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Who: Cyril and OPEN
Broadcast: Fleetwide Video
Action: Wonderduck
When: Daytime

I've heard of a few people finding surprises in the cargo bays of their ships and it seems it's my turn. I wanted to share them - especially for those of us from Thedas.

[He turns then, and shows what he was given. It is a collection of books. He's managed to get them into his room and has them organized by publish date. The first one has the title The Dasher's Men and the last declares itself The Inquisitor Lavellan Story. The only thing stopping this from being a complete collection is the missing copy of Tale of the Champion.]

The nearly complete works of one Varric Tethras. I even have the newest part to Swords and Shields for those of us who like silly romances.

[He smiles in a way that hints he's remembering something fondly.]

I am of course willing to let others borrow them, provided they're treated well. Each one is signed by the author to me and I like having a reminder of home.

[Even more so when the reminder is that somewhere out there his friends actually know him. After a moment, he addresses his shipmates,]

Thank you for everyone on the Wonderduck who helped me get them to my room. They turned out to be rather heavy. Someone needs to tell Varric to write shorter books...

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[For a moment, Cyril looks a little sad because he can't help but agree that it would be nice to hear Varric right now. He shakes away the emotion though by focusing on Anders' request with a smile.]

Have you read the latest one? He finished it for a friend.

It's terrible. [In a very fun way though, and as Cyril says it he has a wide smile on his face.]

I haven't. My love and I have been traveling for a few years, it makes picking things like books up a touch more difficult.

[But Anders smiles and scoffs a bit in amusement.]

Of course it is, that's what I love about it.

Then I have to let you borrow this one. You do want to know what happened to the falsely accused guard captain don't you?

[Anders scoffed.]

Nothing should happen to her, but Varric doesn't believe in the kindness of happy endings. If anything does happen to her, I'll let him know exactly what I think when I see him again.

[So the thing is that they haven't formally introduced themselves to each other, so Cyril can only conjecture that he's talking to Anders - the Anders - based on what he knows of which Thedosians are here and by comparing the man he's speaking with to illustrations from a book he may or may not have read several times - the same book which happens to be missing from his collection. That said, it doesn't escape him that if he is correct in that assumption that means that Anders just responded to the question of the fate of the captain the exact same way that Cassandra had.

And he's not sure how either of them would respond to finding out they have similarities. It feels like trying to explain that to Anders would ruin their conversation though - as he'd have to start with explaining who Cassandra is, her role as a Seeker and the Right Hand, the fact that she had been the one charged with tracking down Hawke... And he seriously wants to maintain a good first impression here. That feels like it would do the opposite.

But he still can't help but chuckle lightly at the thought of two utterly different souls feeling the same way about a single fictional character. At least he can cover up the gentle laugh by making it sound like it's a response to the idea of anyone trying to tell Varric he wrote a poor ending to one of his stories.]

I'll bring it to you right away, if you like. It would be a pleasure to meet you in person.

[Anders isn't exactly trying to hide, so much as simply avoiding unnecessary confrontation if he can. New people from their home seemed like an unnecessary risk if he didn't need to let them know who he was. But it was the subject of one of his closest friends, how could he have not spoken up?

And the fleet was small enough that avoiding someone forever was fairly unlikely. He couldn't know if Lavallen had figured out who he was yet, but he might as well try and say hello now that their paths had crossed.]

All right. I'm on the Twin Roses right now, we can meet here or somewhere else, if you'd rather. This isn't technically my ship, so perhaps somewhere more of a middle ground would be better.

I don't mind visiting the Twin Roses to meet you.

Alright, then. I know the captains, I'm sure they won't mind either.

I'll meet you in the cargo bay, then.

[Whenever Cyril gets there, he'll find Anders pruning and harvesting from a small garden set up in the corner of the bay.]

Oh! You have plants! [He's still an elf, it's easy for him to get distracted by green, so when he appears in the cargo bay that's the first thing he notices.]

How lovely.

[Well at least that's no different than his previous exposures to the Dalish. He sets aside what he's working on and greets Cyril with a smile. He's eyes drift briefly to Cyril's left arm, but doesn't lingering. A wound like that, there wasn't much more he could do that others hadn't. It was unfortunate, but the way of life.]

I have a few small gardens about the fleet. Mostly this one, one on the Tourist and a large greenhouse for various herbs and fungus that I built with a friend here; that one's on the Iskaulit. You're free to visit any of them if you want, they're hardly private.

I suppose proper introductions are in order?

[He prushed the dirt from his hands off on his pants and offered his hand to the Inquisitor.]

Anders. You're the Inquisitor, aren't you?

I've visited the ones on Iskaulit. They're wonderful. [He had Leilani had gone together. It had been a bit of peace among all of the metal.]

[At having his suspicion confirmed that this is indeed Anders, Cyril doesn't even hesitate to take his hand. He shakes it without making a fuss.]

One of many apparently. My name is Cyril of Clan Lavellan.

[Then, after a moment,] Are you Wolfe's Anders?

['Are you Wolfe's Anders?' fills him with a rush of warmth and affection flickers in his expression in response.]

I am.

I wouldn't worry about being 'one of many,' though, Hawke seems to suffer the same. There was another version of myself here as well, a long while ago. Supposedly, it could happen to anyone. But, I never met the Inquisitor Wolfe went to see, he was just a name in a letter from Varric; as far as I'm concerned, he might as well have been you, so I'm happy to finally meet you.

And I am happy to meet you.

[Cyril replies, with sincerity.]

You know, the Hawke in my Thedas fell in love with you as well. I wonder if that means it's Fate or something else terribly romantic.

[There was very little in the world that could make Anders blush these days, but implying his relationship with Hawke might be fate brought some color to his cheeks.]

Normally, I would say it's simply a happy coincidence, but apparently the same is true of the Hawke and Anders here before us, as well as the versions from Fenris' Thedas. However, Marian had a relationship with her Thedas' Fenris, so perhaps it's only male Hawkes.

<[The whole idea seemed silly to him, but there was...evidence for it. And it was nice to think Hawke would always be by his side, no matter which 'him' or which 'Hawke' it was.]

That's sweet.

And also awkward, I'd imagine, for Marian and Fenris.

Oh...you can't imagine. Trust me, it's better you weren't here for all of that.

[Not that he can say what 'that' was. It wasn't any of his business to repeat.]

I believe it.

Though, I will say...

I may not know how it is to love someone and find they have no idea who you are, but I do know what it is like to feel an intimate and close relationship with someone and find the version who is here thinks of you as a stranger...

It's not fun. Makes me almost relieved I never took that step with anyone.

[There's sympathy in Anders' expression with that.]

I don't have to imagine, I know what you mean, though I'm not sure it's exactly the same.

When I first arrived in the fleet, I was about ten years younger than I am now and my dearest friend, someone irreplaceable had not yet met me in her timeline. I'll admit it was crushing to know I was only a stranger to her.

Then Wolfe arrived roughly a month after I did as he is now, and I did not know him in return; I hadn't met him yet. It was rough. But all the same, that doesn't mean someone can't come to be important to you again or in spite of all that.

[He wasn't Marian's Anders, something that had been painful to her at first, but he still cared for her deeply, she was still Hawke. And he and Wolfe had...still been drawn to each other even as Wolfe knew he wasn't 'his' Anders, at least not yet, and Anders himself wasn't interested in anything remotely that serious when others will still on his mind.]

I hope, in all of these mixed timelines, you haven't had the unfortunate experience of learning something of your future, especially anything potentially terrible. Let me tell you, it's definitely far from pleasant.

[He frowns at the idea.]

I'm sorry. I think I'm the one who is from the most future point of Thedas's timeline...

I wonder if my being here was that to Leilani. It can't be easy to realize you're very close to losing a limb.

[He scoffs.]

No need to apologize about that, that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned, you're not likely to learn anything unpleasant and everything unpleasant we've all experienced you've, probably, already gone through or dodged since very few events seem to be certain.

[What Cyril says about the other inquisitor Anders had yet to meet pulls a look of sympathy.]

No, I can't imagine it would be.

Going back to my plants, briefly, I might be able to make up something to soothe any ache still remaining for you. I can't heal already healed over damage, but I can alleviate the remaining symptoms.

I'd... really appreciate that. Thank you.

[He tries not to complain or act as if the scar bothers him, but that doesn't stop it from doing so.]

[Anders offers a soft smile.]

Of course. Please let me know if ever there's anything you need. I might be the tourist's medic, but I'm still a healer. I'll make something up for you and deliver it when it's finished. Are you allergic to anything?

Not that I'm aware of, luckily.

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