Hawke awoke to a sharp pain in her side, and a low groan escaped her lips before she even realized it. Fenris's chest stiffened beneath her cheek, and his soft even breathing skipped a beat. His rough, calloused hands threaded into her hair as he stirred beneath her.
"Are you alright?" he grumbled into her ear.
"I'm fine." She mumbled sleepily, and her breath caught in pain as she tried to readjust herself.
He let out an exasperated huff into her neck, and gently scooted her off of him as he slipped out of bed.
"Where are you going?" she yawned.
"The mage left some vials of a pain relief potion in the cabinet."
"Fenris, I don't need any more potions. It's the middle of the night…come back to bed."
"Your wound woke you, I am not a fool."
Hawke sighed, "But those potions taste like mabari shit…"
Fenris chuckled, "but they help."
"they knock me on my ass is what they do. I was out almost as soon as it passed my lips last time…I don't like how they make me feel."
Fenris fumbled in the dark for a candle before giving up and igniting his lyrium markings instead. The room filled with a soft blue glow. He reached into the cabinet in the corner of the room and pulled out a small vial before returning to the bedside table to light a candle and administer the potion to Hawke.
"…You don't have to care for me you know. I could do it myself."
"Not a chance."
"You could wake Anders. He is a Healer, this is his job."
Fenris growled in the dancing shadows the candle cast upon the wall, "Not. A. Chance…Stop stalling and drink your potion."
"I think Anders has done a great job staying level headed and working through this, all things considered. I thought he would have broken down under the pressure of a self-inflicted guilt trip by now."
Fenris' brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed, "How do you mean?"
Hawke sighed, "I would have thought that he would have blamed himself for that Templar running me through."
"What!" Fenris snarled, "What do you mean a Templar ran you through!?"
"Y-you don't know?"
"That abomination used you as a human shield!" His markings began to glow once more, and his voice grew louder. It was a statement, not a question.
"N-no it wasn't like that!... I figured Aveline told you what happened."
"No!" Fenris snapped, "She refused to tell me…now I see why!"
Hawke gripped his arm weakly, "Fenris, would you calm down!? You don't know the whole story…"
"Then tell me, Hawke. What is the whole story?" he snapped.
"I'll tell you if you promise to hear the whole thing through."
"Fine."
Hawke sighed, and winced at the pain it shot through her ribs. The potion was wearing off, and she was becoming more and more aware of her wound.
"I went to Darktown to check in on Anders. The streets have been crawling with Templars as of late and I wanted to make sure he was safe. When I arrived, he started going off on how the Divine and the Chantry were hell bent on finding a "tranquil solution" to make all mages obedient. There was this Templar, Ser Alrich, who was abusing his power and taking advantage of vulnerable apostates, the tranquil, and even mages who passed their harrowing. He was a sick bastard who liked to make mages beg not to be tranquil. Anders asked me to seek out this Templar with him and bring his transgressions to the head cleric. I willfully agreed." She emphasized the fact that it was her choice before Fenris could accuse Anders of playing mind games, "when we found him in the tunnels under the gallows, Alrich had cornered an escaped mage. She was begging him not to tranquilize her, and he threatened to rape her once her will was taken. It was disgusting to watch, even if she wasn't an apostate. When Alrich made the threat, Anders lost control and Justice took over. Anders, Aveline, Merrill and I fought Alrich and the other templars, rescuing the poor, terrified girl. When we were searching the bodies for evidence of the 'tranquil solution' Anders spoke of, we were sure Alrich was dead. When I leaned down to search him, he plunged his sword through my gut with the last of his energy before I knew what was happening. The last thing I remember is the sound of Merrill's panicked shriek, and the glow of Justice as he took over once more…then I woke up here."
An enraged growl ripped through Fenris' chest, "I'll kill him!"
Hawke flinched at the sound of his anger…this was the most upset she had ever seen her lover.
"It wasn't Anders' fault, Fenris. Ser Alrich was to blame, and he is dead from what I understand. I am healing and doing better. I'm okay."
Fenris glared at her, fists balled at his sides, "Okay!? You have a wound in your abdomen that woke you due to the pain! You cannot move without wincing! You are thin, and frail! You cannot even hold a glass of water to your lips on your own! That…abomination risked your life for his own political agenda. You nearly died because he dragged you after some damn apostate!"
"He didn't drag me anywhere, Fenris!" Hawke mumbled back, too weak to shout "I told you, I went along willfully. I am glad that I did…that poor girl would have been taken advantage of otherwise. Apostate or no, no person deserves that kind of horror stained on their life."
Fenris knew better than anyone what kind of mark a crime such as that could leave on a person, "While I agree that no person should ever experience that, and I am glad you kept the templar from taking advantage of her, I do not believe you should have interfered beyond that. They should have been left to do their duty and return her to the gallows." He seethed between clenched teeth, "This 'tranquil solution' the possessed mage has deluded himself into believing should have been left alone. A tranquil mage is a safe mage."
"Fenris, I couldn't have just let them return her to the gallows…if he had aleady threatened her in such a manner, what was stopping him from keeping his word when no one was watching?"
He scanned her face with skepticism and caught the subtle hitch at the end of her sentence. There was something else she was not saying, and he knew exactly what it was.
"It goes beyond your fear for the girl's safety, and you know it."
"What are you getting at…"
"You know exactly what I am getting at."
"I-I…Fenris, what are you…"
"You are omitting details, Hawke. Do not try to pull the wool over my eyes. I learned to see through lies by omission a long time ago. What. Aren't. You. Saying?"
Hawke squirmed beneath his furious gaze, wound throbbing.
"Hawke…" He warned, "I will find out one way or another."
She sighed heavily, "B-before Alrich ran me through…Justice turned on the apostate and accused her of being an accessory for the Templars. It was when I was distracted by trying to talk Justice down that Alrich attacked me. I was distracted…and vulnerable…and when I think how things could have gone…when I think of Justice turning on the very mage he desired to free…If I had let the templars go about their business after taking Alrich down, Justice could have turned on me."
Fenris' face softened for a moment, and he leaned down to caress her cheek with his thumb, his markings dimming. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the words. His eyes began to harden once more, and his mouth snapped shut. Lyrium blazed brightly once more. He quickly turned his back to her and balled his hands into white-knuckled fists at his sides.
"I'll kill him." He spat before storming out the door.
"Fenris! Fenris wait!" Hawke called after him. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, bare feet hitting the icy stone of her bedroom floor. Her wound burned and throbbed, while the rest of her shivered. She stumbled after him. She made it as far as the door before she had to lean against the frame for support. Only a few feet away, Fenris was kicking down the door to Anders' guest room. He growled with rage when he found the mage's bed empty and cold. Hawke panted with the effort of baring her own weight behind him. His sharp ears caught the muffled sound and he spun on his heel, reaching her in a stride and a half…speed increased by the lyrium humming through him. He easily scooped her up into his arms.
"Venhedis, Woman!" He cursed, "Festis bei umo canavarum! You will be the death of me…" He carried her back to her bed, and tucked her in. He restrained her struggling, flailing limbs with ease until it appeared that she had expended all of the energy she had. "Drink your potion and stay put." He ordered, sliding a thin un-corked vial into her fist. He stormed out of the room once more, this time down the stairs.
"Mage!" He called, his growl ricocheting through the foyer.
Hawke pulled her self from her bed once more, and stumbled after him.
The kitchen door swung open into the foyer, and a worry worn Anders emerged with a cup of tea in hand for the second time that day. His hair was free of its usual leather tie, sticking up in some places and clinging to his neck and cheeks in others. His robes were a mess of wrinkles, and dark circles seemed permanently bruised under his eyes.
"What's wrong?" He asked in a panic, "Is Hawke okay?"
Fenris glared at him from across the foyer, "No, she isn't! In case you haven't noticed, she came home with a gaping wound in her abdomen two weeks ago on death's doorstep. Now, she is kept from a restful recovery by the constant throbbing reminder of that wound that stirs her from her slumber."
Anders looked at him confused for a moment, before placing his tea cup on a near by bench and pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
He sighed heavily, "I don't understand why you are suddenly so pissy. I thought you tended wounds in Tevinter. They take time to heal, and they bloody hurt during that process. I gave you potions to ease her pain, and they just so happen to knock her out as well. If she refuses to drink them, there are other ways to administer them to her…though she would probably be even more pissed if we attempted that."
"I am not unexperienced in administering medicine by force." Fenris growled, "But I wouldn't even have to contemplate those alternatives if it were not for the likes of you."
Anders was becoming irritated, "If this is your way of thanking me for saving your fiancé's life, then either the etiquette they teach in Tevinter is quite the opposite of that they teach throughout the rest of Thedas, or Denarius never taught you any."
"Another word apostate and I will..."
"You cannot go about threatening me when you are the one that came to me in the middle of the night to vent your suppressed past anger toward your master."
"I did not come down here at this time of night to vent the grudge I hold against my former master." Fenris spat with emphasis on the word Anders had skillfully excluded, "I came down here to demand answers as to why Hawke was conscripted into the task of hunting down Templars who nearly ended her due to your possession."
"Conscripted!" Anders scoffed
"It is what Grey Wardens do, yes? Demand others join them in their perilous tasks to fight for what they believe will bring the most safety to the rest of Thedas, give those they select the choice to either join them or die?"
"Either Hawke left out the part where she willfully agreed to help me hunt the Templars down, or you are so narrowminded and blinded by your hate of magic that you missed the overarching narrative."
"An abomination, and a hypocrite." Fenris smirked, "The point still stands that she nearly died because of you, and had she done what was right by allowing the templars to go about their business beyond stopping the assault of the apostate, you would have easily turned on her and killed her yourself."
Anders' face dropped, "Do not think that that does not haunt me…"
Aria stumbled down the last step, breathing heavily, and leaned against a nearby wall for support.
"Fenris…" She called out weakly, "Fenris please be rational."
"I am being rational." He growled, eyes never leaving Anders, "All mages are the same…they use those around them to fulfil their own agendas, no matter the cost. Do not feign suffering abomination, you will find no sympathy here."
"I am not a magister, elf! And I did not use Hawke. Do not let your past experiences dictate your view of the situation when you were not even there."
"He's right, I made the choice to go without any feeling of obligation. He is my friend and I wanted to help. I am an adult who can make decisions for myself." Aria wheezed.
"Perhaps," Anders continued his argument from before, "if you were not such an ass to me all the time, she would have asked you to come and you could have protected her. You were a bodyguard before, correct? You did just promise her you would always protect her? Yet, here she is because she felt as though she could not trust you enough to ask for help."
"Do not turn this on me mage."
"If I am at fault for asking her help as a friend, then you are at fault for being her overly anti-magic, lover. It is just as much my fault she got hurt as it is yours."
The Tattoos on Fenris's skin burned even brighter, "Keep challenging me mage, and I will rip your heart out where you stand."
"You will not!" Hawke gasped as she fell to the floor with a thud.
Fenris's anger dulled for a moment as panic set in. He spun on his heel to face her, and the blood drained from his face. Her face was even more pale than before as she slumped against the wall, breathing labored, pajamas soaking through with blood.
"The stitches." Anders panicked.
Both warrior and mage rushed to her side. Fenris leaned her back on the floor gently rushing to pull up the hem of her pajama shirt.
"I'm fine…" she mumbled hardly audible.
"You are not, you over exerted yourself and reopened your wound."
"What in the ancestor's name is all this ruckus!?" Varric cried as he stepped out of the downstairs guest room into the foyer where the argument had taken place.
"Wake Orana!" Fenris called, "Tell her to fetch a circle healer immediately!"
"Why waste your time with a circle healer when I'm standing right here!?" Anders spat as he knelt down at the champion's side.
"Forgive me for not trusting the apostate abomination who nearly got her killed to save her life."
"I did once before." Anders growled, beginning to cast a healing spell.
"Ladies…you are both beautiful…" came the patients hardly conscious response. Even at a time like this she was a smartass. Fenris rolled his eyes, leave it to his rouge to be witty even as she bled out on the foyer floor for the second time that month.
"I don't know what's going on, but I'm not risking Hawke's life because you guys can't get your act together, I'm waking Orana."
"Fenris," Anders pleaded, "I care for her, I really do. Perhaps not in the same way as you, but I do care. We can continue this argument later and you can threaten me all you want, but Right now, I just want her alive and in bed, resting."
Fenris glowered and looked down at his hands soaked once more in her blood. "If you harm her, I will kill you without hesitation."
"Fair enough." He began casting another healing spell, green light swirling around his hands as they hovered a few inches from Hawke's ribs. The stream of blood seeping through her bandages stopped, and Anders breathed a little easier.
"It was a lot more superficial than we thought. It doesn't even need stitches. It was just wide, and I'm sure the pain is what made her collapse."
"You can say that again." Hawke groaned.
Orana bolted into the foyer looking terrified. "Master Fenris!"
Fenris pinched the bridge of his nose with his clean hand, "For the last time, I am not your master. Call me Messere or Ser if you must, but never master. You are a servant, not a slave. You are free."
"Yes ser."
"Everything is alright Orana, no need to panic. Once we get Hawke upstairs with fresh bandages, I will take care of the blood on the floor." Anders smiled gently.
"Damn right you will." Fenris growled, "I'll change her dressing, you are not to come near her again."
"Will you be needing a basin of warm water, Master?"
Fenris closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying his best not to snap at the girl. He knew better than anyone the hell she lived through before Kirkwall, and how much a simple burst of anger could cause that trauma to come rushing back.
"I'm sorry…" she all but whispered, terrified "Messer Fenris, will you be needing a basin of warm water?"
"Yes Orana, thank you. And Orana…I am not angry. I will not hurt you."
"Yes ser." She curtsied and left the room.
"Why can't you be that pleasant and gentle with everyone?" Anders jabbed.
"That side of me is reserved for Aria and the survivors of abuse at the hands of a magister, not those who allow wondering spirits to bond with their soul." He scooped up his beloved and carried her to her room.
