Adrian wasn't sure what she expected from an evening with a legendary figure, but she hadn't expected it to be so... comfortable. Not that she had the opportunity to spend much time being courted, it didn't feel all that different from nights spent chatting with Rhys. It was a little awkward at first, but she'd seen to that herself with her earlier forward behavior.

She found herself apologizing for it before he stopped her. She was glad he stopped her, just for the sake of honesty; she really wasn't very sorry. Not that she was a paragon of truthfulness, but she would be a bald faced liar to say she didn't want him, just sitting there across the table being devastatingly masculine. The Warden blue tunic he'd chosen instead of his usual armor made her want to stare at his eyes and the streaks of silver that threaded though his shoulder length black hair. Hair like that just begged to be touched.

She knew he was quite a bit older than she; she didn't even remember the end of the occupation of Ferelden. She did remember hearing stories about it as she grew up, especially once she came to the White Spire and there was more time for stories in the dark of the dormitories. Loghain was a man when he became the Hero of River Dane, a young man certainly, but still a man.

But Loghain was aging well. He showed his years in the lines around his eyes and a particular gauntness to his cheeks, but it didn't diminish him. She found the planes and valleys of his face fascinating. She had heard Grey Wardens usually died young, but perhaps that was just a tale?

His reticent manner made her feel more at ease than she expected it would. She found herself relaying the tale of her adventure with Rhys and Wynne, of course leaving out some of the more specific details. She didn't want this to end before it had even started. She wasn't sorry for what she'd done, but she knew it wasn't exactly a polite conversation topic. Interestingly, it never really occurred to her that he would have known Wynne, despite knowing they both were connected to the Hero of Ferelden.

Adrian had been enraptured by the entire idea that Wynne had known the Hero, The Warden; it was odd that her mind had separated Loghain from the same story. She'd gone all misty talking with Wynne about it. Of course. she'd been far more into her cups that night than this one. Maybe it was by design, or maybe it was only that she knew Loghain's part in the tale through half truths and rumors. It would be good to know the real story. A mage saving Thedas from the Blight might be a good banner to fly in the face of the Warden Commander.

"Enchanter Wynne," Loghain didn't sound entirely pleased at the feel of her name in his mouth. "We did not see eye to eye, though in the end she stopped glaring at me and certainly did an admirable job at healing us after the destruction of the Archdemon. She will be missed for her skills at healing, if not for her sharp tongue."

Adrian felt entirely out of her depth, despite her mind trying to find a way to use this to her advantage in her eventual political machinations. The Archdemon. Loghain had seen things that made her own adventure look like a vacation to the seashore.

"What was it like? And what was she like, the Hero of Ferelden?" she couldn't help but ask but immediately regretted it when she saw the almost imperceptible twitch in Loghain's jaw. Maybe that was a sore spot?

"The Hero of Ferelden," he repeated, his voice just a shade more than a sigh. "She was, is, a rare woman though I have not seen her in many years. I have never known anyone quite like her." The expression on his face made Adrian rethink which of the tales she'd heard was the truth.

"I...maybe I shouldn't ask," she said, knowing she was going to ask anyway. "But I have heard tales where she was your lover. I can't help but wonder if that is true."

Loghain raised an eyebrow at her. "I didn't expect you'd be interested in hearing about previous...entanglements. Women rarely do."

"Well, I'm not like that," she admitted. "Besides, I don't see why any of this has to be so complicated. We are both adults and we both have larger goals. I've made the mistake of...letting feelings get in the way of my goals before and I don't intend on doing that again. You don't have to hide anything in an attempt to protect me."

Maker, that sounded cold. But Rhys had taught her more than one thing about feelings. He taught her she had no idea what love was and even more importantly that she had no desire to find out. This man was intriguing; she was enjoying his company, the sound of his voice, even the way he smelled like leather and oil and steel, so there was no harm in his company. As long as she remembered to protect herself, that was.

Loghain looked unconvinced. "I'm hardly a man to go spout off about such things and to be frank my dear, I don't know that I can trust you just yet."

"Fair enough." She couldn't fault that logic. "Another time perhaps, when I've earned your trust?"

"I assume that means you intend for a repeat of tonight's performance?" he asked as if he was unsure, or maybe if he was testing her. Adrian wasn't sure what to make of it.

"I didn't know the play was over," she said, a jeu de mots that she found so enjoyable. "I was hoping there was a second act."

He raised his eyebrow again. She liked that expression and hoped she could get him to repeat it. "I have nowhere else to be, though perhaps we can choose a more...benign subject to discuss. Like darkspawn or your war."

"My war?" she laughed. "I suppose it is in a way, though I must also confess I don't trust you well enough to explain my part in its inception." How would you tell someone how you euthanized a man and framed someone else for the deed...and still manage to bed him? Adrian was fairly certain it wasn't possible.

"Then we are even," he said. "And I find that agreeable." Loghain quickly downed the dregs of his wine, gesturing at her to do the same. She followed suit without even thinking about it. He seemed the type of man used to being followed, and until recently, Adrian was used to following. It was probably a habit she should break.

"So maybe instead of taking the chance at more inappropriate conversation," he continued. "We should do an appropriate activity instead. Perhaps a walk in the warmth of the evening?"

Adrian tittered. "How fitting," she said. "The gallant knight and the moonlight. I might just swoon."

She hoped sarcasm wouldn't turn him off.

It didn't.

Instead, he stood and offered her his arm. "My lady?"

"My Lord...wait," she paused. "In Ferelden, you were a Teyrn, that is what it is called, yes?"

He nodded, "Yes, but I am no longer a nobleman, if that's what you are asking."

"No, no," she waved his denial away. "Don't ruin my moment." She smiled and curtsied. "Your...Grace? That is the right term?"

Loghain shook his head, but indulged her. "Yes, it is, though I haven't heard it in years."

"It is a nice title," she said, wrapping her fingers around his arm as he lead her towards the door. "You are actually very graceful, for such a big man. It suits you."

He looked down at her and seemed both puzzled and pleased at her compliment. He nodded at her, a common gesture for him, though this one was tempered by an amused half smile.

"Thank you, my lady," he said in a mockery of the most formal of speech. "You are too kind."

The streets of Montsimmard were like any other in Orlais, if a bit cleaner and more well kept than the average. The presence of the mages and Wardens did much to keep the streets safe at night. So instead of thugs and other rabble, the streets were quiet. It was later, far later than he'd realized with the moon high up in the sky casting a pale pallor over the buildings. There were a few oil lamps that lined the streets, but not so many that it chased away the shadows.

Loghain was surprised he'd spent as much time with Adrian as he had. He had expected to talk himself out of this by now. Not that she was unpleasant company, but if he was to be honest with himself, he primarily agreed to their meeting with entirely impure motivations. She was a lovely and curvaceous little thing who gave the impression she would be enthusiastic about everything she applied herself to. He was rather thinking she might apply herself to him, and put a dent in this unbelievably distracting Grey Warden appetite of his.

It bothered him that he was considering using her like that, but she seemed so matter of fact about the idea, no more emotionally involved than any whore...Maker, that was not helping matters any. She wasn't a whore, she was a First Enchanter of the Circle of Magi. She was...she was at the very least not here to take his coin and amuse him at his request.

Adrian seemed to notice his internal turmoil or at least his extended silence. She gripped his arm a little tighter and looked up at him as they turned a corner and slipped into a narrow passage between two buildings.

"Are you well?" she asked. Her voice had the softest lilt to it, a less pronounced accent than many in Orlais. It didn't bother him; in fact he found he actually enjoyed listening to her speak. It was a good thing, she had a lot to say.

"Yes," he overcame his discomfort and managed to look at her for a moment. He realized he didn't know what color her eyes were and couldn't tell in wan moonlight with only the distant flicker of the lamp on the corner behind them. "Though I'm afraid I am not as good company as I had intended."

"I think," she said, not missing a beat, "For all that I do not know you yet, I think that you think too much."

Loghain snorted. "That would be an accurate assessment. I am not particularly good...," he waved his hand, gesturing at nothing. "...at this sort of thing."

"At which?" she said, her mouth twisting a little. It made the faint shadow of a dimple appear next to her mouth. "I did not intend for this to be anything that required too much thinking." She stopped and slid her arm out from under his, leaning herself against a stack of crates under the eves of the building. Loghain stopped as well, turning back to look at her. Her face was shadowed, as was his own.

"If I have offended you in some way," she continued. She looked like she was going to say something further but shook her head instead. "I'm not particularly known for my tact. I just thought...well, never mind what I thought."

He shook his own head in reply, feeling a different soft of guilt. She was blaming herself for his reluctance, and it wasn't fair. He didn't plan on insulting her.

"No, no," he said quickly. "You have most certainly not offended me. You have been nothing but kind. I am just unaccustomed to..."

"To being seduced?" He couldn't tell if she was smiling, but her tone made it sound as if she was. "I find that hard to believe. A handsome man like you, with such a dashing life story? It seems unlikely you spend any time alone you do not wish to."

Loghain couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Perhaps that would be true if I was a more...approachable person. But I have cultivated my reputation of being difficult and unpleasant so carefully I am rarely bothered." It was true, truer than he was used to admitting to. The shadows always made him willing to say things he would normally not say. "And I am indeed difficult and opinionated, so it is a good deal like the truth, though even I must admit I am less of a bear than I let on."

The Deep Roads, the wood between Denerim and Amaranthine . It was becoming a habit, speaking to beautiful women in the dark where he couldn't quite see them. Not that this was anything like those moments. Those were moments of consummating feelings he'd hidden for a long time. This was something far less complicated, yet here he was persisting on making it more difficult than it had to be.

"Why don't you want anyone to know you?" she asked him. It was a direct and honest question and one he wasn't entirely sure he had an answer for.

Instead of thinking too deeply about it, he shrugged. "It is just my way, I suppose. Maric was the charming one; I was ... I don't even know the right term, though I'm sure there are several pejoratives that would fit."

"You are very hard on yourself," she said as she boosted herself up to sit on the edge of the crate. "It seems so unnecessary." She paused thoughtfully for a moment, listening to the sound of a woman laughing somewhere down the street. It was followed by the punctuation of a door slamming shut and the laughter disappeared. "Let me ask you, Monsieur. Let me just come out and ask it," she said. "Do you find me attractive?"

"I may be old, but I have not gone blind," he said, maybe a little too quickly. "You are a uniquely beautiful woman. Any man who did not see that would be blind indeed." He elaborated more than usual, but why not say what he was thinking? How many times had he not told Rowan she was beautiful when she could have used to hear it?

"Not so old," she replied. "You really do not realize you are handsome, do you?" She laughed with a little sadness mixed in. "Perhaps it makes you more handsome to not know. Whether that is so or not, I find you quite handsome and I see no reason we should not indulge in a little pleasure amidst all the frustrations of our current situations." She held out her hand to him.

It was an offer, a simple offer of companionship that he was in dire need of. There was no denying he was attracted to her. There was something about her presence that appealed to him and thankfully nothing she'd said or done had done anything to dim that. Perhaps her stories and less than subtle innuendo only served enhance it a bit. She was not open, and Loghain was a good enough judge of character to detect that she was less than honest when it suited her. But that was...something that did not for a moment remind him of the women he'd spent so much time trying to forget.

There were parallels, but they were superficial. He still wrestled with this conscience, looking at her proffered hand and debating with himself. He'd never truly enjoyed a woman without his heart or his honor being all tied up in it before.

Loghain looked at Adrian. He could only see her outline and the glint of blue moonlight on her curls. She held her hand out still, like a lifeline for a moment of simple pleasure, and he'd had entirely too few pleasures, hadn't he?

He took her hand and let her pull him close. She reached up with her other hand and brushed it against the stubble on his cheek. It sent a shock of pleasure through him and he shivered.

"You don't let people touch you often, do you?" she asked, laying the palm of her hand against his face, the tips of her fingers behind the ridge of his jaw.

"No, I don't." It was merely a fact and one that didn't usually bother him except his body was reminding him vividly of all the places he'd like her to touch him instead.

"Let me remedy that." She pulled him forward and before he had another chance to think better of it, he let her kiss him. Her lips were soft and she tasted of wine and smelled faintly of vanilla and amber. His body reacted, his hand pressing into the small of her back and sliding her forward on the crate until it was only the pressure of his hand holding her up even with him.

He felt her teeth as she nipped at his lower lip, a breathy moan escaping from her.

"Mmm," her voice was a throaty purr. "Loghain."

He could only growl in reply, his need for this stealing his ability to respond. He ground himself against her, the edge of his hands scraping against the wood crate and they slid from her waist to the curve of her ass. She was too short, so he lifted her and her arms twined around his neck.

"I should," he finally panted against her neck, "I should just take you right here in this alley."

Adrian was breathless to reply and instead just squirmed against him.

"But it is too dark," he said, though he just rubbed himself against her again instead of stepping back. "I want to see you. I don't want to miss anything."

He saw the flash of her teeth as she smiled and her head fell back, giving him more access to the soft skin on her throat.

"I would enjoy that," she said as if she was having trouble finding enough air. "I have a feeling I will enjoy you however you choose to have me."

He laughed. Her brazen words, her naughty tone; he'd never had anything quite like her before.

"Let's find out, shall we?"