Bastien catches that thumb in his peripheral vision. If the dog were not between them, that would be all of the prompting he needed to channel some of his relief at this repaired bridge into leaning against Ellis' solid shoulder again or giving him a silly Orlesian kiss on his serious Fereldan cheek. Some people aren't touched often enough.

But the dog is there, so it would have to be a thing, instead of nothing.

"I will," he says. Barring the unlikely case that giving away Ellis' family name will save a life or the world, he means it.

And then he twists down to kiss the top of Ruadh's broad, scarred head instead, since it's in reach.