AUTHOR'S NOTE: I absolutely LOVED Dragon Age Origins! Especially Zevran since he was a flirt through the entire game. Then I started playing Dragon Age II and along comes Fenris….*gives a happy sigh* I swear I died and went to heaven when he came out of nowhere. I was upset though Dragon Age II made Zevran look ugly when he was absolutely gorgeous in Origins. Then a thought occurred to me, and I think no one has done it before….why not combine the two?

Life would be much easier if Nuncio had kept to his daydreams of glory. Continued on believing the former Crow Taliesin had been sent out to kill had died. Unfortunately for both Antivans, this was not the case. Once the Archdemon had been thwarted by the legendary Grey Warden word of a Crow gone rogue reached the Guild. So now, Nuncio was on his tail once again. Once more Zevran picked up dagger and great sword, dawned his armor, and fled to Kirkwall to seek refuge. There among the poverty stricken, refugees of the blight, and slaves passing from hand to hand he was quite positive he could hide.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Zevran flew through the caverns of Sudermount, coming to a close brush with death when he slid along a cliff edge trying to make if for the exit. His leather armor was streaked with dirt and blood, one of his braids had come undone and hair kept getting his face. His lungs burned drawing in breath before it was forcibly pounded from his body. He did not know the name of the tree like creature that had attacked him. What was it? A Varettal? He couldn't even pronounce the name of the accursed beast.

Glancing back doorway he had come from, Zevran heard this "Hawke" person coming after him. At first he had assumed, like his Warden, Hawke was there to help him. Without a second thought the assassin had dropped his guard and fought alongside Hawke. Often times getting slammed to the side or punched in the gut by the damn thing before managing to scramble away at the last second.

To be honest, the beast had done the most damage. The battle had gone one far longer than Zevran had anticipated. The Dalish Elves had told him to tread carefully when he decided to hide in the cave. When the battle was over, he had expected at the very least a "thank you" from Hawke. Instead, he had been told at arrow point to follow him timidly back to Nuncio to be turned in for gold. For a moment Zevran had stood there completely stunned by the announcement. Then he did what any rational person would.

Spat in the bastard's face.

"Braska." Zevran hissed his foot dangling for moment over the edge before he pulled his leg back. He tossed his head to get the hair out of his eyes as he listened for Hawke. It sounded as if they weren't far behind as he lurched to his feet and stumbled as he darted towards a secret entrance. He had made a mental lap of the entire cavern in case Nuncio had hired any bounty hunters to pursue him.

Zevran's escape route consisted of nothing more than a crack in the rock face. Set so far in the shadows one could walk right past it without ever knowing it was there. Most people would probably not even notice unless they knew it was there to begin with. Zevran had come across it by accident and for the last couple of weeks had been using it as a means to leave the cave. From time to time he made a point of leaving through the main entrance of the cave to accept supplies of food and clothes from the Dalish.

Lying flat on his belly in the dirt, Zevran pushed himself into the small opening. No one would be able to see from the thick foliage unless Hawke suddenly decided to have a bonfire to drive out any other unwanted critters ready to bite his head off. Just as he managed to pull his boots into the opening, Zevran heard Hawke begin talking to companions again.

"I saw him run into here. Maybe he's hiding?" Said a young voice. A girl, by the sound of it. She sounded innocent and naïve to Zevran, someone you would want to tell the whole world was made up of nothing but clouds and kittens. He tried not to laugh at the absurdity of the idea, since Howl had given him the same impression.

"Sure. We'll probably find him crouched in a tree ready to pounce on us from above. Hope he doesn't have wings." Replied a deep voice which Zevran recognized with a sneer. Some damn dwarf who seemed to be under the impression naming his weapon Bianca would give it power. It had been the same dwarf who had pointed that damn crossbow as Hawke told him he was taking him in. Only by ducking behind Hawke had he managed to elude the arrow aimed at him.

"You don't really think he has wings, does he? Then he wouldn't be an elf at all." The girl replied, actually sounding worried. Zevran smirked despite himself since she sounded so cute. As he crawled through the dirt towards the glimmer of light in the dark, he remembered the first words he had ever exchanged with Howl.

When he awoke, Zevran was surprised to know he was alive. Equally so he was shocked to see a curious face peering down at his own. Light blue eyes hidden by spectacles pushed up the bridge of his nose. The robes of a mage clothed a slim frame and even sagged a bit in some places. What, to Zevran's astonishment appeared to be a…was that a tree branch? On the mage's back. His hair was black and pulled back into a tight braid, a few wisps of hair having escaped and touching his cheeks.

"Howl, I wouldn't recommend being so close to our would-be-killer. He probably has a trick or two up his sleeve, even tied up as he is." Said a stern looking woman, lingering near the mage. She also sported what appeared to be a tree branch strapped to her back. In front of Zevran the mage turned his head to reply to the woman.

"He's tied up, isn't he? If he tries anything, I'll toss him into the river." The mage said with such certainty Zevran felt laughter bubble out from his mouth. It escaped him unexpectedly, because he couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so easily. The mage's head whipped back, eyes widening in astonishment. His ears were long and pointed. Aw, so an elven mage. How quaint.

"You might want to take her advice, I may just jump you when you least expect it." Zevran teased the mage, who face was no more than a few foot away from his. As he was talking to the mage Zevran was already working a hand loose, planning on whipping his hand around and driving a hidden blade he kept in his sleeve into the young mage's neck.

"So you really were trying to kill me?" The mage asked. Zevran froze, staring at him in disbelief. Was this young elf for real? Did he not realize how many people cursed the title Grey Warden?

"Of course." Zevran said bluntly, seeing no way to charm his way out of this situation. At least, nothing that came to mind. To his surprise the Warden's face crumbled, the corners of his eyes tearing up.

"Why do you hate me so much?" The mage asked, a sob caught in his throat. Zevran was completely shocked, he had no idea what to say. Did the Warden truly expect a truthful answer?

"I don't hate you. I took a contract." Zevran said, his voice softening automatically to soothe the mage. A surprised expression crossed the other elf's face before his features softened. A small smile played over the mage's face as he straightened up. And thus, Zevran became acquainted with the mage Howl.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't think there are a lot of Zevran/Fenris pairings out there. But if you think about their personalities, they actually balance each other out. Review if I should continue the story or toss it away!