FenHawke - Why The Champion Hates Swimming

Why The Champion Hates Swimming - Oneshot

Trigger Warning: Drugging, Nearly Drowning

In hindsight, Hawke probably should have seen this coming.

Mistake one. He was walking home from the Hanged Man after insisting he was sober enough to walk home with only the company of his mabari, Puppy. He was definitely far from sober.

Mistake two. He took back alleys that would make the trip home quicker. He always did, and he had never been hurt before. He usually had someone, namely Fenris, with him though. Fenris had stayed home tonight.

And mistake three, ignoring the clear warning signs from Puppy. The nervousness, the occasional growls and whimpers. Hawke figured the mabari was just jumpy since it was late. He was also drunk, so.

Hawke didn't even realize something was off until he felt someone quickly approach him from behind.

Hawke attempted to turn on them and cast a glyph to hold them in place, but before he could move he felt blinding pain on the side of his head. As the world faded to black and he began to fall, he saw Puppy take off in a run.

Good. At least he had some hope of making it out of this.

____

Fenris woke to the sound of scratching at his door. Immediately, he shot straight up and grabbed his sword. A quick glance out one of his windows confirmed it was early morning. Warily, he approached his front door, ready to attack at any moment. As soon as he opened the door, however, he was knocked down by something huge. Huge and familiar.

"Hawke's mabari?" he asked as the canine backed off of him. A quick check of his collar confirmed that this was, indeed, Hawke's mabari. But no Hawke. Fenris was struck with a chill down his spine at the implications of the mabari being here without his owner.

The mabari turned and ran off, and Fenris was quick to stand and follow, fear creeping up on him as he began to fear the worst. Hawke, bleeding out somewhere in the middle of the city, alone because Fenris had skipped one night of Wicked Grace.

It was early morning, and as such not many people were out and about yet. There were a few, however, to turn and watch Fenris strangely as he hurriedly chased after the mabari. The mabari stopped in the middle of an alley close to the Hanged Man and began to whimper, dropping to the ground mournfully. Hawke was nowhere in sight.

Fenris was beginning to think he had panicked for nothing when something caught his eye. A staff, carelessly tossed to the side, almost imperceptible where it lay against the wall, hidden in shadows. It was a familiar staff, one he saw nearly every day.

His blood ran cold as he slowly walked over to pick it up, scanning the area for other signs of a struggle. Upon careful inspection, there were small amounts of blood smeared on the ground, as well as scuff marks leading out of the alley. Fenris snarled at the sight and followed the scuff marks, but the trail cut off much too soon for his liking, leaving him standing near the docks. He let out a frustrated growl and began to pace.

Forming a plan, Fenris turned around and broke into a run towards the Hanged Man, with Puppy in tow. Hawke was missing. And Fenris would find him.

___

When Hawke woke up, he knew something was horribly wrong. Well, something other than the fact that he woke up in a warehouse he didn't recognize with a killer headache and a distinct wetness still caking the side of his head.

He was slow to wake, groggy with sleep and probably a concussion. He opened his eyes to blinding light, squeezing them shut again. It was a few minutes before he tried opening them again, blinking a few times to clear his vision. He was disoriented, everything in front of him swirling in a confusing mess of color. He was lying on his side, hands shackled behind him and his legs bound in rope. There was a gag in his mouth, one Hawke immediately wanted out so he could go wash out his mouth.