Reaching towards adulthood?

[issala]

WHO: Kas & You!
WHAT: Catch-all for the month
WHEN: All through Justinian
WHERE: Skyhold (mostly)
NOTES: Feel free to hit me up on draiol for any specific starters!

I. Healer Tents

Since the trip to the Fade, the strange headache had returned. Now it was always there, nagging him, but at times it grew to something less tolerable and more 'knife in his brain'. Kas tried to ignore it, but eventually he had to drag himself to a healer again to get a potion or something until it calmed down.

Opening the healing tent flap after a little knock to a pole, he makes a grumbling sound as a greeting, not sure if it was a healer or another patient in the room.

II. Archery Range

The archery training was going well for the teen, and he found himself always feeling better after he had gone through his training for the day. It cleared his head better than any other things he had attempted, and came with the added bonus of actually improving something. With the hip quiver making pulling out an arrow much easier and less entangled, he was also increasing his speed.

After nailing another shot at the dummy, Kas takes a quick break to grab his water skin and wipe some sweat from his forehead. Concentrating was heavy work.

III. Herald's Rest

Better days meant better ways to entertain himself, and Kas often found himself at the Tavern playing games with other patrons. Wicked Grace, Diamondback, Checkers. Other times, he just liked listening to people talk (and maybe shyly look at girls). He didn't drink, though, which annoyed the staff a bit.

(Good thing the cook thought he was cute.)

Writing letters to his old kith had been sparse lately, the more he realized how bad it had really been there compared to the families he heard about from people like Gorse and Korrin. Still, he felt obligated to let them know he was alive now and then, and could be found scribbling on paper in the tavern when not losing his money to cards.

...it usually ended with him doodling instead.

IV. Wildcard!

Comments

[aceso]

"Oh, well that would certainly be a stressful situation." She frowns and thinks it over as she crushes up the leaves and begins pouring in some kind of liquid from a bottle to form a paste.

"Were you exposed long to the red lyrium? I know we were all in that environment for far too long, but in fighting a Red Templar, you were very close to the lyrium inside them."

Now she pauses and reaches out a hand to rest against his forehead, letting her hand frost over. "Here I am investigating, when I should be soothing your pain. There; how is that?"

[issala]

"I dunno how much of that I got close to," he says with a sigh, watching her crush the leaves and all that healer stuff. "Sam says I'm not corrupted or anything, though." That had been a big worry for a while.

Still, it was more annoying to not know.

When she comes over to touch his head, Kas almost flinches away before he reminds himself that he had asked for it. Closing his eyes, he leans into the touch and lets the cool fingers ease the pain a little bit. "...that's better."

[aceso]

"Yes, red lyrium corruption is a terrible thing, but even if you are not corrupted, it can have an adverse effect on you."

She smiles, glad she can be of help to him. "Good, good. Let me just finish this up and it will hopefully make the headache go away completely." The potion is brought together as quick as she can and strained into a vial before she hands it over.

"Here you are."

[issala]

"Really?" That was news, and now he's a bit worried. Could that be what had sparked this thing the first time? It all just gave him more questions than asnwers, though, and he's grateful when she finishes the potion and hands it over to him.

Swallowing it down with a grimace of disgust, he carefully puts the vial down and makes a slightly gagging sound. "Blech... that never gets any better, does it?"

Good meds rarely did.

[aceso]

"Yes, it sings to you," she says, looking serious. "And with prolonged exposure, you become obsessed with it." At least that's her understanding from Varric's words.

"Unfortunately not. It's far less potent if you try and make it taste better."

[issala]

"Sings?" That was really weird, and he gives her a confused look. What did that even mean? The only creepy singing shit he had ever heard was described as the Calling in books. "I haven't been hearing any singing."

Thankfully.

The teen remains seated for a moment, letting his stomach calm down after the potion and seeing it it would take the edge of the headache off so he could at least get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

"...have you been here long?"

[aceso]

"Then count yourself lucky," she says. Now that she's able to study red lyrium, she's very aware of how it might try to get in her head, and has taken precautions against it.

"In the Inquisition, you mean? Since Haven." So yes, rather long. Not since its founding, but before the Herald's death.

[issala]

"It's hard to feel lucky when it feels like someone's stabbing you in the brain," the teen says with a long-suffering sigh. "...but I get what you mean."

For all his problems, being afflicted by red lyrium had thankfully been avoided.

Hearing that she's been around since Haven, Kas frowns slightly. "You were there when it all went down?"

[aceso]

"Not when the Conclave happened and the Temple was blow apart, but there for the battle when we had to abandon Haven, yes." Her voice is quiet, remembering those they lost that night and the next few days as they succumbed to their wounds. She should have been able to do more for them. There should have been ways to save them.

[issala]

"...I'm sorry." He says, feeling a bad for bringing it up... and a little embarrassed too, so he fidgets slightly, trying to figure out how much the elfroot had helped so he could run away.

It still ached, but not as bad as it had.

"I... uh... feel a little better, though. I should probably leave."

[aceso]

"All right. You should probably get some rest. It will do you a world of good." Even though elfroot could help a great deal, rest and relaxation were necessary in the healing process.