faderift | Open Log

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Open Log

WHO: Inessa, Garahel (her mabari) and OPEN to anyone.
WHAT: A new Warden arrives.
WHEN: Beginning to mid-Solace.
WHERE: Camp Shady, Skyhold. Specifics in prompts.
NOTES: I'll match formats!

Mabari nonsense included at all stages. Weisshaupt and what went on there will likely be referenced, so blood magic/demon-summoning/coup warnings in effect.

I. Camp Shady

There's a new arrival at the Grey Warden camp below Skyhold...well, actually two. Inessa arrives mid-morning, a pale, petite elven woman with a staff on her back and clad in what is unmistakably Grey Warden battlemage attire. Sometimes at her side is an adult mabari who in all honesty isn't that much shorter and considerably more muscled, adorned with kaddis markings. Faced with new surroundings and new people, he's regularly running off to have a look around but always returns to his mistress, perhaps with a new friend?

After setting up her tent wherever there's space (and perhaps double-checking to ensure that particular space won't be needed), Inessa could rest...but she's not going to. Instead, the young woman can be found looking for the nearest campfire to join or starting her own, just wanting to sit down and relax with Garahel and perhaps catch up on recent events. Or she can be found wherever the griffons are kept, observing them with quiet awe. Having seen them at Weisshaupt, they're not exactly a new sight and yet she can still scarcely believe they're real. A small smile forms on her lips as she looks them over, mindful not to get too close or make sudden movements. "Hello again. My, you've grown...."

II. Rotunda library and frescoes

The Grey Warden camp is nice, but there's one thing it doesn't have; stacks upon stacks of books. Inessa's a devoted Warden, but she was also raised in the Circle and if there's one thing she misses, it's the library at her tower. For the first time in over a year and a half, she actually has the time and opportunity to indulge, so she does...with Garahel in tow, of course. Having been instructed previously, the mabari actually behaves himself in this area, no running or barking or running over to harass the ravens in the rookery. Instead, he plops down somewhere reasonably out of the way to nap while Inessa inspects the stacks. No one topic is off limits to her, and soon she accumulates a sizable crooked tower at her table. Much of it involves magical theory or history, but lighter subjects are definitely possible. Varric's books were known even in the Circle.

At some point, because of her petite stature and a dearth of ladders, she'll swallow her pride and look over to the nearest (undoubtedly taller, unless they're a dwarf) person, and smile apologetically. "Excuse me, but could I borrow you for a moment? I need a longer pair of arms to reach a book for me."

Some time later, Inessa descends with a sated mind and a lighter heart. Upon reaching the rotunda below the library, she pauses to inspect the frescoes painted there. They had been noted before, but now that her greatest priority has been tended to, she can spare a little time for such things. The Siege of Adamant Fortress particularly captures her attention, unsurprisingly, and she lingers there, gazing solemnly upward.

III. Battlements

In what will become part of her routine, Inessa takes to strolling the battlements with Garahel before heading back to the Grey Warden encampment. It's a chance to savor the mountain view and stretch her legs, and let her attention-needy mabari get some petting from friendly soldiers and scouts. The direction isn't important, just the chance to clear her head and enjoy the brisk winds, a sharp contrast from the oppressive heat of the Western Approach.

IV. Wildcard

Catch her nearly anywhere. Perhaps she's discovered the vault library (and Garahel abandons her for the kitchen, since he can't fit) or is getting treats for Garahel at the kitchen. Curious Warden is curious and will want to see everything Skyhold has to offer that's not off-limits.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Kirk hadn't been to the library in awhile. While he appreciated the attempt at keeping all these books, it had becoming frustrating reading page after page and feeling like he wasn't getting any real information at all. Half of it felt like propaganda, the other half like misinformation being spouted as true facts because the write had been brought up to believe it. At least the maps were useful. As it was, he was already thinking of ways to sneak in a few volumes, like the one he had purchased from Pel, for people to find on their own and read. If nothing else, he might write a few instructional books of his own and set them in too. Knowledge was power, after all.

Seeking respite from his headache he had gone down into the rotunda, finding a place to stretch out and nap on the cool stones and let his headache subside. He hardly wanted to bother the healers with the matter, after all. He comes awake from his doze when hears steps, getting to his feet in case it's one of the library tenders, making his way around before spotting Inessa gazing at the siege.

"Interesting, isn't it?" he said in way of greeting, coming to stand a few paces from her.

Almost immediately after Kirk gets to his feet, he's intercepted by a friendly mabari sniffing at him and wagging his tail hopefully. Treats or pets, please? But he doesn't jump, trained well by Inessa since the slight woman would have no resistance to the large, muscular war hound.

Turning at the sound of another, the elven woman nods. "Very, yes. I was...not available at that time, but as my order was there, it draws my interest. Were you present?"

The dog takes him by surprise, but he smiles and gives the animal what it is clearly begging for. He kneels, rubbing his hands along the dog's shoulders and back, turning his head to look up at the mural again. He remembered that particular attack, as, yes, he had been there, though it was curious to find it so quickly painted. If, indeed, it was referring to the to the march out in the desert not that long ago.

"You mean when we marched out in the desert?" he asked for clarification, scratching the mabari vigorously.

Utterly shameless, the mabari enjoys the petting before flopping down and rolling onto his back. Bellies need rubbing, too. Glancing over, Inessa just rolls her eyes at his antics before nodding to her company. "Yes. That was fairly recent, wasn't it? Or were you recruited after?"

Well of course the belly must be attended to. What did this mabari taken him for? A fool? He shifted his weight and went at said belly with both hands, scratching and rubbing with the vigor bellies clearly deserved to be rubbed with.

"No, I was there. And I wasn't recruited. I ended up here because - well, it seems to be the place all us Rifters come," he shrugged his shoulders. "I went because I wanted to see more of Thedas, to be honest." He glanced at the painting again and his brow scrunched, the particular fight clearly not being one he enjoyed.

And of course Garahel is all contented grunts and stretching now, eager to take advantage and have Kirk reach as many places as possible. So long as Kirk doesn't seem to mind, Inessa won't say anything against it, but when he begins to tire, she'll get her mabari to back off. He's spoiled enough as it is with her, but she won't have him overstep boundaries with others.

Those words snare her attention from the fresco, her curiosity piqued. "A Rifter? I've heard of them, but not meet them in person until now, at least to my knowledge. It's true that you emerged from the Fade, then? And yet, you're as human as any I have seen in Thedas...." It's a thing of wonder, and there's no room in her mind for fear of the unknown, not unless said unknown is actively attacking her.

For now he was content to spoil the dog, enjoying the exuberance it displays. It was nice to see something so unfettered and just being enjoyed.

He glanced up to her from the dog, inclining his head and chest slightly, briefly, in something like a bow. He would have made it more dramatic, but he had a dog to scratch. "A pleasure to be your first, then. And I emerged from somewhere - possibly the Fade as you call it, and yes, I am entirely human."

Garahel appreciates his priorities, wiggling a little as though to help Kirk get just the right spots. Or because he can, happy that someone's paying attention to him. His mistress chuckles at the display from them both, nodding her head politely in turn.

"I've forgotten my manners long enough. I'm Warden Inessa Serra, and your new best friend down there is Garahel. We're newly arrived from Griffon Wing Keep." And Weisshaupt before then, but she's not in the mood to bring it up first. This rifter business is far more interesting. "Are all of you human? I've heard so little that I could consider as accurate. Some particularly ignorant folk were determined that the Inquisition was allowing demons into its ranks."

If the term Warden unnerved him he did not show it. He had not heard much about them in all honesty - more about the Templars than anything, and he had no great love of them or the Chantry at this point.

"James Tiberius Kirk, but you can just call me Jim or Kirk," he returned as politeness demanded. His scratching, it should be noted, hadn't stopped though a light sheen of sweat was forming on his forehead.

"No, not all of us," he shook his head. "At least, of the ones I know. There are some elves and I wouldn't be surprised if there are other races that come through. Not surprising if my theory on the Rift and the Fade is correct. Not that it matters since I can't actually prove it, of course. But I promise we aren't demons."

In all fairness, Inessa's armor advertised her status long before her introduction. That the rifter human doesn't seem to react badly to either has her relaxing a bit, though she wouldn't have blamed him if that had been the case. The Wardens' recent reputation is well-earned, even though she had fought against it.

"I believe you; I've encountered demons before, and I can tell the difference. Besides, I'm certain the Inquisition would have investigated this earlier." She quirks an eyebrow at mention of rifter elves, vaguely interested but not as much as the potential for other races beyond them. "Oh? What's your theory, then? I'd be very interested in hearing it--and please, don't strain yourself for the sake of my spoiled dog. He'll survive, I promise."

Garahel whines a little, but he knows better than to go against Inessa in this. Harassing people means no treats.

Having not heard much of them, he certainly had not seen or met one. Her armor told him nothing other than she likely knew what she was doing and made a good enough living to afford all of that. Or had been afforded it at one point. So, as of now, he had no prior bias one way or the other. Besides, dogs were good judges of character. Surely such a nice creature as her mabari would not be so sweet if she were truly awful, yes?

He let off the petting with a grateful sigh, moving instead to stroke the back of his neck. "My theory is that the Rift is actually a rend in space-time. The Rifters coming through are falling through this rends, and they're closing rapidly behind," he explained. "Though I can't say how much water that holds because a tear in space-time requires a massive mount of energy, and I just don't know how that could be produced here."

Sorry if it sounds like gibberish, Inessa, but you had asked.

Garahel whines softly at first, but Inessa's look has him quieting down. The spoiled mabari doesn't need to be pet every single moment of his life. He'll survive, honest.

The elven Warden then turns her attention back to Kirk, listening with great interest. Sure, she doesn't understand some (most) of it, but it's reassuring in a way that someone has taken the time to mull over ideas even if the context eludes her. "A massive amount of energy...you mean like the formation of the Breach? I doubt an encore of that incident would be appreciated, but it's possible that Corypheus may do so regardless of our wishes. If there was a way to use his greatest weapon to our advantage, that would be deliciously ironic."

"Opening one and making it go where you want it to are two very different things," he shook his head. "I'm not sure how he opened it in the first place, but supposing he could do it again there's no guarantee it would open to a world any of the Rifters knew."

As it was, this world seemed highly connected to another dimension already in the form of the Fade. If anything, that would be the easiest tear and energy, like water, went for the path of least resistance. Which was maybe why he had been able to do it in the first place.

Inessa sighs quietly, her expression sympathetic. "No, there isn't. And I can't say it's anywhere near my area of expertise, nor would it be for any mage here. I'm sorry. I can't imagine what it is to be stranded so far from all familiar." Her mabari, feeling similarly, bumps up against Kirk and whines a little. It's not about wanting pettings this time, honest.

Edited 2016-07-18 15:57 (UTC)

Kirk grunted as the dog leaned into him, shifting to wrap an arm around his thick shoulders and stroke the crown of his head instead.

"It's not your fault," he reassured her. "And honestly, part of my job was going to new and unfamiliar places. Admittedly not like this, but it's not something I'm entirely unused to."

But it did hurt. It was painful, knowing he might never go home. That the Enterprise would travel without him, that his crew would never find him, he would never see them again. He didn't like to think like that, but some days he couldn't help it. He tried not to let it show though, or to think to much about it.

"Besides, I'm getting to meet a lot of interesting people and learn a lot of interesting things, so it's not all bad. Like getting to meet you, boy," he grinned at the dog, scratching a bit harder and slapping his shoulder playfully.

Seeing Garahel perk up again, Inessa chuckles. He really is such an attention-sponge. "Do they not have mabari where you're from? Or anything like them? I suppose I shouldn't expect the same exact breed, given that they're magically-bred by the Formari."

Still, she's Fereldan enough to think that everyone deserves a canine companion. Life is too short not to have such joy in one's life. And silliness. Garahel seems to agree, wagging his tail harder and letting out a contented huff.

That he might be, but Kirk was happy to give it. He liked animals, as a rule, and being with the dog made him think he would like a pup of his own. Eventually.

"We have dogs," he said. "Small breeds, large breeds. There's a few that could give a mabari a run for their money, but we don't have mabari specifically. And no magic where I am from - so definitely no magically bred dogs."

There had been a few dogs on the farm, but they had always been more Frank's dogs than his own. He had liked them though, and his friends usually had dogs as well growing up.

"You might want to stop, sir, or you're going to make your partner there jealous," he chided the dog, but made no attempts to actually stop petting him.

Inessa nods at mention of breeds, as at least that's a commonality, thought he lack of magic has her staring at Kirk to be sure she heard right. "No magic? But you were able to reach the Fade, somehow. At least enough to step out of it. Perhaps your world is unaware of how to accent it, though that also seems strange."

She shakes her head, unable to make sense of it. "You must think Thedas quite strange, in turn. At least you're not recoiling in fear, though. I'll take what I can get." There's a wry smile forming, both jesting and not.

"Well, I just know I feel through something," he corrected her, finally giving up and just sitting all the way down on the floor beside the greedy beast. "I believe is a tear through space-time, but that doesn't make it magic. At least not to me. And in my world, where I from, as I said - we have no magic. We have the word, but it doesn't mean the same thing it does here. The things you can do with magic we accomplish with science and technology. Which, some might say, is its own form of magic."

He gave her a smile and laugh softly at her assessment.

"I'll admit, there are things that give me pause, but overall I find it quite fascinating - all the difference races and cultures. It's exciting."

It seems impolite to converse and not be eye-level, so Inessa checks to make sure that she's not blocking the more heavily-trafficked areas and sits down as well. Having trekked all over the valley and then Skyhold, her feet need the relief even as she hasn't complained once. Listening to Kirk, she smiles, encouraged.

"That's a refreshing point of view; it's not often I meet someone with an open mind regarding such subjects. If it's magic or non-human, most want as little to do with it as possible. This isn't to say that there aren't aspects of Thedas that doesn't deserve judgment. There are, but a lack of ingrained bias will serve you well."

Edited 2016-07-27 05:27 (UTC)

"Where I am from, it's my job to go and explore the unknown," he explained without giving specifics. That could tend to muddy things with people he didn't know all that well, so for the time he tended to keep it vague. Having to explain star travel was becoming a nightmare, so he had switched to this new system.

"To do that, you rather need an open mind," he chuckled. "And non-human doesn't bother me in the least. Where I am from there are plenty of non-humans. I even work with a variety of them." So no worries, Inessa. No judgement due to the shape of your ears, though he might judge you because clearly your dog is attention starved. Or he's just a big baby and attention hog. Could go either way at this point.

Garahel paws at Kirk, not helping matters any. He may look well-groomed and fed but don't let that fool you, he's so lonely despite having gotten belly rubs not more than half an hour ago. Inessa, without looking, beings petting him too, so at least he'll have his attention divided.

That gets Inessa's attention, the working with non-humans rather than exploring the unknown. Which is also interesting, but one thing at a time. "You do? I'd be interested to hear more about that, especially if it's any different from what you must already know of Thedas."

Oh, you are a master of the puppy dog eyes aren't you? He can feel that you are, don't lie to him. Still, he's rubbing you anyways, greedy creature.

"Oh, well, I'm not to sure what there is to say about it. We have people of different races and cultures on my ship, in a variety of positions. We don't really take into account their particular race or their culture when it comes to doing a job - if they can do it, then they can do it, and we simply place the best person for it in that position. Sometimes that might come down to their race because of physiology, but that's rare."

While Garahel is currently becoming a furry puddle on the floor, Inessa mulls over the imagery Kirk gives her. It's certainly different from most of Thedas, without a doubt.

"Such equality sounds fascinating. That your race would matter less than what you do is a concept much of this world has yet to grasp. It's one reason why I joined the Grey Wardens; to them, it doesn't matter that I'm an elf or a mage. What does is the ability to face and destroy darkspawn."

"It took awhile for my own world to learn that, and I won't lie - some people still don't deal with it well," he acknowledged. "But for the most part, it's a simple reality that there is much, much more out there beyond human. It seems rather pointless to do something like discriminate based on something like race. It's who you are as a person that counts, in my opinion."

He blinked and looked at Inessa and looked dow with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, I was preaching there for just a moment, wasn't I?"

Open Log

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