open; Give me a field, give me a big sky

[foxsays]

WHO: Araceli, Morrigan, Asher and you
WHAT: Catch-all for Bloomingtide
WHEN: Bloomingtide (post-5th Bloomingtide for Araceli)
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: A proper catch-up for all three characters below with specific starters and some open headers, if you'd like something specific feel free to hit me up! If you'd like a backdated thing for Araceli or Morrigan, let me know and I'll sort that too, I know I've been gone for a fair bit sorry!
Araceli's threads will all be post 5th Bloomingtide when she gets back from her mission in Antiva!
For some ooc details on Morrigan things, please see here, a rookery post will go up shortly for research helpers!
Warnings for talk of violence, blood and language in Asher's threads.

Comments

closed; araceli, korrin & ellana

[foxsays]

Magic being real is still something Araceli struggles with. Oh she can believe it, after all Korrin used magic to rescue her and she's seen it countless times, has devoured plenty of books about the history of it and the politics surrounding it as well as more arcane things in an effort to understand what might be going on with her hand but when Ellana spoke of shapeshifting? To say it stretches credulity is putting it mildly. Is putting it politely. Korrin bottling a spirit and shoving it in a staff (that's a crude way to talk about what a Knight-Enchanter can do but Araceli fortunately isn't a mage, the intricacies of it don't need to be drilled into her) is one thing but to truly turn into another creature?

At least Ellana's volunteered to show her and she's glad to have Korrin with her, nudging her lover as they go to meet her.

"This really isn't some big joke the two of you are in on, is it? Shapeshifting is very real?"

[gatheringstorm]

As much as Korrin has lived with magic for most of her life, shaped it, learned to control it, some forms are only known to her by word of mouth, not direct experience. So it was with shapeshifting, until Skyhold gained a batch of new Shapeshifters thanks to Morrigan. She doesn't have to struggle with incredulity, but it's still a new experience and thus fascinating.

Thus nudged, Korrin glances down and grins. "Oh, it's very real. Ellana and Twisted Fate made that very clear. It originates outside the Circle, so as you can guess, the Chantry people aren't too fond of it. If a mage can shapeshift, they can go anywhere, after all.

And before you ask, I'm pretty sure it's not for me. Even so, I can see its use, and it's awesome to watch."

[serannas]

Ellana is sorely tempted to already be in her form as she awaits Araceli and Korrin in the grove where she first showed the latter what she could become, but she resists. She doesn't want to change back and make Araceli's heart seize. So she sits under a tree, humming a tune and tapping her fingers in the air as she tries to remember the chords of the latest lute song she's learning. There are so many lessons she's taking right now that it seems she's always practicing something.

But when her friends appear, she drops her hand and offers a friendly smile.

"All ready to see me change?"

[foxsays]

"I know I talk about mermaids, and everything else that I don't think you have here outside of stories or things off the edges of your maps but trying to imagine Ellana becoming a bird-" She shakes her head then clucks her tongue when some of her curls fall loose, tucking them neatly back into the loose arrangement she's piled them into. "And that sly dog, he taught me the rules of Wicked Grace but kept that one all to himself."

Not that she thought to ask, not that she even knew he was a mage at all, something about him seeming much more like what passes for a rogue in all honesty. Yes, he has a staff but some people might like staffs as very fine walking sticks in hostile terrain such as Emprise du Lion.

"You'll need to tell me what you're playing Ellana," she calls as she approaches, waving her left hand with the calluses along the tips of her fingers from her own lute. "But I am dying to see this now I'm back from Antiva."

[gatheringstorm]

"Oh, he didn't tell you? He'll probably pout that I spoiled the surprise, but oh well." Korrin doesn't sound particularly repentant, but then when everyone in the group saw him turn into a bear, Fate being a shapeshifter is more or less a known thing anyway. But this isn't about her roguish friend, not this time.

Alongside Araceli, Korrin approaches Ellana with a warm smile, enjoying the music until it ceases. "Lovely music as always, Ellana. And yes, I'm all set to see you show off your stuff. Whenever you're ready."

[serannas]

"Oh, it's a Dalish song called 'Passing By,' but we sing it in the common tongue. I don't know all the chords yet." But out of all the songs she's learning, she wants to know the Dalish songs best. If that means forgetting how to perform other songs, so be it. Her people have so few songs, and nearly all are about sorrow and loss. At least 'Passing By' is a little more upbeat.

Ellana stands and gives Korrin a knowing look. She knows what it'll look like, but for Araceli, this will be entirely new.

"All right. Here we go." The form is so natural to her that she barely needs to think about it, and she only takes a pause to give Araceli a moment to prepare herself before Ellana is encompassed in dark purple smoke with lines of purple energy running through. Then there is suddenly a tiny sparrow in her place, and she takes off into the air before the smoke has fully cleared, flapping her wings to gain altitude.

[foxsays]

"To be fair, Wicked Grace takes longer to learn when the last time I learned a card game I was still a child." The words trail off with a little laugh though because she's sure she'll still manage to be surprised if she happens to see Twisted Fate shapeshifting anyway because well, it's still going to take a lot of getting used to, compared to the usual. "I'll trade you one of mine, though the songs from home sound much better with a whole band."

One day. Maybe if she can rope Ellana in then it'll be a start.

For now she nods brightly, swinging up onto her toes although her face can't quite settle on an expression, heart somewhere in her throat before she suddenly curses, clapping her hands over her mouth.

"By the moon and the tides," she manages after a long moment of her jaw hanging open uselessly after the cursing, looking between Korrin and the bird that is now Ellana, as if to confirm that yes, Korrin is indeed seeing what she's seeing too.

[gatheringstorm]

Responding to that knowing look with a grin, Korrin's attention is more on Araceli and her reaction than it is Ellana's transformation. The latter is definitely still fascinating to her, of course, but she can take the time to appreciate it later. For now, Araceli's reaction is everything she thought it would be, and she chuckles, giving her a light squeeze.

"I know, right? I was nearly the same when I first saw it." At least she knew shapeshifting magic existed, though, so it wasn't a complete shock. She waves up at Ellana, shading her eyes from the sun.

[serannas]

The grove has plenty of tree branches at eye level, and so after a few circles through the air high above their heads, Ellana comes down onto one of these branches with a flutter of her wings for balance until she's settled. Then she lets out her high pitched call to welcome them over, so Araceli can get a closer look at her while she's standing still.

[foxsays]

You know what's good at it being a grove? There are things to lean on because Araceli has to stagger back for a few moments, her legs suddenly not quite able to support her entirely. Why, she's not sure because to some in Thedas she must surely believe in some strange things. Even to her friends from other lands at home she believes in odd things. But to see it is something else and she fans her face, glad she's not wearing anything too tight.

Swallowing, she looks up and over to the bird, no, to Ellana, and smiles.

"It's Ellana," she tells herself. "Who is a bird. Who is your friend. Who is somehow now a very small little bird. A very pretty bird, make no mistake. But. A bird."

And look at that: the infamous Bonaventura girl absolutely thrown and not completely in command of the situation. (Okay so Korrin gets to see that but for very different reasons.)

[gatheringstorm]

Araceli's awe is entertaining to watch, of course, but Korrin won't give into it to the point where her kadan's welfare is forgotten. As she staggers back, the Vashoth woman automatically reaches her side, offering herself as support should it still be needed. Only when Araceli can manage it does she respond to the high-pitched call, smiling as Ellana allows them a closer look.

"She chose a rather cute form, didn't she? You know it's true, Ellana, don't dump anything on my head." She grins, unable to hold back from some friendly teasing. "It's a good choice, though, small and likely to escape notice."

[serannas]

Ellana chirps, ruffling her feathers like she did the last time Korrin called her cute. But the latter doesn't have to worry about her friend getting bird revenge. She stays on the branch for a moment until she's sure Araceli isn't going to faint, then she flies off, landing on the ground before them and shifting back in the same sort of energy smoke.

"Are you all right?" she asks Araceli, though she's smiling and not too worried. It's satisfying to be able to share her specialization with others.

[foxsays]

Grateful for Korrin's support, she catches herself making her body obey her again, and a shake of her head seems to clear it. As soon as Ellana's changed back however, it's only fair that she receive something a little like the taste of her own medicine as Araceli pounces, arms outstretched and laughing to hug her.

"I cannot believe you can do that! Gratitude for showing me, you were a bird--" She laughs again, curls everywhere when she turns back to Korrin. "Of course she'd be cute, look at her - I'm teaching her to use this face to ruin men at the table, and now she can be an innocent little birdie no one would look twice at."

[gatheringstorm]

"Awesome, isn't it?" Korrin hangs back and smiles, delighted as always by the shapeshifting even as she's more used to it now. "I almost envy that ability to fly, it looks so fun. Maybe the next form will be something huge and terrifying, just to mix things up."

[serannas]

The noise Ellana makes on being pounce-hugged is alike to a strangled squeal, but she follows it up with a laugh and her arms briefly going around Araceli until the woman turns away.

"I'll be on the lookout for a predator," Ellana confirms, though little does she know that a brief trip to the Hinterlands will have her finding an arguably cuter form. Ellana goes for inconspicuous and ends up with being cooed over. Her own fault, really.