Bob's eyebrows slanted heavily in thought. "Gilgirn? ...Po? I knew of him, never met 'im myself, I was still a pup when he left. Most warriors knew of 'im. He was a sodding beast in the Provings. Was a surprise when he suddenly left. Stone'll welcome him back." His voice had taken on a more serious, considering tone, and the dwarf was eying Thren with a modicum of deeper understanding. Vi, watching the exchange quietly, kept her thoughts to herself, and tried not to move against the door frame. She'd sensed that Thren might have been looking for more information about his father, or even just looking for the familiarity of a dwarven presence, like he must have gotten used to for all those years.
She thought, momentarily, to leave and give Thren privacy - but it would cause a distraction if her motion caught the eye of either of the men. Therefore, she chewed the inside of her lip and simply kept still.
"He was a beast in plenty of other aspects of his life, that's for certain." Thren tapped his thumb against his thigh, nervous for some reason far beyond him. "I never knew too much of why he left, he didn't talk about his life before, and I hope that whatever exists beyond this life- I just hope that he finds whatever acceptance he was looking for."
"I wish I could fill in the details for sure for you, boy, but all it was by the time it got to my ears was...rumors. I'm glad he made somethin' of his life up here." Bob offered a dwarvish smile, which was really almost more like an uplifting of whiskers - the thick, red mass of his beard nearly covered his lips entirely, and then scratched underneath in thought. "Truth be tol', I don't much like talkin' about my life before either. Feels like a different one. Never thought I'd end up on a death trap like this, but I always figured that I was where I needed to be. No sense, livin' in the past."
Vi smiled, too, but it was small. She felt like she'd heard something personal, and she simply tucked the information away in her brain. She'd never quite heard Bob be so philosophical, and she reminded herself to tease him about it - but, later. Now was not the time.
Thren laughed. "There are worse places to end up, and with far worse people... he did plenty with his life before me, and gave me a life of my own, whatever it is." He smiled at Viara, not wanting her to feel an intruder on her own ship. "I think it's better I don't know. He didn't want me to, or he would have told me. Orzammar was a hard place for him to live in, and escape from."
Bob chuckled deeply. "I could tell ye all day about worse places, boy. Even though she's soft-headed and soft-hearted, that gel over there saved my life." He pointed the skewer at Vi again and she chuckled in response, shaking her head and lifting her lips in a half-smile towards Thren. Bob looked back towards Thren and cocked a brow. "Them dwarves in Orzammar have a lot of learnin' to do. Got their heads so far up the Stone's ass they can't see the daylight. They'd be dead if it weren't for men like me an' Po and all us other surfacers keepin' them connected. But I'm sure you know all about that."
"Not as much as I would like, I was raised by a dwarf, but I know damn well that I'm not one." His grin widened at Viara. "I couldn't be so lucky."
Vi laughed, tilting her head back against the jamb, and Bob made a roar of approval. "Sodding right! You go up there and tell Stuffy-Britches that! Prancing in here and telling me when dinner is done. I say when it's done!" Bob looked over at Vi, wide-eyed "And I know he took my wire rack! You tell him the next time he sticks his nose in my kitchen, I'll cut it off!" He slammed the skewer into the wooden wall for emphasis, and Vi winced, as Bob put yet more holes in her ship. Every time she left, it seemed Bob and Alerrin had a row; obviously, this time was no different.
"Bob... for the love of the Stone or the Ancestors or whichever it is... you are going to cause a leak one of these days, and I will not save you. You will have to float on up to the deck and ask for my help. Nicely."