[OPEN] Heaven bend to take my hand

[bookish_lioness]

WHO: Hermione Granger and YOU
WHAT: Hermione's seen some shit and is trying to get over it.
WHEN: Mid-Kingsway through the end of the month.
WHERE: In and around Skyhold.
NOTES: Takes place after this plot, so some threads will likely have mentions of child death and/or signs of depression. Please let me know if you'd like me to avoid any triggery topics.

Library

Though the curly-haired rifter has become a staple in the library over the past six months, Hermione has been relatively scarce there lately. She has no real heart for research anymore, not after the things she'd uncovered in those journals in that cave in Fromage, and there's so much more to Thedas than what can be found in books. She'd learned that the hard way, and now instead of reading and taking notes, she finds her thoughts wandering as they rarely do. For once, she can use a distraction from her failed attempts at studying.


Stables

Avoiding people isn't always as easy as she'd like it to be. But if she can preoccupy herself with animals, Hermione can withstand a bit of small talk. There's usually a kitten or two playing around the stables, and if not, at least helping to feed some of the horses will make her feel productive as well as distracted. And if that doesn't work, there's a certain dracolisk that she'd been slowly learning to get friendly with, assuming it won't sense her dour mood and become agitated.


Battlements

The battlements are actually quite pretty. She'd never really come up here before - if she wasn't in the library then that usually means she wanted to be social, and so the courtyards were where she'd spent more of her time - but now that she's looking for a change of scenery... well, there are worse places to get some quiet with a beautiful view. She's not always alone, since there are always people passing back and forth, but most people don't seem all that keen on hassling the young woman perched in between two turrets, staring out into the mountains. Indeed, unless someone happens to recognize her or just manages to catch her as she wipes at a stray tear, most probably wouldn't even know she's there.


Healing Tents

Returning from Emprise had been difficult, for more reasons than one. Beyond the obvious, Hermione still had a few physical injuries that she'd intended to ask the healers in her group to help with on their way back, but had clearly never gotten around to it due to the extenuating circumstances. Of course, she can't indefinitely deal with waking up with a sharp pain in her back and some of the bruises had begun to look particularly gruesome, so there's nothing wrong with making the occasional visit to the healing tents. If she takes care of one thing at a time and sees a different healer each time, it minimizes the chance of any awkward questions being asked, which is all the better; she's not ready to talk about that dreadful day and is in no rush to change that.


Wildcard!

She probably won't be quite so cheery until later on in the month, but Hermione still needs to eat, drink, bathe, and presumably sleep. She may be a little awkward around those that had gone to Emprise du Lion with her, but she isn't about to actively ignore anyone or send them off. Her nerves might be a bit frayed, but there's still such a thing as etiquette, after all.

Comments

Stables

[universal_charm]

His head felt fuzzy and in a haze. Ever since they had returned home and he had slept, his head had felt to full, the insides pressing against bone. He should have probably sought out a healer for it, but he was to stubborn. Old habits died hard, it seemed, and besides - he was still sorting through the cause. He knew it, even if no one else believed, and the best way to take care of a headache? Distraction.

And petting a lovely undead horse.

That was the plan anyways as he came into the stables, some carrots and apples in a sack for the living creatures. One of which he pulls out to hold out to Hermoine as he approached her.

"Needed some time away from the masses too, huh?"

[bookish_lioness]

Had this been a normal situation, Hermione might have greeted Kirk with a joke. Seeing the way he held out an apple towards her would have had her commenting that she wasn't a mare, thank you, before grinning and asking after how he's been. Instead, she barely glanced up from the horse she'd been petting, sparing the apple a moment's consideration before slowly reaching out for it.

Her hand hurt. That was what happened when she kept it clenched in a fist to keep from crying in front of people. At least she was able to focus on that absent, throbbing pain rather than allow the sight of Kirk to stir up any unpleasant memories.

"You could say that," she murmured softly, voice barely above a whisper. The horse seemed incredibly interested in the piece of food in her hand, and she had to shift a little so as to not bump heads with it as it tried to make for the apple. "Are you all right?"

Healing tents

[justice_is_blond]

He looks up from the work he's doing as soon as someone opens the tent flap, standing to get ready to help... and sees who it is. Anders swallows, studying her, hesitating, before gesturing to the table with a questioning look.

"Can I help you?" he says as soon as he finds his voice.

[bookish_lioness]

Oh. She supposes she should have expected it, sooner or later. There aren't that many healers that she could keep coming here and avoiding a select few she'd been trying to avoid.

Except... she hasn't been trying to avoid anyone, not really. Or, at least, not consciously. It's not until she sees Anders and experiences a rush of unbidden and unwelcome memories that she realizes he's among the last people she'd really wanted to see.

"No," she says automatically, glancing away. The look on her face shows that she's well aware of how stupid she's being, and she tries not to wince as she gingerly brings a hand to her side. "I'm just a little bruised up." The bruises are the worst of her injuries, really, and if she's going to concede to anyone looking at them, it might as well be someone who'd been there.

stables

[aceso]

Christine has come to the decision that she needs to learn how to ride a horse. Master Dennet is a wise man, and tells her she can't slap a saddle on a horse and expect to ride it. She has to get to know the animals first, and that's why each day she can be found in the stables petting a couple of the gentler mares. These will be the ones she'll take lessons on, and it's not so daunting a task to spend time with them.

But today she sees Hermione feeding one of those mares and she gives the young woman a smile.

"Hello, Hermione. I have not seen you for some time." Since the Fade, she thinks, and what a trial that had been.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione has no interest in riding horses. Any time she rides anything, it usually means that she's running for her life, so she'll be perfectly happy to keep both feet on the ground until such a time comes that she can get on a train or car or other automobile. But they're sweet animals, and they clearly don't mind the attention, so Hermione has been using them as her main distraction since her return to Skyhold.

Seeing the way the mare messily bites at the carrot in her hand almost puts a smile on her face, but not quite. Some of the softness goes out of her eyes, though, when she hears a voice behind her; she's not quite tense when she realizes who it is, but she'd still been marginally more comfortable when it had been just her and the horses.

"Christine," she greets softly, voice a little rusty from lack of regular use lately. "I hope you've been well."

Battlements

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin's often on the battlements whenever she doesn't have anything better to do, simply to enjoy the view they provide. It gives her a sense of peace, sometimes more needed than others. She doesn't do it to be alone, though, and upon spotting Hermione, the Vashoth woman decides to be social. They haven't spoken in a while, after all, not since going on separate missions.

"Hey, you. I wanted to--Hermione?" Korrin's friendly tone quickly grows alarmed upon seeing that stray tear, quickening her approach. "What's wrong?"

[bookish_lioness]

While she's been aware of the presence of people around her, Hermione's still surprised to hear a familiar voice approaching, and she tenses visibly as she turns her head just enough to glance up at Korrin. "Nothing," she says automatically, glancing back over the landscape. She doubts she can actually carry on a conversation without crying, and that's not something she should be doing. After all, most of the others that she'd gone to Emprise with had already made it clear by their actions that Hermione's too soft for her own good.

"What did you need?"

Library

[circleprodigy]

Inessa still tries to make the library a regular habit, though it's not as extensive as before. Sometimes, she finds the stacks comforting, reminding her of her old Circle. And sometimes, that's exactly the problem. She'll look at them and remember the abominations lumbering down the halls, the demons everywhere...and then she needs to leave and get some air.

This is one of the former situations, at least for now. Inessa's seated at a table, Garahel sleeping while she tries to read her page for what seems like the tenth time. Realizing that she's not in a mood to absorb anything, the young woman moves to stand and return the book to its place in the stacks. It's then that her gaze slides over to Hermione, wincing a little at the memory of their mission, and her own subsequent meltdown after the abomination's death. Maker knows what Hermione must think of her now, but seeing to her fellow teammates well-being now that she's not mentally shutdown seems more important.

"Hermione...how are you?" It's not an idle question.

[bookish_lioness]

For what it's worth, Hermione has no memory of Inessa's meltdown, or of any of the smaller details of that day at all. What she does remember is probably a warped account of events brought on by her own feelings of guilt: she'd trusted people to comfort the child, they'd instead antagonized the demon that had clearly been living just below the surface, and the only way to get themselves out of the corner they'd painted themselves into had been to....

But that's the bit she won't let herself remember, despite her brain sadistically attempting to replay that particular reel over and over again. The books don't help, not unless she gets a paper cut that brings her back into focus for a few moments. It's during one of those few moments that Hermione hears that familiar voice at her side, and she frowns a little before turning to look at Inessa.

There are any number of ways she can answer that question that will minimize further conversation. Instead, her defenses are down and she's weary, instinctively opting for the truth instead. "I've seen better days. But then, I think it's safe to say we all have."

library

[stabsbooks]

"Hermione Granger."

Cassandra pauses on her way through the library and nods in greeting, politely enough. She takes a moment to study the young witch, surrounded by books and papers, and the corner of her lips twitches faintly upward in something like approval. It's been some months since they've spoken, but it seems Hermione has been making good use of her time since then.

"Or have you earned a proper title you might prefer? Apprentice, perhaps?"

[bookish_lioness]

Blinking at the sound of her name, Hermione looks up, needing a moment to make sense of the words beyond her name and needing another moment before her brain could parse together a proper response. "Seeker," she greets in return. "'Hermione' is fine. I doubt anything good could come out of me attempting to become someone's apprentice here."

What would she learn? How to kill children? How to sleep at night despite the blood on her hands? How to deal with the fact that those she'd come to consider her friends within the Inquisition would kill her without a second thought if a demon wormed its way into her brain?

Her eyes had glazed over a bit as she threatened to lose herself in thought, and she needed to take a breath to try and relieve a bit of the tension that had crept into her features. "I trust you've been well since the last time we spoke?"

stables

[ichaer]

Since their return from Emprise du Lion there has been little change in Ciri's day-to-day routine. She wakes up, she trains, she eats and trains some more before spending her free time in the stables with Kelpie. They were able to ride when the weather was fair so she could put distance between herself and Skyhold despite having already spent so much time away. It helped more to put distance between her and her lingering thoughts on everything that has happened since the night Weisshaupt caught fire.

She is returning from one of these rides when she enters the stables on foot, dressed down in simple leathers and leading Kelpie into her assigned stall. Her face reveals little of the horrors they experienced in that Maker forsaken cavern and she never looks more than neutral but there is an unmistakable softness to how she regards the black mare she pats down once riding equipment has been removed. It helps to calm some of the nerves that have been so frayed out.

There is a motion to step out but she stops shot, glancing to the feeding bin in Kelpie's stall and blinking curiously before checking other nearby ones. This is when the Warden notices she is not alone in the stables, she glances down to where Hermione and calls out: "Were you the one who feed everyone?

[bookish_lioness]

While horses may be calming creatures, it doesn't quite feel as though being in their company is really helping Hermione's mood. It does help to pass the time, though, making it easier to pass the hours between waking up and feigning sleep without running the risk of being social at some point in between.

Well. Usually.

This time, though, she hears someone enter the stables, and while Hermione would have been content to pay no mind, she looks up from her fussing over one of the smaller horses when she hears someone speaking to her. She turns, fully intending to answer, only to stop when she sees who it is.

Ah. That's... not one of the faces she would have necessarily preferred seeing right then, but then again, she doesn't necessarily feel like being friendly with much of anyone at the moment. It has nothing to do with Ciri as a person.

"I am," she replies softly, looking down again. "I trust that isn't a problem?"

Library

[conqueredhearts]

Iskandar had found the collection of books within this place to be rather nice. Perhaps not as vast as the collections he'd had in his lifetime but still he was impressed. So since his arrival here he'd been coming to visit this location so he could get to know it better and whatever histories that could be found. Of course, he couldn't just stand around reading. Such a thing would be ridiculous!

Which was why he saw where the girl was sitting and he leaned over her in all his seven foot muscled glory to catch her attention (which he felt shouldn't be hard since he really was enormous), a huge smile on his face as he pointed to the seat near her. "Ah, girl. Might I sit with you? You seem to have space even for a man so large as I."

He gave a soft laugh then tilted his head. Really in that armor he didn't look like he would be one to sit and read yet there he was.

[bookish_lioness]

Skyhold's library is serviceable, yes, but it's never exactly busy or crowded, certainly not to the point where anyone has ever asked to share Hermione's table, not unless they intend to speak with her. But Hermione doesn't recognize this man - if he is a man and not, in fact, a Qunari with missing horns, since that's what he more closely resembles, given his stature.

He seems oddly good-natured regardless of who or what he might be, and Hermione finds herself hoping he isn't the garrulous type. She doesn't usually mind a bit of discussion even when she can focus enough to read, but she's just not sure that she can keep up a proper amount of chit-chat, if that's his aim.

Shifting to move some of her papers aside and streamline the small pile of books on demon possession around her, she clears her throat and tries to offer him a small smile as she tells him, "It's fine. Sorry to be so spread out; there usually isn't much competition for table space."

healing tents

[fightorfright]

Amélie recognizes the girl as soon as she walks in and freezes awkwardly on the spot, half tempted to hide her staff away simply out of habit. But the days of being secretive about her powers are over, so after a moment's hesitation, she waves her over. "What can we do for you today?"

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione dimly recognizes the young woman who calls over to her, and though she doesn't show it, she's vaguely surprised to see her there. She hadn't known Amélie was a mage, but it's hardly as though they're all somehow branded by the Fade.

"I hurt my wrist a few days ago," she says simply as she slowly closes the distance. "It's not broken, but it's sill very sore. I just want to be sure there isn't something seriously wrong with it."

library

[theproperglove]

"You seem distracted," Josephine starts as she approaches the rifter girl in the library. Her voice is gentle, kind, but there is a definite note of underlying curiosity. Josephine is so used to seeing Hermione devour books and writing notes that seeing such a change in her behaviour is... concerning, to say the least.

[bookish_lioness]

Blinking at the sound of the voice, Hermione looks up, frowning slightly at Josephine for a moment before attempting to smooth out her features. "Do I?" she asks mildly, not wanting to get into it unless asked directly. "I suppose I am."

Library

[hattergonnahat]

There's a solid thump from nearby, and a rising cloud of dust, as Jefferson tosses the book he'd been reading down onto one of the tables. One hand rises to rub against his eyes, a small, irritated sound welling up from the back of his throat.

Alright. Calm. Nothing's going to get done if you spend all your time frustrated by lack of answers. You've gone through more tedious tasks than this.

Get it to work.

[bookish_lioness]

The startling noise so close to her makes Hermione jump, and she looks up at the unfamiliar man who seems to be either frustrated or angry. Or both. She's found it harder to differentiate between emotions here in Thedas, since actions tend to run towards the extreme.

She hesitates, wondering if she should ignore him, but if he's looking for something specific, she's read almost every book in the library by now (or, at least, stared blankly and wondering when the words would start making sense). After a few moments, she looks down at the book in her hands and softly comments, "I wouldn't rub at my eyes like that after handling these books. The dust will just irritate them even more."

Granted, they don't exactly have hand sanitizer here, and he might well be a local who's used to this sort of thing, but it bears saying if he intends to spend a significant amount of time here researching one thing or another.

Battlements

[lettersfromhome]

She'd just made her way out of the kitchen with a basket full of sweet baked good, and honestly the best way to get around the keep seemed to be that long stretch of stone walkway that circled the bailey. Mia wasn't often without task these days, as she was helping Zevran with Lucci when she was not tending to errands that needed running, but today? Upon insistence, she was taking things a little slower, perhaps with enough time to visit Cullen if he wasn't terribly busy.

When she spotted Hermione, however, her steps slowed even further. As though by instinct, she knows those tears have little to do with the bitter wind blowing in from the snow-covered slopes around them.

"Hermione, dear."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione may not have been overly social since her return from her last mission, but apparently she's been with the Inquisition long enough that hers is a fairly familiar face. Hearing the sound of her name, Hermione glances back just enough to be able to tell who it was that had recognized her, and her heart sort of sank. Some of her acquaintances might have seen her looking distressed and offered a joke or some such thing, and would leave her alone after being satisfied with a forced smile. Mia doesn't strike her as that sort of person.

"Hello Mia," she says softly, turning back to look over at the mountains surrounding Skyhold. "It's been a while."

stables

[harthad_uluithiad]

Sam, naturally, spends plenty of time in and around the stables. Bill is being a bit more cooperative today than he had been last time they'd met, following placidly along behind his master as he chews on a bit of hay.

"Hullo, Miss Hermione," Sam says cheerfully, and stops, eyes going wide with delight at the sight of the tiny kitten flat on its back, batting at Hermione's fingers. He smiles, eyes going soft. "Well now, look at what you found."

[bookish_lioness]

The kitten is almost enough to put a small smile to Hermione's face; as it is, her expression is soft, her brow no longer furrowed with her morbid thoughts. While she's not really in much of a talkative mood, hearing Sam's voice behind her makes her look up as the tiny animal catches one of her fingertips between its forepaws, unsure of what to do with its prize.

"Hello, Samwise," she returns, voice soft and just a bit hoarse. She's been doing more crying than talking lately, or at least feels as though she has, but she'd rather he pay attention to the kitten than to that. "You'd be amazed what sorts of things come out looking for you when you have treats."

Library

[spaceswan]

".....-'am...Ma'am? Miss. Lady. S'cuse me. Hello, Miss Ma'am Lady?" a pleasantly timbered voice rattles awkwardly, followed by gentle, unsure clapping. If Hermione happens to come back from her drifting thoughts enough to realize the voice is speaking to her, she could attach the voice to a green-eyed, violet-haired Qunari carefully patting his gloved hands together in effort to snap her out of her reverie.

"The uh, book there, that you've got? One of the other people here said that's the one I have to cross-reference for more information about--you know what? Nevermind, you seem completely into it. My mistake. I can learn about Gurguts some other time," he backpedals, looking the young woman over and holding up both hands with an uncomfortable attempt at a smile, shooting double finger guns her way as he takes a few steps in reverse.

"It occurs to me, belatedly, that I was warned people around here sometimes blow things up when irritated and I am extremely irritating, and also probably extremely flammable. So yo~u just read your thing and I will, uh, not. For now. Ye~ah. We good? Good. Cool."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione blinks, not entirely sure what to make of the unusual tone of voice or vernacular, especially not when she focuses on the speaker. She's not unused to seeing Qunari, but even then, this one looks different from most of the ones she knows, and seems oddly laid back.

Either way, his implication as he backs away hits her hard, and that much is evident in how contrite she immediately looks as she takes a step forward, stretching the book out towards him. "Wait!" Why would he claim that he's been warned that someone might 'blow things up'? Is he making a reference to what Anders had done and is generalizing all mages in the same sort of category? Is it that obvious that she can do magic? Does he not want to be around people who might become possessed at any moment?

She tries to shrug her concerns off as ridiculous, since most can only ever tell that she's a rifter by her decidedly un-Thedosian clothing, never mind that she's anything resembling a mage. "I'm sorry, I was just... distracted. Here, take the book. Please, don't be afraid."

That's not something she'd ever thought she'd say to a Qunari, but here they are.

wildcard!puppy

[lionheartedman]

Mabari are not only excellent judges of character, but also excellent judges of emotion. Puppy in particular, getting to experience such a wide variety of people. When he runs across Hermione, sitting lost in her thoughts, clearly upset, the game of tag he's playing no longer holds the slightest bit of interest for him. He runs up to her, planting both front paws on her knee and stretching up, whining, licking at the air in an effort to get to her face. Don't be sad. Please don't be sad.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione is jarred out of her morose thoughts when she feels something small but decidedly solid land on her knee, and she looks down to see a vaguely familiar puppy looking rather concerned. While it can just as easily be a different mabari from the one she's more familiar with, the fact that one so young seems to know her and is trying to cheer her up narrows down its identity for her.

"Hello there," she murmurs softly, not quite managing to offer Puppy a small smile as she reaches down to scratch behind his ears. "Get away from your human again, did you?"

wildcard-ish/battlements - after she visits solas??

[amygdalae]

[The battlements was always a peaceful sanctuary of sorts for Bruce. With most of Skyhold asleep at this time it was pretty much just him and the guards that patrolled around, and he was up here often enough now for them to be long used to him. He hadn't been coming up here as often now due to the work he now had to do as an agent of the Inquisition, but now that he had his chance...

Bringing up with him his usual supplies for potion making, Bruce made his way towards the usual spot upon the battlements - only to see that there was already somebody. And not just somebody...]

Granger?

that works!

[bookish_lioness]

[She'd slowly begun to recover - both physically and, more importantly, mentally - from her last mission out of Skyhold, but as Hermione had begun asking around to try and get answers to the questions that trip had raised, she found herself backsliding just a little. Upon hearing that rifters could indeed be possessed, and that a rifter who could do magic might indeed result in an abomination, Hermione had been trying to research ways to prevent such a thing.

The main proposed safeguard - conceding to a Harrowing - didn't sound particularly cheery, and after talking with Solas, she had to wonder if he really did have the power to truly stifle the shard lodged in her hand. He was certainly knowledgeable, but knowledge only got a person so far. If anyone should know that, it would be her.

She'd just been trying to clear her head, staring down at her palm as though it was horribly disfigured, when she heard someone call her name. Most here regarded her more informally, so she knew who it was even before glancing back at him over her shoulder.]

Hello, Bruce. [Noticing the supplies he had with him, she shifted a little, getting ready to walk away.] Keeping busy at this time of night? You should sleep.

[Pot, meet kettle.]

Healing tents

[wontforgetyou]

Things just haven't been going all that well for the rifters, it seems. When Jamie is finally brought back from his own mission, it's only to wind up in the healers tents, his wounds and the high amount of lyrium that's been put in his system more than enough to ensure that he needs looking after no matter how much he protests he's fine.

He's not fine, really, and for the first little while when he comes back he's still disorientated, prone to seeing things that aren't there - including friends that he's left behind. So when he happens to turn his head and see a slender figure making their way through the healing tent, his muddled mind reaches out, grasping for a name but only able to come up with one from the past.

"Zoe?"

But it's not long at all before he realizes that it can't be her. The hair is wrong, too long, too light, and he makes a noise as he shakes his head, trying to shake off the fuzziness that seems to have been a part of him for days now. Maybe even weeks, he's not sure anymore. With some effort, he's able to refocus - and then call out again, this time more certain about who he's seeing.

"Hermione?"

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione's attention is only minimally caught by the sound of the voice at first, given that it's calling out a name she doesn't recognize and she isn't about to risk intruding on someone else's conversation. But when she happens to glance over at the source of the voice, her trajectory changes immediately and she hurries straight to Jamie's side, forgetting about what had brought her to the healing tents as she crouches besides him.

"Jamie!" she gasps, reaching for his hand. She hasn't seen him in quite some time, and seeing him like this.... "What happened to you?"

stables

[thecookery]

See? Petting kittens and ponies must be the best way to recover from trauma, because the lady with the heavily bandaged leg and the crutch is doing the same. Or, well, technically she's brushing out the mane of one of the massive Fereldan Forders, but I mean, if a mabari still counts a dog, then by Fereldan standards this big fella can totally still be a pony, right?

Anyway, when Hermione joins her, Avery doesn't give much initial acknowledgement, other than a look and a polite nod, but she's definitely staying aware of her presence.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione really isn't of any mind to strike up a conversation, especially not with a new face. But given that this woman is clearly recuperating from some sort of extensive injury and Hermione can certainly empathize with that, she'd be remiss to pretend not to have noticed her, and even more so not to verbally acknowledge her.

"Be careful," she warns. "If you catch a snag and startle him, he might rear up and hurt you even more than you already are." She pauses, then, hesitating before deciding it's only polite to ask, "Would you like a hand?"