Aveline and Donnic walked to the Bone Pit together in the late afternoon sun.

Lost in thought, Aveline stared at the ground most of the way there with a grim expression. Donnic held her hand and watched her quietly. He knew she was grieving for her lost friend Hawke. The two women had never been close, were actually nearer to rivals than friends. Yet they had come to Kirkwall together all those years ago as refugees from the Blight, and both had fought their way from the bottom with each other's aid. Hawke going from a Lowtown shack to her Hightown manor, and Aveline from a solitary nobody to a married Captain of the City Guard. Their struggles had bonded them like sisters. Sisters who fought bitterly and often, but sisters still.

Donnic had admired Hawke. She was a bit too unserious for him, unlike his redheaded warrior wife, but a remarkable woman just the same. She would give aid to anyone who asked, not as a guard or a templar or even a mercenary but as a free individual who wanted to help people. That was a rare thing in a place like Kirkwall, where only the strong survived.

Now, suddenly, she was gone. And so much was left undone. As a City Guardsman himself, he knew just how much Hawke had been able to accomplish in Kirkwall as a free agent. At times, both he and Aveline had been frustrated by her interference, but it could not be denied that Hawke's influence had accomplished good things. Together with her companions, they had kept order to a degree that the underfunded and understaffed Guard could not have managed on their own.

He hoped, for that reason, that Hawke's companions would not choose to disband and go their separate ways, but stay to defend the city from whatever came next. A lot of that could depend upon whatever happened with Fenris at the Bone Pit.

He worried, too, about Fenris. He considered the elf a friend, and he knew Aveline did as well. He was a strange sort of fellow, difficult to read and hard to predict. It was apparent, though, that Aveline was one of the few people Fenris respected without reservation. The elf had been among the people conspiring to bring them together. Later, Donnic found him a good source of information about his lady-love - he was more observant than he seemed, and surprisingly insightful in his advice. For the elf's part, their odd courtship seemed to amuse him.

It had always been obvious to just about everyone that Fenris had feelings for Hawke. In her presence, he was almost a different person. Typically, the elf was morose a good deal of the time, his temper erratic, prone to disappearing without warning and refusing visitors. Hawke was the one person who seemed to put him at ease, and she could always draw him back from whatever dark waters his spirit dwelt in. With her, his smiles were not forced. And one could catch him, at times, looking at her with such tenderness it tore at your heart.

But he wouldn't act on it, however much Donnic tried to encourage him. Despite what he said, Donnic suspected this had nothing to do with Anders. Fenris would be only too happy to see Hawke break up with his hated enemy. That in itself wouldn't stop him, it was only an excuse. He had probably made up his mind a very long time ago that she would never feel that wayabout him. For some reason he seemed to think she would part from him forever if she ever knew what he felt for her, and nothing would convince him otherwise.

It was such a shame, Donnic reflected. Hawke could well have reciprocated his feelings, if he had only given her a chance. And then, perhaps, everything could have been different.

On the outskirts of the city, the couple encountered the Rivanni pirate Isabela traveling in the opposite direction. As was commonly the case whenever Aveline encountered Isabela, she was immediately incensed.

"Just where are you going? I thought you were staying with Fenris!"

"Hello to you too, Muscles. I've been to the Bone Pit. He's fine."

"You idiot," Aveline snapped. "He's in a fragile state of mind. He could do almost anything."

Isabela shrugged and passed the couple. "Fenris isn't delicate. He's been through a lot worse than this. He'll be all right."

Aveline fumed, and looked like she wanted to chase after the pirate and hit her over the head with a blunt object.

"It's on your head if he isn't!" she shouted after her.

Isabela merely waved over her shoulder, dismissing the threat, as she continued down the road to Kirkwall.

"I swear, one of these days..." Aveline grumbled to her husband.

"I know, dear. Need I remind you that murder is still against the law, the last I checked?"

"Pity."

Aveline embraced him suddenly, leaning her head on his shoulder. "After this, could we go away somewhere together? I could use a break."

"Away from everyone? As nice as that sounds, you would spend the whole time worrying about how they managed without you..."

"I probably would."

"Perhaps we could draw all the shades and not answer the door for a few days instead. And I will keep you occupied." Donnic kissed the top of her head.

"That sounds lovely."

They walked the rest of the way to the Bone Pit in comfortable silence.

It was dark again when Aveline and Donnic went into the Bone Pit, and when she raised her torch she could not see Fenris in his customary spot at the wall.

"Fenris!" she shouted, her voice reverberating off the walls. "Fenris!"

"He could be in one of the other tunnels," said Donnic. He took over the torch and relit the lamps, and light crept across the chamber.

Aveline spotted him, unmoving and silent, right at the edge of the abyss. She caught her husband's arm. "Donnic."

"I see him."

They approached him carefully. The elf was huddled on the ground, head bowed, his typical terrible posture collapsing in on itself even further.

"Fenris? My friend, how are you doing?" Donnic was well aware that this was a stupid question, but one had to start somewhere.

"You should have answered me when I called," Aveline scolded him. "I was worried."

Fenris gave no appearance of hearing either of them. His arms were wrapped tightly around his knees, his face hidden.

"We brought something for Hawke." Donnic took the package out of his pocket, smiling sadly. "The copper marigolds. Do you remember?"

Aveline blushed slightly and kicked a small rock at her feet. "Of course he remembers. None of them have ever let me live down that foolishness."

"It wasn't foolishness, dear. It was a little... muddled, as a message, and I was a little slow on the uptake. But it all came out for the best. Thanks to Hawke."

Donnic set the copper marigolds at the edge of the cliff, where they looked as though they had grown from the stone itself. It was beautiful, in a way.

"We going to keep this in our home forever but... it seems a fitting tribute," Aveline told the elf. "It's our way to remember a woman who would do anything to help her friends, even when they were pretty near hopeless."

Nothing. Fenris did not react at all. They weren't sure he was even awake. Donnic would have been tempted to nudge him to see, if not for the possibility of having his heart removed forcibly from his chest. He had seen Fenris pull that particular trick once before, and it was emblazoned vividly in his memory.

Aveline took a deep breath and crossed her arms in front of her. "Fenris. Besides paying our respects to Hawke, we're here to bring you back with us. It's time to come back to Kirkwall."

No reaction.

"It will do no good for you to sit here and wither away. There is nothing anyone can do for Hawke now. We need your help in Kirkwall. We have reports of mages gathering clandestinely in the night, plotting some sort of rebellion. No one knows what they're capable of more than you. Come back and help us deal with this."

Nothing.

Aveline grew agitated. "I thought you were more sensible than this! Oh, who am I kidding, you never listen to me! You'd rather do everything the hardest way possible, never minding what it does to anyone else!" She started to pace back and forth, as she did when truly upset. "This is madness, Fenris! Maybe the others are right, and you have lost what little mind you had left!"

Donnic, on the other hand, looked sympathetic. "I don't know that I would call it madness, Aveline. I get it, actually. I really do."

Aveline glared at him. "You're not helping!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't help thinking... If it was you... Maker forbid but if you had disappeared without a sign either way, I would assume you were alive too. I'd have to. Darling, almost nothing could bring you down. Didn't you kill a Hurlock with your bare hands during a Blight? And Hawke is pretty formidable herself... she killed the Arishok single-handedly! What if it happened exactly as he says? She could have survived the fall, if she managed to catch on somewhere. She could actually be trying to reach us."

Fenris finally turned his head and gave Donnic a grateful look.

Now Aveline wanted to shake the both of them. But at least her husband had gotten some sort of response. So Fenris was not entirely out of his mind. His face was gaunt and hollow, but he did not seem beyond reason. Just stubborn beyond all belief.

Aveline sighed. Why did she always have to be the realist? She didn't enjoycrushing people's hopes beneath her heel. She wasn't a mean person. But too many people had coddled the elf, and Isabela was right in one sense: he was not a weak man. He should be able to handle the truth.

"That may have been true a few days ago, I'll give you that. Your faith in her is very… admirable. But there isn't any chance anymore, Fenris, you have to see that. She wouldn't have the strength by now to climb up a cliff with whatever injuries she may have. How far down did you go, and see no sign of her? How far down did Merrill go? It was a good distance down, wasn't it? If she fell farther than that, she would have broken bones, in the very least, and much more likely a broken neck. How would she even begin to climb in that condition? And don't forget, even if she survived the fall with only a few injuries, there are all sorts of drakes and dragonlings hiding down there that would love to feast on human flesh-"

"Aveline!" Donnic looked appalled.

"It's the truth. A bloodied human is a beacon for all sorts of cave-crawlers to feast on. If Hawke was alive after her fall, she is surely dead by now. I'm sorry, Fenris, but there's just no way-"

"Do you think it hasn't occurred to me?" Fenris replied testily. She had to listen very closely to make out the raspy remnants of his voice. "I have had very little to do but imagine the possibilities. I know what you say is true."

"But?"

"I cannot leave."

"Why?"

"I feel she cannot be dead. I know that I sound mad. But I feel it in my bones. She cannot be dead." He shook his head determinedly, unwilling to abandon his last hope. But too tired to keep the misery from his voice. "How could I still live if she were dead?"

Aveline and Donnic exchanged a pained look. How would you begin to argue with that?

Donnic immediately took his wife's arm, just as she had started to reach for her weapon. He knew she could very well make good on her threat to drag the elf bodily out of the cave. She was perfectly capable of handling him physically, but Fenris was armed and near-mad, and next to a bottomless pit, and that may not end well. Not that he thought Fenris would harm her intentionally. Honestly he didn't blame the man. If their positions were exchanged, if Aveline were the one, he would probably be no better off himself. He would never give up on Aveline, they would probably have to drag him away too. Unfortunately, dragging Fenris away would be much harder.

To his surprise, Aveline relented. She pulled her sword, but placed it on the ground and started to take off her gauntlets. Donnic stared at her quizzically, until she made her request: "Could you excuse us for a few minutes, Donnic?"

"Darling..." he started to protest.

"I just need a private word, that's all. Just go outside for a little while?"

Donnic wanted to argue further, but knew it would be useless. He knew that look in her eyes. "All right, but if you're going to be scuffling with each other, do it a little farther away from the edge? Please? I couldn't stand to lose you..."

Aveline kissed him then, and stroked his cheek fondly. "You won't. I plan to live forever."

"I'm holding you to that."