Kestrel

Full version in my twitter: https://x.com/exi1212465/status/1832878592281198825?s=61

kirkwall gang: Awwww-

fenris: And I tell myself "If I can deal with these idiots, then I can deal with anything."

“You dumbass. Don’t do that. Ever again.”

@dadrunkwriting

Fenris knew how to take a hit. He understood intimately how to brace not just for an impact but through it, how force distributed itself through the less than forgiving form of a body.

Unfortunately, the math didn't always work out in his favor.

The mercenary was a beast of a man and hit like a hammer on an anvil, knocking Fenris off his feet hard enough that it took him several seconds to land and when he did, all the breath went out of him in a rush.

The air around him crackled as he wheezed, eyes water, chest on fire. He'd definitely broken at least one rib and the pain was sending his brain into a spiraling frenzy.

Around him, or above him really, the fighting continued as he remembered how to breath, and realized that he could not feel the fingers of his sword arm. He risked a glance, cursing at the odd angle of his arm, the misshapen line of his collarbone. Oh he had calculated quite poorly indeed.

But Hawke had been pinned down by another merc with a pair of short blades, and Anders hadn't seen the giant coming until too late, raising the hammer in a blow that would cracked his skull.

A shill shrike was followed but the crackle of fire and panting breath, the stillness that came from waiting for the other shoe to drop. And Fenris, for his part, lay there and took an inventory of his hurts.

Hawke was beside him in an instant, peeling his eyes open. He pushed at her hand, she flicked his ear. Then Anders was there, dropping his knees, hissing between his teeth and he carefully shifted Fenris's tingling arm.

“You dumbass. Don’t do that. Ever again," he groused, half under his breath, knowing from experience it was futile.