The next morning, Fenris arrived at the Amell estate, knocking briskly on the door. Not long before, Varric came by his decaying mansion with the moderately ominous news that Hawke "seemed off." The elf quickly left at that.
The door opened.
"Ah, welcome serah," greeted Bodhan, opening the door wider to let him inside, "It's a fine morning to be out, isn't it?"
Fenris took a step inside and asked, "Where is Hawke?"
"She's still upstairs in her room," the dwarf respectfully replied, "I wager that her last adventure was quite taxing; though I'm sure she would welcome your company."
With a quick 'thank you,' the elf crossed the foyer and bounded up the stairs to her room. He gave a few short knocks on her door to alert her of company before opening it and slipping inside her room. She sat on the bed, her body curled up. Dark and red lines ran under her eyes, which seemed to brighten the moment he entered the room.
"You have not slept," he pointed out. She watched him cross the distance from the doorway to her side and sat down at the edge of the bed.
"I was not sure he would come," she responded, "Or what would happen, really. Everything has been so strange lately."
He froze.
"He?" he repeated, the word sharp as a dagger.
Her eyebrows knotted together at his expression, and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Why don't you tell me, Hawke?" he spat, standing abruptly.
"Fenris, why are you acting like this?" she asked, exasperated.
"Why? Why?" he yelled, "You don't think I would be upset about this? Waiting up all night for another man?"
She blinked and said, "...There is so much wrong with that I don't even know where to start."
"Enlighten me," he growled.
"Venhedis, Fenris, you're acting like we're lovers!" she cried out.
"I apologize for believing we were," he snarled before turning on his heel and marching back towards the door. He was a few steps from the handle when she ran in front of him, barring his exit.
"Blazes, Fenris, what is going on?" she announced.
"Get out of my way, Hawke," he said, jaw tight.
"That's the second time you called me that," she said, "What does that even mean?"
"I am in no mood for games, Hawke!" he said.
"Games?" she repeated angrily, "I'm playing games? You're the one who marched in here like you own the place and march out like you own me!"
"Were all those years waiting just to see how long it would take before I would finally come crawling back? Danarius is dead, and now you are tired of his pet?" he accused, "I thought you were different!"
"He is de-?" she cut off the question with a pause and slowly raised a hand to her head and rubbed her temples. She took a deep breath and said softly to herself, "That's it. I'm in the Fade. Some demon has ensnared me and now I'm stuck in some sort of dream."
"As lovely as I'm sure this dream is," she said to him, "I don't fancy becoming an abomination, or letting my body waste away in the real world. So, dream-Fenris, are you the one in charge or should I look elsewhere?"
"And now you accuse me of being a demon?" he stated.
"I doubt you're a spirit of Faith," she shot back.
There was a knock on the door.
The door cracked open and Bodhan's voice spoke from behind it, "I hope I am not intruding, messeres, but I heard you were awake. Would you like something for breakfast?"
"You don't have to wait on me," Hawke replied in the direction of the door.
"And as I have said before, it is both my honor and pleasure to serve you, and not just for what you've done for my boy," the dwarf replied.
"I'm fine, I don't need anything!" she insisted.
There was a pause from the other side of the door and then he said, "Perhaps I'll return later with an early lunch, then, shall I?" The door clicked shut, and the two were alone once again. Fenris turned back and sat down slowly at the edge of the bed while she watched him.
"What happened to you up on that mountain?" he asked, looking up at her, his anger down to a simmer.
She shrugged and said, "You should probably ask the mages that brought me here."
"I will not inquire the blood mage and the abomination when you were present," he scowled.
"You can drop the act now," she said in an annoyed tone.
"Why do you think this is a dream?" he asked.
"Well, let's see," she brought up a hand and counted as she spoke, "I'm apparently in the Free Marches, I'm a guest in a dwarf's mansion who doesn't have any servants and practically dotes upon me, Master is dead, Fenris is my lover, I have some sort of nickname after a bird of prey-"
"What?" he cut in.
She caught his expression and huffed, "Stop being so bloody convincing." He stared at her while she glared in return, the two absolutely still beyond breathing. Then Fenris stood from the bed.
"I need to go," he muttered before hurrying across the room and shutting the door behind him.
As he ran down the stairs, Bodhan called to him, "Is something wrong, messere?"
"Very," he replied shortly before cutting around a corner. Fenris threw open the cellar door and bound into the darkness, running as fast as he could through the near-maze. At the end, he burst through the door to Darktown, stumbling over the ladder and almost falling on his face in the process. Regaining his footing, he tossed himself into the closed clinic. He passed the few inpatients and went to the back where Anders' sleeping quarters were, unceremoniously ripping open the sheet that acted as a barrier between his room and the rest of the clinic.
"Mage!" he shouted. On the bed, Anders pulled a pillow over his head.
"Whatever you're about to accuse me of, it can wait," he grumbled.
"No, it can't," the elf replied tersely, "It's Hawke."
"Just let her get some rest and she'll be fine," the mage mumbled half into his pillow.
"She thinks she's a slave!" At first, Anders didn't respond or even move. Then slowly he pushed himself up from the rickety bed into a sitting position.
"What?" the mage let out.
"You heard what I said," the elf said, "Come see for yourself if you doubt me."
Anders stared at him for a little longer, then lept to his feet, shoving his boots on in the process. He reached for his coat, only belatedly realizing he didn't have it, and tied his hair back before heading out of his room. Fenris followed him out of the clinic, up into the cellars, and further up into the estate, taking two steps at a time when they could. When they reached Hawke's room, Anders didn't even give the courtesy of knocking. She was sitting on the edge of the bed facing the fire, turning her gaze when the door opened.
"So you've brought reinforcements," she deadpanned with a dark gaze.
"She also believes she is trapped in the Fade," Fenris supplied while Anders stepped towards her. The mage kneeled in front of her and took in the sight of her. The bags under her eyes were prominent and her skin looked like it hadn't seen the sun in weeks. The thick silver collar still sat just above her collarbone, and now that he had a good look at it he could see intricate and angular symbols carved into the metal, overlapping each other so he couldn't make out what might have been individual and what might have been a continuation, looping around the whole length of the item.
"You still haven't taken that thing off?" Anders asked.
She didn't respond, but her jaw tightened slightly.
He reached to touch the collar and her entire body stiffened almost imperceptibly. Noticing, the healer paused, hand floating a few inches away from the base of her neck.
"Do you mind?" he asked. She didn't say anything, but watched with careful eyes.
He resumed the approach slowly and deliberately. The metal was unremarkable as far as he could tell, appearing no more complicated than silver should be. A slight sheen was left behind from the oil of his fingers on the soft metal as he followed the collar in search of a way to remove it. There was no break, no clip, no hook or chain to indicate its removal - just smooth, slightly tarnished silver.
"Well, it doesn't feel magical," he observed aloud, "How do you take it off?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't wear it," she snapped.
"Good point," Anders said. Fenris' brows, however, furrowed slightly at her slight choice of words. The scruffy mage went on to place two fingers on her pulse. Once he was satisfied, he brought a raised pointing finger up and moved his arm slowly to the left.
"I don't need an examination," Hawke huffed.
"Humor me," he replied.
While he attempted to continue his check-up, she proved to be unresponsive, only glaring at him through the entire process. Finally he gave up and stood with a stretch.
"Well the most obvious thing is that you need sleep," he offered, "Afterwards, we'll have Sandal take a look at your curious jewelry. I'll make you an herbal tea to help you get some rest and leave some extra ingredients with Bodhan." He left the room, passing Fenris by the door, as she glared holes into the floor where the healer previously sat. Long, silent minutes stretched in stillness until Anders returned with a hot cup of his remedy in hand and offered it to Hawke. She glanced at the fine porcelain cup but otherwise did not regard it nor its carrier.
"Come on," he insisted, "you need to keep your strength up."
"Just let me go," she gritted out.
"Don't be like that," he brought the cup a little forward, "Here."
Her glare hardened, and she hissed through tight muscles and narrowed teeth, "I - will - not - break!"
He sighed and put down the cup near the vase by her bed and reached a hand to her head. She stiffened again at the approach but did not budge while he rested his palm against her forehead, fingers embracing her skull. An instant later, her eyes fell shut and her suddenly loose body flopped to the side, crashing into the mattress and pillows. Anders pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a sharp breath.
"I really did not want to do that," the mage muttered.
"Are you sure this will work?" Fenris asked, stepping toward the bed.
"I assume you mean taking the collar off," Anders responded, "Honestly, no, but I don't have a lot of ideas at the moment." He looked at Fenris and continued, "There was something strange about that cave we went to. I think Merrill and I should go back up there in the next few days with one or two others and see what we can find."
Fenris grunted.
Anders lifted Hawke's dangling legs and shifted them onto the bed, and said, "I'm going to rest, myself. I'll have Bodhan send for me next time she wakes up." With that, he picked up the tea he had left on the floor and exited the room.
Fenris looked at his lover in the morning glow. Faint lines of worry and stress touched her where they shouldn't have, and the lack of color in her cheeks disturbed him. He gingerly reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, careful to make sure his gauntlet didn't touch her skin, a grey strand flashing itself before disappearing back beneath the rest of her hair. After that, he tenderly lifted the blankets from around and beneath her and draped them over her form. After smoothing out the cloth, he lingered a few moments more watching her breath evenly in deep slumber, he stepped back towards the door and left the room silently.