Take me to the water's edge [open]

[provenforce]

WHO: Rey and YOU
WHAT: Stuff Rey is doing for the month of Harvestmere
WHEN: ~whenever~
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: if you'd like a closed starter hit me up on plurk, or pm!

i. riverside

Rey can be found often standing on the river bank, a little ways away from the camp, where she thinks no one will see her. Even after her lessons have concluded for the day with Obi-Wan she'll come here to keep practising, picking rocks up from the riverbank using nothing but the Force, then throwing them out into the water.

Sometimes she sees if she can find the same rock and pull it back, other times she'll try to angle a smooth stone, perfect for skipping, just to see if she can skip it with her will alone. And sometimes she'll get frustrated with that and just actually physically skip stones, something she learned to do in the water troughs at the edge of Niima outpost when she was young.


ii. tower

Sleeping in the barracks was something that Rey wasn't quite comfortable with, too many bodies, too many people she doesn't know well enough to trust letting her guard down around. So for a while she'd taken to sleeping in nooks and crannies around the castle, wherever she could tuck herself to avoid getting trampled on or spotted. Finally she found herself a room that looked unoccupied, possibly due to the massive hole in the wall facing the valley. Rey is however something of an expert in patching up sad hovels into something liveable. She hung a heavy wool blanket across the hole, and added some nails she acquired to pin it into place when night fell and the wind blew.

Anyone who happens into the tower her room is located in, whether looking for her or not, may find her with tools spread out on the floor as she attempts to install a locking mechanism into the door. She doesn't own much, certainly nothing anyone would want to steal, but a lock will make her feel more at ease at night.


iii. hot springs

Rey can count on one hand the number of times she's used a bath with actual water. On Jakku every drop was precious and needed more for hydration than the luxury of cleaning oneself. Sonic showers were the norm, and even those had been fairly infrequent. She'd had a real shower before leaving to try and track Luke Skywalker down, it had felt bizarre to waste water in such a way.

Standing looking at the hot springs now, she still feels that way. All the same she needs to get clean, and she knows this is the best option, the other being the freezing river. She's getting better at tolerating the cold, but she does still have her limits. This isn't her first time here, but she's still unaccustomed to the concept, so it's late at night when she's less likely to run into someone else. With a little puttering she puts her things aside, before making her way into the water, letting out a sigh as the heat seeps into her skin. It's the closest she's gotten to the Jakku heat since arriving in Thedas, and strange as it is, it's not unwelcome.

After soaking it in for a few moments she sets to the task of letting her hair down, wanting to be in and out in as short amount of time as absolutely possible.

Comments

ii

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin's own room isn't too far away, notable by the blue seashell painted on the door. It's a fair guess that the small room was likewise in terrible repair when she and Araceli first claimed it; that was the point, taking something they were pretty sure no one else would want. Nobles wouldn't want holes in the roof or walls, or a room in the mountains without a working fireplace, after all. But bit by bit, they made it livable. She's just a little too selfish to go live in the barracks when she can snuggle in privacy with her kadan.

Upon exiting and searching the nearby area, Korrin comes to a stop when she realizes that the empty room in that nearby tower is empty no longer. The girl is instantly familiar, though it's been a while since they last spoke. Korrin can't forget a person with her own lightsaber, after all. The tall, horned woman pauses by the entrance, noting the tools on the floor with interest. "Want an extra pair of hands? I'm not needed anywhere, at the moment."

i

[aceso]

Energizing rocks to move them is nothing new to Christine, and seeing Rey doing this down by the river has her wandering a little closer to watch. She can tell the woman is a rifter, but there are plenty of those here with magic of their own. Making no effort to hide the sound of her footsteps, Christine still doesn't speak until she's at the water's edge.

"Performing a magical exercise?"

[provenforce]

Rey is by nature wary of anyone who offers her their help. Before she met Finn, the last people who had offered their help had stolen a space ship that would have been worth a profound amount of rations after helping her fix it up for months. She's been burned, badly. Still, there isn't much for Korrin to gain here by offering which briefly makes Rey wonder why she's offering at all. Letting out a breath Rey shifts a little, tilting her head back so she can look up at the tall horned woman.

"You know anything about installing locks in doors? I've honestly never worked with anything this old before." Or well, the lock was new. Something she'd purchased while in Orlais. But the technology? Old.

[provenforce]

Rey knows by now the nature of magic in this world, and while she's learned that people are wary of it (hence practice so far from Skyhold), she also knows the same people are generally wary of Rifters. Anyone approaching her, she assumes isn't going to do her harm. Or if they were, they'd be less obvious with their footfalls. So Rey continues moving rocks, only pausing to look at her visitor once she speaks.

"Yes. Though we don't call it magic, where I'm from." It's enough of a similarity that she doesn't feel the need to say 'no it's not magic' because really, to those who have never experienced the Force, it absolutely is. Even to her it is, a little.

[gatheringstorm]

A wary demeanor or response isn't anything new to Korrin. As a 'Qunari' and a mage, she gets plenty of suspicion just based on those two factors. It's not fun to be judged like that, of course, but if she made a scene every time that happened, she likely wouldn't have time for anything else.

Glancing down to the lock, she raises an eyebrow. "Looks new to me. But yeah, Araceli and I did the same for ours. Not that anyone would really have wanted our crappy room at first, but we had planned to fix it up, so things could have changed. She's better at it than I am, but I remember what goes where, more or less." If nothing else, she can hold things in place for Rey.

[aceso]

"It seems that holds true for many rifters," Christine replies, eyes moving towards the water. "May I ask what your people call it?"

i

[conqueredhearts]

Iskandar had decided that a ride would do his horse some good. Now that they both seemed to require exercise as well as food and rest again, it seemed rather important to provide his companion with that. Which was how they came across the girl moving stones with what must be magic. An impressive thing to be sure!

He smiled a little then guided his horse over to her, both beast and man huge. Getting down off of him, he brought him closer to the river for a drink as he directed that smile her way. "My apologies for interrupting, my friend. It seems you were rather busy!"

At least he recognized that much.

[provenforce]

At least Rey isn't wary of Korrin for her appearance or magical ability. She'd be just as wary as a regular vanilla human. Possibly warier, because vanilla humans have stabbed her in the back more than aliens.

She smiles a little at Korrin's answer, nodding her head.

"Then if you don't mind helping, I won't tell you to leave. I've got a rough idea of what I'm doing here, but I'd rather not ruin the door."

[provenforce]

"The Force," Rey responds, a touch of reverence in her voice. It is after all treated quite differently than the magic of this world seems to be. "I only learned I was able to tap into it a short while ago. A few weeks ago I couldn't even do this." Hence the unexciting task of rock floating.

[provenforce]

Rey wasn't particularly startled by the appearance of the gentleman or his horse. The pack animals common on Jakku were larger than any horse she'd seen so far, and if you can get along with wookiees you have a fair chance of not being startled by any human regardless of stature.

So she finished the exercise she was running through, the rock settling in the palm of her hand as she turned to look at her approaching visitors.

"Just finishing up, actually."

[gatheringstorm]

That's probably why Korrin likes hanging out with rifters as much as she does. They have their own baggage, sure, but that particular brand of Thedosian bigotry is absent. And if there's anyone else who knows what it's like to be thought of as a demon or potential demon, it's them.

Korrin nods, crouching and looking over the tools. "Yeah, that'd defeat the purpose of it. You won't, though. I'll hold it in place, so you just have to concentrate on screwing it in from that side. I'll get the other." She looks over the tools, mentally picking out which ones she'd claim for this but as they're Rey's set, the rifter woman gets to take the lead.

[aceso]

"Oh? This must be an... exciting time for you." She struggles to find the right word, because when mages here discover they have magic, they're usually terrified. It used to mean being taken away from everything and everyone. She isn't sure what it means to people now. Maybe they're more afraid with no educational institution to attend to teach them to control it. But Rey's voice had made it sound like the Force was something special; something good.

[conqueredhearts]

"What magic is that you are using? It was impressive!"

He was sure he'd seen similar things but he couldn't recall them now. Then again it was impossible for him to remember past summonings. His memories were always erased after every summoning so far as he could tell. Likely to make him fresh without complications for his new Master.

Iskandar looked at the rock to see that it looked quite ordinary. Magic of the mind perhaps?

[provenforce]

"Sounds like a plan," Rey replies, before shifting into work mode, picking up a screwdriver from the tools laid out on the floor. She moves to pick the plate for the lock up, before pausing.

"I don't think we introduced ourselves the last time we spoke," She'd been a little obstinate about the Obi-Wan thing. "I'm Rey."

[provenforce]

She hears Christine struggling to find the right word, and pauses a moment, pressing her lips together before turning to look at her a little more full on.

"It was, until I ended up in a world where some people think I'm a demon. Puts a damper on it, a bit." There are the upsides, of course. She never would have gotten to train with the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi if she hadn't ended up here. Still though, she doesn't know if the benefits outweigh the situation.

[gatheringstorm]

Realizing that now as well, Korrin's smile is apologetic. Her grandmother would never let her hear the end of it, if she'd known about such a slip in manners. "I'm Korrin, of the Valo-Kas mercenary company, though the only one with the Inquisition at this time. I've been here since the beginning, when the Conclave blew up and we had that giant green tear in the sky raining down demons on us."

[aceso]

"I suppose that would. That and the way most mages are treated here." Christine exhales a sigh. It almost feels like she should apologize for such a thing. It's been hard enough growing up in such an environment, but to land in a world where magic is not treated the way it is at home must be quite the shock.

river; scoots in a week late with nugs

[inagutterson]

Personally, Yngvi has perhaps one bath per year. But Yngvi is a responsible nug owner now (when he hasn't just unleashed many nugs amidst Skyhold after arriving in truly flamboyant style) as can be witnessed by him sloshing about by the river with some nugs squeaking by him.

Not in distress, just squeaking. At least until a stone comes too close to Nug Wellington who barrels into Rump Roast, and Rump Roast startles Truffles. Stroganugg, aloft in Yngvi's arms, makes a noise of protest as Yngvi stares because humans. Humans are weird.

"D'you know how slippery nugs are?" He calls as he bends - not very far since, y'know, he's a dwarf - to try to get Nug Wellington back under control before he's off on a wild nug chase. Truffles retreats to between his legs and safety though Rump Roast has other ideas, and heads straight for Rey.

iii

[lettersfromhome]

Late at night seems the only time she ever has to herself, and with both Zevran and the baby asleep it seems as good at time as any to try and unwind a little. People have been suggesting that, after all. Nonstop. As though she didn't know perfectly well how to take care of herself.

She's bundled up in a fur-lined robe on the way down to the hot springs, with a few towels folded over an arm to assist once she's ready to climb out. She pauses, however, when she sees the young woman already occupying the spring. It's something of a surprise to see anyone out here this late.

Mia draws to a halt just short of the spring's edge.

"Ah. My apologies. I didn't mean to disturb anyone."

[provenforce]

"It's... not magic, exactly." Or well, if you boiled it down to it's simplest sense, sure. But she is a little uncomfortable calling it magic when she can't do some of the things the mages of this world can, like light things on fire or throw lightning bolts.

"It's called the Force, where I'm from. It's more like... energy, than the magic of this world."

[provenforce]

"You're a mage, aren't you?" She can't sense something like that, maybe eventually, but she's fairly perceptive all on her own. In her limited experience though, while many non-mages do seem sympathetic, they carry themselves very differently. It reminds her a little of many of the people who made their lives on Jakku. Trapped by circumstances, just doing what they can to survive.

[provenforce]

Rey's eyebrows raised at that, tilting her head slightly.

"That was before rifters started falling through the rifts, wasn't it? I haven't spoken with many who have been here that whole time. It's... honestly this is all still a little hard to wrap my head around." And she'd been here a few months now. It was often she woke up and thought she was still on Jakku.

[provenforce]

She hadn't meant for the rock to land so close to the poor thing, she'd actually been distracted by the squeaking and lost control of it.

"Sorry!" she replies to his call, and that's when she sees the creature- nugs he'd called them- barreling towards her. Without entirely thinking about it she steps forward, meeting the critter halfway and scooping him up before he could make a grand escape. She cradles the wriggling creature carefully as she walks towards the dwarf, smiling apologetically. "I didn't mean to disrupt them. Are they all alright?"

[provenforce]

Rey almost instinctively ducks under the water at the sound of a voice, she'd been so focused on pulling knots out of her hair she hadn't even realized someone else was near. She stops before her head goes completely under and slowly comes back up, looking at the woman who spoke and willing herself to relax a little.

"No it's- it's alright. I didn't think anyone else would come down here this time of the night."

[gatheringstorm]

"You might want to talk to my lady love sometime, then. Her name is Araceli, and she was among the very first group of rifters to arrive, almost a year ago. When the rift them cast them out along with the demons--well, it was a huge damn shock for everyone. She'd never seen demons before, but I stepped in before they could overwhelm her." A small smile curves her lips, remembering that encounter well. How could she not?

"But yeah, at first the rifts only spewed demons, not people. Mages are used to encountering them, but in the Fade, not like that."