A/N: Just wanted to say that this whole fic has an AMAZING soundtrack. The songs I listen to in certain parts give me chills! Hahaha~ Mina's theme song is Icarus by Bastille. Just sayin. Oh! I just played and beat Trespasser btw… I want to throw things. It makes me SO MAD! I hate endings, honestly. I've never been any good at them. Fuck you, Solas! But, come back because I want to hug you, you stupid Egg.

As it turned out, Hawke's Warden friend was in Crestwood. The Inquisition had gotten word that the people of Crestwood needed their help anyway. The plan was to leave for Crestwood as soon as the War Meeting was over, but other matters came up. Apparently, the Avaar that Mina had fought were just part of a tribe. Their Chief had payed Skyhold a visit and… threw a goat at it, as per what he was expected to do by his people. The Chief didn't seem too upset that Mina had killed some of his men and his son. She almost laughed when she'd heard that she was judging him for his 'crime'. She'd decided to exile his tribe to Tevinter. She hated those bastards. Except for Dorian and Bull's second, Krem. She found it weird that all of a sudden, she was seen as an authority figure that was worthy of handling such matters. Judging people and making important decisions was not her strong suit.

Before she gathered everyone up and headed out, she made a stop by the undercroft to see her trusted blacksmith, Harritt. She felt like she needed some adjustments to her regular armor. He let her borrow some silverite and leather armor for the time being and got to work on hers. Apparently what she wore was his greatest masterpiece; dragon bone and dragon hide light armor, extremely fire resistant, and it was really comfortable. Mina had mentioned getting it enchanted, but was met with an angry glare. Needless to say, she let it go right away. Her armor was great the way it was.

The trip to Crestwood was pretty uneventful. A few bandits, some territorial wildlife. Nothing out of the ordinary. Hawke and Mina didn't really talk to each other besides Mina asking him for directions. He seemed a little happier because of what had happened the night before they set out, but Mina was still not sure how she wanted to interact with him. She'd brought Varric with her and made Cassandra stay at Skyhold for everyone's sakes. Her other companions included Blackwall and Solas. The smaller the group, the less noticeable they became. Besides, she felt safe with Blackwall, and Solas insisted that he go with her.

"Hawke, what was it like to fight the Arishok?" Blackwall asked curiously.

"Ah, well… It sucked, actually. He was a stubborn bastard. I think I almost got my head cut off a few dozen times. I'm sure it looked really awesome from the sidelines, huh Mina?" he said with a smile. Mina, who was thinking of how to deal with the hundreds of Rifts that were scattered around Thedas just mumbled an agreement and shook her head. Yet another uncomfortable silence fell on the travelling group.

Much to her relief, the Inquisitor saw the scout camp ahead. Mina stopped in to talk to Scout Harding about what she'd found out about the area. Mostly rain and more rain. Some undead, which made Mina slightly uncomfortable. At least there weren't spiders. She hated spiders more than almost anything!

As they got closer and closer to the village in question, the sky began to get dark. Not, 'it's night time' dark. More like 'something is very wrong' kind of dark. Exactly the type of job for the Inquisitor. Mina perked up right away, glad to be rid of the need for idle conversation and jogged away of the group. Ahead of her walked a few men dressed in familiar armor. Mina narrowed her eyes and watched them for a moment, waiting for the rest of them to catch up.

"Inquisitor, what are you-?" started Solas.

Mina took her helmet off and shoved it at Hawke, "Put this on, quick. Wardens up ahead… they feel, wrong. Blackwall, pull your cloak up."

Hawke's eyes lit up as if she'd caught on to something he'd known but not said. He did as she said and followed her lead. Blackwall pulled the hood of his cloak up to hide his face. They casually approached the Wardens, only stopping when they saw the Wardens fighting off some undead creatures.

Mina and the others jumped in the fray, quickly dispatching the shambling, soggy corpses. They seemed barely able to stand; like they were old and had been rotting for quite some time. After the battle was over, Mina saw an Elf woman scramble back to her hut. The Wardens watched her before turning their attention to the Inquisition agents.

"Hail Lady Inquisitor! Might you have a moment?" one of them asked.

Mina smiled at them, "Sure thing. What can I do for you Wardens?"

"We were wondering if, in your travels, you have seen a Warden by the name of Stroud."

Mina could feel Hawke stiffen beside her. She shook her head and feigned worry, "I'm sorry, can't say that I have. Why? Has something happened?"

"Well Commander Clarel has asked—" the other one began. His fellow nudged him with an elbow and spoke in his place.

"Sorry, Inquisitor. It's official Warden business. Thank you for your help though."

"How fares Crestwood village?" Mina asked carefully.

"Besieged by its own dead, I'm afraid. They say that it's those that died during the last Blight," said the quieter one.

"And you're not going to stay and help?" Varric asked pointedly.

"We cannot. We're under strict orders to go about our business. Inquisitor… maybe you could do something?" the first one said. Mina sighed and nodded. She was going to help the people whether or not the Wardens helped or not.

The two silver and blue clad men solemnly walked the opposite direction of Crestwood, but Mina heard the second one mutter to the other about how it didn't feel right leaving the people of Crestwood.

"Let's hurry and get rid of the walking dead, shall we? If we don't hurry, it'll be the survivors that'll be the scary ones," Mina muttered darkly. She didn't want to think about those that had probably already been attacked or killed by the disgusting corpses running around. She half wondered if there was a necromancer wondering about.

As they passed by the hut that the Elf had ran to, she called out to them. Mina humored the young woman and listened to her go on about how brave the Wardens were and all that. Something wasn't quite right, so Mina didn't encourage her to join them.

"They are brave and noble, but it's a very dangerous job they do. I do admire them, but I would give it much more thought before you rushed to join them," the Inquisitor advised. Mina thought she heard a grumble from Blackwall that was cut off when she praised the Wardens.

They went on their way and helped the sad excuse for village guards wipe out more undead before marching up to the mayor's house. He was a nervous man of 50 years trying to do what he could for the people under his charge. He told them about an ominous green light coming from the lake not too far.

"That's a Fade Rift," commented Solas.

"Yep. Definitely a Rift," agreed Varric and Hawke at the same time.

"That Rift is going to be problematic," Blackwall added.

Mina turned and stared at them all with a 'really guys?' look. "I'm sorry, did you guys say something about a Fade Rift? I couldn't hear you," she said with exaggerated sarcasm.

The Mayor wrung his hands and shuffled around his house, "This sounds quite troubling, Lady Inquisitor. Can you do something about it?"

Mina thought a moment. She remembered seeing something that looked like a dam on their way to the village. Maybe she'd be lucky for once and be right about a good thing! She mentally scoffed at that notion.

"Is there a way to drain the lake, mayor?" she asked hopefully.

"Y-yes, but… Oh, but you can't do that! Th-the Darkspawn damaged the controls during the Blight!" he said frantically, "A-and there are bandits that have taken it over. It's part of Caer Bronach, where they've made their base."

Mina smirked and rolled her eyes, "With respect, messere, I have dealt with much worse than broken damn controls and some bandits." She snickered at her own witty pun.

The mayor looked at the others who stood there, backing the Lady Inquisitor without wavering. Finally, he gave in and handed her a key to open the door to the dam.

The bandits in Caer Bronach were more annoying than anything. They got in a few good hits, but they were no match for Mina and her friends. And, the Inquisition had a new base of operations. Their influence would spread a little further. Mina pulled out a small Inquisition sigil from her pack and put it up on the old, unused flagpole.

"Do you just carry around Inquisition heraldry flags?" Blackwall asked with a raised eyebrow.

Mina nodded, "Yeah. It was Leliana's idea. She said it would be a signal for Scout Harding to see where we've secured as an outpost. She'll send a letter back to Skyhold and have others come out and occupy whatever I've deemed a good place. And, bam! We've spread our influence and it's easier to send troops to help!" Mina smiled proudly. She'd thought it was a good idea even if it meant that her pack got a few pounds heavier. The cloth Josephine had them use for the flags was kind of heavy.

"Whatever. That's not important; let's go drain the lake now," Mina said to dismiss the looks she was still getting.

They found a young couple in the inn that lead to the dam. Mina laughed and told them to get home before they got found out and that they were lucky the bandits hadn't found them. It reminded her of the time in the Hinterlands when they found one of the scouts was having a 'friendly picnic' with an apostate mage. Mina had been laughing too hard to say anything, so Varric had taken over. He'd told the mortified girl to use her gift. Not just anyone could talk an apostate out of their pants while a war was going on.

'Kids and their stupid romances,' she thought with a smile. But, she realized that they weren't too much younger than her. Ritts, the scout had been the same age… Mina pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and avoided looking at Hawke. She had other things to do before she even started thinking about such trivial things. Her mind was at war with her heart on that front.

She walked into the control room and stopped dead in her tracks. Something was off. "Hey, guys… didn't the mayor say that the 'Spawn had destroyed these?" she asked looking at the wheel that let the water out. It was a little worn, but other than that, it had no real damage to it.

"Maybe the bandits were feeling helpful and replaced them," Varric said.

Mina snorted and shook her head, "Yeah, and I'm going to have a tea party with a dragon."

She and Blackwall opened the dam while the others made sure that there were no bandits left in the area. After she got the all clear, it was time to set up camp. They'd had a long week of travel before they'd gotten to Crestwood.

Solas stoked the fire that the young couple had started in the old fireplace to make the inn warmer. Mina was soaked through and chilled to the bone. It was always nice to dry off. Meanwhile, Blackwall was whittling away on a piece of wood, Varric was trying to get Solas to help cook up a 'decent meal', and Hawke was watching Mina brush out her short hair.

She looked up at him, watching her intently and made a face.

"What?"

He smiled that half smile that had always made Mina's heart flutter. Even four years later, it had the same effect.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about how much I love the color of your hair. And your eyes," he said softly.

Mina rolled her eyes and tried to dry her damp hair with some cloth. She'd get sick if she let it air dry. Or, that's what Vivienne told her time and time again. Josephine agreed.

"My hair has been the same color for years and years, Hawke. It's nothing new," she said nonchalantly. Really, it was no big deal. She was just her; No one special and certainly no one to fawn over.

Hawke walked closer to her and took one of her hands in his. He examined it like it was the most interesting piece of artwork he'd ever seen. He looked at it like he'd never seen anything so important in his life. He ran his thumb over the calluses on her palm and kissed the pad of each of her fingers before clasping her little hand between both of his.

"It's the same, yes, but I haven't seen it in so long. I haven't seen you in so long. The way you move is different now. You're more confident, more precise. You're still my cutie, but you've got more venom behind that bite of yours. You're more… intimidating than you used to be. You were always beautiful, but to see you be more confident with yourself makes your beauty even more prominent," he explained.

Mina blushed and looked away, not pulling her hand from his. She didn't know what to say. He'd always been sweet to her and everything, but she wasn't used to it. She hadn't had that kind of attention for a while.

"Stop doing that," she mumbled still not looking at him.

"Doing what?" he asked.

She pulled one of his hands to her chest so he could feel her heart beat. It was thudding against her chest like it was trying to escape. They stared into each other's eyes for a brief moment before Mina got up and walked over to the fire where something mildly appetizing was bubbling. Hawke hung his head for a moment, eyes closed before joining her over by the fire.

Everyone ate Solas and Varric's soup happily. It was warm and not half bad. They all told stories that were a bit exaggerated and laughed at each other. It was a good night. Later into the night while listening to one of Solas' tales about an ancient ruin in the Anderfels, Mina found herself leaning against Hawke's chest, wrapped in his arms. She was too tired to move. He was so comfortable… They were sitting on a blanket on the floor, Hawke leaning against a wooden post. Hawke moved some hair away from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear then kissed her head.

Mina didn't know when she fell asleep or who put her into her sleeping roll. She'd woken up in the middle of the night with the feeling that something was missing. She was too cold. Quietly, so not to disturb the others, she walked around the inn, stretching her stiff leg. Varric was asleep in a chair, Blackwall was asleep not far from her, and Solas was asleep in the corner of the room, far from the others. That left…

"Garrett?" she whispered, looking around.

A black-haired head popped over the railing from the second floor, "Up here. Everything okay?"

Mina made her way up the stairs and joined him at the candlelit table he sat at. Mina smiled and looked at the book he had in his hand. It was the story of the Hero of Ferelden.

"Everything's fine. My leg was just aching a bit. You don't read much. What's this about?" she teased.

Hawke smiled back at her and put the book down, "It's one of my favorites. I used to read all the time when it wasn't 'Hawke to the rescue' every five minutes. It's funny… I could have met the Hero twice. I lived in Lothering, which he had passed through on his way to Redcliffe. I had also been at Ostagar with my brother. Warden Pantheras is an astounding person."

Mina giggled and leaned back in her chair.

"Nerd."

Hawke looked at her confused, "What's a nerd?"

She shook her head, "It's something we said in my world. People used to call people who were unusually intelligent or liked to do something a lot that was thought to be not super popular or a common thing to like. It wasn't really a bad thing."

"Well then, I am a nerd. I love to read and… I love uncommon things," he said tilting his head.

"I'm a nerd too. I love books," she said.

Hawke frowned for a second before looking out of the window. Mina furrowed her eyebrows. Had she said something wrong?

"I should probably get to sleep, and so should you. We've only got a few hours before sunrise. Not that you could really tell under these storm clouds."

He put out the candle and put his book back into his pack. Mina waited patiently with a smirk on her face. She had an idea. When he was done, she grabbed his hand and led him back to her sleeping roll.

"It's cold and you're going to keep me warm. No arguments," she said.

He grinned and nodded, "Sure. Let me get my sleeping roll out too then. There's no way we could both fit in just one, no matter how small you are."

Mina snuggled up close to Hawke and nuzzled his chest. She was safe from whatever was out beyond the door of the run-down inn. She was warm and ready for a good night's sleep that she'd been longing for. She still hadn't slept for more than four hours at a time since she'd broken her leg. Since she'd faced Corypheus.

The next day, they'd travelled through some caves, a macabre scene before them. There were bodies throughout the cave network of all sizes. Some of them looked to be just children. Mina held back the bile that rose in her throat. Who would do such a thing? Spirits wandered around, not seeing the mortals before them, or perhaps they weren't aware that they were no longer in the Fade. Other more malevolent spirits emerged further down, spat out of the Fade. A rage demon waited for them right outside of the Rift. He roared with anger and started attacking them right away. Like any slightly powerful demon, it was annoying to deal with.

Hawke and Blackwall charged at it as a distraction, slashing with their swords. Varric fired bolts at the lesser spirits. Solas helped him ward off the wraiths and shades that seemed to pour out, along with the undead that kept rising. Mina focused on keeping the hot-head cooled off with a few of her ice spells. At last they had seemed to have stemmed the tide of demons to allow Mina to pull the Rift closed for good.

"Fuck off you disgusting things!" she shouted and kicked one of the corpses that they'd felled.

"Getting a little frustrated there, Inquisitor?" Blackwall asked with an amused look.

"I don't like dead things that don't stay dead," she said with a slight pout.

They continued on to the cave exit, out to the plains. Mina was almost blinded by the sudden bright light of the sun. The weather had been gloomy and rainy ever since they had been there and hadn't let up once, and all of a sudden it was all sunny and bright.

"Does anyone else think this is completely weird?" Varric asked. Mina nodded in agreement.

"Maybe the Rifts effect more than we thought," Hawke said.

The small group ventured forth out into the hills of Crestwood, fighting off a few of the more aggressive wildlife that lived there. However, along with the sun came agents of the Venatori. It was almost as if they had been following Mina's group. Everywhere they went, the Venatori seemed to be as well.

Solas was fighting off two mages with the help of Hawke; Varric was taking out a rogue. Blackwall was fighting a huge bruiser with a giant hammer. Mina had just dispatched a rogue when she saw an archer aiming for Blackwall. He hadn't seen them, and if they made their shot, it was sure to really hurt her Warden. She scowled and rushed at him, using a soundwave to boost her speed.

"THAT'S MY BEARDY AND YOU WILL NOT HURT HIM!" she growled with feral tone. Her hands glowed with a green fire and she landed on top of the archer, clawing into the archer's chest as best she could. The fire seemed to decay the armor the Venatori had on, allowing her to get to its flesh. The flesh too decayed. In her surge of rage, she ripped out her enemy's heart like she'd seen Fenris do and flung it away from her. She was not satisfied. She crushed the Tevinter's windpipe and tore out its lungs. Another of the Venatori ran out of the foliage and charged towards her. She used her siren magic and made him fall to his knees. Her sound vibrations were so high and focused that it was causing him to hemorrhage. Mina heled him up by the throat and sneered at him.

"Are you afraid of a lowly Elf, Tevinter trash? You should be. I'll make you a promise: My name will be one for people like you to remember," she hissed before flinging him to the ground.

Blackwall came running over to her, panting.

"Mina are you alright?" he asked. He paused and took her in. She was covered in blood, seething with rage. Her eyes were a pool of madness and hate as she stared down at the two lifeless bodies at her feet.

"I'm fine, Blackwall. Thank you," she said, wiping the blood from her face.

They walked back to where the others were finishing up.

"Inquisitor! Are you injured?" Solas asked, readying a healing spell.

Blackwall, still wide-eyed shook his head and sheathed his sword, "That's not her blood, lad."

"Maker's balls. What happened?" Varric asked.

Mina cast a water spell and tried to clean most of the blood from her hair and skin. They kept walking, waiting for Mina to answer. Hawke was leading them now; they were getting closer to where Stroud was hiding out.

"I saw that an archer was getting ready to fire at Blackwall, and I attacked him. It's not that big of a thing guys," she said looking at her friends.

They stared at her in disbelief.

"Note to self: Don't mess with Warden Blackwall," Varric said quietly.

She felt Solas' eyes still on her. He seemed to be thinking about something he wanted to ask her, but decided not to. She kept that at the back of her mind so she could ask him about it later.

Hawke stopped in front of a cave marked with a smuggler's symbol a few hours later. They'd ran into a few other Venatori on the way, but nothing of too much trouble.

"Mina, go first, I'll be right behind you. Keep in mind that he's hiding for a reason," Hawke warned.

Mina nodded and entered the cave. Hopefully this Warden would have some answers for the Inquisition. She'd already talked to Hawke about how he and Varric had killed Corypheus before. They swore that the Magister was dead as dead gets. The trick now was to find out how to keep him dead.