He felt them. Darkspawn, just up ahead.

"Stop," he said, pulling Bethany to a halt with him.

"Anders?" Hawke, just ahead of him; a scrape of metal armour to his left told him Fenris had stepped back to his side.

"What's up, Blondie?" asked Varric, his voice echoing a little from farther up the passage.

"Darkspawn. Four of them," he said tersely. "Genlocks from the feel of it. There must be others nearby as well."

"How are we going to handle this?" asked Bethany; he could feel her eyes upon him.

"Same way we always do," replied Anders. There was silence for a moment. "What, you think just because I'm blind now, I can't fight? I'm still a mage. I still have my staff. I may not be able to see the darkspawn but I can still feel them! And I can still feel where all of you are. I can still heal, shield you - I'm not a helpless cripple, damn it!" he snapped.

"Peace," said Fenris; Anders felt a gauntleted hand come to rest upon his arm. He drew breath slowly.

"I can still fight," he said, quieter. "Just let me get my back to a wall or something so I have less chance of blundering into it or falling over."

"Alright," said Hawke. "Fenris, with me - we'll go through first. Beth, get Anders to the wall then back me up. Varric, stick with Anders and pick 'em off at a distance. Everyone keep sharp."

Anders took Bethany's arm again as he heard Fenris move forward with Hawke to take up position. Varric patted him on the back as he took up the rear position. "I got your back, Blondie," he said encouragingly.

The moment they were through the door, Anders felt Bethany's hand slip out from his grasp and then she was tugging him sideways. His back hit rock and he grunted.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed; he shook his head with a small frown, senses already extending out.

"Genlock behind you!" he warned her. "Get down!" He levelled his staff in the direction of the unclean feeling and unleashed a blast of ice in that direction, trusting she'd ducked.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed breathlessly, and he grinned.

"Nice one, Blondie," grunted Varric as he took up position to Anders' left; Bianca sang out.

"You too," replied Anders absently as he felt one of the genlocks "fade" from his perception. He felt a flare of pain emanating from Fenris and without thinking, reached out with healing, following it up with a shield spell before turning blindly to seek for the presence of Hawke and doing the same.

Then Fenris lit up his brands. Anders knew he had, because suddenly there was a bloom of lighter red against the darkness, and he could feel his magic sing in answer.

The fight was over very quickly; Anders heard the others exclaiming around him in excitement, and someone clapped him on the shoulder. "We did it!" said Hawke.

"Told you," said Anders, unable to repress a smirk.

"That you did, Blondie," agreed Varric. "That you did."

Anders had no idea how far they travelled that day. They encountered five more groups of darkspawn; he found it frustrating having to stand still wherever Bethany or Varric put him, and pinpointing where everyone was and where the darkspawn were was exhausting. It took a lot of concentration, on top of healing and shielding the others. He suspected they had not gotten as far as they would have if he had still had his sight.

At least the effort of concentrating kept his mind off the nagging headache that had gradually worsened through the day, and the dull ache in his joints. By the time Hawke called a halt however, it was hard to think of anything else. His body was one mass of pain, and the little trickle of healing magic he tried to relieve the pain frustratingly did nothing. The smell of food cooking had his stomach lurching treacherously.

Fenris guided him to a rock and he sat down, his staff laid across his knees as he bowed his head slightly and listened to the sounds of camp being struck around him. He fumbled clumsily with a shaking hand for a vial of lyrium that seemed far too light. When he set it to his lips, there was barely half a mouthful there. He swallowed it down, and felt the ache in his joints recede a little. Then he dropped his head into his hands and groaned.

"Anders?"

He knew even before she spoke that it was Bethany; her aura was gentle and soothing. He frowned a little. Something about it seemed... odd.

"Beth," he said quietly.

"Your eyesight still hasn't come back then?" she said gently as she sat down next to him. He huffed a sigh of frustration.

"It should have, but it hasn't," he replied. "And no, I don't know why," he added tersely.

"Anders." She laid a hand on his arm. There was no note of reproach in her voice, but he felt guilty nonetheless for snapping.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "I'm tired and aching. I shouldn't be taking it out on you though."

There was a soft clink of glass, and then she pressed something into his hand; he felt the distinct shapes of four vials. "What -"

"You need these more than I do," she said gently.

"Beth, no, I can't - you'll need this!" he protested as he tried to hand them back. She closed his hand firmly over them.

"Not as much as you do," she said gently.

He bit his lip, feeling tears sting his one remaining eye. He drew a deep breath, not trusting himself to speak. After a moment she leaned in and gently kissed his cheek; he turned blindly towards her. "Beth..."

She patted his arm then rose to her feet and moved away.

He sat silently, the lyrium held in his hand; he finally remembered to tuck them away in his pouch next to his last remaining vial when he heard Fenris approaching. Though the elf was quiet, Anders could feel him - feel his life essence and the lyrium in his skin as he approached.

"The meal is ready," Fenris said gruffly. "Do you feel up to eating?"

Anders pressed a hand against his stomach. It still churned a little uneasily, but not as bad as it had before. He nodded, and held out a hand for Fenris to help him up and lead him to the others.

He opened his eyes and saw nothing.

He panicked. He'd done nothing wrong; why was he back in solitary again? This wasn't fair! He reached out wildly, trying to find the walls of his cell, and then his hands brushed warm skin.

"Please, don't leave me in the dark - I'll be good!" he whimpered. The templar shifted, and Anders felt warm breath huff upon his face in the dark. "Please Ser!" he whispered.

"Mage."

He recognised the voice even as he felt the pull of lyrium and a soft dark red bloomed against the impenetrable blackness all around him; and he remembered then where he was. He reached out clumsily, and Fenris took his hand.

"Anders, you are safe. There are no templars here."

He nodded his head, ashamed. He could feel a wetness on his cheek and he scrubbed the tears away with the heel of his palm, ashamed. He felt self-conscious and embarrassed.

"Why am I still blind?" he exclaimed, frustrated.

He felt Fenris shifting next to him, and then a warm hand gently brushed the hair away from his eyes.

"Your eye still does not react to the light," the elf said quietly. "Do you still only see vague patches where there is light?"

Anders nodded slowly. "I don't understand. My sight should have come back by now."

"How much lyrium have you been taking?" asked Fenris.

"Not as much as you think," said Anders sullenly.

"Anders..."

He sighed. "Less than I should," he admitted. "I only took one vial yesterday. At least, I assume it was yesterday. Impossible to tell down here even if I could still see."

"Could it be that... withdrawal... is impeding your body's ability to heal itself?" suggested Fenris softly.

Anders swallowed hard. "It's... possible," he nodded.

Fenris took both his hands in his own warm, sure grip, the lyrium lines upon his palms tingling against Anders' skin. "Anders. The truth now. How much do you have left?"

Anders was silent for a while before he murmured, "Five vials. Bethany gave me the last of hers."

"Fasta vass," muttered Fenris. "One vial a day and you are barely functional. Five days..."

"You think I don't know that?" said Anders. "Even if Bartrand hadn't shut us in, we'd still be two weeks away from the surface!"

He felt Fenris' arms enfold him in a comforting, warm hug. "We will find a way, Anders," the elf rumbled quietly.

He allowed Fenris to draw him back down onto their shared bedroll. The elf spooned against him, their hands still laced together. He felt the elf's breathing smooth out and grow slower as he relaxed back into sleep.

Anders stared blankly out into the darkness and wondered about that strange odd feeling he'd picked up from Bethany. It was almost... familiar.

He was still pondering it when he fell asleep.