Title: Sleepless
Fandom: Dragon Age
Rating: G
Length: 374 words
Content notes: No content warnings apply.
Author notes: Written for the ‘sleepless’ prompt in fan_flashworks  and inspired by a warm and humid night here.
Summary: Fenris finds it difficult to sleep through Kirkwall’s muggy nights.

The night is hot and sticky. Fenris peels himself off the sheets and goes to stand by the window. The breeze off the harbour cools the sweat on his skin, even if it does carry with it the acrid stench of Lowtown’s foundries. The smoke from the stacks rises even now, illuminated by the fires deep in their bellies.  Turning from the window, Fenris walks to the cold fireplace and takes the stoneware carafe from the mantelpiece. Tilting his head back, he pours the water straight from the jug into his mouth, but it is warm and flat and does not satisfy.

The clouds obscure the moons, but the muted light that makes its way through suggests that it is past 3am. Fenris rubs at his forehead and his eyes. He needs to get some sleep before Hawke arrives tomorrow, but how anyone could sleep on a night like this is beyond him. Back in Tevinter, Danarius’s windows were enchanted to cool the air as it passed, and sharing his bedchamber allowed Fenris to share the luxury. In Seheron, nights like this would be spent outside, sleeping under the stars, with a fresh breeze from the ocean cooling their beds. In Kirkwall, the city’s pavements and buildings absorbed the heat of the day and gave it back at night. The on-shore wind did little to help when it caught up smoke and steam and blew it towards Hightown.

Still – sleeping under the stars might be better than remaining confined within this oven of a room. Glancing at his bed, Fenris stripped the comforter and hoisted it over his shoulder. Moving to the window, he stepped through the casement onto the narrow ledge outside, and glanced up towards the roof. With a careful foot on the scrollwork that decorated the outside of the window, Fenris clambered up the side of the building and rolled onto the flat roof. Yes, it was better up here. The wind hit him more forcefully, and he could see over the other mansions down to the lights that dotted the harbour and the permanent glow that demarcated the Gallows. Settling himself onto the comforter, Fenris watched as the city slept and worked beneath him. And in time, he slept too.