faderift | C'est la vie

WHO: Christine + OPEN
WHAT: A catch up post.
WHEN: Kingsway 8th to the start of Harvestmere
WHERE: Skyhold + off somewhere with Korrin
NOTES: Mention of the death of a loved one possible?

Part of her wishes she could have stayed with her mother, but now that Maman was living with Uncle Pierre, Christine knew she was safe (and that her uncle wouldn't want a mage in his house). Besides, she has her duties to the Inquisition as a healer and a researcher of red lyrium. When she returns, she plans to throw herself back into her work, but the new addition to her life has other plans.

{ adventures in dog-sitting }
The dog is her mother's. She repeats this to anyone who asks after the lively little fellow, lest they think she actually chose to adopt him of her own volition. Oh, no. This duty was put on her by a woman blubbering into her handkerchief, asking what was to become of her precious Poncelet because her brother wouldn't allow her to bring him. Uncle Pierre is a real ass. But Christine takes this very seriously despite her dislike of ill-behaved canines. She watches little Ponce like a hawk, and it takes awhile for her to warm to the idea of anyone else looking after him. But she does give in because she needs to work without a yapping dog at her heels. One day finds her marching after the prancing dog holding a broken leash in one hand.

"Ponce, sit. Sit." But every time she approaches to try and catch him, the dog scrambles further back, thinking it's a game. The poor thing has spent its life with a sickly woman who never played more than tug-of-war with him. It's time to have some fun.

{ at the healing tents }
It's business as usual for this healer. Christine spents her day attending to patients, both bedridden and walk ins. When not doing that, she can be found in a tent with an opened flap, mixing up potions or poultices. It's quiet, repetitive work that leaves far too much time for thinking. Thinking about her father and the opportunity she missed to ever know him. She has gotten most of her tears out, but at times she stares off into space, tears collecting in the corners of her eyes. Sometimes Ponce can be seen sleeping on a pillow in the corner, his leash looped under a chair leg so he doesn't run away. Whenever someone enters, however, he wakes up and starts barking at the stranger.

{ creating a spirit blade }
Once she returns from visiting her mother, Christine throws herself into as much as possible, and one of those things is becoming a Knight-Enchanter. She's watched Korrin wield her blade and has seen how long her barrier can sustain itself. It's something she wants to pursue, so she makes contact with Commander Helaine and is impressed with her forward manner. She's instructed on the book to read and given two kinds of items she must collect to form her spirit blade. The reading comes first, naturally. And once she's understood everything written, she and Korrin head out to gather the supplies. First is the Exalted Plains for lazurite. No one can blame her for putting off a return to the Fallow Mire for wisp essence.

{ learning to ride a horse }
Another skill Christine wants to have is learning to ride on her own. She knows it's terribly inconvenient to always be asking others on missions to let her ride with them. Her first lesson is with one of Master Dennet's apprentices and she's grateful he starts her out on a very tame mare. She does her best to follow instructions, but can't help being stiff on the horse's back for fear of falling off. If others approach, her voice is high and breathy as if she may be in danger of passing out or at the very least shrieking at any unexpected movement.

Once the lesson is over and her feet are on solid ground again, she's more amenable to chatting and explaining why she wishes to learn.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Pausing to catch her breath, after a quick glance around, Korrin flashes a smile and nods. "Anytime, Christine. Let's take a moment, so we don't bust a lung, then we can work on getting the rest of that lazurite. You'll have that spirit blade before you know it."

"Good idea." She stops and presses a hand to the stitch in her side, breathing heavily. "And then I will have to learn how to properly wield it. Did you have any experience with swords before you started?"

"Yeah, I did. A little. Until I was eleven, I had no idea I was a mage, so I trained to become a mercenary someday, like my parents." And she did, just not in the expected way. "But I hadn't touched it in a long time when I started Knight-Enchanter training, so I had a lot of catching up to do. It's still less than you think, though. It's a blade, but it's a magic blade, and much lighter than what you'd normally have to work with. That makes it easier in some ways."

"Oh, good. I hardly have the strength of a warrior." She keeps going, glancing over her shoulder to see if any demons are following them.

"You know, a Knight-Enchanter has always seemed like such a Circle-centric specialization. May I ask what interested you in it when you were raised far from a Circle?"

Korrin glances over but the demons seem to prefer lingering near the rift, for whatever reason. She looks back to Christine. "I didn't care about the origins of it either way, but the fact that I could make good use of the fighting style. Being a mage and being on the front lines seemed like a contradiction in terms, but I always wanted it. Learning that there was a discipline that would allow both, how could I not investigate? The fact that Vivienne seemed to think at first that I wouldn't follow through just made me want to prove her wrong."

Edited 2016-10-20 03:35 (UTC)

Christine makes a bit of a face at that. Pretty much any mention of Vivienne does that.

"The worst part is, she probably read you to see that you were the type to prove her wrong, so she merely said that to see you succeed and then she could pat herself on the back for being right." And then Christine takes on an arrogant yet smooth accent in imitation of Madame de Fer.

"She's nevah wrong, my dear."

That gets Korrin to snicker as she nods and straightens, brushing off her armor. "True enough. Playing that fucking Game always means thinking ten steps ahead, doesn't it? Well, we'll see how much she likes it when I start teaching the discipline myself. I still don't feel ready, but one day I will be, and then I'll be a non-Circle alternative for people in the Inquisition. That ought to really piss off Herian, too, come to think of it."

"She will probably pretend to be delighted while privately seething." And the thought warms the cockles of Christine's bitter little heart.

"Who is Herian?"

"She's another Knight-Enchanter, a Loyalist from what I can tell. We haven't talked much directly, but she's on the Council so I see her during meetings. She was kind to Araceli, I'll give her that, but politically-speaking, she's not someone I can trust to have my best interests at heart. So, I keep that in mind when we have our meetings."

Korrin shrugs, not knowing or caring if Herian has particular issues with her because of that. She joined the council so as to provide a void for those who hadn't been raised in Circles and she'll continue to do so whether anyone likes it or not. People like Adelaide -and previously Ellana- keep her sane.

"She sounds like Vivienne's ilk and that means I want nothing to do with her." She doesn't need the stress of snooty Loyalists in her life.

"Anyway, are we walking the correct way for more lazurite?"

"Yeah, I figured as much. You have enough stress to juggle, don't add politics to it unless you're really sure that's what you want to do." Much as Korrin would welcome her into the council, she'd hardly encourage it just for how easily it can cause people to burn out. She's been close, a few times.

"And...let me check the map again." Unrolling it, Korrin takes a moment before pointing to her left." That way, towards the water. I don't see another rift marked nearby, so we should be alright on that front.

"Good. We shall fill up my bag and return to camp victorious." She grins at Korrin before continuing in that direction.

[ ooc: good wrap up point? ]

[ooc: Yep, looks good]

C'est la vie

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