The next day, Marian resumed the search for Feynriel. Since she and Anders had somehow managed to treat all the patients in the Darktown clinic early in the morning, he had ample time to help her with this task. Unfortunately, Merrill was feeling rather tired due to a lack of sleep and had to stay home to recuperate, which meant Marian had to choose someone else. Seeing as Aveline was busy with Guard-Captain training, Isabela was chasing her lead from the scroll she had recently gotten, and Carver and Sebastian were both nowhere to be found, that left Fenris, whom Marian knew wouldn't like the idea of giving a mage a chance at freedom. Still, she needed a full team to help discover where Feynriel might've disappeared to, so she asked him to come along anyway.

The moment she told Feynriel to seek refuge with the Dalish, however, a chill in the air told her that an argument between her and Fenris was going to spring up as soon as Anders and Varric left their company.

And she was right. As soon as Anders said goodnight and turned into Darktown, and Varric waved a jovial farewell as he sauntered back to the Hanged Man, Fenris stepped in front of Marian and exclaimed, "You let the mage go?"

She sighed and looked the elf over. He did not seem surprised by her decision, but his green eyes were narrowed with disapproval even so.

"Yes, I did," she declared, not sorry at all for her actions. She raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Feynriel is a teenager, and has much better self-control than many who exert magical gifts at a young age. I trust his ability to keep his magic in check whilst he undergoes training with the Dalish."

"The Circle could've done the same thing," returned Fenris. His voice was not hostile, but it was accusatory. "Why is the Circle so innately evil to you?"

"I don't think of it as evil. I think of it as unnecessary," Marian said coolly. She began walking towards Gamlen's shack, seeing as the sun was beginning to set and soon it wouldn't be safe outside. Fenris followed her. "I am not vehemently opposed to the Circle. In some extreme cases, it might actually be a helpful construct. For example, mages who cannot hone or master their powers on their own can go to the Circle and train. If some mages have abilities too powerful to leave unchecked, the Circle would be a good place for them to go. But for those of us that prove capable of training and mastering our powers elsewhere, why should we have to be imprisoned for all our lives?"

"All mages need training from the Circle to no longer be a threat to society."

"Do they? Look at me, Fenris. Do you forget that I, too, am a mage?"

The elf stopped in his tracks and looked at Marian with thinly veiled surprise. She met him with a saddened smile; if she didn't know any better, she would say that Fenris had forgotten about her magical aptitude.

Marian waved him on with a sigh. "My father taught my little sister Bethany and I all he knew about magic and how to control it. The three of us were careful; we only used our spells when in absolute need. We were never found by templars, we never went to the Circle. Would you say that we do not understand our powers?"

"You are different. But I never met your sister," Fenris answered. He kept his pace with her: his fists were balled at his sides, although his voice no longer had the sharp edge to it.

Marian turned away at the memory of her other sibling. Bethany would have been able to explain their viewpoint to Fenris—much better than she could, at any rate.

"I wish you could have," she murmured at last. Her throat was scratchy; she cleared it before continuing. "She should've made it to Kirkwall with us. But my point stands, Fenris. I am walking proof that mages don't need the Circle to learn how to keep their connection with the Fade at constant bay."

"What about less capable mages? What if demons plague their minds and turn them into abominations in the streets? What happens then?"

"That's what the Harrowing is for," Marian responded. "Every mage in the Circle completes a test of will within the Fade, in which they must face a demon in its own territory and kill it. And if they fail… they become Tranquil."

Fenris blinked, apparently taken back by this information. "How do you know that?"

"My father told us. He was in the Circle once. But after he passed his Harrowing, he decided he didn't want to be confined anymore. He wanted to have the freedom to go out and live his life... that's all most of us want." She said this last softly, thinking about how very different her life would've been had her father not taken such great pains to ensure she and Bethany would live free.

It was quiet for a moment as they each traversed the streets of Lowtown. There didn't seem to be many pickpockets about that evening: a small blessing. But Marian and Fenris both knew how dangerous the streets would become should the sun set and they were still caught outside.

Just before rounding the final corner leading to Gamlen's, Fenris broke the silence by asking, sounding more inquisitive than angry, "If what you wish for comes to pass, and not all mages are required to attend the Circle, how would they pass their Harrowing? How could we be sure they could withstand the demons?"

Marian sighed and ascended the stairs towards the door of her uncle's shack. Although she would've liked to continue talking to Fenris for a while still, never mind their differences, she knew she couldn't. Even with two capable warriors, the streets would be too dangerous to linger in.

She bit the inside of her lip and was about to say as much, but Fenris held up a hand and spoke again before she could. "Hawke. Why don't you come back to my mansion and we can talk? If I were to step foot inside your uncle's house, he would be… less than pleased."

"He's already less than pleased with the fact that I live there," grumbled Marian, although she allowed herself to laugh hopelessly afterward. She rather liked the idea that he had pitched, but there was still one problem. "I'd like that, but it would still be dangerous to return home later tonight."

"There are plenty of extra rooms, and I still have bottles of Aggregio left."

Marian gazed at the elf sideways, wondering if his offer was a serious one; the lightest of upturns to his lips suggested that he was. Deciding to take the leap of faith, she smiled. "All right, then. I'm sure it couldn't hurt."

Fenris's smile became significantly more genuine as he gestured for her to walk next to him. They hurried their pace due to the dying light—when they passed into Hightown, Fenris said, "You didn't answer my question."

"Which one?"

"About mages and their Harrowing. How would they pass it if they never went to the Circle?"

"Now that's… the hard part," Marian admitted, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "My answer is a bit biased, but it is that the Chantry continues to keep tabs on all mages born, and ensures that upon their eighteenth birthday, they send templars to escort the mage in question to the Circle to undergo the Harrowing. But of course there are many logistical problems with that."

"Like phylacteries. There would be no reliable way to obtain them in the first place. Not only that, but it would be near impossible to tell if a newborn has magical potential, wouldn't it?"

Marian nodded. "It is. It's typically discovered from ages six to ten. There are cases in which it's clear at a younger or older age, however. So that means the Chantry wouldn't be able to keep constant tabs on every mage—my solution would only be successful if mages are honestly aware of their own dangerous nature, and take the measures to protect themselves and others."

Fenris chuckled darkly and shook his head. "You are a good person, Hawke. Too good of one. You have not seen what I have seen. The only mages I've ever encountered, other than yourself, have been self-serving and malicious, willing to do whatever it took to gain power over others they deemed as lesser than themselves."

"But you arrived here from the Tevinter Imperium," she reminded him. "Outside of Chantry law."

"Look at the abomination you insist on keeping around," muttered Fenris, with no small amount of bitterness. "If he had the choice, he'd burn the world to the ground to secure his precious concept of freedom for all mages. How many others would attempt to do the same? And more importantly, how many of those freed mages would swear to wipe out templars, Chantry-folk, and innocent people as revenge for all they believe they've suffered?"

Marian sighed wearily—not at Fenris's concern, but at his viciousness towards Anders. When together, the two would always bicker. More often than not it was about mage rights, or the lack thereof. More than once, she had had to force one of them to walk on her left and the other on her right, if only to ensure they didn't start pulling at each other's hair.

Realizing that Fenris was waiting for an answer, she looked back at him, blue eyes shining in the dying dusk. "You raise a fair point. But that does not mean the concept of freedom in itself is wrong. Perhaps the best way to resolve the debate would be to compromise."

By this time, the two had reached the front door of Fenris's mansion; he stepped forward and opened the door, gesturing Marian inside. She grinned and walked indoors, wondering if the living conditions inside the mansion had improved.

They had not. Cobwebs still clung to the wall, books were strewn across the floor, furniture was still overturned. Marian couldn't help but laugh. "If you hadn't already told me you were staying, Fenris, I'd be worried that you were leaving!"

"What makes you say as much?" he asked, waving her inside the study. Once there, he pulled out a chair for her before sitting on another.

"Do you intend to live in this dismal place? It is yours now, after all. You could do whatever you like with it."

Fenris looked around and shrugged. "I like the darkness."

"Very well, then," she grinned, holding her hands in a jesting surrender. "But if you intend to continue hosting me as a houseguest, do try to exterminate the cobwebs and their residents. You know how spiders love me so."

He chuckled at that; the giant spiders in the caves they explored always managed to get some sort of webbing or blood in Marian's hair. With that smirk still on his face, Fenris said, "I can do that." Then, after grabbing two glasses and a bottle of wine off the table, he returned to the previous topic of conversation. "So, your compromise. What would you suggest?"

Marian hummed thoughtfully and tapped her fingers on the table. As much as she disliked the idea of going to the Circle, she knew that in order to appease people like Fenris who didn't trust the mages, it was necessary in some shape or form. And so, after a moment or two of thought, she asked, "What if mages were to attend the Circle until they pass their Harrowing? The phylacteries would still be intact, which means the Chantry could still keep tabs on mages, but that way there is still a promise of freedom for the mages after they've passed their Harrowing."

"Could we truly rely on phylacteries alone to catch any blood-mages that turn up once they're free?"

"Maybe not, but it is the best way to accommodate both sides."

Now it was Fenris's turn to think, although he still looked troubled. He gazed at Marian intently—were she not familiar with his serious personality, she would've found it alarming. As it was, she stared evenly back at him over the tip of her wine glass and waited.

At last, he sighed. "That's the best idea I've heard yet, but… I still cannot see it. I do not know if it would work, and I'm not sure I'd be willing to risk the safety of thousands to determine if it would."

Marian looked to the ground. She hadn't realized how badly she'd wished to convince him until after he'd relayed his verdict.

As it was, Fenris seemed to notice her somber reaction; he silently took the empty glass from her hands, refilled it, and pressed it back into her grasp. Marian smiled at his odd gentleness and raised it, declaring, "To you, Fenris. Thank you for having this conversation with me."

"And you, Hawke," he responded softly. It didn't take long for him to drain his second glass—Marian followed suit, figuring that if Fenris was offering, she might as well drink the damn wine.

Once her glass was empty, she leaned back in her chair and mused, "You know, Fenris, out of all of our companions, I would've never expected you to be the one willing to have a real conversation about this. Especially as we don't exactly see eye-to-eye."

"It is… insightful, to hear the ideas of the mages here as opposed to Tevinter," he returned, leaning forward and refilling their wine glasses once again. "Sometimes I forget that not all mages are the same."

"Hopefully I can continue to remind you."

Fenris pushed her wine glass back towards her; she grabbed it with a knowing grin. Feeling comfortable, she added, "You are a good man, Fenris. I would hate to have my being a mage drive a wedge in our friendship."

He smiled but looked away from her, which prompted Marian to blink and wonder if she'd said something wrong.

Her worries were answered when finally he said, though still without looking at her, "I would not want that either."

But the most worrisome thought of all had already entered Marian's head. Feeling a weight pressing on her chest, she blurted out, "Fenris… I must know. And you must answer honestly. If a templar were to knock on your door and ask to take me to the Circle, right now… what would you do?"

It was Fenris's turn to blink now, his green eyes wide in surprise. He leaned forward and looked directly at her as he answered, "I would not let him take you, Marian. I would fight for you."

Marian swallowed. She hadn't expected that answer at all. With a short nod and a newfound tightness in her throat, she murmured, "That means a lot, Fenris."

He leaned back again, seeming even more shocked by her response than by the question. "It does?"

She nodded, allowing herself to smile. "Yes. It does."