Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Marian Hawke]

Wait, what?!

[Carver Amell]

Joey doesn't return to school; by the time his father is spoken to, he's decided to drop out, though Varric gets in not a little trouble with the Guard for hurting the kid. The mayor's unwilling to pursue the case too hard, however; his mining jobs pay well, bringing a much needed infusion of tariff money into the town and allowing for some long-overdue maintenance on town buildings to be done. Joey's no-good father takes a swing at the mayor, earning him a night in lock-up; Joey gives up on his education, getting a job at the mill, and Varric buys the schoolhouse some new math books to buy some goodwill.

That seems to settle things for a while. Over  the next four months, there's nary a peep of the word 'witch' in Bethany's or Carver's hearing; they get to play with their friends, study hard, and generally enjoy their youth unmolested. 

Until Fred starts to get bolder. Having cowed some of the others over the previous few weeks, he finally makes a move against Carver, catching him and Bethany alone in the classroom while the teacher steps out to speak with a parent. 

"Don't think I've forgotten you, Hawke, or your witchy little sister," he sneers, moving toward Bethany as Maurice and their new tagalong, Steve, head for Carver. "Is it true witches get their powers by fucking devils?"

Carver steps between them, narrowing his eyes, one hand on his club. "Don't you dare."

"I'm not afraid of you, punk," says Fred, sneering, as his flunkies form a loose semicircle behind Carver to stop him running. "I'm going to beat your ass, then I'm going to find out how good your witchy sister sucks cock."

"You should be," snaps Carver, and then he draws on him. Four strikes and Fred's laid out on his back,  clutching at his groin; Carver turns to the others, twirling his club around his hand the way Varric showed him. "Who's next?" he growls, his voice coming out an inhuman snarl. 

That breaks them; the others scatter, and Carver gives chase only as far as the door, making sure they're leaving and not just regrouping in ambush. On his way back to Bethany, he  'accidentally' stumbles and kicks Fred in the head; the biggest bully crawls for the door, and Carver lets him go, making sure Bethany's okay. 

That stops the bullying for good. Now Carver's top dog in the school, and since he's not the kind to pick on anyone, the school as a whole becomes that much safer. 

[Marian Hawke]

Years go by.

Now sixteen, Marian finally starts getting out an about enough to earn herself a boyfriend: Drake, a young man she's quite taken with, a smooth talker with much more experience than her. He's going to break her heart, Varric can tell, but a little heartbreak's good for a girl, and he's not likely to hurt her.

As for the twins, Carver finds himself taken with a young girl their age called Summer. She's a bit of a late bloomer, a little shy, but he finds himself trailing after her like a puppy dog, desperate for her attention. He starts showing off for her, and she notices his growing muscle -- at fourteen, he's starting to grow into his adult shape, and the combat lessons are paying dividends.

Not that Bethany doesn't have admirers of her own. Seems like every teenage boy in town is paying her attention ever since her own set of twins came in. Not that that does much to soften the blow of Carver's spending more and more time around Summer and neglecting her. They're finally growing apart -- and Marian, as Bethany's only sister, gets to hear about it. At length. Nearly every day.

[Bethany]

"Just some trumped up slag," Bethany seethes as she slams into Varric's kitchen, a dark glower on her face. She yanks out the cupboard and glares into into it's depths. Without a sound or instant of hesitation, Varric whips out a vial and vanishes, invisible. Seconds later, Marian can hear the lock to his workshop click.

Bastard.

"Acting all demure and soft-spoken, baiting him into hovering. Manipulating him. My Carver sucha sweet boy, he has no idea. All he can see are those soft doe eyes, those long, trim legs. Uggggh! At least with Drake, you know he's trying to get in between your legs, you're just interested in letting him! Carver's so stupid!" Hauling out a pan, she bangs it on the counter, then whirls to jab at Marian with it. "Why are boys so stupid?" she demands in a furious voice. A second later, she sags against the counter, arm coming up to wrap around her stomach, which highlights her admittedly best assets, already larger than Marian's by a noticeable degree. Bethany's a fair bit curvier in general, lacking the muscle tone that her older sister's put on to try and keep pace with Carver. "I... it hurts," she whispers, looking ready to cry.

[Marian Hawke]

"Oh, hey," she says gently, moving to stoke Bethany's cheek with the backs of her fingers. "I know, it's okay. Don't worry. Girlfriends come and go, but brothers are forever."

It's instinct by now. Her mind is a hundred feet away: Varric you asshole. I didn't get to finish that story. Now what? Well, whatever. Plan 'jealousy' wasn't working anyway. Face it, Marian: he sees you as a little kid no matter what you do. Why can't you just give up and be happy with Drake? There's nothing wrong with Drake, he just... He's so immature sometimes. And he doesn't know anything but Golden Shores, which doesn't help. And he didn't like Varric, either. It was nice at first, the novelty of it -- having someone to bitch to about her uptight boss.  But it had worn off some time ago.

[Bethany]

That just flips her back to scowling, which... is probably better than tears, at least in Marian's eyes. Huffing loudly, the younger sister drops the pan on the counter. "Don't care about forever, I want... Uggggh!" She exclaims again, her go-to frustrated or upset noise. Can't very well curse all the time and then get on Carver and Marian about their language. And Varric is no help, at all.

"I just... it's wrong. She's wrong. I want my twin back. Why does he even need a girlfriend yet? You don't see me kissing pretty girls." She blushes, then stammers out quickly, "boys. Pretty- I mean handsome boys. Boys."

[Marian Hawke]

Of course -- girls! If I found the kind of woman Varric liked, and dated her myself, that would-- wait. 

Marian snaps out of it, blinking. "You sure you're not jealous of Carver because he has someone to like him back?" She asks slowly.

[Bethany]

"What? No!" Bethany snaps, flush increasing in intensity. She bounces her left leg slightly, the young woman's most blatant tell for lying, one that Carver and Marian have an unspoken but immutable pact about not informing Bethany about. "I have zero interesting in dating some dumb boy," she confirms, her voice dripping with scorn. "I just- I'm just looking out for Carver, like a good sister should."

[Marian Hawke]

"What about some dumb girl?" she asks, shrugging. "Maybe boys just aren't your thing. I hear some ladies are like that."

[Bethany]

"Marian!" Bethany whispers, looking scandalized. "That's- that's wrong! I'm not some- some-" She looks around, mortified, then lowers her voice even more. "White-haired licker."

[Marian Hawke]

A myriad of emotions play across Marian's face: Confusion, disgust, shock, hurt. Finally, she settles on, "Well, I guess I was wrong then. I didn't mean anything by it. Hey, I think I hear-- back in a few," she mutters, turning and chasing after Varric. 

[Bethany]

What- what was that- did- oh. Oh! Oh Astea, no! "Marian no!" Bethany cries out, rushing after Marian. "Wait, please!"

[Marian Hawke]

Marian shakes her head. "I'll just be a moment," she calls over her shoulder, hoping if she turns briefly enough it'll hide the tears in her eyes. 

[Bethany]

"Please, I- are we both- is this like magic?" her sister says, following after. "Please, please talk to me, I need- I'm sorry, I just-"

[Marian Hawke]

Are we both? Marian turns, shaking her head as she wipes tears from her eyes. "I-- I just-- I thought-- it's nothing. It's fine. I'm with Drake anyway." She knows she should admit it, should comfort Bethany, should-- but she'd read about Drow. She's heard what they're like. And she's half-elven herself. She can't have people thinking she's-- not even her little sister.