Let No Soul Hunger For Justice: Nothing But The Truth

[justice_is_blond]

WHO: Adelaide, Alistair, Anders, Bethany, Nathaniel, Varric, Vasran, Velanna
WHAT: The Second Ritual
WHEN: 10th of Bloomingtide (May 10th)
WHERE: half an hour outside of Skyhold
NOTES: Plotting post.

They've kept to the same clearing as the last, because the location's good. Far enough away that no one could stumble upon them by accident, near enough in case something went seriously wrong, it works.

He has scarcely more hope this time than he did the last, but at least there's no singing involved. This can't go as strangely. In theory.

Comments

[justice_is_blond]

[The question gets a confused look, until Anders clues in a moment later. He's talking outloud to the spirit in his head. That's got to be a comfort to everyone around him. Anders exhales.]

He was in a corpse first, before he joined with me. But it was falling apart, the Templars pretending at being Wardens were getting more and more suspicious, we thought we had something new and safe figured out, and they were getting more and more hostile toward me...

[Another exhale.]

We don't know if he could go back into a corpse, but he's not willing to try. I can't entirely blame him; they decay, and he winds up with memories and thoughts from them anyway. That doesn't mean I can't complain about the risk of what we're trying. ...I could do it silently, since he's in my head, but that's not as satisfying.

[byblow]

Or as entertaining.

[ Or as easy to notice and talk to him about before he and the spirit in his head (or whatever) have already had a whole debate and come to some sort of conclusion without anyone else's input. Alistair folds his arms behind is back while he walks—one of his more regal stances. Or his only regal stance. It isn't intentional. If he had good pockets he'd shove his hands there instead. ]

Have you tried appealing to his sense of Justice?

[justice_is_blond]

['Entertaining' gets a dry look, and the question gets a roll of his eyes.]

He is Justice. By definition, everything is his sense of justice. You might say I put leggings on today for justice, but that's extending it too far.

[He exhales and shrugs, folding his arms over his chest because it's always so cold here.]

He feels he can do more for the cause of Justice in me than in a corpse. And it's not untrue. Not only that, why is it just to leave me when he's the only reason I'm alive? So that's not working.

[byblow]

[ Alistair considers this information, and considers the things he cannot say, in particular a joke about how making anyone look at Anders' bare legs would be an injustice, when he doesn't in truth have anything against Anders' legs.

After a moment, with perfect honesty, he says, ] He sounds like a bit of an ass.

[justice_is_blond]

Nobody's perfect.

[He can't disagree.]

For instance, you're not into men.

[He'd go on to say it's a flaw, but he doesn't actually believe that. This is a little complicated, the whole telling-truth thing.]

[byblow]

[ That gets a laugh out of him--a short, startled one, but there are maybe five people in all of Skyhold who have actually made him laugh in the last six months, so good job. ]

I know Howe's a bore, Anders, but you and I would never work. I'm a dog person.

[ All of those statements are true. Subjectively, anyway. ]

[justice_is_blond]

[Alistair gets a surprised flash of a smile at the laugh, and then an eyebrow.]

I'd say that's a shame and claim any number of things, but I can't lie right now. That's the shame of the matter.

Nate's no bore, and I meant for Zevran's sake, not mine.

[byblow]

[ Alistair's grin flares, then fades, but it doesn't disappear.

He could say that that would work out better than Anders and Alistair would, right up to the point where Alistair had to knock him unconscious and leave him chained in a locked room to keep him from going to the Deep Roads. He could say that Zevran wouldn't like him half as much if Alistair weren't a place he could go to have a break from everyone else's Interest In Men. He could abandon his subconscious but stubborn avoidance of thinking too carefully about how Zevran might feel about him and whether he should be sorry or back off, and ask. The magic wouldn't stop him. But there isn't much that's as close to Alistair's heart as Zev, and the area close to his heart is very squishy and easily bruised, and Anders and his skinny pointy elbows aren't invited in that far yet. ]

[ So, ] Good, [ Alistair says instead, ] because he totally has dibs. There are plenty of safer ways to get free of Nathaniel that wouldn't involve dueling Zevran.

[justice_is_blond]

There are.

[Delving any deeper when they both have to speak the truth would be an intrusion, and he has a feeling Alistair won't appreciate it. Whatever it is they've achieved between them Anders doesn't want to splinter.]

And as I don't have a death wish or the desire to end things with Nate, Zevran has no reason to feel threatened. Or any woman who has interest in you. Like Teren. She always seems to be watching you.

[Granted, she watches everyone, and scowls, but thankfully telling the truth doesn't seem to mean the whole of the truth.]