Hazelnuts and plaid

[Varric]

Varric purses his lips, eyes going distant as he thinks. He'd been looking tense, almost defensive, for most of her observations but something she'd said had sparked something. "...you sure about that?" he finally asks thoughtfully.

[Isabela]

"Which part?"

[Varric]

"About no-one forcing-- or at least pushing-- her into drinking."

[Isabela]

"None of us were, but... she did start drinking only after she started attending that school. Zevran was always worried she'd miscast while drunk, but she never did that I know of. None of her drinking buddies were Arcane Studies majors, they were all mundane scholars."

[Varric]

Hmmm, isn't that interesting. "How did she met them? Who did the investigations, background checks and interviews?"

[Isabela]

Isabela snorts. "You got more of a name than I or Aveline got. I believe her exact words were, 'can't I make my own damn friends without you fucking interfering'?"

[Varric]

Varric blinks a few times. "Interfering?" he asks, a hint of confusion in his voice. 

[Isabela]

"I asked if her friends had names, and got a nasty reply."

[Varric]

Why would you her directly? "Wait, so-- so none of her new friends-- friends she's been repeatedly having long periods of time spent intoxicated and losing memories-- have been checked out?" he demands, blood draining from his face. 

[Isabela]

"That's the long and short of it, yeah. Unless someone's gotten more info out of Hawke and not told me, but I asked Aveline if she'd been able to find out and she said no. Helene might have done some divination?"

[Varric]

His eyes widen. "How are you not upset by that!" he demands. "How could-- how is that okay?"

[Isabela]

She spreads her hands. "What am I going to do? Hawke is an adult. I can't stop her."

[Varric]

"Which means she can't stop you either! So you follow them, find out who they are and what they want. Are they golddiggers? Spies? Extremists? Rapists? Kidnappers or extortionists? Fucking devils?"

[Isabela]

Isabela gives Varric a peculiar, pitying look. "Varric... do you need to talk to a Bright about how you're doing with all this?"

[Varric]

"What are--" Varric closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Okay, fine, yes, panicking a little over the idea that my daughter has spent months becoming almost completely vulnerable to people already shown to at the least not care about her wellbeing for hours several times a week. But my concern is still valid. She's a Champion, a Light, rich, magically talented, famous and, oh yeah, personally, by name, loathed by the most vindictive of the Heptad. Any one of those is ample enough reason for people to devote themselves to hurting her, one way or another."