Parkour!

[foxsays]

WHO: Araceli Bonaventura; open
WHAT: Climbing lesson 1: falling without breaking your neck
WHEN: After the wake; lessons can be picked up whenever
WHERE: Stables and that crumbling chunk of the battlements next to them
NOTES: lessons offered

prepwork;
A distinct advantage to her home is that when she taught herself, she had plenty of deep water to land in.  Skyhold has snow but until she has to, she's not going to go prowling the mountains in a hurry.  Skyhold does have plenty of straw from the stables and after a few tests, it's entirely sufficient to her needs and so armed with a rake, she gathers it into piles because whatever, her needs are greater and the horses can get it back later.  Anyone showing up early will have their attire inspected and be told to do a few stretches.  If demonstrations are truly needed, this is the time to ask.

falling!  (with style);
The roof of the stables themselves are low enough that it would take an exceptionally bad fall to cause an injury so that's where she bases the lesson, a ladder handily placed to help less confident climbers up and she talks them through it, the importance of breathing, of relaxing stressed several times.  The instructions are usually to stand on the edge of the roof, take a deep breath and allow her to give them a quick shove as they spread their arms and go as limp as possible to land in the straw but for those a little more confident and with at least some skill in climbing, there's the stables and hayloft to climb then up to the battlements, ropes helpfully attached because she has absolutely no desire to see someone injured in her first few days here.  Her instructions are clear, emphasis on not rushing, on looking for where your hand has to go next, to use the legs.

Everyday is leg day if it's parkour day.

warm down;
The lesson might be over but she won't let people leave without some cursory stretching at least.  They're cautioned about some stiffness the next day or so before she starts tidying up the straw into the proper place, happy enough to chat away or answer questions; if someone is willing to help clear up then she'll be in their debt because who enjoys dealing with straw, no one that's who.

Comments

[foxsays]

Or hopefully Araceli can help him to at least know how to catch himself correctly so he won’t have further misadventures falling through the rookery though it is an odd design when pretty much all the towers she’s been aren’t a floor built around a hollow centre. Such is life though, who is she to comment on the architectural choices made centuries ago?

“Wait.” One hand raised she takes a seat, head tipped to the side as she tries to imagine something like that, all the things she learned from her mother and the brothel, from her father and sailors, from thieves when they were all young and then the ones that are hers to pass on or not. “Really? What happens if you’re overcome in the moment and you set the whole bed on fire?” Look some people are just that good.

But before she’s even really started to wonder at the possibilities, the realities of what being a mage means come rushing in like the noon tide and her head turns sharply, mouth a thin line instead of that easy smile. “The same things that attacked us? They can just take it all away? All the free will you have and who they are.” Combined with what Korrin already told her about the Qunari, and what she learned of Templars by the medical tents there’s an awful sickly feeling in her stomach, a chill down her spine. “Did the Templars learn about making people Tranquil from them?” To her mind, it’s a valid conclusion, a low note of anger barely concealed in her voice. She’s heard only bad about them so far and her ‘talk’, if she can call it that, with their knight-commander hasn’t helped to improve their standing in her eyes either.

[gatheringstorm]

"From the demons? No, not that I'm aware. I'm not sure where they got that from, exactly. I doubt it was them, though. Demons want to take advantage of our power; taking it away by making us Tranquil would make no sense. They can't be possessed, don't have magic...they'd get nothing from anyone like that." Korrin notes Araceli's reaction to the plight of mages with an approving nod. This foreigner didn't have magic of her own, didn't come from a world with magic, and yet she had sympathy nonetheless. It's heartening, since many natives seem to lack it.

She tries to steer the conversation back to a lighter topic, though, and smirks at the mental image Araceli provides. "Something like that actually happened to me, once. Once, before I had the control I do now. Let's just say that Winter's Grasp came very much in handy that night."

[foxsays]

"Someone explained how it works, so...I think I understand? I might need to read more books. I spoke to one or two of the Tranquil around here but there's just something unsettling about them." Everything around her has always been full of life, loud and chaotic, never still for long and she can't even call it a calm. It makes her itch and brings up goosebumps even when she's not cold to think of it.

"I can't believe you've managed to say something to me that I didn't know about sex - I grew up in a brothel, I thought I knew everything." Not that she's put out, she's actually more than a little bit delighted at the notion although the idea of voluntary cold? No. "The usual damp spot on the bed can be cause of enough arguments but a whole damp room? Must've made you popular."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin snorts in response, and shakes her head, perhaps a little self-conscious despite bringing it up. It's not something she's used to sharing, though it amuses her more now in retrospective. "You could say that. It ended things rather fast, though now that I look back, it was never destined to go anywhere. Can't really expect me and someone who's jumpy around magic to mesh well, whether as a bed partner or something more."

She's not going to hide what she is or apologize for it, and that night only steeled her resolve on the matter.

"I know what you mean about the Tranquil. They're still people, I try to remind myself of that, but that usual spark is lacking. I can't imagine what lives they lead, but I do feel sorry for them. What was lost, they're never getting back."

[foxsays]

"So long as no one sets my hair or my fox on fire, I don’t have any reason to be jumpy - I would’ve died in the snow at Haven if it hadn’t been for you coming to my rescue and I think you've all been dealt a very great injustice." Cards on the table time but was there really much doubt when she was so shocked at what she heard in Haven? Christine's words cut her to the core as well and it's the same but different as it is when she sees nobles thinking they have all the right to the food while people starve and beg just for the scraps. When she's seen children with eyes old and hollow as old men, when her stolen goods bought enough food for her and a building of artists.

It was, after all, the reason certain plans were laid. People should be equal, not some more equal than others.

"Life is passion, life is the way your heart skips when you see a beautiful woman or a handsome man, when you're fighting and the strike of a blade on yours has your teeth rattling. Life is for liing and seizing with both hands and your teeth. It must be like being a shadow."

[gatheringstorm]

Araceli's sweet words bring out a warm, genuine smile from Korrin. "I admit, I'm not used to hearing that from someone not a mage or related to one. There's little sympathy to be had in Thedas at times, especially lately. You show more than most, and it's not unappreciated. I'm sure other mages will be inclined to agree."

At least those that aren't Templar ass-kissers.

"And...I think so, too. I wish we could do more for them, but at least they can get better treatment here. Its more than what they got during the rebellion. Almost everyone forgot about them, even the mages. That shames me just thinking about it."

[foxsays]

"Empathy is the key to many things same as prevention is better than cure. It's simple really. If I can extend the hand of friendship in hope of crossing common ground by the time I grasp another then I should always make the effort." Of course she gets to say that in a new world but after having simple truths about her hurled back in her face as if they were knives she can't help but have compassion.

"They forgot about them? But they were their fellows once, no? And I would assume mostly defenseless?" It's shameful, to hear such a thing because people are people, you don't just leave them behind because they aren't the same as you.

[gatheringstorm]

To that line of thinking, Korrin would entirely agree. She frowns grimly, shaking her head in disgust. "They can enchant items and make powerful runes and such, but without magic, they're no good in combat. Everyone became so obsessed with saving their own skin, they overlooked those that couldn't join them in battle. I've seen more than my fair share of corpses with those sunburst tattoos on their foreheads...but I'm told plenty just plain disappeared, as well. Who knows what happened to them?"

Little does she know about their connection to the weird skulls all around the Hinterlands and beyond.

[foxsays]

With a sigh, she drags her hand through her curls, twisting them around her fingers until they go taut and won't curl further, blowing out such an explosive sigh that Lux runs to her, hopping up to place his paws on her thighs. When she bends to pet him, she manages a smile but it's gone when she looks up at Korrin. "Just gone? It sounds awful but at least with the dead then you know. There's a peace in that. They were still someone to another person out there, mothers and fathers, maybe siblings, friends, lovers. How can people not have even the basic decency to care farther than their own selves?"

Even thieves stick close when times are rough. But the queensguard, since they found common ground?

[gatheringstorm]

"I wish I knew. You have a good heart to think of them, at least. Few others do, even when they should. Perhaps we'll find out more about them on the field." Korrin smiles slightly sheepishly and shrugs.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to steer us toward such a dark subject. These aren't peaceful times we live in, but it's not all horrible. And I think -hope- that once the dust settles, the world might even be the better for it. The status quo needed some shaking up, and whatever comes next, they can't go back to the way they were. That's...something."

[foxsays]

"I would rather know what I'm stepping in before I step in it honestly, it just makes it easier to keep up with everything. So the circle is broken, as it were? New paths diverging to travel on?" Circle might be the right or wrong word because she's not really referring to the Mage prisons (and they are prisons in her head, if you go in but not out, it's a bloody prison) but there are always cycles that the world spins on sure as the seasons.

"It might be a very long time for the dust to settle when your very sky was torn open."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin's chuckle is slightly melancholy, and she has to nod in reluctant agreement. "I'm not going to bet against you on that, as I'm pretty sure you're right. All the tears in the Veil, demons pouring out, new people from beyond, and Corypheus still out there...it's possible that could be quickly resolved, but I'm not counting on it. And neither should anyone else.

Maybe the Circles could return; there seem to be some staunch loyalists, for some incomprehensible reason. But if that happens, I doubt they'll have the hold they once had. Once people have a taste of freedom, for a lot of them there will be no going back."

[foxsays]

"There are some prisoners I've met in my time who know nothing else but the cell and so they get caught on purpose though they would never admit to such a thing. It's sad, to be drawn back to the shackles over and over." Thieves unfortunately fell prey to such a thing, fumbling with purses, clattering in and knocking over plenty to wake a whole household. "But then there are some who get so drunk on it they see nothing else but the chance to do what they want. That means swords or shots but I imagine if someone set fire to everything or froze it solid then there would be a panic, probably a lynching too? Even steel must be tempered before it's of any use."

Sorry Korrin, she does have to think of some people who might be disadvantaged, she's spent long enough speaking to Leandra, Arsenio and all the rest about it back home over brandy when the shadows grew long about them.

[gatheringstorm]

"...I've seen mages who've had both reactions. And not even them, but those who've left the Qun; after so long having their entire lives regulated, some can't handle it and either go back or snap and become bandits, preying on everyone. My parents were lucky; they found someone who taught them that they didn't have to succumb to either fate."

Korrin half-smiles as her 'grandmother' comes to mind, the feisty old former tamassran. If she 'inherited' anything from her, it's the attitude and the desire to help others. Without her, who knows what would have happened?

[foxsays]

"A wonder this Qun hasn't torn itself apart. Sooner or later, people are free. It's why it's best to be born with it - not too much that you think yourself above all things but not so little that you don't actually know what to do with it. Then, there's a reason Castileos is known as 'permissive'." A huge roll of the eyes accompanies all of that, her mouth twisting into a sour grimace because heaven forbid they have some fun in their lives and think that a bit of piracy and prostitution never hurt anyone.

[gatheringstorm]

That gets her to chuckle and she shrugs, unable to disagree with any of that. "Hey, you're preaching to the choir here. I don't get how the Qun has lasted so long, but it's at least a few centuries old and it took several campaigns to drive them back when they first invaded. My parents seem certain they'll try again, too. Some non-qunari even convert--mostly elves, I think. They get treated like trash by the humans and seek an escape from that. But it costs them their freedom instead."

[foxsays]

“That’s what I like about Zimevur - they invaded Estene and Ebeos, made their skirmishes into Corundus and came to Castileos - Albas is so cold who would bother trying to steal an ice country? - and of course every ship can defend us and we could get supplies in and goods out despite the blockade. Then when more ships of ours returned we crushed their fleet, chased them home and all the rulers stood in the palace of Zimevur to draw up the first accords.” Of course a tension still exists but there’s no living memory of war, no true scars anywhere else beyond Zimevur and they chose to isolate themselves and do only as required. “Why go again and again, people are going to remember and there’s going to be resistance, surely, when others know they won’t get even a scrap of freedom? It’s sad that anyone can be treated so badly that they would voluntarily look for a life like the Qun.”

She takes people as she finds them; pleasant first unless something makes her suspicious, fetching herself unless she doesn’t know where the hell a thing is.