Cat sat on the roof, enjoying the last of her apple when she saw Isabela enter the courtyard. She smirked and let out her bird call, seeing Isabela grin and return with a whistle of her own, though she didn't look around.

It was barely dusk, and Cat assumed that they still had a few hours to wait, so she got comfortable but stayed alert. While she could rely on what she knew from the game about people or places, she knew timing was not something she could trust. Who knew if Hawke's group would even show up before Hayder's thugs found them.

Cat watched Isabela as she wandered around the courtyard. To any passersby, she looked bored, but Cat knew how ready she was for this. Isabela always enjoyed a good fight, and now that she had backup, it was no longer a threat of death, but fun. Cat couldn't understand how she found it fun, but she supposed that back home she would be comparable to an adrenaline junkie.

Cat continued to watch Isabela as the time went by. The sun finally set, and night crept in as Cat re-positioned herself again. Her legs tingled as she moved, and she berated herself for letting them go numb. She saw Hawke and his entourage enter the courtyard, speaking to Isabela. Looking around, she noticed the group of mercenaries coming towards them, and went to give a warning when they took off running towards her group.

It didn't take long for them to engage each other, and Isabela was quick to down the first archer. Aveline and Carver, together, went after the woman with a large great axe, leaving the other four men with bows to Hawke, Varric and Anders.

Cat raised her crossbow, lining an archer in her sights but before she could fire, the man fell over with a bolt in his forehead. She moved on, looking for another target. Her crossbow, and her jaw lowered as lightning surged out of Hawke's staff striking the first and traveling to the second and third man in turn. She watched in awe as the men stiffened and convulsed as the lightning traveled through their bodies.

Varric shot several bolts in quick succession, Anders froze a man where he stood and Hawke shattered him into pieces, while Isabela jumped from behind the last man sinking her daggers into his neck. With a flick of her wrists, the daggers thrust outward, and the man fell to the ground, dead.

The group began searching the fallen bodies, and Cat just sat there. It wasn't like she hadn't seen magic before, but this was a first. What was it called? Oh, chain lightning! She studied them with a smile. Is it bad that I want to see that again?

The group took off with Isabela in the lead, and Cat scrambled to follow them. She grabbed her bag, throwing it over her shoulder, and picked up her crossbow. She scurried over the rooftop, grateful that all the buildings in this area seemed to share one giant roof.

She glanced around as she picked her way towards the chantry, noticing that they were already there, Isabela holding the door for the others to enter. Isabela gave a whistle, and Cat stopped in order to respond. Isabela held out her hand in a "stay" gesture, then continued on inside.

Cat rolled her eyes, but continued to scan the area for anyone nearing the chantry. It was true, the group was formidable and she hadn't been needed. All her time with Isabela she had always been part of the team, and now she felt left behind… something she hadn't expected.

This realization had her shaking her head with a quiet laugh. If Zev could see me now. Or any of them, what would they think? She had been so timid, so against the idea of fighting. Now here she was, sulking for being left out of a fight. Although, with all the crap Hawke gets himself into, it may be good to stay on the sidelines…

Cat snapped herself back to the present, realizing that she was neglecting her duties as lookout. She continued to wait, though the minutes seemed as long as hours. By the time they came back out, Cat had been ready to go in after them.

The group wasted no time coming down the stairs of the chantry and turning right, which had Cat confused. Perhaps they were going to split up later, once they were away from the bodies… but they were heading to Lowtown, so why was Isabela going with them?

Their plan had been to meet back at the Rose, in fact Isabela had been commenting about the celebration she was planning for herself. There had been no mention of staying with Hawke, or returning home. Her part of the plan was to watch Isabela's back, so she continued to follow the group as they made their way back to Lowtown.

It wasn't as easy to follow them as before, the roof tops were a jumble of shapes and sizes, and Cat found herself lagging further and further behind. She thought the best place to catch up would be the marketplace, so she took an alternate route, hoping to make up lost time. She barely caught a glimpse of them leaving the market just as she entered, and she hurried to keep pace.

As they neared her home, Cat stopped to catch her breath. She crouched on the rooftop, confused and panting. There was nowhere else to go this direction, unless they were heading for the alienage, and that was hardly likely. She watched as they strode directly into the alienage, and she thought that perhaps Merrill was waiting for them. She stood upright, ready to follow when a noise made her crouch again to stay hidden.

Cat eyed the armoured group following stealthily into the alienage, wondering who they were. There was a woman with an unfortunate bowl style haircut that seemed to be leading them, and the rest of them all wore helmets that gave the appearance of creepy looking masks. She looked around, but didn't see a way toward the alienage by way of the rooftops without backtracking, and she didn't think she'd have the time.

Cat climbed down, utilizing a window ledge, being as quiet as she could. A shout broke the quiet, and she could hear voices as she crept forward towards the entrance to the alienage.

"-ordered to kill whoever entered the house."

Realization dawned as the fighting broke out, and Cat looked for an escape route just as she was grabbed from behind.

"Drop it," a harsh voice said. "Now." She hesitated, but as she felt the point of the dagger at her side, she let her crossbow fall to the ground. "Good. Now, move."

She let the man lead her forward to the middle of the stairs leading down into the courtyard. Cat smirked as she noticed Hawke's companions had teamed up to finish the last of the slavers, while Isabela was already looting bodies.

The man behind her started yelling, though she couldn't really understand him. He was yelling directly in her ear, and she tilted her head to try to get some distance. He jabbed her with his dagger, and she grunted in pain as well as disgust.

She and her captor both looked over as another armoured solider limped towards them. He managed to say "Captain…" before falling at their feet.

"Your men are dead, and your trap has failed."

Holy crap, it's Fenris. Everyone she had met to this point had looked the same as in the game, just better. Fenris was no exception, and Cat couldn't help comparing him to Zevran. It must be an elf thing, because there was something ethereal about them both.

Even though he was a warrior, Fenris moved with the same grace that Zevran often displayed. The difference she noted, Zevran was constantly moving and changing directions both in his movement and his speech, while Fenris seemed to focus on his target and go straight at it, without any hesitation, extra steps or words. And as Isabela had said, or would say at some point, the elves did have very pretty eyes.

Cat paid for zoning out, as she was pushed to the ground scraping several pieces of herself against the stone and hitting her head. She sat up, dizzy, in time to watch Fenris' lyrium tattoos light up, and for Fenris to reach into the captain's chest and squish his heart within his fingers.

She looked up in shock, seeing Fenris' hand in front of her, and dumbly stared at it. He apologized, and walked behind her, lifting her up with ease to stand on her feet. He held onto her arm to keep her steady.

"Are you all right?"

"I think so," she glanced up into his face. "Thank you."

"It is I who should thank you," he replied, still looking her over for injury, and completely ignoring the others at the base of the stairs. "You provided quite the distraction."

"Oh," Cat said quietly as her face went red. She was suddenly very glad she was still wearing her scarf around her face. "Um, you're welcome?"

He gave a quiet chuckle, and turned to the others, letting go of her arm. As they conversed, Cat picked up her crossbow, finally unloading it and storing it on her back. She was basically hidden around the corner, and glanced back to see them all still involved with their conversation except for Isabela who was eyeing her, so she took off.

"Hey, wait!" someone called after her.

The look from Isabela had told her enough, and she knew she needed to get back out of sight. She took a few random turns, heading nowhere in particular, finally finding a few strategic crates that helped her get back to the roofs.

She circled back around, and gave a whistle to Isabela. She didn't hear a reply, but didn't expect to. If she replied while with the group, they would easily guess who Cat really was, and while she didn't care, Isabela did.

Knowing Fenris' desire to confront his former master, there was no way they wouldn't be heading there immediately, so Cat started back towards Hightown. It was much larger than in the game, so she didn't know exactly where to go. She would have to wait near the entrance and follow them from there.

The waiting was most definitely the worst part, and while Cat didn't necessarily want to fight for her life, anything would be better than the waiting. Next time Isabela suggested she be the lookout, she would completely refuse.

"There was a group of 'em, I saw 'em go in."

"This was going to be our new hideout, and they just took it?"

"That's right, why'd you think I went to get everyone?"

Cat glanced down, seeing several shadows, but no people. They must have been sneaking towards the mansion, trying to stay hidden. There was no way they were speaking of anyone else, so she readied her weapon. She wasn't about to let anyone surprise her… friends, she supposed. Acquaintances? Whatever. The point was, she wasn't letting them in. She took out several bolts, and laid down on her front, placing the bolts carefully so they wouldn't roll away. It was an awkward angle, and she needed to be able to reload without much movement in order to keep her camouflage.

As the first came into view, she took in the uniform, hesitating. She remembered their earlier conversation deciding that if they were truly guards, then they were corrupt, and she took aim and fired. As soon as the bolt left the bow, she had the next one ready to load. She had the bolt in place as she heard the scream from below, and she stayed as close to the roof as possible, slowly pulling back the string to load the next bolt. She had her chin resting on the roof, and her head tilted sideways making it difficult, but she succeeded.

Aiming with her head sideways was a new experience as well, so she took her time. She wouldn't get more than one or two more shots before she was discovered, so they needed to count. Cat aimed again, smiling as her targets stood still, looking around for the threat. She fired, and another one fell.

She stayed still, listening to see if they had noticed where the bolts were coming from. It appears that they are either not very smart, or not paying attention. She was able to kill two more with this method, though it took longer in between each shot, as they began hiding behind the buildings.

"There you are!"

She rolled to her right, avoiding an axe in her back. Guess I fell for that one, but one semi-smart guy out of who knows how many is still pretty pathetic. Plus, he could have gotten me if he had kept his mouth shut. Cat got up and ran, giving herself time to grab another bolt and reload. Then, turning back to the man pursuing her, she dodged his swing with a roll, and came up firing. Her bolt caught him in the chest and he fell, rolling off the roof with a cry, that was silenced with a thud.

Cat wasn't sure how many more there were, so she needed to get on the ground. She snuck back, past her original position. She assumed the man had climbed up where she had planned on climbing down, so she loaded her bow and crept forward. She came to the pillar that looked thin enough to shimmy down, and she scanned around the area, even lowering her head over the edge of the roof to look underneath. She put her pack and bow on her back and put on her gloves.

Cat climbed quietly over the side, and using her gloved hands and the sides of her boots, slid quickly down the pillar. She landed in a crouch, moving fast into the shadows. There was no movement, no sound, but her gut was telling her it wasn't over.

She moved slowly and deliberately, keeping the sound of her steps to a minimum as she made her way back to the mansion's entrance. She waited nearby for several minutes without incident.

Cat felt it, on the back of her neck, like an annoying fly that wouldn't let her alone. Someone was watching for her, and if she waiting for them to make the first move, Hawke's group could come out and be taken by surprise. Someone could be hurt, so she decided to try to draw them out. She set her pack and crossbow down, and pulled out a dagger, holding it next to her to keep it hidden. She knew Isabela would be angry with her for this, but she was feeling somewhat reckless. She tightened the scarf, so her peripheral vision was no longer obstructed, and headed straight for the mansion's door.

The footsteps behind her gave away their position, and she turned, flinging the dagger as she did. She looked at the two figures, her dagger buried in the stomach of the smaller one, as he fell to the ground. Now there was one left, and he was much bigger than her, and coming right for her.

Cat smiled. Isabela liked men on the bigger side, and nearly everyone aboard the Siren's Call that had trained her were just as big if not bigger than this man. He came at her with his greatsword out and swinging as she went to the side the sword was on, going low as the sword went over her head. She swept her leg out and he steadied himself as he thought she would try to sweep him off his feet, but her leg connected behind his knees, and he stumbled.

Cat jumped on his back, grabbing around his neck and wrapping her legs around his chest. She released her hands and reared back, bringing her open palms to either side of his head, slapping his ears simultaneously. He roared in frustration, his equilibrium affected and she pulled at his neck again, then releasing her legs and kicking behind his knees again with each foot as she dropped her hold on him completely.

He was leaning forward against her pull on his neck, and the strike to his knees with the weight suddenly gone had him overbalanced and crashing forward. Cat went in for the kill, pulling another dagger from her boot and stabbing directly into his kidney, twisting and yanking out her dagger, then kicking him forward, face down on the ground.

The sound of clapping had her whirling around, and she faced Hawke- who was applauding- and his friends, most of whom had looks of shock on their faces. Isabela stayed in the back, her expression unreadable and Cat rolled her eyes, glad she had left the scarf on.

She leaned forward, wiping her dagger on the man's clothes before stashing it back in her boot, and headed to his smaller friend to retrieve her other one.

"Why are you following me?" Fenris growled out at her, and she turned to look at him in confusion. She shook her head and continued in her task.

"Following us then?" Varric asked, and she ignored him. She quickly sheathed her dagger at her side, and walked to her crossbow putting her pack and weapon on her back, then facing the others with her hands on her hips.

"Did you kill them all yourself? Must have something against the guard?" This time it was Carver who questioned her, and she didn't reply, but wondered what kind of man Garrett was, that he had yet to say a word, just simply watched her.

"No, they look similar, but they are not part of the guard," Aveline stated.

"Oh good," Isabela said, moving to the first body. "That means looting." She started commenting on each thing she found, and Cat waited. It was something Isabela had taught her before she was deemed ready to fight. Isabela would get their attention, and Cat would run.

"Ooh! Look at this Hawke!"

Cat seized the moment, as everyone's head turned to see what Isabela had found. She turned and ran as fast as she could.

"Seriously?!"

Varric started chuckling as the woman took off, the exasperation in Carver's voice breaking his control. "Why didn't anyone else see the humor here?" he asked himself. Isabela looked angry, continuing to loot the fallen "pretender" guards with the help of Aveline, and Anders took Carver aside to sit down and heal his wounds.

Varric stayed where he was, leaning against the wall, listening to Fenris question Hawke accusingly. The former slave hadjust a bit of anger towards mages, but Hawke was able to not only talk him down, but get him to agree to help with the couldn't claim to know the future, but he knew Hawke was going to be a big part of his from now on.

In just a few short days, Hawke had managed to join together a group of warriors, rougues and mages whose skills were as diverse as they were. Varric no longer had any qualms about going to the Deep Roads, as long as these people came along.

Varric glanced to his side as Isabela came to stand next to him. "So Rivaini," he said, then paused. "You are from Rivain, aren't you?" She glanced at him with a nod and he continued. "Care to give me the specifics about that job you were mentioning? About the missing cargo?"

Isabela explained the particulars, finishing just as Fenris and Hawke did. She straightened up, getting his attention. "Well Hawke, it's been fun."

"We're heading the same way, we can see you home," he said.

"Aw, such a gentleman, but I make it a point to walk home with Cat whenever I can."

"I didn't think she would need a protector, seeing how often she goes to Darktown," Varric threw in.

"Where do you get that? We've only gone to Darktown once."

"Uh-huh, my mistake." Varric gave her a sly smile, which she immediately distrusted. "Where do you walk home from, at this time of night?" he asked with a smirk.

Isabela simply smirked back. He was good at charming out answers, but she wasn't one to give information away for nothing, especially about herself or her crew. She glanced at the others, noticing how they all were waiting for her response. Interesting.

She began to walk away, throwing a flirty wink at Fenris, and making sure to brush Hawke's arm as she passed. "Offer stands, anytime," she told Hawke, and she sauntered away.

"Hanged Man, tomorrow at mid day for the next job!" He called after her, and she gave a little wave to indicate she had heard.

"And now we're bringing the pirate along?" Aveline asked. "We can't possibly trust her."

"Definitely," Hawke replied, though Aveline was unsure which part he was answering. "But you have to admit, she keeps things entertaining."

"Ugh," Aveline responded in disgust. "May as well go to the brothel if that's what you're looking for."

"Haven't ruled that out yet," he said with a smirk.