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WHO: Hanzo and Beleth
WHAT: Hanzo is a liar. Beleth already knows.
WHEN: Post-battle and recovery
WHERE: Scouting office
NOTES: Possible references to fratricide.

As soon as Hanzo can work he knows what he must do.

He is not comfortable with it, but it is something that must be done. It would be dishonourable to continue to lie to the Inquisition when it is clearly beginning to pose a problem to their defences and what they are building around them. If more assassins come from the Venatori, if more people emerge threatening his life whilst approaching Kirkwall... The Inquisition will not stand for it and Hanzo needs this for his own path to redemption.

He does not want to admit the fact that he needs a place, that he needs his position here, that he enjoys researching Corypheus, he enjoys scouting, he enjoys being part of his projects and divisions. It is the kind of enjoyment he might not have been allowed, would not have permitted himself to have, a few months ago, but now? He does not want to lose it.

It takes him a little while to make his way to Beleth's office if only because walking is still difficult with his shaky legs. There's a rolled up scroll in his hands, a written report on what had happened on the outskirts of Kirkwall, but he knows it must be better to say this personally. He cannot avoid it by hiding behind the written word, and he seems much like a man walking to his death, hand rising as he knocks on the door.

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Beleth is trying very hard to work, or at least feign some kind of productivity. Another person is a welcome distraction from her half-hearted attempts, and she's quick to open the door. One look at Hanzo's expression makes it clear that this isn't a visit for pleasure, and he likely has more grim news to share.

He's still better than staring at lists of casualties and injuries, though. She gives him a thin smile, and steps aside, so that he can enter her office. She also walks with a light limp, but she's better off than Hanzo, and is quick to notice his own difficulty with walking.

"Hello--Please, sit down." A quick gesture at the chairs in front of her desk, and she moves to lean against her desk in turn, clearly taking the weight off one of her feet. "I hope you're doing well?" Not that any of them are really doing well. They'll have to take what they can get.

It is difficult for Hanzo, lost in a position of warring between himself and his duty. He knows that he should have been more honest with the Inquisition, that he should not have denied his heritage. He knows from talking to Kostos how useful having a Magister in the pocket of the Inquisition might be, but he had never been prepared to accept it.

It's a relief to sit down in a chair opposite her, pain making him wince no matter how much he tries to hide in. His legs still struggle to carry him and his back is in agony - at least the wounds to his stomach are better. There are small mercies, he thinks, no matter how exhausted he is.

"Well enough." He shakes his head, reaching forward and offering her the report in his hand. "I have come with a confession."

Sylaise grant her strength.

Beleth was content to let him wage whatever internal battles he had going on, while she eventually gave in to her own injuries, staying up right long enough to grab the cup of elfroot tea she'd been sipping, and pour a fresh cup for Hanzo, before sinking into the chair. While the weight of her responsibility has been a heavy burden as of late, at least there are a few small things she can take comfort in. Like really comfy chairs.

Then Hanzo's words cut into her chair musings, and she freezes, tea halfway to her lips. If they were closer, if Hanzo were someone not quite so solemn, there would be room to not be quite so worried. Maybe make light of it. ‘If it’s to confess your undying love, please get in line'. Cue audience laughter.

But it seems rather more likely that he's about to confess some horrible secret that will ruin her day further. She studies her cup.

"I'm listening."

Maybe he's actually a Venatori. Maybe he was connected to those mages who betrayed them. Maybe Kostos was wrong, and he's a wanted criminal with a bounty. Maybe storm arrow is getting buffed. The horrible possibilities are endless.

Hanzo has not been so kind to himself. He has been forcing himself to walk, to march, to climb stairs and train as best he can, to shoot and run and try and do whatever he might do normally. It has not been gentle on his aching bones, on the limpness of his legs as he tries to regain the strength in them, but he does not deserve a pause or rest. He must push himself through it and become strong again so that he might be of use, so that he might start to reclaim what was his, what he had refused.

At least she is listening. It is more than he had hoped for.

"Before the battle there were two Venatori that attempted to assassinate the former leader of a Magister family from Tevinter." He nods at the report. "They had witnessed his return to Minrathous and feared that it might mean the return of the errant Magister to the fold of Tevinter, which would threaten the position of their House in the midst of the alliance with Corypheus. They knew that he would not approve of their alliance, for the dishonour that it would bring."

He purses his lips, hands clenching.

"They attempted to take my life, but were killed in the process. It did raise the question, however, of the... Usefulness of such an idea. Of having a Tevinter Magister allied to the Inquisition, one who might be able to discover more of Corypehus' plans if he were to take control of his family once more." His eyes flick to Beleth's, intent.

Beleth listens, hand gripping her cup, all but holding her breath as she tries to imagine what fresh new fuckery Hanzo is about to introduce to her. But as he talks, there's a look in her eyes of things clicking into place, realization on just what he's implying, what he's telling her dawns--

And she feels a sudden undulation of relief.

Thank the Creators, this confession is something she already knows, something she's already looked into. And even if it were new information, there are worse things to find out than that she has a runaway Magister in her ranks.

But she's not an idiot, and this is clearly something that has been weighing heavily on Hanzo--possibly since he's joined the Inquisition, and has finally been brought to a boiling point by all that's happened. It's certainly not something that would be a good idea to brush off--and would probably be worse to assure him that her only reaction to it was discussing the merits of taking his seat and becoming the first Dalish Magister, with Kostos as her wine bearer.

So she closes her eyes, and contemplates a more appropriate reaction for a few moments, taking a sip of her nearly neglected tea. Then, feeling more composed, she sets her cup down, and pointedly gives a little shove to the one she'd poured for Hanzo.

"It's elfroot. It's good for pain." She gives as way of explanation, then settles back in her chair. That should be enough to let Hanzo know that at the least, she won't be hanging him out of the tower by his toes.

"This is indeed quite important information to come to light, particularly considering the rather...volatile situation that Tevinter currently finds itself in, as well everything that's been happening with Corypheus. It's certainly something that I wish you had entrusted me with when you had first come to us." It's chastising, but as far as chastising goes, it's about as light as Hanzo could expect, just barely hovering on the edge of checking the mandatory 'encouraging people not to lie to me' box of being a Division Leader. Her tone is soft, and she gives Hanzo a few moments to digest her words while she studies her hands.

Once he's had enough time to accept that she's not about to snap to her feet and stab him with something pointy, she continues, eyes flicking up to meet him.

"Still, I can understand your position. You had no reason to trust me, or any of us, and the assassins that you had to deal with say enough about why you would want to guard this information carefully. Additionally...I can also sympathize with familial obligations being..." The words fade out as her gaze drifts off to the side, looking contemplative. "...complicated." The tone implies that she's well aware of what an understatement she's making.

"I will not lie, there is usefulness to be found in having a Magister openly allied to us. However, since I'm not lying, I will also say that there is a danger there, as well." Her eyes turn back to Hanzo, mouth set and grim. "Whether or not you withheld information, you are still one of my people, and I would prefer that you were not murdered in your sleep. Would you be able to make this claim while staying within the relative safety that the Inquisition can offer?"

The tension in Hanzo's shoulders is obvious as he keeps himself upright, intense and strict as he doesn't tear his gaze away from Beleth. It is nothing like the feeling he had when he was sat before Sojiro Shimada, the intensity and the panic of being under his thumb, of feeling as though he might be falling apart somehow, as if everything he had done was to be ripped from him and torn into pieces. His father had a way of making him feel as though he would lose everything if he took one step too far.

Beleth is not like that, but the discomfort is familiar enough.

Aged enough to recognise his own wrongdoings, Hanzo is prepared for whatever she might give him. It is within her right to restrict him, to limit him, to even remove privileges or rights he might have. If it were in his house and he were still Magister he might be far crueller and more dangerous, demanding a loss of limb or long term imprisonment... But the Shimada house is not the same as it was and neither is he. Ten years of desperate attempts to grow and learn and change and redeem himself have shown a path that, perhaps, Genji might approve of one day.

Listening to Beleth, his face does not change. He waits until she is done, until she has said her piece, and then he pauses to find a means to reply. The tea gives him an excuse to mull on his words and he takes that chance, fingers brushing over the cup as he sips, knowing the elfroot will ease his aches even if he is not particularly keen on the idea of it. He does deserve to suffer, after all, and he deserves to be pained. There will be alcohol later and that will numb him completely - a far more successful attempt.

"I would not have mentioned it if I did not think that it would have long term merit to the Inquisition. Corypheus is a threat to my homeland and I am aware of the strength it might bring the Inquisition to have a foothold there to contest that. What happened in Minrathous cannot continue." Watching the home he had once loved so desperately be overtaken by the Venatori and worse had been painful for his heart even if he had given up on the mantle of Magister many years before them. Tevinter is his home and, at times, his heart aches for it.

Breathing out, Hanzo tries to continue.

"Over the last ten years they have sent numerous assassins to take my life but none of them have ever been successful. I do not fear that. They did not know where to find me until I showed my face in Minrathous and they linked my arrival and disappearance to the organisation I have become a part of." He shakes his head, frown on his face, marring it just a little. "I have only returned to the Shimada household one a year over the last decade, so I cannot say whether or not my return would truly be welcomed, but there are many that would long for a true heir to take the mantle once more."

Slowly, he settles back in his chair, frown marring his face all over again.

"I will have the support of other houses. House Shimada would not stand alone."

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