Luna’s eyebrows shot up for just a second, teal eyes wide. Usually, when she revealed that she was a mage – which admittedly wasn’t very often – she was met by fearful glances and hushed whispers. The only reason Captain Jal hadn’t been the same, she thought, was because he had needed her for the expedition. His men had certainly been avoiding her a bit, although their fear apparently didn’t stop their eyes from wandering... unfortunately.<br/><br/>But this man, this... Diego? He was<i>actually</i>interested. That was...<i>odd.</i>That meant he probably didn’t expect her to engulf him in flames if he upset her. That was a refreshing start. She wasn’t particularly fond of fire anyway. It was too angry, too difficult to control. The intent to harm fed fire, gave it its strength.<br/><br/>She peered at the man with renewed interest, her eyes bright and curious. He was a good head taller than she was, but something about the way he held himself made him seem even taller. She was used enough to being around humans that she didn’t particularly mind. If she had to stand in his shadow, at least she’d be in the shade. She hadn’t entirely noticed his eyes before, either. They were entirely out of place, a deep sea of grey where she’d expected the usual Rivaini brown. They gave him a regal look that somehow suited his captain-like appearance. She couldn’t help wondering about the blue ribbon within the skull on his tricorne; she wasn’t sure it belonged within the skull’s teeth.<br/><br/><span style="color: green">“Oh,”</span>she said after a pause. A light blush crept into her cheeks; she’d completely forgotten that he’d asked anything.<span style="color: green">“Well, it’s a rather long story.”</span>Her voice was hesitant, her eyes occasionally darting downward.<span style="color: green">“I’m from the Circle Tower in Ferelden, originally. I suppose it’s not hard to tell with the accent and all.”</span>She bit her lip. She didn’t want to think about the tower – it was really the only home she’d ever had. The smell of books, the warmth of flames roaring in the hearth, the feeling of actually being accepted for what she was... she hadn’t known any of that since she’d been driven away.<br/><br/>She tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind an ear.<span style="color: green">“The short version is that the Circle was infiltrated by blood mages, and I was almost... killed.”</span>She let out a breath. It had been worse than that, really. She could still see the lust burning in Altun’s eyes, the sick grin on his face as he had pinned her beneath him. If she hadn’t managed to escape just then, she’d have been... she shuddered. She wished her memories of the Circle weren’t so closely tied to the horrors that had driven her away from it.<span style="color: green">“I escaped, and there was no way I could return to the Circle after that. On top of that, the templars probably thought I was involved.”</span>She decided not to mention the Fade and her ordeal with the demon. It was rather complicated to explain, and she didn’t really want Diego to think she had been consorting with demons.<br/><br/><span style="color: green">“So I ran,”</span>she finished.<span style="color: green">“As far as I could. Away from the Circle, from the templars, from Ferelden... from everything. And it turned out Rivain was about as far as I could get.”</span>She shrugged.<span style="color: green">“So here I am. A poor, homeless, elven mage, trying to put as much distance between herself and her past as she can. Poetic, isn’t it?”</span>She smiled, but a glint in her eyes betrayed her sadness.<br/><br/><span style="color: green">“What <i>I’d</i> like to know,”</span>she said after a moment, gazing curiously up at him,<span style="color: green">“is why someone who is clearly a sailor – and, by the looks of your hat, an experienced one – is doing on a ship like this, chasing after an ancient pirate’s phantom treasure?”</span><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>