faderift | Player Plot: The Big One?

[Such a mental image of Brunhilda has Korrin grinning, even as there's a melancholy tinge to it. That's just the sort of thing Asher would have done, of course. But she tries not to let thoughts about her departed friend overwhelm. If all goes well, he might even have a nuggalope named after him.]

If that happens, I'd carry you back myself but odds are you'd be far more comfortable in a cart. I'd pile it high with as many furs as I can possibly get, too. But I'm pretty sure this will work, as long as no one's a dumbass. We can't treat them quite like horses, but as long as we're not loud and hostile, I think we'll do alright. At least I brought one healer with us, magical and otherwise.

[Sam knows what he's doing, and she knows and trusts just about everyone else on this adventure. The only wild card is Tim, who got swept up in things as they were preparing to leave. She figures this is as good a way to get to know him as anything else, though. It might even result in less bruising than a battle.]

[Araceli already has a name picked. Or rather a title, perhaps closer to a description of what they remind her of if she swapped the horns for tusks but The Walrus sounds so very right in her head. Because they do remind her of them. Hopefully she won't need to explain those to everyone in Thedas should she go down that path.]

You and these furs. It got cold in Castileos when the storms howled in off the seas but never cold enough for furs, I hate being bundled up in ugly things. [Part of her wants to say something about Kain but she catches herself in time when she remembers that it isn't the Kain she raced around rooftops with. That Kain is dead. This is a man with his name, more than a few traits that remind her of him but that's all. It would be wrong of her to speculate.] Only a few of them are people I don't know, Iskandar, Kain, and Tim Gutterson. Others are people we all know well, have worked with in the past. All will be well, and if it isn't then I'll hit them with my cane.

[That's not even really a joke. But she goes quiet for a while, letting Korrin work as Lux snuffles in his sleep, listening to the fire, the chatter around them before she speaks up again.]

How is it? Being back again so soon after Asher's passing.

[Korrin affects a sigh at Araceli's opinion on furs, shaking her head.]

I'll have to prove you wrong there and find the nicest, softest furs you can possibly imagine. Which isn't to say that I don't long for white sands and palm trees, but it's better than freezing. [Besides, furs make her think of Asher and his slankets, and the one he made for little Lucci, the most fierce bear-elf ever.]

Kain's alright; Orlesian, a little too intense sometimes, but I've worked with him before. And I ran into Iskandar right after he stepped out of a rift. He's a big ball of friendliness and one of the most accepting people I've ever met. I think you'll like him. Tim...I don't know that much about, but he was around and wanted in, and as long as he's pulling his weight, that's what I care about.

[All that was a way for her to put off answering the question while she gathers her thoughts, which she manages after a moment. Araceli's leg is currently even more fascinating than normal.]

I...it feels better than last time. Last time, everything was a bit too raw, but now I can enjoy this place and the people in it properly. Visiting, seeing them...it's like he's not quite gone, that way. I think Mal would understand, if he'd hurry his ass back.

It cannot be done. [Smirking right back at Korrin, she shakes her head, tucking her hair behind her ears again when it falls loose.] Everything comes through Castileos at least once, I've seen it all. Even the fur from seals who come from the sea cannot tempt me. It was always a good excuse [her voice lowers a fraction, just to be safe] in the palace for some or all of us from hot climbs which was most of us, to pile into one bed together. Consolidating heat and blankets.

[Very big beds but sometimes you stick six young ladies and even the queen in there and suddenly it's just a tangle of limbs and hair.

Nodding to Korrin's reply, she tucks it into the back of her head; she trusts her judgement with people but as with most things, it's usually better to go in with a blank slate. It's the reason she doesn't feel she's truly 'met' some people if they've only worked together on certain missions, whilst still holding the impression in her head. How you are under pressure reveals so much about you, when you're forced to go with your instincts, or if you react without thinking.]

Where did he go? Did he even send word? I never knew him or your friend Asher well but this place is very loud and large, quite like both of them. People never go though, you always carry pieces of them with you. Not just things like my father's cards and Marjani's rapiers. I am the lessons my parents and teachers imparted, all the people I have ever met and loved.

[Maybe it can't be done, but from Korrin's expression, she's still stubborn enough to try. Maybe ordinary furs won't be enough, but that will just make her turn to more outlandish ideas. Time will tell if they bear fruit.

At mention of Mal, she just sighs and shakes her head.]

No, he was really vague about it and I haven't heard a peep since. It'd unnerve me if he didn't have people with him, but even so--stubborn asshole. [Mulling over Araceli's words, she manages a small but warm smile.] That's very true. Tama and my parents and Shokrakar are always with me in that sense...and Mal, too. I just don't understand why we couldn't help each other together, why he had to do it alone. But as long as he comes back in one piece, I'll try not to yell at him about it too much.

How is your leg now? Want me to keep going? [Korrin's fine with doing so, but it doesn't hurt to check in.]

There are many reasons that I don't like men so much, that? That is one of them. [Almost all women Araceli can take to immediately but men she's warier around, watching their tells with her unless they remind her of her father or her many 'uncles' but such men in Thedas are few and far between.] But sometimes I would go to be alone down where they left the wrecked ships to be reclaimed, and only if some terrible calamity had befallen would anyone come fetch me, it was my time to think, to be alone and at peace. There's a place on the rooftops in Skyhold that I think only Sister Nightingale and her ravens could ever find me at if they had need of me. [Denied to her during recovery and even now, so maybe that makes some sense as to why she was so anxious to get up, to get away.] Sometimes...sometimes you need to be alone. If you even see a person you think you'll scream and scream and scream, that it might not stop.

[Araceli's over that but no one died. If someone had? If it had been someone she cared about? Who knows.]

[Maybe it can't be done, but from Korrin's expression, she's still stubborn enough to try. Maybe ordinary furs won't be enough, but that will just make her turn to more outlandish ideas. Time will tell if they bear fruit.

You can stop, I don't want it to fall asleep when I need to walk to wherever we're sleeping. [And yes she's going to walk in front of strangers, it'd hurt her pride if she didn't.]

[And Korrin, having pride of her own, wouldn't think to stop her.]

Alright, but if you change your might about that hand, let me know. Think I might borrow the other one? All this mountain air is making the bases of my horns itch something fierce. I should still have enough balm with me.

[She moves to check her stash, talking as she does so.]

Mal's a good guy, all this just hurt him badly. He'll come back when he comes back and I know I can't push it.

[Looking up briefly, she darts a sympathetic half-smile at Araceli.]

I wish I could take you up to that rooftop spot, kadan, but I'd do more harm than good there. In the meantime, I promise I won't begrudge you needing the room to yourself for a while or whatever else you think would help. I don't have any one spot, personally, but that's what those sudden hunting trips are for. [It's less about bringing down game or hostile beasts than it is a chance to move about on her own, without worrying about obligations for just a little while.]

Sit. [Carefully swinging her leg down so it doesn't fall asleep, she taps her foot on the ground so Korrin can come sit in front of her between her knees.] Put it by the fire for a minute first, I won't have to work it so much.

With a shard in his hand-- [Maybe that's unfair but Araceli went through that, and it wasn't just rifters who suffered as evidence by the natives tortured alongside them. Mal might be a mercenary but the Venatori are hunting too.

So she sighs, pushes it all out of her lungs as carefully as she can. Walls make her feel hemmed in, and the gardens are a reminder of how far she is from everything familiar; why everyone kept asking her if she wanted to go there is beyond her. People that didn't know her, fine, but anyone that did and she wanted to scream at them. Still does sometimes. Three words taunt her from places she can't shoot them down, always out of reach.] If I go anywhere I'll leave a note, or I'll send Lux if I think I'll be gone long.

[Because she's not going to admitting she's made her painstaking huffing way to hide with the Kestrels because people might suspect, but no one has a shred of proof. She'd like to keep it that way, a little freedom in her pocket.]

[Withdrawing the horn balm, Korrin places it by the fire as directed and sits down. Though since Araceli won't be working on her horns just yet, she turns to face her. Mention of Mal's shard brings out a spike of worry, and glances down to her sending crystal. She's done her best to give him space, hard as that is, but Araceli makes a very good point, one that she can't ignore.]

...I'll try to leave him a message, warn him. It's only fair.

[The thought of him in Venatori hands, losing him as well as Asher--no, she can't go there. It hurts too much just thinking about it, so she just draws in a breath and focuses on the present, flashing a smile at her love.]

Thanks, kadan. As long as I know you're alright and not struggling somewhere, that's good enough for me.

[Nodding, she sighs quietly because she made it sad again when it wasn't, made the air tense and wrong but it's something to consider, something real and sharp. Mal won't know about it but since they can reach him? They should at least tell him so he doesn't wander into some sort of ambush like they did, and so he can pass on a warning if he meets any shardbearers like himself along the way.]

It should be warm enough now. Go fetch it and relax. You can fall asleep here for a while if you like, I'll wake you before we have to turn in wherever they're putting us up.

[And that gets a warm smile from Korrin, who hands it over.] A fireside nap with my kadan beside me? How could I refuse?

[With a content sigh, she relaxes and tilts her head up carefully, content to be spoiled in turn.]

Player Plot: The Big One?

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good stopping point?

\o/