Fenris glared at the bowl and then at Jennifer.
"I promise, neither poison nor magic is to be found in this bowl." She stated simply, before she knelt before him and set the bowl onto the ground. "It is a compound made to relax the muscles. It will not cure your pain, but it will ease it to become more bearable. Or it should." She reached for his foot but paused. "May I touch you?"
"You have never asked before." Fenris looked at her questioningly.
"It has occurred to me that your markings might irritate your skin when someone touches you. If I have hurt you, I apologize." She placed a small smile on her lips, to ease Fenris' discomfort.
"Uhm… you have never bothered my markings, you may continue." Fenris squirmed in his seat looking away from the woman sitting before him. The silence was filled with friction and he fought against it. "I do not know much about you. Yet I find myself curious."
Jennifer dipped her fingers into the medicinal paste and rubbed it gently into the sole of Fenris' foot. She kneaded the muscles splayed along the arch of his foot and he sat back into the chair, his muscles relaxing slightly. "You may ask whatever question you wish. I will answer to the best of my ability." Jennifer explained as she moved the thong of Fenris' pants that wrapped around his foot. She began rolling her knuckles into the heel of his foot before moving back to the arch and then to the ball of his foot. The paste cooled the well-used muscles, before heating and relaxing the muscles.
Fenris fought the pleased groan that sought to escape him. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen. In my world I would have been turning eighteen in five weeks." She pressed the heel of her hand into the pads of Fenris' toes, forcing the muscles to stretch and flex, before moving to his other foot.
"That is younger than I expected, do you have any family?" Fenris' peered down at Jennifer, pondering.
"Here I do not. In my world I had a mother, father, stepmother, two sisters and a brother, as well as other family that lived nearby. I did not speak with most of them, however." She rubbed her fingers between Fenris' toes and he jumped. "My apologies. I did not mean to hurt you."
"You didn't. It merely tickled." He relaxed once more. "Why do you not speak to your family?"
"Most of my family did not care for the choices I made in my life. Most disowned me and refused to acknowledge me. I only spoke with my mother, when I left." She dipped her fingers into the bowl once more and returning it to his foot. "It seems no matter what world I live in, there is prejudice against magic and things unknown. I do not hate them, they are my family, but I respect their need for distance even though at times it caused pain." She stood, wiping her hands on her trousers before retrieving the bowl and setting it on the nearby table.
Fenris' flexed his toes and stood, gingerly testing his feet. "I did not mean to bring up memories of pain."
"I no longer feel the emotions I once did. It is a small comfort if nothing else." She turned back towards Fenris'. "How do you feel?" She asked simply.
"Much better, thank you. If you do not mind my asking, did it hurt to become tranquil?" Fenris' shuffled his feet nervously, looking away from the woman before him.
"Initially, though, from what I have observed, it has hurt those around me far more. I do not understand why it has caused you pain, though I wish I could undo it." Jennifer's empty eyes stared at Fenris' for a moment. "You care about me." Simple. Succinct.
Fenris' reeled back, his eyes widening in shock. "I-I… should go." He turned as the door opened, revealing Hawke and Bethany.
"Good night, Fenris." Jennifer said, and Fenris pushed his way past and out into Lowtown.
Hawke looked at the closed door before peering at Jennifer.
"His markings hurt him. I was alleviating the pain through medicinal herbs."
-ooo-
Weeks had passed before Jennifer walked to Hightown, carrying a vile. Her new friends had visited her sporadically, and she knew she made them feel uneasy and guilty about what had happened. Anders made sure her brand was healing well, and not becoming infected. Aveline had asked some of her friends within the Guard to watch out for Jennifer as she walked through the streets. Even Isabela stopped by to teach Jennifer to play Diamond back and Wicked Grace, better. When she arrived at the mansion she knocked on the door before stepping inside. Fenris walked out of the main room with his sword in hand. "It is customary for people to wait for the door to be answered."
"My apology-" But Fenris' held out a hand.
"Don't…please. Why did you come here?" He descended down the steps towards Jennifer.
"I made more of the poultice. I wanted to deliver it to you, immediately." She held the small vial out to Fenris'. He took the vile and motioned with his head for her to follow him upstairs. They made their way to the main room, bottles and other debris littered the floor, she gently sat in one of the over stuffed chairs placed near the long worn table.
Fenris set the poultice upon the mantle walking back towards Jennifer, she gazed at the various books. She grabbed one of the volumes and peered at it's spine. "You are welcome to any of the books here. I have no use for them." Fenris offered, placing a glass of wine before her. She looked into it and sniffed it's contents. "Do you not like wine?" He asked cautiously.
Jennifer merely shrugged. "I have never tasted wine. When I was within my own world, I was too young to be able to drink. The laws are similar, yet different in many ways." She took a tentative sip of the wine. She gasped as the wine heated her throat and settled in her belly. "That was unexpected."
Fenris' chuckled, "At least I offered you a glass before throwing it against the wall."
Jennifer looked back at the tomes upon the table, one catching her eye. "Have you read any of these books?" She asked simply as she retrieved the book from the stack it was discarded into. "Quite a few of them are magic based."
Fenris placed the bottle of wine upon the table and stood. "I have not had… the opportunity to read the books here."
Jennifer stood with the book in her hand. "If you are not opposed to it, I would like to borrow this book if I may."
"As I said before, I have no use for the books here. Take as many as you like." He took a long swig from the bottle, holding it close. They continued talking, Fenris continued asking questions about Jennifer's life, things she hasn't spoken of yet for lack of chance. He hated that he wanted to know her, but hated more that nothing could come of it now. She held the book against her chest as she left the mansion, making her way towards Lowtown in the late afternoon sun. When he shut the door, darkness and dust filled the space of the foyer. He kicked a nearby table, threw papers to the floor and overturned a large shield in the corner.
When he was through he slid down against the wall bottle still in hand and drank from the wine deeply. There has to be something…
-ooo-
Jennifer stepped through the door to Gamlen's hovel and was greeted by Leandra, she was offered dinner and shortly after was told to go to bed. She dressed in her night dress and made her way into the main room when Garrett and Bethany came home. Bethany hugged Jennifer tightly, and Hawke mussed her hair, before yawning and making his way to the boys room. With a 'good night' he closed the rickety door and Bethany looked over to Jennifer's arms, noticing the tome she held against her.
"That looks old." She observed and Jennifer held the book out for Bethany to see.
"I found this at Fenris' house, he let me borrow it, even though I can no longer perform magic. There are many things about the Tevinter Imperium and some magical notes. I don't know much about what else is written." She let her hands fall to her sides when Bethany began glancing through the book.
As Bethany gazed through the book, she began turning the pages, almost frantically, she looked between Jennifer and the book before continuing reading. Bethany nearly squealed with delight as she rushed from the hovel and out into the twilight of Lowtown.
Hawke peered from around the door of his darkened room and squinted at Jennifer. "What was that?"
"Bethany." Jennifer replied plainly.
"Why?" Hawke asked.
"She seems to be excited about something found within the book I borrowed from Fenris. I am assuming that since it had magical notes and spells, she is either visiting, Anders or Merrill." Jennifer offered.
"Aha…" Hawke rubbed his chin.
"Would you like for me to retrieve her?" Jennifer tilted her head at Hawke.
"Could you? Thanks!" With that Hawke shut the door.
Jennifer merely nodded towards the closed door, before pulling on her boots and heading towards Darktown. Logic seemed for him to be able to decipher the contents of the book easier than Merrill, due to his education within the circle as opposed to self-taught magic.