faderift | Poetry in your body [OPEN]

WHO: Andra and YOU
WHAT: Andra's "return" to Skyhold as well as catch-all for Bloomingtide
WHEN: Bloomingtide 9-30
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Info post here, if you'd like your character to have met Andra previously or know of her, feel free to hit me up on PM or plurk and we can talk details!

Arrival

It happened overnight. When most of those camping in the valley went to sleep there were no extra tents, but the next morning there were eight new brightly colored tents, two wagons, and thirteen motley characters milling about, setting things up, laughing, and singing. If anyone approaches the new addition to the camp they might notice a young elf woman more or less directing traffic, hollering at someone when they're putting something in the wrong place, or laughing when someone drops something. The entire group seems rather full of life and the air about them is lighthearted.

If anyone comes close enough the elf woman directing her crew will round on them and raise her eyebrows, settling her hands on her hips even as she smiles.

"Hello there, come to help us settle in?"

Tavern

When Andra isn't with her camp, she can likely be found in the tavern, sometimes heckling the bard but most of the time drinking either with her crew or with anyone she happens to sit down next to. She moves around easily, like she's spent her entire life in the Herald's Rest, and talking to people doesn't seem to be something she has trouble with.

That of course doesn't always lead to good things, as is the case in this moment when she sits down in the first available seat next to a person and leans in, giving them a wide smile like they're already quite familiar.

"That bloke over in the corner is bothering me, do you mind if I sit here and pretend like we know each other until he leaves?"

Courtyard

Everyone needs to practice in order to stay sharp, and sometimes Andra will take advantage of the targets set up in the courtyard, usually in the afternoon when others have finished training, setting up and stringing her longbow, emptying her quiver into the targets before walking the distance and pulling each arrow out of the targets, some better hits than others, and returning to her spot.

There's a rhythm to it, and while she isn't the most gifted marksman in the Inquisition, she moves with a kind of grace that says she's entirely comfortable where she is.

Sparrow's Camp

In the mornings and early afternoons Andra can be found with her people, in her camp. Often she's walking around and checking on anyone who needs checking on, and sometimes the full contingent of thirteen people isn't present. They are all hired out by the Inquisition, and go where needed, when asked. Everyone under her care has unique talents, and sometimes they all aren't required at once.

When she isn't walking around she's sitting in front of her tent, playing her lute or maintaining her gear. Sometimes others join her, and she never chases anyone away, far more comfortable with company than alone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

His reply surprises her a little and she leans back on her heels, appraising him for a moment, before nodding her head.

"That's sweet of you. We're actually set, been on the road a spell so the worst we have is sore feet and a couple people whining about their backs because their "packs were too heavy." As if I hadn't warned them about that in the first place."

"Sweet, practical, either applies. Sometimes." He looks back at the chaos that's settling into order. "But warning never matters; there will always be people who think they can carry more than they can in truth and straining themselves. If anything more serious crops up, I'm easy to find in the Warden camp."

Anders jerks a thumb back toward it and hesitates for the briefest moment before continuing. "Ask for Anders." It's a risk. It's such a risk. But everyone who stays here will find out sooner or later, and it's better that they know from the start rather than feeling lied to like everyone he i did lie to.

The name rings a bell for her, although not the one he's likely expecting. While yes, she spent time in Kirkwall and happened to be there during his little outburst she had more important things on her mind than what the name of the person who started it all was. Like not dying. And traveling like she does, by the time real details started coming through it was usually that mage or rebel apostate rather than specific names she heard. Orsino is the only one she knows off-hand, and she's heard at least that he was definitely killed.

"You were a healer in Darktown, weren't you? We passed through Kirkwall just before the rebellion. You treated Lem after he contracted something at the Blooming Rose. He went on about you, saying you'd cleared things up he didn't even know. Granted some of that was probably talk to try and convince the girls in the troupe to sleep with him, but..." Her smile widens a little and she holds out her hand. It's a bold gesture as she's fairly sure this guy is a mage, but healers are something different, in her opinion. They're using their magic to help people, which is in the Chant. "I'm Andra."

There's clear surprise on his face at her reaction. No one here knows him as the Darktown healer, despite how he'd done that for longer than he's done anything.

"The healer in Darktown, yes. I don't recall a Lem in particular, and I've treated," he shakes his head with no little amusement, "a great many people who got something at the Blooming Rose. And cleared up other things they'd no idea were causing them problems. Maybe if I saw him again I'd know him."

Her hand is taken and shaken as he starts smiling again. "Welcome to the Inquisition, Andra. Is there any help you need with settling in?"

"I didn't expect you'd remember him. I'd point him out but we lost him in Kirkwall, sorry to say. Got crushed by falling debris." Her face falls a little at the memory, but she recovers quickly enough that the topic completely changes as she shakes his hand and then rocks back on her heels again.

"We've actually been with the Inquisition since Haven. Left for a while, had some work that needed doing," Andra replies, with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "The Surviving Sparrows are contracted as scouts and mercenaries under the Inquisition. Also entertainment, I suppose, although I don't think they want to pay us for that." Which is a shame, as a collection of bards and acrobats among other things, they're very good at entertaining.

"Actually though, you said you were headed up to Skyhold? Would you mind if I walked with you? I only saw the place briefly myself and I'd love to get a better lay of the land."

The smile fades. He'd done his best to control that, but there was really no accounting for everything when blowing something up. In the end, in Kirkwall, he'd saved more than he'd taken, but he'd still taken. He'd still ended lives. Like this Lem, who he'd apparently healed only to kill.

Anders is quiet as she keeps talking, nodding when she asks the question. "I'm headed that way and you can join me, yes. Shall I point out the sights? Such as they are. And you could always give entertainment in the courtyard or tavern, see who might want to hire you for events. There are always people passing through."

With a nod, he starts leading the way up the path. "It's not too big to get a decent handle on quickly, at least." His voice is definitely not as happy as it had been; there's a little lingering sadness as he talks.

She notices the lingering sadness, even if she doesn't really know Anders, she's learned to read people. Following after him as he heads up the path she nods her head a little as he talks.

"That's good. Don't know how much time we'll be spending here, but the less complicated it is to get around, the better." Her own tone is fairly upbeat, like she's intentionally trying to compensate for his change of tone. "I heard this place is old, do we have any idea how old?"

Pep is good. He works to haul himself out of the mood that's threatening to drag him down; there's no point in indulging in it.

"I think a lot of people come to see it, and then wind up sticking around longer. They get caught up in the cause, see something bigger than themselves that they can help with, and join up.But it's possible that you'll be moving on." As he speaks, he's looking over the building in front of them, trying to come up with a possible guess.

"And... no. Not an idea. Old is the best I can say. It had to have been built with magic incorporated, however, to still be standing the way it is. There are parts that have fallen, certainly, but most still stand strong."

Poetry in your body [OPEN]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject