In a pair of breeches and a thin linen shirt, boots disregarded, he picked his way through the sleeping companions and out to the main hall. He scratched his head as he went, feeling a lock of blond hair sticking up from his forehead like a bean stalk. Wonderful. Good thing it was too dark to see that clearly, should anyone awaken. Rhocanth thought to comfort himself with the one treasure this little squat had: books. Not a lot of them, but all of them ones he had never seen, and this he could not leave unexplored. He had no intention of stealing any... just borrowing them for a few precious hours. Oh, how he'd loved dipping into the midnight oil in the Shaperate back home... returning to old habits might calm his nerves.
His scant form laced through the trembling storm-shadows toward the bookshelves, here and there glancing over his shoulder to see if anyone had heard him. He didn't exactly have permission to touch chantry property. Maybe no one would notice, if he put them back exactly the way he found them. They were as diamonds before nugs, anyway. They could use a little love.
Ducking behind a shelf, Rhocanth rest a reverent hand on the books' spines, stroking fingertips over their embossed titles. He licked his lips and selected one at random. It felt smooth in his hands, with the musky smell of a leatherbound cover. The pages were thin and buttery, no hint of thick, raised ink or goldleaf where an illustration might be. This was a serious tome, something with a lyrical gravity. His heart fluttered with anticipation in his chest. He rushed the book out into the dim, pallid light from one window, eyes scouring the pages. He didn't notice until too late that he was walking straight into someone else's hiding place.
"Oh!" he hissed at the shape of a person sitting on the windowsill. He snapped the book shut and hugged it to his chest. "I-I-" Stammering wasn't helping explain anything. Who was that there? Short legs. This was another dwarf. Rhocanth narrowed his eyes and looked closer, and immediately felt relieved. "Miss Falina. I beg your pardon. I couldn't sleep. How are you faring the night?"
Slowly, a gentle smile washed over his face. She had been reserved so far, but he had no intention of giving up on her. Amongst present company and situations considered, they had more in common than not. True, that wouldn't have been so had they both still been in Orzammar, but circumstance had a way of narrowing gaps. He wanted to see her as well as she could be, as much as he did Signy.