[Open] I can't take the distance

[bookish_lioness]

WHO: Hermione and OPEN
WHAT: Catch-all for the month while Hermione gets used to Kirkwall
WHEN: Throughout Bloomingtide
WHERE: The docks, the Gallows, and exploring Kirkwall
NOTES: Will update with any warnings if necessary. If anyone wants to plan or would like a specific starter, feel free to either PM this journal or hit me up on plurk (StarryOblivion).

Arrival

While Hermione had never had trouble with boats, she couldn't help feeling nauseated during the entire trip. She was still convinced that she'd left Harry behind in Skyhold, and that she could have done more to find him, and the concern and guilt weighed on her heavily.

By the time she'd disembarked, she was a little unsteady on her feet, and the sight of the Gallows wasn't really helping to foster a cheery disposition. She lingered by the docks for a time, often stopping to stare back across the water towards where they'd come from, but she knew that eventually she'd have to make her way into the Gallows proper.

The Gallows

Though it wasn't as dismal as it had been when she'd been kept a prisoner there in that horrible future world, the Gallows still wasn't the most inviting of places. Hermione didn't consider herself sensitive to that sort of thing, but she could swear she could feel the pain and anguish that lingered, soaked into the walls despite the Inquisition's best efforts to make the place livable. Though she sat in the library more than once and took a few meals in the dining hall and tried to settle into something resembling a day-to-day schedule, she didn't feel wholly comfortable anywhere. It wasn't until now that she realized just how much Skyhold had come to feel like home, and that posed a whole host of other problems in itself.

The city

Though Hermione hated the Gallows, she'd heard enough mixed tales about Kirkwall to be reluctant to travel there. But she knew that staying in the Gallows all day every day wasn't healthy, and so she eventually managed to borrow a set of clothes that wouldn't look too out of place among the locals, and so wouldn't attract any undue attention as she spent a few days familiarizing herself with her new surroundings.

[OOC- For the last option, anyone in her current CR circle is free to venture along with her, and anyone is welcome to encounter her throughout Kirkwall as she tries to get her bearings. She's curious enough that she'll at least pop her head in anywhere that doesn't look clearly dangerous, but feel free to contact me if you want to be sure or want something specific!]

Comments

Arrival

[circleprodigy]

Inessa and Garahel come into view, the former having finished her errands outside the Gallows. Now she's ready to return, feeling the better for the brief change in setting. The former Circle isn't as claustrophobic to her as it is to some, but that doesn't mean a break isn't welcome every now and then.

As the latest (and last?) batch of agents from Skyhold disembark, she pauses to glance around...and then her mabari darts ahead, barking happily at Hermione. Spotting who he's heading toward, the slight elven woman perks up and approaches, gesturing for Garahel not to jump. He probably won't anyway, but it never hurts to take precautions. "Hello again, Hermione. Welcome to Kirkwall." The unsteadiness is noted, but before she can offer assistance, Garahel remains at her side in case the rifter witch needs to lean on him.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione doesn't exactly expect anyone to be waiting for her at the docks, so she doesn't register that loud bark heading towards her as being meant for her. But it's still enough to draw her attention, and she looks down at the familiar mabari with surprise before seeing his person not too far away.

She smiles, petting at the top of Garahel's head and giving herself a moment to get her bearings so she can stoop down to a crouch, putting herself at eye-level with the large dog. "Hello, Garahel. Still keeping Inessa safe, I see?" Looking up at Inessa, she gives her a small nod and tells her, "The library's been quiet without you. Well, it's supposed to be quiet, but you know what I mean. How have you been?"

[circleprodigy]

Garahel rumbles happily at the attention, looking rather pleased with himself as it's obvious Inessa is alive and well. "I've been...busy. Making the Gallows fit for widespread habitation has been an uphill battle, but we managed it. Garahel has well-earned spoiling and acclaim, I can say that much. But I think you'll be pleased with our new library, rather larger than what we were accustomed to in Skyhold. There is abundant work space near it as well, for research purposes. I suspect that will become very useful in times to come."

[bookish_lioness]

Considering that Garahel is the first non-feral animal Hermione's seen in quite some time, she's more than happy to keep giving him attention, scratching behind his ears and in general making as big of a fuss over him as she can while giving Inessa most of her non-physical attention.

"I don't know that I can even bring myself to go in there," she admits softly. "Not that I doubt you and the others did a fine a job of fixing it up, but... it seems considerably less homey than Skyhold, doesn't it? And Skyhold is a lonely fortress in the middle of a harsh mountain region, so that's no small feat."

[circleprodigy]

Ooh, behind the ears attention. Garahel will overlook Hermione's lack of treats, pretty easily appeased. If she's steadier, he'll move away enough not to be overbearing. Inessa has lectured him in the past about not being underfoot.

Inessa's expression softens at that admission and she nods. "Were this nearly any other former Circle building, I might disagree, but...even now, it's difficult not to see it as it once was. That dark history clings tightly to the Gallows, and that's difficult to wash away. Perhaps it shouldn't, not entirely. We might need a reminder of what else is a stake, aside from Corypheus' efforts.

...though I think we can manage that without the overbearing statues of old. There is currently a vote on what to do with them; I'm strongly in favor of them being scrapped. The metal can benefit Kirkwall, and we will not have slave statues in an area we are attempting to rehabilitate."

[bookish_lioness]

It's not solely the Gallows' history that sets Hermione ill at ease, but its future. She can't very well tell Inessa that, though. Focusing on something that hasn't even happened yet isn't healthy, and emerging fresh from a long sea voyage isn't the time to be told that she's being foolish. So instead she focuses on Garahel for a bit longer, giving his neck a few gentle pats before making her way to her feet.

"If metal is needed, that's probably the best use of the statues," she agrees, though a touch absently as she looks around to survey their surroundings. "If not for the city, then for the Inquisition itself, I would think. Skyhold didn't have much in the way of decorative attributes either, really, so unless there's a specific reason to keep the statues up, I don't see much of a need to keep anything beyond the functional."

[circleprodigy]

"Nor I, but some believe in having a physical symbol of hope; a memorial to the Herald, for instance. I think it would ease minds more not to have a reminder of the time statues were animated, even though the red lyrium responsible is gone."

She starts them off again, gesturing to the boat docked not too far away. "We can reach the Gallows from there, within a few minutes. The griffons have a roost atop one of the towers, but...well, you can see the issue with landing them anywhere in the city." So, boat it is. "Is there anything you wish to know? I'm up to date regarding our progress and projects."

Perhaps she'll even be working with Hermione on one or two of those soon? That's a pleasant thought, given the woman's skill in research.

[bookish_lioness]

"... ah," Hermione mutters upon hearing the statues had been animated. "In that case, I vote 'no' on the statues." She knows that inanimate objects are simply that when there's no magic imbued in them, but why take the chance?

She follows after Inessa, managing not to sigh at the thought of having to climb on board yet another boat. It's not much different from having to take a boat from the Hogwarts Express, but Hermione had gotten accustomed to the relatively straightforward trek through the mountainous Frostbacks. Then again, it hadn't been all that straightforward the first time she'd made it, so she's sure she'll acclimate.

"What sort of projects are you working on, exactly?"

[circleprodigy]

Smiling faintly as Hermione seems to understand her statue reservations, Inessa pauses to let Hermione enter the boat first before gesturing for Garahel to do the same. When she settles down, the elven mage glances toward the Gallows ahead.

"Primarily, I'm now involved in researching red lyrium. We need to learn its properties, to prevent its spread and to combat the Red Templars. We stand to gain much from it, as long as precautions are taken. I'm also involved in the rifts and Veil project to a lesser extent. Strengthening the Veil, learning about the anchors...it's a high priority for more than just those bearing them."

The city (Lowtown)

[wontforgetyou]

Jamie didn't much care for the Gallows, either. Having been there when they'd first arrived and having been part of the initial clean-up had been more than enough to instill a sense of unease that'd stayed even after the work had been done. As a result, he tended to spend his free time anywhere but there...and over the past few days that'd been especially true, as he'd come to a conclusion that bothered him quite a bit.

The Doctor'd gone missing. That in itself could've been explained away easily enough - Kirkwall was a big place, and Jamie knew that sooner or later the Doctor'd want to go poke his nose into places and see if there was anything worth finding. Normally, though, Jamie'd be able to touch base with him, either at night when he'd come back to the place that'd been set up in the docks, or over the crystals. Lately, though, there'd been nothing, and that worried Jamie.

Something could've happened...and as a result, when Jamie was able to slip away from his duties he set out into the city itself, determined to check every alley and corner until he could figure out where the Doctor'd gotten off to. Today he'd made his way out to the foundry district, wandering through the maze of streets. There were some signs that someone'd been in the area recently, and he'd followed them until he'd come to an area with small set of stairs with a door at the top of it - and a very familiar figure standing not all that far away.

"Hermione?" It wasn't that he wasn't glad to see her, because he was - in fact, just seeing her caused his heart to beat just a little bit faster. But the fact she was all the way out here rather than in one of her more usual haunts got him to pick up his pace, closing the gap between them until he was able make it over to her side. "What're you doing over here, anyway?"

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione hardly had a moment to turn towards Jamie before he was quickly at her side, and she blinked in surprise at how fast he'd closed the distance. It wasn't as though his was an unwelcome sort of presence - far from it, really. She'd just gotten so used to keeping a reasonable distance from the locals who seemed to eye her with some degree of mistrust.

"A simple hello would have sufficed," she told him, cracking a small, dry smile. Rubbing absently at her arm, she looked off down the nearby street or alleyway or whatever one might call the paths here and remarked, "I had to get away from the Gallows for a bit. I thought I'd walk around the town and feel my way around, but... well, it's not exactly Orlais, is it? For better or worse, I mean."

It also wasn't exactly London, or even a small village in London, but she'd come to expect as much, given the sort of world Thedas was.

"What are you up to?"

[wontforgetyou]

Despite the faint sense of unease at the mention of the Gallows brought out in him, that small smile of Hermione's was still enough to get him to return it with one of his own, the corners of his mouth quirking up in amusement.

"Hello."

As he caught sight of her rubbing her arm, however, his smile faded, replaced with a more serious expression - and he stepped just a little bit closer, close enough that he could reach out in an attempt to wrap a protective arm around her shoulder. Or a comforting one, whichever way she wanted to take it. In truth, it was a little bit of both.

"You're right though, it's not Orlais. Which I suppose means we'll not have to deal with some of the food, but...ah, never mind that. I'm looking for the Doctor. I- I've not seen him around the past few days."

[bookish_lioness]

She looks up at him in surprise when he puts an arm around her without any sort of preamble, not really used to much physical contact in the past few weeks. But it doesn't go unappreciated, and the surprise soon fades with a small smile as she leans in against him, resting a head on his shoulder.

Though she's comfortable there with him, the mention of the Doctor makes her back straighten a bit, smile faltering. "I-... just kept assuming that he was with you. Or that we kept missing each other in the Gallows, since I've been flitting from place to place. Have you tried calling for him on the crystals?"

She assumes he has, but it's best to get that much out of the way before she jumps to any conclusions. The Doctor had visited her just before he'd left Skyhold, promising that they would see one another again and that he would watch after Jamie until she'd arrived. He can't be gone. He'd promised.

[wontforgetyou]

Truth be told, he hasn't had all that much physical contact himself the past few weeks, especially given how tactile he normally is. The Doctor in this incarnation isn't exactly touchy-feely, and now...he isn't to be found at all, and there's a part of Jamie that can use the embrace as well. It doesn't stop his mouth from twisting a bit at the mention of the crystals, although the expression is more rueful than anything else.

"Not at first, no. Thought maybe he was just busy, tinkering with something somewhere. Once I realized that wasn't the case, though..."

They've never been his first choice for getting in touch with someone. He'd rather talk with someone face to face, not listen to them via some wee bit of magic he doesn't fully understand. But he knows they're useful enough when someone's far away, and even though it may have taken a bit, he has tried them since then - more than once.

"I've not heard a thing, so either he's stuffed it in a drawer somewhere and forgotten about it, or he's taken off and left it behind on purpose. Or...or something's happened and he can't use them."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione knows Jamie's concern well, even if he seems to be showing it slightly differently than she had. When she'd realized it had been some time since she'd seen Harry, she hadn't known what to make of it, and the crystals had only entered her mind when she'd become desperate. It's as if she knows that, if she receives no response via crystal, she may never receive any word on him at all.

But she doesn't want to tell Jamie any of that. She doesn't want to dredge up her own painful memories, and she also doesn't want to make Jamie think he won't ever see the Doctor again. Instead, Hermione wraps her arms securely around him, offering him a small, sad smile.

"If he can't use it, I'm sure it's just because he doesn't have it, wherever he might be. There seems to be a lot of that going around lately." Harry. Obi-Wan. The Doctor. It makes Hermione wonder how much time any of them really has left in Thedas.

"Let's make a pact," she says suddenly. "We'll work out a set time to see each other regularly, and if we can't make it then because of a project or some such thing, we'll let one another know in advance. If we're gone from the Gallows for an extended period of time, we'll use the crystal as often we can, just to assure us that the other is still there." Granted, she couldn't have made good on that promise when she'd time traveled, but she'd only been gone for the blink of an eye, as far as Jamie's concerned.

"I just... don't want either of us to have to worry about waking up and suddenly realizing we haven't seen the other in a few days."

[wontforgetyou]

A similar sort of thought has crossed Jamie's mind as well. If the Doctor isn't responding, he may never respond, and Jamie may never know what's happened to him. But he hasn't forgotten what it'd been like being held captive by the Venatori, either. They'd taken the crystals from them then, leaving them as effectively cut off as if they had disappeared. If someone else has taken it into their heads to try and capture more rifters, it's entirely possible the Doctor's still out there somewhere.

He's just going to ignore that feeling deep down that's telling him it's not true until he can make sure for himself, that's all.

But there's also a large part of him that's glad that Hermione's still here, no matter what's happened with the Doctor. He's missed her more than he's let on, and the thought that maybe one day he might wake up and she might not be there is one that he doesn't even want to consider. Her idea, on the other hand...now that's an idea, and before she's even finished, he's nodding along in agreement.

"Aye, that sounds like it'd work! We can plan around what we know we'll have to do, and if we've got a mission we can use the crystal, or write...ah, although I'll admit I'm still not so good with the runes here. I can show you where I've set up in the place by the docks, though, if you need to leave me something that way. I- aye, well, if you must know, I don't want either of us to worry about that either."

[bookish_lioness]

The idea of being captured and losing crystals has crossed Hermione's mind, and it's part of the reason she still holds out hope that Harry's around, even if it might not mean anything good that he's been missing and cut off for so long. But she'd also like to think that the Inquisition would be a little more concerned if they had reason to believe that rifters are steadily being abducted, and so she's going to give them the benefit of the doubt. If nothing else, she doesn't feel as though Harry's in danger, for all that something as intangible as feelings are worth.

"You're still at the docks?" Hermione asks, amused as she implies that he'd basically fallen off a ship and refused to move further. "That doesn't sound like a terrible idea, really; anyplace called the Gallows isn't exactly the cheeriest place to live, even after a thorough cleaning and paint job."

With a small shrug, she adds, "You can still read English, though, can't you? Most people here can't; it could be like we're leaving secret messages for one another." A bit immature, perhaps, but these days, Hermione will take her fun where she can find it.

The Gallows

[youwonscience]

Cosima hasn't really talked about their trip through time since she was formally debriefed upon getting back. She isn't sure who to talk with, for one. Most of those who had gone with her she had known glancingly or not at all before they were sent out together, and she doesn't have a great sense of who might welcome commiseration and who would rather just put it all out of their heads.

Without a proper lab, it's almost inevitable that she'll drift toward the library, for work and otherwise. When she sees Hermione, she hesitates at first, but then decides to head over. Quietly - it is a library, after all - she says, "Deeply weird, isn't it?"

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione, for her part, would rather stop thinking about what she'd seen in the future, if only for a little while. But it's difficult, and some aspects of it stick out in her mind more than others, and she's largely been quiet about it since the Doctor had left Skyhold. She'd assumed she would find him here and would be able to get some more things off her chest then, but in the midst of all her acclimating she hasn't been able to find him.

But someone else has found her, it seems, and she looks up from her book in slight surprise at the young woman she hadn't seen since they'd returned from the future together. Blinking a few times, she glances around as though expecting to see something specific, then returns her gaze to Cosima. "... what is, exactly? I mean, yes, probably, but I'd like to know what I'm agreeing with."

[youwonscience]

Cosima grins despite herself. "Okay, fair. Like, everything since 'went to sleep at home and woke up being attacked by demons' would technically qualify. But I specifically meant being here in the present after being here in a future."

She doesn't go with "the" future, because god, that'd be depressing.

"It's just made the whole thing a weird exercise in deja vu. For me, anyway."

[bookish_lioness]

"Oh," Hermione replies upon realizing what Cosima means. She's not wrong, not in the least; nothing about the past year and change has been anything but weird, but the same could be said for most of Hermione's days since she'd found out she was a witch. This is all just a new sort of weird.

She also doesn't want to think of it as the future, and so she doesn't remark on Cosima's subtle choice of words.

"One would think that after we'd told the higher-ups in the Inquisition that we'd been held captive in a dreadful place called the Gallows, they wouldn't have decided to forcibly relocate a sizable chunk of their people to that very same place. Seems a little... counter-intuitive, really." After a pause, she admits, "And weird. Really deeply weird, yes."

[youwonscience]

Cosima's smile grows a little. "You know, it's sort of weirdly comforting that bureaucracy sucks in every world. Or at least most of the ones I've heard of so far." Of all the things to be the same.

"You mind if I join you for a little? Only if you're not too busy." Cosima isn't sure if she's presuming, but even beyond the time travel, they had friends in common; Jamie, for one. (The Doctor, though Cosima is fairly sure he's gone. She can't imagine him laying low for so long otherwise.) And she could use the company, if Hermione's open to it.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione manages a small smile in turn, though really, it's not exactly the most amusing topic when she's witnessed the downsides of bureaucracy firsthand.

Though she doesn't have much of a mess, she does put her book off to the side, allowing Cosima free reign to sit at her table. "Go right ahead. Just don't get me started on bureaucratic incompetence, not if you were intending on doing anything else for the rest of the day. It's gotten to the point where I'd been beginning to consider a career in the government myself, just so I could be sure that something positive actually was being done."

[youwonscience]

"Oh really? I don't know if I ever asked where you're from, but that sounds pretty extreme. My plan was definitely private sector all the way." Well, before ... everything. Long story, though from Hermione's tone, she suspects she's not alone in that. Cosima settles in, glancing briefly and almost reflexively at the book without even registering she's done so. Cosima: the cat curiosity will kill, possibly.

[bookish_lioness]

Given the way Cosima speaks, it definitely sounds as though her plans had changed, and not solely because of the detour she'd taken through a rift. She wants to ask after that, but complicated stories are usually fairly personal, and so she'll let Cosima decide for herself if she wants to share it after Hermione explains her end of things.

"My family is from England," she replies, "though I'd been going to school in Scotland when I'd come here." Most who know the names of those countries usually know enough to know she's from Earth, but Hermione's found that there's more than one version of Earth represented here. "But I wasn't intending on working for Parliament or anything like that; rather, I'd been looking into working for the Ministry of Magic. I don't suppose you're at all familiar with that, are you?"

After all, while she might be fairly certain Cosima isn't a witch, that isn't to say that she can't have some ties to the magical community. She's been surprised as to the sort of people who are and aren't aware of magic in her world before.