#t sten

 "You are a politician in a city where politicians would have me publicly executed for daring to set foot outside the filthy, over-crowded compound they have confined my kind to." 

Sten's tone was stern, an edge to it Elissa hadn't heard before, but she wouldn't back down. "I am a politician in-as-much as you are a horned demon who plans to rape and skin me in my bed." She watched as he continued to pace the length of the small holding cell, a muscle in his jaw flicking with a frantic energy he could not seem to contain. "I am the same woman you met that night in the alley, the same that you have shared drinks and conversation with beyond then; I simply have a title now and--"

"You always had the title. You are not the same." There was no venom in his tone, but the qunari's eyes flashed, silencing her for a moment and forcing her to reconsider her words. "The Qun teaches there is only one path. You attempted to diverge but that divergence was a lie. You fool no one."

Elissa nodded, calmly folding her hands atop the ledge in front of the glass panel that separated her from the interior of his cell. "Perhaps you are right. I tried to run from this path, but clearly I am meant to be on it. However, what I am does not change who I am. I am an ally to you, Sten. I am your friend."

"Friend." He snorted at the term. "Your kind uses that term frivolously. It is meaningless."

"Why are you so void bent on believing I don't care what happens to you?" Elissa couldn't keep the emotion from lacing into her words. The time she'd been given was winding down and she doubted even she could have it extended. "There are strings I can pull. Let me pull them. I can do it without asking you but I know you wouldn't approve so I am begging you, please let me help."

He stopped, glancing sideways at her through the bars. 

"If you have faith in nothing else, have faith in me. You know me. You do." She placed her hand, palm flat against the glass. His eyes flicked down briefly to where her elegant script relayed a pointed message in a language few outside of his culture would understand, but his expression did not otherwise change.

"By the bloody void!" Elissa hissed, barely resisting the urge to punch the door in frustration. She'd been working at picking open this lock for nearly twenty minutes and though she'd damaged one of her tools irreparably in the process, she'd made absolutely no progress on getting it open. It was jammed, end of story. She was going to have to find another way into the building if she had any hope of retrieving the files that her employers required.

Pushing to her feet she tucked away what remained of her lock-picking kit, lamenting the loss of the pieces she'd soon have to replace and scanning the side of the building in the dim light of the Lowtown alley. There was a high door that could be accessed via a fire escape, but the landing looked as though a stiff breeze would detach it from the building and the door itself appeared to have rusted shut so she could not gain access there. The only other choice was a low window, though breaking or removing glass was always risky as it was a telltale sign that someone who was not supposed to be there had entered the building. 

With a sigh she resolved herself to her adjusted plan, dragging the most secure looking crate from a stack nearby over so that she could get a better angle and pulling the glass cutter she'd carried out of the pouch on her hip. A few moments later and she'd pulled away a circle of glass large enough that she could reach through and up to unlock the window, tucked away her tools, and slid it open. Taking one last glance around her, she slid inside... or tried to. Right about hip level all forward motion stopped.