faderift | you still can't look me in the eye

WHO: Leliana & various!
WHAT: catch all for July/Solace
WHEN: from roughly the 8th on throughout the month.
WHERE: Skyhold, various.
NOTES: set ups all in prose, but will happily match brackets if you prefer them! Open starters and a bit of a timeline on Leliana's health in the post (more to be added as we plod through the month), closed starters in the comments. If you'd like to do something that isn't in the open feel free to get in touch with me via pm or pp @karmacharging!
WARNINGS: Likely reference to illness, attempted murder, actual murder, and the range of terrible things that come with being the Nightingale. Will update as necessary, and endeavour to label subject lines.

OOC Recovery Deets.
After the team returned from the Brecilian Forest on the 27th, Leliana was given a series of potions with the ingredients that the team has acquired. Her recovery was not immediate, given the brutal effects of the poison, but the groundwork was laid. By the 1st of Solace she was able to speak again, although her voice sounded terrible, and some of the scarring had receded. By the 4th she was able to stand, although No One Approved. Since the 6th she has been walking, but only a very little. She normally has to sit in the presence of others, but from the 14th onward her strength has noticeably improved, although she's still thinner than she was before. Report on the Plot here.

OPEN.
8th - 11th - The Rookery.
It is safest to linger about her tower, still. Better that she be seen beyond it and that her recovery be confirmed, and yet if she were to falter or fall or appear weak that would only do harm. Her mind has recovered far more quickly than her body, and some motions still feel strange and foreign. Writing takes longer than it used to, but she is nothing if not determined. A hideous sort of stubbornness has been one thing that has never changed, not since she was a little girl.

She is writing or reading letters and orders and reports near constantly. Beleth and several scouts did much in the way of dealing with smaller matters, while Charter saw to other more pressing matters. Despite their efforts, however, there were a good many things that only the Nightingale could see to.

Pausing in her writing, Leliana flexes her hand, shaking it out a little, before looking towards the staircase. "Enter."

14th - the day after the Snow Battle Royale.
Though she did not stray down to the valley for the fight itself - such a move seemed a singularly poor decision. The Nightingale was not a social butterfly, and though it would have been an opportunity to assert her good health it would have been... inappropriate, she suspects, to attend.

That is not to say she didn't watch from the Rookery, and receive regular reports from her scouts on the progress and any Events of Note, whether they were interpersonal reactions or displays of skill, or just particularly amusing instances of people being decimated with snow.

Now she walks through the valley, observing the remains of the fortresses, still largely intact with the cold that always lingers this high in the Frostbacks, snow and ice crunching underfoot as she moves carefully, curiously, through the field. The cold bites into her lungs, and she swallows a cough that threatens to rattle her back, resting her gloved hand against the polished ice.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I guess so. Not the words of enthusiasm and commitment she might generally anticipate, but they might be as much as she'd tend to expect from Ferelden, truth be told. It wins a very thin smile from her.

She could be over-casual in turn, but resists. How very mature of her.

"Good. I will send a message via scout, once we are properly begun and I have instructed the Advisors of this change in schedule." Leliana pauses, frowning a moment. "Do you know anything about Antivan cuisine? Nevarran?"

Hey, give her a break! This whole situation is throwing her off, and she is bad enough at words to begin with!

Avery just nods to the instructions, but as for the question, she pauses to think. "A little," she answers after a moment. "But not much, honestly."

If only refrigerators and word-magnets had been invented - she might have been able to provide Avery with them to help her navigate this struggle.

"Very well. Perhaps it will be necessary to coach you in those regards. Seeker Pentaghast is not overly sentimental, but she is fond of some dishes from home. And Ambassador Montilyet would be especially appreciative, I think, of the effort."

Josie might not admit it readily, but Leliana knew her friend to be homesick - for Antiva's sun and warmth, if not for her little sister tormenting her. "Although I am sure Burly will be content to provide desserts. We need not consume all your time with indulgences for the Advisors."

See, now that. That makes sense and has some appeal for her. A dish from home, from when you were younger and things were likely simpler than they are now, can be a powerful thing. And a way of helping and showing appreciation that comes to her a lot more easily than something silly like talking about it.

Avery nods, a little of the tension leaving her shoulders, and says, "I can do that."

Leliana's smile is thin, but genuine. "Excellent. I am glad to hear it."

Very glad to hear it, and ever so slightly gratified that apparently that she has not been rendered incapable of persuading kitchen staff to comply to her plans. That would have been a grim day for the Nightingale, indeed.

"If you have any concerns you can raise them with Bonheur, she will gladly bring them to my attention— though I do not imagine you will be lacking with opportunities of your own."

Given the serving of meals. They are quite the window for an opportunist to abuse.

"Yes," she answers, then after a moment remembers to add, "ma'am." Wait, is that even the right thing to address her as? Is it sir? Or... Sister? This is why Avery hates this stuff! One second of confusion over the right word and you've gone from polite to completely disrespectful.

Forget it. She just barrels forward. "I'll be sure to do that, if I have any."

"Very good." Leliana turns her attention to her food more properly now - she has probably been neglecting it a little, letting the stew cool a little too much, but she is not overly concerned. Long has she allowed herself to develop bad habits, and while she is not fool enough to neglect her health and allow herself to weaken when she has so much work to do, she is inclined to let her food wait until it is no longer warm.

Businesslike, "Unless you have anything you would like to raise with me now, then I think we are quite finished?" It isn't dismissive, it's just...

... kind of dismissive.

Avery takes no offense. Honestly, she's a little relieved at being able to make her escape. Not because of anything against Leliana personally, but more her discomfort with this sort of situation in general.

She's ready to turn and go, but hesitates just a moment longer and fumbles awkwardly at the question in her head. "Do you... have any... preferences?"

Leliana's eyebrows quirk a little. She is not quite surprised by the question, but she wasn't fully anticipating Avery to delay her pressing need to escape. Another piece of information to add into the picture she is assembling, piecing into the overall impression of Skyhold and their people, as much as of Avery herself.

"Me?" She leans back in her chair, considering. "I have rather a fondness for Fereldan stews, in fact. You need not fret over Orlesian delicacies for my sake." Although— "There are a couple of recipes I have always enjoyed. I could see that they make their way to you, if you so wish."

"Of course," she answers, nodding again and taking a step backward. "I'll leave you to it then."

For a moment she struggles with a thought, wanting to leave it on a note about Leliana's recovery. How she's glad it's going well? How she hopes the rest of it will be quick? But she gets more and more self-conscious the longer it takes for her to work out how to word it without making an ass of herself, and she simply turns to leave.

Between her recovering throat and Leliana's own inclination to silences in general, she might have simply let Avery leave in silence. In this instance, however, it feels... remiss, to simply let her exit without acknowledgement.

"Thank you."

It is not much of a farewell, admittedly, but at least it is one. The thanks are more for what proceeded, than for Avery taking her leave. And, with that, Leliana retrains her focus on... on her paperwork, actually, although at least she's also eating. Close enough.

you still can't look me in the eye

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