Hazelnuts and plaid

[Marian Hawke]

"I already told them I'm guilty but I... I can try. I'll make sure you all know when the trial is. They won't want to wait for long."

[Varric]

"If they try and use that, remind them that you said that while hungover, in shock and under pressure," Varric says, reluctantly standing, letting go of her. "Be strong, Marian, but even more; lean on us. Please. We want to help, I swear."

[Marian Hawke]

"Alright," she whispers. "Alright. Please don't... do anything stupid trying to help, okay? I deserve to be locked away."

[Varric]

Varric hesitates, not sure if he should but... "I think that maybe that's up to Merrill to decide, isn't it? Even if she-- if we have to wait to see her again, we can still ask for her answer. That much is pretty much a sure shot."

[Marian Hawke]

"Don't. I don't want to put her through... if she's gone on to her rest, then she doesn't deserve to be bothered just for my sake. And she'd feel pressured to answer the way she thinks you want."

[Varric]

Varric shakes his head. "Souls aren't bothered by that sort of thing; you really think that no Ray has felt the need to ask that before?" He smiles fondly at her, deciding to assume it's concern and love for Merrill and not a lack of self-worth that's behind that value call.

[Marian Hawke]

She nods, squeezing his hands tightly before letting him go. "You'd best lock me in," she murmurs. 

[Varric]

Varric wrinkles his nose and sighs, nir shape reverting to Helene's. "Just doesn't have the same cozy feel as 'tuck you in' but you're right," he grumbles, his tone pure grumpy Papa. 

[Isabela]

A few minutes after she's safely locked back into her cell, the guard comes back, escorting them out. And, not that they don't trust Hawke, but she works him over a little, gets word that the only reason they're holding back on questioning her and "the witness" is because the Lord Hand wanted to be there for the questioning given it's a Light's trial, and he's busy with another matter at the moment. They're scheduled to interview her that afternoon to gather evidence, but the guard anticipates it being an abbreviated trial given she's likely to plead guilty. 

Then the pair of them are going back out through security, collecting their weapons, and heading back out to the street and towards the temple where they left Zevran. They talk about inconsequential things as they walk, aware they're in public, but upon hearing that Zev isn't conscious yet, they slip into a private room to discuss their findings. 

"If it weren't for Zev, I'd believe it. But she didn't say a word about him. She wasn't behind that part of it."

[Varric]

"Caught that too," Varric says with a faint smile, one that has pride to it but no warmth. "Yeah, I was going to broach that topic-- or maybe just drop it for a shock, depending-- but, uh..." He trails off, a bit of red creeping up his neck.

[Isabela]

She puts a hand on his arm. "She needed that, I think. Something good to come of this whole mess. That's why I gave you what privacy I could." That and washing the tears off her face, anyway. "But, well, now you know what we've been dealing with, I suppose."

[Varric]

"My fuck-up."

[Isabela]

"It's all of our fuck-up. You shouldn't have left, but we should have told you more about what was going on long before now."

[Varric]

Varric swallows back the first two responses that dance on his tongue. "Maybe so, but you lot not responding well comes in second to my causing the problems."

[Isabela]

"Look, I'm no good at sweet-talk so I'll lay it out blunt: it should have worked. Nobody expected her to need you that badly. Sometimes I wonder if she really does or if she's just so sure she should that she's self-sabotaging. Nobody made her drink instead of facing her problems, after all, and nobody stopped her talking to a Bright or a Joyous about her issues either."