"It does sound like our homes have many similarities. I would love to hear your stories some time, and share some of my own. Some I have not heard since I was a child, sitting by the hearth with my grandfather as he weaved a tale. He was the finest record-keeper in all the village, and he was also our elder. He lead the town meetings and advised on all sorts of matters." She kept their talk away from such matters as religion. It was not a topic she was comfortable with, for reasons that would be obvious were one to know the whole truth about her. But that very truth would put her and them in danger. She preferred simply to avoid the matter if possible.
"It sounds like you are very proud of your brother. Are you close to all your siblings? Having so many of them you must have never been lonely growing up. I was an only child. In my village it was rare to have more than two children. There simply weren't enough resources to maintain a large population." She wondered just how many had lived in Hilda's village. What were the Anderfels like? She knew they were mountainous and harsh, but did they have large cities such as Denerim, or were they smaller and more spread out across the land? She found herself curious to see this place. The people must be hearty and proud.
"How many of your brothers and sisters are twins?" She wondered then if that meant Hilda could expect at least one pair of twins of her own. Multiple birth pregnancies were not easy. Where a woman must find the strength to deliver one child after countless hours of labor, instead she must deliver two. Many women did die in childbirth, though it did not deter others from wishing for families of their own, it was always a danger. Even though Imenry had always wanted a family of her own, she could hardly imagine going through seven pregnancies. Less, she supposed, if there were twins. Hilda's mother must have been a woman of strength and determination, for she had borne them all, and then raised them with an apparently loving hand.
"The future is important, but so uncertain. Especially now. If there is another Blight coming... It is likely that some or many of us will die." She thought of the others she'd come to know already; Signy- with the surprising determination, young Falina, the quiet thoughtful Ser Ordhan, Cormac with his many secrets and ever shifting moods. And so many others. She did not want to think that any of them could lose their lives in this endeavor, though it was possible that those she had already parted ways with, she would never see again. Her eyes narrowed, briefly troubled by the turn of her thoughts.
"Tell me, Hilda, have you met many people since coming here to Ferelden?" The question was designed to change the direction of her own wandering mind as the two women turned back towards camp together. She could only imagine that the Skald's answer would be in the affirmative. She seemed to open and friendly to have said otherwise.