Though the idea of being read to was slightly embarrassing and lightly stung her pride, but Falina nodded at Ordhan. He wasn't patronizing her, and if she were honest, the idea of sharing knowledge with a friend wasn't at all humiliating. He was generous with his time, and seemed unfailingly patient. There were more books here, more than she would ever have the time to read. Surely there had to be at least one subject that they both wanted to learn, and one they could do so together. "Well, Darkspawn battle tactics are just what we need. Really though, anything about the Surface is probably new to me, stuff that you might even take for granted." She smiled broadly, hoping that he understood. His self deprecation was unnecessary, there were likely things that he wouldn't believe that she didn't know.
Falina felt a small flare of guilt, wondering if she'd been too frank with Bethen. The Mage seemed to fall back into the same polite tone and apology. "Well, to be fair, you weren't really expecting to answer a dozen questions." Falina smiled, remaining upbeat and surprisingly unoffended. She truly liked Bethen; liked the way the woman spoke, and the way that she proceeded carefully over perceived boundaries rather than blowing passed them. "You didn't upset me. I was just telling him in the hallway that I couldn't read." Falina dismissively gestured toward the door, hoping to ease some of Bethen's tension.
"Cormac is going to try and teach me how to read- maybe we can talk before or after my lessons?" It was difficult to keep the hopeful lilt out of her voice, and Falina felt a flare of annoyance at her self control. Bethen was a stranger and owed her nothing; the dwarf had been lucky with relationships so far on the surface, but expecting the same from the mage was unfair. "In return, I could maybe answer your questions about dwarves, if that's even something you'd like to know about, or if you have any."