[And, again, his attempts to help only cause more hurt. And he can't retreat, because she would take that as a personal slight, wouldn't she? He was right, of course; it would have been kinder never to start. Of all things, one of the silly and saccharine protagonists from one of Varric's novels pop into is head. The worst thing about pain is that it has no dignity.]
[He wonders if 'hahren' was meant as acceptance or a slight. Likely both; it feels like both.] You need not apologize. [He continues to guide her hands, as gently as he's able.] I've always admired your enthusiasm. [Her willingness to learn, to think, that was the true source of her power. Her subtlety of action, her decisive mind, it all started there. It's troubling to think he's now causing her to apologize for it, where he once tried to encourage it.]
no subject
[He wonders if 'hahren' was meant as acceptance or a slight. Likely both; it feels like both.] You need not apologize. [He continues to guide her hands, as gently as he's able.] I've always admired your enthusiasm. [Her willingness to learn, to think, that was the true source of her power. Her subtlety of action, her decisive mind, it all started there. It's troubling to think he's now causing her to apologize for it, where he once tried to encourage it.]