CASSANDRA PENTAGHAST + GARRETT HAWKE
HAWKE GETS DRAWN IN BY AN ANOMALY & CASSANDRA PULLS HIM BACK
G | COMPLETE
Hawke had always been a little reckless, but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew when to stay back. When to approach a situation with some care. Under no circumstances would he have any reason to keep walking toward the yellow anomaly in front of him. Not after what they’d already seen with the druffalo cousin and the short-legged little dragon beasts. (Crocodiles, someone had called them? Fantastic name. He’d be a fan of those things from now on to be sure.)
There was no rational reason for him to keep walking, eyes squinted and hand outstretched, and yet, here he was. Something called to him. And he felt powerless to refuse. He wondered if this was what mages felt when they were about to be possessed.
Despite everything that Cassandra had heard, seen and thought about Garrett Hawke, she knew him to be a competent fighter. A team player, able to keep himself and others safe to the best of his abilities. When things like these anomalies happened, Hawke knew to stick with his team and not just wander off without warning anybody or bringing cover. And yet, Cassandra had seen him peel off of the team’s path on his own, with not a word to the Lieutenant or anyone else. So, she told the others to stay alert and followed him. There was a yellow ‘breach’ in the horizon that Hawke seemed intent on going near.
“Hawke.” She called, rushing after him. “What are you doing? Where do you think you’re going?”
“Uh, I’m not entirely sure, Seeker, just--bear with me…” Hawke warred with his own body, but there was no stopping the drive to reach right for the anomaly. He expected it murder him on the spot somehow or take over his body at the very least, but instead he found his hand came to rest on the face of a large elk. Starled, Hawke froze with wide eyes and breath held. In the depths of the creatures strange gaze, he saw an image.
“There’s something, I can see something in its eyes. A symbol...I don’t--” Having no clue what the symbol was or what it meant, Hawke frowned at the creature and tried to step a little closer.
“I don’t think I will!” Cassandra replied as she moved faster to finally catch up with Hawke. “Put your hand down right now.”
But it was too late. They were too close to the anomaly, and Hawke had rested his hand on something. A nose. An elk’s nose. Cassandra almost froze when Hawke did, afeared that it might bite him. Hawke, meanwhile, was making very little sense; she tried to look at the elk and see whatever Hawke claimed to be looking at, but nothing was there. She shook her head, and, impatient, tugged on Hawke’s shoulder and pulled him away from the anomaly before something worse befell him. As she did, the elk stepped back away as well; in a few short seconds, the anomaly was closed, Hawke’s outstretched hand still millimeters from where it closed.
Cassandra huffed, livid, and let go of Hawke’s shoulder a little too violently. “Are you out of your mind?! That thing could have closed on you. On your hand! Or worse, who knows what is over there, Hawke?!”
Hawke felt like his strings were cut as the elk disappeared. His breath came back in a rush, before he even realized he’d been holding it. Taking a step back, he shrugged off Cassandra’s grip at the same time as she released him and rubbed a hand roughly over his face.
“Maker’s balls, ease up Cassandra. I wasn’t in control.” He wished he had a bucket full of cold water to dunk his head in. He settled for pulling a flask out of his pack and taking three long swigs of whiskey. “Fuck me, that was not alright. Like I was under compulsion. And I have no idea what that thing was trying to show me, but I suppose I could try and sketch later.” When his legs didn’t feel like jelly.
“I don’t see how I’m supposed to ease up after all that’s been happening, including your involuntary procession up to and who knows how much further into an anomaly!” Cassandra protested, looking back to where the breach had been. She focused on getting her heartbeat back on track, running a hand through her hair. “I am sorry but you gave me quite a scare.”
Cassandra motioned for a toppled over tree stump where Hawke could sit down. “Sit for a moment, you look rather unwell.”
“Gave myself quite a scare.” Hawke didn’t stand on ceremony much. Pretending he was fine might’ve happened if the situation were dire, but since things were quiet for the moment, he sank down onto the stump with a grunt and put his head in his hands.
“I know Atlantis is fond of taking our will away from us, but I thought this whole mission business would be a chance to get away from that for a spell,” he mumbled grouchily. The physical effects seemed to be wearing off fast at least. He cracked his neck as he sat up straight again. “Sorry. For scaring you. Did you see the same thing? An elk?”
Cassandra huffed humorlessly. She had no doubt this lack of self control was even worse than what Atlantis sprung on them often enough, it usually could be fought off and was harmless; this however had not seemed harmless or easily fought. She moved to stand nearer to Hawke, but did not speak for a moment. “Apparently not, I’m sorry to say. You might have had better luck at home.”
Shaking her head Cassandra crossed her arms. “Don’t apologize for that. It was not your doing. I did see the elk; but you mentioned seeing something in its eyes? I did not.”
He glanced sideways at her. It was still a bit of a surprise to be somewhat friends with the Seeker that had snatched up Varric and made demands, trying to track Hawke down. But there was no denying it at this point. Her stiff brand of concern made him smile up at her, one eye closed.
“Well, at least I didn’t imagine the rest. I’ll find something to sketch out that symbol. If I don’t do it fast, it’ll slip right back out again.” Hawke tapped the side of his head. “It’s a messy stable up there and somebody’s left the gate open,” he joked, moving his bag around from his back to dig for a notepad.
The Seeker herself was no less surprised by every interpersonal relationship she’d found herself in since coming to Atlantis, but given how this all had started years ago she was just as thankful. It was much easier for her to make enemies. She chuckled lightly as Hawke described the mess of his mind.
“Good idea. There is no doubt it will be vital to us eventually.” Cassandra agreed, checking for danger as she walked a perimeter around Hawke while he was otherwise occupied. After one full round she stopped to tell their team leader what had transpired and that they would rejoin the party soon. “When you are done we should head back. Lest another strange rift opens.”
Hawke scribbled out the approximation of a symbol (a school logo, not that he knew what that even was). It probably wasn’t right, but hopefully it was close enough to give somebody a clue what to do with this information. If not, well five minutes wasted. He’d live.
“Alright, bossy,” he finally said, climbing to his feet and adjusting his pack with a grin. “Lead the way.”