Chapter thirty- Her lyrium guard.
Wow, doesn't seem like two minutes since I started this! Life is going really fast right now!
I just name the chapters when I think of a good name…
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You guys are great!
Thanks as always to Enchantm3nt!
And thankyou to LostSpace for the help with this chapter! You're fab!
X
Fenris watched her all the time.
He watched her when she walked along the caravans, speaking to some of the hands they'd hired and making jokes with Varric. He watched her speak to the abomination and watched as she avoided sleep and food. She had become inseparable from Carver as the days went on. One time she had even attempted to accompany Carver whilst he went to relieve himself, much to the amusement of the Dwarf. He had also snorted in amusement when he had heard the surprised Carver yelp into the darkness and a few seconds later a very scarlet faced Hawke fleeing the armada of rocks, wrinkling her nose and swiftly kicking the dwarf who despite his injury continued laughing.
But the time when he watched her most was when she fought. It seemed like a moment ago he had been Danarius' precious bodyguard and here he was again, but this time by his own choice. He wanted to protect her and that scared him much more than the wraith of his former master.
The evening when they had gotten drunk together seemed far away now, yet he revelled in what he could remember. She had said he was attractive, they had shared each other's pain and without even intentionally doing it, Hawke made him feel like someone of worth. He still remembered her accidental touch, the hairs on the back of his palm standing just by the mere thought of it. But what would become of her when this was finished? When she was a noble's daughter with titles?
He was snapped out of his thoughts by the low chuckle of the dwarf, who kept glancing over at the small oasis of water they had found whilst he polished his crossbow. Fenris had been trying to ignore the dwarf's soft coos to the damn crossbow as he polished it, but the chuckle disconcerted him. The dwarf had moments when Fenris would question what else he did to his weapon.
"Something amusing or are you laughing at yourself again dwarf?" Fenris asked, sharpening his blade as he eyed the dwarf suspiciously.
"Nothing, just Junior having to guard his sister whilst she bathes," Varric said, looking from behind the boulder with an amused grin on his face.
"And what is so amusing about that?" Fenris asked, confused.
"Well he hasn't anticipated dwarves, and there's a bunch of them trying to sneak past him. Can tell he didn't inherit the Hawke brains…" Varric said, his face crinkling into another chuckle as he gestured over to a group of dwarves who were hiding behind boulders, hidden from the watchful eye of Carver Hawke.
"CARVER!" Fenris shouted, alerting the young Hawke who turned his head quickly, and finally noticed the invading dwarves. Carver grabbed one of the many stones that were scattered around the pool and launched it at the dwarves with precision, hitting what Fenris assumed to be the leader hard in the face.
In blind panic and laughter the dwarves ran towards the camp, grabbing their injured partner in crime with squeals and shouts as they clambered over the water and stones in roguish amusement.
Fenris rolled his eyes. He was glad he watched Hawke because as much as he respected Carver Hawke, he could see why the boy fell in love with a blood mage…
….
Tunnels, rocks, more tunnels and even more rocks, it seemed to never end. Varric's brother spoke of rewards and riches on this expedition and in the past week the only thing Fenris saw that was even the slightest bit rewarding was the abomination –too distracted by trying to impress Hawke with his monologue on the purity of healing magic- falling into a small ditch face first into a rotten corpse, much to the delight of the rest of the party. Hawke had tutted at them and helped him out, but even she could not deny the hilarity of the abomination's face, which was covered in aging entrails.
When they finally reached the last tunnels that would provide them with a satisfactory entrance into the thaig, they found that all of the tunnels were blocked by boulders or by darkspawn. When the scouts returned, one of the braver dwarves came close to Bartrand and explained that there was no way past the blockage without meeting darkspawn or boulders, which had rewarded him with Bartrand's fist. Fenris rolled his eyes at the sight of the dwarf; of all the ways that Bartrand could have reacted he had chosen the one that would use their much needed supplies on healing broken noses and busted lips.
It seemed Varric (like Carver) was good at handling his hot-headed sibling. Varric muttered soothing words and an offer of himself and Hawke with a small party to go and clear out of one of the tunnels. Hawke scrunched her nose up and scowled at Varric, but sighed in defeat as she knew there was no other way around the present situation. The alternative would be to wait for the hired hands to clear the rubble and then meet a horde of darkspawn.
Before they left for the tunnel, they were met by one of the merchant dwarves who begged for Hawke's aid in finding his son, Sandal, and of course, she obliged (though Fenris thought it most likely that they would find his corpse and have to drag it back to his father). Fenris did not understand how Hawke always agreed to help these people who gave her so little in return.
These weeks had been rough for Fenris, yet he had been in more dire situations. This particular dire situation was made better by most of the company he was with (he would rather skip through hot coals than spend time with the abomination) and he enjoyed the view that Hawke had to offer. He found her confidence surprisingly attractive. Hawke knew she was beautiful, but did not use it like many others would. What also surprised him was that Hawke seemed to be living off the dirty air of the Deep Roads, barely eating or sleeping for days.
Fenris sucked in his breath as they entered more tunnels; the dust motes that floated around were as large as some of the birds in Kirkwall. Fenris watched Hawke as she tried to hide her discomfort, her nose wrinkling as she tried to stifle her cough. Fenris would have normally given a bemused snort at the sight of her, but in the present situation even a snort could cost them their lives to what hid in the darkness.
Hawke was exhausted; he could tell that from just glancing at her. Her skin seemed to be a dull grey, emphasising the dark circles beneath her eyes. She looked malnourished, her neck tight as if her skin was too small to cover her bones.
He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he wished he could offer her some comfort.
She turned to face them with grim determination. She did not speak out loud, but Fenris could almost feel her thoughts as she swirled back round unsheathing her daggers that desperately needed sharpening.
She stepped into the shadows and he readied himself for the onslaught that was to come. For a moment, he was shocked at how easily he followed her without a second thought and then he shook his head.
She would take him to stranger places, he was certain of that.
He would sharpen her daggers later.