Re: Scouting Group
While Pavak was right in assuming that Matthew wouldn't be bothered by his status as an apostate - he wasn't - it did, however, make the older man grumble good-naturedly in between breaths as he vaulted the rooftops. After all, the Rivaini was half Matthew's age! The fact that he had to cheat by resorting to the form of a panther was both a cause for the old thief to smile and somewhat consternating, because while the extra speed was useful, clearly Pavak didn't know the meaning of the word stealth. Why not parade naked in front of the Darkspawn horde and announce the presence of the group with banners, trumpets and a marching band?
But no matter; what was done was done. The best the pair of them could do was work with circumstances as they were, until the others arrived.
From rooftop to the outer wall of the Chantry's courtyard, a difficult jump that he made seem simple and easy, and from there a short drop into the grassy yard itself, silent as death on cat's feet. He muffled his sigh of exasperation when he hit the ground in a low crouch, dark eyes up and surveying the damage that Pavak pointed out to him. Whereas the shapeshifter was showing signs of fear - oh, he was composed enough, but the babbling was far from necessary - Matthew only felt calm, cold and clear, the part of himself he was loath to tap in the company of his loved ones, but was only too required now. He raked his gaze across the Chantry, clicked his tongue in the back of his throat, then stood, a lean shadow in the twilight as he paced close enough to Pavak that he could drop his voice, so quiet that the words likely didn't even reach the door of the Chantry. All the humour of the previous few minutes had bled away from him, as if it never were.
"What I think," he said, too calm and too quiet to be growling, though the gravel in his voice was the same, "is that whatever is in that building is almost certainly not friendly, and you have just announced our presence to it." He paused, let that sink in a moment as he flicked his eyes back to the building, his mind working rapidly. If there were something dark and foul in the Chantry's naze, it was also probably going to be pissed off. "If I had my way, I'd burn the whole building down right now. Unfortunately, I think Fearless Leader would take exception to that, so instead, can you send up a signal of some sort to mark our location? Anything will work." He moved away from Pavak, his daggers gleaming in his hands - when had those gotten there? - to check if the Chantry had been built with a side entrance, as many were. Only a fool would go in the front door, with so-called 'noises' coming from inside.
"Wouldn't do for our Warden party to get lost in this ten-foot-square town," he said under his breath, more to himself than to Pavak as he skirted the building, ready for whatever might lie beyond. The first ground-floor window he came across was going to be a picture view unto a horror, Matthew was certain.