faderift | [ open ] we are a starry sky

WHO: Shino Inuzuka & open!
WHAT: Later catch-all for the latter half of August.
WHEN: August 15th-31stish!
WHERE: Skyhold & surroundings.
NOTES: Will update as anything comes up! Shino's an emotional idiot, I apologise ahead of time.

Formal training had always sounded like a bore when he'd had the luxury to not need it, relying on his makeshift training and Murasame's strength. Being effectively immortal had made for a certain knowing recklessness that Sosuke had taken him to task for most recently, the last time he'd died then been resurrected. It wasn't so long ago now.

He can almost hear Keno laughing from across the universe, asking what about when you said no, you didn't require any of my training? The effort he'd wanted to avoid before is an effort he makes now in joining in with drills. He did what he could to deal with the frustration and intense urges to sulk off that hit at first, but the importance in focusing on learning the means to defend himself and survive without Murasame meant he kept at it, no matter how often he ended up on the ground, or sending others down in turn. His fighting style relied far more on speed and decisiveness in his strikes than the heavier heft and hack of the broadsword, so adapting to the practice swords on Thedas was a trial.

He was going to have to find some means of getting a wooden sword more to his specifications crafted, leading to his spending time talking with the merchants coming through Skyhold investigating possible avenues forward. Discussing the specifics of a wooden kendo sword was leading to poor sketches on his part, and discussions on the worth behind a weapon that didn't fit the standard for 'proper' warfare against heavier armours.

He retreated to the library to study what he could on creatures and demons and spirits, finding it easier to choose them as a focus when what little he understands about Corypheus indicates he's some sort of tie toward both those and the Blight. Reading by natural light and candle light was enough of a strain when he'd grown used to being spoiled by electricity that toward the late afternoons and early evenings, he could be found trying to work on (hard to recognise) sketches of a wooden kendo sword or inadvertently sleeping off the headache he'd given himself.

In his opinion, one of the few comforts of civilization (albeit a civilized castle and little else outside of its immediate economy) was found down in the lower levels with the hot-spring fed baths and a chance to soak out the aches and pains around whatever company inevitably seemed to be around. "Not quite like home... but better than nothing, I guess." He was too tired and turning into a boneless human being to be able to summon up the energy for the proper sulk that might have felt nice, given the situation.

Evenings were a toss-up of talking with the people who were part of the inquisition, letting his unfeigned ignorance lead him into conversations within the attached encampment around communal firepits, or in the more enclosed environment of the tavern. He was a good listener, and avidly curious; how much was genuine interest or him embracing his fervent need to know was a matter left up to debate. He certainly stayed ready enough with a smile and laugh, or the open eyed, total focal interest that made it seem like he cared very much to hear whatever he was being told.

Understanding what it meant to deal with the shard in his palm was more difficult for not knowing precisely who to ask, or what he should be asking. Murasame had been another presence to fight against and work with; he was capable of speaking, and the pains and thirsts and appetites they each had were a dialog. Uncurling his fingers to examine his open palm, Shino breathed out in an annoyed sigh. "This can start making more sense any time now."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Animal-related?" He glances back at the shelves before shaking his head, looking solemn. "I'd suggest talking to the Dalish about that. They've a Dread Wolf that does footsteps, hears them, something, there's things about ravens, and so on. But you'll not find books on that. A lot of people in power don't like it when the Dalish have records. Or anything, for that matter."

Their world is not a kind one. "I can answer questions on the sorts of spirits and demons you're reading about, I'm... something of an expert. But anything animalistic, I'd recommend speaking with Pel about. She has very pale hair, a lot of freckles, and is often found in the gardens or here. Or sometimes with the halla."

Pel. The woman with the note about the Halla? Yes, he'd really need to track her down at some point, if for little other reason than his own curiosity and restlessness being forcibly stranded on a world that wasn't his own. He gives Anders a distracted nod and hum in the back of his throat. Right, he'll get on that.

The professed expertise, on the other hand, has Shino looking directly at Anders. "Why is that?" Frustrated by his own in-exactitude, he waves a hand in front of him, tapping down on the book pages with one finger. "You know more than the nonsense stuff they're writing down here?"

"For one, I'm a mage. We often have demons in our dreams. For two, I'm a spirit healer, which means I've consulted and spoken with spirits, and worked with two of them." There's a pause, a hesitation, before he considers. "For three, I was possessed for a time. I'm not any longer, but I'm one of very few who has been there and come out of it."

There's one other, helped by the Hero of Ferelden, and then if Asher was to be believed it's a usual Avar thing. Anders doesn't quite know if he believes Asher.

"I've first-hand knowledge, while a lot of the books you'll see aren't written by mages. We weren't exactly given much leave to publish while held as captives, and we've not been free for long."

Most of it meant little aside from Anders owning his affiliations and abilities. Shino's most interested in what he says at the end — possessed for a time, but not any longer. That's a reality for Shino right now, but one he doesn't know will ever be realised back home. The balance between himself and Murasame...

He smiles, a brief, unfettered show of emotion. "Great! Then you're just who I want to talk to." Not great about being held captive, that sounds shitty, but it's part of the past (apparently) and what he's more concerned now is the present. Not to mention the future... and Anders has his attention over what he's presently focused on. "Outside of fighting once once after that rift-thing up in the mountains, I have no idea what your demons are, or how they different from spirits. Are they not supposed to manifest on this side of the..."

What was the word, what was it... "... Fade?" Yeah! Probably?

Generally easy questions are ones he likes the most, and the man's lack of pressing about being an abomination is comforting as well.

"Demons and spirits aren't supposed to be on this side of the veil, no. They stay in the Fade, a realm that dreams touch sometimes, unless you're a mage. Mage dreams touch it at all times. And the difference... Virtues are spirits. Corrupted virtues are demons. So you'll find Hope as a spirit, and Despair as a demon. Justice the spirit, Vengeance the demon, and so on."

Shino has been pretty impressively abdominal when Murasame's been in control... but there was little point in saying so or considering that so much as being more considerate to the difficulties and the choices made by individuals on this world.

He listens, chin propped up on his hand. "That's a very human way of looking at things. Or... people way." His nose wrinkles. He's not adapting fast enough to the multi-race situation he's found himself in. "Virtues and their corruptions are all invented and agreed on by people, not some outside force, aren't they? Not that anyone's going to say murder's great, but one person's justice is another person's injustice. Are spirits as aligned to points of view as all of that?"

Shino hits a little closer to home than Anders was prepared for, and he gives the other guy a sidelong look.

"They are absolutes. They don't really understand shades of grey or complications. Justice sees Justice as he chooses to see it, and sees no other way. Compassion can also become Despair when one realizes how complex a situation can be, and how the world lacks it. It's theorized that our thoughts and emotions have some sway over how spirits present themselves, but as we can't observe a spirit without being involved, I don't know how to say for sure. It's... complicated."

"No wonder they can't handle it." He sounds sympathetic; and he is. There's a difference in his eyes between the monstrous and the human; spirits who find themselves confused by the complicated nature of people were, in essence, being corrupted by them. People making their own monsters, in one sense.

Or as Murasame had said, humans made demons. Not the other way around. (Not that the demon-spirit had bothered explaining what he said.)

"People don't work in absolutes. Sounds like a basic conflict of understanding from the start." Or, where life was concerned, the retention and prolonging well past when it was natural, or when the spirit had already been severed from the living world.

"It's a great conflict. And it's why spirits can't last long here. If they're pulled over and exposed to all of the shades of grey, they're likely to lose their focus and purpose. They prefer to stay in the Fade. Demons, on the other hand, feed off of the chaos and conflict, so they want to come over. That's why demons spilled from the rift."

They found a door and poured in.

"What else?"

[ open ] we are a starry sky

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject