"Well, it's dark." Anders announced nervously as he returned to the library from his quarters. Selise was nestled into an armchair, her knees a pulled up into her chest and her feet bare. She looked so comfortable there that Anders felt bad for disturbing her. She kept reading for a second, presumably until her sentence was finished, and then looked up to nod and close her book.

"I guess I should probably get used to going out at night, right? Then again I'm surprised they're giving me as much as freedom as they are. Not that I wouldn't be sneaking out anyway," he continued. Selise came to stand in front of him, waiting for him to let her through the door of the library. "But the Inquisitor is coming down for a meeting in the morning, or so they said. So I guess I should be well rested for that, which means an early-ish night tonight." he paused, "Er, sorry, am I talking too much?"

"Maybe a little," she said."But I don't mind." She looked at him placidly, not seeming particularly annoyed but Anders didn't want to tire her out already on their first day together. He was feeling so energized in this place, with its strange magical aura and the promise of finally fulfilling a search that he had begun with Marian Hawke so many years ago. And he was also looking forward to spending more time with this strange and intriguing girl.

"Sorry, I admit I'm a little anxious to see more of this place. Can you feel the magic here? Inside the walls, the stones, the very foundation... It's extraordinary," he sighed excitedly as he ran a hand along the bumpy stones of the wall, "Anyway, you'll probably want to run ahead and scope things out first, yes?"

"Yep," she nodded.

"Well then, lead the way lady Selise," Anders said as he swept his arm dramatically toward the stairwell. He felt a little silly, wondering if he shouldn't try to dampen down his giddiness a bit. But it was a feeling he hadn't known for a very long time, one that he hadn't thought he was allowed to feel anymore, but here it was making him lightheaded and full of energy. It felt good.

She stepped around him and disappeared silently up the steps without bothering to put her shoes on first. Anders stood in the middle of the empty main room and just looked around in her absence. There was little in the way of furnishings in the room, only a table or two with some burning lanterns that Selise had lit, and a couple locked doors along the wall. Skyhold probably already had plenty of space for everything anyone above needed, but this still seemed like a waste of a perfectly good room. But he should probably be glad it was not being used, he thought, since as long as it was empty he would have free run of it.

Several seconds later she peeked her head back out of the stairwell and motioned for him to follow, but instead of taking him into the Great Hall, she opened the door opposite the Hall and led him out into the gardens. The full moon overhead was illuminating the space with a soft silver light, and a small group of fireflies hovered just over the cluster of Embrium, lending the gardens an ethereal, sparkling glow.

"Wow, this is beautiful," Anders whispered as he moved over the small stone path into the garden's center, and looked up into the open sky.

"Do you think I might be able to have my own little plot somewhere in here to grow some herbs? " he asked.

"I can arrange that," she said. Anders made his way through the varieties of plants, stopping to pick a leaf here and there and hold it to his nose, inhaling the sharp medicinal scents. They already had all the common plants of Thedas, but also some of the harder to find ones such as Crystal Grace, Felandaris and Royal Elfroot. He was impressed overall with the garden's bounty and it was enough to heighten his already reverential opinion of the fortress. He was sure they already had an alchemist somewhere on the grounds, but if they found themselves in need of more potions he was sure he could do a lot with what they had available.

"You really don't mind going barefoot?" he asked her as she stood silently in the grass, gazing up into the stars. "What, do you have elfblood in you or something?"

She shook her head and said, "I don't mind out here. The grass always feels cool, no matter how warm the air gets."

The moonlight was making her black hair look almost blue, and the wild tendrils snaked away from her face in silky waves. He wanted to reach out and smooth them down, but then he realized he actually liked they way they seemed to have a mind of their own. And she certainly didn't seem to notice, or care. They were only, what, eight hours into their acquaintanceship, he realized, and he was already feeling a tenderness for this girl. When glimpsed from the corner of his eye she continued to stun him by invoking the visage of Hawke, but then when he looked straight at her, she was a creature all her own. She seemed so completely unaware of herself, and though it was well hidden, he could feel a deep vein of damage lurking below her serene surface. He pressed his hands back down into his pockets and wrenched his eyes away.

He noticed a drooping stalk of Vandal Aria, and he went to it, lightly fingering the rubbery leaves and flaccid trunk, transferring a bit of energy into it until it picked back up and stood strong. Vandal Aria was a desert plant, and it appeared to have received entirely too much water. As well stocked as the garden was, some of the organization was a bit off. A desert plant should not have been placed right next to the Spindleweed, which needed an almost constant influx of moisture. Maybe he could have a project here, he thought. Even if one only completed by the shine of moonlight. Through the garden he could ensure he made some mark on Skyhold before he left, one that would continue to grow and help people well after he was long gone.

"Do people live in these rooms?" he asked gesturing to the doors that were spaced along the wall.

"That one holds a shrine for Andraste," she said, pointing to a door, "One of these others is storage. And then there are spare bedrooms not currently in use," she told him. As he was watching her, her eyes went distant for a moment, staring into a scene that only she saw. And then she retreated back toward a covered corner of the garden, silently entreating him to follow. He obeyed and as they sank back into the darkness, he heard a door creak open. Two bodies walked out into the garden, a couple holding hands and come to enjoy the gardens under the moonlight. He heard a female voice gasp at the fireflies that hovered on the far side of the courtyard. The second the couple's backs were completely turned Selise grabbed the sleeve of his robe and pulled him quietly over to a set of stairs carved into the stone wall. They climbed quickly, but she stopped right before they emerged onto the upper pathway, pulling him down to join her in a crouch. Anders couldn't help but notice how close they were, just inches away from touching. He became acutely aware of the warmth radiating off her, of her clean scent and the glow of her porcelain skin in the moonlight. It had been a very long time since he'd been with anyone, he realized. Maybe that is what accounted for his brisk awareness of her. The years on the run had been excruciatingly lonely, with the last one being the emptiest of them all.

She seemed barely to notice their proximity and stayed completely still and focused, inhabiting the night like some nocturnal animal, brows slightly drawn as she watched the pictures in her mind.

Footsteps approached and just as they turned to come down the stairs on top of them, she stood abruptly and pushed a small wave of energy toward the body. It was just a soldier doing his rounds, but as soon as the energy wave hit him, he paused and looked around confusedly like he no longer knew why he was there. Selise's hand was back on Ander's sleeve again, pulling him over the last few steps and past the disoriented soldier, to silently make their way down the battlement path. Anders looked back to see the man slowly descending the stairs without looking back.

"Well that's useful," he whispered.

Anders realized at the same moment that she did that her hand was still clutching his sleeve even though they were well past the danger of discovery, and she let him go quickly, dropping her eyes to the ground.

After winding around a couple turns, she slowed to a stop, and finally leaned back on the battlement wall to rest.

"You should have a good view of most of Skyhold up here," she said, "if you want to look around."

He left her behind him as he walked up and down the pathway, peeking over the stone ledges to look down into the different sections of the green courtyard. It was fortunate that the moon was putting out so much light, as otherwise he might not have been able to see anything at all within the towering stone walls. He made his way back to her and looked over the rail she was still resting upon, seeing behind them a wooden building that was lit up brightly, and echoing within were the sounds of intoxicated laughter and the high trilling tones of a bard singing.

"Ah, a tavern. I miss the days when I could actually relax in public with my friends and a flagon of ale," he said softly. Play a game or two of Wicked Grace, flirt shamelessly with Marian until Fenris threatened to punch me in the face, get groped by Isabela… Those were good times," he said wistfully."If I had realized that would never be possible for me again I would have done it more often."

It had been four years, but he still missed them every single day. One thing he did not miss was watching Hawke and Fenris together, laughing, touching and looking at each other the way they did. But despite the pain of seeing the women he loved with another, those evenings were always fun, always crackling with possibilities. The familiar ache fired up in his stomach at the mental picture, at the visions of the people he had lost, of the love that had chosen another man. He was pulled out of his thoughts for a moment when Selise seemed to double over slightly, but the ache in his stomach intensified and remained. He looked at her curiously, but she shook off whatever it was and stood back up to meet his eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, and she nodded, taking a deep breath.

"You are a woman of few words, aren't you?" he commented.

"What should I be saying?" she asked.

"I don't know. Nothing I guess," he sighed.

"Hm. Well, are…are you alright?" she asked him in return.

"For now," he answered. "Would you… do you think you might go grab us some ale?" he asked.

She looked at him in surprise. They were right near the stairwell that led down next to the tavern. It wouldn't be a long walk for her.

"I probably shouldn't leave you here alone," she said.

"I won't go anywhere, I promise. Trust me, I don't want to be found out by anyone here either. That's just trouble I don't have the energy to deal with anymore. Besides, running away would mean no ale," he said.

She looked at him cautiously for a moment, gaging the sincerity of his words with her silvery grey eyes. She seemed to be satisfied with what she saw there.

He had gone from the heights of giddiness to feeling himself on the verge of being swallowed up by the sadness washing over him at the emergence of so many memories. This was often the way of it. He had a permanent river of pain and regret running just underneath everything else he felt and thought. He could block it out most of the time, ignoring the way he had completely destroyed his ability to have anything approaching a normal life. The way he had hurt his friends, and sent so many innocent souls to be with the Maker before their time. But the pain would always come back. He would be fine for hours, days even, and then it would rear up in a rogue wave and knock him over, dragging him completely underwater without a moment's warning to take a breath first.

"Okay," she agreed, "If you run, I'll know anyway. And I'll bet I can run faster than you can."

"Perhaps. But I'm not barefoot," he told her, managing a sad little smile.

He watched her disappear down the staircase, and then sat down on the stone pathway and looked up into the stars. Because of the moon, only the brightest ones were visible, but they were still spectacular. He took a deep breath and sank into himself, feeling himself get smaller as he crumpled inward toward the aching of old wounds. It had been a long time since he'd thought so much of Hawke. And it was the girl's fault, with her black hair and her light eyes. He and Hawke had only a few short nights together, and for those precious hours he had felt a love and passion that were unequaled in any other time in his life. But any chance he'd had at being with her was shattered when Vengeance crushed the life out of her in a cave outside of Hercinia. How Anders had found the strength to restore her was still a complete mystery to him. But she was alive, even at that very moment. And from all accounts, very happy living with Fenris somewhere in Ferelden. He was glad for her, knowing that his actions upon the Chantry would have probably destroyed whatever they had anyway. But he had never stopped mourning his loss of her, of what they might have had together, even if it could only have lasted a handful of years.

As the quiet of the night settled around him, the soft murmurs of the Calling became audible again, whispering its seductive song over his shoulder. Shouldn't he have a couple more decades left before the Calling came, he wondered? He might have been out of the Grey Wardens for a very long time now, but if he ever had any questions about whether he still carried the taint, they had been definitively answered. How he wished he had never agreed to swallow that blighted darkspawn blood.

Without a sound, Selise reappeared, holding two large flagons.

He watched her approach without moving from his spot and noticed she was limping a little with each step. She slid down beside him and handed him an ale.

"Step on something?" he asked.

"Actually the other way around. I got stepped on. While waiting at the bar," she answered.

"Let me see it," he said, setting his mug down.

She sat forward and rubbed the toes of her left foot, crossing it over her other leg until it rested close to him. He ran his hands over the soft skin of her toes and massaged it gently, surrounding it with his an aura of healing. He felt the bruised vessels mend, but let his hand linger just a second longer than he needed to. He was grateful just to be touching someone warm and alive again, even it was just the foot of a practical stranger, and even if only for a moment. He had to take these rare moments of human contact where ever he could get them.

He pulled his hand back and sank back against the wall behind him again.

She whispered a quiet "Thank you," and then settled herself against the wall too.

"Cheers," he said as he held his flagon to her. She raised her own and took a small sip. But he drank deeply, savoring the cold bite of the frothy liquid.

"I thought you weren't supposed to drink," she asked.

He flashed her a curious look and then asked, "So… how much do you know about me exactly? Did you read all Varric's books? Because I am sure you know that he is very prone to embellishment."

"I did. I read those, and some others."

"There are others?"

"Quite a few actually," she told him.

"And yet you pretend to have no opinion of me."

"We have known each other one day. What if I am choosing not to base my opinion of you off of books?" she asked him. "If that were the case I would need more time to develop a well rounded impression, don't you think?" She had a lilting, soothing voice and Anders found himself just enjoying the sound of it.

"Well you've got me there," he said. "I appreciate that actually, though my likeness from the books might be better company at the moment."

"At any rate," he continued, "I think we've made great strides for only being together one day. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking."

"Wishful thinking?" she asked.

"It's probably not very smart of me, considering that you are the one who will be reporting on me to everyone. But, I guess I could just really use a friend," he said. "It has been a very long time since I have had one."

"You have been on your own this whole time?" she asked. "Since the Chantry?"

"Not completely, but there have been very few, if any, that I felt I could really trust. I seem to exclusively attract fanatics now."

"You probably shouldn't trust me," she said quietly.

"I know. Like I said, wishful thinking."

She turned her head and was completely still for a moment.

"Cole is coming," she said.

"Should we go?" Anders asked as he sat up and took another deep gulp of his ale, trying to drain it quickly in preparation to flee.

"No need. Cole already knows you're here."

"Someone knows? Why aren't you worried?" He asked as he froze, feeling his heart pound in his ears. To get caught so early would reflect very badly on Selise. He didn't want her to be discredited so soon in their assignment. Who might they assign to him next if she failed?

"It's okay. He's a spirit," Selise said. "He won't tell anyone."

Anders choked on his ale, and Selise had to pound his back to help him clear his throat.

"I'm sorry? A spirit?"

Anders scrambled up to his feet and looked around, and then felt him, as a cold stream of water down his back, a shiver raising the hairs on his skin. Then Justice was there too, knocking on the door to his psyche, recognizing a fellow likeness that was stuck unnaturally outside of the Fade.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Anders blinked and suddenly the deep brown pools of his eyes were replaced by a glowing blue.

Selise was almost excited at the instant transformation. She had heard so much about it, and she had been wondering for much of the day how it was that this seemingly normal human man shared his body with another soul. Particularly the embodiment of something as important as the cause of Justice, but who, for some reason, spent most of his time lying dormant, despite the rampant lack of Justice in the world around him.

"It's okay!" she insisted to Anders as she felt Cole approach behind her. "Cole, this is Anders. And Justice."

Cole was silent, and Selise felt the rising tension in the air as the two faced each other.

"Justice?" she asked, waiting for the spirit inside Anders to speak.

"This is the man who has come for you?" Cole asked.

"Not for me Cole. He is here for the Inquisition. Just like you."

"He is pushed aside, sharing a small room with a big spirit, squeezed into a corner," Cole said.

"Can you talk to him? To Justice?"

"I… he, he twists and roars, he's so loud I can't hear what he says." Cole continued, wincing and shrinking back. Selise furrowed her brow, trying to understand.

"He left a broken man, in bed for days, wanting death, but she came and helped. She picked him up and held him close."

Selise looked at the face of the man she had spent the day with, now appearing otherworldly and absent. He still hadn't said anything, and the blue glow of his eyes revealed nothing. Why wasn't he speaking?

The velvet smoothness of his skin was eerily illuminated by the glow of his eyes, and she took a step closer to him, feeling a strange hum in her bones.

"A city rocked, a soul lost and wandering" said Cole.

"Yes," said Selise simply. "That's right."

A commotion down in the courtyard caught her attention and she felt her heart catch in her throat. The light coming from the glowing man began to spread, breaking through veins in his skin to reveal deep lines of escaping light. The hum was growing, and she knew she probably would not be able to hide him for long if the light got any brighter. She took a deep sip of mana, placing her palms on his chest and unleashing a gentle wave of disorientation, the same as she had done with the soldier earlier. The glow of his eyes ebbed and faded and he staggered back, looking around with a wild panic. She grabbed his hands and planted herself right in front of him, willing him to hold her gaze.

"Anders, focus," she instructed him calmly, waiting for the disorientation to pass. "Look at me. You are in Skyhold and you are safe."

He blinked hard against the darkness, but she held his arms tight, not letting him take the frenzied steps backward that he wanted to.

"Cole, you should go. We can try again another time," she told him, but before she was even finished speaking she felt his energy disappear. Cole had seemed to be frightened by Justice.

No one was coming. Whatever commotion was in the courtyard had nothing to do with them. But at least now they wouldn't be seen. She waited there with him while he got his bearings, and then pulled him back to the place they sat before, next to their mugs of ale.

He brought his hands to his head, kneading his brows with nimble fingers.

She lowered herself beside him, picked up his flagon which still had a few drinks of ale in his, and placed it in his hand.

"I'm sorry about that," she said. "Cole takes a while to get used to."

Anders was quiet, still blinking hard into the dim air around him.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently.

"Are you?" he whispered, sounding much more frantic than he looked.

"I am. Everything is fine," she said with a calming tone, and she placed her hand on his chest again and began to drain off the extra energy that was continuing to fill him with panic. She watched as his heaving chest slowed, his posture softened and the pounding of his heart abated, and then she drew back her hand, not wanting to take too much.

"Everything is fine," she said again. He nodded, then picked up his mug and emptied it. He looked at her with black eyes and she had the desire to reach out and stroke his hair, to calm and comfort him.

It was already happening, she realized. It hadn't even been a full day and night and she was feeling herself empathizing, getting distracted, getting caught up. She wasn't a girl any longer, she reminded herself, and it wasn't appropriate to indulge herself in infatuations the way she used to. She had duties, and she could not afford, nor did she want to fail at them. She had a reputation to uphold, one which had brought her into consideration for this post in the first place. She broke her eyes away from his and tried to harden herself again.

"Shall we return to our rooms?" she asked him, and he nodded.