da_champion | On the Road

On the Road - For Unshod

The Storm Coast wasn’t much different from Crestwood. It rained almost constantly but there was a distinct lack of undead and the air had the smell of the ocean instead of rotting lake. But the rain was near constant. Endless. Driving Hawke insane even though he had on an oil slick cloak that kept him dry. One last gift from Inquisitor Lavellan before he left to head north to Wiessupt.

It didn't help him climb slick rock any but he wasn't soaked to the bone. Maybe he should have left from the desert but going back to Skyhold before he left to say goodbye to Varric and a quick resupply was better. Except for this miserable, Maker-foresaken weather.

When he heard the sounds of a fight a distance away on the beach he debated getting involved. It would slow him down and he was making slow progress already... but... he could take his bad mood out on whoever was causing trouble. A good fight would warm him up. The Inquisition had a presence here but they couldn’t be everywhere. Hawke would be doing them a favor by chipping in. He’d also get to throw a fireball which might actually warm him up a little.

He did not expect to see a familiar face cutting through Tevinter slavers. Hawke didn't even know there were slavers on this coast. There was no mistaking the distinctive flash of markings and the buzz of lyrium in the air. He could almost taste it in the back of his throat.

“Fenris!” Hawke shouted in greeting as he came quickly stumbling down the side of a not so steep cliff.

He reached the beach and threw his hand out ice lancing from his fingertips through a slaver. He made a gurgling sound before he fell dead. Spinning his staff around Hawke walked right into the fight. He was never one of those mages that stayed at a distance. He could throw a fireball but also run a man through with the bladed end of the staff.

Not that Fenris needed much help. He was perfectly capable of slaughtering slavers without any help even outnumbered five to one. They made short work of the slavers who seemed to be waiting for a ship to take them back to Tevinter with some kidnapped Dalish elves. Hawke kept back while Fenris freed them from their cages and shackles.

“Good to see you’re keeping busy,” he drawled when Fenris approached him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He can't help but huff a small amused sound at Hawke calling Tevinter a good enemy to have. There was no disagreement there, he was glad to have the Imperium as his enemy as he attempts to cripple their slave trade.

But it felt as if Hawke was trying to push him away what with the concern for safety with the Chantry and the like. It wasn't as if he didn't know that their enemies could become the other's enemy by traveling together. That he is putting a target on Hawke's back as much as the other man was pitting one on his, but..

"I was never much for religion, if the Chantry wishes to come after me for my association with you once more, then so be it. Let them come," there is conviction in his voice. He means it. Besides, in Fenris' book, despite all the mistakes and poor choices in trust, Hawke has done a lot of good.

Regardless, it was a risk he was willing to take.

"I believe two against any one of our threats is better odds -- would it not be prudent to see you get to Carver in one piece?"

Can't check on your brother if you're dead Hawke.

He cost his friends enough. The guilt hangs heavy on Hawke, perhaps heavily that usual after spending time in the Inquisition. It was so good to see Varric and share drinks with him. They were better drinks than the Hanged Man ever served but it was almost like old times except they were old and very different.

That's what makes Fenris' offer so tempting. Traveling with a friend again, not facing the world alone, was familiar and comforting. Even though he didn't exactly like Stroud traveling and working with him had been nice. It had been nice not to be alone.

"For the time being then," he sighs. "We'll travel north together until you need to head towards whatever business you have in Tevinter."

Or at the first sign of real trouble for Fenris because of him Hawke will disappear in the middle of the night with only an apologetic note left behind.

"Should my hunt take my elsewhere, we shall go our separate ways, but for now," he nods as he trudges through the cold coastal rain with Hawke at his side.

And it did feel nice to have a friend beside him once more. He had tried to travel with others who wanted the same cause as him, but they became liabilities more often than not. So he traveled alone, ever the lone wolf. He can't stop the grimace as he thinks about it, hearing it in Danarius' voice.

No, he was a wraith now, not a wolf. That is what he's made of himself with his freedom and the lyrium etched into his skin.

"Tell me, what of the others? Have you heard anything?" Varric kept his few letters to Fenris very simple and brief, easy enough for him to read. He's gotten better at reading with Hawke's original teaching and time, but it's still a rather simple affair.

Edited 2023-08-26 22:36 (UTC)

"Merrill is gathering the scattered Dalish in the Free Marches," he says with a little smile. He still worries about the blood magic but she's growing into a responsible Keeper. "Last I heard she's been fighting the capture of Dalish mage children. And Isabela actually joined the Inquisition as an agent. Can you believe that? She's raiding Venatori ships on the high seas."

Isabela living her best pirate life while Merrill continued to protect her people and their past. Hawke is proud of them both though he worries just a touch about them too.

"Sebastian tried to wage war on Kirkwall but the Inquisition helped stop him." There's a bitterness and anger when he talks about his old friend. He never interfered with Sebastian's hunt for Anders but he wouldn't kill his former lover just to appease the Prince.

"And you know what Varrci's been up to."

Fenris listens carefully, curious about their mutual friends and their wellbeing.

While he was never overly fond of Merrill, he still finds himself glad to hear she is well. Even thinks that with how the circles and templars are in disarray that the Dalish might be the next best solution for mage children. Though he worries about how her use of blood magic will influence others. It puts him on edge, to think she is likely still practicing it.

A smile comes to his face at the information about Isabela. "Good," it slips from him, proud of his friend. He is glad to see she is doing damage to the Venatori, to think her working with the Inquisition.. she was not usually one for religious organizations, but they must pay well.

Sebastian is a strange subject. Fenris did not find him disagreeing with the man when he said that Anders should die, yet Fenris trusted Hawke's decision implicitly. It was a complicated matter where Fenris learned that his loyalties to Hawke were stronger than his convictions about mages and about Anders.

The bitterness is palpable, the anger. Fenris thinks that Kirkwall has seen enough damage that a war against it-- He shakes his head at the information.

"It seems the Inquisition has a longer reach than even I realized," he heard of them in all his travels, it was hard not to, but how dangerous this seemed. "I am glad to hear most of them are well. Aveline is still in Kirkwall, yes? She must have been glad to have the Inquisition's help."

"She is. She appreciated the Inquisitions help in keeping order," he says with a nod. "Varric and Cullen made sure she didn't have to fight Sebastian alone."

Another way everything has changed over the years. Before they would have all stood together and now they're scattered to the winds and fighting each other. It's terrible how the actions of one man destroyed so much and brought so much pain.

Hawke goes a bit quiet after that focusing on walking the difficult terrain. It's not often he lets himself think back to Kirkwall and everything that changed. How painful it all was. How stupid he was.

The find a mostly abandoned shack on the edge of the coast. It looks like someone's fishing home but not currently in use. Still carried the scent of it though but it's better than sleeping out in the elements.

"We can rest here for the night." Hawke looks towards the sky. "It's going to get dark soon... I think."

It's hard to tell with the cloud cover but that's probably true?

"Good," it was simple enough to say, it carried enough weight.

To think that people who were once friends were now fighting each other, were at odds with each other. All because Anders and his Vengeance-- He has much he could say on it, but doesn't. Hawke carries too much of that guilt when it was undeserved.

The silence is heavy with thought, but he makes no comment on it. Sometimes the mind was an overwhelming place, he understood that, knows what it is like to have a war with yourself. He doesn't know what is on the other man's mind, but he doesn't care to guess either.

The shack they find smells like fish and Fenris immediately curls his lip at it, a noise of disgust leaving him. His dislike of fish and the smell is no less than it used to be, though he still steps into the building to escape the rain. He knew better than to turn his nose up at it, he did not wish to sleep in this cursed rain.

"You think correctly," he looks around and sees a fire pit with some dry wood inside and nods while he takes off his cloak. "Let us start a fire and look for what supplies we can use for the night, it wouldn't do to catch our death to rain."

Hawke tosses some logs into the fire pit and then snaps his fingers. Flames spring to life between the logs and he feeds the fire with mana until it catches and burns naturally.

"Here." He drives his staff into the ground near the fire and then holds out a hand for Fenris' cloak. "Yours will dry better by the fire."

There's no oil treatment keeping the rain from soaking through Fenris' cloak like there is for Hawke's. He carefully drapes Fenris' cloak over his staff so it will be warmed by the fire and hopefully dry by tomorrow morning.

"I have some rations." The Inquisition tried to outfit him with supplies but it was difficult when there was no horse to carry it. Walking limited what he kept with him. "We can share those. Or I could go fishing?"

He's teasing, knowing full well Fenris doesn't like fish. Even though it's a simple matter of hurling lightning into the water to stun the fish to the surface.

Fenris doesn't hesitate to hand the soaked cloak to the other man when his hand is held out. It was strange to be around magic he trusted again, but it was incredibly convenient for starting a fire. It honestly brings a conflicted kind of softness to his face, before he turns away and digs through a chest.

"You can go fishing for yourself if you so desire, but I will not partake," he makes another disgusted noise. He would bear the smell since he knows food is not always easy to come by and should be partaken of when the chance strikes -- he would be unhappy, but he would deal.

Besides, it was almost nice to be teased once again. He forgotten what camaraderie felt like.

"I will partake of a ration -- here," he tosses an old musty blanket at Hawke, something that is beginning to become moth eaten but still fully functional. "It will do. There is little of else in here for us."

This place seems long without use, probably since the start of the war. The chest was mostly empty of anything of value or worth stealing, not that he intended to steal, but it did not escape his notice.

Hawke shakes out the blanket and it is indeed musty. None of his magical powers will help, unfortunately. He just has to endure the dusty old smell. It's the little things that make him miss having a home and a bed.

"Here." Hawke takes one of the ration packs from the small bag he carried under his cloak during the day. It had jerky, nuts, and a long lasting bread that would keep on the road well. "I'll go get some fish for myself. Though, maybe one the road we should hunt some things along the way."

He's not much of a hunter but that doesn't matter with magic. Hawke's eaten all sorts of creatures killed by magic. He's found his fire is good for pre-cooking and clearing off stubborn fur. Burning fur doesn't smell good though.

"I'll try and cook it outside for you."

Catching the ration one handed, he nods his thanks before returning to the fire to sit in front of it. He positions himself close, slowly taking off his gauntlets and letting them dry out by the soaked cloak, before warming his hands and feet by the fire.

"It will be nice to have your magic, faster in the hunt than I am," he wouldn't mind magically killed animals. Much faster than trapping or waiting to find something stupid enough to get close. Fenris had his speed and strength, but nothing long distance - most things that would be killed by him were predators, and they did not have the best meat.

He could appreciate Hawke's magic, even if he had a general distaste for the practice - he trusted the man and thus his magic as well.

"That would be appreciated, this place stinks bad enough as is," his lip curls in disgust. If it were anyone other than Hawke, he might tell them to eat it outside too, but this was Hawke. He can eat in the shack.

"It's not that bad. The Wounded Coast smelled worse." Hawke pats Fenris' shoulder on the way out. "If you hear me screaming 'it's a bear! it's a bear!" there's a bear."

Hawke goes outside towards the river a little ways away from the hut and waits to see shadows in the water before he launches a lightning bolt into the water. Then it's a bit of a scramble to collect the fish. He lays them out on the riverbank and simply roasts them with blasts of fire.

The riverbank is good because it doesn't catch while Hawke roasts the fish. They're probably overdone by the time he stops but it's good enough. He carries the hot fish back carefully, almost juggling them.

"Good news! No bears." Hawke grins at him as he shoulders his way inside.

"I wish you luck then," there's an amused note as he says it in parting. He would of course go out and help if that actually became the case, the bears around here can be dangerous and the smell of fish will likely draw them near, yet, he wasn't too worried. Hawke was capable of handling a bear long enough for him to join the fray.

While the man is out he shakes the excess water from his hair - it's longer than when they were last together in Kirkwall, he's thought about cutting it but never really has gotten around to it. He leaves it untied so that it dries faster while he picks at the ration he was given.

Fenris tucks some of the hair behind his long ear when the man returns with the stink of cooked fish, which is so much better than raw fish. Still his nose wrinkles as he takes a bite of jerky, chewing the dried meat.

"A surprise considering the feast you hold, surely they are lining up outside as we speak," there's teasing in his tone, though it's his normal dryness. "Come, the fire is warm," he wiggles his toes near the fire, letting them get nice and warm after being in the cold all day.

"May as well enjoy your meal while you shake off the damp."

Hawke puts his fish by the fire but he sheds a few layers of armor before he sits down. He's safe enough right now that he feels he can take them off. If they're attacked - by bears or otherwise - Fenris is there to help protect him. And damn if the armor doesn't get heavy after a whole day of walking around it it.

"What are your intentions in heading north?" he asks as he picks off pieces of fish to eat. "Getting closer to where you're wanted doesn't seem sensible."

Given that Hawke is wanted everywhere except Tevinter he could head that way except for the very real problem of wanting to kill every slaver he could find. He wouldn't remain un wanted in Tevinter for long.

He worries though about Fenris getting so close to the country that made him suffer so much. He doesn't want him captured and returned to chains either. Or executed. Hm. Maybe he might need to go with Fenris...

... but Carver...

Worrying about his friends is exhausting.

Fenris eats some nuts while he thinks about how to answer, because it was both complicated and simple and he wasn't sure how best to phrase it without causing concern. Was he going closer to danger? Yes, absolutely, but he didn't fear Tevinter - even if the idea of going closer to there again made his throat tight in a way he wouldn't admit. Made his markings ache like they could split open and bleed everywhere the closer he got.

Taking a breath he decides to answer as honestly as he will allow himself to admit. He's never been much of a liar.

"Perhaps not sensible, but necessary. They take advantage of refugees -- many flee north from the war, it makes sense then that I too should head that direction and cripple their slave trade at their doorstep," he stares into the fire as he speaks, disdain for Tevinter and their trade heavy on his tongue, but he looks at Hawke as he continues.

"I do not know how far north yet, only that I will go where my hunt leads," he should already know, should head towards Antiva, but part of him is hesitating.

All he can think about is how far it is from from Wiessupt.

Hawke hmphms. But Fenris is right. A lot of people are trying to escape the turmoil spreading across Thedas. The civil war in Orlais and the Mage-Templar business. Even the Breach and the Wardens. Everyone would flee somewhere and the North probably seemed safest. It wasn't. It never would be.

"The Inquisition offers some safety. They've made a few regions safe." Hawke flicks a few bits of fish bone into the fire. "And they've taken in many people. The Hinterlands is stable since they took control. But I can see Tevinter seizing any opportunity for more slave labor."

He sighs heavily. Fenris is right to go. His skills would be needed and he has the passion to make sure any slavers efforts are disrupted. It will be good work. It will be important.

"I'll make sure we get there then until it's time to go our separate ways."

Fenris thoughtfully chews on the hard bread, watching the bones that get flicked into the fire. "The inquisition has regions in hand, more of the south falls under their protection daily, but.. it is the north where their reach is weakest."

Crossing his legs, he thinks about how the nonsense with Starkhaven and Kirkwall likely scared people, caused enough chaos that people continued to move north. Not that Tevinter isn't constantly at war with the Qunari, but Antiva might be calm enough at this time. It was hard to tell. It felt like all of Thedas was up in arms and dealing with some world changing event or another.

Regardless, they will continue to pick off elves even if there wasn't a war and other events going on that make it easier. They have little fear of repercussions if they stay away from the Inquisition's reach, so Fenris would be their repercussion.

"And I too shall see you to the north until such time comes," something about splitting up again stung, but he doesn't examine it. But it bothered him enough that part of him considers offering to accompany him, but with how reluctant Hawke seemed.. he keeps the thought to himself.

"And what will you do after Wiessupt?"

The question is one Hawke's thought about himself here and there since he started on the road. What comes next?

"I don't know," he answers honestly. He smiles for a brief moment and then looks down into the fire. "I never was much for planning anything out in my life. I could go face the Chantry about what happened in Kirkwall. With the Inquisitor backing me I might get out of it alright."

Before now he's never had an ally as powerful as the Inquisitor. If he had shown up any time before now to try and explain to the Chantry what happened, the truth of it all, they wouldn't have listened and would have just executed him. Or publicly made him Tranquil. Now, he might have a chance.

"I could disappear." Hawke is thinking out loud now. "Just like before. Stay a fugitive and vanish into somewhere beyond Wiessupt. No matter how zealous the Templar they won't come looking that far north."

It's tempting. Hawke could be done with the world and all its problems. Let other people solve the mess he unintentionally helped make. "A hut like this. All the fish I can eat. What's not to love about the idea?"

Fenris immediately dislikes the first suggestion - as much as it might be safer now, they fled Kirkwall for a reason. It was too dangerous, especially for Hawke who would suffer the worst of it. There is a lot about the idea of Hawke made Tranquil that sits very very wrong with him, enough so that Fenris would not hesitate to take on the Chantry to protect the man.

His friend.

The second suggestion though.. Something about it also sits ill with him. It sounds lonely. Not for Fenris, not really since he imagines himself alone in his future, but.. For Hawke, a man who had been surrounded by people, who attracted friends with such ease of charisma, alone somewhere in a hut that smells like fish.

It seems almost unfathomable, though he does wish him the peace of no longer dealing with the Thedas' problems. Or being the blame for things that were beyond his control.

"You will need to do more than live in a fishing hovel if you wish me to visit you in your solitude," he folds up the waxed paper that was holding the ration, finished with his meal. "Unless your intention is to ward off visitors, which congratulations."

"Visitors wouldn't exactly be a good idea when I'm wanted by the Chantry," he feels the need to point out to Fenris. "I only helped the Inquisition because Varric asked."

And he would do anything his best friend asked. Hawke could not say no to Varric because he knew his friend would never take advantage of that. Unlike some other people in Hawke's life who took great advantage. Sure, helping the Inquisition was the right thing as well but if anyone else had asked Hawke would've focused on the Wardens and not the Inquisition.

"Carver would resent it if I stayed in Wiessupt too. He's grown up a lot with the Wardens but he doesn't need his older brother overshadowing him." Because that's always what happened when they were together. No one saw Carver when he stood in Hawke's shadow.

He tosses the last fish carcass in the fire and the blasts it with a white hot spout of fire to burn away everything so Fenris doesn't have to endure the stink. He shakes his hand out before tossing the remaining logs on the hot ashes. "It's a problem for another day, I think. Once I've solved this one. I can't make any decisions until I know what's become of Carver."

That was a fair fact, the man couldn't really know what he was doing after until he knew if his brother was safe. Were Carver not safe, if the worst had occurred.. Fenris can see it breaking Hawke to finally have the last of his family gone like that. He hoped it would not break him, that he might be able to hold the pieces together still, but what reason could the man have to hold it together?

It wasn't his business what Hawke did after. This wasn't his business either, they just happened to run into each other, happen to be going the same direction. It is hard to not feel sore over how the man would likely have sent him away yet again if it hadn't worked out. How he wants to disappear without any one to visit, without a trace. It feeds into the bitter part of himself that has made him more angry than sad, that vanished for an instant the second he saw Hawke again.

Fenris doesn't need companions, maybe this--

He shakes the thought from his head and watches the remains of the fish burn away in a fiery surge of magic. This was fine for now. It would be lying to himself to say he doesn't want to travel with Hawke as far as this takes him. For the other man's safety more than his own.

"Yes, we have a long way to travel yet before then," he stretches out his back before running his fingers through his still damp hair, trying to air it out so it will dry faster. "Hopefully with dryer weather."

"I think once we leave the accurately named Storm Coast we should be fine." Hawke inches back from the fire and props himself up against the back wall of the hut. He has a clear line of sight on the door and he moves his staff to be right at hand.

If anyone comes through for any reasons Hawke will have it ready with the bladed end pointed at them. It's been a long time since he traveled with companions though. Hawke still feels a little paranoia, a little fear when he closes his eyes to sleep but over the soft crackle of the small fire he can hear Fenris' breathing and it actually helps.

He's not alone. Maker, Hawke hates being alone. If he had any other choice... but he didn't. Not after what Anders did.

But for the first time since he left Skyhold's walls Hawke sleeps easily. He trusts that if someone does find him and come through that door Fenris will stop them as well. He doesn't have to fight alone and that makes all the difference in his usually restless and uneasy propped up sleep.

Even though in the Fade he can't help but search for Stroud with Guilt demons haunting him the whole time.

Fenris lets out a hum of agreement but says nothing else. The evening is growing late and rest should be had while they are able - who knows what awaits them in the night or morning. So, quietly he just watches Hawke set himself up for the night out of the corner of his eye. His own sword - a gift from Hawke that he's kept close ever since - is settled next to himself, at the ready to be picked up and used if the need arises.

But for now he silently rings some water from his cloak before settling with his own back to a wall, legs outstretched and toes near the fire's warmth. He's awake for a while yet, listening to the sound of rain pelting the top of the shack, to the soft pops and crackles of the fire, to the unfamiliar sound of breathing of Hawke nearby.

He's been relatively alone since he parted from his companions in Kirkwall, the tell-tale sounds of being in someone's company are almost foreign to him as they were when he first arrived in Kirkwall.

Yet, there is something soothing about Hawke's light sleep breathing, something that lulls him to sleep eventually as he listens to each soft intake and silent breath out. Honed training of being a bodyguard itch at him to stay awake yet--

Hawke is his friend, not his master.. So eventually he allows himself to be lulled alongside the man, getting some of the most restful sleep he's had since he killed Danarius.

Before the end Hawke was rather infamous for sleeping in as late as he could. It took his servants or one of his friends coming to make him get up before the middle of the day. That time feels like ages ago.

The sun isn't even up yet when Hawke wakes, his hand closing immediately around his staff as he gets his bearings. Right. Shack on the Storm Coast. Fenris traveling with him. He stares at his friend for a moment, unsure of how to feel with this mixture of relief and worry. If something happens to Fenris because they're traveling together....

He shakes his head as he gets to his feet. "Fenris," he says though he expects Fenris will wake quickly now that he's moving around.

"We've got a long way to walk, friend."

Fenris has always been a rather early riser, so he had figured to be the first up, but no, oddly it was Hawke wakes him. The sound of the man moving snaps him awake first, his only indication of being awake in how he goes even more still than he already was, taking in the sounds of what's going on around him as he catches his bearings. Why was someone so close by? How--

It's his name on Hawke's lips that remind him of the company he is in and that it is safe to blink open his eyes and relax from his stillness. Standing, he stretches his arms and legs carefully, working out the stiffness now for their walk ahead.

"Taken to rising early now? Never thought I'd see the day," he knows there is a long walk, one best started as early as possible, but for Hawke to wake even before him...

He checks his cloak before pulling on his gauntlets, it's almost completely dry, only the ends of it are damp. Though if the pelting rain on the roof is any indication he will be soaked soon enough regardless.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject