Once again, I do not own Dragon Age II or 'All The Same'

Varric had begun to hear whispered of a dog howling in Hightown. Maker knew Lunia's mabari, Sun, could howl at the moon, but this was at the same time every night for almost a week. Now Varric knew Lunia, he knew she liked her sleep. So something more was going on here. The Lady would have tapped the nose of her dog and told him to hush. So his curiosity had led him to the square where Hawke lived at 2 o'clock in the morning. Hawke has the only dog in Hightown, so he knew it was here that he would hear it.

The second that he settled down to wait her heard it and the hair on his chest stood on end. Whoever harmed that beast should just put it down! He walked up the door, because it sounded like it was coming from inside Amell Manor, and knocked. Bohdan came running to the door.

"Oh Messere Varric, thank the Stone! Maybe you can help!"

"Bohdan what is going on?"

"She has been like this for almost a week. Waking up from a dead sleep, making that… sound, then laying there crying till morning. She has stayed in her room, won't come out for her mother or anyone. Maybe she will unlock the door for you."

Varric nodded and started towards Lunia's room. What had happened since he saw her last? They talked and played cards at The Hanged Man after that business with the elf's former master apprentice. She was going to give Fenris a day or so to brood then she was going after him. Surely what they saw in the holding caves hadn't scarred her that bad. They had seen much worse. Void take them, they had been in bloodier battles than that place had to offer.

"Hawke, can I come in?" he question as he put his head to the door. He heard movement and then the clinking of a lock being turned. Good, saved him from having to pick it and she knew it. As he entered her room, he looked at her. She didn't even look like the same woman that he had seen a week ago! She looked like she had been to The Void and back. Her eyes were blood shot and there were deep bags under her eyes. Her hair looked like a nug's nest. Her clothes were in disarray and to put it bluntly she stunk. Then he really looked at her eyes, and what he saw looking back at him was a wounded animal. That panicky look they give when they are injured and they are not afraid to take flight if something gets too close.

"Lunia," he began as she walked to her slowly. "What happened?"

"Varric?" her voice, her hauntingly beautiful voice, was rough and broken.

"Oh Siren, come here,: he opened his arms and she rushed to him. They both sank to the floor as she began crying.

She poured her heart out to him. She gave him every detail of what the blighted piece of nug shit had done. Through broken sobs and a nose running like mad, Varric only got half of the garbled words that flowed from her mouth. That… elf had almost broken her! It would take a while for voice to heal enough to sing again, yet her heart may never heal. He saw scratch marks all over her arms as she were trying to claw her way out of her own skin. More healing for Blondie to do it seemed. Finally the endless stream of words stopped and she sagged into him.

Her mother and staff were standing at the door. He simply nodded and they got to work. Her mother and the young elven maid, Orana that was her name, led her behind the screen to change. Bohdan and Sandal began bringing up bucket of hot water for a bath by the fire. Varric went down to the kitchen to put together some broth, hot tea and to let Anders know to stop by.

After an hour, the room had been cleansed by the cool night air and Lunia was washed, clothed, fed, healed and tucked into bed. The wound in her heart lanced but the healing had just begun. Anders had come and gone, saying he would return the next day to check on her wounds. Varric sat down in a chair by her bed, telling the others he would stay with her for the rest of the night and they could get some sleep.

"You know, Corff is going to be so pissed that you can't sing tomorrow," Varric said as he leaned back in his chair.

"I'm sorry. Guess I won't be singing anything to high pitched for a while… Tell him I'm sorry."

"Do you realize what this means? Half of Lowtown is going to riot when you are not there, and don't come just to play cards, they will burn the place down!"

"I doubt you would let them burn our home Varric. Besides, I should be back to getting you guys free drinks the week after," she leaned back into her fluffy pillows and closed her eyes.

Ever since Varric has learned in the Deep Roads that Lunia could sing, he had called her Siren in private. She sang to her sister as she held her in her arms while she plunged cold steel into her. The song haunted him yet in a good way. One night at The Hanged Man, a couple of months after their return, he asked her to sing the song again. That was when it all started. Corff made a deal with Hawke after the place began to fill up with only a few more songs sung. If she would sing once a week, she and all her friends could drink free that night. Corff was going to throw in a meal to, but Hawke refused that section of the offer. You never knew what Corff used to cook his food with.

"I don't know if I can face him Varric," she whispered into the canopy.

"You could always tell him to leave." The moment it left his lips he wanted to call back the words. She almost panicked. Varric jumped out of his chair and hugged her as she began muttering to herself that she couldn't break her promise. Varric patted her back until she calmed down again.

"Forget I said that. Do you want me to stay, Siren?" he asked as he tucked her back in.

"Please, as least until I fall asleep?" she whispered as if too afraid to speak aloud.

"Of course, Siren, I'll keep the demons away." '… and kill an elf for hurting you like this.' He added in his mind as he went back to his chair and watched his once fearless leader drift into and uneasy sleep.

The next day, Lunia awoke to finally feeling rested. As she exited her room, she saw Orana.

"Hello Orana, sorry I haven't been able to make sure you are comfortable working here…"

"It's ok mistress. You mother and Bohdan have helped me a lot. Would you like me to get you breakfast?"

"No thanks you. I'll go to the kitchen and whip up something."

"Ok, let me know if you need anything mistress."

"Orana, you can just call me Hawke, or Lunia. You are a free person now."

"Ok Mistress Lunia," she curtsied and walked into Lunia's room to finish what cleaning she could not get done the night before.

"I'm gonna have to work on that with her," Lunia said as she went to the kitchen.

After looking around in her cabinets, she found the ingredients to make cream of wheat and some herbal tea and got to work. After getting out the milk, butter and sugar, she put it all on a tray and took them to a small patio that was just outside the kitchen. She had just gotten settled and was about to take her first bite when her mother entered the room. She gave her daughter a sad smile and sat in the seat across from her.

"How are you feeling, my dear?"

"Better mother, but it will take time," Lunia replied as she tried to eat some more. She felt her mother's gaze on her.

"You love him don't you?" Leandra finally blurted out.

"Yes… I just didn't know how much till he walked out the door," she replied. She sat her spoon down, not feeling hungry anymore.

"Twill be alright," Leandra said as she patted her hand. "Sir Emeric came by. He said he wasn't to see you when you were feeling better. Will Aveline be back soon? It would do you good to see her."

"Not for another week. She needed to vacation and it will be good for her and Donnic. It will help them get to know each other better."

"At least you managed to get them together. He seems like a good sort. Especially after her husband was taken from her like that…"

"Mother I…"

"Hush child. I meant nothing about Bethany or Carver. We all deserve a little happiness in our lives after all we have been through to get to Kirkwall and reach this status. Who knows, I may start looking for a suitor for myself."

"Mother, I kept the little boys from getting around Bethany all the time when we were younger. I'll do the same for you too, she chuckled. "I want you to be happy mother. I would like to know you have somebody if something happens to me…"

Leandra grabbed her daughter's hand in a death grip, "don't say that. I will not lose you as I have lost your father, Carver and Bethany! Promise me you will be safe. Promise!"

"Of course, Mother. Of course."

"Thank you my dear. Now smile, today is a new day. Good will come of it yet," Leandra said as she took her leave of her last living child.

"I sure hope so mother," Lunia replied to nobody in general. She looked out over all the flowers and finished up her now cold cereal before heading to The Gallows.

Varric sat back in his chair looking much worse for wear. Sleep had eluded him because the look of anguish on Lunia's face was there every time he closed his eyes. After leaving Lunia's side, he fought very hard not to go beat that elf into a bloody pulp. Not that he could have, but he would have tried. So instead he came back to his domain and entertained what he would have done. As he was on the fifth or sixth scenario which involved rabid mabaris, he was drawn from his muses by a deep voice.

"Varric, are you here?" Fenris asked as he entered the room.

'Ask and ye shall receive! Look what The Stone has brought me!' Varric thought as he looked the elf up and down. He didn't look any worse, though there was a slight off balanced look about him. So he was drunk, even better. "Yes elf?" Varric finally replied out loud.

"I… have you seen Hawke?"

"Yes I have," Varric said as he leaned forward and steepled his fingers together in front of his face.

"Does she require my sword any longer?"

"That you should ask her. I on the other hand want to string you by your entrails," was Varric only warning as he whipped Bianca out and fired a shot just past the elf's ear. "Give me a reason not to elf!"

"So she come running to you did she?" Fenris spat out, he anger rising.

"I wouldn't call it running to me. I FOUND her, or what was left of her." Varric saw the color drain from Fenris' face. "Oh no, she is still alive. She will just never be the same after what you put her through. She had no eaten in a week. I guess the last meal she had was right before we were ambushed at the Wounded Coast. That beautiful voice that we heard in The Deep Roads was almost destroyed from crying and howling. Her arms were bleeding from the scratches she had inflicted on herself. She cried and poured out her broken heart to me. Since that moment, I have thought of almost everything I could do to you. I wanted you to feel the pain she is going through, but I guess you can't hurt a heartless bastard like you."

"I didn't want to leave dwarf! I just couldn't…" Fenris started to say but Varric began yelling

"NO you could have stayed! After everything she has done for all of us, what she has done for you alone! She would have helped you get other whatever problem you were facing!" The normally calm dwarf jumped up and started pacing and putting Bianca back on his back. Fenris sat down as he took the tongue lashing.

"But you didn't think about that did you? No you ran. I wanted to hunt you down and make you leave so she would never have to look at you again. She didn't deserve to have that hurt go through her heart every time she looked at you, but she wouldn't let me. That panicked look entered her eyes when I brought it up. So that look alone told me just how much she cares about you. You couldn't! More like you are a coward! Void take us all she would be better off with anybody in out band of misfits. We all love her. Even Isabella would be better! As least with her she would know that is would just be casual sex. She wouldn't go in with all her heart. She thought that she had that with you. Yet is seems you only wanted a one night stand!"

"You go too far Varric!" Fenris shouted. The use of his name made Hawke's own personal champion pause. "I know that she would be better off with anybody but me. I would rather her love you, the prince, even the abomination would be better than me. Yet don't think for one second that it didn't hurt me to leave. That our one night together meant nothing!" Fenris hung his head. "It meant everything, but the memories came rushing back and… I did the only thing I know to do. I ran…"

"Keep running then. Run till Kirkwall is nothing but a speck behind and let those of us that love her take care of her."

"As soon as the mess with the Qunari is done, I shall. I am the most knowledgeable about them and you all may have need of me. Until then, I will stay out of the way." Fenris walked out defeated and Varric let him go.

It wasn't until Varric went to lay down in his bed a few hours later that Varric noticed that he had admitted he too loved Lunia. Not in the way a person would love a sibling, but something a little bit deeper. The elf must have glanced over that not really caring. He sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. "Oh Siren, we all love you, but the one you want is not howling for you."