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(( 3 Firstfall, Evening - Joscelyn Hawke ))
Turnabout's fair play.
It was a common saying, though one Edwin hadn’t completely understood before. Oh, he got the jist of it well enough. One could not be faulted for doing unto others as they’d done unto them. But he’d been a soft boy, and even when he’d been forced to grow a spine, he found he liked “an eye for an eye” much better--if he was going to be applying mostly meaningless sayings to his personal quest for vengeance.
That wasn’t an apt phrase to use now, though, and he found himself drawing far more on the former as he made his way to the Hanged Man. What Josc had “done unto him” was pounce at the slightest inkling that he might have less than noble intentions toward Aveline. Of course, Varric had also done as much, but as far as Edwin knew, Varric wasn’t making eyes at his sister.
He trusted Addie to make her own choices, but he saw so much of himself in her. She had a big heart, but she hadn’t learned to guard it very well. If what he’d seen was true, she fell hard and fast, and if things with Josc went pear-shaped, she was going to be hurt. Badly.
So he’d taken it upon himself to act as the big brother who’d been absent from her life these past eight years. He had no plans to be aggressive, and certainly no mind to forbid anything. It was absurd, for one. And he wasn’t exactly eager for his sister to hate him after he’d just gotten her back.
But he did need to have a… talk with Addie’s paramour. That was the sole reason he’d come to the Hanged Man this evening, and as soon as he stepped through the door, his gaze moved to Josc’s table. She was there, of course, feet propped up on the table like usual. No hopelessly misguided barmaids hanging around, though. Pity, but enacting the same sort of show Josc had made of things would certainly tip her off to his hand.
Instead he strode over with his usual amount of irreverent swagger. “Just the woman I’d hoped to see.” He sat down, not bothering with the pleasantries. “I’ve found myself in a generous mood, and you haven’t benefited from that generosity in some time. So, what’s on the menu for this evening?” He turned in his chair to survey the other patrons. “Anyone catch your interest tonight?”
Josc had been rather forthright, past a certain point. But Edwin was as partial to subterfuge as he was theatricality. In his mind, a set up sounded much better. No, he didn’t intend to push her into the arms of someone else. He wasn’t even planning on a nudge, this evening. He just wanted to see what she did, and perhaps casually pry some information out of her along the way.
Turnabout's fair play.
It was a common saying, though one Edwin hadn’t completely understood before. Oh, he got the jist of it well enough. One could not be faulted for doing unto others as they’d done unto them. But he’d been a soft boy, and even when he’d been forced to grow a spine, he found he liked “an eye for an eye” much better--if he was going to be applying mostly meaningless sayings to his personal quest for vengeance.
That wasn’t an apt phrase to use now, though, and he found himself drawing far more on the former as he made his way to the Hanged Man. What Josc had “done unto him” was pounce at the slightest inkling that he might have less than noble intentions toward Aveline. Of course, Varric had also done as much, but as far as Edwin knew, Varric wasn’t making eyes at his sister.
He trusted Addie to make her own choices, but he saw so much of himself in her. She had a big heart, but she hadn’t learned to guard it very well. If what he’d seen was true, she fell hard and fast, and if things with Josc went pear-shaped, she was going to be hurt. Badly.
So he’d taken it upon himself to act as the big brother who’d been absent from her life these past eight years. He had no plans to be aggressive, and certainly no mind to forbid anything. It was absurd, for one. And he wasn’t exactly eager for his sister to hate him after he’d just gotten her back.
But he did need to have a… talk with Addie’s paramour. That was the sole reason he’d come to the Hanged Man this evening, and as soon as he stepped through the door, his gaze moved to Josc’s table. She was there, of course, feet propped up on the table like usual. No hopelessly misguided barmaids hanging around, though. Pity, but enacting the same sort of show Josc had made of things would certainly tip her off to his hand.
Instead he strode over with his usual amount of irreverent swagger. “Just the woman I’d hoped to see.” He sat down, not bothering with the pleasantries. “I’ve found myself in a generous mood, and you haven’t benefited from that generosity in some time. So, what’s on the menu for this evening?” He turned in his chair to survey the other patrons. “Anyone catch your interest tonight?”
Josc had been rather forthright, past a certain point. But Edwin was as partial to subterfuge as he was theatricality. In his mind, a set up sounded much better. No, he didn’t intend to push her into the arms of someone else. He wasn’t even planning on a nudge, this evening. He just wanted to see what she did, and perhaps casually pry some information out of her along the way.