bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas,
The wolf was more adamant about staying than the mage had expected, and Beth was quite certain she wouldn't be able to budge him the slightest bit using purely physical means, and in this situation, she wasn't about to put on a public display of magic out in front of the building that condemned its use. She sighed, concern knitting into her dark brow as she folded her arms over her chest, posturing like a disappointed parent, "You're not going to listen to me on this, are you?" He meant well, and that whine was heart-breaking, but bringing him along seemed like more trouble than it was worth. Beth could barely vouch for herself; Grey Warden though she was, she wasn't entirely certain if people would just believe her rather than try to lock her up. It was a paranoid notion, but it had been drilled into her mind for so long that she had difficulty believing it was false.
She was prepared to continue a futile argument with the psuedo-Mabari in feral form when she noticed Alderic's approach only moments after she'd opened her mouth again. The tension between man and beast was palpable; where she, and several others, had fallen to the charms of the oddly domesticated creature, the former templar had remained steadfastly oppositional to him. Beth fell silent, the instinctive smile forcing its way back on to her face to assure him that the situation was under control. She let her hands fall to her sides, lest he take the previous pose as one threatened by the wolf, and answered his question swiftly, "Yes."
But that was a lie. And she was an awful liar. Hesitance crossed her face, and slowly, she gave the correct response: "No." Beth stopped there, torn between wanting to be truthful, and wanting to hide behind a facade of complacency. His concern for her well-being was sincere; Alderic had been a reliable companion for years and she valued his opinion and advice, not to mention that they were connected by the Taint that flowed through their veins, adding another layer to their friendship. Even so, she was reluctant to speak her mind, irrationally fearful that he'd perceive her earlier optimism as foolish as she felt it to be and her current distress to be weakness, even if it wasn't in his nature to be so harshly judgmental. Realistically, he would likely be sympathetic rather than critical, but her melancholy was getting the better of her now.
Unable to meet his smile, she turned away, staring back at the bustling town behind them. After another moment's silence, she added bitterly, "It's just... It's not what I was expecting. And it's absolutely idiotic of me to have expected anything, at all."