faderift | (no subject)

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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As the days wore on and it seemed less and less likely that Ariadne was going to be returning home any time soon, she found herself favoring the company of plants over the people. It was strange, given how much she loved people. But the way they looked at her--being a Rifter and all--made her uncomfortable. It was one thing back home, where she could masquerade as a human in plain sight. But no power here seemed capable of hiding the glowing shard in her palm. And anyway, word got around.

After all, Ariadne was hard to mistake for someone else. With her long hair, braided to her hips and her unusual clothing, she stood out.

To say nothing of her face, which was just a little too smooth to be a regular Human face.

Plants never judged you, though. They were safe and predictable. And the new aromas were fun to explore. Which brought her out to the garden that morning. She was lying on her back, along the length of a sturdy branch in an unfamiliar tree. She liked the way that the branches crisscrossed over her head, like a delicate lattice. Like lace, she decided. Which was one of the most remarkable things about Humans.

Felix couldn't help but be curious about her. He hadn't met a Rifter yet, but her clothes stood her apart. Much the same way that his Tevinter robes set him apart.

He was trying not to be too obvious about looking at her, but it was impossible.

After a moment, he finally spoke. "Hello? You're one of the new visitors?"

Ariadne snapped back from her daydreams of lace, rolling over on the branch as smoothly as if she'd just been turning over in bed. Her long, rope-like braid fell over her shoulder, swinging down from the branch as she examined the boy.

Immediately, she decided she liked him. He was calling her a 'visitor.' It was a kinder word than many others that had been thrown her way lately. And he had a nice face. As though he actually meant her no harm.

All very refreshing.

"Yes," she said. Her voice was bell-like and gentle. Her nickname--Airy--had been earned. "I hope that's not a problem."

"Of course not," he replied. "I have plenty of questions. However, I wouldn't want to take your time if you'd rather not answer them."

She couldn't help but giggle. Ariadne was known, back home, for being irritatingly curious, always asking too many questions. She had to apologize in advance herself.

A kindred spirit. Clearly.

"I don't mind," she replied. "But I doubt that I'll have much useful to offer."

After a moment he moves to settle by her. He gives her a respectful distance, not wanting to crowd her personal space, but he's close enough that they can speak.

"What is your home like?" he asks after a moment. "Is it anything like what you've seen of Thedas?"

"That's a very big question," Ariadne said, smiling slightly. Exactly up her ally of course. For the asking. Answering, on the other hand, was a little bit more difficult. "There are fourteen kingdoms." Were fourteen kingdoms, anyway. "Each one's a little different. Thedas feels like...well, what I've seen of Thedas, actually...looks a lot like Deleo. It's where I was born. Only Deleo has a lot more trees."

But Thedas had enough. She'd found plenty to perch in and they were all familiar and pleasant.

"More trees?" Felix thought about that for a moment. "You probably wouldn't like Tevinter as much if that's a concern. We've developed a lot more of our land." He seemed more thoughtful about that than anything. "I doubt many in Skyhold will be able to travel that far north though."

"Tevinter?" she repeated, cocking her head to a curious angle. "Is that where you come from?"

She wasn't terribly familiar with the landscape of Thedas. She'd been trying to get her hands on a map, so she could walk along the various rivers and streams with her fingertips.

That was how she'd learned about the realm back home.

"That's right. It's to the north. We're... not very well liked throughout the rest of Thedas."

Now there was something Ariadne could relate to. Alastrians were hunted and murdered more than any other creature of the realm.

But as she examined Felix, he didn't seem all that different to her from the rest of the humanoids.

"May I ask why?"

"My countrymen have a habit of trying to take over the world," he admitted after a moment.

The way he said it almost made it sound funny. Almost. But Ariadne was far too used to ordinary men suddenly deciding to take over. The damage left in the Red Dragon's wake was far too significant to laugh over.

But still. Many hated Alastrians for the actions of individuals. So she understood.

"Do you want to take over the world?"

"Not me personally," Felix replied. "I'm afraid my views of allowing people control of their own lives is rather radical by Tevinter terms."

Ariadne smiled, just slightly. "Well, than," she said. "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll judge you based on your views, instead of the views of your people as a whole."

She owed everyone that. Just as she hoped they would return the favor.

...not that most people did.

He returns the smile. "It's the least I could ask," he replied. "Though that is probably the benefit of you not being from Thedas."

Then, after a moment, "Did you have any questions? About Thedas, I mean."

"Only a million," Ariadne admitted. She'd been holding back as much as possible. Back home, she was often chided for her curiosity. The last thing she needed to do right now was earn enmity from the natives.

But if he'd offered...

"I still don't understand how I'm here."

Felix frowned a bit. "I wish I had the answer to that one. The magic that caused the Breach and pulled you here is still mostly unknown."

It was what she'd been hearing all along. And while Ariadne was disappointed that she couldn't get more out of Felix, well, that was hardly his fault.

He was telling the truth.

"I guess it's too much to ask for a way back, huh?" she said.

"I'd imagine they're working on that." He frowns deeply. "This can't be easy for you. For what it's worth, I'm very sorry."

Ariadne smiled. "Thank you," she said.

It was a small thing, expressing sympathy. And yet, as far as she could remember, Felix was the first person who'd been kind enough to do so.

There was power in words.

Felix offers her a small smile, meant as a comfort. Then he focuses on something else. "You said you had hundreds of questions. Anything in particular that I might be able to answer?"

"Well, I'm not sure," she admitted. "I suppose it depends on you, really. I mean...what is it you do here in this..." She gestured around, as if to encompass all of Skyhold. "...place?"

"Right now, the Inquisition is working to uncover what Corypheus is doing and find a way to stop him." A pause. "Corypheus is an ancient evil from my homeland. The worse we have to offer, sadly."

"Corypheus," she repeated, trying to commit the term to memory. "And what makes it evil?"