A/N: I took a little creative liberty here, folks. Because are we really supposed to believe they don't have toy horses at the Amaranthine market? Please review!

Note: Because I believe in giving credit where credit is due; the poem is called Evening Twilight (Le Crépuscule du soir) also by Charles Baudelaire.

)O(

"Saying nothing...sometimes says the most."

- Emily Dickinson

This was just becoming more and more odd.

Apparently 'The Architect' had taken her blood, as well as that of her companions, for some sort of research. He was probably another talking darkspawn…though the idea that there were more of them was not of much comfort.

But what could he want Grey Warden blood for?

The questions didn't stop there, because The Architect had also taken Velanna's sister, but she was nowhere to be found.

By the time they found their equipment all Jenji cared about was getting out of here. It took a while to locate her daggers, as the darkspawn had apparently constructed some kind of shrine for them...

The light of day was a welcomed sight indeed.

Jenji was so thrilled to be out of the Mines that she did not notice when Velanna started to casually walk away.

"Uh, Velanna...?" Nathaniel, however, did notice.

The elf whiled around and glared at him. "What?" she demanded.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to look for Seranni, since you people are completely incompetent."

There was a tense silence.

"That's not fair." Jenji said quietly. "We had a deal."

The Dalish frowned. "Yes, we did, and you failed to uphold your end."

"No." the Warden insisted. "In case you haven't noticed there are still darkspawn out there, and one of them - this Architect - has your sister." She paused. "You can't return to your clan, can you? Come with us. We'll find him, kill him, and get Seranni back."

The mage considered her words. Strength in numbers, that was the Dalish way...But what did this city elf know about that? What did she know of her clan or whether Velanna could go back or not? Of course, the Dalish elf knew she was being given a choice. She could walk away, that was her right, but there was something keeping her here...something had made her turn around...something made her say, "It's a deal."

Jenji smiled. Velanna was a connection to her people's past. True, Mamae had been more of a progressive Dalish - she certainly couldn't picture Velanna ever living in an Alienage - but it was something.

As they made their way out of the forest, the Dalish mage fell silent. Perhaps she was beginning to doubt whether or not they really would fine her sister, or maybe the implications of what she had just agreed to had finally dawned on her. Or maybe she was just the silent type, like Sten.

Jenji shivered and eyed the other woman suspiciously. Old scars still hurt.

"What are you staring at?"

"Your vallaslin," she said, but of course it was a lie.

Velanna snorted. Where did you learn such a big word?

"You know, I find tattoos on women very sexy." Anders quipped. "Do you have any, Commander?"

"I do," she replied, humoring him. "But that's as much as you're ever going to find out about that."

He smiled deviously. "So; gorgeous, brilliant, and mysterious..."

It was innocent flirting, nothing more. He did know she was married...didn't he?

The rest of the journey back to Vigil's Keep was made in silence.

)O(

The keep had a bit of a darkspawn infestation.

This did explain how they were able to mount such a successful attack, and was likely due to a entrance to the Deep Roads somewhere in the basement. And of course, it was left to Jenji to deal with it.

Velanna had yet to regain consciousness after her Joining, so it was up to the others to handle the pests.

A wounded Mabari emerged from the shadows. It had a note pinned to its collar from a woman named Adria, who according to Nathaniel, was like a mother to him.

"We'll find her." Jenji assured him. If she's still alive, that is. "But we can't leave the hound here alone, especially injured. Anders, can you do anything?"

"Bloody Fereldens and their dogs," Oghren muttered. "It's just like Anders and that damn cat."

"Hey, you leave Ser Pounce-a-lot out of this!" the mage ordered.

The dog growled when Anders tried to touch her, but eventually understood that he was only trying to help. Having Jenji nearby seemed to comfort the hound. Adria's Mabari also looked at Nathaniel with something like recognition in her eyes.

"She's worried about Adria," Jenji said. And so they carried on, fighting ghouls and darkspawn until finally they came to the lower levels of the keep where they found her.

But it was too late.

She had become a ghoul. Adria stared at them with bloodshot eyes, letting out a horrible, inhuman shriek. She had on no armor, but put up a fight nonetheless. A cold sort of silence fell as the creature was slain.

"Adria..." Nathaniel breathed, wondering why he had to lose everyone close to him.

The whimper of a Mabari caught everyone's attention. The hound lay down beside her mistress' body and refused to move.

"I know, girl." Jenji soothed, petting the dog. She had a feeling the last person who could offer any words of comfort right now would be his father's murderer, and so she remained silent, focusing on the Mabari instead.

There was still the matter of the cave-in though. Large stones blocked their path, possibly trapping darkspawn within which could become a problem later. And if they led to the Deep Roads...well that would be even worse.

"Can you clear the rubble?" Jenji asked Voldrik Glavonak, a master stonemason.

He scoffed. "I can do more than that. I could make this place look like it was new. See, these humans don't know the first thing about stone. They use it but never think about how it will hold up against time and darkspawn. No, what you need is something else...I'm thinking...granite." he said. "That is, if you don't want the keep to crumble at the slightest breeze, let alone an assault. But it'll cost you."

"Name your price."

"About eighty sovereigns should do it. I'll need more workers if you want this done in a timely fashion."

That was a lot of gold to invest...and she did have her eye on that dagger, what was it called? The Voice of Velvet…? Yes, that was it.

"Oghren, what do you think?" she asked. The dwarf seemed confused by the question, then insulted.

"Huh? Oh I get it, just because I'm a dwarf I know everything about stone, eh?"

"No; I just meant...well you would probably know more about this kind of thing than I would..."

"Yeah Warden," Oghren said seriously. "He knows what he's talkin' about. Granite's probably your best bet. O' course, anything's better than what ya got now..."

"All right," she declared. "Eighty sovereigns it is then." Nothing was more important than the restoration of the Vigil. Or at least, it was more important than a new weapon in her opinion.

)O(

That night, Jenji went to Oghren's room for two reasons. The first was to apologize for her comment earlier. And the second: he had jokingly asked for a pony the other day, and when she found a small toy horse carved out of wood, she thought it would make a very amusing gift.

But Oghren wasn't there.

Jenji surveyed the room; as expected she found countless empty bottles of ale, his bed was unmade. None of this was surprising since most of the castle's staff wouldn't even go near the place, let alone clean it, and Oghren certainly wasn't inclined to do so.

What did jump out to her though were two letters lying on the floor. The parchment was slightly crumpled as if someone had read them and not liked what they saw, wadded them up, but later went back to re-read the words. The ink was slightly smeared:

Oghren,

Of all the stupid things you've ever done, this takes the cake. Sometimes I think you make me angry on purpose, like you actually want an excuse to run away. And you didn't even have the stones to say it to my face. Don't even bother to come back, you won't find me. Leaving you the first time was easy enough. Obviously you still haven't gotten over her yet. I try to be supportive, Oghren, but what woman can compare to a Paragon?

Let me know when you grow up.

- Felsi

The second letter had a much different tone:

Oghren,

When are you coming home? You could be dead for all I know, running off to join the Wardens on a whim. I promise I won't be too mad, just let me know you're okay. I hate sitting here day after day wondering. Do you even care? We had fun, didn't we? I'll admit it: I miss your hairy ass. I miss yelling at you. I miss the make-up sex afterward, if that's not a motivation to come home then I don't know what is.

I miss you, Oghren.

Love,

- Felsi

"It's not polite ta snoop through other people's things, you know."

She jumped at the voice, having been enraptured in the letter. Yes, she did know it was wrong, but curiosity had gotten the better of her. She finally understood how Leliana felt the majority of the time.

"Why haven't you said anything about this?"

"Because that's private." he said firmly. "I don't read yer mail without you knowin' and then start askin' about it."

"I'm sorry...it's just..." Jenji didn't know what to say. "She doesn't even know you're alive, Oghren. I don't care what you're running away from, but the Wardens won't make all your problems go away. In fact, they tend to complicate things. You know that. But Felsi needs to know the truth."

"Eh...maybe I could...send a letter or..."

She smiled and handed him the toy horse. "And here's your pony." she added before exiting the room. Jenji thought the conversation had gone pretty well.

Once he was sure the elf was gone, Oghren threw the wooden toy against the wall. But unlike Branka's tiny glass horse figurines, this one did not shatter. It merely laid there, as if dead. It wasn't that he didn't love Felsi, but rather that he couldn't love her in the way she wanted him to.

And, like most days, he needed a drink.

)O(

When Jenji did return to her quarters a certain Mabari hound was waiting for her. Strange, she thought, that the dog hadn't imprinted on Nathaniel since he shared a connection with Adria, or Anders for healing her wounds. No, it seemed out of all the masters the hound could have chosen, she'd picked Jenji. And the Warden could not even begin to imagine why.

A strange day indeed…And as much as she hated the silence, Jenji did take some comfort in the stillness of the evening hours.

"Fereldens and their dogs," Erlina sighed. They still didn't talk about the night before. There was an unspoken agreement between them that nothing further needed to be said. It was also silently agreed that Jenji's bed was open to her should she wish it, and of course, the bard would not deny the offer. Everyone needed a little company on these dark nights; and she was preferable to the dog. So now Erlina's poems lulled her to sleep:

Voici le soir charmant, ami du criminel;
II vient comme un complice, à pas de loup; le ciel
Se ferme lentement comme une grande alcôve,
Et l'homme impatient se change en bête fauve.

Ô soir, aimable soir, désiré par celui
Dont les bras, sans mentir, peuvent dire: Aujourd'hui
Nous avons travaillé! — C'est le soir qui soulage
Les esprits que dévore une douleur sauvage,
Le savant obstiné dont le front s'alourdit,
Et l'ouvrier courbé qui regagne son lit.
Cependant des démons malsains dans l'atmosphère
S'éveillent lourdement, comme des gens d'affaire,
Et cognent en volant les volets et l'auvent.
À travers les lueurs que tourmente le vent
La Prostitution s'allume dans les rues;
Comme une fourmilière elle ouvre ses issues;
Partout elle se fraye un occulte chemin,
Ainsi que l'ennemi qui tente un coup de main;
Elle remue au sein de la cité de fange
Comme un ver qui dérobe à l'Homme ce qu'il mange.
On entend çà et là les cuisines siffler,
Les théâtres glapir, les orchestres ronfler;
Les tables d'hôte, dont le jeu fait les délices,
S'emplissent de catins et d'escrocs, leurs complices,
Et les voleurs, qui n'ont ni trêve ni merci,
Vont bientôt commencer leur travail, eux aussi,
Et forcer doucement les portes et les caisses
Pour vivre quelques jours et vêtir leurs maîtresses.

Recueille-toi, mon âme, en ce grave moment,
Et ferme ton oreille à ce rugissement.
C'est l'heure où les douleurs des malades s'aigrissent!
La sombre Nuit les prend à la gorge; ils finissent
Leur destinée et vont vers le gouffre commun;
L'hôpital se remplit de leurs soupirs. — Plus d'un
Ne viendra plus chercher la soupe parfumée,
Au coin du feu, le soir, auprès d'une âme aimée.

Encore la plupart n'ont-ils jamais connu
La douceur du foyer et n'ont jamais vécu!