Anders peers at Hawke until Hawke glances away. Then Anders reproaches himself silently for staring. It's just -- everything is the same. The fall of his hair across his brow is the same. The crinkles at the corners of his eyes. Yet he's also different, and not just in his mageness. The fact Hawke even tries to clarify when he's being sincere, the fact he has the self-awareness to know what he sounds like, the fact he cares whether Anders (or anyone) knows whether he's sincere or not.

"I have no gambling predictions, alas. If I did, you'd be best advised not to trust any of it." Anders is the unluckiest of gamblers, when he can afford the vice. "I'm not too terribly far ahead of you, actually." Deliberately downplaying the gap in chronology, lest he stir undue curiosity regarding the interim. "I think Nathaniel's ahead of me by a few weeks -- it was 9:37 for both of us."