Varric's about to break the fourth wall, sometimes.

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Journey's End, Journey's Beginning

Nani sat with her feet hanging over the edge of the cot, dragging a hand through her scraggly bun—sweat and dirt and residual snow had tangled her hair beyond belief. She probably looked like a complete wreck, but at this point, who cared? She pursed her lips and breathed out roughly through them.

"Take your time, Nanyehi," Cassandra said gently, watching her with cautious brown eyes.

Nani attempted a smile up at the Seeker, only for her head to spin dangerously; she braced a hand on the cot and took another deep breath, steadying herself. Healing magic was no joke, especially apprentice healing magic, when the mage hadn't fully mastered the right amount to pour into one's body. Still, she couldn't not appreciate what the mage had done—and the fact that she was here, in the tent, and not a snow-covered corpse on the mountainside.

"How long was I asleep for?" Nani asked Cassandra.

"Almost a day," Cassandra said, resting a hand on the pommel of her longsword; it seemed she always had the weapon equipped, no matter the occasion. "It is late evening now. You sustained severe injuries. That you made it up the mountain is…astounding."

"I couldn't just stop trying—" she started, stopping herself; she had given up out of sheer exhaustion, for just a moment, after she'd hallucinated Finn.

Speaking of…

"Where's Finn?" she asked, chewing at the inside of her cheek. The last words she'd said to him had been angry ones, and she didn't want him to think she was really that angry at him. More so terrified, sick with worry, nauseated by the sight of her brother being tossed across the battlefield like he weighed little more than a piece of parchment.

Cassandra gave her a placating look. "He is well. I can get him, if you'd like."

She opened her mouth to say yeah, I need to see him, but was interrupted by the tent flap folding open and someone pushing inside.

"You're awake." Cullen noticed her sitting up immediately, stooping a little to fit inside the tent; he really was tall, wasn't he? "Thank the Maker. You had us all in a panic."

Her brain took this moment to remind her that she likely did look like a sweat-covered mess, and she inwardly cursed herself for such an ill-timed thought, the tips of her fingers tingling. She squeezed her hands into fists a couple of times, in and out, to try and relieve the odd sensation.

"I…I'm all right now," she reassured him, coughing into her hands.

Cullen gave her a look that distinctly said you-don't-sound-all-right before turning briefly to Cassandra. "I came to relieve you, Lady Cassandra. I'm sure you want a break."

"There's no need," Cassandra said quickly. Then she eyed the two of them, and something dawned in her eyes, confusing Nani to no end. "On second thought, I have some matters to discuss with Josephine. Take care, Commander." With that, she left the tent, the flap slapping shut behind her.

Nani didn't speak for a moment. Instead, she folded her hands in her lap and wrung them together.

"It's kind of you to watch me," she said after a bit.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked, shaking his head. He pulled his gloved fingers through his thick blond hair and came to stand a little closer, his gaze soft. "We've been taking turns, making sure the healing magic in your blood wasn't too much." His voice roughened a touch. "How did you escape the avalanche, Nanyehi? That should have killed you."

"I don't remember," she confessed, scrubbing at her scalp. "I only remember waking up halfway up the mountain."

And Cullen scooping her up, enveloping her in his warmth. She remembered that. Her throat tightened a little, and she decided not to attempt speech, lest she end up with an embarrassing squeak coming out instead.

"With any luck, this Elder One died in the avalanche," Cullen said.

Nani shook her head. "His dragon pulled him out. Corypheus escaped."

Cullen growled softly under his breath, obviously angry about her news. But then… "Corypheus? You learned his name?"

Nani nodded, telling him what else she'd learned—that this Corypheus had accidentally seared the green mark, the Anchor, into her hand in a failed ritual to open up the Beyond and step into it, that he was immensely old, that he was likely one of the original Tevinter magisters to breach the Beyond and spoil it past repair, that he'd been obsessed with her bowing before him like a servant might. When she finished, she felt the last vestiges of anger clawing at her insides, twisting her gut, tightening her muscles.

Cullen's face had steadily whitened while she recanted this.

"He cannot get away with this," the warrior said firmly, startling her. "All of those people we lost in Haven…and the people we could have lost… Once we find somewhere more fortified, we must amass troops and take him down."

"I couldn't agree more," Nani said. Her fingers ached for her bow, ached to pull the string taut and fire an arrow right through one of Corypheus's soul-sucking eyes.

"If I may…" Cullen sat gingerly next to her on the cot. "I should ask you how you're feeling. You did face down a glorified darkspawn and collapse a mountain on top of yourself, after all."

"I'll live," Nani said. "I'm feeling much better, as it is."

"Are you?" Cullen didn't look so certain; he reached a hand over and gently, very gently, brushed a tangled bit of hair off her cheek. "Maker's breath. You're as strong as you are beautiful."

Heat flooded Nani's face. She nearly choked on her own saliva.

"Forgive me," Cullen said, standing; the cot creaked as his weight left it. "That was…bold."

"You'd only need forgiveness if I didn't like the comment," Nani said, surprised by the boldness in her own voice. She stared down at her hands, linking her fingers together.

"So I see." Cullen chuckled a little, startling her. Then he lowered a hand to her, palm-up, offering his help to stand. "I think everyone's waiting for a glimpse of you."

Nani didn't question it—no doubt people were wondering if she'd come up the mountain missing two limbs or something. She couldn't hold curiosity against them. Taking Cullen's hand, she stood, following him out of the tent.

The sky was dark, snowy ground glowing faintly in the light of the moon. Nani held on to the crook of Cullen's arm to help herself walk, which he seemed happy to provide. She heard squabbling around her, restless noise from restless people—but gradually, as everyone began to notice her, the arguments died down. Then there came different words: Maker bless you and there's the Herald and she lives! People all over were staring at her, enraptured, and the green Anchor on her left palm quivered faintly with iridescence in response.

So many eyes on her. Nani almost shrunk away, but stopped herself.

These were trusting eyes, not suspicious ones. These weren't treacherous shems waiting to take down the savage elf; these were frightened people stranded on the side of a mountain, looking to the woman who had torn down a mountainside and prevented a monster from coming after them. This was hope, not malcontent.

And she smiled.

Finn smiled and wrapped an arm around Nanyehi where they sat side-by-side in the snow, holding her close against him.

She'd approached him shortly after he'd returned from his walk with Dorian, who'd expressed his enthusiasm about seeing her walking and left them both with a mischievous "I'll let you have your brother, for now…but I do expect him returned shortly." Nani had seemed much too exhausted to catch on to anything, which Finn was grateful for.

He knew she wouldn't judge him for his apparently reciprocated feelings. For crying out loud, she'd been the one to hold him together when he'd had an inner crisis over developing feelings for another man in their clan. But Finn wasn't one for public demonstrations—not to mention he didn't want to push Dorian too far—and so Nani not noticing was a teeny tiny blessing.

"Look at us both," he said, squeezing her. "We're not dead, we've got all our limbs, and we even kept our nice elfy faces intact." He lifted a hand and flipped a bird down the mountain at nothing in particular. "Eat a dick, Corypheus."

"There's an image," Nani snorted.

She snuggled a little tighter, leaning her cheek against his shoulder, and he smiled.

"I…left things on a bad note," she said after a moment of quiet. He could hear her frowning, almost. "I'm sorry for causing a scene in the Chantry, Finnie. I just…when I saw you get blown aside by that thing, I…"

"It's all right," Finn reassured her. "It's over now."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes. Finn's gaze traced the smooth curve of the moon above him, his ears picking up the sounds of people packing up their belongings for the night. It was almost bizarre, the juxtaposition of this night to the last one—now, instead of holding vigil on the mountainside with Dorian, waiting urgently for a sign his sister was alive, he could watch the twinkling stars and the swaying pines and marvel that she had survived.

"What would the keeper say, about all this?" Nani wondered aloud. "I remember she wasn't exactly thrilled about you accompanying me."

"I'll make a guess," Finn said. He cleared his throat, trying to lift his voice to mimic Keeper Istimaethoriel. "Finirial Lavellan, I have spent years training you to be Keeper in my stead when the time comes, and I've had enough of your dangerous ways. Go sit in the corner and meditate on halla."

"You never meditated on halla," Nani said, snickering.

"That you know of," Finn said. "I'll have you know I once meditated on the thought of steak instead of Falon'din during a particularly hungry morning."

"And the Keeper didn't notice?"

"Only when I started drooling."

Nani laughed, patting his knee.

"So," Finn said, "what comes now? We can't stay on the mountain forever. I mean, we could, but Dorian? He's about to wilt, I swear. He was never meant for life as a sad mountain hobo. And Varric's chest hair needs a proper comb."

Nani hummed in thought. "Solas pulled me aside just a minute ago and told me there's a ruin he's thinking of to the north that we should lead the Inquisition towards," she said. "Or, rather, I should. Everyone's been watching me, waiting for me to get them to safety. It's a little stressful, honestly."

"I can imagine," Finn said. "You'll do fine. I know it."

"You know…" Nani said. "It sounds crazy, but…I'm actually starting to believe you."

The Inquisition had been trekking up the mountain for days now.

Finn caught sight of Nani up ahead every so often, scouting for them, pointing the entire entourage in the correct direction. He shielded his eyes from the sun with a hand, listening to the soft rustling and clinking of his armor as he trudged through the thick snow.

"Coryphy-shit," Sera said from next to him, her boots making shallow impressions in the snowdrifts. "Coryphy-twat? Coryphenis?"

She'd been attempting to find a better name for their Tevinter nemesis for the last several minutes now. Finn had been listening in amusement—so had Dorian, next to him, and Varric, a few paces behind.

"Coryphy-fish," she said.

Finn snorted. "No one's come up with Coryphearse yet? It's practically the same name."

"I am bursting with pride at your creativity," Dorian said, thumping Finn's shoulder.

Finn smiled, relishing the warmth of Dorian's touch. The other mage seemed a little freer with his touching Finn, now—as he should be, really. But it solidified in Finn's (admittedly worried) head that one, that night hadn't been a figment of his imagination, and two, Dorian hadn't flung his hands in the air and backed out of their tentative relationship just yet.

It could still happen, he supposed. But he found himself desperately hoping it wouldn't.

"Coryphe-arse!" Sera repeated, smiling brilliantly. "Ooooh, that's good. You're a right treasure, Finnie." Cackling, she left him, jogging more towards the front of the pilgrimage to probably inform someone else of Finn's findings.

"Did you hear that?" Finn said, grinning over at Dorian. "I'm a treasure."

"That you are," Dorian said with a bright smile.

"Don't let it go to your head, Frosty," Varric said from behind him. "I don't want to be around when your ego swells so big that it explodes you all over the mountain." He paused, whistling. "Chapter twenty-five of The Insane Life of Finirial Lavellan. The elf becomes too proud of himself and turns into a walking bomb. Several who were caught in the blast radius died. Others sustained injuries."

"That was both disgusting and morbid," Finn threw back at Varric.

"Not to mention a rather poor choice of plots," Dorian added. "I certainly wouldn't keep reading after the protagonist detonated in such a manner."

"Like you know how to write a book," Varric said, laughing. "The only one you own is probably How to Groom Your Moustache."

"Which wouldn't be very useful for you, I imagine," Dorian said. "The one nearly hairless dwarf in all of Thedas."

"It's all right here, baby," Varric said.

Finn heard the distinct snapping of buttons coming undone; he briefly looked behind him to see Varric patting his thick chest hair and smiling deviously.

"…he's fondling his own chest, isn't he?" Dorian asked Finn.

"Lovingly," Finn said, turning back to face where he was walking after a moment more of looking. "It's almost…mesmerizing. In a way."

"Wonderful," Dorian said, grinning wryly.

"I'll leave you two alone," Varric said with a chuckle low in his throat. "I think I see Tiny trying to throw one of his Chargers. I have to witness this." His boot steps faded away as he dropped back to chat with Bull, leaving Finn and Dorian walking side-by-side by themselves.

Finn briefly caught a glimpse of Nani up ahead, scrambling onto a rock and checking out the scenery before her. Then she disappeared again, and he stopped trying to look for her, enjoying the scenery instead. It was lovely up here on the mountain, with the vast blue dome of sky, the slightest wisps of light grey clouds, the snow bright and white beneath his feet. The cold air danced over his skin, invigorating him, making him feel alive.

"You're grinning again," Dorian commented. "Something you'd care to share?"

"Just happy," Finn said, smiling a little wider.

Without warning Dorian slung one arm around his shoulders, reeled him in close to his side as they walked, and plopped a quick kiss on his forehead.

Finn's face reddened slightly, and he staggered, grabbing onto Dorian's armor to keep him upright.

The Tevinter mage hadn't been that demonstrative before today, and certainly not in front of anyone. But with each passing day he seemed to get more and more willing to show affection, which Finn absolutely was not going to protest. It made him a little nervous, truth be told, wondering what people would say about him…but he found himself hardly caring right this minute.

No one had commented on them, not yet, at the very least. Finn knew the comments would roll in eventually. Oh well.

"And now you're tripping," Dorian said, trying to hold back a chuckle without success. "Is someone a little bashful today?"

"Just thrown off balance," Finn said, shrugging. He stumbled again, his foot catching on an unforeseen rock hidden beneath the snow, but Dorian's arm kept him from careening face-first to the ground. He smiled halfway. "I should probably give my ankle a break. And no, I don't want to be tossed over your shoulder again, thank you very much."

"I'm sure there are other, more pleasant ways to be carried."

"True. Hold still." Finn left Dorian's side and crossed around to his back, then made a leap and flung his legs around Dorian's middle from behind, holding onto his shoulders. "Like this."

"Fair enough." Dorian snorted and started walking again, cupping his hands under Finn's lower thighs to keep him in place. "Shall I make appropriate equine noises for you?"

"That won't be necessary." Finn laughed, feeling the chilled mountain breeze ruffle his ice-white hair.

"Hmm…your sister seems to have noticed something," Dorian said.

Finn looked up the slope and spotted Nani standing on a boulder, her long red hair rippling in the wind. She motioned excitedly to Solas and pointed, and Solas joined her on the boulder, pressing the butt of his staff against the rock. People around them began to murmur excitedly, obviously wondering what she'd discovered.

Dorian lengthened his stride the remainder of the snowy slope, hardly even winded as he reached the boulder Nani and Solas were standing on. People were beginning to clump around them, and Dorian edged past them; they parted for him, thankfully, probably made uneasy by the Vint carrying the lunatic elf. He stepped up onto the flat boulder, and Finn gave a sharp intake of breath.

In front of him, nestled into the mountainside, was a massive stone fortress, still holding strong even though the elements battered relentlessly against it. He could see the proud battlements even from where they stood, the thin bridge leading through the gates, a speck of mottled green that might have been a courtyard. A keep rose high in the middle, surrounded by other stone buildings; Finn's keen eyes saw some crumbling of the walls, but most of them were intact, as grey as a the sky after a fierce rain.

"Skyhold," Solas said, his stormy blue gaze fixed upon it.

"Skyhold," Nani repeated, her voice soft, in awe.

There it is, Finn thought, beaming, holding on to Dorian's shoulders a little tighter. Something defensible. Something we can actually settle down in.

Home.