#I’m lucky enough to be somewhere that isn’t torn up in war or conflict

[oasisofgalaxies]

I’m so angry

[the-energon-hole]

HC - the kids (Raf, Miko, Jack) finding their 'Bot Partners - who dissapead from a busy battle - just to see that they hid away with their 'Con 'Nemesis' to rather have some fun than fight...

((A/N So let me say, in no uncertain words-

I WILL NEVER WRITE NSFW THAT INVOLVES CHILDREN-EVER.

Don’t ask me to.

I will write “kids ask about birds n’ Bees and Bots don’t know how to handle it”, or “Kids catch Bots smooching”- cute things, but never kids interacting/seeing/engaging with any NSFW scenario.

I also thought this was a little too OOC for them to leave a battle where their friends could potentially die just to have some “fun” so I tweaked this ask a little.

I changed this- it is now about the bots running into an old enemy who is unsure of the Decepticon’s intentions and decides after being hurt and discovered by the bot and their partner that maybe this was the wake up call they needed to see the light and change their alliances in order to be happy and fight to end this conflict for good.

I am also a little upset at how long it ended up being, so sorry for that- I though halfway through this would be better as a drabble and not a headcanon but it was to late to redo it at that point. Also sorry for hostility, I’m a little tired from trying to get my foot in the door at a new job opportunity.))

Bumblebee

-You were an Archivist for the Decepticon forces, a history and bookkeeper to write about the glory and wonder of the reign of the great and powerful Megatron, while also making sure you keep track of every and any possession aboard The Nemesis ship. You enjoyed your job, and since you were so good at it, Megatron has given you safety and shelter since the war first began as you never went hungry and you never went without medical care- you were young as well, so he might have also felt a little bad for you in the time he took you in and gave you important work to do. He wasn’t always the hardcore tyrant that everyone knows him to be today, he used to be a courageous and sympathetic leader that was seeking to represent the underprivileged and those abused and take advantage of by the political systems, but all that power has gone to his head in the most recent years and he has become the hardcore and unforgiving bot you all know today. This was why you continued to stay and stand by his side, he saved your life once, and you owed it to him to continue to do his work until it comes to pass he is no longer around for you to have to keep records for. You loved spending time with Bumblebee, but you had a sense of duty and purpose with the Decepticons that you were programmed to follow through with, as it is not in you to just stop working and you cannot just leave halfway through a job and abandon those who rely on you to keep everything organized- even if you are known for being the kind to be peddling and  pushing propaganda on behalf of Megatron, you believed you were doing the right thing for all of those Cybertronians who knew the system was messed up and against them. A little fudging of the truth never hurt anyone anyways, except for maybe the Autobots and their misguided cause to keep corruption in power, but they have their place in history just like everyone else. Even if the Decepticons lose, nothing on Cybertron will ever be the same, and in the end that was the whole goal of the Decepticons to begin with- so you are and will be proud of the time you have served with them.

-You and Bee have been a thing for a long time, you were even friends since before the uprising in the youth sectors back in Kaon happened, but this war has torn and separated you just as it has everyone else who has had a loved one in the past. You personally blame the council for this war, not Megatron, but Bee insists you come wo stay with him and the others with the Autobots despite your unwavering views and loyalties. He has always been a sweet optimist little mech, someone who is friendly and fun to be around when one needed comfort and companionship, but you were a realist and you knew that they did not have the resources or the manpower to win against the Decepticons any longer and have been faltering even since before Cybertron had fallen. Even if they did win, you will stand by your views and ideals on how the political system functions and operates, you will not let the council come to power again so long as you were still standing and functioning. Once this is over you will advocate for him should the decepticons win however, you owed him that much, but he just doesn’t get your stance politically and isn’t as aware of what was really going on around him at the time. You can’t blame him, he hasn’t read or had access to the records like you have and he hasn’t seen the abuse and manipulation that went on right under everyone’s face plates, but you were grateful you have someone on the other side to vouch for you as well should that time comes to pass. You genuinely loved him- but war has a funny way of keeping you friends and families apart, you just hope that when this is all over he can forgive you for your transgressions against the few you have had to betray and hurt to get what you needed for the rebellious cause. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, even if the few happens to be the love of your life serving under the wrong master. It was your secret with too maybe one day just run away and forget this whole political turmoil and just set up roots somewhere on some small planet rich in energon and live out your days as an old hermit with no one but Bumblebee by your side to forever love and comfort you, but that was selfish- and to much is going on for you to be having such illogical and useless fantasies when you could be busy rallying and working for the masses to gain sympathy to the troops that seem to be falling at an alarming rate to the autobots.

-You were the farthest thing from a warrior Megatron had, yet he tries to drag you to every confrontation with the Autobots- as a way to garner sympathy from the Autobots probably, that’s how you ended up like this as you crawled to the safety of cover behind a rock while clutching at your wounds to try and stop the energon from flowing out to quickly. A fire fight had gone wrong unsurprisingly, and you noticed no one was really  aiming to hit you, but blasters have a bad problem with richotte ammo so it were just unlucky timing that you were stuck in the abdomen by a stray blast. You were just lying in wait for the explosions to stop and the commotions to cease so you may signal an sos to The Nemesis to come pick you up, and you weren’t expecting Bumblebee to come and comfort you while you hid from the battle. He shushed you as he held you close trying to stop you from leaking out too badly and you couldn’t help but smile at his misguided affections- you asked if he was going to be missed in the battle as his team needed him to win against yours, he said no and stayed by your side for such a long time, but you couldn’t really tell as it seems your chronometer must have been off as your processor began to feel cloudy and hazy. You were losing consciousness fast as your frame attempted to protect and keep major functioning internal systems online to keep your spark from being snuffed out prematurely. You hear a tiny gasp as you turn your head to look behind you to see three young humans watching Bee dote on you as you try to keep conscious for as long as possible- looks like the sabercat is out of the bag now, there is no way those humans can keep a secret from their Autobot saviors, and there was no way they would leave you behind to be picked up by the Decepticons lafer. Well- the autobots were not the type to use you as a bargaining chip against Megatron, and you figured Bumblebee wouldn’t let them- but they won’t just let you go running back to Megatron either. A prisoner or war wasn’t an outcome you were expecting to have, but at least you will have good company to keep while you awaited for this time to pass, and when you can just run away and disappear on some planet and wait for Bee to join you with open arms and a warm smile. You could hear the a particular child screaming in your audio receptors before dropping into forced sleep mode- it was something about how Bee lied and how he is going to have a lot to explain when they made it back safely to the base.

Arcee

-You were apart of one of the underprivileged castes on Cybertron as you were left with the wonderful duty of energon mining and processing- a job only given to vehicons who don’t even have a spark, and that was just how the rest of the world saw you. A useless waste of a frame that was lucky enough to even be blessed with a spark to begin with, and as they always told you that you should be grateful for even having work ands to stop being so lazy you felt empty on the inside- you’ve heard it all from “you are ungrateful” to “be happy you even exist you waste of space” and you are still underwhelmed about it those words to this day. Aligning yourself with Megatron just made sense at the time, and if you were loyal to him you were granted a great deal of power and respect, so you worked hard to claw your way to the upper ranks of his court and gain his favor. You were one of the top warriors at the time you met the lovely Arcee, to say you were taken aback by her beauty was an understatement, as it was almost enough to distract you from their transgressions against you. Almost. You managed to capture her and a few other Autobot strike team members who tried to storm a weak point in your border security that spanned across Kaon’s territory lines. You were interrogating the prisoners one by one to try and collect all the intelligence they had, and once you got to the little spitfire of a femme, well she was just as tight lipped as all the others. You asked her why such a pretty thing would fight for the tyrannical injustice that the Autobot’s represented, she argued back how could someone as talented and attractive work for the slaughterhouse that is the Decepticons. She had you there, truth the Decepticons ways of dealing with things were a bit harsh, but it did get the job done in the end. You remember an explosion rung out in your base at that point, and in one act of kindness that ignited a lifelong friendship, you let Arcee and a few of her soldiers go as you tried to figure out who the rat in your ranks were- spies were worse than Autobot foot soldiers, and they won’t get away with infiltrating your ranks. You couldn’t stop thinking about that spunky Arcee though, now there was a femme, she was definitely going places in this world- even if those places are amongst the treacherous Autobots who couldn’t care less about bots like you.

-You found yourself on this floating rock when you obtained a transmission that said there was still Autobots in this quadrant of the universe. You wanted to know how many and what they were up to- you had enough on your plate trying to stop the rise of a new council and stopping some bots from having absolute power over the others. Ever since the influence of Megatron that brought about a bright light on the injustice of the world it’s sad to see a lot of his work has subsided, most bots just want to go back to the way things were, which was why you were here to see if you can work out some kind of deal with the remaining Autobot forces to change minds into creating a more fair political system. You’ve come so far from the clawing and angry soldier you were during the war, and all you wanted was to live in a world that allowed for misfortunate bots like you to be able to choose and forge their own paths in a world that would see you as an equal and not some tool to progress some fake agenda. You have heard rumors that the last Prime might be here as well, as he has not been killed in the war according to public records, but no one has seen him in so many cycles that many lost hope that he will return to lead them. This planet was teeming with organic life, and it was weird seeing so many of them running around, but you took notice that at least most of them can make their own choices- that was pretty cool, for  planet with so many indigenous species civilized life manages to thrive and survive. Civilized life here also seemed to be unfair, but that was their problem to deal with, you can only fight in so many rebellions. You ran into a red car that was all too familiar to you in one of these towns you were exploring trying to see if you could hear word or get transmissions from the Autobots- and when you reunited with the Decepticons you thought were long gone you felt reinvigorated to continue fighting the good fight. Megatron was there, and you pledge your allegiance to him without any waivering fears or regrets, his presence at the colonies will set them all back onto a straight path. He made the decree that once his missions on Earth were complete, he will follow you to the last remaining pockets of resistance and reunite everyone under a new banner of law that allows everyone to choose whatever work they pleased under his regime. That sounded tyrannical, but hey, at least you would be able to choose.

-You and Arcee were reunited when you bumped into her out and about by herself in some small town in the desert, and it was a little awkward, but you both were happy to see each other. There were no hard feelings about the kidnapping thing, in fact, she told you that you helped her see that not all Decepticons were ruthless killers- and that maybe some of you were ok, just misguided. You laughed at that as one thing seemingly led to another and the loneliness that was experienced between the two of you was subsided for a little while- Megatron and The Prime be damned, this was about companionship more than it was about this war. You’ve grown a lot since you were ejected from Cybertron, and Arcee just reminds you that there is more to life than just overtaking your enemies and fighting for your rights to be seen as am equal. You both thought it best to keep your newly budding relationship a secret from the others, as everything was far to sensitive right now to share, besides the privacy makes it a little more thrilling on your twisted mind. Though all that flew out the window when you were hit in the middle of a battle by the big breen bot the Autobots have, as he managed to smack you with his wrecking ball so hard you were flung far away and slammed into the rock walls of the desert. You can feel all the warnings pinging in your processor as you couldn’t find the strength to stand up or move- your cables and sockets refused to bend or waiver as you groaned in pain and you laughed at the irony of the situation as that was some big mech they have and he sure packs a punch. You felt hands on your back and heard worried huffs as it must have been Arcee checking you over for life threatening wounds, to which you tried to brush her off and reminded her this was a battle and they would miss her if she stayed to dote on you that the Autobots will lose this battle. She just told you to shut up and let her do this as she tried to administer small patch fixes to keep the leaks you had at bay- huh, you had no idea she had first aid training. You heard a small voice asking her harshly what was going on- she wrote the small voice off as she pulled you in some direction probably to keep you away from the battle and into a little safety of cover. The little voice revealed itself to you as a small human boy, which you remember Arcee telling you her new “partner” was a human male who made bad decisions. She was right, what kid thinks its a good idea to tag along to see a fire fight between giant alien robots, he was more curious about you than you were of him it seems- and you knew then and there that you were going to be an Autobot captive. Oh, Megatron will be angry about this, he will also blame you for being weak and helpless in the face of danger. He wasn’t the same rebellious leader you remember- he was cold and angry now, so maybe it’s a good thing this happened, it’s an excuse to get away from that psycho and be with Arcee the way you wanted to be. It felt out of character for you to want domestication like this, but with everything going on around you, maybe some slow and steady lifestyle changes can be good for you. Hell, if the Autobots will take you, maybe it was time to fight for your cause on the winning side.

Bulkhead

-You were a small things created for no other purpose than to bring pleasure to the bots that were in castes above you. Your life was alright, you never really dreamed or wanted anything more than what you have, but you were given the opportunity to dream when you were liberated from your caste when the Decepticons begana to grow their rebellion. It was invigorating- all of the sudden you were thrust into a world full of warriors and fighters, and before you even knew it yourself you were fighting the good fight alongside so many others like you who never had the opportunity to dream. You would fight till the end for the family you have come to know in the Decepticons, even if some of them were a little sketchy and strange, but your loyalty didn’t go unnoticed as you were rewarded time and again for doing simple things like keeping your men alive in large fire fights and making sure no bot was left behind when the situation got sticky- the rewards were nice, but it felt good just to have people who actually cared about you and how you felt for once in your life. Over the course of the war though, so many ended up dead or ran away that your numbers were no match for the Autobots anymore- so when you were face to face with a band of Wreckers all of your troops ran and left you to fight for yourself. You did about as well as one would expect, beaten with holes the size of their fists on your frame that were leaking so much that you were going to lose consciousness very soon, but you refused to give up. You held this mech’s wrecking ball at bay as he leaned above you ready to end your life, you don’t know why you said it- but the words that pours out of your mouth made you both stop fighting and feel a shock run through your body. You told him that you were ok with dying, that you finally knew what it was like to feel loved truly for once in your life and not artificially as your job dictated before MEgatron rose you from the ashes of this dying world. You passed out after that and woke up in a Decepticon medical unit, and you found out later that the Mech that decided to spare you was calle Bulkhead- and he was the same as you. Not thinking, not feeling, and not with attachments until the war really began. Maybe you will run into him again, you hope so, maybe you can convince him to fight for his freedom with you alongside Megatron. 

-Long since has passed the war in your eyes, and you were back to being alone, as once everyone who remained fled the planet you had nowhere to go and no real family to call your own. You found yourself being a slave once again on a planet full of organics, only this time, you were a vehicle they used to get to and from different places. Hiding amongst humans who seemed so free and loving, you were jealous of it all, but to survive you had to stay hidden and scrounge for whatever energon you could find once you were able to sneak away and go digging. It wasn’t until you were bought by a small family in this small desert town that you noticed strange transmission in the air- they were Cybertronian and hidden in the white noise of the radio signals, but they were there- but were they an ally or an enemy? You snuck out to for your driveway to investigate, driving into the wee hours of the morning only to almost give up hope, until you drove into view of a battle between a few Vehicons and some Autobots. There was a yellow little scout, a blue and pink warrior femme, and… Bulkhead? Autobots, then, but the Vehicons mean that there are Decepticons nearby- so, you weren’t really alone after all. You waited for the battle to complete until you were finally able to get a grip on the Decepticon signal, to which you raced to find the pinging location until it ceased and was cloaked. The Nemesis was a sight for sore eyes, and you were so close to becoming emotional when you saw Megatron and a few other high ranking officers- you were home and amongst family again.

-This was a fight too similar to the last one, as Vehicons lay scattered around you while other were engaged with other Autobots, you were left to fight the scout. Bumblebeee, that mech was stronger than he seemed, and managed to hit you square in the spark chamber. You fled for cover and hoped no one saw you as another Vehicon stepped in to keep the scout busy with engaged him. Megatron, who was no longer the family you remember and threatened you with death should you return empty handed, was very clear that if the Decepticons couldn’t have this relic than no one else shall. You took aim from your position in cover to blow up whatever it was that this stupid thing was, but you were unable to fire as someone grabbed your arm and lifted you off the ground with ease- that was Bulkhead, the only bot big enough to do that. You struggled, but his grip was to much for you. You wailed that if he didn’t let you complete your mission Megatron would kill you for being weak, and you will be alone again in the cvopid of death. He sighed and sat in your cover next to you while the battle behind raged on, he said in  so few words that his family wasn’t worth being apart of if he was going to just kill you- and you rebutted that he made you understand your worth, and that you were more than just some pretty frame for other to use. He said he learned that lesson too, that he was more than just some big mech that is only good for labor and construction- he wanted you to join them, and before you could answer you heard a loud female voice screaming at the big bot for sitting around when there was a battle to be won. Bulkhead was frustrated as he told this Miko she shouldn’t be here- and you agreed, this battle was no place for a small human girl. It was in that moment that you noticed the bond between this wrecker and his small human, and it was the answer you were seeking. You wouldn’t be alone if you made real connections, so you will fight for the Autobots, fight for a real family that clearly loves one another and will not allow their allies to fall and be killed for failing their missions.

(05/03/18)

[rageagainstthemarine]

Do Not Reach Beyond the Sky (7/?)

Warnings: None Tags: Canon-typical violence, Freeform, Retelling, Original Characters, Additional Tags Pairing: None yet Characters: All of them

Fahleon Lavellan is several things, a Dalish elf, a deserter Warden, but Herald of Andraste is not of them. The Creators have played a cruel trick if anyone is to believe he played some part of the Conclave even if the evidence is a rift-sealing mark on his hand. Where he does fit, he doesn’t know and isn’t fond of finding out.

Previous|Current|Next

“We need help from the rebel mages in Recliffe,” Cassandra said, without preamble and without a second look after finding Fahleon wandering into the Chantry with the morning’s light. Sleep hadn’t come, not when he had one eye open for anyone ready with a mocking word for his escape and the other open for anyone ready with a knife to his back. The tree he’d climbed into hadn’t helped either. It was a far cry from comfort, but he didn’t trust Haven enough to sleep in the same bed twice. At least someone would have to make a racket in order to reach him if they wanted to kill him.

Then, the purple-bruised sky had turned bloody, then piss colored, and Fahleon could have scowled at someone worth his ire rather than the clouds. He’d headed to the Chantry, a curse already prepared on his lips for when Cassandra mentioned the previous night. It slipped out when she brought up the mages.

Magic had gotten them all into this mess. Magic had torn open the sky and ripped the ceiling from the temple. Magic leaked from his hands and twisted his world into the chaos it was now - and she wanted to throw more into the mix? He shoved open the door to the war room with a scoff and let it close on her and her silly ideas.

“We need the templars.” Cullen stood over the table and he looked up when the door swung open again to meet his eyes. Fahleon felt the space between his shoulders itch where his bow should have rested. His fingers curled around empty air instead of a quiver of arrows, and he supposed Leliana was right to encourage the elven savage to be seen without a weapon or an animal on his shoulder. He only agreed with leaving Ada to her own business. She disliked the change in scenery even worse than he did, and only have the control on her than his bow. Her talons were quicker and her beak fiercer than any arrow point - and more likely to hit anything that movies. He had some control, at least.

Except when it came to stupid ideas.

A soldier marching towards him in full armor with a determination in his step and a fire in his eyes, words of templars and reinforcements and due cause was a very stupid idea on the man’s part. Fahleon growled low in his throat even as he felt himself move between him and the other side of the table. The mark on his hand crackled and Fahleon gripped the edge, nails digging in deep into the grain.

“Commander Cullen,” Cassandra said, and Cullen was only so lucky she was watching. He wasn’t so sure what the magic in his hand could do, but he wouldn’t feel guilty trying it out on a templar. Former templar. Once a templar always a murdering Chantry dog.

“Such as they are,” the man said, after a moment, and he cleared his throat. Fahleon’s lip curled. “We lost many in the valley, and I fear we’ll lose more before this is through. Which is why I say we gain the Order’s influence to help us.”

“The mages are just as useful,” a woman said, and Fahleon twitched at the familiar pitch. He glanced over his shoulder and the woman who’d argued the noble out of Haven curtsied with a deep bend at the waist. “I am Josephin Montilyet - ambassador, chief diplomat, and very pleased to officially introduce myself. Andaran atish'an.”

Fahleon’s hand slipped from the table in his haste to eye her. His thumb caught a sliver and blood welled from the cut. “You speak elven?”

He frowned and her eyes strayed to the board again in hands. “I’m afraid you’ve heard the entirety of it, but I would be pleased to learn more.” She did her curtsy a second time. Just where had Cassandra found all these people?

“You know Sister Nightingale as our spymaster,” she said, whether she knew she was interrupting his thoughts or not. The hardness of her eyes and the tightness of her jaw spoke her uncaring of either. Fahleon crossed his arms and sucked on his thumb until his mouth tasted less like metal - which took less time than it did for Cassandra to explain herself. Not that he’d ask out of his own curiosity. More time spent in the Chantry was less time spent ogled and pointed towards and whispered at. It was warmer within the stone walls, too. Though, surely there was a better reason for holding him here than his own comfort. “You recall that I mentioned your mark needs more power than it has to close the Breach for good. Solas believes that we need is a power on the same as what was used to open it in the first place - but that will not be easy to come by.”

“But there is a rebel mage group amassing on the outskirts of Redcliffe,” Leliana explained. Cullen inhaled and Leliana pulled a map out from beneath several others to hold up in front of his face. He closed his mouth with a glower and rested his hand on the pommel of his sword. Fahleon caught the glint of steel and checked a flinch that sent goosebumps up his arms before it was caught. He didn’t dare look away so long as the templar’s fingers were moments away from bearing naked steel.

“As I said, we need power,” Cassandra agreed, and Fahleon didn’t like the way Cullen’s expression darkened. “Pouring that much magic into the Breach-”

“Could kill us all,” Cullen finished. He swiped the parchment out of Leliana’s hand and slammed it back on the table, out of view. “Whereas the templars could suppress the Breach and weaken it until the mark is as powerful as we need it. On it’s own.”

“That is pure speculation, Commander.”

“Is this because the elven apostate didn’t come up with the idea?” he snorted with a wave of his hand, and Fahleon’s ears twitched at the stress he put on the words elven and apostate. His lip curled. “I was a templar. I know what they’re capable of.”

“Unfortunately,” Josephine interjected as a fact and most certainly not a denial. Or a sigh. Or a reprimand. Tension faded as she stepped up to the table and tapped her tablet against the top to dispel their argument and draw their eyes to her. “Neither group will speak to us. The Chantry, as we all know, has denounced the Inquisition - and you must specifically.” Fahleon rolled his shoulders under her gaze. “Some of them are calling you - a Dalish elf - the Herldan of Andraste and it frightens the Chantry. Everyone else has declared it blasphemy, and us heretics for supporting you.”

“Tell them to stop.”

Her mouth quirked and Josephine wiped it away with a pass of her quill over her lips. “A simple but unattainable solution, I’m afraid. Not with the Chantry’s voice so loud in this turbulent time. Thus, it limits our options. Both of which do not include approaching the mages or the templars,” she finished, and gave a pointed look to both Leliana and Cullen in turn.

“What you’re saying is if I wasn’t with the Inquisition…” The harder Cassandra looked at him the wider Fahleon felt his grin spread.

“You not being here is not an option,” she growled, and he coughed a chuckled into a fist.

“But there is something you could do,” Leliana said, lifting her head up from the papers she’d been looking over as they spoke. The brightness in her eyes and the eagerness in her steps as he rounded the table sent fear curling slow and cold somewhere low in his gut. She unrolled the paper she held in her hand out for them and moved her thumb down a large and woody part of the map. “There is a Chantry cleric by the name of Mother Giselle that has expressed some wish to speak with you. Her position is not far - she has been helping the refugess caught in the mage-tempar conflict within the hinterlands just outside Redcliffe. Her title is impressive enough that she knows more about those involved with the Chantry than I ever could. It could make her useful in gaining influence with either side - whichever you might choose.”

“It would be a good chance to expand the Inquisition’s influence as you go,” Josephine said, slowly, with a nod as she dragged out each word as she thought. “The more they see you out sealing the rifts and helping the refugees the less they’ll lean on the word of the Chantry.” Fahleon scoffed.

“It’s true,” Cullen said, and he lifted a finger as an idea came to him. Fahleon snarled and grit his teeth. If he pointed any closer, he’d lose that finger. “There’s a horse master by the name of Dennet that lives near the farms who could be of use for us. Speak with him you’re there.” He finally dropped his hand to push a small clay piece in the shape of a sword across the table to a point marked in heavy ink. Redcliffe, Fahleon assumed. He picked up the clay piece, ignoring Cullen’s patient if accusing sigh. Fahleon let it drop to the floor and let them clean up the shards while he left to fetch his bow.

Unnecessary work in return for their unnecessary talk. It was fair.

Varric was outside leaning against one of the two tall flaming pillars guarding the Chantry’s entrance picking at the underside of his nails with a thin knife. He waved the blade in a lazy roll of his wrist when Fahleon passed. He rolled his eyes and the grin the dwarf gave him made his hope for what little peace he’d find in the short walk to the cabin curdle. Fahleon’s ears twitched with every step, trying to catch any hint of mockery about to tumble from Varric’s mouth beneath the sound of snow crunching underfoot as he followed the paths down from the Chantry.

“Sleep well,?” he finally asked, both too far and too close for anyone to hear them. Varric’s chuckle died quickly under Fahleon’s withering look and he cleared his throat, dropping his eyes back to the knife in his hand. He flipped it once before sheathing it. “It wouldn’t kill you to lighten up, would it?”

“Yes.” Whatever the dwarf was hoping for, it wasn’t that.

Varric rubbed at his brow. “That ruins the lighted-hearted official welcome to whatever the fuck it is we’re about to get started here, you know.” Fahleon lifted a shoulder in apology. “And, well, now that Cassandra is out of earshot…are you holding up alright?”

It was Varric’s turn to catch him off guard. Fahleon expected some further teasing about his late night return or another poorly crafted joke about the fledgling Inquisition. There was something close enough to real concern in Varric’s voice that made Fahleon uncomfortable, and he pursed his lips. Friends, Varric had called them, but he’d never had a say in the matter. They weren’t friends. This had to be some attempt to gauge his strength or attitude or…something to be used against his later.

“You went from being the most wanted criminal in all of Thedas to the top of the armies of the faithful” he continued, whether he knew Fahleon was listening or not. “Most people would have spread that out over more than one day.”

“I didn’ have a choice,” he finally answered. Varric’s mouth twisted into something not quiet a frown. Fahleon covered it up with the door to the cabin when he swung it open. The bow was where he left it, newly cleaned and oiled and stacked to dry against the stonework of the open fireplace.

“We'ce been staring at the Breach and whatever it’s been spitting out for days. I don’t think anyone would be in there and survive.” Creators, he was still talking? “If this is a joke, it’s better than the one is Maker is playing on all of us right now. I hope there’s a damn good punch line coming. You might want to consider running at the first opportunity - I’ve written enough tragedies to know where this one is going.”

“Already tried.” Fahleon slung his bow over his shoulder and crossed his arms when Varric laughed.

“Right, I almost forgot! We’re going to need a bigger miracle than the one where you just show your face around here again.”

“Cassandra thinks we can find one in the Hinterlands.” Varric raised a brow and Fahleon pushed past him to head towards the rookery where Ada would be held. The dwarf still followed him and…and he was going to regret this. He could feel it, already, from the ringing from his ears, but the hinterlands was a big place. Lots of twists and turns to hide from. Lots of distance to make a break for it if it got too much. “Want to come?”

“Cassandra has a plan? Then I don’t have a choice when it comes to her decisions.”

Fahleon rolled his eyes. “I’m asking.”

“As if I have a choice,” he repeated with a laugh. He pat the crossbow at his back. “Bianca and I are at your service, whenever you need them.”