you don't own the green pines

[chainlightning]

WHO: Merrill and open!
WHAT: An open log.
WHEN: Justinian 20th - mid-Solace
WHERE: Skyhold and the surrounding area
NOTES: Some talk of violence, injuries, death.

late justinian through early solace | healing tents
[ Justice is dead, but he nearly took many others with them -- Merrill included. She's in a bad way for a few days, especially after; her cheekbone is broke, her ribs mostly intact but her internal organs badly bruised, along with various and sundry scrapes, cuts, bite marks, bruises, and burns.

Still, she's a decent patient. She stays put in the tents, at least, though they can't quite get her to stop talking when she's feeling well enough to sit up and do so. Visitors are allowed at the discretion of the healers, but Merrill isn't going to turn anyone (or anything) away. ]

early solace | around skyhold
[ When she's allowed to leave the healing tents, it's not full-time. They don't want her going down to the Warden camp to sleep, but she's allowed to wander Skyhold as long as she's careful. As a result, Merrill mostly relaxes -- visits with friends or with potential new friends, sits in the garden, watches the birds.

She likes to go visit the griffons, when she can, though she has to be careful. They're less good about watching for injuries. ]

early-mid solace | camp shady fucker
[ When she's allowed to move more, when she's more patched up between a combination of time and magic, Merrill gets to work. Sleeping in a tent isn't new, but the events at Weisshaupt have shaken her. If they need to get out, she wants to be able to move quickly.

She starts to gather supplies. Wood, mostly, but any who know much about the Dalish may recognize what begins to take shape or the plans that Merrill checks every once in a while: an aravel. ]

wildcard
[ you know what to do ]

Comments

[byblow]

[ It probably wasn't quick. But Alistair hopes so, too, so it isn't dishonest of him to nod his agreement. When she pulls back he lets go obligingly, mostly, save for a hand on her shoulder.

He waits a moment. He still feels bad asking. But it's more important than her grief or Herc's death--which is no comment on Herc's worth. It's more important than Alistair's life, too. It's more important than a lot of things. ]

Merrill, what do you mean you can remove the taint?

[chainlightning]

[ It's important. She knows that. That was why she had told Herc in the first place, and she can't fault Alistair for asking.

She takes a breath. ]

I removed it from an eluvian that my clan had found in the Brecilian Forest. We know it was the taint -- one of the members of my clan was infected by it and died. I brought it with, when we went to Kirkwall; my clan was afraid of it, so I left them and went to the alienage to live and work on it.

[ She straightens, standing tall; she makes herself look Alistair in the eyes for this next part. ]

Removing it took blood magic, but only my own blood -- never anything given unwillingly, never anything from anyone else. And it worked. If I can do good with it, then that's worth it, right?

[byblow]

[ Alistair looks at her, then past her, as if perhaps the griffon might be eavesdropping--or Maja, more likely, wherever she's wandered off to--and. judging him. That's the worst either of them could do. But it would be painful.

Fortunately, Maja remains out of sight and earshot, and Ghostface has gone back to grooming. ]

Yes, [ he says after that pause, looking back at Merrill. ] If you're not killing anyone, if you can do it without that--

[ Without turning into Clarel. ]

--it could be worth it. [ He rubs the corner of his mouth with his knuckles, thinking and hesitating, and adds, ] We're hardly in the position to be judgmental. [ Not just because of Clarel. Their Joining is blood magic. ] We should talk at the camp.

[chainlightning]

[ Somehow, Merrill doubts either Ghostface or Maja particularly care as long as the griffons aren't harmed. ]

I can, [ she says, firm. She doesn't have to kill anyone.

...Although- ]

I've only done it on the eluvian. Never anything living, though I suppose there's something odd about eluvians, since everyone always thought the Blight could only infect living things. But that's a step, and-

[ Right. Camp. Talk at the camp. ]

Now?

[byblow]

No, no, I don't think... Everyone's a bit upset. But soon.

[ Due to Herc. There's a certain weary stoicism--they've all lost people, this way and other ways--but the fact that it gets easier also makes it worse, somehow, like not being terribly cold but also knowing you'll never feel warm again, ever.

Unless Merrill can fix that with blood magic, too. ]

Does Bethany know? Or Anders?

[chainlightning]

[ Well. She could probably actually make them warmer with blood magic, but that's about it. ]

Anders knows. He's not sure what to think- with Justice and himself feeding into each other for so long, everything got twisted up. I think now that he's without Justice, he might come around to the idea that it could actually help people without looking constipated.

[ This is said rather serenely, all things considered. Anders looking constipated because of Morals isn't anything new to Merrill. ]

Bethany knows a bit- I'm not entirely sure what she gathered from before she became a Warden and what Hawke might have told her after, and how much she actually thinks is true versus Hawke embellishing only a little less than Varric.

[ Beat. ]

For the record, I'd like to not be imprisoned or murdered or anything for all of this. I'm not exactly sacrificing people or using mind control, after all, and I'm not a follower of the Chantry anyway.

[ conscript her or something if you have to, Alistair ]

[byblow]

[ Despite the circumstances, constipated earns a mouth-twitch that doesn't entirely fade away, so he doesn't have quite so far to stretch his mouth at that last part, when it's time to smile, a little, reassuringly. In a sad way. But the reasons he's sad don't have much to do with her or her magic. ]

We're very good at secrets, [ he says--that's why he's sad--and lowers his voice: ] There's not a Warden alive who hasn't been involved in at least a little blood magic. We've got you.

[ And lower still-- ] I'll slip Anders some prunes.