A Cruel Twist of Fate [closed]

[wickedchase]

WHO: Twisted Fate, Nerva, Korrin, Zevran, Beleth, Cyril, Ruby, Sera, Katniss, and special sending crystal guest star, Sina!
WHAT: A companion quest and elven relations all wrapped up in one.
WHEN: Post-Illness plot. The band of merry travelers will be gone from Clouch 23 to Clouchreach 28.
WHERE: Traveling to and from the Serpentine River.
NOTES: The plotting post.

Comments

[arlathvhen]

[ Beleth is fucking exhausted, her nerves are on edge, and she's ready to throw down with someone. She's been nearly sliced in two by a pride demon, been talked down to by humans and elves, wrestled a bunch of grown ass adults into remembering that maybe saying please once in a while might help smooth things along, listen to them, members of her own group, constantly hurl insults at the People. And she had to negotiate with a group of people who didn't much care for her, Dalish and human alike.

But she succeeded. Creators help her, she succeeded. They succeeded. The Dalish were safe, and the humans were probably going to not die. A solid win.

Of course, the best person to talk to when she was in such a foul mood was undoubtedly Twisted Fate. She comes up to his side as they walk, voice quiet. ]

Tobrevas. Bringer of freedom.

[ She sounds quietly amused. ]

It's a strong name.

[wickedchase]

[There's a low sigh when she approaches, but he doesn't brush her away. He's not really mentally prepared to deal with her, but he also owes her a great debt that he can't ignore.

So. Here they are.

He glances at her, brow raised.]

Better suited for someone else who can uphold it, really.

[arlathvhen]

[ She has just enough goodwill left to consider her words, knowing full well that pushing the wrong way could break off whatever strange...whatever kind of relationship they had. Friendship, friendly enmity, who knew. It was a line she'd never been willing to cross, but it was thinner here than before.

So, she gives him something rare. She tells him about herself. ]

Sometimes, names feel more like goals than descriptions.

My name means...'A woman's strength'. Galadriel tells me it's close to the word Queen in the elven of her world. And I can believe it. My mother picked it out for me, thinking she was naming a future Keeper. She's the kind of person who would give that kind of name to that kind of person.

[ She smiles, staring down at her hands in grim contemplation. ]

But I hold it as a reminder of my purpose. The destination I hope to reach some day.

[wickedchase]

[Twisted Fate glances at her, listening at the confession. For a moment, he can relate; his own mother, a woman he hardly remembers, had named him perhaps in hope of leading their people, keeping them free. Unbound.

Instead, he failed to save elven slaves and had gotten his best friend arrested by a magister. He didn't really feel it suited him anymore after that.]

What sort of destination do you want for yourself, Beleth? [It's an honest, curious question.]

[arlathvhen]

[ She doesn't respond right away. She remembers Zevran asking a similar question, and she didn't know what to tell him, anymore than she knows what to tell Fate now. So she gives him the same answer. ]

What I want doesn't matter. It's never mattered. What matters is what is needed, and what I need to do. My name reminds me of the expectations placed before me. I mean--It's not easy. But that's because it's important.

[ Pause. ]

And it's better than being named after spinach, I suppose.

[wickedchase]

I know you've said something similar before. For what it's worth, I hope you reconsider and think of what you want rather than the expectations someone else has placed on you. But it's not really my place to say.

Just know you deserve to make the choice.

[He smiles wryly.] True, I can think of much worse names than the ones we were given.

[arlathvhen]

[ She examines her hands closely as he speaks, expression politely neutral. What she deserves--Tch. She's already gotten a life far kinder to her than she deserves. But instead of saying that, or explaining that it's easier to focus on what you need to do than wanting things you won't get, she changes the subject abruptly. ]

Speaking of pursuing things we want, are you planning to speak to Nerva? Or continue to make eyes at her?

[ Her tone and expression are insistently neutral, and she is now fascinated by her nails, rubbing her thumb against one that has acquired a chip. ]

[wickedchase]

What a clever change of subject.

[But he'll humor her. Twisted Fate glances away.]

Funny you should ask. I intend to talk to her when we've gotten a bit more distance from this region.

Suppose neither of us have been particularly subtle, have we? [Not at this point.]

[arlathvhen]

[ With him glancing away, it's possible that he misses the only change that occurs when he confirms her words. Her brows knit together for a few moments, then it's over. Her face is back to neutral, her eyes on that chip in her nail. ]

Honestly, it doesn't effect me either way. I was beginning to become concerned that Seeker Cassandra might force you to confess by sword point if you continued to wait, however.

[ Guess who eavesdrops on public network conversations. Hint: It's Beleth. ]

[wickedchase]

[If Fate notices, he doesn't deem to call it out.]

Ah, but you remain ever curious or ever nosy. Hard to say is which, isn't it?

But you needn't remain so, and I'm sure Madame Seeker will satisfy her little romantic heart knowing that I've confessed. Where it goes after that is entirely up to Nerva.

[arlathvhen]

I don't know Nerva's mind, obviously, but I would like to think that I have some ability with reading other people. And if I were to judge from the way that she looks at you when she thinks no one is watching--You shouldn't worry.

[ That may be an exaggeration, but Nerva also spent the entire trip breathing down his neck, which probably means something. She glances over at him, and her tone takes genuine warmth. ]

I wish you two good luck and happiness.

[wickedchase]

I figure in the worst case scenario, we have a fleeting moment and she tells me I'm incredibly handsome but the mage-liness is too much for her. But we'll see.

[That... actually surprises him. He figured that Beleth was going to be irritable that he was ignoring the potential to rejoin the Dalish.]

Thank you, Beleth. I appreciate it.

[arlathvhen]

[ She's not done with you yet, Fate. ]

If nothing else, your ego will sustain you. But you know, Fate--

[ She turns to glance at him. ]

You left the clan when you were ten. Now that you've been back--I mean. You know that you don't have to rejoin this clan? If you don't want to. There are other clans that would happily accept you. Even Clan Ashara. You said yourself that we're more, ah. Forward-thinking than usual. You might enjoy it.

Even if this clan had some...questionable decisions. Not all clans are like that. They give you...a sense of belonging. They give you a family. It's not a bad thing to have, Fate.

[wickedchase]

Beleth, even after they-- after I left. There was a time in which I tried to rejoin with another clan. Honestly, I didn't fit in. I don't know by now that I ever will. There are things outside of a clan that I love, that I could never give up for the sake of anything else.

[He offers a crooked smile.] But if I ever lose my mind and ask to join a clan, suppose yours is the first I'd ever ask. For what it's worth.

[arlathvhen]

...Are you really happy? Not having a clan? Being out here, with the humans and the city elves?

[ It could sound accusatory, but Twisted Fate is probably skilled enough at reading people that he can tell there's something else behind it. Her expression is genuine curiosity, tone probing. As if, perhaps, she wants to know if it's really possible to be separated from your clan. ]

[wickedchase]

[For a moment, he wondered if it was accusatory, as it had been in the past. But there is a different tone, and he looks in her eyes.

This isn't her judging him. This is her asking, with sincerity.]

For all that I have experienced, I would not change my lifestyle. Humans, city elves, Vashoth, the occasional dwarf -- I am as happy as I could be.

I understand that having a clan can give you a sense of knowing you always have a place to belong, a place to go home to. Not that I've necessarily had the experience myself, but I can comprehend what others feel regarding that. But for me, there's too much of the outside world to see for myself to really consider joining a clan again.

[arlathvhen]

[ She listens quietly, and doesn't nod, because that would be too much like agreeing, and she can't agree, not yet. But she doesn't frown, or huff, or do anything negative, either. She is as deliberately neutral as she can be. But then she glances at him, and tilts her head. ]

Don't you get lonely?