<i>She often stays with me when she travels north.</i>Ellion kept his face frozen at that proclamation, despite wanting to scowl. Luckily he had been well-versed in keeping his emotions hidden, especially when given warning. He had known that by engaging Thane he would be risking getting nettled by the man, and refused to let it unsettle him. After a beat, instead of suspicion or frustration, he smiled. "I can understand why. Lana is excellent company." He glanced at her as he said so, his smile turning genuine when he caught her gaze.<br/><br/>He turned back to Thane, though, his face turning solemn once more. "Did she tell you about how she and I parted ways? Maybe--but I'm going to assume otherwise. She was a prisoner in the Tower Circle of Ferelden, up until she and I were caught sharing a kiss. I couldn't tell you exactly what happened next. I know what I was told. That one of the older mages went berserk and attacked us, that Lana was a blood mage who used her powers to befuddle me and escape the tower, that I was... compromised." He flinched just saying the word. "And after that I was taken to a remote village in the shadow of the mountains. For days--or weeks, or even months--I was made to pray, and to recant, and given flasks of lyrium. So much that I don't have to touch the stuff for another year, unless I choose to."<br/><br/>Ellion leaned forward, closer to the flames, letting him see the faint blue refractions that shone in his otherwise green eyes. "I have plenty of reasons to hate the world I came from, too. As many as Lana. Perhaps as many as you--but I have no idea if that's true or not. You haven't spoken a genuine word that wasn't praise for Lana, or disparity for my homeland." He leaned back and sighed. "Don't get me wrong, Thane, I'm not trying to insult you. I'm just trying to establish here and now that I can only stomach so much disdain aimed my way before I start to take offense. And if we're in this together, I would much rather get along."<br/><br/>He paused and looked to Lana again, his expression softening. "Especially if you're as fast of friends as you seem. This isn't going to be easy. I won't be the one to make it any harder than it needs to be." He lightly slapped his knees and glanced at Thane again. "That said, though, I'm going to try and sleep. We've more ground to cover than I care to consider before we're even close to where we need to be. Goodnight, you two." He slid his weapons back, then lay down with his head on his shield and his back to the fire, arms folded and eyes closed. Minutes later he was snoring softly, side rising and falling peacefully.