faderift | (open) we're living in the currents you create

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(open) we're living in the currents you create

WHO: Ciri; open + a few closed threads
WHAT: A general catch-all log for the later half of the month + early half of next month. It follows the aftermath of three hideous missions.
WHEN: From late-Kingsway into early-Harvestmere.
WHERE: Skyhold, various
NOTES: Possible talks or inner dialogue about rather gruesome events, torture and injuries.

✖ camp shady

There is a part of Ciri that is glad to be back in this silly little camp. It has been a long month of traveling and she cannot hide the tiredness in her form nor the marks each mission has left on her. Only the wounds received from the wolf have not healed as easily though compared to the others. Magic has largely been unable to help the process along but she does not mind the bites the creature left behind even if it leaves her left arm weakly tucked at her side more often than not as she makes rounds around camp to check in with those she knows.

What she has not missed a dirty sleeping space. Gone for so long has allowed dust to build up while bed sheets are covered in dirt from the nights she would just come in and fall asleep without changing. Throughout the day she can be found moving stuff out, washing sheets and clearing away dust. There is a new addition to the space she shares with Inessa in the form of colorful drawing that were clearly done in a child's hand.

This also means a bath for certain mabari that she shares space with because if everything is getting a good wash down then so is the dog. Of course, it isn't going quite as planned. Garahel doesn't like baths and he is certainly showing just how much that rings true. Ciri is more of wrestling him into the large bath she has set up outside, trying to give into the mournful looks or fall over onto the ground. She does eventually fall over but it is straight into the bath with Garahel who happily licks her face as she sits there soaking wet and covered in suds.

✖ training

Despite the injuries lingering on her left arm it does not stop her from her normal training routine. She does avoid the battlements for now instead balancing atop fence posts near the stables to practice her balance, sword routines and flips. These missions put her against enemies that she normally did not face in the field and she cannot be unprepared for them again if this were to become the norm now with the Inquisition. Abominations, creatures made from the dead and infused with magic. That wasn't even counting for those infected by red lyrium -- the Templars, Wardens and possibly darkspawn now.

Outside of her normal sword routine then she is jogging up and down the many staircases of Skyhold while happily making sure to avoid those that might just be trying to make it back to their rooms and not using a giant fortress as a running course.

✖ healing tents

With some wounds unable to heal with magic, it means trip to the healing tents every so often to get her bandages changed and new medicines applied. She knows the very basics of first aid and thus leaves it to the professionals. That doesn't mean Ciri likes it though and she spends most of her time in the tents frowning and squirming in her chair. She nevertheless shows up every day to make sure that her arm received the needed treatments and had not developed any sort of infection.

Today is no different as she sits, squirming ever so slightly but letting the healer do their work for her arm. "Looking any better?" She cannot help but ask because although it looks better to her it does not mean it looks the same for someone that actually knew what they were doing.

✖ library

The library is not a usual hunting ground for Ciri but recent events have driven her here to search through the numerous tomes the Inquisition has gathered. Although she has not spoken of the events that occurred in Emprise du Lion it does not mean she has forgotten them nor the promise she made with Nessa to destroy those that allowed it to happen. She believes a piece to understanding would be understanding the bodies that had been found down there, mutilated and missing certain organs.

This is what leads her to finding an empty spot, surrounded by anatomy books and sketches from her memory of the bodies found in that cave. Hopefully there would be some sort of answer to be found somewhere among the books.

✖ wildcard

For literally anything else not listed here! Feel free to hit me up at kaldwin or through PM if you'd like for me to set something up.

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Or so the sign above the door reads, though who this Bernard fellow might be is probably a bit of mystery given Avery's description of the business as being run just by her and her mother.

It's a humble place in one of the lower districts of the city, but the building seems well taken care of and the product must be too given the number of people that look to be inside at the moment. Not to mention the delicious smell of fresh bread that overpowers the scent of the city as they get close to the door.

Before they go in though, Avery stops and turns to face Ciri and Inessa. Her expression is serious and her fist clenches a couple of times reflexively as she says, "Before we go in there, I just want to be sure you two are ready for this."

"Well I was until you asked me that."

Honestly, Ciri cannot help glancing to Nessa before her eyes fix back on Avery with the look of someone that has a million and one questions. She doesn't ask them, thankfully but she does come to rest her hands on her hips with a little smile.

"Which is to say: Yes, I am ready for this unless your mother is hiding a giant wolf in there."

Humble or not, it's far better than anything that can be found in the alienage. The scent of fresh bread is heavenly and Inessa's thankfully that her stomach doesn't growl right then and there. She can see why it attracts the amount of people it does, since anything fresh in the poorer areas is a novelty. Garahel seems to approve as well, the mabari lifting his nose to sniff at the air and wagging his tail a little.

Turning her attention away from the scent, Inessa nods at Avery, matching that serious expression. She won't make light of returning home, not when revisiting a half-remembered alienage meant a great deal to her. Ciri and Avery were both present for that, and she wouldn't think to be any less supportive. She glance over to Ciri with a shrug, figuring that they'll get answers soon enough. "I am, if you are. If you need another moment, we can wait." If not, she stands ready.

Her immediate response is just to make a disgusted noise and pinch the bridge of her nose. "If there's a wolf in there, she's charmed the damned thing and made it her lapdog. With a bow round its neck and everything most like."

Putting on her determined face, Avery nods and says, "I'm good. Just... be prepared. This is going to get loud," then turns, takes a deep breath, and starts walking in.

The crowd inside isn't huge or anything, but there are a number of people standing around the counter chattering about something or other. Someone relating a story of something they did or heard somewhere, maybe? It's kind of hard to tell as everybody keeps piping in and talking over each other to ask questions or call bullshit on one of the storyteller's claims. Still, the atmosphere is very jovial, and Avery is doing her very best to slip past unnoticed and get to a side door into the hall.

Until there is a very audible gasp and the room goes silent, at which point she freezes and slowly turns to look toward the crowd, who are all staring right back. The woman behind the counter in particular (early 40s, blond, ridiculously beautiful) looks shocked, but her expression quickly turns to one of joy as she hurries over, calling Avery's name and pulling her into a bone-crunching hug.

"Oh!" Avery exhales at the impact, and then groans out, "Hi, mum. Good to see you too."

"Good to see you too?" her mother repeats, pulling back but not letting go, her expression and tone already turned to one of matronly scolding. "Don't 'good to see you too' me. You should've written!"

"Wha-? I did write. I told you I was coming!"

"But you didn't say when! You could've written again and--" She cuts off then, finally noticing Ciri and Inessa and glancing back and forth a moment between them and Avery, a question in her eyes. "Oh, hello, dears. And who might you be?"

"Hey, I'm only saying that I've got another arm here if we there is one waiting in there."

Ciri does smile a little at the mention of things being 'loud' once they were inside. She'll take this sort of loud over everything else they had all been through lately. Between cave abominations, giant flesh monsters and women exploding in the streets. The inside of the bakery is a welcomed change of pace and she could fall in love with the smells alone. For a moment, she almost wanders off from Avery's lead but comes to a sudden stop when the gasp pierces over the voices filling the space.

Before she can figured out the source, Avery is suddenly wrapped up in the hug and Ciri grins fondly. "Fellows from the Inquisition. I'm Ciri."

Unsurprisingly, Inessa's thoughts are along similar lines. The noise of a crowd is welcome, as long as it's not pursuing them. When the room suddenly goes silent, she stiffens a little, until she notices the woman's joyful expression, and relaxes once more. The strong hug gets a warm smile from the elven Warden; her own mother is long gone, but she can't begrudge Avery this moment. That at least one of them still has a family to visit is a balm of sorts.

Straightening a little more as her mother's gaze turns to them, the small elven woman nods politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Inessa, and my companion is Garahel." The mabari perks up and wags his tail, pleased to be included and maybe hoping for scraps.

"Inquisition-folk, right here in my little bakery. Who would've thought?" Avery's mother comments with a smile to each of them, including Garahel. "And Grey Wardens too, by the look of you. You know, I've heard some rather nasty rumors about you and yours lately, but I told that old cow from the seamstress's I wouldn't believe a word of it. A Warden personally saved my life during the Blight, you know. He was--"

"Mum," Avery interrupts desperately. "Please don't tell this whole story again. I've heard it a thousand times."

"Well, they haven't, have they?" She shakes her head in Ciri and Inessa's direction, the picture of parental exasperation. "This one, always with the attitude, even first thing after seeing her poor mother again for the first time in two years. I don't know where she gets it, but I hope she hasn't been causing you too much trouble.

"Oh, and where are my manners? My name is Kendra. It's lovely to meet you both."

"We are sadly from the much more boring branch of the Grey Warden rumor mill." Ciri says, chuckling. "I suppose that is what we get for being a bunch of runaways, huh?"

It's nice though to be in the comfort of the bakery. Odd, probably but she cannot help it. For as long as she can remembers, she's been on the road going one place or another. Being somewhere that just felt like a home was... nice. At her introduction, Ciri smiles and bows her head slightly in return before sneaking over bump Avery's shoulder with her own playfully.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too and don't worry too much about Avery. She has been a huge help not just with making sure we all stay fed but out in the field as well. If not for her then my injuries on a recent mission would likely have been much worse."

Inessa nods in agreement with Ciri, dividing her attention between Kendra and Garahel. She usually trusts the latter to behave, but among such scents, he might forget his manners somewhat. Already, he's looking around hopefully for someone to take pity on his poor starving self.

Glancing over at Avery, Inessa smiles and shakes her head. "Avery has been no trouble at all, quite the opposite. She has proven herself and I'm grateful for her assisting my fellow Warden." And then she wonders if Avery's mother will turn to worrying about her being out on the field and if they should have said anything about that at all, but--oh well, too late.

Well, judging by the look on her face, she does seem a little concerned but honestly not particularly surprised. "I should have known, shouldn't I?" Kendra says with a shake of her head. "Been picking fights over every injury and insult seen since she was knee-high, she has. You should've seen her out there, throwing fists at foul-mouthed boys twice her size to defend my honor."

Avery just groans quietly, cheeks flushed, so her mother declares, "You know what? How about you all head upstairs, and I'll have Thomas-- Do you remember Thomas, dear?"

"I remember Thomas," Avery says darkly, glaring at the young man cleaning up the shop and sneaking curious glances their way every so often.

Kendra ignores the animosity handily though and just breezes on, "I'll have Thomas take over the counter, and then I'll get some tea ready, and you can tell me all about what it is you girls do and why you're in town. Alright?"

There is a quiet little chuckle as Ciri listens to Kendra speaks. It's a nice change of pace, honestly and she's happy to focus on something that was not missions, war plans or more deaths. It's not hard to picture a pint-sized Avery running around and decking boys without issue after she saw how the other woman fought back in Craintellier despite her injuries.

... Yet it's even harder to ignore the animosity and she shoots Thomas a small look, brows raised. She has questions but doesn't ask, looking back to Kendra with a smile and nod of her head.

"Sounds brilliant. It's been ages since I've had tea." It helped too that this place was just so nice and warm. It helps her to relax after everything that has happened in this last month.

"Tea would be lovely, thank you." Inessa's gratitude is sincere; she will never turn down the opportunity for some tea, especially after walking around for a bit. That a dull headache has been forming all this while reminds her that it's been a while since she last had any, so it's well past time to fix that. And while the animosity is noted, Inessa makes no comment on it, not now.

Garahel makes hopeful noises for there to be something more than tea. There's always room in his stomach for a treat or two.

"Go on then. I'll be up in a mo," Kendra insists, shooing them off toward the side-door Avery was trying to sneak into earlier, then turns and heads back over to talk to Thomas and a few other curious onlookers at the counter.

Avery watches her for a moment in silence, before sighing, "Well, that went pretty much exactly how I pictured it. And now I guess we're having tea. Come on."

She turns then and starts trudging her way through the doorway and up the stairs beyond, into the sitting room of the small but warm flat above the bakery. It's nothing special, really, but someone (Kendra 100% guaranteed) has tried to nice it up a little with a few trinkets and splashes of color and some old but comfortable cushions on the chairs. One of which Avery is more than happy to immediately take advantage of.

"Ugh..."

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(open) we're living in the currents you create

Bernard's Bakery

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