Hermione Granger (
bookish_lioness) wrote in
faderift2017-05-08 12:27 pm
Entry tags:
[Open] I can't take the distance
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).
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 (
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!]

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Grown man or not, though, that's undoubtedly a look of mischief in his eyes, and she tilts her head as she tries to figure out just what he's up to. Mischief can be fun, in small doses. And depending on just what it is.
But his suggestion seems innocent enough, and she laughs a little as she shakes her head. "I'm not the sort of person who tends to fancy a pint under most circumstances," she admits. "A bit of wine with my meal or on very rare occasions something a little stronger if the taste isn't wretched, but otherwise I prefer to have my wits about me."
Giving his hand a gentle tug to gesture for him to lead them, she adds, "I don't know where you've been before and where you haven't, so it's best for you to lead the way. Unless you'd prefer taking a walk outside the city, but even then, I'd be sure to get us lost if I try taking the lead." Not that the thought of being lost with Jamie seems overly terrible, of course.
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Truth be told, he can understand wanting to keep one's wits about them, which is why even though he doesn't mind the odd pint or dram of whiskey from time to time himself, it's rare that he'll drink to the point where he gets completely sloppy. There's certain bit of excitement that comes along with having to live by one's wits, and he'd rather have that feeling than the feeling that comes with having them be all muddled.
And if maybe he doesn't have to live on his wits right at the moment? Well, there's always the wee bit of mystery to be had instead, and it'll be interesting to see if Hermione figures it out along the way. As she tugs at his hand, he chuckles - but he also takes it as a sign to get going, and he starts to away from the foundry area, back towards the busier part of Lowtown.
"There's worse things than getting lost outside the city with you, mind, but I think I've an idea that'll wind up with neither one of us getting lost. Come on, let's head back to the docks to start. If you're planning on leaving me notes, you should know where I've set up anyway. And after that...aye, well. You'll see."
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But considering that she's only ever drank in Thedas during parties or when offered to her as a guest, she doesn't think that will ever become a real problem, so she's more than willing to gloss over it for now. Besides, even if Jamie is the sort to go to a pub once in a while to pass the time, she can hardly fault him that. It's not as though a drink here and there necessarily means someone's a drunkard.
Trying not to sheepishly preen when he admits that he wouldn't necessarily mind getting lost with her, Hermione falls into step besides him, looking at him curiously. "'You'll see?'" she echoes, voice thoroughly amused. "It sounds as though you're purposely building up a mystery."
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Right now, though, he's not worried about that, because he knows exactly where they're going - and a fair idea of what he wants to do, at least in the short term. That, coupled with her amused reaction, is enough to get him to grin unrepentantly down at her even as he leads them closer to the docks.
"Oh, am I now? What if I am, then? What would you do about it?"
Besides wait and see, obviously, although at least she'll not have to do that for long. The compound where the Inquisition's set up isn't that far, and now that he's got an idea in mind, he's not intending on delaying getting there.
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Taking a moment to appear to think about it, Hermione muses, "I'll have to investigate it, I suppose. That's my way, after all. Though I think that might lessen the element of surprise, if that's truly a factor in all this."
She can see the barracks at the docks coming into view, and she offers Jamie a sidelong glance. "I'm going to assume it doesn't necessarily have to do with getting on a boat, despite us headed towards the docks?" After all, though he may want to show her where he's set up, the docks seem a bit out of the way for a first stop on their walk.
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After all, there could be surprises within the mystery - and will, if he can manage to pull it off. A boat isn't one of them, however. In fact, at the mention of that, a faintly queasy look crosses his face, followed a few seconds later by a quick shake of his head.
"Not a boat, no. Those can just stay where they are, if you ask me."
Until the Inquisition sends him back out on a mission, he's perfectly content to not go anywhere near the water...unless he's standing on something solid, like the docks. While there is some appeal to doing that with Hermione, it's not what he has in mind, however, and rather than turn to head that way, he takes the street that leads up to the barracks, and from there, to the area that he'd shared with the Doctor, until recently. There's still an impressive collection of bits and pieces scattered throughout the small space, even though Jamie's no idea what half of them are supposed to be for. He hasn't had the heart to clear them away just yet. Instead, he heads over towards his bed and a small wooden trunk that he's got at the foot of it. He's managed to save up enough to have a lock put on, and after he unlocks it, he rummages inside, eventually pulling out a folded piece of cloth - one of the neckerchiefs he occasionally wears. He doesn't unfold it, though. Instead, he offers the cloth over to Hermione, hints of a small, mysterious smile playing around his mouth as he does so.
"Here, take it."
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Entering the space that he'd clearly once shared with the Doctor, Hermione has to try and not think about the eccentric older man, though she does find herself hoping that he finds his way back to Jamie soon. While she misses Harry terribly and no one will ever replace her best friend, she knows that the Doctor is one of a kind (not counting his alleged number of regenerations that he'd told her about), and so Jamie isn't exactly going to find a substitute companion. But then, he doesn't seem to mind spending all that much time with her.
Following him over as he rummages through his trunk, Hermione looks down at the offered item curiously before figuring out what it is and reaching out for it after a moment's hesitation. "All right," she says uncertainly, though not without a small, compliant smile. She might not know what he's playing at, but she's more than willing to play along once she figures out the rules of the game. "And what exactly am I supposed to do with it?"
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He does wind up being more serious a few moments later as he turns back towards the trunk, reaching back inside and rummaging around again. This time, he pulls out a small, oddly lumpy sack and sets it on the bed before glancing back over his shoulder at her.
"Or you could open it and take what's inside. Might help some if you're planning on leaving messages, like we'd talked about earlier."
Inside the neckerchief - should she choose to open it - is a key, a match to the one he used to open the trunk. Just in case she decides not to take it, however, he keeps the trunk open a few moments longer. After all, it's completely within her rights to throw it right back inside. Or elsewhere, although he hopes she doesn't do that. Trying to find a key in the middle of this mess wouldn't be something he'd particularly fancy doing, although he will if he has to.
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At his instruction, she opens up the neckerchief, blinking a little in mild confusion when she sees the key. Plucking it up and looking it over, she purses her lips for a moment before looking at Jamie, trying to suss out the significance of it.
"It's a key," she comments, knowing full well that she's stating the obvious. "And it... looks very much like the one you used to open your trunk." Trying to make light of it, she chuckles slightly and asks, "Is this your way of saying you trust me with your things?"
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He trusts her with a lot more than that, and even though he doesn't say so out loud, for just a moment something of that shows on his face. Her chuckle makes him decide that it's better to try and keep things a little less serious, though - at least for now - and after a second or two, he winds up shrugging lightly.
"And if you do decide to make off with my pipes then I'll know that I'm right and you're not able to resist them after all." There's a beat, and then he grins broadly at her. "Besides, do you really want to chance someone coming across one of the notes you're planning on leaving? There's been tales of people who are interested in collecting those sorts of things, after all."
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Between noticing that look on Jamie's face and when he next speaks, Hermione realizes that she'd temporarily forgotten to breathe, and she takes care of that now, taking in a long breath as she nervously bites at her lip. To her credit, she's still smiling, because she's sure that any serious importance to the key is only in her head and besides, Jamie is still joking about it and so it can't really be all that serious, can it?
Stepping in besides Jamie as she gives him a bit of a wry look, she lightly asks, "Oh? And just what sorts of things is it that these people would be interested in? You don't expect there to be anything scandalous in these notes of mine, do you?"
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Even if part of him wouldn't mind at all if she did decide to put something scandalous in there, he's not expecting anything of the sort. But teasing her about it...well, there's times where he can't help but do that although he has to wonder why she's biting on her lip like that. Maybe there's something he's said that's got her upset. Or nervous, possibly. Maybe it's the key itself that's done it, and for a second he hopes he's not suddenly gone too far by offering it to her. The last thing he wants to do is have one of his impulses scare her off. He'd never forgive himself if that happened.
Still, she's smiling, and surely she'd not be smiling like that if he'd done something wrong...even if he could've sworn for a moment it'd almost looked like she'd forgotten to breathe. He has to be imagining that part, and he pushes the thought aside, letting another hint of a grin play around his mouth as he goes to close the trunk.
"But they'd not know that, now would they? Not if it's in English. Like as not they'll see it and think we're having a sordid affair, even if they'll not be able to read a word of it."
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But really... well, Hermione is an adult, from the standpoint of both wizarding law and Muggle law, and certainly by Thedosian standards. If she were the type to go in for that sort of thing, and if Jamie wouldn't mind it, there really wouldn't be anything wrong with it. But for propriety's sake, she's just not going to think too hard over what she might put in any note that might make it scandalous. She can only take so much blushing at a given time, after all.
"Luckily, 'they' don't have access to your trunk, is that it?" Glancing towards the doorway, Hermione hums thoughtfully for a moment before bringing up, "Then again, the rumor mill in the Inquisition is rampant enough that 'they' are likely already imagining all sorts of terrible things, if they saw us come in here together."
Realizing how that sounds, she blinks and looks at Jamie with wide eyes, hastily adding, "Not that-... not that anything between us would be terrible, of course! I just meant-... that is-..... It's the gossip I don't approve of, not... anything else."
Well. So much for not blushing.
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That isn't what gets Jamie's eyebrows to do their own version of shooting up, arching high enough that they wind up disappearing into his own bangs before her hasty correction gets the corners of his mouth to twitch ever so slightly before he's able to get them under control and reply to her with a relatively straight face.
"Aye, well, that's good to know. I'd not want anyone to think things between us'd be terrible."
It's hard not to notice that blush, however. The fact it's there maybe isn't so surprising, given what they've been talking about - but at the same time, he can't help but find that to be just a little bit appealing. As he moves across the room, he sneaks a glance back her way, the tip of his tongue darting out just enough to moisten his lips before he pretends to focus on retrieving his plaid cloak from a peg that's been set into the wall.
"So, ah...does that mean that you've been giving some thought to those other things, then?"
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"Things between us aren't terrible," she answers, hoping to turn "things" into activities they've already done, such as holding hands and occasionally kissing. It's better than any of the other things that couples might otherwise engage in, given that those things had simply been whispered rumors in the halls of Hogwarts rather than anything Hermione's ever given serious thought to doing. There had always been something more important happening in her life, after all.
Serious thought or not, it isn't as though she has no experience with hormones at all, and she does acknowledge that it's a conversation she and Jamie should have. She just hadn't exactly thought it would happen so soon.
"I-... have wondered what it might be like for couples here, especially when one or both of them might be a rifter. It's a little sad, isn't it? To share a bed with a person, not knowing if they'll still be there when you wake up. But I suppose that's a risk we take in any sort of relationship." It's why, even if Hermione had been the sort to go in for casual dating, she'd just never looked for that sort of thing. The idea of slowly falling in love with someone and then one day finding they've disappeared, or that she'd disappeared and left someone behind, is heartbreaking.
She'd been contemplatively looking down, and now she looks back up at Jamie and manages a small, though embarrassed, smile. "This is the bit where you tell me that wasn't what you meant and that I think too hard about things, isn't it?"
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Hermione, on the other hand, has clearly given it a lot more thought that he has. In fact, he'd wager that her notion to have them see each other regularly's come about in part because of those thoughts. But while he definitely doesn't object to an idea that means they'll see more of each other - and maybe even consider other things when the time is right - the last thing he'd intended on doing with his jesting was to wind up making her thoughts turn towards back towards wondering if one day one of them'd wake up and have the other be gone.
There, however, he has an idea that just might work to take her mind off of that. He makes his way back, setting the cloak down on the bed before reaching out to try and take her hand and coax her back towards him, fixing her with an intent gaze at the same time.
"No. Now's the bit where I kiss you. And then I tell you that's not what I meant and that you think too hard about things...if you'll let me, that is."
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Seeing Jamie move towards her, Hermione tries to smile as she lets him take her hand, though it becomes more genuine at his words. She doesn't think a kiss will necessarily smooth everything over and allay her fears, but she doubts that's necessarily his intention. He likely just wants to kiss her because it feels like the right thing to do. It's straightforward, uncomplicated... and Hermione can certainly use more of that in her life.
"Well, I suppose if there's a proper order to things, I can't say no to a preliminary kiss." She's already leaning towards him, though she waits for him to initiate it; after all, he had said that this is the bit where he kisses her, not the other way around.
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Maybe the kiss won't smooth everything over, and maybe it can't ally anyone's fears - but on his end, at least, it's a chance to take a few moments to not worry about the future. And...well, to enjoy getting the chance to kiss Hermione. That's something he's beginning to think he's never going to get tired of doing, even though this time he keeps the kiss relatively short. There is a proper order to things here, after all, although this time around the proper order also comes with one of his lopsided smiles and a bit of reluctance to completely let go, at least for the moment.
"So do you need me to state that other part again, or would you like to see what the rest of the mystery is?"
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Of course, the fact that she's still thinking about the possibility of going missing proves that not everything is perfectly all right, but given how far she and Jamie are from their proper homes, that much is to be expected. So she's willing to push it to the back of her mind as she so often does, tilting her head at him with a curious expression on her smiling face.
"There's more than just a key? Do tell."
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"Now, if it was just a key, it'd not be much of mystery, would it? Here, let me just grab these things and we'll go."
'These things', in this case, are the small sack and the cloak, the latter of which he casually slings over his arm in such a way to mask the lumpy shape of the sack. Once he's gotten those settled, though, he offers his arm to Hermione once more, hoping she'll be willing to take it like she had earlier. They've got quite a few alleys to navigate, after all, and he'd not mind the company while he takes her through them - and maybe he'll be able to provide a bit of a distraction along the way, although even if she does follow eventually it's going to be hard to miss that they're heading towards Hightown.
Still, he's willing to try and add in that little bit of mystery for as long as Hermione lets him get away with it. And if she doesn't? Well, then, he supposes eventually he'll have to let on what his plan is. Until she asks, though, he'll do his best to get them both as close to his goal as he can.
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"Curioser and curiouser," she murmurs dryly, though that of course doesn't keep her from willingly taking his arm. If anything, she's just that much more intrigued, though her brain is already distracted with trying to figure out just what is happening. "It's almost as though you knew you were going to run into me."
Which, really, wouldn't exactly be peculiar. They see each other often enough, and they'd just made a pact of sorts to see one another even more often. But if Jamie has something specific in mind that he's meant to do with Hermione for quite some time, she certainly can't be blamed for following along with him blindly as she tries to suss out what it is.
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If that'd been the case, he'd have been able to properly put something together, rather than grabbing a couple of seemingly random items to bring along. At the same time, however, it's good to be able to think a bit on his feet, even if it's only to try and come up with something that he thinks she might like - and that they can get away with without causing too much trouble for the Inquisition.
Luckily, he's managed to meet a few people here who aren't completely adverse to the notion of rifters, even if there's more people here than not who aren't overly fond of anyone with a shard in their hands. It's to one of them he goes to when they reach the top of the stairs that lead up into Hightown proper, a young guard that he's befriended recently. A few quiet words and a brief nod towards Hermione, and the guard grins and gives Jamie a nudge with his elbow before going to seemingly stand idly in front of one of the smaller pathways that leads around one of the buildings and towards what's clearly a servant's entrance. As for Jamie, he's quick to hurry back towards Hermione and motion with his head towards the pathway, trying to indicate with a couple of brief movements the notion that they should duck down there while they've got the chance to.
"Come on, let's go before one of the other guards comes along and starts asking questions. Don't worry, though, it's not far from here."
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Still, she's not sure what to make of it when she realizes they're heading into Hightown, especially not when Jamie goes off to privately speak to a guard and sees that reaction from him. Terribly curious as to what Jamie had told him and whether or not she should be mortified, Hermione looks between the pair of them, taking Jamie's arm again when he returns.
"Are we sneaking into someplace we shouldn't be?" she asks in a hushed whisper. There's an almost accusatory tone to her voice, but that doesn't stop her from continuing to follow along with him. After all, she's no stranger to breaking the rules, though she usually at least likes to know why she's doing so.
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The reply may be quiet - but it comes with a certain ease that only the truth can bring along with it. They weren't going into anything at all, which Hermione should be able to see for herself as he leads them down the space between two buildings and past the doors that are set into the walls without stopping. In fact, he only stops when he comes to another wall, this one featureless save for a few crates that've been stacked against the wall.
"If we were going to do that, I'd be asking you again how handy you were with a hair pin. Only way I'm going to be going around opening a locked door is by breaking it down, aye? No, this place gets used by folks all the time. All we've got to do is head up yon crates over there. There's a place up top that'll give you a grand view of the city, and I brought my cloak for us to sit on."
It doesn't explain the bag, not yet, but with luck it's enough information that it'll help mollify her at least somewhat - and the look he gives her is a hopeful one.
"Willing to give it a go, then?"
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"Of course I am; I'll go anywhere with you."
The words leave her mouth before she really has time to think about them, and Hermione can't help looking a little bewildered at the fact that they'd come out at all. While that might be true enough, it makes it sound as though things between them are much more serious than they are... not that she can rightly quantify just how serious things are, of course, but....
Feeling her face warming up, she moves towards the crates he'd pointed out, asking, "Just up here, then?"
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