Fenris was angry. It should have been better than this. Perhaps there were no longer rules he was commanded to obey, he was not a puppet of a cruel and unforgiving magister any more, but Danarius still lingered. He felt the constant threat of seeing his master, could only imagine the price he would pay for his disobedience. It was a particularly cruel fate the Danarius had not truly let him go, not the way he had phrased their parting. This was supposed to be the freedom Hawke had fought for, had sacrificed her own freedom for. Instead they were tied together in a curse he couldn't see an end to.

It should have been better. Fenris was angry.

"Oh, I see you're in a good mood. I was worried I'd have to put up with you brooding again all day." He heard the ever cheerful voice of the dwarf as he entered the room and sighed. He was necessary.

"I don't brood."

"Of course not. This is you happy, thinking of puppies and roses."

"Did you have something to say?"

"Don't I always? But yes, Rivaini's on her way. We need to come up with a plan."

"A plan?" Fenris frowned, giving no other sign of the tenseness that came upon him at the prospect.

"What next, where she's taking you." Varric carried on, blissfully oblivious to Fenris' hesitation.

Fenris couldn't plan, he didn't know how to take that responsibility, especially the responsibility of deciding for both himself and Hawke. Separating from her didn't bear consideration. He couldn't do this without her, even when her only input was a meaningless chirp and a flap of wings as the rockier movement of the ship unsettled her from the flat surface of the table.

He waited quietly, safe in the knowledge that Varric would attribute his silence to nothing other than his apparent propensity to brood. When Isabela arrived she swayed into the room, saving none of the performance despite her audience being only the two of them. She unhurriedly reached around Fenris to the chest behind him and lay out a map on the table before them.

The unfamiliar markings and shadings of the map confused him at first, before certain shapes stood out and he realised he was looking at a sea map of northern Thedas. The oceans had to be showing the currents or hazards relevant to sailors, while the land was scarcely marked, save for the major coastal towns and cities. He identified where their ship must be, roughly, based on Isabela's explanation earlier in the day, heading out of the huge bay around which Tevinter curled.

He looked up at Isabela, whose eyes were knowingly fixed on Varric with a smile. The dwarf was still staring at the map, a frown on his face and for once not saying anything. Slowly Isabela reached out and placed her long finger next to where Minrathous was marked, allowing him to recognise the coastline.

"Oh nugshit Rivaini, why couldn't you use a normal map."

"I would think the captain has little use for a map of roads. Unless her ship has some magic you haven't told me about." Despite the way his voice lowered on the word magic, or perhaps because of it, Varric chuckled.

"Oh great, take her side. Just what I need." He grumbled good-naturedly then leant forwards to look more closely, standing up straight to assume his story telling pose, what he did when he wanted people to listen to him. "So Elf, right now we're heading out of Tevinter but we don't know where we are taking you."

Fenris looked down at the map, a world of places he'd heard mentioned any number of times but he didn't know any of them. There was so little he had experienced of the world, outside of the life at Danarius' heel.

"Hawke has travelled, surely she would be more capable in planning a…"

"Hawke isn't here." Isabela looked briefly at the bird sat on the table, pecking idly at a curling corner of the map before another roll of the ship left her claws skidding uselessly across the table for lack of traction. "Or she's not giving us the walking tour of Thedas. Besides, she travelled without any particular goal in mind. You have an aim."

Fenris looked up at her blankly. "We do?"

"To not get caught by a crazed magister." Varric had filled them in when he had returned to the boat. Danarius was not at all ready to let Fenris walk free. Instead he was organising a hunting party. From what Varric had gathered, Fenris and Hawke were being given a headstart but were not going to be left alone for long. Fenris had never suspected that his master would let him go, privately he knew he had been too faithful, too good a servant for Danarius to even manage without him. The small hint of pride he felt for that only made him angrier.

It didn't appear as if he suspected anyone would have given him a ride on a ship. But it would only be a matter of days before he had to realise that he wasn't still in the city. Then he would assume Fenris had somehow stowed away, he would be waiting for reports of a wolf caught on a ship, turning savage, as Danarius presumably had no doubt about the untamed nature of the wolf he had inflicted on Fenris.

If he was content to wait for word to reach him of a wolf caught and killed, he would be delayed for some time at least. Varric also hadn't been able to hear any word of the curse, so while Danarius reported his missing slave to a choice collection of ears, it seemed he was keeping the most distinguishable part of the story to himself. How Varric had been able to find what Danarius was sending out through his channels, Fenris couldn't even pretend to understand. It seemed that the followers that had been after Varric on the coast were more concerned with something he had done and were not aware of the other people he was protecting. Or at least they had been held up by the treacherous seas long enough that the inhabitants of the Siren's Call hadn't been worried by them yet.

"Avoiding Danarius doesn't give us a destination to work towards." Fenris continued stubbornly, reaching out to let Hawke hop onto his arm. He had begun to pad his sleeve on that arm, so that when the bird walked up to his shoulder, her talons didn't claw into his skin quite so painfully.

"It gives you somewhere to start."

"More like where not to." Fenris retorted and he heard Varric laugh.

"That's my point, Elf. We need you to work out where Danarius is least likely to look."

"And I'm told no one would know that better than you." Their words caused Fenris to look up in surprise, understanding dawning.

He took a moment before answering, thinking carefully. "Nowhere in Tevinter is safe obviously. He has links with contacts in Antiva, some in Rivain, and a couple even in the Free Marches. Many in Fereldan and Orlais" He stopped again, looking at the scope of the map. "Though that is definitely beyond where I would expect you to take us."

Isabela smiled at him distractedly, she was already looking at the map. Varric clapped his hands together.

"Oh good, this is going to be easy. If some lunatic has to be chasing you, why not make sure he's the most connected bastard in all Thedas." Fenris grimaced, he couldn't argue.

"He has the connections, whether they're loyal to him outside handing over suitable slaves for a healthy fee, I can't say." He glanced back down at the map. "The only place he hasn't got a steady trade is the Anderfels. Though he's tried, he always comes back muttering that they have no business sense and are impossible to work with. As far as I could tell, the people he meets come out with different opinions of the deals."

"More like different opinions of Tevinter. Perhaps it's not their lack of business sense he struggles with, but the fact they have a sense of morality." Varric suggested. Fenris nodded but Isabela chimed in.

"I don't know the seas on that coast. They don't actually have all that much coast, poor things. Even then, do you have any ideas where in the Anderfels?"

"Somewhere we can travel quickly along the road. I don't know the Anderfels at all, other than I don't want to be caught by the storms out in the Wandering Hills."

"Or the Hunterhorns." Isabela pointed them out to the west. "Or the High Reaches." Further south.

"Good point, Funalis celebrations have already been and gone. Those mountains will be getting too frozen soon for anyone to be crossing near them." Varric added his point.

Isabela also made a considering sound. "We already had a delay when we had to rescue Varric."

"Oh blame me all you want but I do make an excellent damsel in distress."

"So what are you saying?" Fenris interrupted when they seemed to be letting their attentions be drawn away from the map.

"Meaning people saw the ship from the coast, I'm certain, and it's going to be linked to you if this Danarius ever hears about it."

"So the ship's not safe."

"Not for long, dropping you somewhere sooner would be safer, just so long as you have a plan of action to take after that." Isabela wandered her hands along the map of the coast. They pondered for a while longer, taking into consideration the coming cooler season of autumn and the paths beyond the coast.

Eventually Varric had started rifling through Isabela's cabinet until she gave in and found a land map for them to study as well, which Fenris didn't admit to finding much more useful, now that he could see many of the roads and hazards that they might have to navigate around.

There was much backwards and forwards in their discussion, Isabela was on a clearly Rivaini ship, surely they'd recognise that she would be heading east, but travelling east it would take longer to get out of Tevinter. Hawke had been to Antiva before she came to Tenvinter, therefore she might know her way around better, but it might also make her more recogniseable. After he'd had enough of the arguments bouncing backwards and forwards Fenris stepped around Isabela, avoiding her hands as he passed, and put a finger on the map.

"You're going to the east. I cannot ask you to divert your course any longer. I will see that Danarius doesn't find us but I can't keep you from your business any longer, when I have nothing to repay you for your help."

"I'm sailing the seas, there are potentially angry people after me. This is business as usual Fenris. You don't need to worry about that." Isabela arched an eyebrow.

"I'm not arguing with getting off this creaking seesaw any sooner." Varric agreed with an exaggerated groan, masterfully avoiding the poisonous look the captain levelled at him. As the writer spoke, it struck Fenris how much he himself looked forward to getting away from the confines of the boat. Watching the sun getting closer to the horizon in the afternoon left him constantly fearful over what he might do to the helpless people trapped here with him. Once he was away and only looking after himself and Hawke, he would feel much better. He had already done more damage than he ever wished to people who had been unnecessarily kind.

Of course there was no way he could agree with Varric, he was much closer to Isabela and he wasn't brave enough to make any slight against her ship.

"The Imperium marks it's boundary with the Hundred Pillars mountains, if we use the White Spire as a marker we'll be able to navigate." He determined instead.

"If you say so. Any plan sounds…better than we had so far."

"As you said, dwarf, the plan is to survive. I will make sure of that."

"Works as well as any." Varric laughed and Fenris said nothing, glaring grimly at the expanse of land he had never had the opportunity to visit on the map while Hawke ruffled her feathers against his ear.

It was as he left the meeting room that Fenris realised what Isabela and Varric's ploy had been. They hadn't ever actually given any decisions, just various points to consider before letting Fenris come to his own conclusions. He didn't know how to feel about their subtle manipulation, making him take the decision into his own hands, but he had made one nonetheless.

He had never considered that might be something he was capable of.

It took a further two nights on the ship before Fenris noticed the ship turning towards the land just visible to the south as he climbed to the deck in the morning. only a few hours later he stood beside the Captain as she guided the ship into a very small bay. The imposing and unmistakeable shape of the White Spire rose straight ahead of them.

He was aware that Hawke had given their new acquaintances a proper farewell and thank you at some point during the early hours of the morning. He also knew he couldn't find the words to thank them for the risks they were taking in helping both himself and Hawke's escape. If Varric hadn't helped Hawke in that alley, or if Isabela hadn't been willing to keep them on her ship even after he'd hurt one of her crew, he couldn't have made it this far.

He was not skilled with elegant words and speeches. But Varric knew that.

"Alright, Elf. We've got a long way to go." He appeared behind Fenris and patted him on the arm where he stood looking over the bulwarks, avoiding the shoulder where Hawke had taken her usual perch. Fenris nodded before he processed the words fully.

"We? Varric, I am beyond grateful for all your help but you do not need to come out of your way with us any longer."

"This isn't about you, elf. I told you I want off this blighted ship and after this stop Isabela's sailing straight on to Dairsmuid. That's another week at least to sail around Rivain and I am not playing nice about her ship for that long. Plus, all the salt air is making Bianca creaky."

Varric muttered angrily on and Fenris couldn't help but chuckle. "You're not much suited to the sea, then."

"What I'm suited for is my comfy room in the Hanged Man." He sighed, "But I needed to sort out a mess someone else dragged me into, otherwise I'd never have left Kirkwall."

"There are unlikely to be any bars the way we need to go."

"I know, but I figure that if I need to get back to the Free Marches, being in the company of an angry, glowing elf and an angrier Hawke is a good way to do it." Varric looked out wistfully at the approaching dry land that clearly didn't offer the promise of a warm beer anytime soon.

"I am not certain Hawke and I can make the best travel companions. We need to lie low and travel fast."

"Save your breath, elf. You're not the only one who can be stubborn as a bronto in a temper."

Fenris said no more and Varric, clearly mulling over his own thoughts kept him company as they stared quietly ahead until Hawke lightly hopped from Fenris' shoulder, circling them once before sweeping off across the foamy wavelets, towards the land, scouting out their journey ahead.

"How do you know she's coming back?" Isabela's voice merrily called from behind them and Fenris turned to her with a scowl.

"She's not a pet." He insisted simply, "She can do what she likes." He repressed the part of him that panicked at the possibility of losing her, even the barest part of her he had.

"What if she falls asleep in a tree as a bird, then wakes up human and falls out of it?" She chuckled, her eyes looking over Fenris' head to the disappearing bird in question.

"How long until we reach land?" Fenris overrode her, filing away more things in his list of concerns based on his inability to look out for her himself.

"Oh, I'm not going in. Look at it: shallow bay, big boat." She gestured smugly at the mast above her. "You'll be going inland on the dinghy." As if on cue, Fenris heard the rattling of the anchor dropping into the water, holding them in place some quarter of a league from the bay. "So if you're ready to go, now's the time for our tearful farewells."

"I'm not sure that will be necessary."

"Oh come on, sweet thing. Just a hug to show how grateful you are."

"Rivaini, I don't think the elf wants to be on the receiving end of one of your hugs."

"Sure he does." She purred with a wink and Fenris shook his head.

"You can keep your hands to yourself, Captain." He replied, raising his brow at her undiminished beam.

"Hmm, fine. How about something else then. I figured you might need a little something to help look after yourselves." She smiled sincerely then and Fenris frowned suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" He didn't know he could take anything else from her.

She reached to a belt she had tied around her tunic and unclipped it, revealing two daggers sheathed behind her back.

"You've got nothing but the clothes on your back but that won't stop bandits. Especially if you're heading past Antiva. You'll need these." She passed the belt to Fenris before he could argue and he pulled one of the weapons free. It had an elegantly carved gilt handle, the blade seemed newly polished but looking closely he could tell it had been well used.

"Isabela, this is too much. I can't take them."

"Look Broody-and-Gorgeous, before you refuse out of some sense of gallantry, don't make this more than it is. These are my old knives, they were going to waste if I didn't find something to do with them. And I'd rather see you live."

Isabela smiled as she flicked her hand at him, dismissing his half-hearted attempt to pass it back to her. He looked down, taking in the old belt leather, the small scratches on the hilt that had not been fixed in the recent, likely hasty, resharpening of the blade. It was a gift.

"We figured you'd never take something willingly that looked like it was worth a damn. I suggested just hiding it in your bag." Varric said from his shoulder and pointed at the other knife still in the sheath. "See if you look closely, the handles flaking on this one."

He had been given a gift, and they had made sure he couldn't refuse it. This was more thoughtful than he had imagined they could be.

"Now I'm not sure I should be grateful or worried that you read me as easily as Hawke."

"Just take the knives, find your bird somehow, and get on the boat." Isabela smiled. She moved forwards before Fenris could stop her, placing a playful kiss on his cheek. He froze in place, a reflex when anything came so far into his personal space. He knew Isabela sensed it but when she drew back she only threw a rogueish wink at him. He forced himself to lower his shoulders and with an effort gave a smile and quick nod in return.

"If you're ever in Rivain, you and Hawke must come find me."

"In the entire country of Rivain, we'll find you just like that?"

"If you mention the Captain, I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction." Varric grumbled and Isabela cheerfully shoved him by the shoulder, clearly anything but upset by her infamy.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Maybe ask about the ship." She said with a smile.

"Make it sound like you're not sure who's in charge, or you're not happy about it." Varric chipped in. Fenris glanced between the two of them, not quite sure whether they were serious or not. He was able to avoid finding a response when he saw a flicker or movement and a familiar bird dropped from the sky above them, returning smoothly to the old leather brace Isabela had given Fenris for his shoulder, only until he managed to make or buy a better one.

"Until we meet again, Captain." Fenris said, realising as he spoke how much his words almost seemed like a plan for the future. The idea that he might have one.

"Here's to seeing you and Hawke together in a room, at the same time. You know, as you." A small dinghy was being lifted over the edge of the ship by a sturdy chain and winch. Varric was already making his way over to it, clearly opting to be lowered down in the boat rather than climbing the rope ladder down to the level of the water.

Isabela held Fenris back by the arm when he began to follow the dwarf. Halting immediately, he had to think before pulling his eyes from the ground to look into Isabela's face.

"Fenris, you need to know something. Hawke is a big girl. She chose her path herself and there's no point you spending all your time brooding over it. You're blaming yourself for things you couldn't have done anything to change." The captain had been looking at him the whole time, with her hand still on his arm, and he knew she was trying to make sure her point got across. He stayed silent and sullen but her words were already mulling around his head.

After a pause she gave a last gentle squeeze of his upper arm and let go with a sigh. "Watch yourselves out there. I don't want to see any harm come to that fine bird you got there."

He looked at her again out the corner of his eye and smiled slightly, "I will make sure it does not."

And then, with little more fuss, the captain said her goodbyes and Fenris was on his way inland on a much smaller, rickety boat.

After almost a week on the ship, Fenris had his feet on solid, steady land. Varric whooped with joy as he watched the crewman Asanio push the boat from shore and begin returning to the Siren's Call. Fenris and Varric next had to find a good place inland, sheltered from view of the coast and avoided lighting a fire before night fell in case any ships they might have on their tail saw the smoke.

The next morning saw Fenris wake with his hawk sat looking straight at him, perched on top of their shared bag of belongings. Looking around at their things, he could tell the knives had been moved and hoped that she had only been practicing. A thought flickered through his head that perhaps Hawke had known about the belt knives before he had. If she had, maybe she had something to do with the manner they were presented to him. In fact, her advice might explain a lot of the things Isabela and Varric had said and done for him over the course of their journey.

He reached into the bag where, as usual, Hawke had left his clothes and frowned when the bag opened with an unusual crackle. Reaching in, his fingers brushed against a sheet of paper. He gave a furtive glance over his shoulder to place the tell-tale snoring coming from Varric's direction, then he pulled out the paper, glancing at it quickly.

It was a note, left for him by Hawke's own hand and a rush of anger slammed into him.

He had never been taught to read.

Holding back his surprising rush of emotion at his uselessness, he placed the paper back into the bag after he had dressed and neatly folded Hawke's clothes. First in his priorities, he had to decide where they were.

No longer being steered by the winds and Isabela's ocean sense, the path ahead was chosen only by his own feet and the captain's words came back to him as he silently stalked past Varric into the trees to check their location.

So far, he had been dwelling on what got them into this position, his guilt at drawing Hawke into his terrible mess with Danarius but by blaming himself he was giving Hawke too little credit. She had told him that she had been tempted into Danarius' mansion when she had seen him, he was ignoring the fact she had chosen to follow. From the moment she had decided to approach him on the steps of the magisterium, knowing that he was giving her the chance to walk away, her future had been in her own hands.

Now it was in both of theirs. Entwined together as much as they were kept apart. Despite Hawke's best intentions to save him, this was not the freedom she had hoped for and now it was his turn to free her from his own chains.

He would find a way to get them out of this. He also realised that during the night his companions had moved a little further inland. Best to set as much distance between themselves and the sea as soon as possible. That was the plan they had decided on, separately and together. Use the White Spire mountain as their guide and walk into the anonymity of Antiva and the Free Marches.

Once that was decided, he had something else to figure out. He couldn't read her note, and he guessed she didn't know that. Instead, he had to find some other way to let him know he was thinking of her too.