The trouble with Anders playing the Justice card is that Nathaniel can never tell when he's serious or just making excuses. Nathaniel's arms cross as well, his hackles raised...all the way up until the last sentence.
There's a long silence as he mulls it over. Anders isn't really upset that Nathaniel got the job. He's afraid he'll never outrun his past. And he's right. Loghain hasn't. Velanna hasn't. Even Nathaniel hasn't. He sighs.
"The past isn't a thing you can leave behind if you run fast enough," he says carefully. "I'm not going to tell you how to feel. But you have every reason to hope in the future, and not just because you have a voice to radical mages going down the wrong path. You have a future as part of the Wardens. Out of the few of us who are true Wardens, you are one of even fewer who have gone through this before. You and Velanna and I, we all saw the Fereldan Wardens come back from fewer than we have here. And it isn't just a matter of seniority. And it isn't just a matter of seniority. You are a uniquely gifted healer, and you helped end the Fifth Blight. You've seen things other healers have never had to deal with in their lives. So you're needed there, at the healing tents, where you can guide the others. You have an important place here, and you shouldn't devalue it, or yourself."
no subject
There's a long silence as he mulls it over. Anders isn't really upset that Nathaniel got the job. He's afraid he'll never outrun his past. And he's right. Loghain hasn't. Velanna hasn't. Even Nathaniel hasn't. He sighs.
"The past isn't a thing you can leave behind if you run fast enough," he says carefully. "I'm not going to tell you how to feel. But you have every reason to hope in the future, and not just because you have a voice to radical mages going down the wrong path. You have a future as part of the Wardens. Out of the few of us who are true Wardens, you are one of even fewer who have gone through this before. You and Velanna and I, we all saw the Fereldan Wardens come back from fewer than we have here. And it isn't just a matter of seniority. And it isn't just a matter of seniority. You are a uniquely gifted healer, and you helped end the Fifth Blight. You've seen things other healers have never had to deal with in their lives. So you're needed there, at the healing tents, where you can guide the others. You have an important place here, and you shouldn't devalue it, or yourself."