Imprints in Stone [AU]

[NPCs]

"I suppose it's a comfort to know he'll marry her if something comes of it," Marethari says with a sigh.

Behind her, Bethany, having just walked in, makes a stranged choking noise.

[Helene Dakesh]

"Ah, uh, this one, this one meant smaller missteps," they correct. 

[Bethany]

"Carver is far too young to be having children! I'm not ready to be an aunt!" Bethany says a touch shrilly, eyes widen. 

[Varric]

"You? I'm not even one-thirty, you think I'm ready to be a grandfather?" Varric says dryly. "It's fine, Carver... well, he's got plenty of reasons to not make that mistake."

[Helene Dakesh]

"This one agrees! This one was thinking only of social missteps, not-- this one will ensure that Carver understands the necessary precautions."

[Varric]

Varric coughs a bit. "Ah, no worries there Helene, I already covered all that when he- when he was younger. He's got it covered."

[Bethany]

"He better cover it up," Bethany grumbles before taking a seat.

[Carver Amell]

Some time later, as the group are preparing to head back to their campsite, Carver finds himself at a loss for words. Rather than try to figure out the polite social norms, he instead tugs discreetly at Varric's sleeve, much like he might have when he was considerably younger. 

[Varric]

That's... familiar, he thinks, resisting the urge to glance at Helene. "Carver, I want to do a quick look around the edges of the campsite, just to be safe. Mind coming with?"

[Carver Amell]

"Yes, sir," he says with a firm nod. A few moments later, as they're doing their walk -- and safely out of earshot of Helene and Beth -- Carver jumps right to it:

"We need to take Merrill with us when we leave."

[Varric]

What.

"What?"

Sometimes even clever genius just... say what's on their mind.

[Carver Amell]

"We have to. I promised I'd look out for her. She won't be any trouble, and when we get there the Bandannas can take her in, but she can't make the trip alone, she just can't. The puppies already like her, she'll be good."

[Varric]

"Oh, well, as long as the puppies like her," Varric says, voice dry as dust. "Carver... back up, start at the beginning. Explain what happened to lead to this." Pretty sure I know very well what happened but... "Take a moment to gather your thoughts if you need it."

[Carver Amell]

"You can always trust Mabari. They're great judges of people," says Carver, firmly. "If they like her, she's good. And she's... she's not doing well, here. She's being bullied. And I can't stick around to protect her, so we'll have to take her to Nyra. She wants to go."

[Varric]

Varric rubs his forehead slowly. "Alright, I see why you're asking. Do you know what you're asking? Merrill is... evidently a bit troubled. Not saying she's a bad person, just... had a rough life and that sort of things leaves scars. Are you sure you can handle that? Because the only thing worse than not helping is half-assing it."