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Magical Blunder

Chapter Thirteen: Cursed

Fenris was known for keeping a rather calm and collected demeanor, save for when his temper got the better of him. This, however, was completely foreign to him. Maker help him, but he was panicking – or sure as hell felt like he was. Hawke had collapsed, turning into a woman moments later, and, despite the elf's best attempts, he was unable to bring the mage to wake. What in the Maker's name had happened? Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, despite how ragged Hawke had run himself. Surely he hadn't been…aroused during their argument, had he?

Safe to say – he was panicking.

As much as he detested the idea of seeking out Anders, there didn't appear to be any another options. Fenris hissed a Tevinter curse and leaned down, once more over Hawke's prone, and rather pale, female form. Suddenly the house clothes Hawke had been wearing were heavy and loose, leaving the female body almost inadequately covered. Fenris knelt and slid his arms beneath his friend, lifting her and holding her to him as he turned and essentially bolted for the door; ignoring Bodahn's outraged and worried shouts, as well as Knight's suddenly agitated barking, he hurried his way to the basement where he knew the tunnels led to Anders' clinic(not something he was entirely fond of).

His steps were fast and light, his form efficiently swift as he made his way through the tunnels. As much as he hated this, he wanted to make sure Hawke was okay. They may have not been on the best of terms, but he was still…well, Fenris wasn't sure exactly what Hawke was; they'd conflicted more often than not, but they'd shared something Fenris had to acknowledge. It wasn't something that wasn't just going to go away, whether he wanted to forget it…or not. Before he was even completely aware of it, he was at Anders' door and pounding on it with his fist. His lyrium markings hummed with his agitation and his anger, the only emotions he could allow himself to feel. Anything else was unacceptable.

There was a crash from inside the clinic and a muffled curse. "Would you please cease that unnecessarily loud racket? I'm coming, I'm coming."

"Move faster you bloody mage, I'm not the patient type," Fenris hissed out, not wanting to cease the pounding he knew was annoying the mage, but did as he'd said. This once.

"Maker! Should have known it would be you," Anders groused as he unlatched the lock, swinging the door open only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw the lightly luminescent elf standing before him with an unconscious Hawke in his arms.

"Something got the poor mage in a sour mood?" Fenris scowled.

"Never mind that!" Anders snapped out, suddenly more irritated; of course Fenris would focus on his mood rather than the matter at hand. "What in the Maker has happened to Hawke? Why is he a woman again?"

Fenris growled and shoved his way past Anders, not even trying to be gentle about it. The mage had to bite back a curse, steeling himself as he shut the door and turned, making his way toward Fenris as he laid out Hawke on one of Anders' cots that he used when attending to the wounded. It was much too dark to see much else other than the elf and his illuminating brands. Anders' hands warmed as he concentrated his mana there, building it, letting fire suddenly illuminate within his palms. Ignoring Fenris' annoyed snort, the mage let the fire blast from his hands onto the wicks of the candles he had set around the main area of healing. Soon enough he could see the elf and his friend without having to squint. He made his way over and stayed opposite of Fenris, kneeling down to assess the situation and Hawke's state of health.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Fenris snapped back, his brands flaring a bit as his agitation increased…as if often did in the presence of this damned mage.

"Tell me what happened."

Oh. Well, now he felt like a perfect ass. Not that he'd let the mage know that. His markings died down and he folded his arms across his chest. "I got tired of waiting for Hawke to show himself. I went to speak with him. We hadn't spoke since…our brawl in the courtyard." He narrowed his moss hued eyes at Anders' snort. He let it slide – this time. "We were talking; about this, the curse. He was trying to find a way to break it, trying to figure out what he could do about it. I think Hawke was feeling…helpless, something I have never seen in him. The study was torn apart, every book he read piled high. His appearance was a little run down…I would be surprised if he had allowed himself to eat."

Anders listened, intently, but he didn't let on how intently. Hawke meant a lot to him, a great more to him than what he meant to the elf; by the Maker, he wanted to be the one who talked with Hawke, the one Hawke confided in. What in the Maker had the elf done to deserve Hawke's interest? To the Void, Anders was sure he'd never figure it out. "How did this happen?" he waved a hand at Hawke emphatically.

"I don't know."

Anders jolted to his feet and scowled, one so fierce it could rival broody, or so Varric would no doubt claim had the dwarf been standing in the clinic with the two of them. "You don't know?" He exclaimed, his own skin gleaming slightly as Justice's influence grew with his own irritation.

"I said – I. Don't. Know." Fenris snarled, keeping his arms folded tightly over his chest as he pushed down his irritation. "Now call off your dog, abomination, and I might finish."

"Takes a a dog to know a dog," Anders mumbled, but let Justice recede, kneeling once more at Hawke's side, placing a hand gingerly on her arm, ignoring Fenris' glare.

"Fair enough." Fenris rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "Hawke had his back to me, leaning on his desk. Suddenly, he told me to go get you. I tried to object, but he only repeated himself before…well, this happened. He passed out. Fell onto the ground. That red light came from his chest, wrapped around him, and changed him into a woman. I was unable to wake him."

Anders lifted his suddenly sober, amber gaze from Hawke's sleeping face to Fenris'. "This didn't occur because of…the normal means?"

"Not that I am aware of."

"That is not good," the mage sighed, recalling the conversation that Justice had with Hawke the night Fenris and Anders had beaten the shit out of each other. Torpor had cursed Hawke with the hopes that, while in female form, he would conceive so the sloth demon could be reborn through the fetus into the living realm. Anders only prayed that this wasn't a sign that he'd succeeded.

"What aren't you telling me?" Fenris narrowed his eyes at the mage, feeling the change in the air around him.

"Nothing," Anders mumbled somewhat distractedly. "I need to examine Hawke. Move to the other side of the room, or turn your back."

"What for?" Fenris sounded almost insulted, but he quickly stopped himself from responding in his agitation when he saw the look in Anders' amber eyes. There was suddenly something…off about the mage. He knew something, but whether or not he chose to tell the elf was another matter entirely. Fenris cursed under his breath and turned, stalking over to the pillar and leaning his shoulder against it.

Anders lowered his eyes back to Hawke and placed both his hands on her abdomen. He focused his mana in his palms and sent his healing energy into Hawke's female body, sending it to the one place he needed to check; her womb. He could feel it there. The faint flicker of subtle changes. The egg attached to the wall of the uterus. Growing. Splitting. Dividing. His energy came back into it so quickly that it made his head reel. Anders fell back onto his ass, the shock making it hard for him to think, much less speak words when Fenris turned and headed back toward him. The elf was speaking, but Anders' heart was pounding do loud in his ears that he couldn't hear him.

"Fenris…just shut up, in the name of the Maker, before I cast you to the Void…just shut up." His words were likely harsher than he intended them to be, but surprisingly the elf didn't argue. The mage tried gather his wits. Hawke's female form was pregnant. And, around that tiny life growing from that egg, was that horrible red aura. "Fenris…this is bad, really, really bad." Anders finally said on a rushed breath, pushing himself to his feet rather unsteadily. Justice was suddenly roaring inside his head, demanding to be released to put a stop to the abomination growing within Hawke's belly.

"What? What is really bad?"

"Hawke's pregnant."

Fenris visibly and physically recoiled. "That…that's impossible…"

"You had sex with Hawke in his female form." It wasn't even a question. Just a statement.

"What—how do you—that's none of your damned business, abomination!" Fenris snapped out, his markings suddenly flaring bright enough to make Anders have to look away.

"He told me."

The elf's fist found the pillar, his form snapping around so quickly, Anders' didn't catch it. The cement cracked, and Fenris stood there, his body heaving as he tried to calm himself. What the mage wouldn't give to know what was going through the elf's head. Time seemed to freeze. Fenris could have stood there for what felt like hours, when in reality, were nothing more than a few short minutes. "How…?" He finally groaned the word, keeping his back to Anders, no doubt to keep the mage from seeing what emotions he couldn't keep from his face.

"Justice…Justice figured out the purpose behind the hex. Only women can bear children. The sloth demon cursed Hawke to turn into a woman in the hopes he'd conceive, so he could be reborn inside the child outside the Fade." Anders wasn't certain it was best to tell Fenris, but he was having a hard time concentrating, his head feeling like it was going to split from Justice's insistence that he be let out to deal with this problem.

Fenris snapped around nearly as fast as he had turned away. "A DEMON! The child is a DEMON?" He nearly roared, taking a step toward Hawke, but forcing himself to stop. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, his body shaking. "An abomination?"

"Calm…calm down, Fenris…" Anders rubbed his temples. "There has to be a way to fix this…"

"We cannot allow a demon free from the Fade!" He snapped, not listening and in fact, staying as far from calm as possible. This was not something to stay 'calm' about.

"A child is a child, Fenris. It is not an abomination! At most, I would think this just means the child will have much more potential magical inclination…in hopes that it could be lured in by a demon, more accurately, Torpor's remaining spirit." He was trying to figure this out, even as he spoke; he had no idea what he was talking about. His biggest concern at the moment was to placate not only the elf, but the damned spirit pounding at his thoughts.

"Child…? What…what child?" The voice was small and timid, and instantly, both Anders and Fenris calmed, their bodies adjusting so that their eyes could peer down at the wide eyes staring up at them. Hawke was awake, and had apparently heard every word. The look on her face could have mirrored Anders' after he'd examined her. "I'm pregnant…? Well, fuck. Now what…"

A/N: TIM apparently can read me like a book. Heh. Thoughts, reviews – any and all are appreciated!