Exaggeration or not, Deidre laughed appreciatively, her brows lifting once the magess decided to step inside. "Storm of the century, hm? I'll make sure to let Her Perfection know, if my troublemaking ways haven't reached her ears. Say that a portent for the next age was found in Warden Avilla of Ferelden's new quarters in Vigil's Keep. If you're lucky, she'll name the next one after you, and history will be full of the tumultuous events that occurred during the Bethen Age." Despite their acquaintanceship being relatively new, the Chantry sister didn't appear to have any qualms teasing the other woman, her grin broadening over her dew-clung lips. Putting away a few more books, she stretched her arms over her head, hearing her vertebrae uncoil and pop along the ridges of her spine. It did well to relax her, to smooth over the knots of tension that tightened there after their destination was revealed.
She found herself near her desk, casually half-sitting, half-leaning against the edge of it as her visitor offered her explanations. The revelation that Aurin had given her a gift earned a more inquisitive look from the archaeologist, though if she felt any urge to smile at Bethen's babbling about finding a suitable gift for their mutual templar friend, there was no sign. When the historian listened, all of her attention was clearly on the speaker, her gaze level and fixed on the other's; homing in on the glimpses of frustration and perplexity at the raven-haired sorceress's confession of her trouble and the fact that she, too, was at a loss as to why she couldn't find an acceptable token given her longstanding friendship with the man in question. It was the look of one who was, deep down, an extremely observant person, good cheer and her endless plethora of jokes shelved away once it was clear that her assistance was being sought after.
At the end of it, Deidre nodded. Her answer was automatic and unhesitating.
"Sure."
The brunette pushed off the desk, retrieving her stash of converted currency from her pack and tucking it in her back pockets. "I can see why you'd look a little confused when you've known Aurin for so long, but don't know what to get him," she opined, turning to face Bethen. "People change as they grow older... personally I think what makes the process of gift-giving harder is not necessarily finding what that person would like, but finding one such object and being able to surprise him or her with it. No one knows the receiver better than...well, the receiver, and even if a friend does know every single hobby the receiver has under the sun, that person already knows what he likes and there's a certain expectation that what he's getting falls along the lines of those interests. Of course this, in a way, kills the entire surprise element that makes most of the process fun for me."
Mischief tilted the line of her mouth. She lifted a finger to point upwards. "I suggest," she declared. "Finding him something he'd definitely like, but not what he's expecting. I'm sure you and I can name a few of his most forefront interests; he likes military history, he likes chess, dogs, and model ships." And setting Maleficarum on fire, she added mentally, but she didn't say that out loud. "What I propose getting him is something that marginally related to some of that but at the same time can be considered wholly different from them."
She took a few more steps to the door, pausing at the threshold to wait for Bethen. It was evident that the priest-to-be was already forging forward on the task ahead, but whenever the other woman joined her, she continued down the hall. She lowered her voice as she went, her apprehensive expression gone and replaced by something more cheerful and eager. "He's also a templar," she murmured. "Though certainly not a devout one. That does mean, however, that he wears armor all the time...he'll be carrying that on his person as well as his belongings. What were you aiming for, Beth? Something he could keep on his person always? That'd be a good idea, I think. Sadly, he has a habit of losing things all the time while he's traveling. Between you and me I think you should get him something he could wear."