{ 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

[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."