A:N/ Thanks for everyone's support! It's meant a lot to hear how people are enjoying the story/characters, and thoughts on different things I do. Don't worry, I'm keeping on writing strong heheh. Enjoy!

"Bartrand!" Varric punched the door again, unfazed by smashing his fist into the stone.

"Do I have pants on?" Hawke quietly asked. When her companions turned to look at her, she smiled emptily, "When these sort of things happen, I usually find myself without pants. No? They're there - see? Things could always get worse."

Varric twitched, exhaling hard as he murmured, "I hate when you say things like that."

They trudged down dead ends and half collapsed caverns for hours, fighting spiders, golems and more. When Varric finally halted, they were exhausted. He led them into an isolated nook that looked like it may have once been a home.

Merrill wilted to the ground, "What are we going to eat?"

"There were some deep mushrooms back the way we came," Varric said, the furrow in his brow deep. "Come on, Daisy. Let's go find what we can."

"Trust the surfacer dwarf to guide us in the deep," Hawke murmured, and he flicked her off before ducking out the door. She crawled through the rubble towards a glow at the back of the hollow. Hoisting herself up, she sat along a broken ledge, features illuminated by the pit of lava in view. She glanced back when she heard Anders slip on the loose rock.

"We'll make it out of here somehow," he said, offering her his water skein.

Hawke looked at him before taking a sip, "What is this from you? Optimism? You haven't contracted the blight from one of those darkspawn, have you?"

"I think I'm the one we least have to worry about," Anders dryly replied.

"Indeed," she said, looking back at the lava. Even from where she sat, she could feel the heat radiating off of it. It was the brightest light they'd come across since being trapped.

Flipping a dagger from her hip, Hawke looked down and twirled the blade in her fingers. It spun nimble as she murmured, "I'm sorry for roping you into joining us."

"I did offer in the end," Anders shrugged, moving to sit nearby. He sighed and leant against the wall, following her gaze. "How are you doing?"

"Rainbows and sunshine," Hawke murmured. "And frolicking kittens in verdant meadows."

"I always pegged you as a dog person," he replied.

Hawke's expression cracked into a slight grin as she looked at him, "I am."

"Of course then," he said, sucking on his teeth. "Hence the kittens. It's indicative of how up a creek without a paddle or boat we are."

"I believe the more eloquent version of that is, we're fucked," Hawke nodded, still twirling her dagger. The thin smile faded.

"We'll make it out," Anders finally replied. He shrugged and said, "At least there's no darkspawn?"

"Don't be so sure," Hawke murmured.

"Fancy that," Anders said as he turned away. "It might be the one thing I can be sure of."

Hawke sat and toyed with the small metallic puzzle-toy they had found – some antique, by Varric's accounting. She sat in the shaft of light that descended from the fractured ceiling. It glowed blue and held no warmth, emanating from an unseen vein of lyrium. But if she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine she was back home in Lothering on a winter day. She had lost track of the days, and didn't care if it night-blinded her.

The click of the toy in her hands was the only sound above the sleeping breath of her companions. Click. A pregnant silver-sword of mercy. Click. A rather demented shepherd's crook.

"Hmm."

There was a sharp intake of breath nearby, and Hawke turned her head to see Anders shudder. His hands shook from where he laid on the ground, and she crouched near him, taking his shoulder.

"Anders," she whispered, giving him a little shake.

His hand gripped her arm, a shimmer of blue fracturing over his skin. When he opened his eyes to her, the light faded, and he huffed out a breath.

"Are you alright?" she whispered, looking at her arm.

Anders uncoiled his fingers, sitting up from the pillow of his coat. He exhaled roughly, running his hands up over his face, "Figuratively speaking."

Hawke furrowed her brow, sinking back to the ground beside him as she glanced at Varric and Merrill. They were both still sleeping. She patted the light beside her, "Come soak up some sun."

After a moment's hesitation, he shuffled to sit beside her. There were dark circles under his eyes - deeper than her own. Anders thickly licked his lips, "Are you thirsty?"

"Figuratively speaking," she murmured, weakly smiling through closed lips.

Snagging some bandages from his belt, Anders froze them and handed her the clunky bit of ice. They had run out of water some time ago.

"I'll refrain from commenting on how you're giving me something to suck," Hawke arched her brow and sucked on the icy cloth.

"Such restraint," he groggily replied, sucking the frozen water from his own rag.

"Dreams?" Hawke asked through the melting ice.

"In part," he quietly said, freezing another chunk on the cloth with a wave of his hand. "Down here it seems to alternate between the darkspawn threat and... and Justice."

"You dream about them?"

"Wardens see the horde, we sense them," he quietly said, looking down. He closed his eyes before lifting his face into the shaft to flight. "And Justice... is always there, never needing rest. I wake, and there is a weight for all the time I've lost. It is almost a panic, though I know I cannot recover it."

"He must not be very happy being down here."

"I suppose not, Anders sighed, his expression sagging. "The dreams were worse in Ferelden - the Deep Roads were clogged with so many more darkspawn. Specifically going down here to fight them. It smelt worse. And the company was... lacking."

"But not now?"

"No," he said, sucking on the icy cloth a moment more. "Not now. And... he can feel the lyrium. It sings."

Hawke looked up the shaft of light, sighing out, "Care to translate what it's saying?"

Anders' lips quirked and he shook his head, "Nothing so simple. But it's calming."

"Lucky that," Hawke murmured. Putting the wet bandage on her knee, she took up the toy again. Leaning against Anders' back, she twisted it with slow clicks. Finally, she linked her finger through the loop on it and tried to suppress her grin. "You know, Anders, I'm not sure this was such an innocent toy."

Anders shifted, ducking his head out of the light to look in her hand. His expression twisted, and he cleared his throat, "Is that…"

Hawke was holding a metallic penis.