Hazelnuts and plaid

[Varric]

Yes, Yes, you should have. "Wait, what? Zevran and Merrill are fighting? About what?" Why the hells did no-one tell me a damn thing? Why didn't-- putrid slag for brains! Aveline would be honest and complete (more or less) but the others freeze her out! How did I not-- 

[Isabela]

"You were there when it started, I thought you knew," protests Isabela. "Ever since the trials they've been on tenderhooks."

[Varric]

Since the-- "I thought they'd worked that out," he protests, grimacing. "Hellfire, I thought it was just the stress of it all. I don't recall them fighting between then and me leaving. Not really."

[Isabela]

"She's been colder, more distant, and they haven't been making love anywhere near as often. It's been tearing him up inside. One of the reasons I wanted to have a date night, give him some space to relax."

[Varric]

"Any idea why?" he asks, a plaintive note in his voice as he desperately wishes for something solid to work with.

[Isabela]

She shakes her head. "Not aside from that they've been fighting here and there. I don't know her that well, to be honest. I think only Hawke and Seli do."

[Varric]

No, it's really just you (and Helen, maybe Nox and Lux) that doesn't know her all that well. "Zevran never mentioned? Not anything?"

[Isabela]

"He didn't want to talk about it and I didn't want to pry." Now she sounds a little defensive. "I try to be a refuge, not one more nag."

[Varric]

"Fair," Varric allows, understanding the viewpoint even if he personally disagrees. "Don't suppose you know what caused the rift between Marian and Seli? Aveline mentioned it, but all she knew was that Marian was pissed she was leaving except that the timing was off for that to be why Seli would agree to leave in the first place. One letter mentions Seli being worried that Gili's mentor was leaving for Draslina, skip a letter, and then the next is saying they're not talking and Seli is giving it a five month trial run."

[Isabela]

"They had a big blow-up. Hawke is... sensitive about the idea of people leaving. I canceled a trip I was going to make to the Oak because she was torn up about it. I figure she won't always be, I can always go later, right? Not like the Oak is going anywhere. Anyway, I guess Seli floated the idea of moving to Draslina for Gilly's sake and bam."

[Varric]

Yeah shite okay (that tracks). "Oh," he stalls, gently thumping the back of his head against the wall. "So that's them and you. Aveline I know has been pulling eight-ninety hours a week for months. Nox and Lux are Clan but not central Clan. Same for Anders. Estelle and Claudia; well, they live leagues from here. Same for Maeve and Jassinth. Helene's always been my friend and Zevran's, uh, intimate friend? more than anything else." He pauses briefly in his rundown and then scowls. "What about the ex-lilin? Has she been around?" Did she cause this?

[Isabela]

"We sent her back to Estelle. She wasn't doing much good for Hawke's mental health in that first bad stretch and well... nobody's advocated for her coming back yet."

[Varric]

Varric grunts, eyes closed as he continues to lightly rock his head back. "Alright. Any other significant rifts or changes of any kind in the Clan?"

[Isabela]

"Silence is pregnant." A shrug. "Anders is still out in the countryside, doing his thing. Hawke's been refusing to name anyone else Clan without you there to sign of on them so there's no new members you don't know yet, but I suspect she's fucking some of her school friends."

[Varric]

"That's nor-- Wait, only suspect?" Varric's eyes open to squint at her. "Aren't you and Zevran her go-tos for sex talk?"