Title: Where the Wild Things Are

Summary: AU – A stroke of luck brings together a city elf from Denerim and a Tevinter bodyguard-slave after he is abandoned by his magister. Kmeme prompt fill.

Pairings: Fenris/Non-Warden F!Tabris

Disclaimer: I do not own, I just borrow. All hail Bioware.

Warnings: Mature language and themes.

Chapter One

Dazed and groggy, Fenris awoke to the cooling sensation of a damp cloth being patted against his forehead. His skin felt unlike his own: hot and flushed with fever, yet cool with the chills. Fist tightly balled the thin linen sheet that covered him as a shiver wrecked through his body. It caused a searing hot pain to shoot up his side. Startled by his growl, Kallian rushed over to the bed stand table where a small bottle of anesthesia lay. She quickly poured a generous amount on a clean cloth and pressed it into the gash at Fenris' side in an effort to ward off infection and agony. Despite this, Fenris shrieked even louder at the touch of cloth to his wound. Heat spread from the injury deep into his flesh.

"There, there," a soft voice from above him cooed. "It hurts initially but it will stop soon…"

And as promised, the salve's more soothing effects set in shortly after easing the pain in his side to something more bearable. Cool even, slightly tingling. Relieved but wrought with exhaustion, Fenris drifted back into sleep, slipping in between Fade dreams and memories. His mouth was dry and throat choked up. Words lingered at the tip of his tongue but he was unable to make any out. Instead, he allowed the strange elven woman tend to him, packing his wound with poultice and wetting his lips with cubes of ice.

Though memories were still murky; images, bits, and pieces of what happened flashed through Fenris' mind as slumber took its grasp on him. The turn of events so unreal, he began questioning which were tangible and what was dream.

"Leave them. I can always buy more!"

"Murderous witch. Fucking cunt! I hope you rot at the bottom of the sea, 'Mistress!' You deserve to sleep with the fish!"

For such a small elf, she had the loudest voice he'd ever heard and she was using it to yell at the graying female magister standing next to Danarius. The mage merely laughed, flippantly toying with her hair as she ignored the spitfire elf yelling from the docks.

"I'll be glad to be rid of that one. Lousy cook, lousy housekeep. The ones from Ferelden are certainly the laziest and most useless."

She then turned to Danarius, proudly proclaiming, "Trick is to catch them young. That way you can beat the defiance out of them." Fenris could feel the muscles of his face form a frown against his will. He didn't like this woman, not in the least but he was in no position nor did he have the authority to protest.

Danarius did not notice his bodyguard's face of disapproval, merely chuckling at the comment the mage matriarch made. He placed a possessive hand on Fenris' shoulder as their line onto the ship moved up slowly. Once it was their turn to board, they were halted by the captain of the ship. He curtly explained, "Knife-ears will cost three times the passage fee." All around him Fenris heard people grumble.

What an outrageous tax. No wonder the spitfire was screaming herself hoarse. Was the captain blind or did he not notice an impending Qunari attack that would strike at any moment now?

The new development caught his master by surprise, causing him to take several moments to contemplate the next course of action. His face was unreadable as he considered how much gold his 'little wolf' was worth. Eventually several jeers from the other passengers waiting to board caused him to make it up quickly.

"Leave him. We'll come back for him later," Danarius commanded.

"But… is that wise?" Hadrianna never questioned her magister before. It would've been unwise to be defiant since her livelihood and wellbeing depended on him. However, Fenris had a feeling her concern for him had little to do with his welfare and all the more to do with his utility and her fondness to torment him. He bit back a sneer at her comment, flinching ever so slightly to her touch as she pleaded with Danarius to take him aboard.

The senior mage shot his novice a pointed look, speaking more firmly and sternly in a quiet whisper audibly declaring, "Leave him." His decision was final.

Knowing she had overstepped her bounds, Hadrianna let go of Fenris and boarded the ship leaving them behind in the crowd of impatient people. Now left alone, Danarius grabbed a hold of his slave, dragging him away from the prying eyes and eavesdropping ears of the ship's captain. The burly pirate simply crossed his arms and continued ushering in the wealthy and magically gifted magisters onto his vessel.

"Behave yourself. I'll be back for you," he warned, adding with a wicked grin, "Promise."

With that Danarius left, abandoning Fenris on the docks. Now, for the first time in his life as a slave, he was truly alone with no master in sight to dictate his actions or feelings. Could he survive until Danarius returned? The thought was terrifying as he made his way through the crowd and off the boarding plank towards the docks.

As the ships filled to beyond capacity, panicked elves and humans alike swarmed the docks screaming and pleading for passage on anyone's departing ships. No cries were louder than the fair-haired pixie Fenris had witnessed moments earlier yelling at her mistress. Her voice resonated above all, shaming any mage or human boarding the ferries. They had condemned their loyal servants and slaves to death by Qunari armed forces. Despite her efforts, nobody paid any mind except for Fenris, who found amusement in her cries.

One by one, each ship was loaded with those who could afford it, leaving the poor and enslaved behind. Fenris watched with a blank stare as his master set off without him, feeling both the twinge of abandonment as well as the slightest glimmer of hope. Dare he believe it? Could he possibly be free? For now at least. The shrill screams around him spoke volumes, shaking him from his thoughts. He looked around at the chaos surrounding him.

The Qunari were approaching.

Thundering roars meant they had probably already breached the city of Alam's walls. He observed the turmoil in silence. Those who'd been left behind were more frantic than ever, resorting to shoving and pushing to find other means of escape. Some even dared to jump into the chilly waters, swimming after the departing ships for the smallest chance of clinging onto its side the whole way to Minrathous.

The foulmouthed elf who'd been yelling earlier stood still in her spot, visibly shaking with anger as the last vessel set sail. Her blonde hair frazzled, skin flushed pink, and eyes darkened with rage. She was wrath personified and yet she had a composure about her that was uncharacteristic of the panicked townsfolk around them.

With everyone scurrying about, it was only Fenris and Kallian left at the docks, ignoring the shoves and screams. When the ships disappeared from the horizon, she ceased yelling and let her fists fall to her sides. Moments later they turned heads, catching each other's gaze. Olive eyes met hazel ones for the briefest moment before a flash of light startled them both.

There was silence. Everything was blurry. Everything was muted. A Qunari catapult hurled an explosive powder-filled lead cannon their way. Fenris felt himself drawn to her, rather, thrown towards her in the combustion of the explosion.

The weight of his armor sat heavy on her chest and the spikes that adorned his breastplate stabbed into her, but Kallian was relatively unscathed from the attack. Fenris, on the other hand, was unlucky for the second time that day. A piece of shrapnel had pierced his side, which he initially hadn't noticed until he lifted himself up off her. The last thing he remembered was her soot covered face before the blood loss caused his vision to blur and fade into darkness.

Awoken for the second time, the conflicting smells of food and dank mildew filled Fenris' nostrils. He could faintly make out the feminine voice from earlier humming a melody but his head pounded and eyelids felt too heavy to open. Instead, he relied on his other senses to determine where he was. 'Why?' was a question to be saved for a later time. Whoever his savior or captor was, they were definitely female and young. He needed to gather as much information as he could from his senses before plotting his course of action.

Their voice sounded close and familiar, which meant the space was probably a small one. The smell of mildew and musk meant it was probably old or abandoned, or both.

Fenris shifted his attention over to feel of fabric on his bare torso. This meant his armor must have been removed. He suddenly felt very uneasy; the desire for escape growing by the minute. A tentative hand slowly reached out from underneath the covers searching around his nearby surroundings. His fingers soon found a dead end hitting the wall the cot was propped against. This meant his weapon was probably out of reach too.

Vishante.

Panic started to set in but Fenris bit his inner cheek to quiet himself. He needed a plan of action quickly, running scenarios and ideas through his head as he remained still on his back feigning sleep.

When the humming stopped, Fenris strained his ears to hear for more movement. A crackle meant a hearth was being tended to, but the dying sound of something boiling meant a pan or pot had been removed from its direct flames. He could vaguely tell whoever this person was had moved the container onto a flat table surface, and some rustling indicated she'd shifted across the room towards him.

Through the thin skin of his eyelids, Fenris could see that this person was now hovering over him. She unraveled a generous length of linen, uncorked a small bottle, and poured its foul, spicy smelling liquid onto a separate cloth. Her hand slipped off his sheet and reached for his side as she'd done several times already these past few days (unknown to Fenris). Only this time he was conscious for it and she did not know.

A voice screamed Fenris' head. She's going to poison me!

Using his quick reflexes, Fenris grabbed hold of Kallian's extended arm with his hand, and twisted the woman till she was on the floor bent over and on her knees. He bolted upright into a sitting position, victorious in subduing her but suddenly wrecked with pain at his side. She yelped simultaneously as he did.

Somehow, for all his keen senses Fenris let the stitched and bandaged gash in his side go completely unnoticed. His free hand immediately went to it, holding the bleeding wound as he keeled over in his little cot.

"Let me up you brute," Kallian fumed from the floor. "This isn't how you treat someone after they save your life."

A/N: Reposting from Kmeme with spelling and gramatical corrections.