[ Communalism and coexistence. Astarion rolls that idea over in his head, musing about how he can love Iorveth so much yet be diametrically opposed to what he claims are 'core tenets'. He never belonged to anyone's community, and the family he did belong to never did anything for him except teach him that this world is everyone for themselves. Communalism is a joke, and coexistence is a laugh.

He wonders if that'll be an issue once they make it to Iorveth's northern forest. This quest for the cloak has put it off momentarily, but eventually, he will have to face the music. ]

A little.

[ He straightens his collar, smoothing down the worst of his out-of-place curls. ]

Long enough with a willing donor, and one can forget how much effort the... un-willing can be.

[ It would be wiser, he thinks, to just stab them first, but that's such a waste of blood. Even he has too much pride to lick it up off the ground like an animal. ]

I thought you wouldn't want to hear about it.