Under Darkness [AU]

[Tethras Clan]

"Okay, fair, but you'll get the flower of Hawke eating so..." Varric chuckles a little. "Besides you might not be Hawke, but Hawke is you."

[Marian Hawke]

"And the others," she adds, frowning a little. "Pet, Champion, Abomination, all of them."

[Tethras Clan]

Varric purses his lips, then nods. "You more than most, but yeah, they're all parts of Hawke. Everyone has good and bad in them after all. How're you feeling?"

[Marian Hawke]

"Pet isn't bad," she says automatically. "She's just--"

She freezes, eyes wide. After a moment, she takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. "Oh," she says quietly. "Mind magic." 

[Tethras Clan]

"Insidious shit, isn't it?" Varric says gently. "Hurt isn't... bad, herself, but what was done to make her who she is was very bad indeed."

[Marian Hawke]

Marian glances down at her hands, at the ribbon still twined around them. "Yes," she says quietly. 

[Tethras Clan]

"It wasn't your fault. It wasn't Hawke's fault. Jadan is the one to blame." And (me) us, for leaving (betraying you) you alone, leaving you vulnerable. "And what was broken can be fixed. It can get better. I promise. We just have to keep trying."

[Marian Hawke]

"You promise?" she whimpers. 

[Tethras Clan]

"On my life." Varric gently kisses her forehead. "On my soul."

[Marian Hawke]

She sighs, then, a contented sigh, closing her eyes. The snow around them gets brighter -- or maybe the light just reflects off the snow better. The room gets brighter and brighter, the colors washing out, until the light blinds him entirely, fading to white. 

A moment later, the light fades off -- and he finds himself staring up at the ceiling in the Tree, very much awake. 

[Tethras Clan]

Aveline is the first to collect herself, bolting upright as she looks around wildly. "Hawke!" Next to her, Zevran lets out a mumbled groan.

Varric is quiet, his mind furiously processing things. The Delve ended? Why? What happened? Did Anders (or Wynne?) end it? No, there was no reason for him (or her/them) to do that. We sure didn't do it. Marian (Hawke!) was fine. So... wait, did... did we  resolve the memory blockage? Entirely? In the first Delve (seriously?)? "Anders, report."

[GamesMaster]

"She's waking up," he says, sounding... distant. Numb. Exhausted maybe, let's go with that. "I had Rhys pull back when she started seizing." 

[Marian Hawke]

And it's clear she's waking; her eyelids flutter, her breathing becoming irregular. She's still lying in the bed, her head in Isabela's lap as the pirate wench murmurs soft words of encouragement to her, stroking her hair. 

[Tethras Clan]

Aveline tries to get to her feet but her body informs it it's been lying perfectly still for several hours and she lets out a pained hiss. "Seizure?" she demands, her voice mostly covering Zevran's blurted 'what?' entirely.

A little more aware of what being bedridden will do to a body, Varric lifts himself up more carefully than the paladin. "How is she now? Is she stable?"

[GamesMaster]

"I think so. It was a-- there were a few bad moments but your being with her helped, I think," he tells Varric. "I uh. I would very much like a few moments. Can we debrief in an hour?"