The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Varric]

"How old were you?"

[Marian Hawke]

"Fourteen?"

[Varric]

"Yeah, self-control is more of a... twenty-five thing," he says with a grin. "Still working on it myself to be honest, as seen by my, ah, nouveau Renaud art piece."

[Marian Hawke]

She smiles, just a touch. "What did he do? Really? I mean, you keep bitching about being locked up, but you seem to hate that guy in particular."

[Varric]

Varric's smiles flickers and dies, eyes going bleak. "You sure you want details?" At her nod, he sighs. "Keep in mind the context. Len was Seeker's keeper, Renaud was mine. Len was... with more information, probably not evil. One of the... reward systems the place used is touch. Specifically, Len would stroke Seeker's hair or rub her arms. I could tell she didn't want him to, but you aren't allowed to say no during treatment. Which is all kinds of fucked up, eh? Anyway. Renaud liked pain. The keepers, most of them, had pain sticks. Wands that had a mild pain spell in it, though it could be dialed up. Most of them didn't use it much, Renaud did. A lot. When Len, ah, took some time off, Renaud volunteered to take over. He made it pretty clear what he was planning to do in retaliation for injuring his... friend? Boyfriend? Whatever Len was, they were close."

[Marian Hawke]

"Wait, Master hurt someone? Seriously enough he had to leave work?" She whistles. "Must have been some fucked up shit. And this Renaud..."

Her voice peters out, as she thinks it through. "He hurt her?" Now her voice is low, dangerous. 

[Varric]

"Ah, well, Seeker bit Len, I, uh, I may have- remember I thought he was molesting her at the time- so I took his pain wand, stabbed him in the groin and activated it." Varric coughs a little. "As for Renaud... he didn't get a chance. That was why Graybeard brought me into this- if she had been there one more day..."

[Marian Hawke]

Marian is quiet for a long while, almost long enough he prods her again. Finally, she says, "She hates being seen naked. A lot of masters will soak with their apprentices, but she won't. I'm no threat to her and she still won't. So."

[Varric]

Varric nods curtly. "Yeah. I... can sympathize with her feelings on that."

[Marian Hawke]

Another pause. "You're good for her, I think. She doesn't... usually seek people out. But she likes you. So don't... don't fuck it up, okay?"

[Varric]

Varric starts to come back with a quip, some snark, but... stops. "...yeah. I could say the same back to you, you know?"

[Marian Hawke]

She snorts. "In a decade she'll have forgotten all about me. She barely remembers I'm here to begin with."

[Varric]

"Long-lived can... forget to mark the passing of time, yes. A year is the same as a month, a decade a year. But she would notice."

[Marian Hawke]

"Notice, sure. She's not dumb. But care?" She shrugs. "I'm just a, I don't know. A pet. I do what I can to make it up to her for taking me on when I got expelled, looking after her and so on, but it goes one way." She looks away. "She abandoned me without more than a few hours notice when it suited her."

[Varric]

"...you need to talk to her about that," Varric says bluntly. "She can be... She... she has a lot of issues tied up in her disability. All her reason and logic just evaporate when she thinks her mind is... slipping."