faderift | Let No Soul Hunger For Justice: Nothing But The Truth

[By the time Bruce comes down here it is pretty late - most of Skyhold has already retired save for the insomniacs and the night patrol. He hadn't seen Adelaide all day and he had been getting a little worried, so after asking around to find out her location he's coming down here while carrying a pot of tea and some cups. Don't ask how he manages that.]

Leblanc? [He calls out quietly once he's inside the room, glancing around the dim light for any sign of her.]

You know you can call me Adelaide. Or Adele. Or anything that isn't 'Addie', yes? We are friends.

[ And she is on the warm and listing side of drunk, tucked up against the wall, notes too one side, a half empty bottle of brandy to the other. ]

[After his... encounter with Anders earlier in the day Bruce knows enough to understand that Adelaide probably didn't mean to voice that out, and he respects her enough to not talk about it. Instead he just uses her voice to better pinpoint where she it and soon he's in her sights, coming towards her with the tea he's brought down with him.

(Seriously, don't ask how he manages it.)]

This is a terrible place to hide. [He manages with only the faintest of wryness in his voice as he goes to set down said pot of tea and cups.] Could have at least tried to go somewhere with fresh air.

It is private.

[ That was the appeal. She does not wish to be somewhere she can be seen while she drinks- suddenly Dorian's penchant for privacy during stressful times makes more sense. Not much, but a little. He, at least, can get away with public intoxication more than she might. She's a Councilor, now. She must be a good example.

Adelaide slumps where she sits and sips from the bottle, cups long since abandoned. ]

I do not know what went wrong.

There are better places to be private, as we both know.

[But he'll stop there and not get on her case any further - she's a lot more responsible than he can ever be, and she has enough on her plate as it is. No need to make things worse for her.

He picks up a cup and the pot, slowly and carefully pouring out one for her that he sets next to her once he's done.]

You are dealing with spirits and... things. [Sort of a half-shrug as he says that.] It's probably bound to be complicated. I don't think anybody is going to blame you.

I do not have my own room to drink in.

[ Otherwise she'd be there. Here is quiet enough, private enough, that she can drink and me a fool and harm none. ]

It was supposed to work or do nothing, the same as the last ritual. They are not meant to turn back on us like this- the protective wards shouldn't have failed.

[Bruce almost has half a mind to offer his own tent, but he knows that she'll probably turn it down too, possibly saying something like people coming in and intruding in his privacy. Things that Bruce can understand, but doesn't mind giving up for a while - at least for Adelaide. She needs all the support she can get right now.]

At least nothing bad came from it. [Which is the most important part.] And once you figure out what the problem is, you can work on making sure it doesn't happen again.

This time. Next time it will be worse. And the time after that, and the time after that.

[ There are only so many rituals- but one of them will get everyone involved killed if they continue to double back like this. ] If it is Justice? If it is the spirit himself that does not wish to leave - how do I fix that?

You can't say that for sure.

[Adelaide and the others, he knows that they've been working hard on this. His own reservations aside, Adelaide isn't the kind to do things halfway - he knows that she has done her best to be as thorough as possible on everything that she has done here.

To the next part, though... Bruce wishes he had an answer. He wishes his own experiences could provide with some insight. But he has none, and even if he did, he couldn't tell her without spilling his own secrets. Secrets that had to remain hidden for good reason.

There's a long pause then, as Bruce tries to think of what he can exactly say.]

There has to be a way to force it out somehow. [With himself--with the demon, its different. But Justice is still a spirit despite... everything else, so things might be different. Who knows, really.] I have no experience to speak of, obviously, but from what I do know Spirit Healers take in a spirit... and if you can take something it, surely the reverse must hold true in some fashion.

This whole endeavor is because we do not wish to kill Justice- but if he continues to undermine our attempts, skew our results...

[ She sighs, slumping to lean against Bruce, face pressed into his shoulder. There are precious few she would feel so comfortable about while this drunk, that she would trust so deeply and easily. Bruce is among them and has been for quite some time. ]

I simply will have to plan for the next to be reversed upon us in some fashion as well.

[Bruce can't help but tense for a moment when Adelaide suddenly leans against him like this. It's nothing like what she normally does, and he realizes that it's probably due to the alcohol she had been drinking. That and the fact that all of this must be tiring her a lot. He already knew that, but perhaps the extent of that tiredness was more than what he had thought.

So he forces himself to relax, reminding himself that its just Adelaide, and she won't hurt him, and he cautiously reaches around with the arm not wedged between them, gently setting his hand on her lap, giving her a soft pat.]

Just do whatever you have to do. [Pause.] I know you can do it. Your hard work will be rewarded when the time comes.

This needs to work. The answer can't be killing them. It can't. That's what it's been for centuries and the only reason it is this difficult and terrifying to manage mages is the Chantry's own damn dogma. When every moment you're a little afraid of what you might become- they feel that. Demons feed on strong emotions, they are drawn to it. They takes us from what is familiar and safe, tell us we are dangerous, we are monsters, and tell us not to be afraid because they can fix us.

What manner of fix is a knife to the throat? That is not a fix.

[ Muttering bitterly, she tips her face back out, still leaning against him but no longer speaking into his shirt. ]

They make us ripe for the taking and tell us to resist. The Dalish, the Avaar- they do not have the same troubles.

[All that Adelaide says - Bruce knows that its true. He knows it all too well, deep in his bones, underneath his skin. He knows the truth of what she says, has experienced it for himself. In a way, is a product of it. Somebody who shouldn't exist, a monster worse than even the abominations. (Then Anders, he will admit deep inside, but Bruce doesn't want to face that part of reality just yet.)

He lets himself pat Adelaide's leg one more time before pulling his hands away, keeping them back to himself. Monster. Abomination. Freak. That's what he'll always be now, regardless of everything.]

You can think about all of that later. [He says, voice quiet. He keeps himself quiet because he doesn't trust himself right now, not really.] Just focus on the main task you have right now. The rest will come once that's done.

[Not the best answer - or even an appropriate one - but its the only one he can say right now.]

[ A part of her settles at that. Quiets and stills, that is all she can do. He is right in that regard. She closes the bottle she'd been holding and instead takes a sip of tea. For a little while it could be like their usual meetings- although a touch more familiar. ]

I envy you. [ It's soft- but honest. ] TO not have to deal with this. With demons or magic or- anything.

[ Maker, what a wonder it might be to be a healer without the magic. To do good for people that aren't afraid of you, to sleep without fear of possession. ]

What is it like for you? Dreaming.

[Bruce can't help but feel a tinge of guilt at her admission to him. The fact that she thinks that he didn't have the same struggles when he did have them - and possibly more, too. He doesn't remember a night where the Fade didn't touch his dreams, doesn't remember a time from before his magic - they're only snatches of memory, if anything. He was only five when his magic manifested itself and nothing had ever been the same since then.

And now at this point, its impossible to imagine a normal life for him.]

They're... [How can he explain to her something he's never known for himself? Bruce can only extrapolate, guess from what he's been told by the patients and build on that and hope that it works, though he knows he'll have to deflect as much as possible.]

It's just... things, I suppose. In your head. [A small shrug.] Usually there's not much to remember.

I'd love to forget.

[ The dreams, the demons. Everything. Times come, now and then, that she thinks of the brilliant glow of a Tranquil's brand and think perhaps Robert had not been so great a fool to ask for it. She wouldn't. She couldn't, truly, she enjoys being herself far too much but...

The magic.

There are days she could do without the magic. ]

Even before I manifested my dreams were strange. I could remember. I never wanted to. I never wanted...this.

[Bruce, of course, can relate. His dreams in the Fade were... it was a rare moment if there was ever a pleasant one. There were always demons, so many voices, all of them drawn to his pain and agony and fear. He remembers them when he was young, telling him how he could get away from his father, when he was in the Circle, saying how they could prove himself... now, when they tell him to give into the anger, into the rage, to let it all out and show everyone what its like to have a life where everybody has wronged you, where even your very existence is denied.

He knows, but he can never speak about it. Will never speak about it. These are his own burdens to bear.]

I'm sorry. [Its all he can say instead of I know or I understand. Things he will never say for what it entails, the meaning they hold.] You don't... nobody should deserve that. [So many people never wanted this, he knew, but it happened anyway. And with Tranquility as the only option out... Bruce could understand how hard it much be, even if he has his own sentiments on the matter.]

And this is why I'm drinking in the vault instead of my room where one of my students could walk in and see me like this.

[ A mess. An uninspiring, despairing mess. She does not look forward to trying to sleep at night. Pride might let her be, she is as far from proud as she's been in years. ]

None of us do, truly. And yet we are all treated as though we chose this, asked for it.

[There's a silence that comes after that, silence because Bruce knows what whatever he says probably won't do anything for her. The reality is still there and nothing is going to change. Any platitudes he could give now doesn't seem fitting, considering the truth of the matter.

So he does the next best thing that comes to his head.]

Stay in my tent tonight. [He glances over to her when he says that.] Sleep off the alcohol. It's been a long day for you.

[There's not much he can do but at least he can try his best to provide some comfort, some relief from what she has to deal with.]

[ She hadn't thought that far ahead when she'd cracked open the brandy. The plan was to sit, to drink, to drift, then sober up and return to work. She can't be seen like this, she knows that. There is too much riding on her reputation that she has fought so hard to keep sterling.

Sans Tache.

It haunts her as much as the demons.

Adelaide finishes her tea with a grimace and sits up, gauging her ability to walk straight. Or at least her ability to sit straight. ]

...Thank you, Bruce. Truly.

[Bruce helps her a little when she sits up, although once he can see she's alright he quickly pulls away. She's already in a bad enough place as it is and trying to help her more probably won't help - he knows that she doesn't want to depend on people, and he can understand that.]

It's all that I can do. [A small, smile as he says that.] I just hope it can help.

If you do not mind how absolutely unbearable I shall be in the morning? It will help a great deal.

As long as no one assumes I am following you to your tent to sleep with you. I mean no offense, Bruce, truly I do not- you are quite handsome and very kind and I count you as a dear friend, but it would look poorly for one and I do not much think us compatible that way for another. We are too much alike.

[ They work too hard and forget too much of themselves in the work. It wouldn't, between them, work out. ]

[The words have Bruce pause, and then he makes quite a bit of a face because 1) he had never thought of Adelaide as more than a... closer acquaintance (friend) and 2) even if he did have feelings, its not like he would ever act on them. Not when he knows how it will already end.

So the fact that she is thinking about that has him baffled, and confused, and so very perplexed because if anybody even thought of them as a couple they probably need a reality check. She deserves somebody much better than him.]

If it makes you feel better, I stay elsewhere to keep your virtue intact. [Just a hint of wryness, here.] I have no desire or intent for anything of that sort.

[Not like he could, anyway, so the point is moot right from the start.]

Compelled to tell the truth, exhausted, intoxicated.

[ She lists off the reasons for saying as such one by one, even as she works her way to her feet. ]

You don't need to abandon your tent for me, Bruce. Your word is enough. I trust you. [ She spares a hand to pat his shoulder, bracing her own against her staff. She lists a little on her feet- but can hold straight and certain while they walked. She'd be able to hid this as long as she needs. ]

Nor need you fear for your virtue. Again- you are a very kind man, but no.

[Bruce helps Adelaide up the best that he can, and once she's up he takes the moment to bend down and pick up the half-empty pot of tea and their cups. it's going to be a bit of an effort to bring all of these up while supporting Adelaide, but he'll manage somehow.]

That makes two of us then. [Trust, she said. She trusted him. His stomach churns a little at that, the guilt swelling up. She truly deserves better. Somebody who actually would appreciate her for what she is instead of depending on somebody like him, a monster pretending to be human, a liar and a hypocrite to the highest degree.

Deep inside, Anders' words from earlier echoes in his mind.

He glances over to Adelaide and attempts a smile.]

Alright. Let's get out of this dismal place for some proper fresh air.

Let No Soul Hunger For Justice: Nothing But The Truth

pretend this isn't terribly late (VAULT)

Shh shh it's ok shh

/lies dooown

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i'm just /ugly laughter.mp3

So much awful laughter

yeeeeeppp

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