faderift | Post-Battle Blues

Entry tags:

Post-Battle Blues

WHO: Taas + Open
WHAT: Taas deals with Stuff™ and Things©
WHEN: Backdated to after the dragon fight.
WHERE: Outside the Gallows, the docks, etc.
NOTES: Very mild gore vaguely described.

He was lopsided. That was what bothered him the most, really. It made his neck ache after a while and Taas knew he should make a decision wether he should cut the other horn as well or find a cap to balance it out. He wasn't sure why he was stalling, really. The other wounds were fine and had been looked over and healed, bruises and cuts a memory and his split ear neatly trimmed so it didn't wiggle like a badly cut piece of meat when he walked.

All in all, it didn't bother him. So why was he so hesitant about it?

The warrior sighs, rubbing his sore neck a bit as he heads for the training grounds haphazardly put up outside the Gallows, mace at his shoulder and a thoughtful look on his face. He should be resting, he knows. They just got back. He shouldn't be pushing himself in case something tore open or his horn core started bleeding again. Taas usually listened. He was a good soldier.

...right now he was just too damn antsy to rest.

(Maybe, just maybe it had something to do with the dragon's tooth in his pack.)

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Taas follows, part of him already gearing up to smash someone into pieces. What she says, however, makes the large man pause, and he looks at her as if she has grown another head.

"Korrin, what?" Now it's his turn to look around, eyes narrowing a bit as if he's looking for assassins behind every corner.

"Are you talking about the viddathari? The priestesses read to them, teach them the Qun. Some might be forced to take qamek if they don't submit. That's about as much as I know."

"No, not viddathari converts. Qunari-raised qunari. Can they make an agent think they're someone else? Someone not of the Qun? I know the whole spy part wasn't your thing, but...is it possible?" Some part of her already knows the answer, but she needs to hear it from a former Qunari, not just a spirit with limited understanding of the mortal world.

His eyes narrow again at that, and he gently but firmly pulls her with him even deeper into the alley. "Tell me if you hear anything. Anything at all." Taas warns, and then moves to lean Korrin against the wall, as if they're making out.

"I don't know much, okay? I rarely had anything to do with the Ariqun after I left my tama as a boy." Taas sighs, shaking his head. "There were people on Seheron, though. People so deep under cover that they didn't even know they were Qunari."

There's a brief nod, listening not only to him but their surroundings as well.

His answer provokes a flinch, for all that she'd tried to steel herself to hear it. "I...was hoping you wouldn't say that. They would even do that to children, wouldn't they. Someone young, make him think he had a whole other life and then...activate him?"

She swallows and looks down for a moment, before remembering he needs to at least lip-read. Meeting his gaze is difficult for once, but...he needs to hear this, and she needs to know what to do.

"I didn't think anything of it, at first. We moved here and we were all so busy, you know? Who has time to socialize when statues are literally coming to life around us? But things weren't adding up; friendships and 'girl stuff' fell to the wayside and he lied about it, saying one thing happened while another person brought to me a clearly different tale. I try to figure out what the hell's going on, I get brushed off. Annoying, but I try to be patient.

But then... you know Cole, right? Scrawny kid, big hat, says a lot of weird shit because he sees things others don't? Well, he saw something I didn't. 'But he's not there. Their sacrificial Bull is gone, so the lamb will have to take its place and see for them. He's not there, only their words are.'

Iron Bull isn't with us anymore, not in Kirkwall. But there's one other horned person aside from us, Taas." Maker, she can't even say his name right now. Just thinking about it has her on the verge of tears.

Taas is quiet for a long while, head racing as he tries to make sense of it all. The spirit thing told Korrin about the qunari kid. It sounded weird to him, but it was serious if it was all true. The deal with the rifts and the Breach was a problem for everyone, including the Qun.

One spy might not have been enough.

"Korrin," he says sternly, looking at her. "If this is even the slightest bit true, you're in serious danger if you try to meddle in this. Spies like that will do anything to keep their cover. He could kill you without a second thought."

Then the warrior's face softens a bit, and he sighs. "...and if it isn't true, you're going to hurt him really badly. He's the kid with the family that was killed by Ben-Hassrath, right?" Being accused of being one of them would break the kid, he's pretty certain of that.

"I addition to this, if it's true, the Inquisition's alliance with the qunari could be damaged. The only reason Bull's in is because he was honest with the Herald about his allegiances." Spying while not being undercover. Interesting tactics, honestly. "If the leaders of the Inquisition knows there's a spy this much undercover, things are going to get bad and they might throw Bull out as well. We need the status quo with the Qun. A Qunari invasion to 'fix' things here is not a pleasant idea."

Then, finally; "Is there anyone else that can confirm this?" He doesn't want to sound like he doesn't believe her, but the words of a spirit isn't the most trustworthy source in Taas' opinion.

Korrin isn't hurt by the question; she'd give anything to be wrong and overreacting. Cole wouldn't have come to her for no reason, she's pretty sure about that, but even so...they need more and she knows it. Her shoulders sag and she sighs, needing a moment to gather her thoughts beyond pain and panic.

"I...don't know. If Bull was here, maybe, but I wouldn't trust him for this anyway." He's still part of the Qun, what reason would he have to help them? How could they trust anything he'd say? "Another mage, maybe. Sam was helping Kas with his headaches, those moments where he'd black out and lose time...Maker, could that have been a sign that we just didn't see?"

Probably. Just one more seemingly random thing until it fell into place with everything else. "I want to be wrong, Taas. Andraste's ass, do I ever. But I wouldn't be here if I didn't think there was something to it, you know that. And if I'm right, I can't ignore this. If he's still in there -at all- I have to help him. If he's not...."

Then 'Dust' needs to be stopped. It'd kill her to do it, but better that than him doing untold damage to their cause.

"If it was any other person, I'd tell you to cut your ties and leave him to it," Taas starts with a sigh. "...but I know you care for the kid a lot." The boy had stayed away from him a lot, so Taas didn't know much about him other than what he had been told by Korrin. It had been evident from the start how much of a tama she was to him, tough.

"Sam has been treating him? I think Anders has a well." The warrior shifts a bit. Nobody 'made out' while standing still, after all. "Is there anyone else he's close to?"

He doesn't know how to fix this... and he doesn't have the heart to tell her that if it all is true, then Kas never existed at all.

It's a testament to how distraught Korrin is that she doesn't do more than briefly frown at mention of Anders. "Araceli and Zevran...Beleth, I think? She's the new Scout head, she'd be overseeing his division." It's possible she'd seen something...but she's also new to the role, so it's just as likely not.

She echoes the sigh, holding back from biting her lip until it bleeds. "...he's family, Taas. I can't just leave him to whatever the hell this is, if there's even a damn chance. Besides, think of the damage he could do. That's not something we can just ignore."

"Talk to them," he suggest with a concerned look on his face. "but I beg you, kadan, be careful. This is Kirkwall. At least a third of the 'Tal-Vashoth' here are spies, and if that is not enough, the most common use of viddathari is also spying. If they know you know..." Taas glances around again, just in case.

"I know you won't leave this alone, but my advice is that you treat this like gaatlok. Push too hard and it will kill you. Leave it alone and it will kill someone else." He leans down to press his forehead gently against hers.

"I'll do some digging," the warrior continues. "Now slap me and call me a pervert, then leave."

Ugh, Qunari intrigue. Two things she hates individually combine to make something super-awful and in this case, she can't avoid it. There's a weary, soul-deep sigh at mention of spies, but she nods. "I like having my head where it is and my mind intact. Don't worry, I don't be too stupid." That's the best she can promise, though. Getting Kas back would outweigh a lot of risks, at least for her personally.

That last part prompts a noise that can almost be termed a laugh, for all that she's too upset for true mirth. "Thanks, Taas. You be careful, too." She'll even thrown in a kiss on the cheek before that slap, just to even things out.

It's the kind of promise he expected. She would not be Korrin if she didn't care so strongly about friends. All of this was a damn dangerous mess, though, and he really hopes it's all a misunderstanding.

For everyone's sake.

He takes the slap in stride and throws his arms up in mock frustration before moving in the other direction. He's no actor, but at least he managed to make it look somewhat realistic.

Now to see what he could find out without putting anyone in danger.

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Post-Battle Blues

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