Open | If you forget, is it like it never happened?

[killedwithlove]

WHO: Cole and anyone who needs or wants him
WHAT: Cole's back. If he ever left. Who really knows?
WHEN: Now until end of February.
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: If you want a personal starter, drop me a PM or find me at jemisard

Those sensitive to such things might notice that Cole is back. He's hard to remember at the best of times, and after such a long period, Cole himself expects virtually no one to remember who he is or that he's allowed to be here.

But it doesn't stop him doing what he does. Moving about, helping those he can.

Comments

[gatheringstorm]

Normally, that's just what Korrin would assume. She's worked with so many rogues and is dating one; she's well aware of the ways they can avoid detection. But the way Cole says it has her raising an eyebrow again.

"...just 'make' them not see you? What exactly do you mean by that?" She can make some more guesses, but when her curiosity is roused, the Vashoth woman prefers to cut to the chase.

[killedwithlove]

"I make them not notice me. I didn't think you would, but you did." He shrugs. "Before, in the Spire, no one could see me, even if I wanted them to, but I've learned to be seen. Only people who needed me to help could see me. They needed Compassion. Mercy. Anything to end the Despair."

[gatheringstorm]

"...and you're a spirit." Korrin sighs, annoyed at herself for not catching on earlier. Her interest and focus has never been on the inhabitants of the Fade except in terms of how to avoid possession. She's a battle mage, immersed in the threats of the physical world, and she's always left other matters to those better suited. But now there's a spirit in the flesh before her, speaking about the Spire. There's the temptation to ask if he knew Adelaide, but that will have to wait.

"Uh-huh. And whose body did you take over to make that happen?" He doesn't seem hostile, but how else would he have a physical form? The only thing that's weird about it is that the person doing so is not the typical cackling demon.

[killedwithlove]

"Yes."

He looks a little offended. "No one! It's mine. I'm not a revenant or an abomination. This is me. I'm not a demon."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin raises an eyebrow, too confused to care that she caused offense. "...seriously? I didn't think that was possible. I've seen plenty of spirits and demons on this side of the Veil before, they're never something you'd mistake for a person unless they had someone to ride. How does that even work?"

There must be something to it, though, right? Skyhold has many mages, some more attuned to spirits and the Fade than herself. If he was an abomination, a danger, they would have noticed.

[killedwithlove]

"Why would I not be serious?"

He looks at her face, still calm, still non-threatening. "Solas said I was unique. A spirit who manifested as a person. It was the shape that would help, so it was the shape I took on."

[gatheringstorm]

"Solas...right, the hedge mage guy who led us here. Yeah, I heard he was an expert on the Fade and a lot of things in it." Korrin can't say she's close to him at all, as their personalities and areas of focus are entirely different. Still, he has been a part of things since the beginning, and the leaders of the Inquisition seem to trust his advice. The Herald did, too.

"I don't suppose you could change that shape, if you wanted? Having a dragon on our side would be badass." She's not expecting to hear 'yes' on that, but still, her look is wistful for a moment.

[killedwithlove]

"... could you change yours?"

[gatheringstorm]

"Not yet, but you're talking to a mage. If I learned to be a Shapeshifter, absolutely." Korrin smirks, not seriously considering that yet. Maybe one day, but she likes her own form just fine and doesn't think she'll be in need of more than that. "So, why that form exactly? If people normally can't see you, then I guess it doesn't matter, but I'm still curious."

[killedwithlove]

"I'm not a mage."

He has no magic. Not like a mage.

"It was the shape that would help. Cole's wish for a life without magic."

[gatheringstorm]

Her eyes grow sad at that, and she shakes her head. "So many mages see what they have as a curse, and the hatred of Templars and ordinary people hardly help. It's a shame that got to him, too. Fucking magisters, they ruined it for everyone else." No offense, Mae. She's one of the hot good ones.

[killedwithlove]

"Cole's life was unhappy. 'Little monster, you're a demon, boy, going to beat that demon out of you.'" His father's voice and inflection. "Killed Mama. Bunny dead. Have to stop him, have a knife, use it like Mama showed me... Then the Templars found him, beat him and dragged him back to the White Spire in chains, told him he was cursed, that he was evil. Magic never gave him anything."

[gatheringstorm]

Listening to that, her hands quickly form fists. Not that she's going to lash out at Cole or anyone else living, but those training dummies will definitely take a beating later. "...fucking hell. That's not how it should have been. My parents weren't mages, came from a society that feared magic, but they didn't use that as an excuse to treat me like shit. They loved me, found me someone who could teach me what I needed to know. That's how it should be, for everyone. No wonder the Circle mages rebelled."

[killedwithlove]

"How things should be isn't how they are. Not in this world. In the Fade, you can make it be, but not here."

He rubs at his face absently. "I loved Cole. That was enough, in the end. Someone cared."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin lets out a sigh, her fists relaxing a little though she doesn't seem any happier. "You can make it how you want it to be in this world, too, it just takes a lot more effort...and usually violence. Plenty of violence. That's what the whole damn war proved, before Corypheus derailed things.

You know, I was in the Fade once. As in, actually in the flesh, not just dreams or whatever. I thought maybe it would make more sense to me, seeing it like that, but not really. Is the physical world any more or less weird when you don't have to take over anyone to experience it?"

[killedwithlove]

"You went through a Rift. So have I. I didn't like it. I don't belong there now."

He blinks and shrugs. "I don't know. I only have my experience, not any other spirit's."

[gatheringstorm]

"Fair enough.

Wait, you were there for that? Did the Fade felt different to you, with having a body? Did the other spirits know you for what you were, or did they react to you as though you were always human?" She frowns a little, wondering if she'd seen that for herself, but...so much else was happening at that time, between the Nightmare demon, all those fearlings, and trying to keep her friends going, that anything else is naturally a blur.

[killedwithlove]

Cole grabs the brim of his hat, pulling it down. "Slower, slower, can't answer everything at once. I don't remember the Fade well. Not from before Cole. I shouldn't have been there. I knew it. The Fade knew it. The other spirits knew it. Spirits know each other."

[gatheringstorm]

"Of course they do. I guess it's not surprising, especially on their home turf." Korrin nods thoughtfully, then looks a bit sheepish. "Sorry, I know you can only answer so much at once. I've just never met an embodied spirit on this side of the Veil that wasn't the hostile kind. That's completely new. It has me curious."

[killedwithlove]

"A spirit is a spirit inside and outside. So we know each other. I'm different like that."

He rocks back and forth. "I'm unique. I think that means another spirit hasn't done it before."

[gatheringstorm]

"I wonder why not. They've had all this time, haven't they? But there is something exciting about being the first to do something. Even if bragging rights aren't your thing, it's still an adventure." At least, that's how Korrin would look at it. She's always up for new experiences, but that's one she can't follow, so if nothing else she can nudge Cole to explore as much as he can.

[killedwithlove]

"Because they can't." That simple. Spirits can't cross unaided, except that maybe Cole did. "I don't know how I did it."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin shrugs, not having any clear theories as to why he would accomplish what no other has so far. "I'll chalk it up to 'special snowflake' status. Hey, do you know how to play Wicked Grace?"

[killedwithlove]

"What makes a snowflake special?"

He cants his head. "No. Varric tried to teach me once. He said I shouldn't talk to the cards."

[gatheringstorm]

"They're each unique, at least that's what I was told. And you're pretty unique, so there you go." She chuckles, smiling fondly at mention of Varric. "Yeah, good advice. We have regular game nights at the tavern. You can always stick around and learn, if you can stand the noise."