Everyone stared in awe as they eyed the now Rabbit Raven. It was clear from her ruby eyes and midnight fur where her parents had gotten her name from. That was the first thought everyone had as they looked her up and down.
"Amazing..." John muttered softly under his breath.
"Is that...your Beast Form?" Cassandra asked as she held John's hand. She had been known to love how Beast Forms worked despite not making one herself, as evident from her excited squeeze that caused John's hand to pop.
Raven shook her head and looked down to the floor. Her hands came up to tap her fingers together a bit, making her meek form look that much more adorable. "N-no...it just...me."
"Wait, you mean you were born like this?" Lilly blurted the question out, shocking everyone by how quick she wad.
Raven nodded as she held her arm up to Lilly, allowing her to touch her. "P-papa says...fake Forms feel strange...like fake fur."
Lilly hesitated a bit as she reached up to Raven's arm. After a few moments, she finally rubbed up the smaller girls arm to feel her fur. To her surprise, it felt like she was petting a short furred dog, making her blush in excitement.
Ethan sighed and rubbed his head while Sarah stepped forward to try and stop Lilly, but was a second to late. This time, Raven was surprised when Lilly wrapped her arms around her chest and pulled her in for a hug with a high pitched squeal.
It was well known that Lilly was a fan of animals, especially the soft ones. This not only confirmed everyone's beliefs in what Raven had said about this being her natural state, but also the fact that Lilly still desperately wanted a pet.
"By the Gods you are ADORABLE!" Lilly squealed happily as she rubbed her face against the top of Raven's head.
Raven herself was definitely in a state. They'd only met that day and thought that Lilly despised her the moment they had met. Now, this cautious girl was happily rubbing up against her. A mixture of confusion, a slight fear, and embarrassment filled Raven's head and caused her mind to shut down. In response, she gave Ethan a teary look for help.
Just as Ethan was about to calmly step in to help, Lilly got an interest in Raven's small tail and gently grabbed it. The sudden, intense feeling caused the smaller child to yelp and jump away from Lilly towards the wall she was facing. To everyone's surprise, she didn't crash into the wall. Instead, the child hopped a little to place her feet on the wall and turn to Ethan before jumping off of it and into his chest.
Had be been a second late, Ethan would've been sent flying into the wall behind him due to the surprising strength Raven suddenly showed. He instead used his Mana to steady himself and catch the poor girl in his arms with a chuckle.
"Sorry Raven, Lilly is especially weak to animals." Ethan apologized as he rubbed Raven's back. To everyone's disappointment, he gave a thumbs up to Lilly with his free hand, as he was an avid animal lover himself.
The cause of why they never got a pet suddenly walked up to Lilly and smacked her upside the head in a fit of rage. "Lilly Amber Emberwell, why are you scaring this poor girl like that?"
"S-sorry Mommy, but she's just so adorable, and that tail is so cute!" Lilly giggled as she rubbed the spot she was hit, already used to these kinds of hits.
John sighed a little as he shook his head while Cassandra rubbed his back. She knew he wanted a chance to hold Raven after seeing her Beast Form, but warned him against it and to take his sorrows out on their bunnies back home.
"Alright everyone, that's enough of that. As you can see Raven, we are alright with your form, so you have nothing to be wary of." Ethan chuckled softly as he slowly set Raven down onto her feet.
Though she was still a little meek, she nodded to him before looking around to the others for confirmation. All she saw were a mixture of warm and excited smiles. Though she liked how comfortable everyone was, she made a mental note to stay at arms length from Lilly from now on.
Walking to the doors, Raven placed her hand on the right door and looked back at Ethan. "Open...Papa said...Master of the Pheonix... help me."
A stunned silence fell over the large room as they all turned to Ethan. What a strange twist of fate it was, that the person this child had been waiting for was the same one she had saved.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Raven's ears lifted a little in surprise. Eyeing Ethan again, she pointed at him with a shaky hand. "Y-your...Flame Master? B-but...Papa said..."
Ethan nodded as he rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling embarrassed somehow. "Well, I've only been the Guildmaster for around 13 years now. When your father disappeared, he probably assumed my father would remain as the Guildmaster for much longer than he did."
The others around him gave their own smirks and chuckles at how embarrassed Ethan was. Though they wanted to explain, it was probably for the best that they enjoy the show the two performed. The mood was brought down though, as Raven's eyes drooped in a sudden sadness.
"Oh...so Uncle Will is..."
"N-no, my father is still alive. He's just- wait...did you say Uncle Will?" Ethan asked as a range of emotions caused him to be a little flustered.
Raven nodded as she pointed to the Pheonix mark. "Papa said...to call him Uncle because...he would be happy."
Sighs filled the room filled with disappointment. Will and Varric weren't related by blood, but they grew up together in the Guild. Even after 100 years, they both argued like little children whenever they came across each other. Everyone could already guess why he wanted Raven to call Will Uncle.
As the only one who didn't understand what was happening, Lilly instead took the opportunity to sneak behind Raven and wrap her arms around her neck. As she rested her chin on Raven's head, she stared at Ethan and gave a warm smile. "Well, since we have Dad here, you can open the door, right? Do you know what's inside?"
Though Raven wanted to struggle, she couldn't find the heart to shake Lilly off of her. Instead, she turned her head to look at the doors and nodded. "Papa said, keepsakes. Mama and Papa's stuffs."
Ethan nodded as he walked up to the door marked with the Pheonix and placed his hand on the cold metal. He then looked down to Raven and gave her a warm smile. "Alright. As long as you'll allow it, we can take everything inside back to the Guild."
Raven nodded before looking up to Lilly. A sad sigh left Lilly's lips as she reluctantly let go of Raven and walked to Sarah's side to let the two work.
Finally free to move, Raven placed her hand on the right door and closed her eyes. Ethan did the same and followed the shift in Mana that originated from Raven. While the two focused on opening the doors, Sarah sent a wisp of Mana to Lilly as she placed her hand on her daughters shoulder.
[Have you warmed up to her then?]
[Even if she wasn't Master Varric's daughter, you two would've still taken her in. Not only is she Dad's savior, but she's also a Guided. It only makes sense that you would. I'm worried though...] Lilly sighed as she rubbed her side a little.
[She seems to have warmed up to you a little at least. When Devin comes out of training, we will make sure to explain the situation before he does anything drastic.] Sarah reassured Lilly with a gentle squeeze.
[I still think it's best to train her as soon as possible. Not just because of Devin either. If word gets out that the top two had a kid...]
[We know. Ethan's already asked her how she wishes to use her powers in a fight.] Sarah swallowed at the thought of the dark future that could await that small child. All they can do now is prepare and protect her until she could stand on her own, like they have done with their own children.
As the two finished their conversation, the sound of old mechanisms arose around the room. After various shifts and clicks, the sound of something hitting both of the metal doors made everyone jump and raise their guard. Raven let out a yelp and fell back a few steps before falling onto her butt. As if waiting for this chance, Lilly ran up and wrapped an arm around Raven while gathering her Mana to form a shield around them.
Ethan was proud to see Lilly prioritize Raven so quickly. He was worried the child wouldn't be accepted, but found his feelings were misplaced. Turning to everyone, he raised his hand to let them know there was no danger, allowing them to drop their guard a little and watch the doors.
Slowly, the metal doors opened with a loud groan to reveal a large hallway standing a couple storys tall. The walls were covered with torches paced evenly, with the left being violet torches and the right being red ones. Once more, Ethan was confused about why this was the arrangement and turned to Raven with a cocked brow.
"Red is Papa, purple is Mama. Clashe...hide better." Raven spoke as she stood up and grabbed Lilly by the hand. "Mister, hold Sarah's hand. Other two...has to stay."
As Raven spoke, she circulated her Mana and sent it out to envelope Lilly. Ethan noticed what Raven meant and did the same for his wife as he turned to the other two.
"Guard the entrance. If anything happens, send word and we will come right out." Ethan ordered before following Raven who was walking inside with Lilly in tow.
The two nodded as they watched the others leave while feeling left out. After turning to each other, Cassandra went back up the stairs to make sure no one could come down just in case.
As soon as the four walked in, everyone felt a whirl of Mana bear down on them like a rough torrent. Raven could feel their unease and turned her head to look at them. "Mister, stay...left side. If you come here...the knights will strike."
As she spoke, there was a loud rumbling from either side of the group that caused them to turn towards it with their guard up. Ethan was shocked instead upon seeing the large plated statues shift a little before walking alongside them. They stood at least 4 meters tall with halberds clutched tightly in their hands.
Turning to his wife, he assured her there was nothing to worry about. These were commonly known as Guardians, crafted by Guided to protect their treasures from intruders. On the left ones chest was the Pheonix mark, while the right one seemed to have Althea's mark embedded into it. Even Ethan, who considered himself quite strong, knew they wouldn't stand a chance if they were to be attacked by them.
Instead, he continued forward to follow Raven towards the next set of doors at the end. Due to the torrent of Mana, it took them several minutes just to get here, but the torrent seemed to weaken as they got to the doors. Behind them, the torches went out one by one, releasing their Mana to allow the four to finally breathe properly.
Raven stopped a ways from the doors and simply stared at it. The rest of the group stopped as well and observed the metal doors. Unlike the ones previously, this one showed both the Pheonix and the Raven bowing their heads, as if welcoming the group.
After a few moments, the Guardians continued to the doors to stand on each side at attention. As the Mana finally disappated and turned them into statues, the doors slowly groaned open to show a small room inside.
Inside was only two torches hung on the back wall to light up the room. Unlike before, the red torch was on the left with the violet one on the right. Between them was a kite shield hung up on the wall that covered a spear and a bow.
Everyone besides Raven recognized them as the weapons used often by both Varric and Althea. Where Varric was a spear user, Althea wielded her bow in the same hand the shield was held. As most could only handle one weapon at a time, Althea mastered both impenetrable defense and devastating long range thanks to these weapons.
The harmonious display showed how close the two actually were, which made Ethan and Sarah more confused than before. How long had their love gone on? Could it have been before the war? What drove them into going so far as to fake their deaths at that battle?
As they asked themselves this question, Raven let go of Lillys hand and ran up to the wall with tears running down her face. Ethan figured it was safe now and let go of his wife's hand to slowly follow Raven.
The Rabbit child paid no attention to the weapons on the wall, but to the two books rested on short pedestals beneath the torches. The left one was marked with a red cover, while the right one was marked purple. Instead of the left one, Raven ran to the right one and grabbed it quickly to hold to her chest in a deep despair.
Over and over, Raven cried for her mother as she fell to her knees clutching the book. Deciding it was best to leave her to Lilly, who was already kneeling by Raven and holding her close, Ethan walked to the other book and placed his hand on the cover.
"The two must've cared for eachother deeply." Sarah spoke up as she walked up to Ethan, resting her hand on his back and looking down at the book.
Ethan nodded slowly as he opened the cover to read the first page. "To the Guildmaster of Pheonix. For you, I leave an apology, a request, and our most valuable treasure. I'm sure by now you believe that I have betrayed you, and perhaps at the time that was true. As an apology, I leave behind the culmination of my powers and how to use them properly in five separate types. As for my request, I beg of you as both the previous Guildmaster, and as a father. Please, protect our little Raven. Be her teacher, her guardians, and most importantly, her family where we could not. You may take the spear, but you must never take away the bow or shield from our little girl, much less the book she is probably holding by the time you are reading this. If you are the one reading this, Will, I beg you to hold no hostilities towards my child. Please, be her Uncle, as you were the greatest friend I could ever ask for. Signed, Varric Gallen Hawke."
Tears streamed from Ethans face as he finished reading. As much of a mess as he was, Sarah was in a worse state. Her head was already leaning into Ethan's shoulder as she sobbed uncontrollably. Yet, all Ethan could do was wrap his arm around her shoulders to let her cry into his chest while he tried to calm himself down.
Even Lilly, who knew nothing about Varric, couldn't help but sob a little as she held Raven. For a long while, the group fell into silent sobs under Raven's wails by the heirlooms left by the world's strongest, and most desperate lovers.