Ranger24: First Dragon Age fic folks. Enjoy.

Merrill is a cat

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Twas an average day at the Hawke estate. Hawke was out teaching the Bone Pit workers on what to do in case of dragon attack and Bodhan was getting groceries leaving Merrill alone with Sandal and the Mabari war hound Mal.

She was in the small library pouring over a little book called "Leather to Feather: Crossroads of Form". Hawke had gotten the book years ago clearly had not tried to do any transformations. Merrill however was trying to kick blood magic and wanted to try another type of magic a little closer to her Keeper Magic.

"Understanding the creature you intend to transform into is critical," she read aloud from the book. "You must understand its behavior and mannerisms to preform a successful Transformation."

Now what could I turn into, she wondered? Isabela was always calling her kitten and she did rather like kittens. They were cute and liked to scratch at her ankles.

Focusing on a mental picture of a cat she let the magic flow through her.

It was the most curious sensation, there was no pain like she had guessed there would be merely an odd tickling sensation. A moment later she was sitting in the chair as a cat.

"Well this is new," she said or at least tried to but all that came out of her mouth was a meow. Oh right I'm a cat, she thought mentally kicking herself.

She dropped out of the chair landing lightly on her pawed feet and stumbled slightly. Walking on four legs was awkward but she soon got the hang of it.

This is just lovely, she thought delighted. Wait until Hawke see's this.

Then she paused.

How do I change back?

She thought about herself but nothing happened.

Oh dear.

She scrambled at the chair trying to pull herself back up onto it.

Have to get to the book, she thought, need to fix this.

She managed to scramble up onto the desk but try as she might she couldn't turn the pages.

Okay calm down Merrill, she thought to herself, Hawke will be back soon and he'll fix this.

At that moment she heard the front door open.

Oh please let it be Hawke, she pleaded while scrambling up the stairs to the loft.

To her dismay it was Anders.

"Hawke?" He called. "You in?"

Anders! Merril tried to call but only meowed. Anders looked up and his face brightened.

"'ello there," he said, "Where did you come from? Did Hawke get me a new cat?"

Get you a new cat? Merrill wondered.

"Well I prefer Tabby's but I guess a little black cat fits my whole rebel mage image," Anders said exiting the entry way. He came up to the loft and knelt down in front of her.

"Well you're just adorable aren't you," he said, "cute little face markings to. At least I know you aren't bad luck."

Merrill meowed.

"Did you get stuck in here or something?" Anders asked picking her up.

Anders, its me! Merrill I'm stuck and... Anders began scratching her behind the ears. Oh that feels nice... Little more to the left.

He carried her over to a chair and sat down scratching her ears.

"I guess I can wait for Hawke to get back," he said. "You want to keep me company?"

That's nice but I'd prefer it if you'd help me change back.

"I wonder if you'd make a good mouser," Anders wondered. "I have a lot of mice at my clinic and its not good for my patients."

No thanks, I ate a mouse once down in the Alienage, it was nasty.

There was another knock at the door.

"Hawke's not in right now," Anders called.

"Well you are," Isabela's voice replied. "Is Merrill here?"

Yes.

"No she isn't," Anders answered.

"Well I'm coming on in anyways," Isabela replied.

The door opened.

"I'm in the loft," Anders called.

Isabela came in with her usual swagger.

"Well what's this," she said seeing Merrill in Anders's lap, "found yourself a new friend? I didn't know Hawke and Merrill had gotten a cat."

"I'm amazed Mal hasn't taken to barking at it," Anders replied.

"He's sleeping on Hawke's bed," Isabela said.

Oh Hawke keeps telling him to stay off the bed, Merrill thought.

Isabela then gave her a little pat on the head.

"Cute little thing," she commented. "Love the face markings."

"So what brings you here?" Anders asked.

"Well," Isabela said, "I found this little shop in Lowtown that I think might interest Kitten."

"Why?" Anders asked. "Is it selling demons and relics of Arlathan?"

If you weren't so good at scratching my ears I'd bite you're thumb off, Merrill thought darkly. Anders had not been particularly nice to her ever and she had been shocked when he'd suggested handing Fenris over to Danarius. She'd been even more insulted when he'd suggested to Hawke right in front of her that she'd turn on him in favor of a demon at the drop of a hat. Coming from someone who was possessed it was hypocritical and after Marethari's death...

"No nothing of the sort," Isabela replied. "And you lay off her about that okay? She was really broken up when the Keeper died."

"When she's completely stopped using Blood magic I'll let off," Anders replied.

I'm trying to quit it! Merrill meowed.

"See kitty agrees with me," Anders said.

"Anyways," Isabela said rolling her eyes. "The shop had some, items I thought might interest her. You know to spice things up a bit."

"You mean like when she went through my Grimoire looking for "Dirty spells"?" Anders asked dryly. "I can guess where she'd take it. I doubt Hawke's into S and M."

"As cute as I think Kitten would look in a dominatrix out fit I don't think she'd go for bondage," Isabela replied.

What's bondage? Merrill wondered.

"They had all sorts of little things erotic novels, little costumes, the works," Isabela resumed.

"Lovely," Anders replied dryly.

"You're no fun anymore," Isabela pouted.

"Comes with sharing your body with a spirit."

Then suddenly he put Merrill down on the floor and went to one of the book cases. Merrill hurried over to Isabela.

Isabela come on please, Merrill thought pleadingly.

"Cute little thing aren't you?" Isabela said looking down at her.

Lovely, Merrill thought glumly.

"You aren't stuffing more copies of your blasted manifesto over there are you?" Isabela asked Anders.

"No," Anders replied quickly.

Hawke's not going to be happy about that, Merrill thought, he's getting tired of finding all of those copies all over the place. You even stuck one in my grimoire, talk about being a hypocrite.

"You do know that nobody reads it," Isabela replied. "The few people I've seen with copies are using it wipe themselves."

"Seriously?" Anders lamented turning around to reveal he did indeed have another copy of his manifesto in his hands. "Varric charges me five silver a copy to use his press. And people are using it to clean their back sides."

Not true, Merrill thought, I use them to make little paper birds. Hawke said they were cute and Sandal likes them.

"Fraid so," Isabela replied. "You might want to take a few classes on how to write, your retoric is terribly worded."

"And you're writing's better?" Anders demanded.

Isabela shrugged.

"When its erotic novels based on the goings on of our little group with some names changed its not that hard," she replied. "I'm actually making money off the at least."

"People buy your work?"

"Well mostly the more scandalous works with things like a noble who has an elven apostate as his mistress, those ones sell surprisingly well."

Oh dear, Merrill thought, that's based on me and Hawke I think. Might want to have a peak at that...

"Then theres the ever popular Templar and Encanter series."

Is she talking about Meredith and Orsino? Merrill wondered. I thought Hawke was joking when he said they were secretly lovers.

"And last but not least my own Guard Romance series," Isabela finished.

"You mean that stuff you wrote about Aveline and Donnic?" Anders asked. "I thought she had all of that burned?"

"You can sell anything in Darktown," Isabela replied with a shrug.

Anders returned to his chair.

"So what do you think about Hawke and Merrill," he asked?

"I think they're darling together," Isabela replied taking a chair of her own. "She gets all butterflies and rainbows around him. And he's definitely quiet taken with her. Heck if he hadn't gotten there first I might have tried to get Kitten in the sack myself."

Um... Thanks? Merrill thought not sure what to do.

"Even though she's a Blood Mage?" Anders asked.

Isabela sighed.

"There you go again with Kitten and Blood Magic. You're a bit of a broken record you know?"

"She's dangerous," Anders insisted. "You can't trust her, at any given moment she could probably snap and decided to take control of your mind and have you do something like go streaking through the streets in your under clothes."

"Been there done that," Isabela replied dismissively.

"Or she might sacrifice us to summon a Demon. You saw what happened to those Tervinter slaves, that could be any of us with Merrill," Anders replied.

You keep talking like that and I'll start scratching your ankles, Merrill thought, and I'm going to be trying to draw blood.

"This all coming from an Abomination?" Isabela replied, "I'd say you're just gay for Hawke and want Merrill out of the way so you can try to get him yourself."

"You're suggesting I'm jealous of Merrill?" Anders demanded. "The Blood Mage who got herself locked in a cupboard in the chantry and kicked out of her own clan?"

Final straw Anders, Merrill thought.

"And why do you have to be such an ass to her?" Isabela asked. "She hasn't hurt any of us and she's been nothing but try to be friendly to you. She's the nicest Mage I've ever meet and we hang out with Hawke. I swear you're just like Fenris."

"I'm nothing like him," Anders snapped.

"Oh really?" Isabela asked. "You both escaped from a form of servitude and have been on the run ever since, you both have unusual powers that you're both rather uncomfortable with, hate a specific group with a passion, and you both treat Merrill like dirt. The only difference I can see is that Fenris is actually fun between the sheets."

Merrill jumped up onto Isabela's lap.

"Excuse me?" Anders demanded. "I thought you liked the electricity thing?"

"Well Fenris's sword isn't the only rather large weapon he's got on him," Isabela replied smugly.

"To much information," Anders said quickly.

"Says you."

At that moment there came the sound of the door opening again.

"Merrill I'm back," Hawke called.

"She's not home," Isabela called.

Hawke came into the loft and Merrill jumped out of Isabela's lap immediately hurried over to him.

Hawke! Thank the Creators! Please recognize me, Merrill pleaded with a meow.

"Where'd you come from?" Hawke asked looking down at her.

"It's not yours?" Isabela asked.

"No."

"We thought you bought a cat," Anders said.

Hawke shook his head. "I've got a Mabari warhound, having a cat in the house might give Bodhan a heart attack."

No, Merrill thought with dismay. Please Ma Vhenan, I'm right here. I need help.

"Where's Merrill?" Hawke asked.

"She wasn't here when I arrived," Anders answered. "And the door was unlocked."

Standing rule in Kirkwall, lock your door when you leave the house or get robbed blind. That and they didn't want Sandal to go out, get lost, and have something happen to him.

"She might have left a note," Isabela suggested.

Please, Merrill yowled. I'm right here. Ma Vhenan... please.

The three of them scattered to search the house and Merrill followed desperately after Hawke. The search of course was turning up nothing and Merrill could see Hawke becoming more desperate with every second.

"Not again," he muttered. "Not again. Maker please, not again."

"I can't find anything," Anders called.

"Me either," Isabela added.

"Sandal?" Hawke asked desperately. "Do you know where Merrill is?"

"Enchantment." Sandal replied brightly.

Ma Vhenan... Hawke please... Merrill said rubbing up against Hawke's leg hoping for something.

"Kitty," Sandal said.

"Maybe Meredith's finally snapped and is rounding up every apostate she knows about," Anders suggested. "Namely us."

"Blame the Templars," Isabela said with a role of her eyes. "That's always your suggestion."

"There's no sign of a struggle though," Hawke replied beginning to pace in front of the fire place. "If it was Templars she wouldn't have gone quietly."

"They can drain mana and disrupt magic," Anders pointed out.

"And Merrill has Blood Magic," Hawke replied. "I know she's trying to quit it but if things got desperate enough..."

Merrill's heart fell even lower.

You don't think I can quit it can you? She thought tears growing in her eyes.

"You're right," Anders agreed. "She'd probably use that right off the bat if Templars came in."

"I said if she got desperate enough," Hawke replied. "Merrill's tough and she can handle herself but Blood Magic's a last resort."

"You can't be serious?" Anders demanded, "blood magic is never an option, its wrong for even the Warden's to be using it."

"I've used it," Hawke replied simply.

This brought everyone to a silence. Merrill looked up.

"You've what?" Anders whispered.

"I've used it," Hawke repeated.

"You mean when dealing with the seals at the prison?" Anders asked. "That didn't count, blood didn't power the spell it was just the key."

"I meant during the duel with the Arishok," Hawke replied. "Near the end of it I was out of Mana. So if you recall me ducking behind that pillar..."

He motioned to angry red marks on his left fore arm.

"You cut yourself and used Blood Magic," Anders whispered horrified.

"Mages turn to Blood Magic when they're desperate. I knew what its like to be all of those Mages who've turned to it because they can do nothing more," Hawke explained. "Afterwords I swore never to use it again, not unless there were literally no other options available. That's why I understood Merrill."

Anders crossed his arms skeptically.

"I understand what she's gone through," Hawke continued, "that kind of power is addicting. It's probably why so many Blood Mages become abominations. She tried to do what she thought was right by whatever means she could, and it cost her. Just like it cost me when I took Carver with us into the Deep Roads."

"Carver's not dead," Anders pointed out.

"When mother found out he was becoming a Grey Warden she broke down and cried of three days," Hawke replied. "And I felt like the worst person in the world for taking him with us."

"Well he at least seems happy with the Wardens," Anders argued.

"That doesn't change the facts of what happened," Hawke replied, "Merrill ended up paying a greater price for her actions. I'm going to help her, and keep her safe no matter what."

BANG!

Merrill suddenly found herself back in her true form with Hawke underneath her on the floor.

"Andraste's flaming knickers!" Anders yelled.

"Oh I thought that cats markings looked a bit like tattoos," Isabela said.

"Hawke are you alright?" Merrill asked.

"Mother," Hawke said dazed. "Carver wouldn't stop poking Bethany so she set his hair on fire again."

"Would somebody please tell me whats going on?" Anders demanded.

"Merrill tried some new type of magic out, got stuck as a cat, couldn't change back possibly due to emotional insecurities screwing with the spell, we missed all her attempts by her to get her to notice that she was the cat, and then Hawke giving an impassioned defense of her helped ease aforementioned emotional insecurities so she changed back, and now Hawke's a little confused," Isabela explained flatly.

Everyone stared at her. She shrugged.

"What?" She demanded. "I can't be smart once in a while?"

"Merrill," Hawke said regaining his senses. "Are you alright."

Merrill pulled him into sitting position and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"I'll take this as a yes," Hawke said returning the embrace.

"So wait she heard everything we said?" Anders asked.

"Yes I did," Merrill answered wiping a few tears from her face. "No offense Anders but you're a wee bit of a hypocrite."

Ranger24: And that's my little story folks. Hope you enjoyed it.