[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

[bookish_lioness]

"I'm sure you have more skills at your disposal," Hermione brings up, smiling gently. "You can likely help introduce Thedas to modern scientific theory, though it will take quite some time before they advance towards anything you're more familiar with."

She's a little concerned when Cosima tells her that precious few people know of her true background, and the smile fades somewhat. "I suppose I can understand not telling your parents; I had to hide some things from mine as well, not too long ago. And I suppose most of the locals - and a few of the rifters - might think of it in terms of you being a twin, or some such thing. But if you ever need to talk, Cosima... I don't know how much I could help, but I'd be willing to listen and do what I can. We all need a support system."

[youwonscience]

"Hey, thanks." It's quiet, and sincere. "Really. Someone to listen, especially someone clever who knows either my world or one so close to it we can't know for sure it's different ... that's a lot. And it's mutual, OK? If you need to talk, I'm happy to listen too."

Hermione's a good listener, and they certainly have more of a chance to actually talk now than they did fighting for their lives in a possible future. Cosima won't be sorry to see a little more of her, if things work out that way.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione nods slowly, affirming that she'd heard Cosima's offer, even if she's presently thinking more about her own offer to listen to her when she might need it. After all, while Hermione might not have had the easiest time of things, there are certainly plenty of people with greater weights to bear. She doesn't know if Cosima is one of them, but she's willing to help her make that weight a little lighter.

"I suppose that's what friends are for," she brings up after a moment, managing another small smile. "Heaven knows we could always use more of those, especially given how potentially hostile this place can be."