Chapter 2: Talk your heart out, I'll be around
Zach arrived at the suite, and Anders walked in behind him. "So, Zacharias..?"
"Please, uhh... Call me Zach. You, uhh, make yourself at home. I'll go get some drinks," he said, gesturing to the large table in the middle of the room.
Anders got comfortable on one of the big, fluffy chairs while Zach was downstairs chasing down Edwina. It didn't take long, but it was quite tiring. When Zach entered the room again, he closed the door and set the ale on the table. He saw Anders put his feet up on the table and almost immediately said; "Hey, don't- try not to- please refrain from putting your feet on the table. Varric might get upset. Probably. Maybe. I don't know. It's a possibility. I mean, your shoes are pretty dirty."
Anders chuckled, but took his feet off the table. "You don't know? Aren't you guys good friends or something?"
"Yeah, sure. I mean, we're pretty close considering we met three days ago." Zach said nonchalantly.
"Three days ago? Honestly, you two look like you've known each other for years. He even gave you the key to his room and left you to your devices, just because." Anders said, surprised.
"Well, we met by him basically telling me he wanted to be bffs. Then warning me about Hightown." Zach grinned and took a sip of his ale.
There were a few moments of awkward silence before Zach spoke again. "I reckon you want to know what my brother was going on about."
Anders didn't say anything, but cleary he wouldn't have come if he didn't want to know.
"You know, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you had a pint in your hand," Zach said, handing one to Anders. "Alright. This is kind of a long story. Okay, not kind of, it is- You get the point." Anders chuckled - Zach was obviously quite nervous.
"Okay. So, my father is... was a mage, as was my sister, as am I. Now, when we were younger, my father would take me and my sister out to a forest or a concealed area behind whichever house we lived in at the time and train with us." Zach started. His tale was going to be long one. "He would teach us a about magic - how to control it, what it does, what it is, where it's appropriate to use, where not - stuff like that. Every time we came across something new, he would explain it to us. Now, I don't really remember when it happened, but it was at our... second to last house before coming here? I guess there was a tear in the rift nearby, or something. There were a lot of spirits in that area. Most of them were just wondering around or passing by." Zach said, looking at Anders, who was listening intensely.
"One of the spirits like to watch us practice. He didn't do anything, or say anything - just watched. Father told us to ignore them, because they're harmless. So one day, when father had to go away for... work, or something, I told Bethany - that's my sister... Umm, well, her name. Anyway, I told her I wanted to talk to the spirit, but she couldn't tell father about it." Zach said, just as he finished his pint. He took another. "When I first talked to him, he complimented me on my bravery. Few people would walk up to a spirit just because. I asked him if he was a spirit of bravery - he told me no; and that everyone always got it wrong. It's Valor, not bravery. Not fortitude. It's close, but not close enough."
Anders smiled. "Hah. Justice was the same way."
"So we talked for a while. It was mostly stupid things - I asked him what it was like being a spirit, he asked me what it was like being a human. I talked about mother's food and bards playing the lute and moving to get away from the templars... He talked about the Fade and the different spirits and the occasional dreamer and demons I shouldn't trust... We became good friends." Zach grinned at the pleasant memories. "We became good friends... Unfortunately, a few months later, we had to move again. To Lothering. Before we left again, I asked him why he was always in the same place. He told me he was... trapped. Outside the fade. It was safe for him to be in that area because he knew we were friendly. When I told him we had to leave, he told me I shouldn't run away. That I should fight - he knew I was brave enough." Zach looked around, as if to search for eavesdroppers - which he didn't find.
"I told him it wasn't that easy. I wanted to take them on, with every fibre of my being, but my life wasn't the only thing at stake. My family, their lives. I was brave enough to fight the templars, but it's not what I needed. I needed to be brave enough to face them and remain calm. Brave enough to look them in the eye and not tear their throats out." Zach looked at Anders and saw the empathy in his eyes. "Also, I needed more bravery to face the giant spider in the bathroom." He tried to lighten the mood. "Anyway, I told him we could help each other. He needed a vessel, I needed more bravery. A favor for a favor. He accepted and... Well, I'm sure you know how it goes."
"So," Anders said, "How does your brother know? It doesn't sound like a fine idea to tell your family 'Oh, by the way, I have an extra member living in my head now.'"
"Well, I didn't. They sort of found out. Kind a similar manner as we found out about Justice."
"Ah."
"...But to answer your question, one day, my dad just disappeared, and later that day templars came to our house. We knew. And... I lost it. I broke down in front of them. Valor came out - to help me keep a brave face, and it took so much out of me..." Zach's voice started cracking.
"I'm sorry about your father... And your sister," Anders said.
"Yeah, thanks." Zach stated, followed by a silence.
"I'm... Gonna go get more drinks." He said, rushing back downstairs again.
They spend the rest of the night at the Hanged Man, drinking, telling jokes and playing Wicked Grace. Well, until 3 the next morning when Varric demanded his suite back.
"I seriously don't mind sharing the suite, but the way you two are going, if I let that happen, I'm probably never going to get it back." Zach and Anders looked at each other and started laughing. They were both drunk out of their wits - or, Zach was, at least.
"Sorry. I got distracted by the fancy wall decorations and the cute barmaids," Anders said.
"...And I got distracted by the fancy rats in petticoats and the cute bartender." Zach added.
"Wait, so you-"
"Oh, yeah, that. I seemed to have failed to mention I like men. I assumed everyone just knew." Zach said manner-of-factly, interrupting Anders.
Anders looked at Varric to confirm, and Varric nodded before asking Zach if he didn't have 'some great quest to do' or something.
Out of habit, Zach grabbed Anders' hand, ran directly to Hightown, and asked, "What do you say we go on an adventure?"
(Author's note)
Okay so, obviously, I'm writing this fanfic, and I have some really great ideas for it. I have some major plot devices and the main story already figured out in my head, but I have some trouble figuring out the little details and the in-betweens.
Because of this, the writing is going a bit slow, and I would appreciate some feedback.
I would love a message from you guys, about your views or ideas or interpretation or anything from anyone just to get some outside opinions.
Thanks for anyone who has used their precious time to read this.