// @ser-pounce-a-mage for this prompt
âYouâre safe. The battle is over.â
Hands on his chest, on his hair. Metal. Gauntlets. Soldier. Knight. Templar. Lips on his forehead. Cullen. Safe.
âH-H⊠How did we win?â His throat hurt, every breath felt like a thousand needles. His head hurt, the world was spinning even though his eyes were still closed. It all hurt, everything was pressing him down. Armour.
More hands, softer, naked, on his throat. Pressing. Stopping. Feeling? His pulse, maybe.
âWe didnât.â Cullenâs voice. Safe. Home. So tired. So tiredâŠ. Sleep.
âCullen!â He woke with a gasp, trying to sit up. But the hand holding him down wasnât Cullenâs, it was Andersâ. Anders who was smiling down at him, gently pushing him back down onto the⊠what was he lying on? â  He looked around, and realised they were in Andersâ clinic. âCullen?â He repeated, and Andersâ smile widened a little before the mage leaned over and kissed his forehead. âCullen is fine, Carver. Heâs stayed back at the Gallows, organizing what is left of Templars and mages. I should be there, helping, but⊠he made me promise to stay with you, love. He was worried about your head wound.
Head wound? Carver closed his eyes, trying to remember. He remembered being knocked over by one of the statues, and yes, hitting his head. And then⊠some blurry memory of⊠âHe said I was safe⊠and that⊠we lost?â He blinked up at his boyfriend, into a smile now turned sad. âThere are no winners in this fightâ Anders murmured. âCountless have died. Countless innocents have died. But Meredith is dead now, and everyone knows.â He took a deep breath and sat up, holding himself prouder again. âEveryone knows it can not go on like this.â
Carver reached out with a weak hand, gently squeezing Andersâ thigh. âIt was not Justiceâ, he murmured. âIt was Vengeance.â He swallowed and looked away. âAnd yet, an act of Vengeance might be needed to reassert Justice at some pointâŠâ He blinked and sighed, still feeling too woozy to think about such things.
âYouâll need to make amends for this, Anders. Pay for this. Make it better again.â The mage just nodded, looking solemn.
âI know. As soon as Cullen is back, I will leave. Gather up stray mages, take them⊠somewhere. Heal, teach. Try to make the world a better places. Where mages are not feared.â
Carver nodded and slowly sat up, trying to hide his wince. âGood. Weâll come with you. Let them see that mages are not to be feared, and that Templars should not treat mages like they do. Let us thow them a better world. And maybe, we can still win this fight.â