( open ) like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins

[eviscerates]

WHO: Ruby Lucas & open.
WHAT: Following the events of the missing shard bearer plot (here) Ruby insists on being taken to the dungeons and held there until she is fully detoxed from lyrium.
WHEN: From a gently timey-wimey point in mid-September to early October, at least. She may be in the dungeons longer, depends a bit.
WHERE: THE DUNGEONS, Skyhold.
NOTES: Rumours page & OOC report details, although the latter is more likely pertinent to people who were on the mission/were told about the mission directly/the advisors than general gossip. Alsi new cr is welcome! Ruby's info sheet is here.
WARNINGS: Horror themes! Reference to the events of the shard bearer plot, which include the Wolf attacking and eating people, forced lyrium ingestion, hallucinations, death, violence, torture.

She’s never forgotten that she’s a monster, that the people of Storybrooke had been ready to take up arms against her. Ruby Lucas wasn’t the sweet girl who remembered your coffee order and fixed you whiskey neat from the top shelf on a bad day. She was a vicious, wild thing. The Big Bad Wolf.

After the mission she told them to kill her or shackle her, and when she arrived back to Skyhold she refused to go to the medical tents. It wasn’t worth the risk - keep her locked up, keep her cloak bound across her throat so she couldn’t pull it away during a delirium. She had to stay in at least a month, she had to try and keep people safe.

The first two weeks she’s still recovering from her injuries and the lyrium is still distorting her memories and thoughts and what she sees, leaves her with a constant thirst and the unhealthy pallor in her skin is obvious. Treating the injuries will be ongoing, but the first week she sleeps almost constantly, and the second she is struggling with memories. If people visit during this time there is ever chance of her mind taking flashes from other people’s memories though she can’t make sense of much of anything.

After that she can be found in different states.

She might sit on the floor with her hands through the bars, putting together the most basic, non-volatile components and mechanisms for traps, setting then all in a box to be taken to the Requisition officer.

She might be standing with rotten fruit sliding down the side of her face and splattered across her clothes, perfectly still. Either the guard just hauled the offending fruit thrower who posed as a visitor out, or they might have been distracted by another job so the produce producers are there to be chased off. Unless your character would throw fruit? But then they might be hauled away.
(Note: probably only two of this one unless we work something particular out, just because I don’t want to undermine the efficiency of the Inquisition’s guards at protecting prisoners, even willing ones.)

Ruby may have stripped down some and be treating her wounds and attempting to change dressings and apply poultices, because healers shouldn’t have to go into her cell, as far as she’s concerned. Vicious puncture wounds dot her skin, perfect circular marks that are mostly uniform, but vary in size here and there. There is a jagged gash over her ribs and a burn across the other side, which make her hiss as she tries to pull the rank dressing away.

Or maybe she’s just sitting or lying down on her side, defeated and curled inward.

Wildcards welcome, pick your own location-limited adventure and give me an idea of timeframe/if you are okay with Ruby picking up memories or not if it’s set during the first couple of weeks.

Comments

[ichaer]

There is a moment where Ciri stands silently, resting a shoulder into the bars and humming in a manner that might be considered thoughtful. "Rather like an egg that's been tossed around and then thrown against a wall?"

It has been how her head has felt since returning from the Anderfels and that was without torture and lyrium so it was likely (no, definitely) worse for Ruby. The lingering wounds do not help matters either, she can smell blood even down here where a humid dampness overpowers almost all of the senses.

The question earns Ruby a tired shrug, fingers playing with itchy bandages like a child and trying to think of an answer to cover her wide range of emotions lately.

"I returned from the Anderfels just recently finding myself tempted to punch through everything I pass and know I would likely level Skyhold in the process." A sigh. "Yet the healers say I will not be losing my arm so I have been doing well considering. I would ask how you were in turn or how Skyhold's dank underbelly was treating you but I believe I can figure it out myself."

[eviscerates]

It really is a cute drawing. She continues looking at it a moment longer.

Ruby can't help a little tug of a smile at the corner of her mouth, even with how tired she is, looking at Ciri with quiet amusement. Tiredness and empathy, but definitely a little bit of amusement. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Works for setting up some puns, too. Scrambled, cracked— some other puns, that I can't think of right now, but hopefully exist?" Yolking around? No, okay, maybe that's too much of a stretch.

Silliness aside, her expression sobers (because it was so very playful and jokey before) as she listens to Ciri, and for a few moments her gaze drops again.

"Are you angry about stuff that happened in the Anderfels or angry because... someone you came to rescue tried to pull your arm off, or other things?" She almost said or are there other things? before her awareness that pretty much everyone in Thedas has ten things minimum that they can be righteously angry about. "If it's the second one— it's why I'm down here. I don't want to risk hurting anyone else, especially when I attacked my friends."

[ichaer]

There a quiet moment after the question where Ciri simply picks at the bandages covering her arms. It's a terrible habit that has only recently started since she started wearing them and simply tries to not pull them loose in the meantime. The last thing she wants to deal with is another trip to the healing tents with someone disapprovingly looking at her as they wrap her arm once again.

"To put it lightly, I likely would have pulled my own arm off and used it to beat all of that stuff in the Anderfels to death." Hmm. There was likely a better way of putting that but she had never been good at describing her feelings in ways that did not include violence in some manner.

"... But I understand where you're coming from in putting yourself down here even if I don't agree. If I did then I'd actually have to be surprised about why they haven't thrown us Wardens down here considering the big bad out there can literally get into our heads."