Do not judge
Sten watched his kadan, her swings were inaccurate, her dodges less-than-perfect, her trademark sidesteps were nonexistent. In three minutes, he had her disarmed and pinned. Her consequently panicked movements beneath him were astonishing. Her concentration was indeed lacking, he noted as he lifted himself off her and she, in turn, scrambled hurriedly to her feet.
"What is bothering you?" They walked away from the training yard, away from curious gazes and into the forest, before trailing along the beach. This was a secluded enough area where they could converse without the Qun bearing on their every action. Sometimes, Sten preferred the relative freedom he had felt in that dog-land.
The woman sighed, perching on a granite boulder that had been weathered away by the sea.
"Promise you won't laugh." Silence greeted her words. Sten had never found it necessary to portray mirth in that manner. It seemed that even his kadan knew this, for she corrected herself after a few short moments. "Oh right. Promise you won't think any less of me."
"I will… try my utmost not to judge." He sighed. That was all he could promise. An odd choice of words—what did his opinion matter in her affairs?
"Do you think you would be able to wrench yourself free if you were chained?"
Sten considered this. A truly strange question—idle, at best. Perhaps Kiera was thinking about potential Tevinter prisoners on the island. There was no chance of that. The magisters rarely took qunari as prisoners, even less so kossiths. "Yes. Our strength is quite formidable."
"Yes… as is your— bulk." The kadan paused shortly, before continuing. "Any implements I should have at hand? If say, one would want to… distract a kossith. I remember you saying something about a heated iron bar to Morrigan." Her face was turned outwards to the sea, preventing Sten from seeing her face. He did not understand her sudden mention of the swamp witch. That was a subject he cared very little for.
He sighed heavily. "Where is this going?"
A long pause, before the kadan spoke again, her words tumbling out in a rush. "The qunari act— I—I want to know allaboutit."
"Why the curiosity?" He evaded her question. This was not a proper topic for discussion. Especially not with the kadan.
"Well I—I might like to try it… maybe." She seemed defeated, slouching as she peered at the sand beneath their feet.
Sten was not amused. The Qun did not approve of relations of the physical sort, except in the case of breeding. There was no other purpose to be derived from the act. Unless… the kadan was considering a conversion to the Qun. But that too, seemed equally unlikely.
"Forget I said anything." She muttered from next to him; she now huddled up, tense, brows furrowed. These people were unfathomable. There should be no cause for such a discussion. Unless…
"You wish for a demonstration?" This was uttered with no small amount of shock, and just a tinge of horror. The kadan's muteness spoke for her.
Sten thought furiously as ominous thoughts flooded his mind— it was not completely impossible.
I hope it's still funny? It's 2 am here and I just had to write it. Please review if you liked it! Do let me know if you have any ideas :D