faderift | [open] we all live and breathe

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[open] we all live and breathe

WHO: Sina and yyyooooouuuu
WHAT: Miscellaneous early spring interactions!
WHEN: Drakonis-ish
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: get er while she's still kickin

The Healing Tents

Now that the weather is warming ever so slightly, and Sina is feeling ever so slightly better, she's throwing herself back into assisting the Inquisition's healers. Though she uses magic sometimes, for the most part she's helping out by providing poultices, herbal remedies, and a soothing bedside manner to the ailing patients, keeping herself busy and no longer focused on the anchor in her chest.

This is how she spends the majority of her afternoons, with the occasional break to rest. She's not in perfect health herself, and it's showing more than ever.
Though in most cases she just seats herself off to one side until her strength rebuilds, there have been one or two incidents in which she has very nearly collapsed and required assistance.
If this upsets her, she shows no sign of it, at least not in the moment.

The Garden

Sina's early mornings to lunchtime are spent planting, trimming, and checking the progress of her various charges. They're starting to bud, which concerns her somewhat since frost is still very much a problem, but some coaxing (and perhaps the tiniest use of Keeper magic) keeps things moving along in a healthy and otherwise undisturbed manner.

She can be found here in the evenings as well, sitting outside her tent, sometimes with Nahariel, wrapped in a blanket and enjoying a cup of tea. She's come to think of the garden as home, it being the greenest place in Skyhold.

Elsewhere

There are times Sina can be encountered with her basket of herbs, making deliveries to the various offices and people requesting medicinal teas, or just in transit from one place to another. It's actually quite rare to find her inside the Keep itself, as the stone enclosures make her nervous, but she does have to pass through every so often.
Hippie.

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Iskandar had taken to coming here lately. It was a peaceful location and enclosed as well. This way his pup and kitten could roam around somewhat freely without him having as much of a worry about them being trampled. Then again both were intelligent enough to avoid that so he wasn't overly concerned but it was still better to be here for a little bit each day.

And that was how he happened to notice an elf maid caring for the plants. Curious, he went over to have a look at what she was doing, glancing over her shoulder. Not a difficult task given his height.

"Ah, what is it you do there? Are you one of the caretakers of these plants?"

Sina has never fully adjusted to the idea of domesticated animals, but she doesn't mind them as long as they don't disturb the gardens or the wildlife therein. Cats are, of course, welcome for keeping the pests away, but she's herded out one or two for trying to kill the birds. ...which are also pest control. C'mon.

It is quite easy for Iskandar to look over her not only because he's very tall, but because Sina is exceedingly small, even for an elf. That and she's on her knees, marking some of the bulbs she's been planting, when he speaks to her.
Sitting back on her heels, she turns around and is... somewhat startled to see the human towering over her, though really no one she's met is so imposing as Korrin, so she's able to offer a little uncertain smile instead of just fleeing.

"I am," she confirms, "are you looking for something?" People will often help themselves to certain herbs.

"Ah no. I just find such respect of nature to be a wonderful thing and thought I might watch you since Hephaestion Alexander and Achilles Alexander are currently exploring together."

Sitting down on the ground near her so that way he wouldn't tower over her quite so much, he offered her a warm smile as if to say she had nothing to worry about with him. Settling his hands on his knees, he nodded to the plant she had been looking at when he'd interrupted.

"What is this one? I am still familiarizing myself with the plants of this world so I am not so familiar with what all of them look like."

Sina would ask why both animals are named Alexander, but decides it's probably not worth the explanation. This man seems friendly, but loud and large, and she's been a bit fragile of late.
She can't help but smirk a bit at 'respect for nature', since it's something very different for her, but she understands that some people see it as a special thing and not just a way of life. It's fine.

When he gestures to the plant she's working on, she carefully runs her hand over its leaves. "Embrium," she replies, "very common, and just as useful."

"Embrium." He nodded even though his face clearly showed that he had no idea what she was talking about. At least he was willing to admit to that as he looked back at her. "What is this plant used for? Is it for medicine?"

He was pretty sure it wouldn't be poison at least. That seemed a dangerous sort of thing to be keeping in the gardens here.

"Yes," Sina replies with a small nod, "this type in general is good for the lungs. Which is nice, around htis time of year, when everyone's catching ill." Hopefully not including her, but one can never be certain.

"What a wonder it would have been if we could have had something like this in my time..." He let his voice trail off at that, not really explaining things as he became lost in thought for a moment. When he realized what he'd done, he blinked then gave her a bashful sort of smile. "My apologies, my friend. Illnesses were very difficult to treat in my lands and I lost many good friends to things I learned were given cures later in time."

Sina is about to ask what he might mean by 'my time', but she quickly remembers that many Rifters are from long ago even in their own worlds. It's strange, but not unprecedented.
"No need to apologize," she says softly, with a little smile that doesn't meet her eyes, "many are still difficult. But we work hard to fight that."

"Mm. I can imagine. That you have done so much already is truly a wonder. Ah, are you one of the healers yourself, my friend?" There seemed a fair few of them here from what he'd been gathering. It was either that or he just managed to keep talking to the ones who were good at it and not so much the others. Anything was possible really.

"I am," she confirms, "though I mostly assist. My magic is better for healing plants than it is for people." She smiles, a bit self-consciously.

Rather than fault or judge her for being better with healing plants than people, his smile actually lit up. "But that is wonderful! Plants are just as alive as any person is. To see that there is someone out there who can give them such tender care is a wonder to me. You are magnificent."

Hardly expecting that emphatic a reaction from a total stranger, Sina can't help but smile, a blush tinging her face. This man is huge and intimidating, but his heart is clearly in the right place.
"..well... thank you," she sheepishly replies, "I do my best."

"May I ask how you use your magic to help them? It is not a magic I am familiar with but I am always interested in how mages use their skills." Magic was a wonderful tool just like any physical thing. Of course he had a great respect for it! And an obvious curiosity as well.

Sina bites her lower lip as she regards him, and gives a small, apologetic shake of her head. "We guard it carefully," she points out, "--Keepers, I mean. Of the Dalish. But it's nothing against you." A year ago, she'd hardly have been so polite about it.

He laughed softly and gave a wave of his hand. "There is nothing to worry about. If you cannot share with me then I shall not push. I am content enough to know that it is something that is special for Dalish Keepers." Really it was something so that was good enough.

"Honestly there are things I shouldn't be sharing about things I can do as well. I personally just have never cared to bother with that but I do respect those who feel they need to or want to."

Her guard falls a little further, and Sina gives a small nod of gratitude. She never suspected shem would be so understanding, but for the most part they have been.
"The world is better for it," she decides. "Some things aren't meant to be shared."

"I suppose so. I've not really thought about that part all that much if I am to be honest. Then again when I was ruling over my lands I felt that open honesty was the best policy with my people. That they deserved to know what their King was thinking and feeling." He shrugged then gave her a warm smile. "Still, secrets are not actually terrible things. It would be foolish to fault someone for feeling they should keep one."

Historically, the elves of Thedas haven't had a great relationship with humans ruling lands. Though Sina maintains a quiet and level expression, she does seem slightly wary when Iskandar brings this up.
"What are your people like?" she ventures, hoping the conversation doesn't turn ugly.

"They are wonderful! The advances in science and art and culture made in my lands were extraordinary! Each land that became mine, I encouraged my people to learn the ways of the lands so that they could respect what was there already. After all the people who ruled those lands would be governing them so their traditions should be kept." It wasn't what a conquering king would normally talk about actually. Yet there was such excitement in his eyes as he spoke of his kingdom from all those years ago. After all, in his eyes conquering was not about destroying.

"People from all lands were welcome in my kingdom and it was one of the greatest times of learning ever known in history!"

Hmmm.
"...and the people who ruled them... wanted you there," she clarifies, hoping to hear either an affirmative or why he went in anyway. One might say the Dalish are a little sensitive on the subject of invasion. "They wanted to assimilate?"
And not, you know, be killed or put into alienages or Circles, or forced out into the lawless wilds.

"Assimilate? I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that. After all I was not changing any of their cultures. The changes I brought were an increase in food and money and trade. Their own leaders governed their lands and I respected their ways and actually changed myself to match their new cultures."

He rested a hand over his chest. "My name at birth was not Iskandar. It was the name I took on when I became King of Persia. My people were fond of me though and I had a great many friends among them."

She's still not convinced. "And they wanted you there," she rephrases, "all of them." It sounds like a statement, but is a question: one doesn't use the word 'conquer' or 'invade' to describe visiting a neighbor for tea.

"That would seem to be the case. I'm really not sure why so many are so surprised by this fact." Iskandar tilted his head to the side almost looking like a baffled puppy. An oversized one but a puppy all the same. It always seemed so obvious to him that he wasn't sure why others didn't understand.

"... all right," Sina relents, but is still clearly skeptical. Perhaps she doesn't think the conversation will go any further, or just doesn't want to know more-- shem have their ideas about things, and it's worthless arguing with them, she finds.

"There really is a lot of tension between some of the races. I have heard this but sometimes it takes moments like this before I truly realize it." He didn't seem offended or bothered by the fact though. More than he was just understanding things better. "Ah, you are welcome to say anything you wish to me by the way. Even if you dislike what I have to say as you seem to. Each should be welcome to their own opinion and I will respect whatever you feel as your truth."

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