[ Gale's smile falls away, expression landing on something thoughtful. He studies Astarion, considering. He is unsettled, he supposes. How could he be anything else? Yet, for the rest of it: ]

Trust.

[ He mulls it over, paused in his pacing. Astarion wanting his trust feels... strange. Then again, the vampire feels different to how he remembers him. At least he isn't pressing as hard as Haelva did. His eyes skim away again. ]

Trust is not the issue. The issue is that the truth doesn’t matter. We've all of us experienced our own versions of it, and the decisions made seem to have questionable weight. I cannot help but wonder what any of it was for.