bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas,
Bethen lingering at the door for a moment longer following the cleric's invitation to enter, taking in the assortment of items that had been left out and scattered around. It was nearly a mirror of the current state of her own room, though in place of the rogue's blades was her mage's staff, a light metallic construct, infused with lyrium, in the shape of intertwined snakes, a polished stone orb set between their gaping jaws. She laughed at the sister's apology, shaking her dark head, "Oh, don't worry about it, at all. You should see my room, looks like the storm of the century hit it." Perhaps she was exaggerating a bit -- she was, by nature, a highly organized person who found activities such as itemization and cleaning to be stress relief. What few possessions she had been able to bring from the Tower (the rest was to be shipped here, her new home, for permanent storage) were spread out on her bed, but she hadn't left her room without first stacking every book neatly by shape, and making sure that every robe was perfectly folded, even if they weren't ready to be put away just yet.
Many people had asked her the same question over the last day and a half since the Joining: are you alright? And the mage still didn't know how to answer it correctly. How honest did they want her to be? Because if they had to ask, then it was obvious that she was troubled -- but did they really want to know the answer? So many things tumbled through her mind, on a cycle, and between what had happened that night and the feelings she had only just discovered and the fear of what was yet to come, intensified by the horrors of what they had just been told of... It was overwhelming. Dee was trustworthy and sympathetic, but they hadn't known each other long enough for Beth to feel completely comfortable or entirely shameless about spilling her guts. Maybe later on the road, when they were better acquainted. She had a feeling they would be spending plenty of time together then.
So for now, she would smile, answer the question in a way that wasn't a lie, and tell Dee about the least weighty of her concerns: "I'm well enough, but I was wondering if... If it's not any trouble to you, though I realize you probably do want to be prepared, so I understand that it may be-- Anyway, I actually need a bit of your advice." She was rambling already, because this was such a silly thing. Especially in light of what Deidre had said about the darkspawn -- Beth had no idea whether or not Dee was right, having never seen either bear or darkspawn for herself before, so any sort of joking in her tone might have gotten a little lost in translation. But this wasn't unimportant, just...slightly less so. She continued, "Aurin gave me a present -- a book of some kind, I think, though I haven't checked what exactly. I wasn't expecting it, and now I feel guilty since I couldn't reciprocate at the time. But I'm absolutely terrible when it comes to choosing gifts. It's not like we really get the opportunity to exchange personal items in the Tower, anyway.
"In any case, I was thinking of going into town to look, and I would really appreciate your help in finding something suitable for him." She finally paused to take a breath in her long babbling speech, and by then her smile had given way to a slightly frustrated frown and a furrowed brow, "I've known him practically since forever, but...I just don't know what he'd need or want or like anymore. I figured you might have a better clue of the kinds of things he looks at when he's out."