When Cat and Isabela first arrived in Kirkwall, they had a few rough days. Cat had a pack on her back, but it was filled with things that she couldn't bear to part with, along with a change of clothes, and a little bit of money. The money had got them food at first, but until Cat had found her job, and Isabela had found the better areas for pick-pocketing, Cat had almost been tempted to sell some of her things. Now, as she readied herself to go after the necromancer, she was glad that she hadn't.

She buckled on her daggers, gifts from Isabela herself, though the thigh holsters were the original ones Zevran had gotten for her. She had almost put on her drake scale armor, it still looked as amazing as the day she had gotten it from Master Wade, but she knew there would be questions, and she wasn't ready to share that part of her life yet.

Cat also decided to bring her crossbow, even knowing that the others would probably realize she had been with them the night they had fought together the first time. But, Anders and Fenris already knew, and the world hadn't ended. Isabela may not agree, but Cat was determined to give herself every advantage.

Cat turned to her armoire and pulled out the blue shirt Isabela had requested, turning around and throwing it at her.

"There you go, blue shirt as promised. And remember, no wearing it out with me."

"Don't fret Kitty, this is for special occasions. Some men just need a little extra convincing."

"You would assume I know who you're talking about, but you flirt with everyone, so it's hard to tell."

"You know what they say Kitty, cast a wide enough net, you're bound to catch something."

"True. Maybe you could catch Carver… that would give me a nice break."

"You say that, but Carver has something going for him."

"Oh really, such as?" Cat asked as she sat to pull on her boots.

"He's got you aware of his intentions. That's more than the others have."

"Huh?" Cat looked up from her boots. "What others?"

"Kitty…" Isabela rolled her eyes. "I can't believe that you can be so blind. You practically have both Fenris and Anders wrapped around your finger. You could have either one of them in a blink."

"Wha-? Issy, that's not true." Isabela's look had Cat on the defensive. "It's not! They are both just men we travel with sometimes. Anders… is like my brother, that would be way too weird, and Fenris… well, it's complicated, but I'm not going there either. Plus, neither of them feel that way for me! You're just reading things into it that aren't there."

"Only because you aren't reciprocating! They don't want to act on it if you are going to reject them. It's been forever Kitty! At least the year that you've been here!"

"Issy, why are we fighting about this? I just don't need romance."

"Who said anything about romance? I'm talking about having some fun, releasing some tension! There are men and women all around you that would jump at the chance to help you let loose!"

Cat pinched the bridge of her nose. This was another endless debate, as Isabela could never seem to understand her stance. Hell, sometimes SHE didn't understand her own stance, so how could she expect others to?

"Issy, look, I really appreciate you trying to help, and I promise, I'll think about it. But for right now, I can't separate the two. I've never been one for casual sex, and I really don't want the complication of a relationship. If either of those change, you'll be the first to know, okay?"

Isabela wanted to push, but felt like that would just spur Cat's anger. So, she would have to push from the other end. Cat obviously didn't want Carver's advances, and though she had argued against both Anders and Fenris, her argument wasn't convincing at all. If that failed, there was always several professionals down at the Rose that could help.

"Okay Kitty. Are you ready? Don't think I don't see that crossbow. But… I suppose Hawke is about as trustworthy as anyone at this point. He already knows you can fight. Maybe using your crossbow will keep you out of the front lines, and safer."

"Knowing my luck, I wouldn't count on it," Cat replied as she opened the door.

"Too true. Well, lets go meet up with everyone, before Hawke decides to make changes to the schedule again."

"I'm way ahead of you," Cat said as she closed the door after Isabela had come through. "Though if Hawke even thinks of changing the schedule, I'll kick him in the balls."

"Promise?" Isabela asked with a laugh. Cat joined in, and laughing, the two of them headed to the Hanged Man.

"Hawke, trust me, that's not a good idea."

"I know Varric, but I'm sure they will go along with it."

"Well, here they come. I'll just be over there… far away."

Hawke squared his shoulders, and took a deep breath. He was the leader, he could handle this.

"Isabela, Cat… please sit down," Hawke said as the two of them came up to their table.

They exchanged glances, and Hawke looked between them, thinking that perhaps they were guessing as to what he wanted to talk to them about.

"I feel like I should tell Hawke what you said before we left," Isabela smirked at Cat as she sat down.

"I get the same feeling," Cat mused, also sitting. She smiled over at Hawke, her smile overly sweet. "But I'm sure Hawke wouldn't go back on his word…" her smile turned sharp, and Hawke realized he should approach this a different way.

"I will not," he replied. "But we have been approached with another job, and while there is a timing issue, I wanted the decision to be yours."

Cat sat back, surprised. "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that," she said with one eyebrow quirked up in question. She glanced over at Isabela, and Hawke tried to discern their words from their minute gestures.

Finally Cat shrugged, and Isabela said, "We'll hear you out."

"I was given a share in a mine, just outside of town," Hawke began, which had Cat suddenly interested. Dragons! was all she could think, and though she couldn't keep a straight face, she did keep her smile to a smirk.

Hawke continued, "but it seems that there is some kind of problem at the mine that we need to investigate. Both of these can be accomplished today, and if it were my decision, I would go to the mine first and the foundry afterward. But!" Hawke quickly added before either of them could get angry. "I gave my word, and it IS your decision."

Isabela looked at Cat, letting her know that it was her decision, since she was the one so invested in the necromancer. Cat didn't mind putting off the foundry for a little longer, as long as they actually did it. And, if they waited to go to the bone pit, the last survivor might not survive this time.

"I agree," Cat said. "It makes more sense to go to the foundry later, to ensure that the necromancer is there. He more than likely scopes out his victims during the day, when he is less likely to be noticed, what with the commotion of the shops." Hawke smiled, glad that Cat came to the same conclusion he had. "But…" She added, "we must find the necromancer. I'll regret it the rest of my life if he kills again when we could have stopped him sooner."

"I swear, I will not rest until we have investigated that foundry," Hawke said, placing his hand on the table, and nodding at Cat in seriousness.

"Thank you."

Hawke stood, "Now, we should get going."

Cat and Isabela stood as well, and the group started to head out, when Cat was pushed from behind her knees, and fell forward, splayed out on the ground.

"Kitty? You okay?" Isabela asked, though she didn't quite mask the laughter in her voice. Everyone else was chuckling as well.

"Ow… what hit me?" Cat asked as she lifted herself up to her knees. She was surprised to find herself face to face with an absolutely HUGE dog. They both stared, eye to eye, and Cat couldn't help but smile when the dog tilted its head in question. "Hi there. Can I pet you?" she asked as she held her hand out.

She was disappointed when the mabari moved its head further away from her. She had gotten along so well with Duran's mabari, Dog, right from the start. She wondered if that was because she had been in need of protection then.

"Hafter!" Hawke had turned, and was looking down at the mabari with a scowl. The dog in turn, was looking up at the mage as if to ask, "What? She was in my way." Hawke scowled further, and pointing to Cat, "Hafter. Apologize."

The two of them stared at each other, both trying to win the contest, which had Cat laughing. Both turned, and Cat quelled her laughter in order to speak. "It's all right Hawke, I'm not hurt."

"That doesn't matter," Hawke replied without looking away from the mabari. "We can always take you back home to Mother." Hawke said, and Cat realized he was talking to the mabari, as he huffed, and went over to Cat. He lowered his head so she could pet him, and she didn't hesitate.

Cat started scratching behind his ears, "Oh, you're so handsome," she said as she moved her hands down under his jaw, continuously scratching. She was surprised when Hafter flipped and showed his belly, but she only giggled, and reached forward to rub his belly, continuing to compliment him. After a time, she heard someone clear their throat loudly, and she paused, looking up. Everyone was starting at her, Isabela rolling her eyes, Varric laughing, Fenris with a small smile, and Hawke looked gobsmacked.

"We should head out," Fenris said, and he held out a hand to help Cat up. As she reached for it, Hafter got to his feet, and licked her face, then headed over to Hawke's side.

The group started out, and Hawke continued to look back and forth from Cat to his mabari.

"What?" Cat asked, her head tilting much in the same way as Hafter's had, and Hawke smiled.

"I haven't seen Hafter take to someone that quickly in a long time. In fact, I think he likes you more than he likes Carver."

Hafter gave a "woof" in agreement, and Varric muttered "just like everyone else," which had Cat laughing quietly.

"So, Garrett... where did Hafter get his name?"

Hawke looked at her incredulously. "You've never heard the legend of Hafter? He's almost as famous as Dane."

Cat looked at him with confusion. "Um… I thought Dane was a river?"

Isabela and Varric chuckled as Hawke's jaw dropped. "I thought you lived in Ferelden for a time. How is it that you had not heard the stories of Dane and Hafter?"

"Uh… sorry?" Cat replied looking sheepish.

"No time like the present then," Hawke said. "Come walk with us, I'll tell you about it on the way to the bone pit."

"Okay," Cat replied, stepping up to the other side of Hafter. She was happy to find that he was tall enough that she could pet him as they walked, and the way he stuck to her side, she figured he was happy about that too. She listened to Hawke tell the story of the legendary man turned werewolf- Dane, and then Hafter, rumored as a son of a werewolf, and how they lived.

Rogue party! Cat thought to herself, though we are missing Sebastian… She barely considered herself a true rogue, but it was more by default than anything. She couldn't really pick pockets or locks, but she was most definitely not a warrior nor a mage, so that left rogue. I guess I can't call this a rogue party since Fenris is here, she thought with a frown.

Besides Hawke and Hafter, she was traveling with only Fenris, Isabela and Varric. As she thought about what they would be facing in the mine, she had worried that they would need the others, but she decided it was a pretty good combination. Ranged fighters would help keep the dragons distracted, Fenris was very fast for a warrior, and Isabela could use stealth until she was ready to attack, and Hafter would be able to distract the dragons in order for the ranged fighters to take them down. Hopefully all of that together would make for a good dragon fighting team.

"So, what do you think we'll find in here?" Cat asked Fenris as they headed into the open mine.

"Probably more corpses, just like outside," Fenris replied.

"Fair enough, but what made the corpses?" she asked.

"Spiders," Hawke called back to them.

"Ugh! Hawke that's not funny!"

"I do not think that was an attempt at humor," Fenris said to Cat, as he looked ahead. He pulled out his great sword, and looked back at her. "Try to stay away from exploding spiders this time," he said, and headed forward, his sword at the ready.

"Was that your idea of a joke?" Cat yelled after him.

"Sounded more like advice to me," Varric responded. "Watch it Freckles," he said as he shot a bolt past her.

"Freckles?" she asked with a grimace.

"Yeah, no good. I figured I would need to just try some nicknames out until the right one jumps at me."

"Well, I definitely want veto power," Cat said as she shot a bolt from her own crossbow.

Varric gave her a grin, "Sorry, that's not how it works. And what, you liked my crossbow so much, you got one for yourself? Not that I blame you, Bianca is awe-inspiring."

"Nah, I had this long before I met you, Issy just didn't want me using it," she replied, enjoying the distraction their conversation was. It kept her focused on killing the spiders without thinking about their size.

"Why not?" Varric asked Isabela, and she gave Cat a glare before disappearing to go after another spider.

Cat simply shrugged at Varric's questioning glance. "Though if it makes you feel better, it was a dwarf that inspired me to get this crossbow, since he wouldn't share his with me."

"Oh really?" Varric asked, a twinkle in his eye at the thought of a story. "Do tell."

"There!" Cat pointed to where a dragonling was silently coming up behind Hafter. "Hafter! Down!" she yelled, and just as the mabari crouched, her bolt and several bolts from Bianca struck the dragonling, and it wailed as it fell, then went silent.

Once all the creatures were taken care of, they regrouped. "Spiders and now dragons?" Varric stated. "No wonder the men didn't survive. They were just laborers."

"Laborers with no one to protect them," Hawke said crossly. "working in horrible conditions for very little pay, simply because there was no other choice."

No one commented, seeing that Hawke wasn't looking for comfort. "Come on," he said walking further in to the mine. "Let's clear this place out, so the workers can return and work in safety."

"Kitty?" Isabela asked, and the others looked over to see Cat bent over a dragonling corpse, seeming to pet it. "What are you doing?" she asked as she walked over to Cat.

"Issy, it's a dragon. A real dragon!" Cat smiled, the child-like enthusiasm making the others smile.

"Yeah, a real dragon that would gladly rip your face off," Isabela scoffed.

"Meh," Cat said with a shrug. "They can't help that, it's just their nature." But she smiled and added, "and that's why we kill them instead of trying to keep them as pets."

The six of them continued on, clearing paths and caverns within the mine, taking very little time to rest. As they moved on, Cat started to wonder how much further the mine could go when a man literally ran right into Hawke.

Hawke, being much larger in stature than the other man, didn't lose his footing and grabbed the man's shoulders to steady him.

"Whoa there friend," Hawke said calmly.

"Keep your voice down!" the man hissed, terror written on his face. "We need to get away from here!"

"Easy," Hawke replied, keeping his voice soft and calm, trying to calm the other man down. "What happened?"

"We opened a new tunnel, and these… creatures just started pouring into the mine, killing everyone! We all ran for the entrance, but, I must have gotten turned around. I was able to hide, but I could hear everyone screaming!" He paused for a deep breath, shuddering.

"Have we reached the end of the mine then?" Fenris questioned.

"No, that way," he pointed behind him, "is where we opened the new tunnel. I don't know how I ended back in there, but as I was looking for a way out, I ended up outside. I could see that is was a dead end, but suddenly this HUGE dragon landed! I ran as fast as I could, and I just seem to get more lost…" he face fell again, and he seemed so dejected.

Hawke gave his shoulder a light slap. "You're in luck then. Just follow the path behind me, and you'll make it back to the entrance. We've cleared out any creatures, and you will be safe."

"Really?" the man asked Hawke, looking at his savior with awe. He started walking, then stopped and turned back. "Please, don't go that way. That dragon will kill you all." He then continued, in a hurry to get out of the mine.

"Hawke?" Isabela questioned.

"We can't leave a dragon here. No one will be safe if we do." Hawke paused, looking around at all of them. "We can do this. Hopefully, it is just an adult. High dragons are said to be extinct, so it is manageable."

Hawke continued as he outlined his strategy for their attack, and Cat made sure to pay close attention this time, although there was no secret plan to hide behind a barrier. "Anders has been teaching me to use cold spells, but it is not something I have an affinity for… but I will try. Otherwise, Fenris and Hafter, try to back the dragon to one side so that Varric, Cat and I can stay out of range. Isabela, look for the vulnerable spots, we need to weaken it quickly, same for you two," he said looking at Varric and Cat, "eyes, throat…" he trailed off.

They all nodded, and steeling themselves, headed out, Fenris and Hafter leading the way.

As the group exited the cave, they came upon a large shelf of rock jutting out from the side of the mountain. The space was limited, and they followed the grating sound with their eyes, spying the sleeping dragon next to the cave opening.

Hawke came up to Fenris, his voice low. "We need to get it away from the cave. If things go poorly, it is our only means of escape." Fenris nodded, and looked over at Isabela.

"Can you go to the edge there and call out for it?"

She looked at him in alarm. "Are you crazy?" she immediately hunched her shoulders in worry, and everyone looked at the dragon with bated breath. They all sighed in relief as the creature kept sleeping.

"I merely want it to head towards you, then you can stealth, and get away as I attack it."

Isabela looked at Fenris warily, unsure.

"But what if the dragon just breathes fire, and doesn't move?" Cat asked quietly. Isabela's eyes widened, as if she hadn't thought of that, and looked pointedly at Fenris.

"Hmm… then I will shout and distract it."

"Let's just do that first!"

Isabela and Fenris continued to argue in whispers, until they heard to sound of Varric's crossbow firing. The group watched as the bolt struck the mountainside nearby the dragon, but away from where they were standing. They all watched with different amounts of apprehension as the dragon spread it wings and took off, looking on with awe, before it circled back and landed in the midst of them.

Its wings beat harshly, and before they realized it, they were all dragged forward. Cat crashed directly into the dragon's back leg, hastily scooting back to avoid getting trampled. She was tempted to look around for her friends, but the large clawed foot kept her attention, as it lifted, and came pushing back towards her. She rolled out of the way, avoiding being sliced in half, but felt a pain through her side as the dragon's claw grazed her. Her adrenaline was pumping, and she raised her crossbow, firing in the softness of the dragon's underbelly, then scrambling to her feet, and running to get some distance between them.

She kept moving, to her left then back to her right, keeping her distance from her companions as well, not wanting to give the dragon a tempting target to use it's fire breath or spit attacks on.

She could hear Hawke shouting, though it was hard to make out, and as she concentrated, she realized he was calling out the areas that he was using his cold attacks on so that the others could attack the same areas, and hopefully cause exponential damage.

Cat did her best to join in, but half the time she couldn't hear Hawke, and with Fenris and Isabela attacking those areas, she didn't want to accidentally hit them, so she went for other areas, focusing on the dragon's throat. With her companions moving so quickly, Cat opted to stay still for a time, using the moments to increase the accuracy of her shots.

The dragon reared and roared, and Cat found herself feeling dizzy, her equilibrium off. She teetered back and forth, holding her arms out to keep from falling over. After a minute or so, she shook her head, able to finally clear her mind. She looked around, seeing that the others were similarly affected, and realizing that she had just been stunned. She made a mental note to ask Isabela about a counter. If that happened with a regular enemy, she'd be dead before she realized it.

The group continued to hack away at the dragon, and its energy began to wane. After an extremely hard hit from Fenris' sword, the dragon wailed and held it's front leg protectively in by its body as it fell on the ground. Cat could see the others were as bolstered by this as she felt, and they renewed their efforts, sensing the end of the fight.

Cat raised her crossbow, moving closer as she aimed, trying to get her bolt as closely under the jaw as she could. She let out her breath and fired, watching as the bolt sailed over, hitting the side of the dragon's neck instead as it had turned toward Hawke. The fury on the dragon's face was suddenly aimed at Cat, as the dragon whipped its head around, a last desperate attack. Cat looked in confusion, the dragon seemed like it was choking almost, and made her think of a cat about to cough up a hairball.

"Move!"

Cat realized what was happening as someone shouted at her, and she moved as quickly as she was able, but somehow, even though the dragon had spit where she had been, the projectile followed her. She felt a barrier surround her, and she tried to jump out of the way, as the fire spit came for her. She heard the crashing sound of the barrier breaking, and as she felt the fire on her side, she began to scream.

Cat opened her eyes, panicking slightly as she felt herself being carried. She looked up, surprised to see Fenris holding her, seemingly without any difficulty. She knew he must be exhausted after their fight, so she struggled slightly, and said, "I can walk now."

"I wouldn't bother Kitty," Isabela said from beside her, and she turned her head to see her. "He's being as stubborn as a mule right now."

Cat watched as Fenris' eyebrow quirked up. "Oh?" he replied dryly. "So I should let Hawke try to heal her then?"

"I didn't say that…" Isabela replied.

"I feel like I missed something…" Cat said.

"Well Killer," Varric said, and Cat gave him a deadpan look. "Yeah, not that one either. The point is, even though the barrier Hawke put up took the brunt of the damage from the dragon's fire spit, it still burned you. The wound looks pretty bad."

"Yeah, I feel it." Cat replied. "I also took a claw swipe to that same side at the beginning of the fight."

"Ow." Varric winced in sympathy.

"That doesn't explain why Fenris is carrying me." Cat glared up at Fenris, trying to get him to put her down.

"You were unconscious, Kitty" Isabela pointed out. "Hawke offered to heal you, but…"

"But?"

"But they don't trust me!" Hawke finally spoke, and Cat could tell he was on her other side, though she couldn't turn far enough to see him.

"Um, why not?" she asked, though she wasn't certain she wanted the answer.

Varric, ever the diplomat, spoke up. "It isn't a matter of trust Hawke. You said yourself that you haven't mastered the healing spell Anders was teaching you."

Cat could hear Hawke sigh grumpily behind her. "I know…" he muttered.

"And we all just want to ensure that Cat gets the best healing she can."

"Okay, but really, still not answering my question here." Cat interrupted.

"The others were arguing, so I simply picked you up and started back towards Kirkwall." Fenris finally said. "The faster we get you to the…" he paused seeing the look on Cat's face, and changed his mind "… Anders, the faster you will be healed."

"I see," Cat mused, supposing it could be worse, and her side was really hurting. "Well then, I guess I can only say, thank you. So, thank you, Fenris."

"You are welcome," he replied.