-Amare-
It was beautiful. An entire club of drunken, hormone riddled humans, all pumped up on music and alcohol and, for some, various drugs.
It was almost hilarious how easily I could wrap them around my mental fingers, grabbing hold of their minds laughably easily and pulling them closer.
I felt alive, in the throng of dancers. I felt alive in the way their bodies felt against mine as we all bounced to the music. I felt alive in the way their warm tongues wrapped around mine when I kissed them. I felt alive in the way my body felt warm and fuzzy from the alcohol. I felt alive-
The woman kissing my neck was ripped away from me. She whipped around, anger clear across her face as the beginning of a yell formed in the way of her opening mouth, but the elf she faced had the expression of a killer, and she quickly blanched and cleared the area.
The elf moved forward, shoving and pushing, quickly clearing some breathing room. He turned dark eyes on me afterwards, while the ones who'd been grinding around me continued dancing while keeping a wary eye on the one person radiating danger.
I wasn't afraid. It kind of even turned me on, in a way. I've come across many dreams and dreamers, and some of the more naive dreamers relish in the idea of someone who wouldn't want to share.
I was not naive, and knew from the nightmares of some dreamers that possesive significant others were rarely, if ever, something one would want in a partner if they're too possesive; but there is none who could keep me from leaving when I've had my fill, and since Assan has never desired to leave the relationship he has with the other elf, I felt it safe to say Zevran was not the overbearing type.
"Come to join the party?" I purred and grabbed his biceps, happy to explore his solid biceps with my new hands and relishing in the beating of my new heart in my ears and the way the music seemed to resonate in my chest. My living, breathing chest.
Zevran tilted his head down, tipping my head up to him with a single finger below my chin, and kissed me. I kissed back, heartbeat quickening as I strained to deepen it. I had thought I had felt alive before, but this!
He was obviously more experienced than the clubbers around us, and when he broke away, he ducked his head over and grabbed the tip of my sensitive ear in his teeth and flicked his tongue across it ; I gladly voiced my appreciation with a hearty moan.
Zevran broke away almost immediately, gaze burning into my own as if he was looking into and through me. I pouted, confused as to why he looked so sad.
It happened so quickly and with so little warning that I didn't even realize it had happened. I'd heard the crack, sure, and felt my face explode in pain as people screamed around us, and yet somehow it didn't register. I stared at Zevran, honestly and truly shocked as I lifted my hands and tried to stop the blood now gushing from my nose. It was broken, that was for sure, but not enough for a good dose of healing magic to have issue with fixing it without leaving a scar.
He didn't give me time to catch up with the situation; Zevran slammed me against the wall, pinning me with his larger body. I spat out a curse, understanding that the ruse was up, and bared my host's teeth at the elf.
"Leave him, demon," the elf growled, baring his teeth right back.
"I'll leave a corpse," I growled, "get off of me."
"He's still alive," he argued, "I know he is. Leave him. Now."
"This is MY life, now!" I snarled, throwing myself against his grip. Somehow, he kept his footing and kept me pinned. I relaxed, ceasing my struggle, and gave him the sweetest smile I could muster despite the blood dripping down my face and soaking us both red, "what gave me away?"
"Many things," Zevran answered, "Assan is my best friend as well as my lover. I know him better than anyone: he's proud of his heritage, never goes anywhere without Barkspawn, is only attracted to guys, and hell, I could go on all fucking day. You weren't even trying to blend in."
"Barkspawn," I grinned, "is that one of the stupid mutts I skinned and left to dry? He'll make a nice coat."
His face twisted in fury, but the others had caught up by now.
"Guys!" I gave them a wide eyes look of fear, "I-I don't know what's wrong! I was just having fun and then-then-"
"Don't listen to it," Zevran snarled, "Assan got possessed during the battle with the demons."
They all stiffened, looking at me with wary glares. Shit.
Well, you know what they say. If you're losing the game, it's time to mix it up.
I grabbed hold of my vessel's form and twisted it. Zevran's breath hitched as I smiled sweetly up at him.
"Like what you see?" I giggled.
"Change back," he growled, "change him back, now!"
"Change her back, you mean?"my grin grew, and I pressed against his hold, my voice practically a purr, "are you sure? The change didn't come with a bra. Are they not big enough? This is how you've always imagined them."
"Change! Him! Back!"
"I can see your deepest, darkest desires, naughty boy," I batted my eyes at him, "how, sometimes, you let the thought of what if cross your mind, late in the night or deep in the throes of passion. What if Assan was female? Females are what you prefer, aren't they? This is how you always pictured him as a her, isn't it? I know. I know you! Just as much as I knew his desires!"
His breathing was coming quicker, and I could feel his entire body trembling against me. His eyes glistened with tears he dared not let fall. Was I getting to him? Mmmm, I was. His barriers were faltering in his shame, in his utter refusal to accept the truth of his desires. How easy to just reach into his mind and-
-Hawke-
"It's not going to be out for long," I warned, slumping against the wall. I hadn't expected it to be that hard to do, but knocking it out with such a strong burst of spirit magic had surprisingly taken a lot from me.
"What did you do?" Zevran glared at me, clutching Assan's limp body in his arms, "what did you do!?"
"Just knocked it out," I assured him as Fenris helped me up, "we'll get it in a cell back at Torchwood and figure out what to do from there."
"Don't call him an it," Zevran's entire body seemed to droop as he cradled the limp form in his arms, "Assan's still in there."
"I'll take her…uh, him," Warden Zevran stepped forward; Zev didn't fight, just sunk to his knees as Assan was taken from him. Warden Zevran stared at his counterpart, frowning, but for once was uncharacteristically silent as he turned and started for the door. Fenris and I shared a look before I patted his shoulder and pushed away. Satisfied that I could stand on my own, Fenris followed the Warden out.
If the demon woke up before they could get it in a cell…
Well, we both knew what had to be done.
"I'll give them all the mind wiper thingy," Bannon huffed, sparing a glance as his fellow Warden left before nodding towards Zev, who hadn't moved from where he'd sunk to the floor, "can't let word of this getting out. Care to zap their phones?"
"Back to business, I suppose," I said, turning to look towards the crowd, "spike the drinks. Nobody leaves remembering this. I'll… I'll take care of the tech."
Tech. What an odd word. It still felt foreign on my tongue.
I stalled for a few moments, letting my magic replenish a little before I sent out a small burst of magic to get a sense of the room. Bannon was shouting something about free rounds, and while everyone was distracted I let my fingers spark. I drew what I needed from the air and kept going, sucking every ounce of electricity out of the room to power it. I waited until Bannon had made sure to get any who hadn't gone for the free drinks, and once he gave me the all clear I emptied the bolt into the wall.
The music, which had just been turned back on a little bit ago now that things had settled, sputtered out almost instantly. A collective groan filled the club as the music stopped and the lights flickered off.
"Come on," I reached down and pulled Zev up to his feet, "time to go."
"I should have noticed."
"Nobody noticed."
"But I should have."
"You did."
"But was it soon enough?"
I sighed and grabbed his hand, pulling him through the crowd. He didn't struggle as I pulled him out of the club.
"We'll help he- we'll help him, Zevran," I said, "Assan is going to be fine."
"My mi amor could fight the archdemon with one hand tied behind his back," Zev boasted, face still downcast, but at least he was making an attempt.
"Funny," I shrugged as we stepped out into the cold night, Zev's hand warm in mine as Bannon stepped out beside us, closing the door behind him.
"What's funny?"
"Zevran here was just telling me a version of the Hero of Ferelden tale that I can't say I've had the pleasure of hearing before."
Zev let out a bark of a laugh as he pulled his hand free from mine, "oh, ho! It was quite the sight, I assure you!"
"Mhm," Bannon raised an eyebrow, "and which version is this?"
"The one where Assan killed the archdemon and then we made fervent lov-"
"That's enough," I said, clasping my hand over the former Crow's mouth. A wet tongue licked at my hand, but I only raised an eyebrow at him, "I had two younger siblings, Zev, tongue on my hand isn't going to take me down."
He seemed a bit more like Zevran, though, which was good enough for me.
There were voices talking in the Hub already, when we got there. Jack was leaning against one of the desks in the Hub, seeming to be talking to Fenris and Warden Zevran. Assan...well... the demon must have already been put into a cell, considering its absence. As we walked in, I saw something out of the corner of my eye that almost looked like a person, but when I turned to look there was nothing there.
Shrugging it off, I turned to face Jack, who looked up as our small trio entered. Jack looked like he wasn't quite ready for this sort of thing so late at night, even though I've never actually seen him seem tired. Although... it did seem more of a mental exhaustion than a physical one.
"Already wiped the club," Bannon spoke up before Jack even had a chance to speak, "don't worry. We're responsible."
Warden Zevran snickered, but cut off with a sharp cry when Bannon punched him in the shoulder with an audible thud.
"We saw them come in," Ianto said, handing a fresh pot of coffee to Jack as he stepped down to join us in the Hub, "Assan was... still unconscious."
"I'd hope so," I said, "knocking the demon out took more power than I'm comfortable admitting. I'm not sure if I could pull it off again, now that the demon will be expecting it. Will the cell be able to hold it?"
"Can anything hold a demon?" Fenris growled.
"We need a solution," Jack said; he took a long sip of his coffee, eyes landing on Zev, "how do you guys get rid of these things back where you come from?"
We all went silent, nobody seeming quite able to meet anybody else's gaze. The answer hung in the air between us like a disease.
Warden Zevran sighed, finally, after a few long moments; he turned to his counterpart, expression serious for once.
"I'll do it if you can't."
Zev's voice hitched, but he didn't answer, and I tried to ignore how Ianto had suddenly tensed, his grip going white on the handle of the cup of coffee he had made for himself, or how a mask of cold acceptance fell over Jack's face, as if the idea wasn't the sort he was unfamiliar with.
"Let's not jump straight to that," I said, clenching my eyes shut and trying to pretend that this wasn't happening, to pretend that we weren't seriously considering... the image flashed across the back of my eyelids, Assan bouncing around the Hub with that lopsided, dorky grin that was so often on his face. That fond look on Fenris's face when he looked at the small elf like Assan was the little sibling he never got to have. Not a good one at least. Or how crushed Zev looked, staring at the wall with Assan's blood still drying on his hands. How calm Jack seemed, watching this all, like the idea of killing one of our own was just an average Tuesday. How could death ever be normal? Haven't I lost enough already? Just when I was starting to think of the scrawny elf as a friend. No. No, please tell me we weren't considering...
"We have no lyrium," Fenris said, quietly, "Hawke is our only mage. There... there is nothing we can do... except put it down."
"He's not an it," I argued, "he's Assan! He's... he's Assan."
"He's not a kid, Hawke," Warden Zevran said, looking at me, "he's... well, he's not even a he right now."
"We can't just kill him!" I snapped at the elf and turned to Zev, waving my arms at him, "tell them, Zev! He's Assan! Sweet... sweet little Assan. He's a dork. He's weird, and a dork... but he's our weird dork! Can you really imagine the Hub with-with-without him running around with that big, dorky smile on his face? Or- or when he's rambling on about something he likes, or when you just can't help but want to be his friend, hell, that's probably why he managed to get so many allies during the Blight! I mean, who the hell lets somebody who tried to kill them just immediately join their group, let alone the fact that he even went as far as to fall in love with the guy they sent to kill him -no offense, Zev- and he just seems so trusting sometimes and-"
Fenris's hand felt heavy on my shoulder. Too heavy.
"Assan isn't Bethany, Hawke. Saving him isn't going to bring your little sister back."
I reached up and grabbed the hand he'd placed on my shoulder; I rubbed my thumb along the his calloused hand.
"I know," I admitted, biting back the heavy lump already forming in my throat; I looked up, trying to rid myself of the weight behind my eyes, "I never said it would. Tonight... tonight was supposed to be fun. Things were supposed to go right, Fenris. Why can't things ever go right for us?"
"We have mages."
I'm not sure how Jack didn't drop his coffee mug; he spilled it, that's for sure, and spat up a mouthful of it right onto his pants, and yet the mug never ended up slipping from his grasp. Ianto's, on the other hand, ended up shattered on the floor, only serving to rile us up even more than the sudden new voice had. We all whipped around, already all reaching for our weapons, but found ourselves pausing at the sight before us. Jack did not pause, bringing his gun out all the way and pointing it right at the young man -was he a kid? a teen?- that was sitting on Tosh's desk and kicking his feet off the side, as if he'd been in the Hub all of his life and was simply meant to be sitting there.
"How the hell did you get out?" Jack snapped out.
The kid didn't stop kicking his feet, but he looked up at us. I could barely see his eyes under the brim of his huge hat and the stringy blonde hair that fell in his eyes and surrounded his head.
"The glass didn't mind," the boy told us, "it gets lonely, and sad. Nobody ever stops to talk to it; not nicely, at least. It doesn't like being yelled at, and sometimes it gets hit a lot."
"Shit," Jack grumbled out, "you're that creepy one who snapped demon elf off the deep end by twisting my thoughts into your own messed up little words, aren't you?"
The look on his face almost seemed like a pout.
"The Inquisitor isn't a demon elf," the boy said, "demons can be elves, but elves cannot be demons."
"Cause that makes sense," Jack said, voice practically dripping with sarcasm.
"Like possession?" Bannon spoke up, "demons can possess elves, but elves can't just be demons."
The boy smiled at Bannon before turning his attention back to Jack, "exactly. The Inquisitor is very nice. He worries a lot. You made him scared, is all. He's very nice if you're nice first. He let me stay, when so many others told him to tell me to go."
"Uh-huh," Jack nodded, not sounding too impressed, "cute story, kid. Now let's get you back in a cell. Maybe a sturdier one, this time."
His eyes widened, alarmed, "but I want to help!"
"Help?" Ianto put his hand on Jack's shoulder, shooting the captain a look that I couldn't read, "help how?"
The boy tilted his head at us, still kicking his feet as he seemed to calm, "I helped the Inquisitor with Envy. That was before Envy had a tight grip, but Envy was stronger than a desire demon."
Zev spoke up; desperation lurked in the way he held himself, but his voice was strong, "you can help us?"
"My name is Cole," the boy nodded, "and I just want to help. You all felt so sad, I couldn't help but come up to see if I could do anything to help you feel better."
Ianto and Jack shared another look, and Jack slowly lowered his gun; he didn't click off the safety or put it away, but he wasn't aiming it at Cole, anymore, either.
"What exactly do you have in mind?"