I'm one card short of a full deck, I'm not quite the shilling [open]

[hattergonnahat]

WHO: Jefferson and YOU.
WHAT: The hatter's settling in at Skyhold. Well. As settled as he can be. The guy's kind of twitchy.
WHEN: Latter part of Solace
WHERE: Skyhold and all associated locales.
NOTES: Will add warnings as needed.

They've been shepherded to this keep in the middle of the mountain range with the promise that they aren't the only ones. That they're working on a way to send them all back home again. It's more than he expected, the courtesy and hospitality, even if some of the people in the keep give them wary looks. There have been incidents. The extent of which he's not sure, but it's not a surprise. Traveling between worlds is tricky at the best of times.

And it's never left him with a souvenir like this one. The mark feels like an invasion, like corruption, and it makes his skin crawl. Occasionally he's taken to rubbing at the green mark on his hand, sometimes without noticing that he's doing it. It's done nothing to improve his already rather nervous temperament.

Still, best thing to do for the moment is try to adapt. Don't draw too much attention, observe the goings on in the castle. He keeps his distance from the soldiers and the training ring, though he does on occasion stop to watch. He flits into the tavern and out again, able to overhear some decent bits of gossip.

There's also a library, as it turns out. It's doubtful there'd be anything of use as far as getting them home, or surely they would have found it by now, but it can't hurt to have a look on the sly. He's not quite sure if 'Rifters' are allowed to go poking through their things, so he does so when there are relatively few people around.

This isn't quite the prison he expected it to be. But that doesn't change the fact that once again, he's been torn away from his daughter. That's a bitter pill to swallow, no matter how scenic the vistas or friendly the people.

Comments

[hattergonnahat]

Well. That's interesting information to have. There've been no reports of anyone missing, and he could have sworn he'd seen her only days before arriving, when Charming initially tried threatening him into helping. Granted, he'd been bolting past her as quickly as he could go, so he could have been mistaken...

But he really doesn't think he was.

"I guess it's easier to get comfortable when being tossed into other worlds is old hat by now," he murmurs, a little distractedly. "And it sounds like it's not particular about where or when it pulls from."

[eviscerates]

"Nope. There are some other people here from the same world, I think, though I don't know them all that well. Samwise might be able to tell you a little about it, though. He's got friends from home here."

She's a little drenched and a little cold, and huffs out a sigh at the state of the books. "I should probably string these up over a fire, or something. Want to come with? I'll... get you a drink after, or something."

A smile, because she realises they have nothing much in common aside from being from the same world(s), but here that's kind of a lot.

[hattergonnahat]

Maybe he's just unused to kindness. Or doesn't trust it. Or her. Or anything about this really. But his hesitation doesn't last long. He tugs a thin smile across his face before offering up an arm.

"Might as well. I didn't really have any other plans for the day. Here, let me help."

It's not at all so he can get a better look at what she's hauling around. That'd just be silly and paranoid of someone to think, really.

[eviscerates]

"Great." At the very least it was sort of like gaining a friendly face, even if they weren't already that, right? "Thanks."

Her books are mostly about plants. Herbalism in the Hinterlands, a study of curatives in the heart of Ferelden and Antidotes in the Wild, and related essays, some of them with titles that could take up an entire page. Conciseness was not, arguably, a strong suit here.

Accepting his offer, and very gratefully at that, Ruby starts to lead Jefferson towards the tavern, warm and with a fire that hopefully would let her hang the books without incinerating them. "It's— it's weird to fall into another world. Keep learning about more worlds that other rifters come from."