faderift | You'll fight and you'll make it through

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You'll fight and you'll make it through

WHO: Hermione and OPEN!
WHAT: Catch-all for the month (let me know if you'd like a particular starter)
WHEN: Wintermarch, going into Guardian if need be
WHERE: Throughout Skyhold
NOTES: Feel free to assume prior minor CR between them, especially if your character would have taken/taught any classes involving magic or Thedosian history/culture. I'm willing to handwave more major previous CR if that would make the thread move along more easily, but we can hash out those details either via PM or on plurk (

StarryOblivion).

Archery range

To her credit, Hermione was trying.

Her magic still wasn't coming along as seamlessly as she would hope, and so she'd bitten the bullet and decided that she'd need to learn other ways of defending herself, since she couldn't rightfully stay within the confines of Skyhold forever. Most weapons were too large or heavy for an untrained person of smaller stature, and the ones that weren't would force her to get much closer to an enemy than she would want to, especially if bloodshed was going to be involved. Given all that, archery seemed the best bet. She could stay a safe distance from most of the fighting and also run with her weapon without it tripping her up or throwing off her balance. And besides, she'd used a bow and arrow before.

Once.

For fun.

And she hadn't been very good.

Which explained why she'd raised the bow before the arrow was properly nocked, resulting in the arrow unexpectedly flying loose with an almost comical twang! and a gasp from the startled young witch. She widened her eyes as she instinctively looked around, hoping that no one had seen that, before realizing that she should be more concerned with where the arrow had gone and fervently hoping it hadn't managed to somehow hit someone.

Perhaps she should stay away from weapons for a while?

Training Grounds

She'd made it quite clear to anyone who offered to spar with her that she didn't know the first thing about fighting without any sort of magic, but even so, Hermione wasn't really going to leave anything to chance. She'd been tortured before, and while no physical injury could match what had been done to her, she still wasn't a big fan of pain and was in no hurry to subject herself to any injuries that may require more than a quick visit to the healing tents.

Long hair pulled back into a bun and wearing as much light armor as she could get away with without hindering her movement, Hermione always stood stiffly as she eyed her opponent, looking for weaknesses. She was small and fairly fast, so if she could assess her situation before the match even started, she could try to use that to her advantage and end things as quickly as possible. Still, she was here to learn, and one didn't learn without asking questions, so there was no shortage of those as she awkwardly went through the motions each and every time.

"Is my stance all right? Where should my hands be while I'm defending myself? You're not going to actually hit me hard, are you? I don't fancy a broken nose, and I'm not looking to hurt you. You know I'm only looking to defend myself, don't you? You'll stop if I ask you to, won't you? What should I be doing with my feet?"

On and on it went, and if she couldn't get herself used to any kind of bare-handed combat, Hermione was just going to have to get her hands on her own staff and start practicing a different sort of sparring, assuming that her mage friends wouldn't mind showing her how to use a staff in a less traditional sort of way.

The Baths

While she always did what she could to keep herself clean, Hermione had managed to avoid the baths for an extended period of time. It was easy enough when making water was one of the only spells she could still reliably do, and she'd been forced to get used to limited hygiene during the year she'd spent on the run. But now that she was actually involved in regular physical activity, she couldn't really make do with a quick wash or a mostly-clothed dip in the bath.

Though it always seemed like most of the people she would see down there relished their time in the water, Hermione had never exactly enjoyed communal baths. Still, she did happen to go down there while it was mostly empty, and there was no rule saying she had to be completely nude to get herself clean. She was a grown woman, and if she wanted to sit in a bath with her underwear on, she was surely entitled to it.

Besides, the hot water felt good on her sore muscles (she was getting muscles now; when did that happen?), and so it was easier for her to relax than she might have thought otherwise. So long as no one tried to engage her in conversation while their privates were less-than-private, she could almost enjoy soaking in there for a bit.

Library

The drawback to not having your own small, private, contained bath was that you couldn't read in the tub, and despite her newer hobbies, reading will always be Hermione's first love. While she might not be as much of a fixture in the library as she used to be upon her initial arrival, anyone looking for her could simply hang about the vicinity long enough and she would find her way back there before too long. These days, she mostly read for the various classes she was taking, but she still found the time to read one of the "lighter" books available in Skyhold's library. Sometimes, these books were written with a very marked biased, and whoever might be sitting close enough to the young rifter might be drawn into a heated discussion over said bias. It was all right, though; she usually kept her voice down, given that it was a library.

Wildcard!

Choose your own adventure!

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There is no real reason for Christine to be down at the archery range, but she spots Hermione from afar and makes her way over to see how she's doing now. Last time they spoke, Hermione didn't seem well and Christine hopes she's improved. It isn't easy to be trapped in a situation you want no part of, as they all well know, and comfort can be hard to provide when you're also stuck in the middle of things.

She comes towards Hermione from the side, but adjusts her steps to lead her a little behind her friend for safety as well. Good thing too, as the arrow goes flying off. Christine chuckles, lifting a hand towards her mouth.

"Oh, Maker! And I thought Church was bad with a crossbow."

The more important thing is that the arrow hadn't hit anyone. That's what Hermione has to keep telling herself, especially after hearing the commentary from Christine. She knows the other woman doesn't mean anything by it, but Gryffindor pride has a way of rearing its ugly head at the most inopportune moments.

"What? No, I meant to do that! It was... a test! To see what would happen if the arrow isn't... isn't, um....." Ah. And now in her fluster, she's forgotten the proper word.

"... nocked! If the arrow isn't nocked properly! After all, certain safety measures are overlooked in the heat of battle, so it's good to know what will happen if you're careless enough to...." Pressing her lips together for a moment, Hermione finally manages to chuckle a little at her own absurdity.

"You're not buying any of that, are you?"

Christine -- to her credit -- does managed to listen to all this without interruption or outright laughing, but she can't hide the smile that's threatening to break through. When Hermione breaks, Christine follows, laughing and shaking her head.

"Not at all! But it was a good effort. And I should perhaps not find it so funny, but your face was so amusing!"

Even if she is embarrassed, Hermione at least knows when to laugh at herself, especially if there isn't any malice intended from those doing the laughing. Awkwardly rubbing at the back of her neck, she glances down at the bow in her hand and sighs softly.

"It's all right. We've never exactly had to learn archery, where I'm from. Or use any sort of weapon outside of a wand, really, so picking up something that would keep me a fair distance from whoever may want to attack me seemed like a good idea at the time. But then, most ideas seem like good ones when they're first thought up; even the terrible ones."

"It was the same for mages, I assure you." Christine nods her head, completely understanding. A mage cut off from their magic by a Templar is helpless, which is just what the Templars wanted. Learning to wield a bow or blade wasn't something mages were allowed to do.

"Though now I am learning to use a sword, of sorts. It is a challenge to master, and I keep my wrist wrapped so I do not sprain it when I practice."

"A sword, really?" Hermione asks, unaware of the fact that she's wrinkling her nose. There's nothing wrong with swords, of course, and she's not making any judgments against Christine for learning how to use one. It's just....

"I wouldn't be able to use a weapon that forced me to get that close to an opponent. If I had no other recourse, certainly, but in that case, something like a dirk would probably suit me better: something small that I can use quickly before making an escape. It isn't that I'm afraid to fight, mind. It's just... well. Most people here seem to have much more experience with it than I do. I know where my strengths are and where they aren't."

"A spirit blade," she explains, and if she had her hilt on her, she would demonstrate. Alas, she does not. "The weapon of a Knight-Enchanter. I have found in battle that an enemy's goal is to close the distance between, and a mage cannot always safely retreat. If I am confined, I must fight back, and a Knight-Enchanter can produce a near-constant barrier over themselves through alternate uses of spells and swinging their blade." It's no wonder the specialization appealed to her. The very first spell she ever performed on accident was a barrier spell.

"In the Circle, we were taught the use of many spells, but very, very few of us were ever meant to fight. The Knight-Enchanter was an acceptable role for those mages the Templars felt could be of use to them. They often accompanied them to hunt for apostates." Not the cleanest history, turning on their fellow mages, but even Christine can recognize that some apostates are dangerous and need to be brought down before they destroy villages. It's the whole "assuming every mage will destroy a village" that raises her hackles around people.

"Is that something you want to do?" Hermione asks before she can stop herself. Realizing that such a title might not really mean much anymore now that there are no Circles, she brings up, "One would think that most mages these days would want to learn the ways of a Knight-Enchanter, if they're the only ones who'd been taught to fight. After all, during wartime even civilians learn how to defend themselves if danger gets just a little too close to them."

She knows that all too well, and she also knows what happens to those civilians who can't defend themselves. Too many faces flash in her mind's eye for her to think about that for too long, though, and so she shakes her head a bit to clear it.

"Were Templars not worried that Knight-Enchanters would side with the apostate they were hunting? After all, not all apostates were criminals, so it would be easy enough to sympathize with them. Especially since I'm assuming most apostates weren't afforded the benefit of a proper trial and sentencing." Which is the main thing that separates the hunting of apostates from the way Aurors tracked down practitioners of the Dark Arts, insofar as Hermione has been able to tell.

"Of course, but it is not easy to obtain a spirit blade," Christine explains. "You need wisp essence, which comes from killing a wisp that has crossed over from the Fade, usually via a rift." She had gone with Korrin to the site of a rift, where they battled the demons and wisps until she had enough of the latter's essence. Then they retreated because neither have a shard with which to close the rift.

"I do not pretend to know how Templars think. Only the most trusted of mages were allowed to leave the Circles for certain tasks, such as hunting apostates or attending Council meetings, and it was hard to say just how you ascended the ranks to a 'trusted mage.' I was certainly never one of them."

"You mean those transparent green spirit-like demons usually spat out of rifts?" They're one of the few demons Hermione doesn't mind fighting, as they're easily enough bested and like to maintain their distance; it makes it easier for a few quick spells from her wand to get rid of them. "They seem plentiful enough to me, but then, I do have a knack for finding myself in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Her nose wrinkles slightly as she wonders over how a mage would earn the trust of a Templar. Though she'd rather not think of it given that she's met a few decent Templars, she can't help but imagine that it involved some sort of unsavory favoritism, but she doesn't say as much. "It's probably for the best," she says instead. "If someone wouldn't consider you trustworthy simply on the basis of being a good person, you probably wouldn't want to be part of their inner circle."

"Yes, well, they are harder to obtain safely when you cannot close rifts," Christine points out gently. Demons don't stop pouring out and a person has to take what they can and retreat quickly.

"A philosophy with which I wholly agree. I refuse to be anyone's pet, especially a Templar's. I must be taken on my own merits and not seen as just a tool to be used."

"Ah. Right." At that, she glances down at her left hand, feeling almost strangely guilty for not having closed more rifts in her time with the Inquisition except where absolutely necessary. "I suppose I wouldn't want to get too close to a rift either, if I couldn't close it. As it is, I can close them and I'd still rather not get close to them, unless it can't be helped."

The corner of her lips turn up into a small half-smile at Christine's assertion, leaving her to reply. "You're a person. You're allowed to demand personhood. Anyone who would deny you that is sacrificing a bit of their own, in my opinion."

There are times Christine marvels at Hermione's education, or perhaps natural understanding of the world. She seems to understand it better than those three times her age. It makes her wonder what her home is like to give Hermione such a perspective on things. It's a rare and beautiful thing, in her opinion.

"Just so. You understand my feelings so well. I always enjoy our talks, you know."

Hermione has been blessed with a large store of common sense, and she uses that every bit as much as her book smarts to get her through life. It's the only thing that has helped her accept her current situation in Thedas despite the logical side of her brain constantly yelling that none of this makes any sense.

"I'm glad," she replies with a small smile. "I enjoy them, too. It's nice talking to someone who can help me understand what life is like for someone involved in the magical community here. I just wish I could help make others understand the same and make things a little better for mages."

"It is my pleasure to help you in any way I can." Her eyes move towards the archery target. "Unfortunately, my skills do not lie in archery. But with practice, I believe you can achieve anything." Christine will leave her to it. "I really must return to my duties, but keep me updated on your progress?"

"Well, not anything," Hermione murmurs, glancing back at the target that is utterly safe from getting shot by any arrows from her bow. "I'm still not much for flying or Divination."

Looking back at Christine again, she nods and tells her, "Don't let me keep you. I might just try my hand at something a bit safer than archery. Like herb gathering. Herb gathering seems safe." She's joking, really. Mostly.

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You'll fight and you'll make it through

{ archery range }

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