Chapter Text
She was going to run the son of a bitch through.
Cassandra’s teeth ached from clenching her jaw, hands balled into fists as she stalked towards the Singing Maiden. That dwarf had helped him, she just knew it. How could they do this? How? The very world was at stake, and they try something like this?! They were dead men, Andraste help her.
The door slammed against the wall when she threw it open, raising protests of the establishment’s owner, Flissa. Ignoring the woman, Cassandra stalked towards the meddlesome, infuriating dwarf sitting by the fire.
“Where is he?” she demanded, stopping short of grabbing the scoundrel by his ridiculous chest hair.
“Pretty sure you’ve got your pronouns mixed up there, Seeker.” Varric says flippantly, daring to grin in the face of her wroth “Hawke is definitely not a man, and, as I already told you: I don’t know where she is.”
“Where. Is. The Herald?” Cassandra snarls through clenched teeth, the leather of her gloves creaking with the strain of her clenched fists. That gets the dwarf’s attention. His smile drops, body straightening as he sits up in his chair.
“He’s missing? For how long? Where did you see him last?”
“Don’t act like you had no part in this, dwarf.” The Seeker spits, glaring down at him “Where did you hide him?”
“Now, now, Seeker.” Varric says, raising his hands placatingly “I only act like I’m all-capable. Last I saw, he was headed down to the lake to talk to Curly, he’s probably still down there.”
Cassandra was halfway to the door in an instant, her long stride forcing the dwarf to jog to keep up with her much longer gait.
“Sorry folks,” he says to his now disappointed audience “Can’t let a guy like our good Herald get skewered by an angry dragon-hunter, now can I?” Without waiting for their grumbled agreements, he hightailed it after Cassandra, hoping that Adaar hadn’t actually taken his advice to make a break for it.
--
Cullen had just ordered the recruits rotate partners when he heard Cassandra call. When he turned to look at her, he knew something was wrong.
She stalked towards him, glancing about as if she was looking for someone, before her expression darkened further.
“Did the Herald come through here?” she asked once she’d reached him.
“Of course.” Cullen replied with a nod “He’s right-“
When he turned to where he’d just seen the other man- speaking with Ser Lysette- he blinked in surprise at the empty space the Herald had occupied only moments ago. Lysette remained, apparently arguing with a knight-recruit, but the Vashoth was gone.
“He…he was just here.” Cullen said, his brow furrowing in confusion. Beside him, Cassandra growled, her mounting frustration setting him on edge.
“We must find him.” She declared “Does he think he can just wander off whenever he pleases?”
“The man is hardly a prisoner, Cassandra.” Cullen tells her “Not anymore, anyway. I’m sure he hasn’t gone far.”
“He’s probably hiding from the Seeker.” Varric chimes in as he manages to catch up to them “Any sane man would when she’s this pissed.”
“Nobody asked you, Varric!” Cassandra snarls, whirling around to glare at him “And I cannot expect you to understand how serious this is.”
“What are we talking about?” a familiar voice asked from just behind them. All three turned to see Adaar standing just behind them, a stack of papers tucked under one arm. He seemed completely oblivious to the Seeker’s fury, a dark brow raised in question as he looked innocently down at them.
“Ah, there you are.” Cullen says amiably “Lady Cassandra was just looking for you.”
“Oh, am I late for that meeting with Josephine?” Adaar asks, his eyes widening, perfectly deducing the reason Cassandra had gone to find him in the first place “I’m sorry, I was just getting these notes for Adan and had to step outside the village for a bit to find them. Here, I’ll drop them off on the way to the Chantry. Thanks for reminding me, Lady Cassandra.”
He immediately made for the gates, completely unaware of the uproar his brief disappearance had caused. The trio he’d left stood in a sort of stunned silence for a moment, unable to speak until Varric voiced the thought all three of them had been wondering.
“How did he get behind us like that?”