{ OPEN } Shine with all the untold

[serannas]

WHO: Ellana + OPEN + various closed starters
WHAT: playing catch up
WHEN: covering the month of Solace until she leaves for Rivain
WHERE: Skyhold

Closed starters in comments, but here's an open option:

{ halla at ya }
Back in the clan, Ellana was close to their halla keeper, Sulahni. She could always tell when Ellana was upset, and told her she needed her help to feed the halla. And since Ellana is a soft-hearted soul who often ties herself into knots over things, she spent a great deal of time with the halla, feeding them out of her hand, helping Sulahni apply salves to their wounds, and just sitting beside them as they gazed at her with understanding eyes. She knows she doesn't have the gift of understanding them like halla keepers do, but she's dedicated to taking care of them here. They've had a long journey and she wants to help them settle.

She hasn't chosen names for them, because they don't belong to her. Halla are free and she doesn't own them. But she would love to have one as a dedicated mount, and she had assumed eventually one would stand out as the one who would allow her to ride it. Imagine her surprise when early on, one took a shine to her, nudging her shoulder for treats and following her around to the edge of their allotted space down in the valley, before she gently had to convince him not to go with her. Everyday she can be found with the halla, either feeding them from her hand or petting them, with one trailing her steps and sometimes setting his chin on her shoulder.

"Would you carry me if I asked you to, brother halla? Would you allow me to give you a name so I can call for you?"

Comments

{ felix }

[serannas]

Ellana is the first to admit that her life before the Inquisition had been lackluster in a lot of ways. Years of reciting the same tales over and over again because nothing new or exciting ever happened in the clan had left her wanting to break free, but she'd been too afraid to do it on her own. She likes to think she's grown since then, and has so many stories to share now. But she's not sure she wants to recount what happened to her in the Fade ever again. It's put things in perspective, especially about not taking one moment of her life for granted, and after hearing of Hercules answering his Calling, Ellana thinks the time is right to sit down with Felix and talk about the future. Their future, such as it is. Some would argue not to get too far ahead of herself with Corypheus still a threat, but she has to believe they'll defeat him and the world will go on.

She waits until Felix is free from training and any camp tasks he may have, before she swoops in and takes his hand in hers.

"I'd like to talk to you about some things," she begins. Her voice is quiet and her expression serious, but she gives his hand a squeeze. "Could we go somewhere private?"

[blightedson]

Felix smiles when he sees Ellana. Her presence always makes his chest fill with warmth and joy, though her expression mutes it a bit. This seems serious, and he doesn't want to belittle that.

"Of course," he says. He offers his arm to her so they can walk somewhere quiet together. He can't promise that he'll always be able to drop everything for her, not with the Wardens being what they are, but he can do so now and he'll always do so when he can.

[serannas]

It's his commitment to the Wardens that makes their future together so uncertain; so unknowable. He could be stationed in a far off hostile land, and she wouldn't be allowed to go too. They could be apart for long periods of time, but at least the sending crystals can ease some of that distance. She tries to find the bright side to things whenever she can.

Leading him down the path towards the valley, they pass refugees, mercenaries, and whoever else has made this land outside Skyhold their home. It's been feeling like home to her too, but it's also a stepping stone out into the world and its endless possibilities. She still wants to see so much of it. It would be nice if she could see some of it with Felix. Maybe he's ready to go out and do things to help the Inquisition now. Maybe he could come with her to elven ruins along the way.

"Things have been very serious lately. And it's got me thinking about things." She sighs, running fingertips down his arm. "The way Hercules just left here. He probably thought it was better, but I saw what it did to Merrill. I don't want you to leave me in the middle of the night to answer your Calling because you don't want to see my tears."

[blightedson]

Felix pauses then, frowning a bit at the thought. "I wouldn't," he says, after giving it some thought. He wanted to be clear about his reasons why he wouldn't.

"My parents adored each other, you know," he continues and moves to continue their walk. "They thought the world of each other. My mother was tough, and fierce - my father, less so. But they were both brilliant and dedicated their lives to the study of magic, to me, and to each other."

He looks a little sad now, remembering how things had been before the darkspawn. "And then she died. He didn't get the chance to say good bye and it drove him completely mad. It broke him. He was left wondering every day if he could have done something else to protect her, to keep her with him. That guilt forced him to do everything he could to keep me."

She knew how that ended. "I would never want to do that to someone I cared about. I would face your tears if it meant you could have that closure."

[serannas]

Throughout his explanation, Ellana stays quiet, watching the path ahead of them and listening carefully. Love is such a powerful force and it could drive people to ruin. It could suck the air from your lungs and the blood from your head, and the next thing you knew, you were on the ground after passing out. That had been the way with her. But that feels like a lifetime ago now, and she's learned that there's a difference between the heart of a seventeen year old and the heart of a twenty-seven year old.

"Thank you. That means so much to me." She exhales a soft sigh of relief before looking up at him. "Your mother... I wish I could have met her." His mother's death and Felix's illness had been the catalyst that set everything in motion. Felix wouldn't have had reason to come to the South had his father not been trying desperately to save him, nor would he be with the Inquisition now, unless he'd made that decision on his own. Therefore, if his mother was alive, Ellana would never have met her anyway. But she still wishes she could have. Felix is such a dream of a man, that she would like to have seen where it comes from.

[blightedson]

Felix smiles a bit. "I wish you could have as well." He's also keenly aware he wouldn't have met Ellana without that attack, but in a perfect world perhaps there would have been a different reason? Perhaps he and Dorian would have come here on their own to join the cause. "I know she would have liked you."

At least he hopes so. Neither of his parents had fallen into the thinking that elves deserved less than humans.

[serannas]

"I wish you could have met my parents too, though honestly, I don't know much about what they were like. But if they knew what I felt for you, I'd like to think they'd like you in turn." Hopefully. Ellana may have gotten her curiosity in humans from one of her parents, though all she has are stories from others in the clan, and she doubts that's something they would admit to her about her parents if it's true.

"What do you think of everything that happened at Weisshaupt? Have you met any of the Wardens who came from there yet?"

{ sam }

[serannas]

Since returning from Emprise du Lion and their trip to the elven ruins, Ellana has seen Sam often enough around the fortress, and she stops to say hello whenever he looks free. While she thinks she really should pick up with her metalworking lessons again, after seeing Sam as a dog, she thinks it could be interesting to spend some time together in their animal forms. To date, Ellana has only done so with Morrigan, as the two flew on the winds down in the valley below Skyhold. While doing this with Sam could be fun, it could be good practice too. There could be a mission where they scout things out as animals, and being able to communicate in their forms is important. So one day she finds Sam, and the first thing she says is, "I have an idea."

[el_tybs]

By now he's gotten used to Ellana dropping in on him - thankfully not literally - but even so just to have her come up and say "I have an idea" out of nowhere certainly is curious. "Hello, to you, too," he says in return, raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck.

"Exactly... what kind of idea did you have?" He always enjoyed Ellana's ideas, and to lead a conversation with that certainly meant something. Just what?

[serannas]

"It's about the two of us being shapeshifters," she begins, clasping her hands lightly in front of herself. "We already have forms we're comfortable with, but what if we spent some time together working on signals? Think of it: we're on a mission to a city. I'm disguised as a bird and you, a stray dog. We see our targets and want to convey to the other our next move. What do we do?"

[el_tybs]

That... was a good point. "You as a bird and me as a dog? I suppose we would have to use a series of barks and chirps for signals. Though we'd have to make sure we can tell each other from other birds and dogs." Signals would have to be very simple too depending.

[serannas]

"So practice is important. Let's go somewhere private and work out what kind of signals we'll need, and talk it all out first. Then we can shapeshift and see what it all sounds like." She smiles hopefully. "Does that sound good to you?"

[el_tybs]

"Alright. Do you have any place in particular in mind?" He's sure there are plenty of places to practice in private, but a whole that he knows of since he hasn't quite explored Skyhold as some as the others.

{ morrigan }

[serannas]

On the return journey from Emprise du Lion, Ellana checks and rechecks the notes she had taken. She redraws a couple of the drawings she'd made, in order to make them more clear as well, because she's not very skilled at this sort of thing. The clues regarding the Sulevin Blade have been copied into her journal as well, in case by some strange chance she loses the original. With time to spare, she thinks over what she's learned from the ruin and hopes that Morrigan can add it to her own collection of elven knowledge. It wasn't a grand temple or fortress, but any elven site holds significance for Ellana.

Once back at Skyhold, Ellana goes to look for Morrigan in her office. If she's not in, she'll slip a note under the door to ask to meet with her later, but if she is, Ellana will present her findings.

[arcaneadvisor]

Since Leliana's poisoning, Morrigan has rarely been in her study during the usual hours. Instead, much to the irritation of most of Leliana's scouts (and the healers, and anyone else having reason to be there) she'd moved to her chambers instead with her work, though little of the work had been done in truth. A lot of talking, a lot of worrying, a lot of lying in bed with Leliana's frozen hands in hers resenting every interruption.

Still, there are times that she is there and this is one such time, her call to enter sharp since she half-expects a scout as she reviews the situation in Orlais, a letter from herself to Celene that she'll pass to a runner to keep her appraised; I am working, all is well. The usual sort of lies you tell since that's what she's getting from Celene though she'd rather her on the throne than Gaspard.

"Ellana," she greets, tucking the letter away in an envelope to be sealed and sent later. "Sit, find a seat." Translation: move the books somewhere else she's been coming and going a lot lately so it's a bit of a disaster in here.

[serannas]

Ellana doesn't know very many details about Leliana except she's been ill, and it was intentional, but she has faith that she'll get better with the help of the Inquisition. After all the work she's put into this organization, Ellana knows that everyone would rally to save her.

She tucks her journal against her chest and moves the books with one hand until the seat is free and she takes it.

"I hope you and Kieran have been well. I just got back from Emprise du Lion where I saw elven ruins, and I wanted to get your impression on what I found." She knows better than to waste Morrigan's valuable time, so it's straight to the point.

[arcaneadvisor]

"We have both been well, thank you, Kieran has found a new friend in Gwenaelle Vauquelin, I am grateful to her for keeping him entertained of late." There's been an awful lot of 'Gwenaelle says' around Morrigan's rooms recently, and anyone who might bump into Kieran is sure to catch wind of it too. But she settles herself more comfortable, appreciating something that draws her mind back to work once more.

"Tell me what you found, spare no detail, I will be glad to hear all of them," she encourages, and though it's slight, there's still a smile on her face as she says it.

[serannas]

"The one who writes about the Inquisition?" she asks, since that's all she really knows about her. That and she's definitely Orlesian, with a name like that.

Ellana is happy to do so, and though she brought her journal, she doesn't open it just yet. Instead she rests both hands on top of it and begins to speak. "It was a site just on the outskirts of Emprise du Lion. It had lay undisturbed for centuries, though we did find two dead Tevinters inside. They hadn't made it far in, and we found evidence that they'd killed each other in a feud and it was nothing within the ruin that had done it. Coming inside from the outer doors was a courtyard. There were beautiful mosaics and wall paintings. Falon'Din was portrayed on one, and harts on the other. There was also a statue to his owl there between two staircases. But once we entered, there were statues and murals dedicated to many of the gods -- even Fen'Harel."

[arcaneadvisor]

"The very one, we met shortly after her arrival. She has a keen mind." They have wine and gossip sessions, and Morrigan perhaps encourages her enough that people should worry but she cares, genuinely, sincerely. None can deny they need help getting support and Gwenaelle is the one who took the initiative, and she is proud.

"Do you suspect Venatori? My eluvian was briefly captured by them after all, tis something we should keep track of when the ancient Magisters took so much from your ancestors." That and another theory of hers she cannot voice, not yet, not when she knows it would cause alarm if it spread throughout the populace to speak openly of the Arbor Wilds presently. "The mosaics of green and gold stone or glass? I have seen their like in other places on my travels, and the paintings throughout Orlais should we turn to the Exalted Plains or to the Emerald Graves, I would be glad to show you to where I have ventured, should you wish it. To have lasted so long…" Well it does make one wonder just what the ancient elves did, or even those who made the exodus from the Dales.

But to the present, and she smiles, listening to what Ellana says as she commits it to memory. "Fen'Harel is usually depicted outside when he is depicted. I have met Dalish clans and their statues always had him facing away from them though picking through the legends to find the truth becomes...difficult." Trying, is more apt but to have Fen'Harel depicted within is odd.

halla

[apostafuckyou]

Raylan kept his distance, not wanting to spook the halla. He didn't know much about them, had never seen one in real life, but when he'd heard there was a group of them being kept, he wanted to go and see. He stood ten or fifteen yards back, watching the young elf who cared for them so gently. Even at this distance, he could see why they were nearly worshipped, or so it seemed. He didn't understand the relationship between halla and the Dalish, but he got that it was one of extreme respect on the Dalish side.

"That one likes you," Raylan observed, once she'd noticed him. He stood with his hands perched on his skinny hips in pants and a shirt, no robe to indicate he was a mage.

[serannas]

"So it seems," she replies, chuckling lightly at the way her "shadow" follows her as she approaches the stranger. Halla aren't fond of humans and usually shy away from them, but where Ellana goes, the halla goes, so they go together.

"He's very sweet." Either that or he's a bottomless pit who wants her to hand feed him all the time. She's hoping it's the former.

[apostafuckyou]

"Will he let me touch him?" Raylan asked. "I don't wanna spook him." It just got more beautiful as they approached, and Raylan wanted to pet it, but he'd keep his distance if it reacted negatively. The creature's comfort was more important than his curiosity.

[serannas]

Ellana looks apologetic as she shakes her head no. "I don't think he would. They really don't like humans very much. But at least they keep to themselves and don't start charging, right?"

It may have something to do with how attuned to the People halla seem to be. After all, the first halla was once an elf, and with the way humans still treat elves today, the halla have remained utterly loyal to the elves and shun the humans as well.

[apostafuckyou]

Raylan nodded, understanding, and took a small step back, a show of deference to the halla. "Well, he sure is pretty. What's his name? Do you give 'em names?" It occurred to him that he didn't know anything about halla and how they were kept.

[serannas]

"Not usually. They don't belong to us like pets do to other people." She reaches up a hand to cup around the halla's snout, brushing fingers against the bridge of his nose as he kept his chin on her shoulder. "But this one may be willing to carry me and be a mount, and if so, he really should have a name so I can call for him."

Now she tilts her head to look at her dear halla friend. "But what to name you, hmm? It should be an elven word."