"Orianni!"

The sound of her name caused her to snap her head up. She had begun to zone out, staring down into the soft dirt below her, watching the worker ants live their busy lives. "Ir abelas, Keeper!" She blurted, knowing that it was easier to simply apologize rather than try to deny her disinterest.

"It is important that you pay attention, Da'len," Keeper Istimaethoriel scolded her. The woman was patient with her, but this lesson was beginning to drag for the both of them. Orianni was a good student for the most part, but for the few subjects that she was not interested in learning it was very difficult. At this point in her apprenticeship, she felt that she'd learned everything that she needed to know. She'd heard all the stories and sang all the songs, she would even help the clan's Hahren teach the children the lore of their people. She knew it was important and that it would one day be her responsibility to protect her clan but she was simply bored of the day's lessons. Orianni would have much rather been practicing herbalism or studying more about the Arcane arts. She hadn't realized it but the Keeper had picked up where she left off and was lecturing her once again. Orianni couldn't help but let her eyes glaze over, she was beginning to find herself lost in a daydream.

"...Orianni…" She'd heard her name again, but this time it was a quiet echo.

"Orianni, please!"

A second time had broken the spell and pulled her away from her daydream. The elf looked around quickly, attempting to regain her bearings. Suddenly it came back to her, realizing that she was in Josephine's office. She had been there all morning and after glancing out the nearby window it was easy for her to tell that she'd been there well into the afternoon. Orianni met Josephine's exhausted gaze. " Please," She repeated, pleading almost, "If we're going to have a more prominent presence in Orlais it's important that you learn the proper etiquette, especially when more nobles start taking notice."

"I'm sorry Josephine," Orianni sighed, genuinely apologetic about taking up so much of the diplomat's time. "I can only learn so much in a day," She explained, "There's so much to study it gets overwhelming."

"I can understand that," the Antivan woman noted, "Why don't we pick this up next week then," She sighed, "It'll give you some time and when you come back we'll practice the art of conversation."

Orianni smiled widely, relieved to finally be untied from any obligation for the rest of the day. "That's a great plan," She said, heading for the door. "I'll be in the Library if I'm needed." With that she had gone, nearly sprinting down the hallway. Although she was rushing she still offered Varric a greeting when she passed by him. Then she was through Solas' chamber and up the stairs, moving so quickly that by the time she'd reached the top of the staircase she hadn't seen Cullen, who was starting to walk down them and crashed into him. "Ir abalas! I'm sorry Commander," She said, still startled by the collision.

"It's okay," Cullen replied, a small chuckle followed. "I'm still in one piece, no harm done. But may I ask where you're headed in such a rush?"

Orianni smiled sheepishly, holding her arm at her side with the other. She glanced down before answering. "I just finished my 'how to be a human noble' lessons so I was hoping to come up here to read some of the literature we've accumulated."

"I don't blame you for running when you had the chance then," Cullen joked, he hated anything to do with nobles and royalty. "Well I'll… see you in the War room tomorrow then." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked off to the side before continuing his journey down the stairs.

"What was all that?" Dorian's voice had crept up behind her as she watched the stairs until Cullen was no longer in her sight. She had no way of really knowing how long he'd been standing there. "What do you mean?" She asked, in an attempt to be nonchalant.

"Oh for- Don't you play coy with me," He rebutted, "Honestly, could you be more smitten?"

Orianni could feel her face beginning to heat up and knew that there was no way to stop it now. It was true that since the day of the battle at Haven she'd found herself thinking of Cullen significantly more often, perhaps too often. However, her developing feelings for the man were accompanied by another, more stressful feeling: Shame. She knew that her clan would take issue with her infatuation with a human and even though they had no way of knowing about it, it still caused her great distress as no matter how hard she tried she couldn't easily bury these feelings for him. "I don't… I'd rather not speak of this now." She walked past him, straight toward a bookshelf by the window, pretending to browse the selection.

"Oh come now," Dorian complained, "It's much too boring around here, surely you want to talk to someone about it." His teasing resulted in a forced smile from her. Orianni knew what he was trying to do and it made her feel warm. She'd always watched her peers as they'd playfully tease one another, but since she was the Keeper's first she didn't have time to socialize with the others, she was always the odd one out. Admittedly she and Dorian had grown close after the incident at Redcliffe and she was grateful to have a friend in him. "Come on, you'll feel better after you talk about it," Dorian prodded, "What is it? Are you afraid that he wouldn't be interested?"

Orianni finally turned to face him, crossing her arms in the process. "It's nothing like that," She admitted, "It's just… Do you know what happens when a Dalish elf brings a human lover back to their clan?"

Dorian glanced upward, pondering the question only for a second. "No I can't say I do."

"Neither do I," Orianni sighed, "Because a true Dalish elf would never do that, it's considered a betrayal. Once the clan catches wind of the transgression the elf is no longer welcome back. They are denounced… Shunned by their family and everyone they've ever known." She looked down at her bare feet, feeling as though her emotions had debased her. "There is no use in pursuing this further, it would only humiliate my clan."

"Your Clan?" Dorian shook his head in disbelief. "My, am I glad I don't think the way you do."

Orianni looked up at him quizzically. "What?" The single word was all that she could think of as he'd thrown her off guard.

"I'm just saying," He mused, picking a book off the shelf behind her, "If I allowed my family to control me that way I'd be married by now." He shivered dramatically at the thought. "To a woman of all things. I'd be down right miserable." He looked at her smugly. "I just think you shouldn't keep yourself from something that could bring you happiness just because your family would have a hard time with it."

Orianni thought on his words for a long minute, she'd never considered her life without the standards and restraints that the Keeper and the Clan had set for her. The expectations that she carried had always weighed heavily, and having recently added the expectations of an 'Inquisitor' on top of that had exhausted her. She never thought of herself as her own person who could do whatever she wanted, she'd been raised to devote her life to everyone around her instead. "You make... an interesting point," She admitted, relaxing her defensive stance, "I have... a lot to think about."

Cullen had been invited to the tavern for drinks. Although he was weary, Varric had invited him every day for almost a week and he'd hoped that the dwarf would be less relentless if he actually came out. He stepped down onto the dirt path that led from the Hold's stairs to the tavern ahead of him, "Herald's Rest" was what they named it. He glanced to the side, noticing that the training grounds had been abandoned; It was normal for the yard to be cleared as soon as the sun went down though. When he reached the tavern he saw that there were many off duty soldiers inside, as well as several of Orianni's companions. The music was relatively loud, but the room was so packed he couldn't hear anything but the many conversations merging into one. He spotted Varric off at a corner table and made his way over quickly, not wanting to worry his men with his presence.

"You finally made it!" Varric laughed, waving him over with a drink in his hand. "And here I thought I was about to lose a bet." With his empty hand he motioned at the Qunari beside him, "Pay up Tiny." Iron Bull grumbled as he dropped a few coins into Varric's gloved hand. "Yes Cullen, come drink with us for once. I didn't think you were capable of anything other than working. Although… I wish you would've waited just one more day," Bull added.

Cullen sat down on the opposite side of the table and was quickly served by one of the barmaids. "Yes, well there's always work to be done around here. I'm glad that you two were able to find time to relax as well," He said sarcastically, knowing full well that they were there almost every night when they weren't out on field missions.

"Alright Curly, enough small talk," Varric said, shifting into more of a businessman's posture. The drastic shift immediately put Cullen on guard. He knew what was coming, even so, there was no way he could've been prepared. Varric smirked at Cullen's discomfort, there would be no avoiding the inevitable. "So... Are you going to continue to look at her with puppy eyes from afar, or are you going to actually do something?"

Cullen stared down into his stein, irritated that he'd been lured into a trap, he hated discussing his personal affairs. He should've known better. "I don't see how that's anyone's business but my own." He knew that there would be no point in lying, there was no refuting that his fascination with her had only grown after their conversation in the courtyard. Nonetheless, he was determined to deny the dwarf the satisfaction of talking about it.

"I don't blame him for being hesitant," Bull chimed in, waving to the barmaid to bring him another drink. "She's certainly a challenge."

Varric grinned sinisterly when he saw Cullen's head snap up, fully focusing on the Qunari. "What do you mean?" Cullen asked cautiously, feeling a fire beginning to build within him. "A challenge," He repeated.

"Yeah," Bull responded casually, leaning back in his chair. He had very little shame when it came to conversations like this. "There was some casual flirting here and there while out in the field, I figured she wanted to take a ride." Bull paused to slurp from his stein, ignoring the growing scowl on Cullen's face. "I mean, have you seen her? She's no red-head but her frame is so small, she seems incredibly light, I could easily just pick her up and-"

"I get it," Cullen seethed before the man could get to the graphic details about what exactly he would do to her.

"Don't get testy now Curly," Varric scolded him, holding back a laugh while he did so. Cullen hadn't realized it until then that his face had twisted into a glare. But he was disgusted by the idea of the Iron Bull violating her. She was innocent and pure in his eyes, and Bull had bastardized that image of her with his ramblings. He took a deep breath and tried to relax, not wanting to cause a scene or draw any unnecessary attention.

"Yeah, relax there commander," Bull added, "Doesn't matter anyway, when I offered to bed her, she declined," He said, seeming perplexed by the idea that she wasn't interested. Not really bothered but certainly confused as most elven women welcomed him into their beds. "I'm not usually wrong about these things… either way she's a great boss, just a strange woman."

Cullen found relief in the fact that she'd rejected Bull's advances at least. That knowledge made it much easier for him to settle.

"I think it's a Dalish thing," Varric concluded, not bothering to wait on Cullen to contribute to the conversation. "I knew the sweetest Dalish girl back in Kirkwall, but she was definitely a strange one." Bull noticed that his men were getting a little too rowdy on the other side of the room. He said his farewells and sauntered off toward his accompaniment, leaving just the two of them behind. "It might help you, y'know," Varric continued, wanting to improve the commander's confidence in this subject, "The Dalish thing I mean, she talks about it a lot, might be good to learn a thing or two."

"Thank you for the advice, Varric," Cullen said as he stood, his words were half-hearted. "I'll consider it... Why are you so intent on helping me anyway?"

"Oh I'm just a sucker for romance," Varric laughed, "Besides, watching people pine over one another gets tedious after a while."

"Right… Well, I must be on my way, have a good evening," Cullen said as he turned away. He'd only taken a few steps before Varric offered him one last remark. "She talks a lot about you as well, it'd be wise to seize the opportunity while it's still in front of you!"

Varric's words rang in his head as he stepped into the frigid night air. As much as he resented it, the dwarf was right in a way. He had to at least know how she felt about him, he may never forgive himself if he doesn't find out. If Varric was being genuine and she truly spoke often of him maybe there was something to act on. Cullen shook his head in disbelief, he knew that he was a relatively attractive individual but he was reluctant to believe that she would actually be interested in him like that.

However there was one thing that was eating at him. After listening to Bull's story he realized that he couldn't stand the idea of another man touching her in an intimate way. Everything was still very confusing to him. He'd always been able to keep complete control of his emotions but lately he felt as if he was coming undone. The walls he'd built around himself as protection were merely a hindrance now.

Cullen made his way back inside the Keep, passing through Solas' domain as he usually did to get to his office. This time however Cullen stopped short of the door, deciding to speak to the elf. Solas sat on the other side of the room, enveloped by the book in his hands. He hadn't noticed Cullen at first as he was used to the through traffic but he began to sense the Commander's presence lingering for much longer than usual. He finished the sentence he was reading then set down his book. "May I be of assistance?"

Cullen briefly hesitated, shifting his weight. "Maybe," He said thoughtfully, there was no harm in asking, "I was curious about the Dalish and I was wondering if you could answer a question for me."

"I myself am not Dalish but I'll help you to the best of my ability," Solas said, bemused by Cullen's sudden interest in the subject. "What were you looking to know?"

"Do the Dalish have any special traditions..?" Cullen asked, trailing off. He was beginning to feel ridiculous, embarrassed even for asking.

"In general?" Solas rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Too many I'd say."

Cullen rubbed the back of his neck. "Not like that", he said, "Like any… Courting traditions?"

A look of amusement came over Solas and he began to smirk. "Oh? That's oddly specific."

"Does that matter?" Cullen asked flatly, crossing his arms.

The smirk on Solas' face only grew. "No, I suppose not. The only thing that really comes to mind in that aspect is a tradition referred to as a 'Test of Worth'. You mostly see it with young hunters," Solas explained, "They woo their beloved by presenting her with something that they'd hunted and killed to prove to her that they could provide for a family. But ultimately a Test of Worth is just that, a test. It could really be anything so long as you prove that you're the best possible mate."

"I see… Thank you, Solas," Cullen said as he turned to leave for his office, unsure of what he could do with this new information.

"Anytime," Solas said, picking his book back up, opening to the page he'd left off on. "I'm happy to help."