discussed starter for @tangledfate
He should have written ahead. Sent word that he would be coming. Let Dorian know to expect him after so many months apart. Then, perhaps, being stopped at the border wouldn't have been so nerve-wracking. Nor would be standing in the foyer of an unfamiliar manor, waiting on the Magisterium's newest member. He wasn't alone, of course. He had people with him to buffer the journey, but they couldn't help in all ways.
They couldn't keep the leering looks or the whispers at bay. The asking for papers that proved he was no slave to be hauled back to some faceless master in chains. They couldn't protect him from the prejudices Tevinter was known for, and they needn't have to. In many ways, Rhorie could protect himself. Could hold his head high and rise above the comments of "knife ear" spat at his feet.
What they couldn't shield him from was any change in Dorian. Here in his home, surrounded by such things, would he treat him differently? Should Rhorie doubt him?
Hands on his hips– his prosthetic, left arm held in position by a steady flow of magic –Rhorie shuffled on his feet as he stared down at the floor. And when a door sounded somewhere in a hall up the stairs, he couldn't help but look up hopefully, heart hammering in his throat until a human maid scurried past the landing with an armful of sheets.
"Ho– Gods preserve me… I feel sick." he complained breathlessly once she had, bending at the waist. "Why didn't I write ahead?"