„Maker!“, Finn growled and glared at the boy in front of him who had just bitten his bloody hand, “That’s it, little bugger, do this shit yourself.”

With that the tall man stormed off to his friend, leaving the boy to rot.

“Finlay…”, Anders said dunning, “Get back there.”

“No way!”, the tall blonde answered with rage, “He hurt his leg? Fine with me. He comes to your little clinic to be healed, still fine. But he biting me while I’m trying to help him is a reason to kick him out, send him flying. Now!”

“No!”, Anders replied harshly and shook his head, “Here, mix the ointment, I’ll take care of him.”

“Whatever floats your boat…”, Finn mumbled and shot the boy an angry glance…and that bugger had the nerve to stick his tongue out. He snarled in rage, but then scoffed and let Anders deal with him.

A few minutes later, the boy was all fine again and Anders plopped down onto a pallet right next to Finn who said with a crooked grin: “You do know that this idiot you just patched up is out there, doing errands for the Coterie? And that he’ll be back in two days? Tops. Just like last week? And the week before?”

“Yes…”, his friend mumbled tiredly and hid his face in his hands before he looked up at Finn and asked: “Is the ointment ready?”

“In a second.”, Finn replied. Maker, how he hated medicine, healing and all those little preparations Anders had always loved so much.

“Let me see our last guest for tonight off, will ya?”, he offered and Anders was about to interrupt, but Finn had already turned around. He loved to hand this guy his ointments.

“There we go, Messere.”, he said overly cheerful and bothering him on purpose, “Put it onto all the spots that are red and itchy. Well, you know the deal.”

Smiling brightly, he handed the little pot over to Seneschal Bran, one of the richer patients they had here.

“Thank you.”, the man spoke through gritted teeth, but Finn smiled nonetheless and waved good bye. As Bran had left the clinic, Finn burst out into laughter: “Will that idiot ever learn to keep his hands off the whores in the Rose?”

“Shush!”, Anders sternly told him, “He is a good patient.”

Finn scoffed: “You only say that because he pays you for your ointments.”

As a response Anders grinned: “Indeed. And quite generously so.”

Now the two smiled at each other for a moment, but then Finn said: “So? Let me tease him a bit. We may need his donations to run the clinic, but you know he ain’t gonna go to any other healer in the whole stinking pit that is Kirkwall. He’d lose face if he did. And if he sold us out to the tinmen, we’d make sure that everyone in this city knows of his proclivity for floosies of the Rose, so he won’t.”

“Still no reason to risk losing his affiance.”, Anders told him off, but Finn only snorted and accused him with a grin: “You’re no fun since you left Kinloch hold.”

“And you were wiser once…”, the healer replied while sorting through his stored ingredients, not even looking at him, so Finn chuckled and said: “You really think so? My friend, you’re overworked if you don’t even remember me properly.”

Anders chuckled, but Finn kept teasing, “No, honestly, you’re overworked…and underfucked.”

“Finn!”, Anders hissed at him which made him laugh for a moment, but then he said: “What? I remember you directing these very words at a templar at the age of sweet fourteen. And not any templar, no, Knight-Commander Greagoir, no less.”

Anders rolled his eyes, but that did not stop Finn: “So, there’s gotta be a girl for you. Or a guy, why not? What about Isabela, that pirate girl you told me about? Or Hawke?”

“No.”, Anders quickly said and this made Finn raise an eyebrow in a question he then asked: “Do you mean “no” as in “no way I’m gonna fuck one of them” or as in “don’t tell me what I already know I wanna do”, hmm?”

“Finlay!”, Anders snapped and Finn raised his hands in defence, backing down with a grin: “Alright, alright, don’t scorch me, Justice, I am already oh so afraid of you!”

Anders sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, mumbling curses under his breath. But to be honest, Finn was bored. So he plopped down onto the makeshift bed his friend from way back was sitting on and after this had startled him, he said: “But really, can you introduce me to Hawke or that pirate girl?”

Anders grimaced and shook his head, so Finn groaned: “Anders! The last time I got laid was…I don’t even remember! Which is far too long! My loins won’t take that nonsense for much longer. So if you don’t want me to ravish you in the middle of the night, I have to get out of here and find someone to spend time with, if you get my drift.”

“You’re free to go wherever you like.”, Anders replied and Finn laid back, rested his back against the wall and pouted: “Yeah…but where should I go? Maker’s balls…I didn’t flee the Circle to rot down here.”

“Welcome to my life.”, Anders grinned bitterly and the two of them exchanged glances before they laughed. But then Finn scratched his chin covered in his blonde beard and muttered: “Seriously, Anders, we have to do something. Those tinmen have always been stupid, but right now, they’re getting brazen. They’re not just abusive assholes anymore, their degree of bitchiness is through the roof of the Gallows. I’m actually surprised the Maker hasn’t seen it himself by now and struck them with lightning or such shit…Well if He ever cared for us mages at all.”

He grinned, but in fact, Finn was worried. Their situation was getting more and more gloomy.

“What about your Champion of Kirkwall?”, he asked abruptly and looked at Anders who scolded: “Hawke’s not my Champion.”

“If you say so…”, Finn shrugged merrily and added, “But taking everything together this Champion has already done, why not add “free all mages of entire Thedas” to the list?”

“Believe me, I’m trying…”, came the response in a deep sigh, “But if I don’t succeed in convincing Hawke, I need another plan.”

“We need another plan.”, Finn corrected, “And I think you’re already hatching one in that sick little mind of yours.”

“Sick?”, Anders indignantly asked and Finn laughed: “Hey, with all the crazy things you once came up with in bed the whole Tower was convinced you’re disturbed.”

Anders snorted which only made his friend grin wider. That was until the door to the clinic opened unexpectedly.

They both jumped to their feet, ready to fight, especially Finn as he hated healing spells, but Force and Fire was his. As soon as four armoured peopled entered the room, Anders’s stance fell and he whispered in concern: “Hawke…is everything alright?”

So this was Hawke…? Finn curiously raised an eyebrow and watched.