"You are not quite as callow as I thought," Sten tells her in camp after they have secured the aid of the mages.
Kallian is carrying a small sack of carrots and potatoes from the dwarf merchants and walking towards the fire where Leliana is skinning some hares.
"Uh… thanks?" Kallian does not know how to respond. She is suddenly aware of how heavy the vegetables are. "You're not quite as… scary as I thought you'd be."
Oafish is the word on Kallian's mind. Blunt, even. Or has-a-stick-up-his-arse.
Kallian, after all, is doing everything to end the Blight. Even if she does enjoy drinking while she is at it. And having fun. With Zevran. Nobody, not even Sten, has the right to judge her how she is getting things done.
Because she is getting things done. The dwarves, the Dalish, and the Circle have pledged to aid her. And now they are on their way to Arl Eamon. Their plan is right on track.
So having a little fun's allowed, right? Their little company makes coin from selling whatever junk they find. The painting would have fetched a pretty price, but if Sten likes it, then he'll get it. After all, Kallian allows dibs: Morrigan on the shiny stuff, Leliana on Chantry stuff, Alistair on statues and carvings, Wynne on books, Oghren on ale, and Zevran, he gets the best for himself: Kallian's company. And the unadorned gold bars that merchants aren't buying for their proper price but are too valuable to throw.
Sten, on the other hand, does not get dibs. He barely talks, unless spoken to. And he isn't the epitome of friendship and warmth either. He does not want the company of others.
But Sten isn't all that certainty-rigidness-whatever he projects. She didn't believe the first time Leliana said that Sten is fond of flowers and cookies and kittens, but if Kallian has not seen, with her own eyes, how he munched on the sweets she intended to share with everybody else, she would have branded it as one of Leliana's fanciful tales.
But whatever, Kallian is still unaware of how to go on. This is certainly something to add to her Book of Awkward Situations, if ever she gets to write one. So instead she thanks him and helps Leliana with dinner.
And she resolves to bring more stuff that he likes; Sten gets dibs on cookies from now on.