"Hello," Carlos says as she approaches. He looks slightly less like a kicked puppy when he sees her! This is presumably a good sign!

"Hello," Acara says. "I'm going to sit with you until you stop being depressed."

...That startles a laugh out of him. "I hate to say it, but you may be here a while, then."

"That's alright. You're not bad for a shem, Tev's still eating, Elissa's probably busy with some politics, and Shiral is--Shiral."

"Elissa doesn't count as a shem?"

"It took me a while to stop being startled her ears were round."

"What did she do, to leave such a favorable impression?"

"That's actually part of the blackmail story."

"The more I hear about this story the more curious I become."

"Maybe someday I'll tell you, when I'm sure it won't obviate its use as blackmail material."

"I'd like that. Someday."

The two of them are able to while away the time before lunch exchanging non-blackmail-related anecdotes of the alienage and the Circle.

Elissa joins the recruits for lunch.

"Still no sign of my brother, so I've been passing the time talking strategy with Loghain and Cailan," she says. "I think Loghain appreciates the support."

"Because the king is a ninny who never grew out of his bedtime stories?"

"The king... is the sort of person that armies will follow into battle with pride and courage," she says. "And that's a valuable thing to have, especially now. And he has the rest of us to make sure that he leads them well."

"Ah, so he's a charismatic ninny."

"Honestly, he's smarter than he looks. And he listens to good advice, which is practically a miracle."

"Alright, that's not so bad," Acara concedes.

"And he has some good ideas of his own. It's Cailan who wants to bring in reinforcements from outside the country; Loghain is resistant to the idea because he remembers the war with Orlais a little too clearly to be comfortable fighting beside foreigners even if they're Wardens."

"Foolish of him."

"It's a very understandable kind of foolishness."

"There is a Blight on and I am a Grey Warden recruit. I don't think I'm required to have patience for otherwise-reasonable things that are obstructing fighting darkspawn."

"You aren't," she agrees. "I'm being very understanding about everything because I'm more effective that way."

"Whatever works. I'd be more skeptical if we had met differently."

She smiles.