Things were quiet over the market district. The whole city had been quiet since the raid on the slaver compound, the other slaver factions apparently content to keep quiet and out of the way since the attack. It was both frustrating and reassuring for Kallian as she watched over the city from the top of a roof, leaning against a crooked brick chimney as she scanned the empty square in front of her. There were a few guards circling the main tent where the merchants kept their wares locked up in heavy boxes, but other than that there was no movement on the street. With all of the refugees locked up in the city clamoring for escape to somewhere without an impending Blight, Kallian would have thought that the crime rate would have sky rocketed. Surprisingly, everything had remained the same.

Of course, part of that was because the Knifers had a strict policy about thugs invading their turf. In a way, their little group of criminals was doing a better job at keeping guard than the actual guard, but that was a line of thought for another time. When Basher came back with his Teyrn-ness restored, Howe and his sloppy watchmen would get the boot. Or at least, that's what she hopped.

With one final scanning gaze over the empty market square, Kallian turned from her chimney and made her way across the roof, making a short leap to the next building and coming down on the other side, looking both ways down the street before fully standing and started walking toward the docks. The real chaos in the city was here, where the loading district met with the upper echelons of Denerim's society. Everyone with a tent or a strip of cloth that could serve as a wind breaker had set up camp between buildings, boxes, overturned boats, fish stands, or invaded attics. The despair could practically be sniffed out even over the constant reek of fish guts and seaweed, and long into the night it wasn't uncommon to hear the soft sound of babes weeping into their mother's breasts.

If only those slave traders were only half as effective at moving regular people as they were moving elves.

Snorting, Kallian headed back to the uptown parts of the city, bypassing the docks as best she could to keep out of that mess. It had become dangerous to go near the docks at night for all of her elves now. The guardsmen for what they were worth clustered around the hopeless refugees, doing their best to keep some sort of order, especially when a new boat arrived from over the horizon promising to take the people clustered near the docks to far away places if they had the coin to charter a ship. The night patrols were especially effective at sniffing out rogues, and she'd had to save Pita once when the two were on patrol together and the flighty woman had been caught by an over zealous guard. It was practically a death sentence for elves to be caught outside at night, and Kallian wasn't going to see another of her people dead, not after Norris.

Needless to say, the patrols for the guardsmen had become even more strict after that. The Knifers were a known threat throughout the city, though they weren't known as such. Any elves found outside the Alienage, regardless of the time of day, were faced with scrutiny from the guardsmen. For now, Kallian had her people sticking indoors as much as possible. There was no need to take too many risks, especially now that Aedan's armed guards had moved out of the place and wouldn't be there to help if they got into a scrape.

Rounding a corner, Kallian was now close to the estate, watching the main streets for a sign of the night patrol. When the walls of the estate were in sight she saw an irregularity popping out from the side of the building in front of her, shaped like a set of shoulders and a head. Ducking into an alleyway, Kallian watched whomever it was that was watching the estate, nerves fluttering in her stomach. Had they finally been found out?

Past the end of the alleyway she watched as two of her scouts came down off the roofs, landing by the building and looking both ways down the street before making the cross to the side door by the gate. The figure by the wall had ducked behind the corner when the two elves had come down and was now well hidden within the shadows. Whoever it was waited until the two scouts were inside the wall, then exited the alleyway and took off deeper into the upper-class section of Denerim.

Silently spitting curses, Kallian followed, taking to the roofs as soon as she could and tracked the runner parallel to his course, skirting over the rooftops with practiced ease. When she looked up to see where they were going, she recognized the building instantly and hear heart leapt in her throat. The Denerim Estate. So, this runner was working for Howe, huh? Well, she'd put a stop to him.

Pouring on some speed, Kallain ran faster to catch up with the runner, tile slates creaking under her weight as she passed by and after leaping down onto a single story roof took two steps and jumped down to the street below. Her fall was softened by the man she was chasing, and he went down the second her weight hit him in the back, doing a face plant on the ground. Kallian gave the stunned man no time to recover, getting her legs back under her and loosened a dagger from its sheathe, turning the man on his back and pressing the weapon flush against his throat so that he could feel the tip biting into his skin.

"How much do ya know, an' who wants to know it?" She hissed, pressing her knee to the man's stomach, making him cough and gasp for air. She was surprised to note that it wasn't a human she'd brought down, but an elf. An elf with blood gushing out of his nose and a split lip with a scratched up chin from the fall. He looked vaguely familiar, and though tall for an elf was actually rather young.

"Please, jus' lemme go." He mumbled through his stuffed up bloody nose, looking terrified under Kallian's knife. So much so that he didn't even try to reach up and wipe the blood off his face. "I wabn't doin' nothin', honest."

"Like I'm going to believe that." Kallian spat, fisting her free hand in the boy's collar and shook him slightly, adjusting her dagger so that she didn't flay his neck wide open. "What're ya doin' peepin' on our hidout, eh? Who're you workin' fer? Cooperate, an' I won't torture the information outta ya."

"I-I wabn't peepin'!" He replied with a stutter, eyes flying wide in a horrified expression. "I swear! I swear I wabn't! I was lookin' for Wowen!"

"Wowen?" She didn't get a chance to question the boy further because she heard something move off to her left and looked over quickly to see Sticker standing in the center of the street, watching her with a stunned expression.

He swore colorfully, then came forward quickly and knelt next to the boy. "Elai! What in the bloody name of Andraste are you doing here?"

More confused now, Kallain kept her grip on the boy in her hands, staring at Sticker, bewildered. "Elai? You know this kid, Sticker?"

Frowning, Sticker nodded. "Yeah, I-"

"Wowen!" Tearing up, the boy pulled aside Kallain's knife and struggled to get out from under her. Surprised, she let him and watched as the kid threw his arms around Sticker, sobbing into the older elf's chest. "Wowen!"

At first it seemed like Sticker didn't know what to do with the boy, then he wrapped his arms around Elai and hugged him tightly. "Idiot, what're you doin' out here Elai? I thought I told you to stay home."

Sniffling through his tears and broken nose, the boy tried to clean up a little bit, succeeding only in smearing the blood over his face. "They t-t-took ma." He cried, leaning back and dipping his head, unable to meet Sticker's eyes. "I s-stayed back jus' like you said, an' then ma got taken, so I came to find you. I-I didn't know what else to do…"

"Shh, it's alright, I'll look after you now." Sticker pulled Elai back into a hug, squeezing him gently then looked up over the boy's shoulder at Kallian who had been staring openly at the spectacle the whole time.

"So." She started, sitting on her heels and putting her knife away. "Wowen?"

Letting go of Elai, Sticker cleaned a bit of blood off of the boy's face before looking at Kallian again. "Roen. That's my real name. And Elai is… my little brother. Half brother."

Looking down at the bloodied face of Elai, Kallain studied him for a long moment with probing eyes and finally placed why he looked so familiar. Though the younger boy didn't share his older sibling's orange hair and green eyes, but was blonde with brown eyes, they did have similar faces, sharing the same jaw and eye shape. Sudden realization dawned on her, and she snapped, pointing at him with her elbow propped up on her knee. "You're that kid that was always hanging around the store!"

Elai nodded, wiping his bloody nose on his palm then pinched his nostrils to stop the bleeding pouring out the front. "Uh huh. I cawwy bawkses."

"So if you were looking for him-" Kallian pointed to Sticker "Then why were you runnin' for the Arl's estate?"

Shaking his head with his nose still securely pinched shut, Elai frowned. "Nawt Awl's estate. I was hidin' jus' up thattaway." He pointed to a building about a hundred feet away that was very close to its neighbor, the alley way created between the two walls small enough for one person to walk through it at an angle. "Gward saw me commin' outta the Awianage. I hadda hide. I been wooking fo a few weeks, so I been sweepin' there."

It was hard to understand him through his plugged nose, but Kallian nodded, getting the gist of what he was trying to say. "Alright, good 'nuff for me, I guess." Standing, Kallain looked over the two brothers from where they were still on the ground, a contemplative look on his face. "You any good at knives?"

"No." It was Sticker who answered, an unusual look of defiance in his normally easy-going and casual gaze. He helped Elai to his feet and stood as well, standing just slightly in front of the younger boy. "He carries boxes and does odd jobs, that's it."

Lifting an eyebrow, Kallain crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her head to the side. "Aye? Well, has he got a job outside the Alienage?" There was a brief uncomfortable silence where Sticker remained silent, staring intensely at Kallian and then Elai finally shook his head no. "Well, I suppose that means we're gonna have to train him, don't it?"

"No." He repeated, taking a step forward so that the height difference between himself and Kallain was painfully obvious. "I've been doin' this for years so that Elai and mom could have a decent life in the Alienage. He's not going to turn out a petty thief like me."

"I don't see that there's much choice." Kallian replied with a shrug, her easy tone belying the tenseness of her body, ready for action. "Everyone's gotta pull their weight. If he don't have a payin' job, then he's gotta go on patrols an' raids jus' like the rest of us. We don't get fed if we start takin' on stray siblings that ain't got a way to support themselves."

Sticker's jaw tightened, visibly clenching and she could see him trying to work up a decent argument to prevent his brother from turning to a life of crime. "There's no way he can do it. It'd take too long to teach him. I worked too hard to keep him on the straight and narrow for it all to be thrown out now."

"Why don't you let him decide?" Kallian shot back, bristling now. "You gotta look at the facts here Sticker. Yer mum's been taken to who knows where, whether by the guards or by the Slavers, an' you ain't getting' her back. Now that he's outside the Alienage, he ain't safe. If you wanna leave an' go yer own way, fine! But if you got a notion of stayin' then both of you are gonna have to play but the rules. I ain't makin' exceptions for favorites. That's how people wind up dead."

The two had a tense stare off, neither of them giving ground, then Elai tugged on Sticker's sleeve, stepping forward. "I'll do it."

"Elai-"

"She's gotta pwoint, Wowen." Elai said, turning his large eyes up at his brother, silently pleading with him. "It's nawt safe fow us to bwe awone."

Sticker's gaze softened slightly, then he put his hand on Elai's head and ruffled the kid's hair. "Alright, I'll teach you then."

"Good." Kallain nodded with a sniff. "Glad we got that all figured out, then. Sticker, I'll take your round. You go take Elai and get him cleaned up. Introduce him to the others, an' don't get into any trouble."

With a reluctant nod, Sticker put his hands on Elai's shoulders and started to direct him back to their hideout. "Will do boss. See you at dawn then."

Kallain watched the two leave, then took a deep breath and looked up to the sky. Family… It was easy to call Elai a kid, since he was so innocent looking, but really he was only a year or two younger than her at most. She knew why Sticker didn't want him to get involved in this life. It made you grow up. Made you do things and did things to you that pushed you past your years. Twisting the engagement ring on her finger, she abruptly stopped that train of thought and headed down the street that Sticker had come from, loosing herself in the constant search for danger.

•º•.•º•

"Fergus?"

The man retuned Aedan's gaze, his expression a jumbled mix of disbelief and awe. He reached forward, clasping his large calloused hands on Aedan's shoulders, tilting his head. "Aedan? Is that really you?"

Breath caught in his throat, Aedan was lost for words. All the hurt and insecurity driven by loss suddenly unleashed and swelling in his chest, mixed with such profound relief that he couldn't hold back any longer. The two brothers came together in a strong bear hug, Aedan's metal armor crunching against a breastplate hidden underneath Fergus' farmer disguise, which had made him look far more bulky than he actually was.

The heartfelt reunion was quickly ended by the clash of arms on the crest of the hill when the Highever forces met the Rebels. Pulling back, Aedan got to his feet and offered Fergus a hand up then unsheathed his sword, giving it to him. "You're going to need this."

"No rest for the weary." Fergus mumbled in reply, taking the sword and testing its weight against his palm briefly. He nodded his head toward Aedan's now empty hands. "What about you?"

"Where there's a will…" Turning to the men that had been captured and were watching the spectacle unfold on their knees, Aedan stood squarely in front of one. "Hand over your sword." He commanded, holding out his hand expectantly. Startled, the farmer-turned-infantry fumbled with his weapon and handed it over clumsily to Aedan, at first trying to hand it to him by the hilt, then switched his grip and offered the hilt instead, hands shaking. Now armed, Aedan turned toward Fergus. "Fight with us. These are your men. They follow the Teyrn of Highever."

A pained expression passed over Fergus' face at the mention, but he nodded and gave Aedan a grim smile. "It's a good thing that fighting against improbable odds is nothing new to me. You'd better not die. I've spent too long chasing your rumors to let you disappear now."

Aedan returned the grin. "Same to you."

The clash had intensified during the conversation, the Highever forces that had gotten away from the raging electrified tornado gathering on the crest of the hill against the Rebels and began closing ranks around the smaller force and beating back their front lines. Standing at the back, Solona watched as Aedan and Fergus moved together toward the front to stand with their men in defense, the howling of the storm she had caused a strong overlay on the chaotic sounds of battle. A second later it blew out with a crack of thunder, the wind and snow dissipating to all sides carried on the remnants of the gale across the plains.

The battle was horribly pitched in favor of the Highever soldiers, their greater numbers and ability to surround the rebels cutting off any chance of escape and limiting any sort of tactical maneuvers other than put their backs to each other and hope for the best. After the initial surge however, the Highever forces began to wane in the effectiveness of their attack. The physical toll that the frost and shock from the Storm took a visible toll on their bodies, and more than once a soldier had rushed forward with a limp swing as his attack only to be easily cut down by the defenders. The advantage that their greater numbers supplied quickly disintegrated and the fight became a power struggle to keep the high ground.

With his brother at his side, Aedan called out encouragement to the men in his direct vicinity, throwing out orders and insults by turns depending on who was directly in front of him. Fergus could take the job later. Right now, they needed something that vaguely resembled a cohesive strategy, and the Rebels knew that they could listen to Aedan to get them out of a pinch. Someone on the Highever side noticed that he was the guy in command and suddenly the pressure to keep his defenses up increased. To either side of him, men fell, cut down by the Highever forces that still had their wits about them after the tornado. Fergus was there to back him up, the two brothers guarding each other's flanking sides, but it wasn't enough.

Behind him there was a cry of a dying man and he turned to see only enemies there. Backing up until he felt resistance, Aedan was shocked to see that they were completely surrounded, cut off from the main body of their forces by a wall of angry Highever soldiers. One came at him, swinging wildly and met Aedan's shield, followed by a stab to the gut that downed the man but another soldier replaced him quickly. Over all of the noise and confusion he could hear Keran barking desperately, trying to get at him through the forest of shuffling legs but couldn't manage without getting hacked apart.

"Seems we're in trouble." Fergus called over his shoulder, sounding vaguely amused despite the direness of the situation. A spell blasted over head, striking one of the men near Fergus and gave the man pause as he tried to recover, but it gave the older Cousland just enough time to strike a blade through the man's throat. "You did good picking up a mage."

"It was the other way around!" Aedan replied with a grimace, taking a heavy blow from an enemy on his shield and staggering backwards, brushing up against Fergus before he could get his feet under him and shove back, lashing out with a straight strike with his sword that met only another shield. Another man came in from his right, forcing Aedan to draw his sword backward in an awkward block, catching the man's sword in his hilt guard and twisted his wrist, disarming the man. Now weaponless, the man retreated before either sibling could strike him down. He was replaced by another armed soldier that filled the space with a blade and a will to kill the two rebels. Another spell rocketed out of the sky, but the soldier seemed unfazed when it hit him and continued his bloody charge.

The gap between the two Couslands and their forces continued to widen, the Rebel forces unaware that their commander had been separated from the group and were communally relying on their battle skills to beat back the Highever forces. Soldiers dropped on both sides of the battle, wounded or dead, unable to move and continue the fight either way. Surrounded by death with their own looming in front of them, Aedan fell back into a primal mode of live or die. His arms grew tired under the weight of the armor and the attacks, sweat from his brow near blinding him from oncoming attacks.

Fergus was in little better shape. Old wounds pained him from the exertion, his weeks of being on the run with lack of sleep or food finally catching up at a critical moment. Two men came at him, both of them he parried and one he landed a critical blow on the man's arm that was sure to cripple his fighting hand. A third came from behind that he didn't see until the brute gave out a battle cry, lifting a huge two-handed sword over his head that would rend Fergus straight in half.

Something entered his field of vision, moving too quickly to quite comprehend until he was pushed backward by the intervening force out of the way of the arc of the blade. The steel crunched on a shield, and Aedan went down, his knees buckling under the weight of the blow and his shield denting inward as it caught most of the blow in a nearly head-on block.

Growling in anger, the man charged forward and angled his blade to stab Aedan straight through the middle, the younger man too far gone with the pain of his broken arm to do much in the way of blocking. A spell hit the man in the shoulder, sending sparks streaming across his body and he convulsed, pitching forward with his sword still in his hands. The blade moved off its target, sinking into Aedan's side instead, the chainmail only holding out for so long until it gave from the weight and angle of the strike, something cracking in Aedan's chest as hot blood poured out from the newly opened wound.

Fergus leapt forward, covering his downed brother and with an impressive swing hacked off the man's head, sending it flying into the crow where it struck a Highever soldier bodily and sent him reeling back in surprise. The Rebel soldiers managed to push through the offensive Highever line, beating back the soldiers and filling in front, continuing the battle on their own now that their numbers outweighed the Highever forces.

On the ground, Aedan's world was going dark. It was hard to breathe, harder to think, and his vision swam, going black around the edges. He barely felt the pain in his side, which was both a good and bad thing. A face entered his small range of vision, and when he blinked he recognized that it was Fergus who was blocking out the light of the sun. His lips were moving but he couldn't quite hear what he was saying. Hands jostled his shoulders. It hurt. He wished that Fergus would stop doing that. But at least he was alive. At least he wasn't the only one anymore.

With that thought he smiled absently, then closed his eyes and slipped away into darkness.

AHAHAHAHAHA! You all thought that you were going to see a resolution, weren't you? WELL YOU WERE WRONG! SURPRISE, AEDAN DIED! Special hell, here I come~

Anyway, probably no update next week. I have a final exam to prepare for, more filming, and Skyrim and AC: Revelations are out this week. I'm getting my game nerd on. It'll be sad to not update for the first time in… well, since I started this, but eh. I promise to come back with a really sappy chapter that will make you all forgive me for leaving you hanging.