Work Text:
Art by ithinkitsdashing/ismiledsadly
When Varric returned to Kirkwall, he put it off. The city needed to be rebuilt. The city needed to heal. They may have placed a fancy coronet on his head, but he managed to orchestrate these changes from his former suite at the Hanged Man.
He had to frequent Hightown because of his station. He lingered in Lowtown because it was home. He found he kept making excuses not to visit Darktown.
He wasn’t ready to see the empty husk of the clinic. He had paid well to keep it out of trouble for years, but there was no longer a mage there to keep it running. Not a mage… the mage.
Varric’s footsteps felt heavy as he walked up the last staircase. He wasn’t sure what exactly he expected..but it certainly wasn’t this.
The doors, usually barred shut or slightly ajar for refugees in need, were wide open to the streets of Darktown. Hanging from the entryway was a large lantern with a blue flame that burned bright over a couple of elven children as they skipped out, holding hands.
When Varric stood in the doorway, he was blown away by the sheer amount of people inside. Several mages walked among the cots, openly tending to the patients inside. Friends and family of the ill shared food, laughter, cats-
Cats. There were cats everywhere: sitting on patients’ laps, running across the floor, rolling underfoot. He watched a yellow tabby prance along the clinic towards a small, shallow trough of what must be food just for the felines.
Varric shook his head and slipped among the people. The area that the mage once claimed as his own was now walled off. A familiar face guarded the door.
Lirene grinned as she caught Varric’s gaze and waved him over. He shook his head and laughed as he took the merchant’s hand in greeting.
“Maker, Lirene. What happened here?”
The woman’s face lit up with a smile.
“Anders happened. We honor him here. Everything he did for Kirkwall, for the mages, for the refugees, for the cats,” she paused to scritch at the ear of a black cat sitting on the desk beside her.
“We opened the doors after the battle, some mages stayed behind and helped us heal ‘like Anders would have done.’ Then the refugees started coming back, donated all they had. Someone found his coat and staff left behind in the Amell Estate…so we walled off his room and placed them inside… People come by to thank him for everything he did for them, when no one else would.”
Varric’s chest tightened at the fact that even though he was one the run, Anders was still healing Kirkwall. Even before Varric was able to put Hightown and Lowtown back to rights, the inhabitants of Darktown took care of their own.
“And the cats?”
Lirene shrugged. “A lot of the residents noticed Anders tried to attract the cats to the clinic with food. Now that they don’t have to hunt down cats to feed themselves, the little beasts started coming here on their own. Donations started including food for them as well.”
She opened the door behind her and motioned for Varric to go in.
Inside, two staves were mounted to the floor. One just a basic staff that held up the mage’s coat, the other staff was topped with the golden visage of Andraste. All around were small candles, each one lit emitted a soft blue glow. A woman holding a small child kneeled before them. Varric couldn’t hear that words she spoke, but the sniffling and small sob echoed in the silence.
He knelt beside her once she stopped her prayer. “Did you know Anders?”
Her tear-streaked face turned to his voice.
“The Healer of Darktown saved my life by helping me out of the Gallows. Saved my daughter’s life by delivering her when I had nowhere else to go. I thank the Maker every day…the least I can do is return the favor. I heal in his stead.”
Varric noticed a small bauble that hung from her neck. A small cat’s face inlaid with blue stones for eyes.
“The Healer, Rebel of Kirkwall, Patron Saint of Darktown’s cats. It doesn’t matter what name you use down here. He gave us justice. He gave us hope.”
That night, Varric sent off a letter to Hawke.
H-
Tell Blondie he still has a home in Kirkwall, he just might have to share it with a few more roommates.
V.
(A small cat necklace is enclosed)