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(no subject)

WHO: Felix and OPEN
WHAT: A couple of prompts for people who wanted to interact with Felix.
WHEN: The days after the funeral
WHERE: Throughout Skyhold
NOTES: Mentions of death or dying, otherwise it should be okay. Also, please remember the general public doesn't know he has the Blight, they just know that he's dying 'of an illness.'

[Personal Quarters]

Felix spends most of his time in the quarters assigned to him. Some days he finds it hard to walk around much, as the dizziness gets to him. Healers are welcome, as are servants and friends. He keeps the place very clean, worried that somehow the treatments will stop working. He knows the Inquisition is taking a risk having him here and he does everything he can to stop the possibility of spreading the Blight. That includes staying tidy and burning sheets after a fever.

It also means cutting his own hair. The problem is that he has issues holding his arms up for that long. They start to tire and he gives up making the cuts straight or even. He's not trying to make a fashion statement, after all.

[Library]

When he is out of his room, he spends most of his time in the library. Obviously, part of that is that Dorian is there. Being around his friend feels like the way he wants to spend his last days. He had thought going home and trying to help the cause of the Inquisition would have been important, but this feels more right personally.

When Dorian isn't around, he spends his time reading. He enjoys learning about Southern history and can also be seen pouring over any new mathematical theories. It makes him realize how much he misses going to university.

[Garden]

Sometimes he's told he needs to 'get fresh air' and that prompts him to go out and sit at the garden. It's still so lovely to see what a well placed hot spring can do even in the middle of a frozen mountain. The air is still thin and frigid, nothing like what he might have back home, but there's something wonderful about the peace that one can find surrounded by the right amount of trees.

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It's far more kindness than she expects from a stranger, but it speaks to his character. He sees an elf hurt and wants to help. Already she thinks that she wants to get to know him.

"How kind of you! But I'm truly all right. Just a brief pain, really. That you'd offer it just makes me feel better already. I'm Ellana. What's your name?"

Felix pauses for a moment, because he realizes that many who come here might already know his name as being attached to the Magister that attempted to enslave the rebel mages.

"I am Felix Alexius."

Though she isn't a rebel mage herself, she's been spending plenty of time with the other mages and knows that much. Her pale face goes even paler and her voice is hesitant as she asks, "You are related to that magister? You are from Tevinter?"

"I am, but you needn't worry," he answers quickly, assuming he has some understanding of why she seems so worried. "I disagree with my countrymen on many things, including the way we treat elves."

Her lips press together, and she can't help but wonder if he's only saying that because he's here and not in his homeland. Here there are many who would question a Tevinter's views, even if they themselves aren't fond of elves.

A part of her wants to believe him, though; the part of her that's an eternal optimist. And he did offer her his potion.

"All right." She scoots a little closer to the table. "I hope I haven't bothered you by sitting here? You were in the middle of reading something."

He shook his head. "It's math theory. One could always use a break from that to speak with a lovely woman." He offered her a small, but cautious, smile.

"What of you? That book looks interesting." He gestured to the vine covered volume she had picked out.

Her face relaxes and she can't help but smile a little. If she knew that leaving the clan would lead to more than one person complimenting her, she may have done it sooner.

All right, she wouldn't have, but it's nice to pretend.

"Oh, this? I'm not sure. I only picked it because the vines are so beautiful. Let's see." Pulling the book closer, she reads, "Les... Les Trois Soeurs?" She completely butchers the pronunciation. "Or: Legend of the Three Sisters. Oo, a legend. This sounds good."

"You read Orlesian?" Felix asks. He doesn't sound surprised so much as curious. It's not that he thinks Dalish elves can't read Orlesian, but he is curious how she picked it up.

Ellana's eyes widen, simply because the question seems so absurd to her.

"Oh, no, not at all! I didn't read the book's title. I was just taking it down because of the vines. I wanted to see what it was and then that other book fell on me." But now she opens the book and flips to a random page, a worried crease appearing between her brows until she sees she can read what's written.

"It's written in the common tongue," she says. "It's just an Orlesian story, and the names show it. Here it's speaking of Marie."

He tilts his head a bit, watching her reaction. "Would you like to?"

"Learn Orlesian?" Ellana's nose wrinkles up a little. "No, I have no interest in any of that." She may be interested in the different peoples of Thedas, but learning other languages? Not really.

"I would prefer to learn more elven over anything, but I already know all we've managed to save."

"Ah, yes. I wish it were easier for you," he says, pensive at that thought. He believes Tevinter is the reason that the elves have lost their language.

"If you would like to learn a bit of Orlesian though, I studied there. I picked up some phrases, though I'm told my accent isn't the best."

Ellana shrugs, fingers ruffling the edges of the pages in her book. She wishes the elves had more, but she wishes many things were different, and none of them are likely to happen.

"Why did you study in Orlais?" she asks, ever curious about people. It seems strange that a Tevinter would go to Orlais when they seem obsessed with being superior in every way. Why not stay in Tevinter to study?

"Tevinter..." he begins, trying to think of a way to word this without making it sound like he thinks poorly of his homeland. "It doesn't really offer courses in mathematics."

That was one way to word it. "There is also the fact that my own talent for magic was less than expected, so I couldn't really study at a Circle."

He forgets, for a moment, that 'Circle' means something different to Southern mages.

There's a brief look of surprise in her eyes, but she doesn't question him about his magical talent. In a way, she can sympathize. She's sure she didn't get the same magical training as Pel or Sorrel, because she's not destined to be Keeper. She was just trained to control her magic and all the basic spells.

"We Dalish don't have Circles. Our Keepers train us."

"Ah," Felix said after a moment. "Apologizes. We don't have Dalish Clans in Tevinter." Then, after a moment, he seems to be stunned by how stupid that sounded, a little mortified even.

"Of course we don't. I mean... My country isn't kind to elves." He stumbled a bit over the apology and then coughed a bit into his hand as if trying to make up for it. Then he changes the subject just to give her an out of not dwelling on his stupidity.

"The Circles I'm speaking of aren't like the ones in the South. For us, they're almost like schools. Attending one is a sign of talent and wealth."

Ellana waits as he stumbles over his words. She well knows that the Dalish steer clear of Tevinter and that the populace isn't kind to the elves who dwell there. At least he understands it would be a sore topic to continue.

"That's because mages are treated differently in the north. In the south, they are feared. At least by Andrastians. The Dalish treasure their mages. We become their leaders." There's a pause as she realizes that was a poor word choice, because it doesn't apply to her. "I mean, usually. Not me."

She fiddles with the book's pages again.

"Did you study mathematics, then? You said Tevinter didn't have what you were looking for."

He opens his mouth to ask her what she meant but she changes the subject so quickly that he takes the hint and lets it slide.

"I did," he explains, brightening up a bit. "The University of Orlais has some of the best minds when it comes to theory in the field. Attending had been like opening my mind to all of the possibilities of the world."

"Oh?" she asks, leaning forward in her chair. All the possibilities is a phrase that catches her attention and holds on tight. It's something she's always wanted open to her too. Being here in Skyhold feels like a start to all that.

"What do you do with mathematics? I mean, do the theories ever turn into something for practical use?"

Felix pauses for a moment, trying to figure out how to describe things. "In a way," he said. "Of course basic arithmetic is vital to tasks every day life, even something as simple as baking or planting requires it. When you get to the higher school of thought..."

It's clear he's searching for the words here. Sometimes he wishes he had Dorian's gift for gab. "It's like describing the world. There was puzzles and patterns everywhere. You only need the language to decipher them."

"And you know all that? It's a language to you?" She isn't quite sure she understands, but maybe it's a bit like magic. A mage can't really describe what magic and casting spells feels like to someone who can't feel the energy of the Fade flow through them. And she knows basic math, but doesn't see what need there is for more.

He nodded a bit at that. "At least I can speak a part of it," he admitted. "I, uh, I had to cut my studies short when my health began to get worse." That wasn't entirely accurate. It had been being attacked that had cut them short, but that attack hadn't exactly been good for his health.

"That's too bad," she says, expression softening. "And then all this with the Breach happened too, which has changed things for so many." Ellana closes her book and rests her arms on the table.

"The healers here can help you, can't they?"

"They do what they can, but I'm afraid I'm incurable. That was, after all, the source of my father's desperation." He frowns a bit as he thinks of the Alexius who is down in the dungeon of Skyhold. He hopes his father is well and remembers to go check on him later today.

"Oh," she says, taking a moment to process that. 'Oh' is what she usually says when she needs a moment. It's a filler word that shows she's still invested in the conversation, but doesn't want to blurt something out without thinking. It's especially true now as the topic returns to his father.

"I'm sure parents would sacrifice anything for their child," she continues quietly. It's so unfair that Felix is incurable when he's so young. And here he wants to study mathematics and is in the library trying to catch up. He should have all the time in the world to learn what he wants, without this hanging over his head. "I wish-- your illness, I wish it wasn't so."