Advice
Leliana
She hums gently as she stirs the pot; the tune's an old ballad she picked up in Starkhaven, on the way to Ferelden.
And o'er hill and far away
Their minds wander'd, their feet would stray...
She stifles a laugh, shaking her head. Strangely appropriate, with their circumstances - she thanks the Maker she is used to blisters.
A footstep and a cleared throat behind her; she turns to see Alistair standing, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. "Can we... er..."
"Pardon?" she asks, puzzled.
"Can I talk to you a moment?"
She smiles, suspecting she knows what this is about, and nods. "Certainly." She walks over to Zevran, lays a hand on his shoulder. "Watch the pot, if you would be so kind."
He grins widely. "When there are other wonderful things to lay my eyes upon?" He lets his gaze drift and focus on her, then sighs dramatically. "It seems I must."
"Thank you, Zev," she says, then follows Alistair out of camp, feigning ignorance.
She frowns. "Is there something important - ?"
He looks at her sheepishly. "Not - Well, yes, sort of. Look, if you thought you might... care for someone. Very much. Thought they were beautiful, intelligent, nice to have in your life, that sort of thing, but - "
She flutters her eyelashes, smirking. "Oh, ser knight. I didn't know you cared."
His eyes widen slightly, and he takes a hasty step back. "Maker, no!" he exclaims, then, looking even more horrified, adds, "Not that you're ugly, don't get me wrong, but... No. Sorry."
She relents, giving him a smile. "I... suspected. I have for a while now. This would be Morgana, if I am correct."
Shock crosses his face. "Is it that obvious?"
She looks at him thoughtfully. "To those who know the signs."
He sighs. "Right, so... you know. But does she...?" He makes a vague, arm-waving gesture, letting the silence speak for itself.
"Feel the same?" Leliana finishes, and he nods.
Oh, how easy it would be...
She cares for you greatly and embarrassingly obviously. It is astonishing you haven't noticed.
Morgana would be humiliated. She had wanted to keep her feelings a secret, had been scared of what he might think...
By Andraste, a greater mess there never was.
A pause, and she replies, "I cannot say I know. We talk about... men..." He raises his eyebrows, trying to hide it. "... Very little. Mostly, it is Orlais or Blight things."
He looks at her warily. "'Blight stuff'?"
She shakes her head, then looks straight - and pointedly - at him. "Whether I have, indeed, added to the quota of crazy..." She sighs as he pales, then begins, "She has never shown any aversion toward you. She has been... friendly, no?"
"I suppose..."
"She trusts you..."
"She says she does..." He looks at the ground, trying to hide the smile that begins to bloom on his face at the thought.
"And you are, after all, a handsome man..."
A cough, and, after colouring slightly and pretending to scratch his knuckles with a muttered "Can't say I've noticed...", he finally looks at her, expression hopeful. "Really?"
She nods. "If I have seen it, it is almost certain that she has."
"You - ?" He stops, shakes his head. "Never mind."
"Most importantly..." She inhales. "You protect her, and you will fight for her as well as with her. She is lucky." Her lips twitch, and she looks away - it is sweet, it is true, and it is a little close to the emptiness she sometimes feels in her heart. She can sigh "if only"s until the end of time, however, and it's unimportant. "Can you not see?"
He frowns. Evidently not, then.
"She heals you because she understands this. She is trying to do the same for you. If nothing else, you are certainly a friend to her."
"A friend..." His voice trails off dismally, and she raises a palm to her face at the man's refusal to find self-confidence.
"Tell her," she says eventually, the two simple words hanging in the air. "It is your only chance to know. Tell her."
He stares at her, swallowing, then over at the fire; their mage sits there, halfway through The Art Of The Spirit, Wynne leaning over her shoulder and saying something to her; it makes her smile.
"She is... good. Kind." She looks away, and admits, "Beautiful, in her way." She looks him in the eye. "She is also naïve, and frightened. If you want to know her feelings, it must be you who moves."
He watches the other Warden for a moment in silence, seeming to think, and then nods. "I... just have to find the right time."