Whoever had the bright idea to have Skylar arrive so early for a council meeting, only to be late themselves was an absolute moron as far as she was concerned. The war room had no furniture—with the exception of the table, of course—making the room feel damn near stiflingly uncomfortable when you combine that with the surrounding cold, stone architecture, and the utter lack of anything that could have resembled a window. She normally couldn't stay in there long by herself without feeling trapped, and today was no exception. Every second thought brought her right back to the massive anxiety she had boiling in her chest once again…everyone was set and ready to seal the Breach, the meeting today was just meant to go over the formal plan. In all likelihood, she'd be marching back up the mountain by nightfall.

Nothing like literally everyone disregarding punctuality to prolong your impending doom.

She rolled her eyes as she checked the time on her phone. Nearly 15 minutes and still not even Cullen had showed. It might actually have worried her if she had any room left in her mind for a new worry. But all she could focus on at the moment was how utterly annoying it all was. They had all but drug her out of bed before the sun had even come up and still had the nerve to be late.

Her restless gaze fell on the cut she'd made in the map over Denerim all those weeks ago…someone had apparently placed clear tape over it to prevent further tearing, but the gash was still obvious. Probably Josie, she figured, not like her to leave a problem unfixed, no matter how small. Looking over the map only made her think of all the bad memories she'd left in her hometown, making the room feel just that much smaller.

If they were all going to make her wait so long, she decided she'd be doing it in a much better setting. As she popped open the unreasonably heavy door, she heard an unmistakable cackle. Usually, Sera's antics would bring a smile to Skylar's face, but today all she could muster was a frown. Sera was perched awkwardly in a nearby windowsill, evidently carrying on a humorous conversation with Blackwall. Their jovial voices echoed throughout the otherwise empty Chantry.

"Riiight," Sera sniggered, eyeing Blackwall with a particularly mischievous grin. "Because you know what it looks like."

"It does not!" He snapped back quickly, utterly failing to hide a snicker of his own.

They seemed to have been observing the Breach as far as Skylar could tell, likely something crude or otherwise unruly if she had to guess. She thought about going over there, allowing herself to be pulled into a nonsense conversation to get her mind off of it all…but her Mark suddenly flared, as if it were reacting to the idea, making her think better of it. The morose mood she was in would likely just bring them down with her anyway. And Maker knew Blackwall brooded enough for the whole damned Inquisition on his own.

She waved politely to them as she passed—getting a playfully obscene gesture in response from Sera, but really, Skylar was expecting no less. She shuffled off to the far side of the chantry, flopping her weight carelessly down on a thoroughly uncomfortable pew tucked in the darkened corner directly behind another large window. Pulling her hood over her head, she leaned against the cold stone wall and pulled her legs up to her chest. She probably looked pathetic, she figured. But it didn't much matter at this point. Didn't seem like much of anything mattered if it was all about to end…Her breath began to catch in her throat. Slowly but surely she could feel that anxious weight pressing harder and harder down upon her.

Steel yourself—

Unless your next words are going to magically get all of this over with and force a happy ending, you can kindly go straight to the fucking void. I don't need a temporary band aid made of religious lip-service today.

An undeniable sense of utter disappointment flooded over her. If she were anymore crazy than she already was, she would have been convinced that she actually was drowning in the abstract feeling. It was so strong, she actually felt her stomach churn in reaction to it. She waited for the voice to respond, but was met with only silence. Which somehow made the feeling so much worse.

She forced herself to take a deep breath, but it did little to make the feeling subside. She was nearly on the verge of tears when she was suddenly startled by the appearance of a shadowy form next to her. Before she could make sense of what she'd seen, Killian was sitting where the shadow once was. He just stared at her expectantly as she blinked at him.

"Well?" He said, finally.

"Well, well?"

He rolled his eyes. "You're freaking out, again. Don't bother denying it—I can hear it. I'm not gonna be able to relax until you do, so spill."

There were about a dozen questions his mini-rant had filled her immediate thoughts with, but she quickly brushed them off. She huffed a short, jaded laugh as she rubbed her palms down her face. "What if I don't want to talk?"

"That sounds like a you problem." He just smirked mischievously when she shot him a thoroughly annoyed look. "Want has nothing to do with it anymore. Right now, you need to talk. So, talk."

She just glared at him and shook her head. She was hoping he'd just give up and walk away after a few moments, but no, Killian was far too stubborn for that and she knew it. At least humoring him should stop your damned head from spiraling…for now. It took her a long moment to sort her various nagging thoughts out. "That thing you said yesterday—about me not dying…do you really believe that?"

Killian shrugged. "Blood Lady doesn't lie."

"Sure, with a name like that, she sounds perfectly altruistic." They share a snicker before she carefully presses that particular issue. "So…that Blood Lady…can I ask you about her?"

"You can ask me anything, you know that."

"I used to…a lot's changed though…"

"You're still you. I'm still me. The world is still falling apart. Only difference now is that we both have voices in our heads."

"Well, you know, there's also that thing about you looking like fucking Dracul now, too."

Killian scoffed playfully, his smile slowly fading as he shook his head. "That was a…gift, I guess. Courtesy of some real creepy fucks. Got nothing to do with the Blood Lady, far as I can tell."

"Mom wouldn't ever talk to me about what happened…"

"There wasn't much she could say, honestly. The only thing she knew for sure was that I disappeared for a while, and came back like this…when I showed back up, Sten and Shayle tried to convince her to leave me down there. Mom couldn't do it though."

"So…what's your version?"

He shot her a dark look. For a moment, Skylar was worried that she'd hit a nerve. But he looked away quickly, his expression softened considerably when he spoke. "We were real far down in the deep roads. Chasing that bitch of a Paragon—dwarven politics, it's a long story. It must have been days since we'd left the surface, maybe even weeks. We came up on this sort of a crossroad, I guess. The 'Spawn had it heavily entrenched. We were trying to figure our way around it. Keep quiet and come up with a plan. But a couple of those damn Shrieks ambushed us. Next thing I know, it's just utter chaos around us. 'Spawns are everywhere…I kind of…shut down. Just focused on nothing but keeping Mom alive. I don't exactly remember how, but I got separated. I had a Hurlock by the throat, I was about to run it through, but I ended up falling into this cavern. My first instinct was to look for the Hurlock, but…somehow, I just knew I was completely alone—maybe isolated is the better word…Everything was darker than black. Colder than winter. So quiet I could hear my own heart beating…First thing I saw was a pair of red eyes approaching me."

Skylar shifted uncomfortably. "You weren't kidding about the creepy fucks then…"

"Seemed like I was getting swarmed before I had time to blink. I thought they were trying to attack me. So, I fought back. I'm pretty sure I killed at least one or two of them. But the moment one of them got a bite in on me, they all just fled back into the darkness."

"Ohh-kay, somehow that's even creepier."

Killian shrugged, looking away again. "Didn't know what else to do, so I just wandered for a while. That bite kept itching like hell, but it didn't hurt much. And I figured whatever it was definitely wasn't a 'spawn so I'd just have to assume I was fine. I kinda knew something was wrong though. I kept feeling like I was getting colder and colder."

Skylar flinched at that. He made it sound like he was dying…She corrected herself as quickly as she could though. As horrid as the story was, she knew she needed to hear it. And she definitely didn't need him thinking that she couldn't handle it. "How did you find mom again, then?"

"That part wasn't actually as hard as you'd think. Mom happened to have stumbled on the Broodmother. The fight was causing a huge amount of noise. Echoed all over the caverns down there. I just followed the sound, killed the monsters, and I figured shit would be fine then." Killian looked away, his expression falling into a deep frown. "I've tried for years now, but I still can't get that memory out of my head…"

"What," Skylar smirked, trying to lighten the mood at little. "The Broodmother?"

Killian shook his head somberly. "Mom was terrified…I scared her. The second she was convinced that I wasn't immediately dangerous, she just latched onto me and cried for a while."

"She…cried?" She couldn't have hid her reaction to that, no matter how hard she might have tried. The rest of the story was creepy, but that…well, that hit home, so to speak. Skylar had never once seen her mother cry. Never even saw her have an emotion even close to it. Ashalle was always collected, always strong. Pain never slowed her, no matter how bad it was…Skylar suddenly recalled that her mother never returned home, even when she came back to Denerim for the Landsmeet. It was only Killian that did—and apparently only to rescue her…maybe she thought she failed you too…

"I know, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it…She wasn't even speaking Common, just kept rambling in Elvhen."

"What, really? What was she saying?"

"Some of it was her apologizing to me, that part I understood. But the rest?" Killian shrugged. "My best guess was that she was praying to Mythal to grant me some kind of salvation or mercy or something. I only recognized a fraction of the words, though."

Skylar found herself fighting the urge not to cry herself. Somehow, she felt some kind of second-hand sadness from it. The absolute devastation her mother must have felt…she wished vainly that she would have had the opportunity to hug her once again, to tell her that she understood…that she wasn't angry…that she forgave her…but no, Ashalle was long gone.

She concealed a deep, cleansing breath. Hoping to keep her mood appearing light enough to keep Killian from worrying. "So, that was it then? You've just been like this ever since?"

"Yeah…I thought I was sick. Or you know, afflicted at first. But pretty soon I figured out that I had these new abilities, so I've come to think of it more as a gift instead. Made me a deadlier warrior but I had some minor drawbacks."

"Like what?"

"Seems like I'm vulnerable to magic, for one. But I haven't had much call to fight mages—recent events excluded of course—so it hasn't been a big issue." He nudged her jokingly. "They'd also have to see me coming first and that's pretty hard to do. If I don't want to be seen, I can just disappear. Fade right into the shadows. Wickedly helpful, by the way."

Skylar rolled her eyes. "Of course, you can. Leliana must love that."

He flashed a proud smile, something Skylar hadn't seen in a long, long time. Seeing him smile so genuinely seemed to lift the weight from her chest as if it were nothing but a spec of unwanted dust from her shoulders. If Killian was finally happy, maybe all the shit that's happened hasn't been so bad after all.

"Oh, she does, actually." He snarked, bringing her back to the conversation. "She seems to think it'll make me a damn good 'Agent'. Sounds official, right?"

She smiled easily with him now. "Hey, look at you, you finally have a real job in the real world."

Killian chuckled. "Guess so. Seems like a pretty good fit though. I get to help you and Leliana save the world by killing the baddies. Except this time, I get paid for it."

"Wait, you're getting paid?"

"What, you're not?"

"Not really. I've just been picking up cash from the stuff I find when I'm out on missions, I guess. But Leliana makes sure I have everything I need. You know, the apartment, the food all of that stuff. She even got my clothes and the Xbox and all of that here, too."

"Sounds tragic." He deadpanned.

Skylar snickered. "Oh, very. Maybe you should teach me that disappearing trick so I can re-allocate some spending money my way."

His smile grew mischievous. "That trick actually gets way better too: once I sort of 'fade away' I can move so much faster. Don't even have to touch the ground anymore, it's fucking awesome."

Skylar smirked playfully. "What about sunlight, huh? Garlic, perhaps? Maybe a little thirst for blood?"

Killian chuckled. "Sunlight does bother me, oddly enough. I don't burst into flames or anything, but I do sunburn real easy now—even worse than you. It's like my skin has no resistance to it or something."

"Definitely a debuff if I've ever heard one. But really, that's it?"

He shrugged. "I still eat food just like I always have done—tevinter foods included. Ooh what do you think about baked spaghetti for lunch? Haven't had that in YEARS."

Skylar tried to hide a girlish blush forming on her cheeks. "Might have to make it dinner. I'm, uh, all booked up for lunch."

Killian cocked an eyebrow at her. "Wouldn't happen to be blowing me off for that Templar would you?"

"It's not—look, we've been having lunch together since I got here. It's, you know, kind of a thing…"

"Uh huh, uh huh. I see how it is." He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Blowing me off for a shemlen. Some sister you are."

She rolled her eyes at him. But before she could think of something to snark at him, her phone chimed in her pocket. The swiftness with which she pulled the damn thing out of her pocket was bordering on embarrassing. She chastised herself internally for hoping the message she'd just got was Delrin. Those butterflies in her stomach quickly dwarfed any negative thoughts she had in her head. She even ignored Killian's look of disgust as she smiled giddily at her screen.

Boyfriend Material: hey, can you tell Cullen I'll be there ASAP

Even such a mundane conversation had her grinning like an idiot. She typed back quickly, nearly making a couple of typos that would have of course been absolutely tragic. Couldn't have him thinking she actually was and idiot.

Snowball: you actually might beat him here if you hurry. No one has shown up yet

Boyfriend Material: what do you mean?

Boyfriend Material: Cullen isn't there?

His response was so immediate, it set her on edge. Killian's attention turned back to her, giving her a questioning look.

"I don't know." She replied automatically, trying to appease him for the moment.

Snowball: no one has showed up for the meeting but me…what's going on?

Boyfriend Material: you're alone?!

Snowball: Killian is right here with me. What the fuck is going on?

Boyfriend Material: stay with Killian. Tell him to take you back to your apartment.

Her confusion turned right into a panic. She could already feel herself defensively preparing to start chucking spells at any moment.

Boyfriend Material: I'm sending two knights to guard you. Get to your apartment now.

Boyfriend Material: Take the longer route and be quiet about it. DO NOT draw attention to yourself for any reason. I'll be there as soon as I can

Killian must have been reading over her shoulder because he was pulling her from her seat before she could type a response. He moved her so quickly, she nearly dropped her phone in the process.

The icy mountain wind took her by surprise. She was certain she hadn't heard the large Chantry doors open…or seen them for that matter. It was only then that she noticed she wasn't actually touching the ground. A new wave of panic shot through her for a moment. But Killian had them moving so quickly, she didn't seem to have the time to panic. They'd already made it about a block away from the chantry when it dawned on her that Killian was completely disregarded Delrin's directions. "Wait, we—"

"No. You'll be fine. I promise."