A dillweed in a can, there's nothing lamer than

[mythalenaste]

WHO: Pel Ashara and YOU
WHAT: Returning from Suledin Keep with a new spinning wheel, new battle moves, and a busted-up face.
WHEN: Late Guardian/present
WHERE: Skyhold's courtyard
NOTES: Warning for memories of violence?

One of the ruined houses in Sahrnia had a perfectly good spinning wheel inside, its owners dead. None of the townsfolk wanted it, so Pel loaded it onto a cart.

Now, she's setting it up, and it's not only the spinning wheel that is new. She's wearing a brand new dress and a wide elven belt, something a great deal more feminine than she has ever worn before. The right side of her face is sporting a magnificent set of new bruises as well, the eye swollen half-shut and bloodshot. Several people have offered to heal her, but she wants people to see an elf capable of withstanding pain.

Later, she's put spinning aside and picked up her staff, going through some exercises she learned from Dorian's first class. She can still see an angry red templar cutting off her magic, then swinging a backhand blow at her face like he's punishing a naughty slave. Her depth perception is not great right now, and she occasionally has to pause to wait for double vision to become single vision again.

If you are also practicing at melee combat, she'll give a half-smile (the other half of her mouth hurts too much for that).

"Want to?"

Comments

[the_effect_she_has]

"Want to what? Find the asshole who did that to your face and cut his goddamned hand off?"

Was Katniss's angry reply, as she moved closer to her friend. She had been practicing throwing daggers, but when she saw her friend approaching from across the courtyard she dropped her dagger in the ground and ran over to her.

"Creators - Pel, that looks bad." She murmurs, her lips pressing together. "Why haven't you gone to the healers yet?"

[mythalenaste]

Pel shakes her head. "Red Templar. He's dead. And I have. It used to be worse." Granted, she could have gone back another time, and kept going back until it was healed, but, "You should see the space people have been giving me. It's nice."

[the_effect_she_has]

"Well, you and Zevran might end up with matching scars then." She said dryly, before she leaned away from her friend. One corner of her mouth twisted up. "Well look at you, Pel of Clan Ashara. Enjoying your infamous bad-arse status."

[mythalenaste]

"I doubt it. I'll go in for another round of healing in a bit. It won't be a lasting problem." A faint smile. "I can enjoy it a little while yet. It's important people know you can withstand pain."

[the_effect_she_has]

"Good. Although honestly I don't think Zevran's is really going to be much of a problem for him either, given enough time." She looked at her friend soberly at that comment, before she let out a faint snort. "Ain't - isn't that the truth."

She tried, she honestly tried, to keep her speech a little more civilized for her scholarly friends. Sometimes were easier than most. "So, now that people know you can handle the bad stuff -- are you going out into the field more?"

[mythalenaste]

"My field is not usually the battlefield. The Inquisition simply needed the support in certain places. If you're asking whether I'll try combat more often, I...really don't know. I'll go where I'm sent, but there are a lot of people who can do combat. Not as many can do research."

[the_effect_she_has]

"That is true ... and we need more people like you than we need people like me." Researchers to help them find answers for the hundreds of questions that came up every single time they completed a mission, for example.

She gave her friend a more thoughtful look. "Would you like to learn how to duck a punch in the future?"

[mythalenaste]

"Yes," Pel says immediately, standing up. "Although this was really a backhand, with his gauntlet on."

[the_effect_she_has]

"Well, I can teach you how to avoid those too." Katniss stated with a lopsided smirk, before she took a step back and gestured to Pel. "Most men are going to end up being slower than you - so that's something you can use to your advantage. Try to throw a punch at me."

[mythalenaste]

Pel makes the attempt, but it winds up falling short of Katniss' face. Her depth perception is not great right now.

[the_effect_she_has]

Well. All right. She can still use this. She stepped slightly to the side as the punch completely missed her, but tapped Pel's hand lightly as she did so. "People always telegraph their punches. They'll look towards the part of your body that they want to hit. Look at them, the posture of their body, and shift your body with their movement, so they're wasting their motion trying to hit you."

A pause, before she stated wryly, "I'd ask if you want to try right now - but maybe we should wait until your eyesight is a little less .. disrupted."

[mythalenaste]

She looks enlightened, and nods.

"Probably a good idea. I might see a healer for the next round in a bit. Hurts."

[the_effect_she_has]

"Creators, please do. I don't actually want to have you wandering into another punch." Katniss shook her head, before her lips pressed together in a thin line. "Seriously, if I ever find out who did this -- they're going to find that gauntlet of theirs -- in a very uncomfortable place."

Deep breath. "We'll work on this more -- you had hand to hand training as a First, yes?"

[mythalenaste]

"Not really. Just magic, as far as combat goes."

[the_effect_she_has]

Katniss's eyebrows shot up. "In that case -- do you want me to show you how to punch back, as well?"

[mythalenaste]

"I really would."

[the_effect_she_has]

"Then we start as soon as your eye is healed up."