serannas | Clan Ashara, assemble!

"The outside isn't very kind to mages, it's true," he said, giving her a small, sympathetic smile. He had relaxed, at her words. It was enough, that at least they all didn't hate him. That some of them understood. That was enough.

His smile widened, however, despite his thoughts, and he said, "Well, if you ever need an accomplice to sneak away, at least you know who to come to."

Ellana laughed, wishing she could, even for just a few days. But she couldn't disappoint their Keeper like that. She'd been so good to keep Ellana around, even though she was third in line for future Keeper. She could have been sent to another clan, but after losing her parents, Keeper Deheune thought the girl had suffered enough trauma. And Ellana had no wish to lose the woman's favor.

"I'll bear it in mind. Was Orzammar the last place you visited before returning here?"

Gavin shook his head.

"No. I stopped by Kirkwall, on my way back - for a hot half minute. Took the entirety of two seconds to realise that it was one of the most dangerous places I've been in a while. Besides - I was out of anything worth trading, which is always a sign that it's time to come home."

"Oh, I'm glad you left quickly! Isn't that where all the trouble started a few years ago with the mages and the Templars? I wouldn't want to be in that city, even if I wasn't a mage." As it is, she felt relieved that Gavin hadn't come across any trouble there.

"So you didn't bring any trinkets back?" She tried not to sound too disappointed there.

That brought a twinkle to his eye, and a grin to his lips. "Now, now. When have I ever failed you?" He asked. A rhetorical question, of course, considering that he failed his clan basically every day, but that was beside the point. He tilted his head as he padded down his pockets for a moment, and then:

"Ahh, here it is." He pulled out a very small package from his pocket - a perfect, delicate comb, of some kind of opalescent white stone. He stepped over a few rocks and held it out to her. "Will this suffice for my toll?" He teased.

Her eyes widened and she carefully took the comb from him, holding it tightly so she didn't drop it in the water. In fact, she stepped out of the center of the stream and to the shore to be doubly safe before holding it up to examine it.

"It's beautiful!" Her fingers ran down the teeth of the comb, marveling at how it was so perfectly constructed, not like their crude combs of animal bone. She would never have called their own crude, of course. The crafter worked hard, and even carved patterns into the combs. But this one shone in the light and the teeth were so small! "I love it. Thank you, Gavin. Where did you get it?"

He followed her, hopping between stones and nearly slipping on one - falling face first into the water would have been perfect - but he managed to reach the shore without incident. He grinned, leaning in to watch her check it over.

"Good, I'd hoped you like it. I met a trader - a someone down on his luck man from Orlais, trying to get to Tevinter and getting hopelessly lost. I guided him back to Starkhaven and he thanked me with this, and a rather tasty meal."

And a very interesting night, but that was not really a story to tell to the clan.

Clan Ashara, assemble!

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