back on Isabela…once she saw that the woman really did need aid.

"There, up ahead," she said suddenly, pulling her sword and shield from her back as she charged down an alley. Hawke swore softly as the lone guard in the ally fell to the ground. He inhaled deeply, pulling forth the mana for a fireball and charged into the fray after Aveline.

Later: The Hovel:

Fighting exhaustion, Hawke stumbled into the Hovel. Carver and Varric had returned home while he and Aveline had headed back to Hightown, with a barely injured Donnic in tow, to sort out the messy web of corruption the Guard Captain had been embroiled in. Well…former Guard Captain now. He had no doubt the new Guard Captain would be immune to corruption. Hawke grinned; Guard-Captain Aveline, it had a nice ring to it.

Absolutely exhausted he stumbled against the door frame and groaned when he realized the sun was already beginning to light up the morning sky. Any thoughts of taking Isabela up on her offer for company had vanished from his head hours ago.

Hawke shivered and rubbed his hands together. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself. Every cell, every nerve of his body felt drained. He'd been fighting for hours, first at Sundermount, than with Hayder's men, then in Lowtown. Feeling his legs start to give way he sank to his knees next to his chest and fished his hand inside it. His hand brushed against a small rounded object and he frowned as he pulled it out. A shaft of light illuminate the trinket and Hawke felt the remaining blood drain from his face. He still hadn't delivered Flemeth's amulet, shit. He willed the shaking in his hand to stop and he deposited the trinket into his pocket; getting rid of his debt to the dragon-witch lady needed to be moved to the top of his priority list. He rummaged through the crate again, finally finding was he was looking for at the very bottom. His expression turned grim. This was the last of his lyrium. His hand continued to tremble as he pushed the vial to his lips.

He breathed heavily as he waited for the painful head rush to pass. His hands stopped shaking instantly, and he felt the hum of magic all around him. Sighing in relief, he rose steadily to his feet. He pulled his coin purse from his belt and swore softly. He didn't have enough money to pay Tomwise for another supply. Hawke licked his lip nervously and ran his hand through his hair. He was in deep trouble.

...Yes? Decent...? I question...

...After writing just two chapters of Isabela I question how she and Hawke managed to avoid sleeping together for years. I guess that means there might be some angst at some point lol

I'm trying hard to cut out chunks of the game dialogue, as much of it as I can while still 'hitting' the game plot points (so people know whats going on). Feedback on how that is working out over the next few chapters would be much appriciated. ...Well, all feedback's greatly appriciated.

Enjoy and Review!