faderift | [OPEN] Heaven bend to take my hand

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She doesn't expect Cullen to do more than collect his dog and go on his way, though she supposes she's not exactly the most convincing liar in the world. Still, she's surprised when he opts to sit next to her, and she casts him a sideways glance before looking down at Puppy again, once more resisting the urge to try and scoop the dog up and hug him.

"I've just had a lot on my mind," she says, voice a bit hollow. "It's... fine. I'm fine." One would think someone who knows she's a terrible liar would make it a point not to lie anymore.

Puppy, meanwhile, is very put out by this whole size difference problem, and might be trying to scrabble his way up into Hermione's lap anyway. He's heavy, but more or less considerate. He may end up putting most of his weight on Cullen, now that he's sitting beside Hermione, and just lay his front half across her legs.

After a few aborted attempts, Cullen either gets frustrated or takes pity, and hauls his dog up. Better than letting Puppy gouge claw marks in his pants. "Listen, if you don't want to talk to me, you can just say so.You can say 'Cullen, I want to be alone, so shove off' and I'll go. Just don't lie to me, all right? I get enough of that in my day."

Though she's willing enough to be distracted by Puppy so long as he's willing to provide himself as a distraction, Hermione looks up at Cullen at his words, a vague feeling of shame creeping in. "I didn't-.... I don't mean to undermine your intelligence...."

Chewing on her bottom lip and deciding that Cullen is far more earnest than most she's met here, she looks down even as she turns a little towards him, allowing her to better interact with Puppy. One hand gently reaching for his paw while the other absently scritches against his thick neck, she shakes her head as she remarks, "You don't have to go anywhere, not unless you want to. I meant what I said: I've had a lot on my mind. It doesn't exactly make for pleasant conversation."

"Pleasant conversation isn't always all it's cracked up to be." Still, she's looking more than a little worse for the wear. Also, Puppy's massive paw keeps slipping, and trying to stay situated on Cullen's lap is just about the worst possible time for him to be doing that. It's going to end in tears. "All right. Come on." He stands again, spilling Puppy to the floor, and holds out his hand to Hermione. "There is a very specific protocol for times like this."

She's surprised when Cullen stands up and lets Puppy fall to the floor, a moment of concern for the poor thing breaking through the cloud of gloom before she ascertains that he's all right. Then her attention turns to the hand Cullen holds out to her before she eventually manages to skeptically meet his gaze. It's clear he's not going to give her peace, so the least she can do is allow him to help her to her feet before she politely declines whatever invitation he seems to be making in favor of going off on her own again.

Slipping her hand in his and slowly getting to her feet, she tells him, "I don't need any sort of counseling session. I'll be all right, really."

"That's good, because I'm not remotely qualified to offer a counseling session. This is not that. I've never felt they did much good, anyway." He doesn't let go of her hand, and slips his free arm around her shoulders, a low short whistle to Puppy so that the mabari flanks her on her other side, and then the boys are leading her away from her chosen spot of seclusion. If she doesn't want to face whatever is wrong right now, if she doesn't want to process it or deal with it, he won't make her. He knows she won't find much peace out in the open, though. There are quite a few people in Skyhold who refuse to let any perceived sadness stand. It comes from a lovely and well meaning place, he's sure... but they don't get it.

If she hadn't been expecting him to take her hand, she certainly hadn't expected him to also wrap an arm around her shoulders, or for that small but solid pup to fall into step right besides her. Hermione can't help but feel trapped, even if she knows on some level that Cullen likely doesn't mean to make her feel that way. His intention, though, is still a mystery, leading her to uncertainly look up at him and ask, "Then where are we going?"

[OPEN] Heaven bend to take my hand

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