you still can't look me in the eye

[fightingale]

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.

Comments

[fightingale]

"You had indigestion, and I had a tickle in my throat."

Wry, that, as self-mocking as the master of spies might allow herself to be in this particular moment. She leans back in her seat, though, elbow propped up on the carved wooden arm, fingers tucked under her chin. More seriously: "I am glad to see you back on your feet."

The Inquisition would have lost a valuable asset, yes, but Leliana rather likes the Iron Bull. There are not many who understands what it is to be as she is without feeling the layer of judgment that comes with it. Perhaps Bull does judge her - she would not dismiss it as likely - but if he does then he is subtle enough that she does not detect it, and that is something.

"What can I do for you?"

Business, she assumes.

[qunari]

Takes the sting out of it somewhat, making light of the injuries that might have killed them. They're stronger than those that tried, they get to laugh about it, and their enemies get to rot in the ground. So it's all for the best, really.

Leliana's not wrong, however. This isn't a social call, and he reaches for his belt before withdrawing a number of folded, bound envelopes.

"Some light reading, in case you get bored. Got word on some real pretty shoreline property that should be due for a visit, if you ever want to get out. Stretch your legs. Maybe do some actual work around here."

Not many would dare to make such remarks to the Spymaster herself, but the smirk at the corner of his mouth says he knows she'll take it as it was intended.

[fightingale]

She accepts the letters, not looking up at him until the comment about actual work.

"Oh, no," she replies, exhaling the words. "Walking is for peons."

It is with that that she looks up, just the faintest indication of a smile. Yes, she can well understand his meaning. "Perhaps while I'm at it, you could try not to stay on the outskirts of fights. Endeavour to be a little more engaged in the fight."

Paging through the letters, she looks up to the Bull. "Unless you were hoping for a beach retreat? I'd hate to deprive you."

[qunari]

"Uh-uh. I've seen these beaches. All soggy gravel and cold wind and raining half the damn time. It's got nothing on the beaches you find in Par Vollen. Big leafy trees to stretch out under, fine white sand, warm salty breeze rolling in off the ocean...you people don't know what you're missing out on."

Which is a rather roundabout way of explaining which coastlines in particular -- it's not hard to pick out the one in particular -- if not just some wistful recollections making their way out. He hadn't seen Par Vollen in years, after all.

Eh. No shame in admitting what you miss.

[fightingale]

Ah, of course. The Storm Coast. She would be fool indeed to miss the hint, though she rolls her eyes all the same. Subtle and understated, the way all things she do are to some degree. "The Waking Sea is very refreshing, I'll have you know. We have no need to overcompensate with luxurious sand, in Orlais."

Actually that is exactly the sort of thing they'd probably love in Orlais, but anything found in Par Vollen? Outrageous.

Still, she takes a moment, letters in hand, and waits before looking to them. "Strange, the things that we dwell on when faced with mortality, no?" Fine beaches were not the strangest thing to dwell on, of course, but generally speaking. Perhaps it is too much a reflection of her own thoughts, rather than an analysis of Bull's. Her mouth tugs into a little frown. "How urgent would you say my next seaside excursion is?"

[qunari]

"Eh."

He shrugs, scratching his chin. "Worth a look. I don't think it's going anywhere. Just been hearing a lot of noise from that direction." For good reason. The caves along the coast were perfect for smugglers, and it proved a good strategic hold for anyone looking for a foothold in the South.

Couldn't be anything they were moving North. Not that he wouldn't mind verifying that, given the chance.

[fightingale]

"Understood. Perhaps there is more we can do in the Storm Coast."

If there is noise there, then there may yet be something they have missed, or matters yet to come to pass that they can pre-empt. In either case, Leliana cannot say she is in any great personal rush to get to the Storm Coast, herself. Negligence, however, is not an acceptable option. Not after everything else that has unfolded. She is not eager to allow any manner of negligence, to allow any cause precious to her to falter. Her expression becomes a little more grave, head canted to the side and Leliana tapping her knuckles against her mouth.

"I will review these and pass the information along to the Advisors presently."