Up to the point where I'm busy on some evening and you're tasked with running to the apothecary on your own. Or you require groceries, or simply want a night to yourself.

[He's just saying! And it's not as if every person in Kirkwall is skilled with a blade, nor even has the physique to withstand an assault— but he feels a little protective over Astarion now.]

Simply be ready, that is all I ask.

[A few moments pass as he shifts with Astarion, curling up beneath his own sleeping cover, his head propped up on one folded arm. They lie in parallel to one another, twin elves with silver hair and too many scars to name.]

And you may find you prefer to stay. Life on the road is no easy one . . . and I will not blame you no matter your choice.

[But nor would I mind, I think, if you were to stay by my side. And he doesn't know why he thinks it, though the thought dies on his tongue. It's far too soon for such sentiments, and he is too old to think that he can discern a person's real character from a chance meeting.

But he is drawn to him. That, too, is a fact. And he can feel his heart hoping, even faintly, that Astarion might join him.]

Either way: I will see you before dawn tomorrow. And perhaps I can train you a little on the road to Kirkwall.

[You'll make it past dawn.]