faderift | The Horned Heroes Return

WHO: Kas, Taashath + Open
WHAT: Kas and Taas return from their mission in Orlais after two months.
WHEN: Today and forward
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Kas and Taas will be under different top comments to avoid playercesting.

Seeing the bridge to Skyhold was such a huge relief that neither qunari had expected, and the accompanying group of scouts seemed just as eager to get back. Mounts were spurred a bit more, hurrying over the last stretch before they all stopped in the courtyard.

Taas slid off his horse and brushed back his brown hair from his face. It was a bit messy and not put up in the usual array of braids - and he had a need of a razor, of the beginning of a scruffy beard was anything to go by. He's wearing his usual leather and armor, although his chest is covered by a shirt for once.

He doesn't look worse for wear, aside from his nose being extra crooked. (He might need to get that fixed later.)

Giving the mount a pat on the neck, he leaves it with a stablehand and takes a look at the state of Skyhold. At least it was in once piece... and hopefully the tavern was as well.

---

Kas isn't as graceful in his dismounting, but the teen does seem a little less horrible at riding than he used to be. Rubbing his butt a bit, he sighs and scratches his head slightly before looking around. The scout uniform is a little ripped in places and the bow he got from Metaari is missing, but he's unharmed and even seems to have gained a bit of weight. It makes him appear a little bit less like a scrawny child and rather the young man he really is, so it's a good look for him.

Maker bless Orlaisian tiny cakes and hard work.

There's even a little smile on his lips as he looks around, eager to see Korrin, friends and maybe even meet new people.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"That's often because Araceli likes playing with it; the more elaborate work is hers. But with her on the mend, I'm taking care of it for now. It's not like having unbound hair is a great idea on the battlefield, you know." Korrin flicks her brain over her shoulder, smirking. "When I first used lightning magic, I ended up singeing a lot of my hair in the process. So I was stuck with a mohawk for a while. If I went back to that now, Araceli would pout."

She smiles fondly, though it soon fades. "So, more shit happened. Some Venatori assholes decided to kidnap shardbearers to experiment on and she was one of them. I joined the team to get her back, and it wasn't pretty. That's where I got the bigass scar, too. They did something to Ruby with lyrium and she wasn't herself anymore. At least now everyone's withdrawing from that crap, but it's been a rough few weeks."

Taas frowns, glancing at her scar again. "That's... fuck." He shakes his head, hand tightening a bit around the mug of ale until the wood creaks in protest. "Experiment on? What were they trying to figure out?" Lyrium, too. That was some serious shit right there.

"Is she okay? And Ruby?" He had liked playing with that one in the snow games, after all. She had a good head on her shoulders and was damn pretty, too. The ring she gave him as a prize after that game was still there on his little finger (which was the only finger it had fit on), so knowing that he had not been here when shit like that happened... it left him wanting to punch something.

Again, he wishes he wasn't gone for so long.

"My best guess is that they were trying to see if they could control peoples' shards, use them for whatever the Venatori want. Lyrium probably just helped speed that along." It's still hard to dwell on that, as Korrin has to resist the urge to punch something. But instead, she grips her tankard and takes another swig.

"She's still sore and not up for parkour shit, so if you see her climbing, tell her to knock it off. Right now, all that's going to do is set her back. Ruby...she voluntarily locked herself in the dungeons until she was sure that she wasn't a threat to anyone. I have to admire that kind of dedication, though that isn't to say it was easy to see her like that. Physically, she's doing better, though emotionally...it's going to take more time. She wasn't in control, and that stomped on her worst fears about herself."

That gets a speculative look to Taas, figuring that if anyone can understand what it's like to go through that, it's him. Maybe Ruby would do better to speak with someone who has gone through similar.

He frowns at that, wondering if there was any truth in such a speculation. Could the shards be controlled? Could the people? If Corypheus came here, would they all be forced to turn against them? It was not a good thought.

At least Araceli was being looked after by Korrin, but he's not sure what to think of Ruby. It sounded like she did what he had done after losing control in Antiva, only in a more severe way. Still damn smart of her, though. It would save her some mistrust in the future from other people.

Taas notices that look, though, and he nods slightly before he takes a swig from his drink. "I'll talk to her, if she will allow me to. How did she lose control? You look like you were bit by a phoenix."

"It was the lyrium, and whatever else they did to her. Normally, in her wolf form, her eyes are golden. When she did this, her eyes were bright blue, straight out of what's in the lyrium potion. It was...eerie. One look and I knew she was just not there, only a wolf and a wolf's instincts." Korrin shudders, not blaming Ruby at all but still unnerved at what happened. She won't forget that stare to her dying day. "I got too close, and she really didn't like me bringing up a barrier. Stupid in hindsight, I'll admit it. I was the largest one around and thus the biggest threat, so she went after me. It still aches when the weather changes, but don't tell her that. She has enough to beat herself up about."

"So she's a... mage? A shapeshifter?" Taas looks a little confused, eying the scar again with a frown. Ruby had been a wolf, had bitten Korrin and it was a bad enough bite to still bother her even with the healers they had in this place? That had to be a big wolf.

Wether it was Rifters or magic, it creeped him out. The world didn't really make sense any more, and all Taas can do is go with it. He had liked Ruby during the snow war game, and he still worse the ring he had won. (On his pinkie.)

Maybe he could help.

"No, not a mage. She was very firm about that. And as far as shapeshifting goes, it's just the wolf thing. She can't turn into anything else." Korrin shrugs as it certainly sounds like shapeshifting magic to her, too, but she wasn't about to upset Ruby further by saying so. "Rifters sort of smash all the rules we know, don't they? At this point, I just go with it. I know she wouldn't have hurt me or anyone else if she'd been in her right mind, and that's good enough for me. I just hope she gains some kind of peace."

"That's... new." She was right, though. With Rifters, no Thedas rules needed to apply. That was even more unsettling.

"So just a wolf. Still, that's... a literal beast to fight inside." Maybe he could help. Maybe he'd make it worse.

Korrin nods, glad he understands. She wouldn't think it possible to make it worse, not in the state Ruby is in currently. "Exactly. It seemed like she'd learned some balance with it before, but all this has her scared of herself all over again, and not in any way that will help." And Korrin...well, she's never lost control of herself like that, so her perspective isn't one that can help.

"I'll see what I can do." He gives her a small smile, even if his head is full of thoughts and memories. If he could help? Maybe it could help him in the end as well.

"I should go clean up after the ride." Taas claps her jovially on the shoulder before he stands. "Thank you for the drink, kadan. I'll look into this... keep an eye on that woman of yours so she doesn't climb on the walls." Figuratively and literally.

The Horned Heroes Return

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