The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Marian Hawke]

Marian bows her head. "My apologies."

[Carver Amell]

Homework. "When can I see you again?" asks Carol, eagerly. 

[Haliel Lightsong]

Haliel beams at Carol, entirely forgetting this was part of a plan and just so very pleased she seems to have reached the poor young woman even in such as small way. "I could easily take my midday break here and if you were perchance to being take your lunch here, with or without your most adorable puppy..."

[Bethany]

"...do be careful. I kind of like a..." A ghost of a smirk. "Bit of lip and tongue, but Mother and... others are far less accepting of anything that might hint of disrespect." She pauses, then adds, "your sister is lucky."

[Marian Hawke]

"I suppose she is," says Marian, sighing. Maybe I'm luckier than I thought, to be free of this family.


Once she gets off work, Marian doesn't have to go far before Lightsong catches up to her. She leads the paladin back to the temple where Helene is staying, knowing the scholar to be out for the afternoon studying in the library.

"Alright, then," she says, once she's shut the door behind them. "Let's talk."

[Haliel Lightsong]

Haliel hasn't go far, and is right there with arms wide in silent offer for a hug when Marian turns around. "I like you a great deal. You are the first friend I've made since I had to leave my little brother. That... the kiss confused me. Still, confuses me. But it wasn't... offensive. Or bad at all really. I just..."

[Marian Hawke]

She doesn't take the hug, biting her lower lip as she looks down. "No, it's... I get it. I forget, sometimes, that.... sapphic romance isn't normal to most people. That it's... That I'm... I forget my place, I guess," she says, shifting her weight. "I'm sorry."

[Haliel Lightsong]

"Your place?" Haliel asks, frowning, distracted from the part about romance. "What does that mean?"

[Marian Hawke]

"Just... you know. My place. In, in life." She shrugs. "I talk big, but I know I'm not... much."

[Haliel Lightsong]

"No," Haliel says, pointing a finger at the merikos elf's nose. "Bad Marian. You are a wonderful person. You're smart and clever, you work hard, you've put yourself in danger to look after your siblings, you reached out to a bumbling paladin, you take care of Seeker Helene with earnest will, you devote yourself to your studies, you work tirelessly when the need causes and rarely complain, you face danger to the best of your abilities, you have a witty sense of humor that that admit I don't always get but Mister Varric seems to love even when I don't, you-"

[Marian Hawke]

"Alright, alright!" she says, not for the first tie, but finally loud enough to cut her off. "That's not-- that's not really what I meant anyway. It's just... you're... special. And I'm ordinary." 

[Haliel Lightsong]

A flash of naked pain fills Haliel's eyes and she steps back. "Oh," she says dully, arms crossing her stomach. "I... I see." Special. Untouchable. Alien and remote. Unwanted.

[Marian Hawke]

"I-- I didn't--"

She sighs, closing her eyes as she tilts her head back -- painfully hard -- against the door. "I'm sorry I'm such a fuck-up."

[Haliel Lightsong]

Haliel starts to reach for Marian, the need to help another overriding her own pain but she steps herself, unsure if she has the right to touch anymore. "It... it's fine. I'm used to people... not actually wanting to interact with me, just... what I am. It's fine," she lies, piteously obvious in her attempt to reassure Marian.

[Marian Hawke]

Marian groans again. "That's not what I meant! It's just... you're... brilliant. Like, like a star made flesh. And it's not my place to, to sully that with my dirty, bastard hands. You know?"