Josephine stepped into the Skyhold gardens, gratefully breathing in the fresh air. She had spent the day closeted in her office, reviewing the trade agreements her negotiators had arranged with the Antivan merchant princes. The negotiators had done an exemplary job; there was nothing in the documents to concern her, which made the time spent poring over them seem even more of a waste. After a day like this, the chance to breathe the air and be among growing things was a welcome tonic.

She looked around the garden, automatically classifying faces as familiar or unfamiliar. She murmured greetings to Mother Giselle, who offered her a blessing in return, and the gardener, Elan, who simply gave an acknowledging nod. Among the shrubs by the gazebo, she spotted an elven woman she didn't recognize. She wore Dalish garb, and her face bore the blood writing of that people. Josephine tried to recall which elven god the symbols corresponded to, but couldn't place them.

Josephine remembered Leliana mentioning a Dalish emissary - the Keeper's First from Ralaferin Clan, who had come to aid the Inquisition. Relations with Ralaferin were potentially important to the Inquisition, since they were among the least isolationist of Dalish clans, willing to share Dalish lore with human scholars. Even if the First - Neria, that was her name - was here more to fight than to negotiate, she was a potentially important diplomatic link, and it was incumbent on Josephine to greet her.

Josephine walked over to Neria, mentally reciting the few words of the elven tongue that she knew. Neria appeared to take no notice of her until Josephine carefully pronounced, "Andaran atish'an."

Neria looked up at her, eyes narrowed. "Ne dirth?" she asked.

Josephine was struck by how young Neria looked. Could the elven emissary really be little more than a child? Putting the thought away, Josephine shook her head regretfully. "I'm afraid I've exhausted my knowledge of your language." She gave a charming smile to soften the words. "I'm Josephine Montilyet, chief diplomat of the Inquisition. I welcome you to Skyhold."

"So, the chief diplomat has learned two words of my tongue. Am I to be impressed?" Neria studied Josephine's face closely. "Or grateful, perhaps, that you make the effort?"

Josephine was startled. The few Dalish elves Josephine she previously encountered had invariably appreciated the gesture. Keeping her voice calm, she answered, "Nothing of the sort, I assure you. I wish only to welcome you as best I can."

"At the same time," Neria continued in disgust, appearing to disregard Josephine's words, "you and yours take for granted that I can speak your shemlen language."

Josephine considered several arch responses - Oh? You speak Antivan? or I thought Dalish primarily use the common tongue or It's a dwarven language, originally - and rejected all three as undiplomatic. "I'm sorry you've been made to feel that way. I imagine that the Inquisition is very different from what you're used to."

The elf gave a bitter laugh. "I doubt you can imagine. Shemlen everywhere with Andraste on their lips, but only wealth and drink on their minds. And nothing green and growing, but for these sad plantings." Her wave both took in the gardens and dismissed them as inadequate.

"Why did you come, then?" Josephine asked gently.

Neria looked down. "Because aravel walls can't keep the world out." The phrase sounded well-worn, long rehearsed and repeated, sincere but unenthusiastic. "Your Breach and your Inquisition will affect the People as well. Outsiders should know that we are lending a hand. And I am First. It was my duty to come, and my right."

Josephine kept her tone soft. "But it hasn't worked out as you expected?"

"I thought that it would be a chance to share my people's culture, that I could spread some understanding of our ways. But the shemlen here have no desire to listen. When I try to teach them, they cut me off or wander away." Neria raised her eyes and glowered. It was as if she was daring Josephine to comment on the frustration in her voice or the single tear lingering at a corner of her eye.

Josephine was sure that acknowledging her agitation would only anger her further. The comforting hand she felt the impulse to place Neria's shoulder would certainly be taken amiss. Instead, she said, "I would be glad to learn more of Dalish culture from you, Neria."

That won her a tight-lipped smile that was gone as quickly as it came, replaced with a scowl. "You don't need to humor me."

"I'm not," Josephine said patiently. "It's important for me to learn as much as I can about the different peoples of Thedas, and I enjoy it."

"How can you make any sense of them?" Neria burst out, her composure cracking. "Shemlen culture is such a muddle. Andraste seems like the key, at the center of everything, but she seems to mean something different to each of you. And the other things you people say! 'Maybe I will belong to a new master when this is over.' 'I decided not to kill the mage because he told a funny story.' How can I possibly fit those pieces into a whole? And never mind the durgen'len, always babbling on about darkspawn and mushrooms."

Josephine didn't think she'd have much luck explaining those snippets. Neria seemed to have encountered an odd lot. She did think, though, that she understood the flaws in Neria's approach. "Neria, there are a lot of different human cultures. Tevenes, Fereldans, and Antivans may all revere Andraste, but they have different stories, customs, foods… You wouldn't expect an elf from an alienage to behave in the same way as you, would you?"

"No," Neria said. "Elves in your cities have lost touch with our ways, so I would expect them to behave like shemlen."

Josephine patiently tried another tack. "Even two people from the same culture can approach the world very differently. Are all the members of your clan the same?"

"Of course not," Neria said impatiently. She was glowering at Josephine again. "But knowing our people's history, lore, and customs lets me understand each clan member's role. It gives me the key to understanding them. If shemlen would only listen to me, they could come to understand the People as well. But they don't, and the key to your culture continues to elude me."

Josephine thought that it was not surprising that this abrasive elf was having trouble getting other people to listen long enough to learn anything about the Dalish. Still, she felt a certain sympathy for Neria. She had arrived in Orlais quite young, and the country and its people had seemed a baffling mystery at first. "Neria… I don't know if it's helpful to think of other cultures as puzzles to be solved." Neria gave her a blank look. "Sometimes you're better off just to watch, and listen, and try to appreciate what you see and hear, even if it doesn't all make sense."

Neria folded her arms across her chest. "I didn't come here to appreciate human culture," she said sourly.

Josephine sensed that pushing Neria farther would only lead to greater resistance. She would have to hope that, at some point, her words would help. "I would still like to learn more about yours, if you can spare the time."

"Very well," Neria said. The tight-lipped smile made another brief appearance. "If nothing else, I can teach you a second elvish phrase."