and when the broken-hearted people living in the world agree [open]

[lettersfromhome]

WHO: Mia Rutherford & YOU
WHAT: Pre-Orlais Catch-All for July
WHEN: Beginning of the month up to Orlais shenanigans.
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: n/a

For not being caught up in much of actual events of the keep, it certainly is exhausting keeping up with everything.

That might be life with Zevran and the baby talking, however. As many people seem happy to pitch in with helping Zevran with his son, Mia still quietly thinks the best hands are her own. And his father's, of course, but the poor dear seems to be at his wit's end on most days. He's trying to do well for the boy, though she'd expect no less from him. Still. Sharing a room with him means watching the toll it takes and, when she is available to, helping take the baby off his hands so he might get some Maker-blessed sleep.

Of course, she can't spend the entire day with the baby, much as she'd like to. She still has duties to attend to around the keep, and the recent activity with assassins and spirits being purged from abominations doesn't mean that the refugees are any less eager to get the things they need. Luckily, construction for the new appointments for them seem to be going well. Katniss has managed a wonderful job in that regard, and Mia's more than happy to lend a hand, even if it's as simple a thing as making sure the workers are eating, too.

That doesn't leave much spare time, but she does what she can. She makes herself available now and then in the gardens, and now more than ever she's been taking the time to drop in on her brother, if only to briefly chat and see that things are well before letting him carry on.

They've all got their fair share to do around here. And keeping busy...well, it keeps a lot of things off your mind, that way.

Comments

[serannas]

Ellana comes across Mia when she has the baby out of the room to allow Zevran some sleep. She smiles faintly at the tiny elf child before greeting her friend.

"How are you? Is the little one a handful?"

[lettersfromhome]

"No more than any other child, I'm happy to say," Mia replies with a little tug at her lips, glancing down at the dozing baby in her arms.

"While he's certainly more active than any child his age I've known, he has his father's sweet temperament. That does tend to make things a little easier."

[serannas]

"Oh, my! I wouldn't know what to do with a child that had boundless energy. I would probably need someone to tell me, because I couldn't keep up." She thinks back to the children in the clan, the ones who called her Lala because they couldn't pronounce Ellana, and how active they could be. Luckily, she wasn't involved in their upbringing.

"I do like spending time with children, but that's with the knowledge that they'll return to their parent or caretaker soon enough."

[lettersfromhome]

"I could hardly blame you. They're a lot of work, and it never really ends. You can start sending them to bed when they're older, but this young? You are all they have in the world."

There's a tender look given to the child as she reaches to stroke one delicate blond curl atop his head. "Some people aren't meant for it. And some feel as if they're meant for nothing else, only to never have the opportunity. The Maker works in strange ways."

[serannas]

Ellana doesn't know about the Maker, but peoples' hearts work in strange ways. Mia looks comfortable with the prospect of having this life.

"You know, seeing you with a child? It suits you well."

[lettersfromhome]

Yes, well. She was raised old-school Andrastian, Ellana. These are the sort of things you learn from childhood. Pray to the Maker, listen to your mother and father, and hope one day to marry someone suitable.

You don't get everything, as it turns out. Her lips curve upwards at the observation, just the same. "Does it? I've been looking after children since I was one," she murmurs, looking down at the dozing child with fondness in her eyes. "Never to have any of my own, I suppose it's not that surprising."

[serannas]

Ellana is a moment away from asking her if it's really too late, but common sense makes her stop herself. It might be seen as rude. It might be something Mia doesn't wish to have brought up.

"Well, he's a dear. Sleeping while people are talking around him. I spent time with the children in the clan, but luckily I never changed diapers or tried feeding them. Those things would be a disaster if left to my care."

[lettersfromhome]

Mia merely chuckles, shifting the babe carefully in her arms before readjusting the blankets around him. "My youngest brother would say it gave me an excuse to have someone to fuss over who couldn't fight back," she replies dryly. "That's just been my way. Everyone has their calling in life, and I feel I'm closest to mine when I've someone to look after."

Not that any other path was less worthy. She'd seen women here who were warriors, who were content on their own, who dreamed of sharing their lives with someone, or wanted nothing more than to study and explore. Every decision as worthwhite as the last, where she was concerned.

[serannas]

"Then he and Zevran are both lucky to have you." She does recall when Mia was ill and how she said she didn't allow herself to get sick. Always someone else to take care of, isn't there?

"Is there anything I can do to help you while you're sitting here? If you need something, I could fetch it so you don't have to move with him."

[lettersfromhome]

That's the secret. Be too busy to bother feeling anything of your own. It's come in handy quite a few times, now.

"Oh. It's sweet of you to offer, but I think things are being managed well enough, for the moment." In fact, she feels better than she has in quite a while. That's likely for any number of reasons. Real progress being made with the refugees, Cullen's mood taking a upswing lately, Zevran...

That locket hangs lightly, just out of sight under a higher neckline than usual. Better to keep it out of the baby's hands.

[serannas]

"All right. But if you ever find your hands full, you can just call on me on the crystals and I'll help you." She doesn't mind fetching things for her friend. It can't be easy to wrangle an energetic young child, even if it does suit Mia.

[lettersfromhome]

It isn't easy, but it comes with its own rewards. Hard to say how long she'll be in the child's life, but it's been some time since she's looked after a baby this small, and she knows it doesn't last nearly as long as parents might hope.

Once again, she finds herself smiling at Ellana. "You're very kind. But tell me what you've been up to, lately. Surely you have enough to be getting on with on your own?"

[serannas]

"The only really big thing I've done was visit some elven ruins in Orlais. It was wonderful, and a little dangerous, but I loved getting to see a piece of my people's history." And she loved being able to share in the exploration with her friends. She didn't discriminate in choosing her team, and was actually the only elf there. The others had been respectful of the location, and she knew she'd made the right choice in asking them to come with her.

[lettersfromhome]

"Really? That must have been terribly exciting. Did you find anything down there?"

The opportunity to see a piece of her people's former empire would be reward enough, certainly, but sometimes she'd heard of things recovered from this place or that. Dormant elven magic or terrible secrets, beautiful secluded locations in the heart of the wilderness.

She'd never seen anything like it, but the stories were certainly lovely.

[serannas]

"Yes! Beautiful art and sculpture, and I found a staff to use. And we found clues to the location of an important elven artifact. Not from the ancient days, but from the fall of the Dales. It's very exciting." And it means she'll be on the search again.

[lettersfromhome]

Art and sculpture. Amazing that it had lasted this long, with the empire gone for so long. "May I ask what sort of artifact? I don't know much about this sort of thing, but it sounds as if it might prove useful."

The Inquisition wouldn't be putting resources towards it otherwise, surely.

[serannas]

"It's called the Sulevin Blade. It's a weapon with a sad history, I'm afraid. Most elves wouldn't speak of it to humans, but, well--" She gives a shrug, smiling sheepishly. "I'm not like most elves. This is the tale I know, but how much is truth, I can't say. It was a great weapon of the People, and when the humans broke peace with them and invaded the Dales, the elves made a terrible mistake so they could save their home. They spilled the blood of innocents in a sacrifice, hoping blood magic could strengthen the blade. Instead, spirits punished those elves by killing them and breaking the blade into pieces. No one knows where it lies, but if I can decipher these clues, I might find the location."

[lettersfromhome]

Mia's brow knots faintly as the tale is laid out to her. Blood magic. Well, she had said it was a terrible mistake. The last act of desperate people pushed too far. It was a sadly common story, and sadly common ending.

"I can't imagine what good would come of it. Such an item would be cursed, surely."

[serannas]

"It could be," Ellana admits, "But before the end, it was a celebrated piece of elven craftsmanship. If it could be found and reforged, it could belong to the elves of the Inquisition, and inspire others too. We could look at it and say that it doesn't have to be a symbol of everything that went wrong. It's a symbol that the elves can uncover more of our long history if we try."

[lettersfromhome]

"It's less the symbolism I'm concerned with," she replies frankly. "We've had enough instances of something slipping in here that shouldn't. As long as you're taking care with these relics."

Not that she doesn't think the Inquisition will thoroughly look over anything brought within it's walls, but she does worry. Magic has done terrible things to her family, and while mages aren't necessarily a worry of hers, magic itself? It's capable of just about anything, good or ill.

[serannas]

"Of course. It would have to be approved by the Inquisition first anyway." It's something she needs to write to ask the leaders about, especially if it requires Inquisition resources.

[lettersfromhome]

"Thankfully, we're not quite as paranoid as we all could be, given what's happened."

The keep still seems to be in relatively good spirits, in fact. They have a few cheery souls to thank for that, she's sure, and the way people have pulled together in their down time to remember that they are all working together is encouraging, to say the least.

[serannas]

"It's true. This is a truly unique place. We've formed our own community here, and I think it must be different from any place else in Thedas." Where else could mages, Templars, Dalish, Andrastians, Vashoth, Tevinters, Orlesians, Fereldans, rifters, and more all congregate and get along well enough that no battles were breaking out in the courtyards?

[lettersfromhome]

"It's been quite an education, I'll say that."

After all, before this she'd never so much as met a Qunari, dwarf, or mage. She'd only seen a few elves in passing, never spoken to them. All of this was new and strange but by and large she was immensely glad she'd come here.

For more than a few reasons. Her eyes drop to the now sleeping babe in her arms with a quiet smile.