faderift | { OPEN } May there always be angels to watch over you

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{ OPEN } May there always be angels to watch over you

WHO: Christine Delacroix and OPEN!
WHAT: She's getting used to being a Spirit Healer and having a friend on the other side.
WHEN: any time after Drakonis 17th until month's end.
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Christine has a spirit of Faith in communication with her. It will be observing the world around her and asking her questions. If your character is having a crisis of faith, doubts, etc. Faith may nudge Christine towards your character to see if she can be of help, but she won't know what exactly is the matter without your character telling her. Also, Faith will just be really curious in general. Have your character dance a jig, lose at cards, mend a shirt, whatever, and Faith will be wanting to know more.

{ anywhere }
When she thinks back on it, Christine knows that the reason the spirit of Faith approached her in the Fade is because Christine had visited the chapel before her test, trying to erase her doubts. But it was having doubt that caught Faith's attention and cemented their relationship. It's hard for a perfectionist like her to admit that there are times when she isn't sure of herself because it's admitting to weakness. Yet already Faith is changing her perceptions. There can be no faith without doubt. If Christine was perfect in every way, she wouldn't need a spirit to help with her ability to heal. Faith is needed, because doubt is inevitable. Questioning things, missteps, complications -- Faith is drawn to it all, and as Christine sticks to her daily routine around Skyhold, she often feels the gentle nudge of her spirit companion against her mind, sending her towards a person.

Of course, Faith doesn't always use words and simply say why it's guiding Christine towards a person. Is it because they no longer believe in the Maker, or because Faith wants to know what they're doing with that rope, tankard, and a duck?

{ kitchens }
With the soiree over, Christine can head back into the kitchens to practice her cooking once more without Skyhold's cooking staff at their wit's end trying to get all the food prepared in time. Some days she makes bread, others she makes pie. Others still it's something completely different, but if anyone comes in looking for a snack, she invites them to be her taste tester.

{ healers' tents }
Just because she's now a Spirit Healer doesn't mean Christine is going to request the help of Faith for every little scrape and cut. The point is to use the spirit's power for much more complicated wounds, to save the healer's mana. So there are no glowing blue eyes to be found as Christine sees to patients. When the rifters arrive, she's available to use healing magic to lessen the ache in their hands until they get used to the shard, and is happy to fill them in on the world they've been dropped into. For anyone else, she's there to heal them with magic or bandages; whichever they'd prefer.

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When Church finally gets tired, too worried, of not hearing back specifically from Christine after, uh...their night...before going to do dangerous thing she might die of demons from...then he goes looking for her himself. And since she's a mage doctor healer faith spirit glowy doctor nurse lady, he heads for the tents that he'd normally bug Adelaide in.

"Uh," he says to someone rushing by with an armful of blankets, "sorry, I was wondering if you'd seen--oh hey! Nevermind, thanks." He pats the nurse on the shoulder and grins at Christine emerging from one of the tents. "Sup. Looks like you survived your...y'know, ordeal. Training. The thing you were worried about. I was..." Worried. "Wondering." That too.

Christine approaches with an amused smile. Church just wouldn't be Church if he wasn't using fifty words where ten would suffice.

"I did. Had I not, I am sure word would have spread of the abomination that was cut down." If only word could spread that the abomination known as Anders was cut down. Alas.

"But I now have the assistance of a spirit when I need it."

"That's great!" It is, and that's all awesome that she's, y'know, alive, but he can't help but be bothered by being left out in the cold about it. "The spirit thing. Not the idea of anyone getting cut down." No more swords to his throat, thanks.

He leans on the nearest something sturdy that isn't going to buckle when being leaned on. "So uh. Yeah. Got that spirit-y glow thing going. I just kind of figured you'd say something along the lines of 'hey it went well I'm still alive' or anything. I mean. After you made a point of talking about it. Before."

His enthusiasm has her smile widening for a moment until he points out that she didn't come to tell him of her success after. Oh.

"I am sorry," she says, forehead wrinkling. "I did not rush to tell anyone. Having a spirit experience the world alongside you takes a good deal of concentration. It is a bit like baby-sitting a small child, actually."

Faith asks Christine why she says so, and in her mind, she answers, Because you ask so many questions, like a child learning new things. That satisfies Faith, and it quiets down again.

"Oh." He's done a little reading and had some conversations on why having a spirit in your head is different from being afraid there's a demon walking in your skin, but honestly, he's really gotta wonder how people know the difference. "No, that's cool, I just kind of--y'know, I thought maybe the last time I'd...done something wrong maybe or...something." Which, maybe he did and she's not telling him and is thus avoiding him! Women are like that, right?

"But I mean I hope your new buddy isn't too much of a pain in the ass. Is it...weird? For it? Being from the spooky other side and then seeing all this? Is it weird for you?" What was that about so many questions...

Realization dawns on her and she opens her mouth to answer, then closes it, shakes her head, and tries again.

"You did nothing wrong." The sex wasn't mind-blowing, but it was hardly bad either. Here she had thought they were fine to each go their separate ways after and meet up when it was next convenient, but perhaps he expected it to be sooner?

"A spirit can always look into our world, but they lack creativity. They cannot create things on their own, only copy what they see without understanding it. When we dream in the Fade, or purposefully go into the Fade, we she vestiges of our lives there. A table and chairs hung upside down, or a bookcase with all the books shelved backwards. They copy, but don't understand why things are the way they are. But now that this spirit is in communication with me, it can ask me why. It is only weird in that I must explain simple concepts so the spirit can comprehend it."

"Okay. Good." For once, it's not him. He's...not sure where that leaves them, though. He's also not sure how to suggest they should maybe talk about them, if there's a them, and all of that schmoopy shit he doesn't want to touch because he's too manly for that. Maybe they're just friends with benefits? He can...work with that.

"So um. So the spirit. It's like a child. Even though it's also like an ancient powerful being of...power. It's not something they teach you in spirit healer school, is it? At least you don't deal with a physical child-spirit-thing."

Christine doesn't know how this sort of thing works where he's from. She assumes if he isn't making any declarations, that he isn't thinking of courting her, which suits her fine. She was stuck in a Circle Tower all her life where she had to have secret trysts, hiding from the watchful eyes of Templars. Now she just wants to have fun and experience what's on offer.

"There are books on the subject. I've read them all. I knew there would be questions, but all spirits think differently, depending on the type they are and you do not know which will assist you until they reach out to you in the Fade. Mine is a spirit of Faith."

"So it resonates with you because you're faithful? Is that how it works? If I took a step into the Fade, and, y'know, was magical and shit, would I get a spirit of being wickedly handsome?" That is such a dumb smarmy grin. He can't help it.

Christine clicks her tongue and gives him a look. Really, Church? But then she does answer him, because she does like to educate others where she can.

"Faith is certainly drawn to faithful people, but it specifically told me it is drawn to those who have doubts. I nearly quit and left the Fade without a spirit companion, because it was taking so long, and I was cautioned against pushing too hard for it. That is an easy way for demons to disguise themselves as spirits and make offers. They prey on the desperate. So I was ready to leave when Faith called out to me and found me worthy."

What, doesn't he get points for trying, and for being handsome?

"That sounds...like a kind of odd reason to think someone's, I don't know, worthy or curious enough or something, but hey, so long as it worked, right?"

That was him trying?

"It did indeed." Faith's presence nudges against Christine's mind, and for a moment, the spirit doesn't use words, so Christine purses her lips, trying to decipher what it wants. But finally it says, It doesn't understand?

He doesn't know much about spirits, she replies, emphasizing the he since Faith can't tell male from female.

Teach? it asks. I will try, she responds.

"Faith would like me to explain so you understand it. You see, if a person has perfect faith, there is no reason for the spirit to intervene to try and help. The spirit isn't needed. But for those who question things, who don't leave everything to faith, it comes to aid them."

Her look is puzzling until she explains, and he's not sure how he feels about the fact that, yes, the spirit can just talk to her inside her head. Adelaide never made it seem like that, but she's also had it for longer, so maybe she's learned to ignore it. Or something.

"So a spirit of insert concept here would show up if you're lacking in that concept, whereas a demon would show up if you have plenty of...whatever it's a demon of to go around to tempt you." Though his nose gives a wrinkle in thought. "Does...Faith just want to be called Faith? Calling it a spirit of faith implies there are more spirits of faith. How do they tell one another apart?"

"To speak plainly: yes, that is right." Had Christine given in to her pride, thinking no spirit would dare deny her, a pride demon could have easily ensnared her.

"That is what it is; I am unsure if it wants to be called anything else. It will let me know." She smiles faintly at his question, though it is a good one. "A spirit can tell what another spirit is, just like that. Just like I know by looking at you that your eyes are green."

See, he is capable of learning. It's a something holiday miracle.

"So they don't really have a use for names since they know each other on sight anyway. I guess...names are a pretty mortal thing."

Well see now he's just uncomfortably curious. "Okay so...let me hit you with another question then. So the whole reason people get anxious and sword-happy about this kind of thing is because it might be a demon that gets inside you instead of a spirit. But obviously nobody's coming to threaten you with beheadings or anything, especially since it went without a hitch. Sooooo...if someone did accuse you of having a demon, how would you be able to convince them otherwise? Is it obvious when you're demonically possessed instead of...spiritually possessed?"

"Well, if you allow a demon possession of your body while in the Fade, your soul remains trapped there outside of your body while the demon inhabits yours. That transforms your body into a monstrosity. It's how Templars in the Circle knew mages had failed their Harrowing: they suddenly changed into an abomination." And she has to give her head a shake. "I am not possessed. The spirit is not inside of me. It is still on the other side of the veil that separates the physical world from the Fade. But because we have an agreement, it can reach out and communicate with me, and lend me power for healing."

"...So if someone were to, say, accuse someone out of a rift like me of being a demon, the fact that I'm still obviously human is a pretty big sign of obviously-not-a-demon. Gotcha." Not for...any...particular reason...or anything...

"So Faith, it can only talk to you from the other side of the invisible boundary between life and spooky green dream world afterlife demon plane because of an agreement? It wouldn't be able to do that any other time? Except...maybe dreaming, I guess."

"A pretty big sign, yes. Though that will not stop others from believing otherwise. You are still an unknown, and people will believe anything if they are paranoid enough."

Once again, she has to smile at his strange way of looking at things, like the Fade being a "spooky green dream world afterlife demon plane." How does he come up with this stuff?

"Only if a spirit accidentally fell into this world through a rift. Though some mages have experienced feeling a presence watching over them before. That doesn't mean the spirits were able to communicate with them, however."

"Yeeeaaah, there's been some...fuckery around that. With us Rifters. And how nobody trusts us." He waves it aside, because that's not important right now. "So like Faith can still sort of see into our world, though. Like through your eyes? To know what's going on and what to ask."

"More like... beside me. A friend observing close by. Spirits can become easily confused. If Faith looked through my eyes, it might think it was me. But this is just how I handle having a spirit companion. Others might do things differently." Christine likes to set clear boundaries and rules. Too much leeway could spell disaster to a mage with a spirit close to them.

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{ OPEN } May there always be angels to watch over you

healing tents

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