OPEN: this will be a better year

[faderifting]

WHO: Everyone
WHAT: First Day
WHEN: Wintermarch 1 (forward-dated)
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Scouts from both the Western Approach and Emprise du Lion are welcome (but not required) to have returned to Skyhold in time for this event.

There have been better First Day feasts, and less crowded ones, and cheerier ones. It isn't a good year for many to look back on, and this one isn't starting any better. Reports from both Eastern and Western Orlais are grim. Many in the Inquisition can't afford to take more than a few hours away from their work, if that.

But for those who can, the ambassador does her best. At lunchtime some tables, hot food, and finery are reserved for visiting nobility and wealthy pilgrims--cause for grumbling in some quarters, perhaps, but they're the people filling the Inquisition's coffers, and allowances must be made--but there's plenty of stew, bread, and ale for everyone, even with the soldiers and refugees who stay outside the fortress invited inside for the holiday. The recently repaired garden and its carefully tended plants aren't off limits, but anyone noisy and holding a drink will be stopped at the door; the battlements, with their potential for deadly falls, are blocked by Inquisition guards. But the courtyards brim with people, most of them happy despite the possibility that the world might end before another First Day arrives.

If the courtyards are too full of tipsy visitors for comfort, there's also the valley beyond the fortress, expansive, barren, and covered in snow. By the river the soldiers help the refugees make a bonfire larger than would ever be allowed inside Skyhold's walls, and some lend their shields to use as sleds down the embankments. A group of scouts start the most intense game of hide and seek Thedas has ever seen, with snowballs to the face for whoever is found first. In the camp, a refugee girl with her hand wrapped in a green scarf chases other children around the tents, shouting raaar, I'm from the rifts!

Comments

[serannas]

Ellana isn't terribly fond of the cold, but now that she wears boots, it's not nearly so terrible. She's found a battered old pair of gloves as well, and so she's ready to build snowballs to entertain the children. She knows very little ice magic, instead packing the balls by hand, and from her position she witnesses Cullen get covered in snow. The sight makes her giggle and toss the ball in her hand.

"You need to learn to duck!" And with that, she fires her snowball at him, to keep the children laughing. And because it's funny to her too, of course.

[perseverances]

"You too?" He raises his arm as some form of a shield to keep getting hit from both sides, and while he has a moment, he tosses a few at the children and then one back at Ellana. His pile is painfully small, which the children have taken advantage of.

"This would be much easier if I had a shield!"

[serannas]

It isn't long before Ellana is shrieking and ducking, because several children have branched off from Cullen to throw snowballs at her too. Apparently all adults are the enemy here.

"That's would be-- hey!" She stops mid-sentence as a ball hits her in the neck, causing her to scrunch up her shoulder against the cold. "That would be cheating."

She scoops more snow towards herself in order to create more balls, but now she's getting hit regularly, so without a word she darts behind Cullen to avoid being hit by the children.

"What if I just used you as a shield against them?"

[perseverances]

"Now that's cheating!" He laughs, scooping up another snowball in attempt to rally one more defense against the children.

They've severely outnumbered any adult in any capacity, and while Cullen has tried to use military tactics against them, he appears to have exhausted his resources. This can only mean one thing: an all out attempt at their numbers or a sound retreat.

"I fear we are outnumbered."

[serannas]

Despite doing her best to make balls for Cullen to throw, she's hardly fast enough to get a number of extras on reserve, so at his words, she can only laugh. It's no fun being the one getting hit by snow, but the children have enjoyed themselves at least. The question is how much longer can the adults stand to be pelted?

"I fear you're right. We're going to get it now, unless you want to flee?"

[perseverances]

At this point Cullen's pulled up part of his cloak to try and block the oncoming onslaught of snowballs but apparently it's not enough. These kids have quickly learned that outnumbering your target is your best chance for victory.

"A tactical retreat is necessary if we are to stand any chance in the war."

[serannas]

Now that that's been decided, Ellana looks for an escape route. The children are laughing, and she is too, but laughter doesn't make her feel any warmer! Spotting a path back towards the bonfire, she quickly beckons to him.

"This way! Hurry!"