There are no puppy eyes.

"That seems to fit your stoic personality. But what if your charge gets taken and a note is left behind? How ever will you save them if you do know how to read?" She was making up ridiculous situations on purpose, but the fact remained that he needed to learn how to read. At this point she was well aware he didn’t trust her with it. Very well she’d just find something else to preoccupy herself with.

With her hands clasped behind her back she pointed to a cake that had beautiful white frosting and strawberries that circled around the exterior on both top and sides. The berries were ripe and a red that was nearly the same color of her eyes.

When the attendant sliced the cake for them she took her piece and turned to take a seat at the nearest table. “Ah I see, you really don’t trust me to teach you how to read.  I should take great offense to that but I will not as you do not know my countenance as well just yet.” Or maybe he did. Whichever, she waited to take a bite until he was seated.

             -- "No offense, Miss Baskerville, but do you truly expect me to trust you                  with something as vital as this? You have been -- friendly toward me.                  That much I can't deny. But I still feel as though I know nothing of your                  true nature." --

Fenris takes a sip of water, then cranes his neck to get a good look at the blush-colored sunset out the window. He speaks in that direction, rather than looking her in the eye.

                   -- "If you take offense, it's your pride that's been wounded, not mine.                        I was enslaved by humans. Humans are not the most trustworthy                        beings on my list. Besides that, I haven't known people to be very                        trustworthy at all. I'm far more accustomed to people hiding things                        behind their backs that they might prick you with later." --

Fenris gives Lacie a shrewd look then, furrowing his brow slightly.

             -- "So? What is it you're holding behind your back. I daresay                  you're withholding something. You think I'm childish, silly                  to refuse you. Perhaps you even think it has to do with your                  gender. Or mine. Humans are frequently preoccupied with                  such things." --

And people say she can’t be considerate.

«At least you didn’t blow somethin’ up or start a fight like some people do.»

«You’re obviously new around here, by the way you were talkin’ — I’m kinda curious… where’re you from? Izzit that bad there?»

        -- "Yes. It is really that bad." --

Well, that's not particularly truthful. Tevinter is bad. Terrible. Worse than anyplace Fenris has ever even heard of. But Ferelden...Ferelden isn't so bad. It has its problems, of course, but it's nothing held against Tevinter.

Daily Draw February - Day 23

Fenris companion card - Act1

"My name is Fenris. These men were Imperial bounty hunters seeking to recover a magister’s lost property, namely myself.”

It’s done! And it was so fast to work on, I still can’t believe it! Good news folks, I’m officially ready to take card commissions :D The new info should be up in a few days!

"It sounds as if you’re testing me. I’ll have you know that cake is very hard to steal. It becomes smashed and hardly ever worth it. No, I’ve stolen to survive." The expression she wore was playful with a smile. Oh but she only meant to tease.

        -- "I'm going to be a bodyguard, not a tutor. I doubt reading will be on             my list of duties." Fenris shrugs. "Besides, I've got friends who can             teach me. You're little more than a stranger. And a mischievous one             at that. How am I to know you won't teach me everything all wrong for             a laugh?" --

Of course, Fenris doesn't actually expect Lacie would do such a thing, but...he can't be too careful. 

As they arrive at the bakery, Fenris orders a slice of something plain and unassuming for himself, by pointing. He turns to Lacie, raises an eyebrow.

      So when yet another person approaches him he barely looks up from his book to acknowledge his presence, glancing at him long enough to acknowledge his presence.

      “Afraid so. But it isn’t so bad. And yourself?”

              -- "I am. But it's as you said. There's no harm in it, is there? No harm in                    making acquaintances, either. Friends, even." Play it cool, Fenris. No                      sense in overselling yourself. "Anyway...It's...nice, isn't it...? This tavern." --

Shit. He's flailing. Making friends has never been his strong suit; even now that he's been bitten by the bug of apparent courage and foolishness, he's hardly any better off than he's been in years before. Still, he's compelled to try, so he thinks hard about his conversation with the stranger, clears his throat, and blurts:

                       -- "My name is Fenris. I'm an elf from Tevinter. I can't read, I can't write,                           and my skin is marked with Lyrium. What about you...?" --

She lashes back immediately tit-for-tat, unblinking and unphased, conversations turn nasty sometimes. It’s the way it goes. But when Fenris starts glowing, that gives her pause and she takes a few shocked steps back.

It’s lyrium. Magey, but not on a mage. Weird.

Sera watches Fenris go through what looks like a fight with himself before he cools down. Watching with a mix of morbid curiosity and fear…until he starts talking again. Then she scowls.

"I was too busy trying not to starve and makin’ sure the Darkspawn weren’t picking any itty elf bits from their nasty teeth to do readin’ about Tevinter.  -and all they tell us about you is "everyone and their mum does blood magic”, but I didn’t accuse you of nothing like that anyway, just wanted to know how you - All sensible and here like - could walk through walls because it’s not sensible if you’re not a mage!”

She takes in a deep breath, and then her scowl turns back into a smile.

"Why did they even put that on you Lines? Your Magister afraid of the dark or something? Right funny, that is.  Anyways, I’m done with the fightin’ for today, just want to get things done now. You glow and you hate mages. I like both those things, so odds and ends away, I like you. Good for you, yeah? I won’t do no more touching and such, so let’s go get that train. Maybe you’ll stop being so cranky once you get a nap?"

Fenris follows silently for some many steps, watching the back of Sera's disheveled, straw-colored head. It occurs to him after a long bout of silence that she asked him a question. He clears his throat.

                 -- "My Magister gave me these lines because..." He thinks to lie, to tell her                      he did them against Fenris's will, but...he knows that's not true now. "I...                      asked him to. I...competed for them." It makes him feel sick, but there's                      no use in lying about them. Not to Sera, or himself. "I fought many other                      slaves for these. In exchange...the Magister freed my mother and sister." --

Fenris seethes privately, thinking about his sister. The waste. If he had known his sacrifice would result in her shackling herself to the Magisterium anyway...he wouldn't have bothered. He would have been spared the horrors of Danarius's company, his abuse. 

And then she refers to him as Hawke's Fenris, and Fenris feels a pulse of nerves.

It’s admittedly even more amusing when the boy, possibly a halfbreed, looks away and apologizes. Up close, however, Lor’themar can’t help but notice just how similar he looks, as if they could have been related.