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

[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.

[eolasemah]

Sina nodded sympathetically, then paused, glancing down and giving another small, honest nod. "Sometimes," she confirmed quietly, and bent to reach for Yael's hand, her own palm beginning to glow faintly. "But this will help," she assured her, and if allowed, she pressed her palm to the larger woman's, dulling the pain somewhat.

[leadseasy]

Yael knew what that glow was, and she'd prepared and psyched herself up to let someone do magic on her, knowing that that was the best treatment they had for it. It still made her nervous, but she sighed as the magic penetrated the shard. Her shoulders visibly relaxed, and the warm tendril snaked its way up her hand to her achy shoulder, soothing all the way.

"Thank you," she said softly, rubbing a little at it, then letting her hand drop to her side. "Does someone do that for yours?" she asked. She didn't know if it was possible to do magic on oneself, or if it might not be a good idea.

[eolasemah]

Sina nodded. "Sometimes I do," she confirmed, "and sometimes the other healers, when I'm not strong enough." She sat back, glad to see the relief on Yael's face.
"How did it happen?" she asked quietly, "there aren't many of us from Thedas with them."

[leadseasy]

"I was...well." Yael looked down, toeing the ground. She didn't like thinking about it. "I was with my company, up near the Tevinter border. In Orlais?" she said, looking up again. "And the rift opened and we were nearby. Demons...well, they killed Ingrid and Yarny. And I put my arm up to shield my eyes and it...hit me in the hand, and when we got away I had this." She looked down again, looking sad and lonely and a little upset. "I'm sorry, I...I really miss my company."

[eolasemah]

Oh. Ow.
"I'm sorry," Sina says quickly-- she was lucky, the only one injured among those in her clan. "...there's no need to apologize. When I first got here, I cried and cried, I missed my clan so much." She smiles, in a way she hopes is reassuring. "But really, it's a good place. There's all sorts of things going on, and people I never thought I'd meet, and... you'll never have to be alone, if you don't want to be."

[leadseasy]

Yael gave her a tentative smile in return, and nodded a little. It was good to hear that someone else had felt this and come through it all right.

"I'm sorry, I...you were busy, I shouldn't be keeping you," she said, not really wanting to stop talking, but sure that she probably should.

[eolasemah]

Sina shrugs. "Doing this," she counterpoints, "I wouldn't be much use in the healing tents if I didn't talk to the patients." Remembering something, she bends to root through the basket by her feet. "Do you need anything? What would make you feel better?"

[leadseasy]

"Oh. I suppose that's true." Healers were supposed to talk to their patients, although it still felt wrong. Yael had been treated already, weren't they done?

"I just came for the hand," she said. "I have a balm that's supposed to help, but sometimes it's not enough. I'm fine otherwise. What are you looking for?"

[eolasemah]

Another shrug, and Sina hands her a small packet of herbal tea. "This is for relaxing sleep," she says softly, "...to help with the nightmares. Just at first, until you can do it on your own."

[leadseasy]

"Oh, thank you," she said, smiling a little shyly. "I...yes, there have been some nightmares," she admitted. She hadn't quite connected them with the shard yet. "Thank-I said that already." She blushed, cheeks acquiring a kind of plum color.

[eolasemah]

Shard or none, nightmares always follow awful things. Sina gently pats her hand, then stands, grinning at the sight of a qunari blushing. "Try to be kind to yourself," she advises, "..and anytime you need something, you can find me here or in the garden. Mostly the garden." She brushes herself off. "I hope the day brings you rest."

[leadseasy]

"All right, I'll try to remember. And...you too." She gave one last tentative smile, then turned to go. There were an awful lot of mages around here and it made her nervous.