faderift | they're crazy, they're crazy

WHO: Cole and Varric
WHAT: So, about our mutual acquaintance...
WHEN: Early Wintermarch
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: n/a

Now that they've spoken, Cole isn't very concerned about the man who carries Justice with him. At least, his concern isn't immediate: the man is here to observe, to do what he can to help, and that's all the Inquisition can ask of anyone. No reason to worry just because he carries a spirit around with him.

And yet. When the man himself believes he could be a danger, that is a reason to watch him closely. Cole wishes to better understand the pain of his past. He can sense the threads that bind him to some others here, and when one of those threads leads back to Varric, Cole knows where to start.

Varric is worried, too. He's always worrying about something, in a secret way that sharpens his perception of the things around him, but this worry in particular is strong at the moment.

He finds Varric at a moment when he's alone, sitting by the fireplace on the edge of Skyhold's great hall. He appears, perched on the table nearby.

"Keeping his secret's the same as before. Conceal the mage and keep the templars' eyes away. But Skyhold's so much smaller."

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Varric was a little fuzzy on what Cole's revelation was, but the answer to nearly any variation on that question was 'Yes' so he didn't think on it too long. And calling Anders a spark wasn't that far off point.

Everyone had known Kirkwall was a catastrophe waiting to happen. It had even been called a tinderbox a few times. Varric was pretty sure that wasn't the comparison Cole was drawing but it fit well enough that he didn't see any sense in arguing it.

"What can I say, all my old friends are really..." he hesitated a beat and then shrugged. "Conversation starters."

That held true for all his new ones too, didn't it? Huh.

Cole knew about what had happened in Kirkwall. It was one of the first things he'd ever known, before he even understood what any of it meant: from the whispers between residents of the White Spire, from the thoughts of the Lord Seeker and the mages who should have been under his care, and the ripples that ran through all of it. Which, through the cascade of events that followed, brought him here. Brought all of them here.

"You're worried you can't watch him. Watching too close could make them see." All at once, he knew what he could do. He climbed down off the table to stand in front of Varric.

"He knows when I'm looking, but no one else would. I could help you watch."

Cole's offer was surprising--actually, it was more than that, and Varric was floored as he ran the words over in his head. He could...watch Anders? Yeah, it made sense, Cole was supernaturally stealthy, and even if Anders knew about it, he wouldn't confront him...probably.

"You sure you want to do that?" Varric asked, cautiously. He was sure his entire emotional range had played across his face as he pondered, but that didn't concern him so much. It wasn't like he could keep a secret from someone who could get inside his head, right?

"I don't want you taking any risks for me, Kid, and you don't even know him," Varric added, reasonably, even though the idea was fairly sound. It was unlikely Anders would take exception to him, particularly to violent ends, but Varric knew better than to bet against something that was "unlikely".

"Don't get me wrong, it's a good idea, but I don't want you signing up for...whatever this is...unless you're really sure you want to?"

Cole didn't think it was any more risky than some of the other things they got up to on a regular basis. And watching him — spending time seeing the things he did and said — could prevent further danger in the future. For Cole, the question of risk was a simple one.

Still, there was something in particular that was concerning Varric at this point.

"What do you think I should know?"

they're crazy, they're crazy

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