It was her turn to listen, inquisitive eyes falling on Bethen as she spoke about bits and pieces about the Joining and what it took to be a Grey Warden. She didn't appear too surprised about news of the Taint, but the small segue about being immune for now captured most of her attention. What did that mean? Why didn't the mage explain it further? She furrowed her brows, going back into the cavernous archives of mind and memory in an effort to divine just what it was that the other woman was referencing, only to come up with nothing. Then again, she supposed she should have expected it. Grey Wardens, as a whole, were secretive. From what she heard about the Joining from Alderic, she wondered just what else they kept from the rest of the world to ensure that there would always be others who filled their ranks, souls who took up the noble destiny to fight the oldest evil Thedas had ever known.
She didn't pry, however, letting her companion step through the threshold as she spoke. Insanely brave, she said. The first word was, granted, often one associated with her but this was one of the few times when someone actually did call her courageous in any manner. There was a hint of a small smile, vestiges of cheerfulness fading in favor of a look that was infinitely more serious. She didn't have the power to read minds, but the following words she spoke echoed Bethen's own thoughts from just a few seconds prior, "I was never afraid of dying," she commented. "I think I've lived a full enough life that should the cosmos decide to recall me to eternity, I would go without any regrets. I've done my best to live a life unrestrained despite outside efforts to hold me back. Not to say I'm suicidal nor would I martyr myself right away, mind. We've work to do, you and I." She winked. "Besides, given the story I just told you, I have a tab to square with Rick. I won't be able to do that if I run away from Darkspawn just because one nearly killed me."
Her expression softened, pausing to regard the mage for a moment. Her grin returned in full force, her head inclining slightly. "I'm glad to be traveling with you, too. You're right, it'd be a pity to be separated so quickly now that we've met. Thankfully, we don't have to worry about that for a while, eh? Come on...let's get your gift."
Or rather, have Bethen's gift made. At Jaswont's call, she turned to the proprietor. "Allo, Jas," she returned from where she stood. "Remember me?"
Jaswont squinted from his place behind the counter, the dwarven shopkeeper and craftsman narrowing his gaze from behind a pair of thin frames perched over his bulbous nose. "...Sister Dee?" he wondered. Unlike others who have come across her paths in the last several years, the man actually seemed happy to see her. "By the Maker, it feels like an age!" he roared exuberantly. The surface dwarf hopped off the bench he used to reach the top of the counter, moving to the center of the room. "What do you think?" He swept a broad palm towards the rest of the shop. "A sight to behold since you last saw it, right? Never underestimate what a good pair of hands and several coats of varnish can do to a place."
From somewhere to the side of Bethen, Deidre dropped her voice and murmured to the raven-tressed woman's ear, "He asked for a blessing for his new venture when I met him, so I gave it to him. He left Orzammar after what happened to the Chantry there fifteen years ago." Clearing her throat, she beamed cheerfully at the dwarf. "Had absolutely no doubts whatsoever you'd be able to pull it off," she said, propping a hand on her hip. "Jas, I'd like you to meet Warden Bethen Avilla of Vigil's Keep."
Regardless of his displacement from the halls of Stone for over a decade, his culture's reverence for the Griffons was left intact. "My lady!" he greeted, addressing Bethen as he moved and offered a hand for a shake. "It's an honor, indeed! A hundred-times welcome, then! And what can I do for you?"