[ Gale leans against the wall, head tipped back. ]

There’s no easy way to navigate these…misalignments. [ measured, in this as in all things. ] I myself stood at a precipice, two radically divergent paths before me. Astarion did not reveal all he knew to me, back then — and I think I’m grateful for that.

[ for allowing his agency to remain intact, for not trying to sway him one way or the other. it isn’t a universal experience, surely, but it’s one example for stefan to consider. ]