Cat just looked around, enjoying the scenery. Obviously, a video game could hardly compete with reality, but it still surprised her and probably would continue to do so. Everything looked vaguely familiar, just enhanced, and Cat wondered where the Dalish hunters that were guarding the entrance to the camp were.

The group walked on, Arianni walking beside Hawke, with Cat and Feynriel behind them, Varric having dropped back to walk with Aveline, then Carver, and Hafter stayed in the back with Fenris. There were no pats or scratches for Hafter with Fenris, but the mutual respect for the other as a warrior was enough for both.

After another few minutes, Arianni came to a stop, holding out her arm to stop Hawke. The others came to a stop as well, gathering closer to find out the issue.

"We wait to be addressed," Arianni explained, as two elves in armor seemed to come out of nowhere to stand in front of the group.

"Be gone Shemlen," the male stated with a hard look.

"Arianni? Why have you come?" the female asked, curiously.

"I am here to see the keeper, about my son's magic," she replied. "The humans have been sent to the keeper by another."

"Impossible," the male replied sternly. "You have declined your place among the people, and the half-blood is not one of us."

"What could a Shem want with the keeper?" the female asked, though warily.

Hawke looked at Arianni, and whispered, "Oh, I'm the Shem?" At her nod, he added, "What is a shem?" Cat held her chuckle in, Hawke's whisper being loud enough for all to hear.

"It is an elven slur for human," Aveline answered, without trying to whisper.

"It means," the male elf corrected, "that you are not one of the people, so you should be on your way."

"Yes Hawke," Fenris interjected. "all the other elves you see are figments of your imagination."

Cat put her hand over her mouth, unwilling to let a laugh escape and offend the Dalish. However, between Fenris' sarcasm, the look of hero worship on Feynriel's face, and the horror on Arianni's, it was terribly difficult.

Hawke kept his calm, looking nonplussed. He held out an amulet for the elves to see and said, "I was sent here, to see Marethari. Please tell her I have come."

The male elf puffed up, as if to say something angrily, but the female stopped him. "Wait," she said, putting her hand on his arm. "This is the one the keeper told us of."

"Are you sure?" he asked skeptically. "I thought he'd be an elf."

"Enter the camp,"the female said, turning to the group. "You will find the keeper there, by the fire."

"Don't cause any trouble Shem. You or the Half-blood." The male said, as he walked back to his post, blending in with the surrounding greenery and practically disappearing before their eyes.

"Neat trick," Cat commented. She looked at Feynriel, and asked. "You okay?"

He was stoic, and tense, but he nodded. "I came to get help controlling my magic, and so that I can stay out of the circle. I don't care what they call me."

"Good lad," Hawke said, as he led the way to the keeper.

Cat instantly liked Keeper Marethari. She reminded Cat of a grandmother, though not her own, but one from a story perhaps. She was elegant, but approachable, regal- yet kind. She spoke first with Arianni, greeting her as a child that had been away too long. She greeted Feynriel with kindness, and after hearing why they were there, agreed to help Feynriel with his magic.

Several of the elven women were waiting nearby to greet and welcome Arianni back, and while they were not hostile to Feynriel, they weren't welcoming either. Cat worried that it would be tough for him, but seeing that his mother was here with him, perhaps he could handle it.

Cat waited with the others behind Hawke, as he and Carver told the story of meeting Flemeth as they tried to escape the darkspawn, with Aveline interjecting once to stop them from arguing a point. Marethari simply smiled, listening intently as the story unfolded. Similarly, Cat could see Varric's attention was focused, and every so often his hand would twitch, as if he were taking notes.

Marethari tilted to the side, looking at those behind Hawke. "And you?" she asked them.

"These are my companions," Hawke answered. "They are traveling with me, as we did not know what we would face."

Cat said nothing, not wanting to nod and agree, since she had her own reasons for coming. She glanced up at the mount in front of them, feeling nervous as she thought of the many ways this meeting could go.

She tuned back in, and jumped slightly, seeing Marethari standing in front of her.

"And you, child?" Marethari asked Cat, her eyes holding Cat's, and she felt she could not evade.

"I am… a long way from home," Cat answered, choosing her words carefully. "I'm looking for help to find it again."

Marethari held her gaze another moment, before nodding and turning back to Hawke. "We know as you do, Asha'bellanar does not do favors without a price, but perhaps she may help you in this. Now, for the last part, you must take the amulet up the mountain to the altar. There, you will preform a rite for the departed, and then… your debt will be payed in full. As will ours."

"I was not taught a rite, are you going to teach it to me?" Hawke asked, annoyed, and yet resigned to doing more to pay back his debt.

"I will send my first with you," she replied. "You would call her my apprentice. She waits for you on the path to the mountain," she said, gesturing with her hand to the well worn path ahead of them. "If I can ask…" she began, and Hawke nodded. "She wishes to leave the clan and go to Kirkwall. Can you take her with you on your way back? Guide her to the city?"

"Why does she want to leave?" Hawke asked.

"That is not my place," Marethari stated. "But it is her wish, and I must abide by it."

"Strange," Hawke murmured. "If that's what you want, she can accompany us back."

"Thank you," Marethari replied, bowing her head to Hawke, and stepping away from us, walking back among her clan.

"Anyone else thinking this is weird?" Varric asked.

"Seems normal for us," Carver replied.

"Let's get this over with," Hawke said, starting up the path, and the others followed him.

What was Hawke so broody about? Cat wondered. It's like he's channeling Fenris or even Carver!

Cat glanced over at their newest member of the Hawke troupe, to see Merrill looking at the ground as they climbed the path, her face glum. She had definitely been nervous meeting all of us, and Hawke's short, clipped responses hadn't helped to put her at ease.

Varric jumped in, and doled out his usual charm, even pardoning Hawke's unusually silent behavior, before introducing the rest of them. "Sorry we didn't get properly introduced. I'm Varric, and you've met Hawke. The grumpy younger version is Carver, the grumpy elf is Fenris, the scary woman is Aveline, and the normal looking one is Catarina."

"Whatever Varric," Cat grumbled, as Hafter gave Varric a few barks.

"My apologies!" Varric stated, with a small bow. "And the mabari is Hafter, though we're not sure if he belongs to Hawke, or Hawke belongs to him," Varric added teasingly.

Everyone glanced at Hawke, but he showed no signs of even hearing the joke. With a sigh, Varric started asking Merrill questions about the rite they were going to preform, and she answered in a way that reminded Cat of the keeper.

Cat was about to comment on Merrill's ability to make things easy to understand when she tripped, and landed face first in the dirt.

"Cat?" Aveline asked, but before she could respond, she heard the others' comments.

"Whoa."

"Is that a skeleton?"

"There's a bunch of them!"

Cat hauled herself to her feet, seeing the hand that tripped her had clawed most of its body out of the ground, and an actual skeleton was now poised to attack, and she didn't have her weapons ready.

She backed up, narrowly dodging the sword that was swung at her, when a large stone went crashing into the skeleton, bursting it apart. The stone had disappeared as well, and she realized that it was a spell. Cat hung her head, and caught her breath; looking up when she saw a hand held out in front of her, offering help to her feet.

She looked up at Merrill and grabbed her hand, picking herself up. She was slightly surprised at the strength which Merrill pulled, and noted that she was stronger than she looked.

"Thank you," Cat said.

"Oh! No- no problem. I've done a little bit of fighting before, but I was more worried about hitting the wrong person. I'm glad I didn't!"

Cat chuckled, "That's true for anyone, not just mages."

"Princess, why do I get the feeling you knew she was a mage?" Varric said, wincing as soon as the nickname left his mouth.

Cat turned to glare at him. "Firstly, no. Just no. Secondly, of course she's a mage. All keepers are mages, so any apprentice would also be a mage."

"How did you know that?" Merrill asked, gaping at her.

"I'd like to know that myself," Carver added.

"I spent some time in Ferelden travelling with a group, one of whom was an elf," Cat said to Merrill with a smile.

"Cat, you say that like it's an explanation, but it only brings up more questions," Varric said, as Merrill came close to Cat excitedly.

"I'm from Ferelden as well! Do you miss it? We left to escape the blight, which was good, but sometimes I wish I were still there."

"I know how that is," Cat replied, as she and Merrill started walking up the path again. They continued talking while the others looked on, then at each other is disbelief, then hurried after them.

A short while later, they came across a camp, where a lone hunter was cleaning his catch. He sneered as he caught sight of Merrill and Cat, and the others behind them. He stood, rounding the fire to step in front of them.

"So! The keeper finally found someone to take you from here."

"Yes," Merrill replied quietly.

"Good!" he said contemptuously. "Hurry and finish your task, Shem," he said to Cat. "We cannot be rid of this one soon enough!"

Merrill seemed to momentarily wilt, but her pride snapped her back straight. "I will save our clan! Whether you approve, or not!" She stormed forward, determined to not let the hunter reply.

"What a jerk," Carver commented as he followed, glancing back to see the hunter return to his task.

"This does bring up a question Merrill," Varric said. He glanced at Hawke, seeing him still silently brooding over who knew what. "If you leave here, you'll be a mage, in a city full of templars."

"Yes, that's true," she said. She interrupted herself, as she gestured towards the large pile of boulders blocking the path. "A landslide blocked the path, but there is a cave nearby, that should still get us to the top." She gestured for the others to follow, as she turned to move up a smaller, newer path. "But if I don't go to Kirkwall," she said, continuing the former conversation, "I'll be alone. In the city, I can get lost, blend in. A solitary elf out here? Is easy prey."

"Fair warning Cat," Carver said with a smirk as they entered the cave, "it looks like spiders." He looked back to Garrett and Fenris, who were now walking side by side, silently, seemingly hoping for assistance in his teasing. Seeing that he was not getting what he sought, he sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "Do we know anyone that isn't brooding every hour of the day?" he complained.

Fenris looked up, and quipped back, "Like attracts like it seems," then continued silently on.

Cat's smile appeared momentarily, before disappearing again as she glanced back. Fenris was often silent, though not always brooding. But Hawke? This was very unusual, especially that is was lasting this long, she thought.

She quickly forgot about it, as Carver was proved right, and giant spiders came rushing at them. The fight was quick but difficult, and Cat was very glad at the slight breeze she felt once they left the cave, as she was very sweaty.

The group stood in front of a graveyard, the entrance marked with a large stone archway in front of them. In front of the archway, was a bright blue barrier, and Cat reached out to touch it.

"No," Merrill said, blocking her hand. "It will protect itself."

Cat put her hand back down, though she was disappointed. Merrill pulled out a small knife and made a small cut across three of her fingers. Using her other hand, the blood rushed from her hand to the barrier, and with another movement, from Merrill, the barrier disappeared.

"Blood magic? Foolish."

Cat knew what was happening, yet she was still somewhat impressed. It was difficult to think of blood magic as evil, as the others did. Though, being somewhat taboo, it was also exciting. There wasn't another mage she would trust to do blood magic while she watched on.

"Yes, it was blood magic, but I know what I'm doing. The spirit helped us."

The group was quiet, and Hawke stepped forward. "Sure, they're very helpful. Right up until they take over your mind and body, and make you a monster that others have to put down."

"Well… yes." Merrill looked nervous, but she stood her ground. "But that won't happen because I know how to defend myself."

Hawke made a noise, that sounded like he didn't care, but everyone around could tell he had somewhat come out of his funk. He didn't like to see other mages suffer, nor cause suffering for others. He cared, and probably more than he should.

"Be careful up ahead," Merrill cautioned as Hawke gestured to Aveline and Carver to lead the group forward. "The dead are no longer sleeping peacefully here."

They went forward cautiously, seeing the altar ahead on an outcropping of rock. They moved onward, Cat, Merrill, and Varric in the middle, looking out to the sides, and Fenris, Hawke and Hafter in the back, constantly glancing back. It seemed that they would make it without incident, and they all relaxed slightly.

Of course! Cat yelled internally, as the Arcane horror rose up, followed by more skeletons. They immediately turned outward, their backs together, as they took stock of the situation. Cat could see the bright light of the spell the horror was inflicting on them, and she rushed forward with her daggers, intent on getting rid of it first. Seeing Aveline's shield up before it, and her sword thrusting at the horror from the front, Cat skirted around to it's back and began stabbing it repeatedly.

She was nowhere near the grace or speed of Isabela, but Cat knew where to stab to inflict the most damage. Each stab seemed more and more difficult, as if her energy was failing rapidly, and she struggled and pushed with all her might to get the horror to fall.

Between the two of them, they were finally able to bring the horror down, and it sank into the ground. Exhausted, Cat fell on her knees, her hands on the ground in front of her as she panted. She had no idea what the spell was, but it had been extremely effective. If Aveline had not been there to take the brunt of it, she doubted she would still be conscious.

By the time Cat got to her feet, the fight was finished, and her friends were eyeing the altar, except for Fenris.

"Hawke," he said, getting everyone's attention. "Should we scout further ahead? I do not want to be taken by surprise during the rite."

"That's a good idea," Hawke replied. "though I don't think we need to go all the way to the top. Perhaps just around the next bend?"

Aveline and Carver waited for the Cat, Varric and Merrill to follow after Fenris and Hawke before they took position behind them. Cat smiled as she thought of Hawke's attention to detail in keeping the squishier people safe from ambushes, by always having a warrior at the front and rear of the group.

"Shades!"

The yell went out, and everyone tensed. Cat could see the dark, shadowy forms moving across the ground towards them. How they could move so quickly and yet still look like they were creeping, was beyond her.

"Stay back!" Aveline yelled to her, and she looked around, noting that each shade was being occupied by at least one of their group.

"AAH! Revenant!" Merrill screamed.

"Wha-?!" Carver tried to reply.

"Pride demon, possessing a corpse!" Merrill hurried to explain. "Very tough and powerful, we'll need powerful attacks in order to kill it!"

Cat looked around, seeing Varric flip back away from the shade he was engaged with. Carver, Fenris and Hawke were all finishing off their shades, and beginning to attack the revenant. Hafter and Aveline were going two on two with shades, and Merrill was readying a spell to hit the revenant with.

Decision made, Cat began to move toward the revenant. She put her smaller, easier to wield daggers back in their sheaths at the small of her back, and reaching overhead, pulled out the daggers that Isabela had gotten her. They were larger, with curved blades, and wickedly sharp. This is why Issy makes you use them, for situations like this, Cat told herself.

She paused, waiting for Merrill's attack to hit, readying her weapons, and tensing her muscles. Here goes nothing, explosive strike!

The vines that had wrapped around the revenant were torn away as it stepped towards Merrill, and Cat struck. In one smooth motion, she leaped in and buried her blades into its back, twisting and pulling them out with a burst of power, then rolling back over her shoulder and away. She heard the unearthly scream of the revenant, and she scurried to find cover as the others pressed their advantage. She continued to back up, but she could feel the malevolent gaze of the creature, as it turned to keep her in its sights.

Without warning, it swung out, knocking back all the others, and reaching toward her, she could feel a cold spectral hand grabbing her and pulling her in.

"CAT!"

She could hear the yell, but could not discern who had made it, her head was swimming, and as she looked up into the visage of the revenant, she truly knew what horror was. Cat saw its giant sword swinging in, and then… nothing.

"NO!"

Hawke screamed, his rage and agony combined in something that left him raw. He pushed forward only to be held back by Aveline, and he struggled against her.

"Wait, Hawke! The spell!" Aveline yelled in his ear, but he just twisted and pushed, trying to break free. She grappled back, using all her strength and training to keep him at bay while Merrill finished her petrify spell. Stone pieces from all directions came flying in, entombing the revenant so that it could not move, though Aveline could still hear it scream, a sound that would surely haunt her dreams.

Hawke used all his strength, and finally broke free of her grasp. He ran forward, chanting No…no…no… over and over again in his mind. It's my fault, my fault.

He went down as he neared Cat, sliding to a stop as he pulled her in his arms, and putting his hand on her neck. Please be alive…

He held his breath, though he had no idea that he had done so, until he felt her pulse, faint, but there. His breath whooshed out in relief, and he hung his head to hers. He could hear the sounds of the others as they took apart the creature while it was frozen in place, but his concentration was on the feeling of her heart as it beat, the soft sound of her breath near his ear.

It was almost his worst nightmare brought to life. Someone that he lead, someone that he swore to protect- had almost died, and it was his fault. He was the one who was supposed to take risks, he was the leader, so he should have had a plan. Instead he led them into a trap, and giving no direction, watched as one of his people was cut down.

The first thing that came in to focus, was the smell. It wasn't a bad smell, but it wasn't something she could name either. It was something she had never smelled before, and she laid there, just breathing it in, over and over, trying to memorize it.

Soon after, she could hear something. There was plenty of noise, all around her in fact. But this was different. It was soft, and she strained her ears to hear it. A voice, saying… saying… she grew frustrated as she tried to understand, listening again.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… please don't go…"

Her tension left as she finally understood, and she wondered mildly why anyone would want to leave. It smelled nice, it sounded nice… it felt… nice.

As her focus changed to what she could feel, she took note of several things. There was pressure, on one side of her face, where something soft, but furry was resting, and on her neck, something behind her, holding her up, and…

PAIN.

The focus changed, and Cat's eyes flew open, as the pain hit her again. She gasped in a breath, trying to steel herself against the onslaught. She blinked rapidly, her hair in her eyes, and she tried to shake her head to get it out of the way.

It suddenly was gone, and as she looked up with her teeth clenched, she realized, Hawke had been holding her, in fact, it was his hair that had been in her face, his stubbly beard against her cheek… his hand, on her neck, now moving up to cup her cheek. His scent… his voice, telling her to stay.

Cat looked up at him, unsure of what was going on, knowing that something had happened. They just looked at each other, neither moving, until the pain became intolerable, and Cat hissed, and tried to move her hand to her wound.

"Here. Get her to drink this," she heard, though she was unable to see who. She watched as Hawke moved his hand from her cheek, and grabbed a small bottle. Pulling the stopper out with his teeth, he spat it to the side, and brought the bottle to her lips.

"Drink it, nice and easy," he said softly. "It's a healing potion, it will help for now."

Cat could hardly believe how long it took for her to actually down the potion, but she could feel the effects, and sighed in relief, her eyes closing.

"Cat," Hawke said, a little more sharply. "Stay with us now."

She opened her eyes, finally able to see beyond Hawke, to her other friends that were all around her.

"Um, sorry?" she croaked, happy that she saw a few smiles.

"Sorry, Killer? Whatever for?" Varric teased. "Not like Isabela is going to gut us all or anything…"

Cat laughed, then groaned in pain. "No laughing, I'm begging you," she said, grimacing. "And no, that's the worst one yet."

Varric shook his head, but was smiling. "You gave us quite the scare there," he said quietly, looking over at Hawke. Cat followed his eyes, facing back forward and looking up into Hawke's face. This time, she didn't meet his eyes, as he was staring intently on her wound,, and clearing her throat, she looked around to the others.

"Is everyone else all right?" she asked. "Fenris? Hafter? Carver? Merrill?"

"They're fine," Aveline said. "Just checking around to make sure we won't have any more surprises."

Cat gave a sigh of relief, and then couldn't help but ask, "How bad is it?"

"You'll have an epic looking scar…" Varric said, trailing off.

"I'm honestly surprised you're still alive," Aveline said bluntly. "You must have fell back as the sword came at you, which saved your life. Otherwise, well, I'm sure you can imagine."

Cat reached up, gently feeling the skin around her wound. It started just below her right ear, and ended above her left breast. Her armor, and passing out had most definitely saved her life, she realized, if this was the wound after a healing potion.

"Help me up, would you Hawke?" she asked, feeling a little uncomfortable, as he continued to stare at the wound. "Hawke?" she questioned again, and he seemed to snap out of it.

"What?" he asked, looking up to her eyes again.

"Help me up?" she asked.

He shifted, bringing his hand away from her face and gripping under her knees, he stood, bringing her with him, so that she was in his arms bridal style.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You are not carrying me."

"You are not walking, you're injured," he said, with an incredulous look. "Don't be foolish."

"But…but…" Cat search around, for any reason to be put down. "You've got the rite thing to do, and I'll just take it easy while you do that, besides, the healing potion helped loads… and… Fenris!" she said as she spotted him. "Fenris can help me!" she waved him over.

Fenris walked forward, looking intently at her wound. "It appears to be better, though it will be quite the scar."

"That's what I said," Varric added.

"Cat, you all right?" Carver asked, looking uneasy.

"Yes, I just really need to walk. Fenris, can you help me, so Hawke can do the rite thing with Merrill?"

"Certainly."

Hawke frowned, looking between Cat and Fenris, but he finally eased her legs down so she could stand. He held on as she shook, and stumbled, Fenris grabbing her uninjured shoulder, and her waist.

What is wrong with me? Garrett asked himself as he let go of her. He ran his hand through his hair, shaking his head to clear it. "All right then, let's go… nice and easy. Merrill, you're with me," he said.

"Right," she answered, but like all of them, her eyes were still on Cat. Fenris ceased her attempts at walking, handing his sword to Aveline, and crouching in front of her. She placed her arms around his neck loosely, and he stood, holding her legs on either side of his body.

She has no problem letting Fenris carry her… Hawke grumbled to himself. He shook his head again, as he walked off, the others following behind. He really didn't want to delve into what he was feeling, so he put it out of his mind... or tried to. Obviously, it's been too long since I've enjoyed female company. Combined with almost losing her, he was bound to feel attached at the moment.

Back home there were plenty of girls that fancied him, and Hawke had never seen the need or had the desire to visit a brothel. But as he tried to get the woman behind him out of his mind, the image of her face as he conjured a spell stuck in his head- her eyes wide, biting her lip… he had never forgotten how she looked then.