Stage 3

[unasked_for]

[He doesn't filter this, because he doesn't actually...know how, at least not very well. Besides, who outside his world is going to care? But he probably would, otherwise.]Some years ago, I was injured fighting on Seheron. A group of qunari rebels took me in, tended to my wounds. They were...admirable, far beyond my limited ability to understand at

Comments

[notlikethemovie]

[Her ears quirk, would have twitched forward completely and it still feels strange that they can't. This human thing is awful and it feels like she has to press the phone tight to her ear just to make out what he says.]

Why? Did he have some power over you that forced you? If you hate him that much, it doesn't seem like you'd follow his commands willingly.

S-sorry if it sounds rude, you probably don't want to talk about it, so you really don't have to listen to me. Not many people do anyway. Um.

[unasked_for]

I was a slave, and he was my master. I had...scarcely considered the possibility of disobeying him before I met the qunari. Even when he came to fetch me, when he gave me that order - I assumed there was no other choice to be made. No; I did not believe it to be a choice at all.

Only after it was done did his hold over me finally break. There is much blood magic in the Imperium, but magical compulsion is hardly necessary to enslave a mind - not if one is taught nothing but obedience.

[notlikethemovie]

That makes sense. Somehow I had a feeling something like that might've been involved.

"I'm sorry" sounds so superficial and trite in the face of something like that, hollow and unhelpful. Did you at least escape him, then? Can you even do that?

I don't think I could ever stand to be enslaved. I mean, I know some of the other wolves did it centuries ago, there wouldn't be dogs if they hadn't, but the very idea just makes me feel ill all over. I don't think I could ever stand to call someone master unless they earned it. I can't even imagine what it would be like for someone to be forced into servitude.

[unasked_for]

Why would you apologize? You had nothing to do with it. [His voice is brusque, but he does mean the words kindly enough.]

And yes, I did escape. That was what sparked it, in fact. But my freedom came at a cost, one the qunari paid for me. I...wish it had been otherwise.

...other wolves? [His curiosity is evident in his voice.]

[wantasammich]

Thank you for sharing, Fenris.

[unasked_for]

I believe you've heard this tale before, Hawke. I suppose I should thank you for listening...again.

[Action]

[unasked_for]

[Fenris had almost forgotten about Sara, and certainly hadn't expected her to overhear. He turns around sharply, eyebrows raising.] ...Sara.

[He...isn't sure what else to say. Their relationship as not!father and not!daughter is...rather strange, all the more so since their waking droning. Something of his drone self's affection for her as his daughter lingers, and even before that he felt some degree of responsibility for her, but - he's not sure how much she just overheard, or what she'd think of any of it. At least the others from Kirkwall would understand the circumstances, and he didn't count on anyone else caring, but Sara...]

[Action]

[unasked_for]

I...should have been more cautious. [He shakes his head slightly. He'd have preferred her not to know what he's capable of, the things he'd done in the past, but then he should have remembered that being on the phone - a device he still doesn't understand much - doesn't preclude people from overhearing him in person.]

...you'd be better off not knowing.

[chest_forest]

Not a bad story, and explains some things.

You keep dwelling on it, though, and you're just going to eat yourself alive from the inside out. Not really too healthy.

I'm debating whether or not it's a good idea to tell you something that might make you feel better...

[unasked_for]

I do not 'dwell', Varric. One can regret the past without brooding over it. [He knows that word is going to come up sooner or later.] I...do not think of this often. When I remember the Fog Warriors, I usually think of them alive, and the things I learned from them. They were qunari; they themselves would have it that way. Lingering over the dead is against their own teachings.

...and what could you tell me, Varric?

[chest_forest]

I'm not sure if it's the best idea to say anything, really.

I'm still trying to figure out if, when we ever go back, you'll end up with the old me who doesn't know these things and you won't remember me telling you this...or if it will cause a huge problem.

[unasked_for]

I...don't know. But unless your words have the power to change the past, then what benefit they could offer me is hardly worth risking. If they could cause problems, better to leave them unsaid.

[evers_hacker]

I-I don't mean to pry, but why? If you hated him, why would you follow his commands?

[unasked_for]

He was my master, and I his slave. I barely understood the concept of disobeying, then.

[evers_hacker]

... [April's silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. Saying "I'm sorry" would just seem hollow. But he said he "was" his master, so...]

... Um, did you escape from him?

[unasked_for]

Yes. Immediately after that incident, in fact.