Hello my dear readers. I apologize for the lack of excitement and for the short chapters that have been going on in these last few uploads. I know it's a bit jumbled and jumpy. It will get better! Thank you for sampling my work and as always good vibes to you all!

The first thing Dorian noticed when he awoke was the cool air upon his face. The Tevinter mage's eyes slowly fluttered open and he found himself staring up at a clear night sky. Thousands of stars blinked down at him, the soothing sound of a bubbling brook was not too far off. Somehow he had gone from a battle ground to a quaint version of paradise.

"You're awake!" Tara's voice was unmistakably relieved as she appeared at her friend's bedside. "Thank the Maker. What were you thinking, taking on that dragon like that?"

Dorian grinned as he moved to sit up and his petite friend looped one arm around his shoulders to assist him.

"You would have done the exact same thing as I my dear. The only difference was that I happened to be closer."

"Fine," Tara huffed as she handed the tanned mage a skein of water, "Point to Pavus. I hope you're proud, between you and Fenris poor Hawke isn't going to make it back to Skyhold without a head of grey hair."

"Fenris?"

The body against his, shoving him free of the reach of the dragon's claws…

"He saved me…didn't he?" The Inquisitor nodded her lips pulling thin as she cast her gaze over her shoulder. Dorian's eyes followed and his heart gave an odd leap as they settled on Hawke's form.

The massive Ferelden mage was seated beside the white haired elf who was far paler than Dorian remembered. The warrior's torso was wrapped in blood soaked bandaged as Garrett's magic flowed over him. "Kaffas…" Dorian heard himself whisper.

"He took the brunt of the blow from Corypheus' dragon's claws. They cut so deeply that in some places it looked like he might have been ripped in two. Every health potion we had and Hawke's determination is all that's keeping him alive right now."

"He could still die," the mustached mage asked horrified.

Tara's eyes fell shut as she nodded. "We cannot readily move him and other healers skilled enough to help are still half a day's ride away…if he can just hold on until they are able to reach us there might be hope." In an instant Dorian was clamoring to his feet, using his staff to help prop himself up despite Tara's insistence that he should be careful. The Tevinter mage huffed his way over to kneel down on the opposite side of Fenris' prone form.

Garrett looked up, his eyes blood shot, though he managed a small smile. "Once this is all over I am going to yell at you about taking on that damn dragon," the big mage whispered in a rough voice.

"I shall suffer your wrath with all of the grace I possess…how is he doing?"

"Not well," Hawke said tightly. "I have been trying to close the wounds and I have managed to piece his major organs back together, but I cannot keep the bleeding in check enough to seal things up completely."

Dorian fingered his staff as his eyes roamed the lax face of the elf between them. "He hates blood magic above all other things yes?"

"If not just as much as the idea of being a slave again, yes I would say that is a safe bet…"

"Then it is probably best if we do not mention my using it on him." Before Garrett could protest Dorian produced a small dagger and pulled the blade across his left palm. "I promise that I will not use his blood at least…but I owe him my life. I cannot sit and watch him die while I have the ability to help him, even if he would not appreciate the effort."

Garrett nodded, deftly handing one of his spare lyrium potions over to his lover before downing one himself. "I am ready."

Dorian slipped his bleeding palm over the still elf's heart and set his magic to work. His own blood poured into the other man, binding around his heart and along his wounds effectively trapping Fenris' blood within his own body. At the Tevinter mage's nodded signal Garrett removed his magic from its duty of holding the warrior's blood within him and turned it fully to reconnecting his flesh.

The healer had to move slowly careful to make certain that every nerve, every vessel was reattached perfectly. Dorian had never had the opportunity to watch his lover heal another with such careful precision…though in all honesty, it was probably not the first time he had had to heal Fenris in such a way.

"There," Garrett finally murmured as he removed the last of the bloody bandages. Fenris' skin now lay smooth and unmarred aside from his usual lyrium brands and older scars. The elf's color had also begun to return Dorian noted relieved as he too removed his magic from Fenris' body. "Thank you Mo Chuisle."

"As I said I owed him my life Amatus."

"How is he now?" Iron Bull's voice broke the spell that had been hanging over the two mages while they worked. Garrett gained his feet and moved to help Dorian up as well as he sent the Qunari a grin.

"Thanks to Dorian's help now all we have to really worry about is some major phantom pain and blood loss. But considering that he was nearly sliced in half, I'd say he is doing great right about now." The big mage looked down at his yawning lover and sighed as he gave Dorian's shoulders a squeeze. "You should be resting oh hero. I'm going to need to stay up with Fenris a bit longer however since he could still go into another bout of shock."

"You two go to bed. I set up a tent you can use. Tara is out scouting the perimeter and I can stay up with him," Bull said nodding to the elf's prone form. "Go on, that's an order," he added when Hawke looked as though he might protest.

The big mage gave a curt nod then with his arm still around Dorian turned to lead them both to bed.

Iron Bull moved down onto the ground beside the unconscious elf, tucking a blanket around the warrior's form before moving to stoke the nearby fire. After settling in the Ben Hassrath took a moment to watch Fenris' face for any signs of distress. The elf's face has a bit more color to it which was a good sign, but there was also a tightness there that had not been before.

Without a second thought the Iron Bull moves to pull the smaller warrior up into his lap. He propped Fenris' head up against his shoulder, smiling when the elf moved to snuggle closer just as he had the night he had fought with Dorian.

'Cuddly little thing…when he's knocked clean out,' Bull thought to himself with a chuckle. He did not know why he was developing such a soft spot for the big Hawke's ex, but something about the tough elf was pricking his interest.

Maybe it was the elf's own brittle disinterest, who could really say when it came to the Qunari mercenary leader. One thing was for sure, it wasn't because Fenris was a red head.

The dragon's paw swept towards the blood mage. Somewhere that seemed much further away than it really was he could hear Garrett screaming the Tevinter man's name.

He had shielded them from the blast.

No hesitation.

He was fearless and powerful in the face of such an overwhelming enemy. But his bravery had left him drained. Even at full capacity could he have jumped clear of the dragon's claws?

Fenris did not know.

Suddenly his feet were moving on their own accord. He collided with the blood mage's left side shoving him clear.

A second too late…

The warrior heaved his blade down. The tip of it lodged into the stone of the bridge, one razor sharp edge cutting deeply into the beast's palm. Its claws were longer though. Fenris felt them piercing his body even as he heard his sword snap in two. He was thrown to the ground pain erupting through him in dazzling waves.

For a moment his vision rested on the blood mage's limp form a few feet away. Then he felt arms around him, large and strong. Garrett's magic sizzling through the air around him.

The scream of the dragon…

Dizzy.

Darkness was swallowing him whole…then, perhaps much later, a prickling of magic ebbing through him, familiar and comforting. It remained with him in suspension.

Then he could feel a new magic, familiar in a different way, blood slipping into his blood, changing him, prying into him…

Fenris twisted trying to get away from the blood magic he knew was creeping through him. Fought as mightily as he could but then hands were there, large and strong, suffocating him. Holding him immobile…he was trapped within something, cocooned in a deceptively soft cage…He cried out trying to summon his markings to life.

"Dragon Slayer you need to calm down before you hurt yourself." The sound of Iron Bull's voice Fenris was just accustomed to enough that it snapped him from his panic.

As the elf panted the big Qunari held him close, reaching up a hand to stroke through the warrior's hair, telling him a steady stream of comforting things in his low voice. The white haired warrior focused on his breathing until he found it steady again, his surroundings finally clicking into sequence.

He looked down at himself and found that if he had sustained any injuries, they were gone.

"Hawke and Dorian fixed you up about an hour ago," Bull informed the elf. At the mention of the blood mage's name Fenris' eyes shot upwards to collide with the Qunari's steadfast gaze.

"Did they use blood magic on me?"

"Yes. Dorian used his own blood to keep yours from draining out of you while Garrett managed to piece you back together. You would have died otherwise without a second healer to help."

Fenris sat very still in complete disbelief that Hawke would allow blood magic to be used on him regardless of the circumstances…he felt tainted, unsure. "Pashaara venak hol," Bull muttered as he shook his great horned head.

"Shanedan, pashaara," the elf shot back fluently, momentarily shocking the mercenary leader.

"Ha! I didn't know you spoke Qunlat Dragon Slayer?"

"I know a few languages," Fenris mumbled as he cast his gaze out into the night. "You are holding me again."

"Mm, been thinking about that have you," the Qunari rumbled pleasantly. "You started getting a bit fussy right after Hawke left your side so I thought I'd see if I couldn't get you comfortable and sure enough, the second I picked you up you cuddled right into me and settled down again."

"Defransdim…" Fenris sighed closing his eyes briefly as he attempted to come to terms with everything that had happened. "I should have just let the beast crush him." Even as he said it the elf realized how little he truly meant those words. The emptiness of his own hate startled him. This was not as it had been with Denarius…

"You don't mean that," Iron Bull fired back softly, "and you know it." The big Qunari knew that goading a freshly wakened man who had nearly been cut into pieces by a dragon probably was not the best thing…but it was what the elf needed apparently.

After a few minutes in silence Fenris nodded. "You are right…I find that I do not hate the mage. I am… decidedly unsettled from having blood magic used upon me…but I have never experienced it in a healing manner either. I should…" Fenris sighed loudly, "I should thank the mage."

"Yes you should, but do it in the morning. You both need rest Dragon Slayer."

"I find myself quite awake presently," Fenris admitted with a shrug.

"You want to talk?" Again the elf hunched his square shoulders in a non-committal gesture.

"I do not know what we would talk about."

"Well you could confess to me the fantasies you've been having about me?" Bull felt a secret thrill move through himself when he noted Fenris' slightly blush at his words. "Or," the big man drawled out, "I could tell you about some of the adventures me and my boys have been on."

"Tell me of your exploits then," the elf huffed out in a hasty breath.

"Okay," Iron Bull chuckled, "but in return you have to tell me about running around Kirkwall with the Hawkes."