The forest itself seemed to emit a forceful boom all around them as the rift finally closed. The eerie green glow dissipated harshly, bringing the atmosphere back to its normal colors. The remaining bodies of the demons fully reduced to ash and scattered away in the wind. The Crossroads had better be happy, Skylar thought bitterly, That rift was easily the worst one in the entire hinterlands. She had half a mind to march back into town and demand that cook at the diner give her apple pie for her trouble…or maybe pizza…fuck, now she was tired, aching, and hungry.

Tracking down and eliminating the troublesome apostates took a sharp left turn when they rolled into town that afternoon. The Inquisition troops were surprised but utterly relieved to see them. The refugees had been all but flooding them with desperate requests to find what they described as a "red-eyed demon" that was evidently lurking around their town, and seemingly murdering indiscriminately. They were afraid to leave the town, even in the daylight. Sounded like something straight out of a horror movie. Skylar was ready to 'Nope' the fuck out of that mission but Delrin and Bull seemed all too eager to chase down the creepy shit. Lovely.

Chasing the creepy shit ran them right into the path of not one, but three maker-forsaken rifts. Each of them worse that the last. It was a rare day when she would be called to close more than one rift a day, and usually she had a few days' breaks in between. The Mark was clearly overworked. If she looked at it too long, she was convinced the damn thing was getting bigger. A distinct mental fatigue settled into her mind once again. She'd never had much experience with it until recently, but from what Vivienne had told her, it was her body's way of telling her she needed to rest, that she'd cast too many spells already.

Your mana has been depleted, please take a long rest to recover.

Skylar flopped harshly against the nearest tree, clutching her marked hand to her chest. She only vaguely heard Varric and Bull talking about heading back to town for some reason or other. She really wasn't listening, she really didn't even know if she could concentrate on a conversation right now. Her lungs positively burned, catching her breath felt like a rigorous chore. The Mark thrummed heavily against her palm. The ache it caused felt as though it was spreading through her bones. She winced as she flexed her hand. The small movement only seemed to aggravate the Mark further, much to her dismay.

Her eyes wearily recognized Delrin predictably coming into view. A smile slowly crossed her lips as she muttered to him. "I said I'm fine."

"I didn't say anything…this time."

"Yet."

"Guilty." He agreed with a snicker in his voice. He reached into his backpack, pulling out an unopened water bottle. "Would an offering make it better?"

She huffed a breathless laugh as she reached for it, sending a tiny bit of icy magic through her fingertips to chill it on contact. "I guess I can let it slide just this once."

"Your mercy knows no bounds." He mumbled sarcastically as he lowered himself to the ground next to her. He stretched out, sprawling over the forest floor lazily as if he were actually accustomed to laying comfortably on grass that was littered with rocks in it. "Only you would chastise someone for worrying about you."

"I happen to know lots of people that would."

"Do those people also happen to be related to you?"

"…Maybe."

He smirked. "Then they're crazy too."

"Anyone named Tabris gets a default 'crazy' trait, it's unavoidable." She shot him a mischievous look. "And do you really wanna start analyzing family dynamics?"

"Neither of us are going to win that contest." He chuckled heartily. "Fine. I'll stop asking."

"Good."

"Just promise you'll tell me if something's wrong."

She rolled her eyes. "If I did that, I'd be talking all day, then. Nobody wants that."

"Debatable."

She meant to shoot him a playful glare, but her instantaneous blushing took over quickly. Her frown was morphed back into a shy smile as she looked away again. His expression was positively coated in pride.

The Mark flared up suddenly, making her suppress a groan. It was bothering her, truth be told. But it still wasn't enough for her to ask for help…yet. She wasn't even sure there was any real solution for it anyway. Well, anything that wasn't completely theoretical. It was either experiment with wild, magical theories or chop the damn thing off—which she had been told was expressly forbidden.

She forced her eyes to scan over the freshly conquered battlefield, hoping to find something to distract her from the pain until it subsided. She had a bad habit of allowing her anxious thoughts to overhype her injuries; she would have convinced herself that her whole hand was about to fall off if she didn't keep it in check.

"So," He started, as if he were actually reading her mind. "Is it always like this?"

"What?"

"The rifts, I mean. I've never seen one up close until today."

Skylar scoffed playfully. "Pretty much. Most of the ones in the hinterlands haven't been too bad though—just some wisps and shades and shit like that. I don't know what the in the actual void happened here to cause rage, despair, terror, and the damn shades to pick this spot in particular."

He snickered as he sat back up and looked around thoughtfully. "Well, the fade reflects the waking world right?"

"That's the rumor."

"Wouldn't have to go back too far to find tragedy, then." He shrugged. "A lot of those smaller towns got wiped out from the Blight, especially in this area."

"Shit…" She looked around her surroundings with a new understanding, wondering if they were sitting where a house once stood. The forest floor was still damaged from the toll the demons had extracted from it. The stones were scarred with scorch marks, the trees looked as though a tornado had ripped through them. Likely from the pulse of the rift. But still, it must have been so much worse just a few years ago. "Guess we didn't hear too many details about it in the alienage. Until the ogres came busting down our gates, that is."

"You were there?"

"In Denerim? Yeah, where else would I have been?"

He shrugged indifferently. "I guess I assumed you went off with your mom."

"Killian did." She corrected bitterly. "Mom said I was too young still."

"Sorry…"

She flashed him a melancholy smile. "Parents, right?"

"She probably thought she was doing you a favor."

"Yeah, probably…didn't work though."

"Still scary, huh?"

"What, the darkspawn?" She shook her head slightly. "The scarier things are the monsters you're not allowed to fight…"

Delrin gave her a sympathetic look, squeezing her hand encouragingly. He didn't press the subject, which she was grateful for. She liked him—more than she probably should at that point, no question. But she really wasn't ready to unload all of the skeletons she had spring-loaded in her closet yet. It was more than enough to know that he was there to listen for now. She let her weight slide against the tree until her head was resting on his shoulder. Tiny bits of butterflies welled up in her stomach but she shoved them aside. She was too tired to care about it right now. He wrapped his arm around her in response, shuffling closer so she could put her head on his chest.

Neither of them talked for a while and Maker, was she glad for that. Feeling his chest move rhythmically with his breathing was as comforting as the warmth that radiated off of him. The butterflies kept trying to come back, but soon she was just too relaxed to allow them to flourish. No anxiety, no awkwardness. Just peace. If they weren't sitting in a probably haunted part of the forest, she might have even called it romantic. The setting sun certainly wasn't helping the image either. It suddenly dawned on her that they'd be spending the night out there if they didn't start moving again soon.

"We never did find those apostates." She smirked wearily as she felt his chest vibrate with his laughter.

"Well, there's always tomorrow." He flashed her a knowing smile. "Don't forget about that red-eyed demon they were complaining about."

She groaned. "I really wanted to forget about the creepy thing cutting through the countryside like the fucking DOOM guy."

"The…what?"

"That's disappointing, I expected better from you."

He snickered. "It's a game reference, isn't it?"

"A game." She remarked, mockingly. "Every templar should play DOOM. It's like glorifying your entire job."

"Let it be known that the Herald has declared video games be apart of standard training from now on. I'll inform the Knight-Commander—oh wait…"

She grew a wide, mischievous grin. Her dark humor was clearly starting to rub off on him. "I'll make them put it in the Chant."

"Ah yes, the Chant of DOOM. My new favorite verse." He shook his head mockingly. "I can stick around here and look into it, if you want to go back to Haven tonight."

"Now why would I want to do that?" She shot him a coy look. "Sounds like a wonderfully awkward date-night."

His head fell forward dramatically, a bashful smile overwhelmed his expression. "Maker's Breath."

She wasn't sure how exactly it had happened, but suddenly she found herself staring face-to-face with him. Only a couple of precious inches between them. Close enough to feel his breath on her skin, to breathe it in. Those pesky butterflies flooded over her once again, with so much force she nearly physically felt the impact. Her inner monologue was absolutely screaming at her to do it, and she literally couldn't think of one reason not to…

He twitched when he realized it too, she felt his breathing shallow considerably. She moved just the smallest measure closer, putting her hand on his chest. He stayed perfectly still as his eyes locked onto hers. His voice lowered to a whisper as he spoke softly to her. "I don't want to…overstep…"

She smirked, whispering back as her eyes flicked down to his lips and back again. "Do I look offended?"

Both of them jumped as a third voice answered her. "You look like you're about to kiss so just get on with it, already. Fucking painful."

Skylar's head snapped in the direction of the voice, her hand was already forming a spell to chuck at the inopportune intruder. Her demeanor only softened slightly when she recognized Varric and Bull. Varric was holding his phone in a way that clearly gave away the fact that he was recording them.

For a short, panicked moment, she had the urge to distance herself from Delrin, wondering if he were embarrassed. But his arm tightened around her encouragingly. A sense of pride swelled up in her. Varric was probably broadcasting the event to the four corners of Thedas right now, but Delrin clearly didn't care. It could have just as easily been him protesting in spite of the intrusion though, she reasoned…but her head was far too willing to run away with the thoughts of over-exaggerated acts of compassion and that dreaded "L" word…

"Sorry Boss," Bull said, with only a small shred of sympathy. "Had to come back and find you when you didn't follow."

"And you absolutely had to let the dwarf record the whole thing?" Delrin asked, roughly.

Bull shrugged. "It's kinda what he does. Said he figured it was something noteworthy if you were held up for so long. Shouldn't have brought him, if you didn't wanna make a show of everything."

"Noted." Skylar deadpanned, shooting a glare at Varric as he approached.

"Staying frosty, Snowball?"

She shifted her position just enough to face Varric more fully, "How long have you been sitting on that one?"

"About a day." He admitted, "Readers love the cheese."

"Right. Anything for a follower."

"I'll have you know, my donations are stacked."

"Leech."

He chuckled. "I prefer the terms 'journalist' and 'influencer'. Now, tell us the story, huh? Your followers are dying to know…"

She closed her eyes, sucking in a deep, calming breath. "What fucking story?"

"You know. You and the templar."

Delrin let out a sigh, muttering quietly to Skylar. "I'm gonna hit him."

Varric simply smirked, completely undeterred. "I just want to say I totally called it. I knew you liked him."

"Everyone in fucking Val Royeux knew that, genius." She only realized what she had said when she heard Delrin snicker. Panic ran right through her for a brief moment but seeing him smile brought her anxiety to a screeching halt. He shared a bashful look with her before Varric brought them back to the conversation.

"Not to mention everyone who was watching the livestreams…"

Whatever Skylar was about to say died in her throat when she caught a glimpse of movement behind Varric. It was Bull, she reasoned, at first. But no. He hadn't moved, not like that…something about it made her blood run cold. The area seemed to fill with enough dread to drown in it. She even felt Delrin tense up, before she said anything.

"Varric…" She warned, but she wasn't even sure what to tell him.

There went that hint of movement again. She got the distinct feeling of being watched, being hunted. "Why do I get the feeling that the game just auto-saved?"

Bull suddenly flipped around quickly, catching something with the broadside of his axe. Skylar noticed the flashes of red before she was able to get a good look at her bodyguard's latest victim. The Shadow bounced violently off the ground. His tarnished metal armor was bonded directly to his skin with the use of the large, red crystals protruding from him. Bull wasted no time, pulling out his shotgun and blasting him straight in the face. "It's the Reds!"

Another flash of red seemed to appear just beyond the tree line. A pair of crazed, corrupted templars charged right for them. Delrin jumped up to react immediately. Skylar held her hand out, trying to force out just one more spell. The magic sputtered painfully in her hand, rendering her nearly useless—much to her utter frustration. Varric quickly shot down the Reds before they could get to them, their tainted corpses rolled to a stop just before Delrin's feet.

Bull strolled up to them, still wielding both his weapons in his hands. "Better get a move on, Boss."

"Really?" She snarked. "No, I was thinking we should set up a campfire. Sleep under the stars. Roast some s'mores and paint a fucking target on my head for good measure."

She startled suddenly as Varric started firing into the trees right next to her. She darted behind Delrin before she even got a good look at what he was shooting at. A large, ominous cracking sound came barreling through the trees behind him. Skylar didn't have time to react to it fully before Delrin was yanking her in a wholly separate direction.

"Mage-Fire!" He slammed his shield down, planting it firmly in the dirt. He angled the two of them behind it quickly. The air around them ignited suddenly. Skylar screamed, flinching her eyes closed for a moment. Bits of fire still seared the ground. She heard the unmistakable sounds of Varric and Bull taking care of whatever problem had just shot a fireball at them.

Delrin yanked his shield out of the ground, keeping it ready between them and the forest line. His other arm was firmly wrapped around Skylar's shoulder as he moved, keeping her on what felt like the "safe" side of the forest. "Move out, now!"

Skylar was positively shaking. "Reds have mages?!"

"They looked like Venatori. Just keep moving."

"Fuck! They're working together now?!"

Varric yelled to them harshly in between his carefully aimed shots. "Get her out of here, Templar!"

The pace Delrin set was so quick she could barely keep her footing. He was freaked out and she knew it. It felt like the forest was getting darker around them with every passing moment, much faster than it should have been with the natural sunset. She couldn't tell how far away they were from the town, but it was definitely too far to count on them for immediate help. Her heart pounded so hard she was convinced it was about to come out of her chest.

She noticed a dark flash of movement beside her and reacted instinctually. Her hand flew out towards it and a large forcewave of pure magic flung the Shadow several yards away from her. Branches cracked loudly as the Red collided through them. She was certain she saw the thing get back up, but before she could even think to scream or run, she saw something even more terrifying. A pair of bright, glowing red eyes appeared over the Shadow. It emitted a truly unholy scream as it was dragged into the darkness.

"Demon!" She shrieked. "It's the fucking demon!"

She tried to bolt but Delrin tightened his grip on her further, keeping her in place. He spoke harshly to her, picking up the pace. "Don't run!"

"It's gonna fucking kill me!"

"I won't let it!" He emphasized his words by flexing the grip he had on her. "You run and you're an easy target. Stay right here."

Varric and Bull shouted commands to each other, firing rounds into the forest around them as they moved. Skylar flinched every time she caught a glimpse of one of the attackers in the forest. The red-eyed demon was hot on their trail too. She couldn't tell if it was hunting her or the Reds or the damned Venatori but Maker, she did not want to stop and find out.

A wall of flames abruptly manifested next to them, flowing like a raging river right at them. Delrin was busy blocking the stray bullets from his side. Varric and Bull were distracted with their own battles. That mental fatigued still dogged her. But how could she just sit by and do nothing? She'd been warned not to push it, to respect her own limits given how 'untrained' she was. But all she could hear in her head was her friends encouraging her with their lessons they'd given.

"Stop thinking." Solas chastised. "React. Defend. Protect. Trust your intentions."

"Lose your fear, Darling." Vivienne reminded, gently. "A frightened mage is a dead mage. And you, are no helpless wallflower."

"Just do what I do:" Dorian snarked, "Drown it in fire until it stops squirming."

"Andraste had better be watching right now…" If she was going to push it, she might as well make it count. Skylar took one last look at her companions, checking to make sure she didn't hit them with her spell. Summoning every last bit of willpower she could conjure at the moment, she threw up long, icy barriers on either side of them. The Reds who were too close to the barrier became impaled by oversized icicles, the Venatori now had to find a way around or through her spell; both options bought them the precious time they needed.

A dull, pulsing ache formed quickly in her head. The air seemed to be forcibly siphoned from her lungs. She gasped for breath, nearly collapsing if it weren't for the tight grip Delrin had on her. Terrified screams echoed loudly from the other side of the barrier. It was only then that Skylar realized that she'd essentially trapped the Venatori with that demon…

"Well shit." Varric sighed dramatically, the sass returning quickly to his voice as he caught up with them. "Guess that solves the mage problem."

"For now." Delrin corrected, pointedly. His arm loosened slightly around Skylar, but judging from the tenseness in his posture, he was still on edge. "Bull?" He shrugged off his shield, handing it to the Qunari. "Take it."

Bull grinned like a child clutching their favorite toy. He flipped the shield around, inspecting it heavily as they walked. "I've been meaning to get a good look at this thing."

"Just don't dent it." Delrin used his free arm to pick Skylar's legs from under her.

She yelped indignantly from the unexpected swiftness of the action. She glared lightheartedly at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can walk, you know."

He shrugged, attempting to school down a prideful smirk. "You're too slow right now."

"Uh-huh." She muttered sarcastically.

"Swooping definitely involved." Varric muttered, seemingly lost in his phone again.

The screams and shrieks continued, blood splattered on the other side of the barriers. Skylar's eyes bulged as she watched the silhouette of that demon tearing into those unfortunate mages. She almost felt bad for them. Almost.

Bull rapt his knuckles over the shield, as if to test how solid it really was. "Hey, Templar, What'd'ya make it out of?"

Delrin shot him a scathing look. "Obsidian and Stormheart, primarily."

The ice barrier suffered a serious crack as one of the Venatori were violently thrown into it. Skylar startled at the sight.

"Really? Damn."

"Why? What did you make your axe out of, Drakestone?"

It suddenly dawned on her that the only thing keeping the damn demon away from them was her magic. And she had barely pulled that off. Maybe it wouldn't kill her to take some real lessons from Vivienne when she got back to Haven…

"…Dawnstone." Bull corrected, sheepishly.

The demon seemingly manifested right beside them on the other side of the barrier. It stayed far enough back so that the only thing visible were it's unnerving eyes and the silhouette of it's shape. It was hard to know for sure, but Skylar was convinced it was fixated on her specifically. No one else seemed to notice or care about it. She started to wonder if they even saw it in the first place…maybe she was going crazy…it seemed to just stand there watching them for a few seconds before it disappeared back into the darkness.

"Maker, why?"

"It was pretty."

They all seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief as the town's gates started to come into view. A small group of scouts were already making their way up the path towards them. Probably coming to check out what all the commotion was, Skylar figured.

"We made it." Varric seemed to mutter in disbelief.

Skylar let out a short, breathless chuckle as she playfully poked Delrin. "It's your turn for a daring rescue next time."

A weary smirk danced over his expression. "Check your math. I'm still up by one."

"No, no, no, no. You're down by four by my count."

"Four?" He shook his head as he snickered at her. "Saving my character in a game does not count."

"Does too."

"Does not. You can't respawn in real life."

Skylar snickered harshly, "Tell that to Cassandra."

"Damn Boss." Bull barely tried to hide his laughter.

Varric grinned wickedly but didn't tear his gaze from his phone. "That's so going in the book."