This is the road to ruin and we started at the end [OPEN]

[leadseasy]

WHO: Yael Flaar and open to all
WHAT: Yael settles into Skyhold and everything is SCARY!!
WHEN: Kingsway
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: PM me if you want a closed starter and feel free to give me a starter with whatever!

my heart is like a stallion; shard
This may or may not be where one goes to deal with a shard in their hand. This tall Qunari looks nervous and maybe like she's lost, but she's fidgeting by rubbing her left palm against her stomach.

"Excuse me?" She stopped the nearest person (that's you!), looking nervous and sort of apologetic about it. "I...I'm looking for help with..." She decided to just show them, turning her palm outward so they could see the green particle effect that's been stuck to it light glimmering out of it. "Someone said there was someone I ought to show it to, but I didn't understand the directions they gave me."

She could have been ten feet away, she could have on the wrong side of the castle. She had no way of knowing; have fun with it.

it's not my fault i'm a maniac; training
On the training ground, at least, she looked a little more confident. Anyone who wandered into the further, less-populated corners might find a Qunari in her full armor, short hair knotted back behind her head, shooting arrows into a target placed impressively far away. In fact, eventually, she climbed up onto the wall surrounding the training yard to get even further away, and have to shoot at an angle. Her bow was beautiful, not fancy or ornate in any way, but high-quality and well-made.

we can go back and play pretend; meal or tavern
It never seemed like there was an empty table anywhere in Skyhold. There was always at least one person she'd have to be sitting near enough that it counted as 'sharing space'. Perhaps she was just being late to everything.

That was how, holding her food or drink, a person with an empty seat near them might find themselves addressed by an unexpectedly soft voice. "Is that seat taken?" At least she managed it without stammering.

Comments

shard;

[anacardiaceae]

If Pamelia is startled by being approached by a random Qunari with a shard asking her questions, she doesn't show it; one, because she's seen Qunari before, living in Rivain most of her life and two, this girl (she might tower over Pam by several heads but) seems incredibly sweet and a little afraid.

So.

"There are two people: Solas, a very bald and stuffy sort of elf mage, and the Lady Adelaide." Pamelia frowns. "Unfortunately I don't know where either of them stay. Come, we'll find out together. What's your name?"

[leadseasy]

"Oh," she said softly, then nodded a little. "All right."

Having someone who seemed to know their way around better than she did was at least a better position than she'd been in before, so that was good. And elves usually weren't scary. Sometimes they were mean, but she'd rarely felt really threatened by one, so she wasn't hesitant about Pam.

"My name is Yael," she said, still with that soft-spoken tone. "What's yours?"

[anacardiaceae]

"Pamelia." She clasped her hands behind her back and started weaving them through the throngs of people, mostly newcomers, all trying to get themselves situated as best as possible.

This business of shards in the hands is worrisome, but she doubts she is the first nor will she be the last to think so. "I'm from Rivain. Where are you from?"

Tavern

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin usually gets early enough to claim a table, propping her feet up on the one next to her until the tavern starts to get a little more crowded. At the moment, she's not up to anything in particular, just listening to Maryden sing and play her lute while trying to decide if she wants to pull anyone into a card game later. While making up her mind, that voice attracts her attention and Korrin glances up, eyebrows raising upon seeing a certain familiar face.

"Yael! Maker, it's been a while. Yeah, have a seat. I insist." She scoots up so that she's not hogging space simply by stretching out. "Joined at last, huh?"

[leadseasy]

Yael's eyes widened and her eyebrows went up. She'd thought she recognized the shape of those horns, but it hadn't quite clicked. "Korrin!" she said, equally surprised.

She smiled, a little tentatively, and took the seat recently vacated by Korrin's feet. She'd always been slightly nervous of Korrin -- a double-whammy of fellow giant and mage, both categories she generally regarded with great fear. However, a person she knew and who had never done anything menacing was considerably less scary than a stranger.

"I...well, I didn't have a lot of choice." Shyly, she turned her left hand around to show the mark.

[gatheringstorm]

Fear of her magic isn't an uncommon thing, among her fellow 'giants', so Korrin takes it in stride. Unless they get hostile or throw slurs around, she'll settle for hoping that exposure takes some of that edge off. Little by little, they can see that the Qun was wrong.

Leaning in a little, Korrin takes a look at that shard and frowns. "...well, shit. How recent did you get it? If it still hurts, that ought to fade soon." Ought to, but if not she can find Solas.

shard

[aceso]

Christine looks up from the notation she's making on healers' supplies in her little notebook... and then looks up higher in order to look this person in the eye. Then her own eyes drop down to the shard and she clicks her tongue, setting her notes aside.

"Has anyone offered to lessen the pain yet?" she asks, because to her, that's the more pressing matter. Others can debate what it means, but she's a healer and she wants to help.

[leadseasy]

"No," Yael said, looking grateful. "That's all I really want. I haven't had it long, maybe I'm just not used to it, but the ache gets bad sometimes. Especially when I'm trying to go to sleep." She rubbed at it with her opposite thumb, trying to massage it out like a muscle cramp. "Sorry to bother you."

[aceso]

"You are not bothering me," Christine insists, holding out her hand for Yael's. "This is my job. Now, the question is, are you comfortable with magical healing? If not, I can provide alternate healing."

training

[tactical_alert]

He might not have noticed her off on her own had she not climbed onto the wall, tall qunari (as all qunari are tall compared to, well, everyone) with a magnificent form. The arrow lets loose at an angle any novice would have surely missed, hitting the target with a satisfyingly solid thunk.

"Fair shot!" Malcolm greets, shielding his eyes against the sun's glare. "You are quite the sniper!"

[leadseasy]

Yael smiled shyly from her perch, and waved with her non-marked hand. "Thank you!" she called down, and nocked another arrow. Perhaps showing off a little, she reared back and fired it nearly straight into the air. Up it soared, up, up...and down it came, hitting the upper edge of the target. It wasn't quite as satisfying and didn't sink quite as deep, but it was still a solid hit. More than enough to hurt like hell if that had been a person.

[tactical_alert]

There's only so far back you can go in this kind of area before losing sight of the target entirely, though with her added distance it does give an interesting challenge. Colour him impressed.

"Five copper you can't hit it from over there," he suggests, pointing toward the corner of the wall at an odd angle from the target. It's just a friendly bet, and he's fully prepared to shuck over the five to her.

training;

[fightorfright]

It had taken Amélie some time to get more comfortable with training in public, as opposed to some quiet corner of the woods just outside Skyhold. The reasons for her anxiety were twofold: she didn't want to embarrass herself, but she also didn't want to answer any questions. While she didn't announce her status as a mage, not the way some others did, wearing their robes and carrying their staves everywhere they went, she didn't exactly hide it. She didn't want to tell people that although her magic still frustrates her, that her hands are reliable. She doesn't want people to tell her that she is better than this.

This... This is exactly who she should be.

So it's with a bow in hand and not her staff that Amélie finds herself watching the impressive Qunari woman, with her sleek bow and enviable form. Qunari still intimidate her, it is true, but Korrin had been nice enough, and bolstered with that knowledge, she makes her approach in a quiet moment. "You handle that thing like..." She gestures vaguely, finding herself at a loss of words. Perhaps she should have thought this out more. "Like, wow. I understand if you're busy, but... if you've the time, would I be able to ask you for some pointers?"

[leadseasy]

"Oh," Yael said softly, looking down shyly. Her charcoal-gray cheeks had a sort of plum-colored tinge to them when she made herself look up. She'd been talked to by her friends, encouraged not to be so obviously shy, so she was always trying, even though she wasn't with them anymore.

"That's very flattering," she said, a little bit overly formal. "But I'm not sure how much help I'd be. I've never tried to teach anyone." Even as she said it, though, her brain was working. Maybe she could help. "Why don't you shoot a few?" she asked, stepping back to give some room. "I'll watch and see if...well, I'll just see." Perhaps there would be some obvious bad habits she knew how to correct, that would be a start.

[fightorfright]

While she knew it would be the best way to receive relevant feedback, Amélie couldn't help but feel nervous as she nodded her head. "All right," she said, moving towards one of the other targets at a more reasonable distance. I can do this.

Without any further ado, she nocked the bow and takes position, drawing the bow back and letting it loose just the way her father had taught her all those years ago.

Thunk. The arrow hit the target just ever so slightly to the right of its centre, and Amélie bit her lip as she readied her next arrow. This one aimed truer, and she felt her spirits lift.

It is when she pulled back on her third round that she fumbled with the draw and accidentally smacked her forearm with the bowstring. Luckily, she'd been prepared this time, and was wearing a rough bracer, but all the same, it took her enough by surprise that she dropped the arrow, which now lay uselessly at her feet.

"Maker," she started with a shaky laugh, "that keeps happening to me."

Training

[qunari]

That a new Qunari? Tal-Vashoth? Vashoth? He hadn't sized this one up before, but he was on the training grounds often enough these days that it wouldn't take long.

His initial response in not to approach, but to simply let her see him on the training ground as well. How she reacts when she thinks he isn't looking? Counts for about as much as anything that could be gleaned in conversation.

So there he was, a giant even for a Qunari, whaling on a training dummy until it damn near splintered under the blows. Not quick, but heavy and precise, no thoughtless onslaught here. And keeping an eye on the newcomer from the corner of his good eye.

lmao i'm so sorry for this

[leadseasy]

Oh, Yael saw him -- it was hard not to notice someone head-and-shoulders over the crowd. She paused in her practice, watching him for a moment. Oh Maker, he was big, wasn't he? Yael was tall even for her race, though less of a brick wall than Iron Bull -- she had muscle, but it was the more subtle build of a rogue and softened all over with what looked like baby fat. She wasn't used to not being the largest person in the vicinity, and while that had its disadvantages, someone bigger than her being present was much worse.

She decided now was a good time to climb that wall, scurrying up it quickly. It didn't help as much as she wanted it to, and she gave Bull a fearful look when she thought he wasn't looking. Please, maker, don't make me have to talk to him, she prayed, and tried to go back to practicing. Her shots were still precise and her form impeccable, but she was no longer doing anything to show off or draw attention to herself.

[qunari]

She either knows, or she's just skittish by nature. Hard to say which, yet.

So he decided to continue not paying her much mind. Not that he avoids looking at her entirely, that would raise suspicion. He just lets his gaze pass over her, the same as anyone else on the grounds, before returning to his own training. Which he is, in fact, here to do as well.

He's used to seeing fury, hate, disgust. This level of fear? That's generally reserved for those who know his reputation. Or his real line of work.

meal; tiny elf + big dog = scary?

[circleprodigy]

Inessa's seated in the main hall with a cup of tea, a plate with a couple of scones, and an open book in front of both. Her staff is leaned up against the wall, within reach should she need it. Beside her, on the floor, is a grown mabari. He's sprawled out, looking rather content (read: overstuffed) after having inhaled his meal. Though he doesn't get up because moving right now is hard, the mabari thumps his tail against the floor, panting happily as he peers up at the large woman.

The slight, pale elf in Grey Warden armor does the same once she realizes that someone's speaking to her, a sheepish smile at once forming. Moving her book to the side, she gestures to the space in front of her. "No, not at all. Please, go ahead. And ignore any begging from my mabari, he's more than has his share."

SCARY!!

[leadseasy]

Oh. She hadn't noticed the mabari.

Immediately she looked nervous, but it would be rude to walk away now, and she didn't want to be rude. So she sat down, trying not to watch the creature too obviously.

"Are you a Warden?" she asked, noticing the armor as she dug into her food. She had a lot, but she was big, and needed more food to do the same things, so she wasn't especially conscious of it.

[circleprodigy]

That nervous look doesn't escape Inessa, gestures for the mabari to lay back down. He can be more social after they've let their company have her fill. "Don't worry, Garahel is friendly and knows not to jump."

Taking a sip from her tea, Inessa answers after a moment. "I suppose my armor gives me away, doesn't it? Yes, I am. Just a plain Warden; I haven't been one long enough to ascend the ranks. And you are...a mercenary?" When it comes to Tal-Vashoth and the like, it tends to be accurate more often than not.

meal/tavern; timeskipped to just a bit after his graceful arrival

[inagutterson]

Without the rest of the Boneflayers around, and without the familiar presence of Gunnar who had always been within grabbing distance, Yngvi can't really say he's entirely unsettled. It's not as if he's never been alone. Plus there's still the odd nug or two that might follow him around because it was a long bumpy ride from Orlais to Skyhold.

Perhaps the true reason Yngvi is alone is that he's got the table manners of a starving feral piglet, one that doesn't really bother to chew. Just inhaling food. A disturbing amount of food for someone so small, and a chicken bone almost lodges itself when he's startled by the question.

"Course," he replies to-- a stomach? Is the stomach talking? It's very well-spoken for a stomach, his has never come out with anything so orderly until he looks up, then up again until his neck makes an alarming sort of pop. "Hurry up, so I'm not cracking m'head off to peer up at you, bloody tall people everywhere."

Sitting, it's not so easy to tell that for a dwarf, Yngvi's shorter than average.

[leadseasy]

Honestly, the inhalation was sort of refreshing. It reminded her of her own company, of Striker when he was hungry and Ingrid all the time and really, all those things that meant home. That, and the fact that he was a dwarf and dwarves were usually not too scary, had been most of why she'd approached him and not someone else.

She sat down opposite him, plate piled nearly as high as his had been at the start -- she'd had to be taught that it was okay to eat more than everyone else, because being bigger meant that she needed more energy to do the same things. It was helpful to remind herself when she got too conscious of what others were doing. Obviously, this dwarf wasn't going to care.

"Slow down!" she urged him, picking up a chicken leg. "You're going to give yourself a stomach ache." She dug in at a much more restrained pace.

shard but LATER

[eolasemah]

Sina is by no means an important fixture in the healing tents, but she spends time there periodically all the same, helping out with smaller injuries and maladies that can be addressed with herbs and gentle talk instead of strictly magic. Not that she isn't a mage, but being that she has a shard of her own, certain strengths must be conserved.
She's seen Yael coming and going periodically, and on this particular occasion she approaches with a small smile, the shard in her chest glinting aggressively through the scarf she's already begun to wear over her work tunic.
"Try not to worry about it," she gently advises, "you'll make yourself sick."

[leadseasy]

Yael's eyes were drawn immediately to the green light. She'd recognize that anywhere. Just that was enough to make her feel a little more comfortable with the stranger approaching her -- she knew what Yael was going through, maybe worse because that shard was in her chest.

"I'm trying," she said, rubbing at it. "But I still get worked up sometimes," she admitted. "Yours must hurt a lot." She couldn't imagine dealing with this in her chest.