The next day Anders made his way up the three flights of stairs from Darktown into Lowtown. He strode purposefully through the sun lit stone walls of the city, past the groups of people milling about, past the alienage, and up the stairs to Gamlen's home. Mentally preparing himself for the subdued version of a mabari charge, he knocked on the door.
"What is it?" he heard Gamlen grouse as the door opened. "It's you," he sneered and walked away, leaving the door open.
Anders entered the small dwelling cautiously, closing the door behind him.
"Hello, Anders." Leandra called. "Kattrin is at the market and should be returning shortly." She eyed him critically from her spot in front of the fireplace. "You're so thin. Would you like me to fix you something to eat?"
He smiled at her concern. "No, thank you."
"As you wish. Please, make yourself at home."
Gamlen grunted his disapproval. He stood against the desk along the left wall, arms crossed and glaring. Anders started to move away from the entrance and Gamlen when Deimos nudged his leg, almost knocking him down.
Anders warily turned to face the beast. The mabari grinned in dog fashion, tongue out and dripping saliva. This short tail wagged so hard the rest of his body shook with the action. Anders crossed his arms. He was not going to touch the slobbering mongrel.
Deimos was having none of his resistance. He barked joyfully, prancing around in a circle before facing Anders again, tongue lolling and tail wagging.
"Stop looking at me," he told the mabari. Deimos cocked his head in question, causing a long trail of drool to stretch to the floor. Anders couldn't repress his shudder. That is truly disgusting!
Deimos barked again. He remembered reading an old tome on mabari detailing how intelligent the breed is. Maybe he could explain himself and the dog would leave him alone.
Another long rope of saliva slithered to the floor.
"I-I really don't like all this… open… slobbery… affection."
Deimos gave out a happy bark, still grinning. Apparently, he wasn't accepting Anders' disparity. Cats didn't do this! Pounce would happily ride within his robes, sleeping or just taking in the scenery. When the cat required something, he would just obstinately refuse to budge until he was noticed and given what he desired in a satisfactory fashion.
"Be a real pet!" he complained. "Ignore me until you want something and then sit on my head!"
Deimos cocked his head and whined in confusion.
Anders sighed, the loss of his feline friend squeezing his heart. Damn the wardens for making him leave Pounce behind. "I miss Ser Pounce-a-Lot."
Kattrin's musical laugh made him look up, thoughts of his cat scattering. She stood in the doorway with a small package. Apparently during his exchange with the dog, he'd missed her return. Relief flooded him. Now that she was here, he wouldn't have to endure any further awkwardness with either Deimos or Gamlen, who was still staring daggers at him.
"Kattrin, I'm glad you're here." A serious understatement, that. The thought made him smile. "I was hoping you could accompany me."
She returned his smile as she walked past him, making her way to the table by the fireplace to set her parcel down. "Always. Give me a moment and I'm all yours."
She was such an incorrigible flirt with him. Before his current circumstances, he would have greatly enjoyed a beautiful woman flirting with him. Few ever had outside of the Circle. But those small exceptions notwithstanding, he was usually the one doing the flirting. It was truly a shame that he couldn't encourage her as he would have previously.
Ignoring her allusion, he curiously watched her pull the twine off the parcel and peel away the paper. Inside were a collection of fruits, some flour, a large ham bone, and a bottle of wine. Gamlen walked up behind Kattrin, snagged the bottle, and left the room. Kattrin just shook her head.
"Well, Deimos, seeing Anders is in one piece means that you still deserve this."
Deimos bounded over to her and then sat at her feet, giving his best illusion of being a well behaved dog.
Kattrin tossed the bone a little ways from where he was sitting so that he needed to scramble to catch it. It hit the ground before he snatched it up. The mabari then retreated underneath the table near the door to savor his treat in private.
"Thank you for going to the market, dear," Leandra said from the fireplace. "Will you be home for supper?"
Kattrin looked over to him.
"I'm not sure how long this will take," Anders replied.
"I understand," her mother said. "I'm not sure when Carver will be home either. I'll use the fruit to bake more muffins for breakfast instead of pie for this evening."
The thought of more of Leandra's baking made his mouth water. Kattrin winked at him conspiratorially and he knew she intended to bring him muffins with breakfast tomorrow. He found himself smiling again. She and her mother were determined to keep him fed. And apparently spoil him in the process.
Leandra made a shooing motion toward them. "Well, you'd best be off. Please be careful, dear."
Kattrin responded that she would before turning to him. "Let's go."
She followed him out to the landing and down the stairs before asking where they were headed.
This was not the place to openly discuss magic. "Can we speak privately?" he asked, motioning his head toward Darktown. Kattrin nodded her assent.
They retraced Anders's earlier steps back into Darktown in companionable silence. From there, he led her in the opposite direction of his clinic to a passageway that led out of Kirkwall. Once they were inside and the hatch was secured, he turned to her.
"I still need to observe how you cast non-healing spells. I figured we could go out to the Wounded Coast and terrorize the thugs hiding out there."
"Well, let's give those thugs a good thrashing," she said, cracking her knuckles.
Maker, she was going to be trouble today. Shaking his head, Anders moved further into to the cavern. He led the way through the twists and turns of the passageway until moss covered stone gave way to sand covered stone. A burst of wind ruffled the feathers of his paulderons as they exited the cave. The sky was still bright but there were dark clouds in the distance. He estimated that they still had a couple of hours before the storm came in. Plenty of time for spell work and perhaps even enough time to get Kattrin home for dinner.
He led her up the sandy paths to follow the trail west toward the darkening sky. The silence stretched as they traveled. Maybe she would ease up on the flirty and playful banter? The day is still young, he supposed.
The trip was so far uneventful but Anders could live without facing bandits. They didn't need live targets to cast spells. When the path forked, they followed the winding trail south, then east, then south again to a round area where the remains of the ancient stone walls buffered them from the spray of the sea.
Anders surveyed the area before turning to her.
"Alright. Let's see what you can do."
Kattrin looked around, frowning. "But there are no bandits."
He couldn't help his smile or his laugh. "I'm sure you can summon some fierce elemental magic without needing to thrash a few highway men."
Color bloomed in her porcelain features while her lower lip was pulled between her white teeth. Anders breath hitched as desire surged through him. What he wouldn't give to sink his teeth into that lusciously plump lip. Fighting the sudden need she'd awoke in him, he moved further away from her and closer to the arc of crumbling walls, locating a crate that would serve as his seat.
Slightly calmer, he turned to her. "Now, take this slowly, as you would have when you were first learning, as if your father was instructing you. I need to observe the fundamentals of your casting technique. To see how you direct the Fade energies."
Kattrin was no longer biting her lip and had assumed a wide, loose stance. She nodded solemnly and removed her staff from the holder on her back. "What should I start with?"
"Let's start with the basics. Conjuring fire, ice, stone, and lightning. We'll work up to the larger spells from there."
Nodding again, Kattrin closed her eyes. He felt her pull mana from the Fade, more than she really needed, but then she slowly and meticulously went through the motions and summoned a small ball of fire to her hand. Exhaling, she opened her eyes.
Anders sat in stunned silence. Her technique mirrored his own training down to the last detail. Her father must have worked hard to mimic the lessons of the Circle to educate his daughters. Such a mage would have been a tremendous ally in the fight to free mages. If only he could have met the remarkable Malcom Hawke.
As the silence stretched into awkwardness, Anders remembered himself. Nodding to Kattrin, he said, "Very well done."
She cast ice next, followed by stone and then lightning. All were cast with the precision of a Circle trained mage. Justice approved her form and discipline. This is proof that mages can master themselves without the constant abuses of the Templars. Anders was certain that any Templar would easily mistake her for a Harrowed mage.
"Your father must have been an extraordinary teacher," Anders murmured. Recalling something Kattrin had mentioned to him, he said, "I think his wondering if you would benefit from Circle training was just self-doubt on his part."
Kattrin gave him an alluringly shy smile. He found himself looking at her full lips again, wondering how soft and pliant they were. Would she open for him and grant him entrance to explore with his tongue? Images of kissing her obstructed his vision. While their tongues danced, he would run her up against that wall, seemingly placed behind her for exactly that reason. Would she moan? Gasp? Call his name?
Justice berated him. You are here for instruction.Restrain your lust filled thoughts.
Kattrin was watching him watch her. With his heart hammering in his chest, he looked away. He felt her move toward him. Hoping she didn't notice how flustered he was, he looked up to see her offering her hand. Unsure of the strength of his resolve, he let her pull him from his seat before he moved away from her. He needed to keep his distance. If she chose that moment to push, he didn't know if he could hold against her. She deserves better, he reminded himself. And, thank the Maker, she remained where she was.
"Are you okay?"
No, he wasn't. But he couldn't tell her he was thinking about what it would be like to kiss her. What had he been thinking before that?
"I was just thinking that your magical education at the hands of your father is evidence that mages can master themselves without being locked away in the Circle. It could become a place of learning without the need for Templar guards."
"So, does that mean it's my turn as teacher?" She wagged her eyebrows at him eagerly.
He couldn't help but laugh. She had the ability to disarm him of both his anger and his willpower. The former was a gift from the Maker. The latter was his biggest challenge. With his self-control restored, he moved to stand in front of her.
"No, the incoming storm ensures that must wait for another day."
They both looked to the west toward the roiling black clouds. The sky was growing darker by the minute. It wasn't raining yet but it would only be a short time before the skies would open and drench them.
"I do have one more test, but we should head back before we get caught in the storm."
This time Kattrin lead them back to the tunnels. They made their way quickly along the sandy paths and reached the entrance ahead of the storm.
Anders then took the lead and led her to widest part of the cavern. Since they hadn't encountered another soul on their little field trip, he was confident no one would discover them but he walked the perimeter anyway, just to make sure. Satisfied they were alone, he stopped in front of her.
"Alright, the final test. I want you to reach into the Fade and pull as much mana as you can. Don't cast anything. Simply hold it."
She nodded and closed her eyes again. He felt her pull from the Fade. He was expecting her to be able to hold quite a large amount of mana given her ability to pull off that firestorm of hers but he was amazed to discover she easily matched him in power. Practically glowing with the mana she held, she opened her eyes and looked at him.
Critically, he watched her, looking for signs of strain. The more mana a mage could pull from the Fade, the less susceptible they were to all but the most powerful demons. Demons respected power and a powerful mage with a strong will was something to wary of. But the stronger demons coveted that same power.
Kattrin continued to hold the gathered Fade energies. She was calm and exhibited no sign of strain. As the minutes ticked by, his proximity to her while she held such a large amount of mana was causing his skin to itch, making him want to reach into the Fade himself. A loud crack of thunder echoed through the tunnels. The storm was nearing. And still she held her enormous quantity of arcane energy. Just as the rain started outside, her hand shook ever so slightly. She clenched the betraying extremity into a fist. She exhibited no other signs of strain. If he hadn't been watching her so closely, he wouldn't have seen it. More time passed as the echoing of the rain hammering the stones grew in intensity. The winds were whistling through the passageways when she closed her eyes, her face starting to show the effort of continuing to contain the magic. Soon after, she was trembling from head to toe, eyes squeezed shut, her mouth drawn down and pinched. Her strength continued to amaze him. With the Fade energies continuing to call to him, Justice began to come to the forefront of his mind. Even though he knew that she could hold out longer, he told Kattrin to release her magic back into the Fade. They didn't need Justice accosting her. With the Fade energies dissipating, Justice remembered himself and retreated back to the depths of Anders' mind.
"Simply amazing," he said.
She gave him an exhausted smile.
"You know, you are close to equaling me in power. You'll surpass me in healing, eventually. Probably within the next five years."
She laughed. "Now you're just teasing me. I don't think anyone could surpass you in healing."
Anders reached for her hand. "No, I'm serious. Your casting mirrors any Circle mages' training and your magical strength would be sufficient to pass the Harrowing. I bet any Templar would mistake you for a Harrowed mage." He gave her hand an encouraging squeeze before releasing it. "I'm impressed with your training. You're living proof that mages can entrusted with teaching their children the necessary abilities, along with the discipline needed, to use magic without succumbing to demons."
She blushed again, but Anders was too busy admiring her for it to affect him. She looked down at her feet, rolling a rock around with the toe of her boot.
"Come on. Let's try to get you home in time for dinner."
Smiling, she followed him. He led them back to Darktown while his thoughts kept returning to how powerful a mage Kattrin is. She would surpass him in both strength and power and it wouldn't take five years. He wouldn't be surprised if it happened within the next two years. In five years she might give the First Enchanter a run for his sovereigns. Malcom Hawke must have been a very powerful mage himself to pass his gift so strongly to his daughter. How he had managed to stay free of the Circle for so long was anyone's guess. Anders had been dragged back six times because of his magical strength. Kattrin's father could have been elected First Enchanter and he knew that the Templars wouldn't have let a mage like that slip through their fingers.
If Kattrin was ever caught by the Templars, they wouldn't let her go. She would be Harrowed immediately and groomed for Enchanter status, but the Templars would always suspect her of being a maleficar. He clenched his hands. He couldn't let that happen.
Anders sighed. He found himself being drawn to her more and more as his respect for her grew. He needed to work harder at keeping himself under control around her. He could already count on one hand the number of times he'd almost taken their shared affection too far in the few weeks they'd known each other. Even though she was the kind of mage he'd only dreamed of meeting, it was too late. He had Justice and the plight of the mages to contend with. His path and purpose were clear. He wouldn't be able to dedicate himself to her the way she deserved. She deserved a man who could give her and her children a home to live in safety and security. She deserved the kind of man her father had been. She deserved better than the little he could give her.
He walked her home, declining her entreaties for dinner, and then quickly retreated back to his clinic in Darktown. He lit the lantern before softly closing the door. Bone weary, he leaned his forehead against the wood, sighing. Maker, why now? If only he'd met her before Justice this might have all turned out differently. Shuffling across the floor, he rubbed his face, scratching along his stubble. He slumped backward into his cot, throwing an arm across his eyes. He really needed a patient to walk into the clinic right now. Duty would pull him away from his dangerous thoughts of Kattrin Hawke and the what if's of a different past.