Under Darkness [AU]

[Marian Hawke]

Hawke squeezes Aveline's hand tightly. "Please-- I know it's selfish, but please don't reject me. Please don't leave me. I can't-- I can't bear it. Maybe someday. I hope, someday. But please, I-- I thought I was going to-- and then you were--" Stupid, you can't even manage sentences, why would she want you?

[Tethras Clan]

"I swear my shield to your protection, my honor to your cause, my soul to your love. With Vangal's blessing and in Astea's name, I swear I will guard and serve you for all my life, amata. I will never walk away from you again..." Aveline trails off, squeezing Hawke's hand tightly. "I meant it then, amata, and I still do. I will always mean it."

[Marian Hawke]

Hawke bends over, pressing her forehead to Aveline's hand, still holding it tightly. "Thank you," she mumbles. "Gods, I thought that was it. I thought it was over. Gods, gods, I-- I just couldn't-- what if I was wrong, what if it hadn't been long enough, what if I ran and he caught up or killed someone in town, what if-- I couldn't let anyone else die like that, never ever again, not while I have breath."

[Tethras Clan]

"Of course not," Aveline sighs sadly. "You love too much. The idea of failing that love..." She smiles, cupping the back of Hawke's head so she can lightly massage the scalp. "But everyone is fine. You stalled them long enough for Merrill to get to Raplin and drop the babes off with Andy and your brother." Aveline snorts. "She didn't even bother waiting, just bolted right back to you. Then called down deadlier fire than I've ever seen before and that includes a carriage sized fire elemental."

[Marian Hawke]

"My brother," whispers Hawke, her breath catching in her throat. Carver. I'm the only family he has left, and I didn't even think of him. What would it do to him if both his sisters died protecting their families?

[Tethras Clan]

"Is... also fine. And deeply grateful to you- and Merrill- for keeping Tomas and Gilly safe," Aveline says gently. "Everyone is fine. Aside from the slavers or whoever they were."

[Marian Hawke]

Hawke nods, keeping her head down. "I did good?" she asks, her voice small. "I-- I protected them?" 

[Tethras Clan]

"A little overeager, but... yeah. You protected them and Merrill saved you," Aveline says with a smile, continuing to gently rub the back of Hawke's head.

[Marian Hawke]

Hawke gives the smallest of nods. "Good," she whimpers. "Good."

[Isabela]

When they'd told her Hawke would sleep as long as she slept, Isabela had assumed they meant a few hours, maybe overnight. When she didn't wake the next day, Isabela had been anxious: what if there was something seriously wrong, what if Merrill's magic hadn't fixed her all the way, what if-- 

Zevran had taken her aside and distracted her. There was nothing they could do; she'd wake when she woke, just like the last three or four times she'd been this bad off. Apparently, this was just how her body coped with trauma: get through the hard thing, push past her limits, then sleep it off for multiple days. 

It sucks for her loved ones to bear through, though. 

As Hawke is waking, Isabela is finally too wound up to find comfort in Zevran's arms. That means the next best thing: she heads into town, procures a couple bottles of some import called 'tequila' along with the lime juice and salt they promise makes it taste real nice, and heads for Varric's place to experiment. 

[Tethras Clan]

Every couple of years, give or take, the economy of the western side of the Free Outlands undergoes a small but noticeable shakeup. It rarely lasts more than a week, though the results can ripple outwards for much, much longer. And at the end of it, a certain dwarf is both wealthier and more feared and hated by his rivals. Finishing a last draft of a rather ruthless buyout offer for a vineyard whose current owners liked to gamble just a shade too much, Varric's head snaps up at the sound of the door opening. Tensing, ready to run out the door at a single word- a name- he watches Isabela intently as she enters his office.

Noticing the bottles, he slumps slightly into his chair. Not yet then. Still, a break wouldn't hurt. "That's on par with whisky, so I hope you've either eaten lately or don't mind trail mix. Civie style, not adventurer."

[Isabela]

"I had breakfast," she says, raising an eyebrow. "No word from Aveline yet, but I'm told this is well within parameters." She plunks down the bottles, juice, and salt canister. "It any good or did I waste my silver?"

[Tethras Clan]

"Depends- how much did you pay?" Varric asks curiously, inspecting the bottles. "This is... lower mid-range, so a silver and half per is about right. Maybe a little more, as Raplin is still off the beaten path." Give me another half a year...

[Isabela]

"Half a gold including the juice and salt. Seems about right." She settles, taking a little of the juice on a clean kerchief to rim the glasses like she'd been taught at the market. "Zevran's asleep," she admits. I should be too, but I'll sleep when this is over.

[Tethras Clan]

"...what time is it?" Varric asks, blinking. His new office at the Oak lacks windows so...