Maybe he's intelligent. Unfortunately, he's at least equally imaginative, and with so little context Bastien spins out not a conclusion but an array of possibilities. A family Ellis was ashamed of, a family who was ashamed of him. A criminal history or a blood feud that would follow his full name across Thedas. A decision to leave behind something painful, tossing his name into the wind like ashes from an urn.

The heaviness of his no, when asked if he had family in Ferelden, had made Bastien guess his family must be dead—but only a guess.

He looks at Ellis' profile, searching and inquisitive, but he doesn't ask. After a pause he nods, squeezes Ellis' knuckles in parting before slipping his hand away, and strokes the silky spot behind Ruadh's ear instead.

"It's a good name," he says, tentative. Maybe Ellis hates it. "At least by the sound of it."