Anders found it a little too convenient that Hawke was never available when he came to drop off his manifesto; Bohdan was apologetic, as usual, but firm in his assertion that Hawke simply could not be interrupted from whatever vital task was at hand. Anders thanked him and turned to go. After Bohdan shut the front door, Anders blew out the candle that burned in the torch by her door and tucked the latest edition there. Someone was sure to find it soon enough.

As he headed back to Dark Town, a voice called out, "Anders?" and he turned. It was a templar, and his hand was already halfway to his staff before he realized it was just Cullen. He relaxed, meeting the man halfway.

"What are you doing in Hightown?" Anders asked.

"Visiting the Chantry," Cullen replied, frowning briefly before turning his attention back to Anders. "You?"

"Came to see Hawke," he replied, and the two began to walk together. "She never seems to be home, though."

"She does seem to be busier than the Order and the City Guard combined," Cullen agreed, sounding impressed with the woman.

"You know, Cullen, they may be related, but Hawke isn't really that much like Solona," Anders chastised, making the tips of Cullen's ears turn red.

"I'm not – I don't see Hawke like –" After a moment of sputtering, Cullen managed to collect himself. "I see your sense of humor hasn't been changed by becoming a Grey Warden," he said dryly, giving Anders a look. Anders grinned at him.

"I see your sense of being rendered speechless at the mention of a pretty girl hasn't been changed by moving to Kirkwall," he shot back. Cullen shook his head, but he almost grinned.

"It… is nice to see a familiar face," he said. Anders nodded. It was strange. From what Solona said, Cullen was almost mad with his anti-mage sentiment. This Cullen… Well, considering the number of apostates he rounded up and imprisoned, wasn't exactly a hero of the people. But much of the time he seemed to be the only thing between the more insane templars and all the mages being killed or made tranquil. Not a paragon of freedom, but not the strict mess of a templar he'd heard about.

"I never thought I'd see the day a templar would be happy to see me," Anders responded. He paused, realizing they were at the edge of town and very reluctant to have Cullen take note of where he went after this. "It was good to run into you," Anders said, looking to make his getaway.

Cullen, surprisingly quick to divine his intent, couldn't help but smirk. "Don't want the templar to see where you live?" he asked, and he could tell that was exactly what Anders meant. "I already know where your clinic is," he said dismissively. At Anders's incredulous look, he couldn't help but laugh. "An ex-grey warden apostate from Ferelden healing refugees… Honestly, who else could it have been?"

"The templars know where I am?" Anders managed, looking absolutely horrified. The look sobered Cullen immediately.

"No, not exactly. We just know you're operating out of Lowtown or Darktown. Meredith wanted to find you, at first, but.. ah... I may have had something to do with stopping her." Anders' questioning look prompted him to continue, "I told her if we were to arrest a Grey Warden, we'd have to contend with the Warden-Commander, who also happens to be the Hero of Ferelden, and a woman with vast political influence who is very pro-mage, being one herself. I convinced her it might be best to leave you alone for the time being. Maker knows how long she'll listen, though."

Anders looked almost touched, although he made a mental note that a floating clinic may soon be safer than a stationary one. "Thank you," he said.

Cullen shook his head. "I didn't do it for you," he responded, and Anders nodded, both knowing full well it was a favor to a woman who almost certainly would never know.

"Still… I appreciate it."

The two men turned to go their separate ways, but Cullen paused. "Anders…" he said, and the mage turned to look at him. "I can't protect you forever. The circle here may not have your phylactery, but if you don't keep your head down, there won't be anything I can do for you. The anti-mage sentiment is… building, to say the least."

Anders nodded, trying to ignore his outrage at the perceived threat. It was becoming all the more difficult to differentiate between his own feelings and those of Justice. "Understood."