OPEN POST - there's a green glow coming from the library window

[mythalenaste]

WHO: Pel Ashara and everybody in Skyhold
WHAT: Pel returns from the Fallow Mire with crazy amounts of research and will wall herself up doing work and being totally antisocial unless you save her!
WHEN: 19 Firstfall...or is it the 20th? Today. Today and really, really late tonight.
WHERE: Skyhold courtyard and library
NOTES: This is prior to the general return from Skyhold, obviously. Pel just caught a ride back to Skyhold well ahead of the crowd.

Arrival

It turns out a large caravan full of pious Andrastian humans will leave a tiny heathen elf-woman alone if she carries herself like she's about to kick someone's ass. The trip from the Mire to Skyhold was uneventful. In fact, there was never a good enough reason to use her magic, so none of the van was tipped off that Pel is a mage.

Unfortunately, she had no pack mule, so she's having to haul a lot of crap around by herself. One of the nicer people let her keep her heavier things on his cart, but now she's having to get it all unpacked carrying it with her own two hands. She's too proud to ask for help, but you can offer it if you like.

Library

From the time she arrives, she's in the library. During the day, she can be found bent over books. Sometimes, she's asleep on top of one.

At night, long after the keep has gone to bed, a green glow can be seen in the library window, flickering like flame. If someone chooses to check this out, they will find Pel standing over a stone slab with a veilfire flame in her hand, held over her work like a candle. A rune on the slab gives a faint green glow in response. The fire reflects in the elf's eyes like a cat's as she stares suspiciously at you.

Comments

[eolasemah]

An especially painful night had Sina sleepless, and wanting to make use of her time rather than toss and turn uncomfortably for hours, she left her tent in shawl and nightshirt with the intention of checking on some of the herbs she'd left to dry. She hadn't yet made it to the courtyard, however, when she saw the green glow coming from the fortress window. She stopped, squinted, then hesitantly moved toward the doors of the main hall.

This was the first time Sina had been in the actual fortress since the meeting of mages, the third time in total, and she was amazed by how spacious it truly was when not crowded full of people. Her bare feet padded silently along the stone floor as she followed the glow through the crack in the door by the fireplace, and into the eerily-lit round room where the mages had met. She stood in the center, peering up at the flickering-- was it a flame?-- and although her usual sensibilities told her to turn back and not put her nose where it didn't belong, her chest felt heavy and pulled her forward.

She crept up the stairs to the library, squinting in the suddenly bright light of the veilfire. To her surprise, she recognized the wielder. "Pel?" she said, before she could stop herself.

[mythalenaste]

Pel immediately looks regretful--of what, she's not sure, but startling Sina is some kind of special evil.

"Sina."

A beat, then she realizes what needs to happen now. A smile creeps over her face.

"I'm glad you're here. You should see this. It's our heritage."

She touches a candle to light it with veilfire, extinguishing that in her hand.

"Take the candle in your hand and look at the rune."

[eolasemah]

At first Sina was worried she had disturbed her, but she matched the smile with her own and timidly approached. Her large eyes widened at the word 'heritage'; that was always a good way to capture her interest.

She did as she was instructed, glancing from the candle to Pel as she took it, marveling at the strange green light that looked so similar to what she herself exuded. "What is it?" she whispered, lowering the flame to look at the rune.

[mythalenaste]

"A veilfire rune. I've read about them before, but they're everywhere in the Fallow Mire. It's the writing of our ancestors from Elvhenan.'

As Sina looks at the rune and holds the flame, the meanings trickle through; words, sensations, memories, feelings. A building sense of epiphany, excitement, desperation.

[eolasemah]

As she began to feel the rising sensations, Sina's breath caught in her throat. The words of the ancients, their ancestors, those who had gone away never to return-- they were thrumming through her, pulsing strangely in her chest.
"So much lost," she whispered.

Library

[the_effect_she_has]

Katniss had, through the kindness of Varric Tethras himself gotten a list of all of his books that were there. She went late at night, when she couldn't sleep, leaving Buttercup to hunt the mice in their tower.

Most of Skyhold is quiet, this time of night, and Katniss is able to avoid most of the servants and guards without disturbing anyone's rest or work. So she is faintly surprised to find green eyes glaring at her out of the darkness -- but the Dalish woman isn't the only one with feline in her genes.

She glares right back, offering up a challenge to question why she doesn't have a right to be where a Dalish elf is.

[mythalenaste]

There's a moment of tension between them, as Pel determines that this is not a templar, and Katniss is not immediately turning around to report her to a templar. Then her shoulders relax and square all at once, like they've come to an accord, an agreement to a mutual claim of this space.

"If you need light, I have candles," she says solemnly. "I'll light them with normal fire."

[the_effect_she_has]

Katniss looked at her, watching as her body language changed. From tense, to ... less tense. As if the Dalish woman had seen something in her that was not dangerous. Which honestly, Katniss would have stated she was plenty dangerous. Just ... not in a library.

One eyebrow raised, "Why, to make fire normally do you have to slice open your wrist and call out to the Dread Wolf?"

[mythalenaste]

"I don't do blood magic. Or any other form of self-mutilation." She has trouble enough keeping a particular clanmate from doing that, what kind of example would she be? "I have matches."

To demonstrate, she picks up a box of matches from the seat of a nearby chair. She was running out of table space.

Library

[wickedchase]

There's a large amount of wandering Dalish here, which is not something he'd expected. He'll hand it to them; at least some of them can look beyond than their own little hovels and caravans, so there is that.

And this one, it seems, is researching something magically-inclined or some such.

Terribly exciting, he's sure.

Twisted Fate raises a brow at her, mildly curious as their eyes meet in the dark of the library. In his hands, he'd holding a novel, the cover all but reassuring that it's some kind of trashy love book. She can study runes, he can read his indulgence.

"Well now. Dare I ask what you've got there?"

[mythalenaste]

Her demeanor goes icy. Falon'din people are so frigging pretentious. Worse than Dirthamen fans, really. But that's not why she goes icy. He's asking her what she's doing like he's caught her doing something he wants to report to templars, who will bugger everything up trying to prove she's doing something wrong. Which she isn't, but they will interfere and set things back and be a pain.

"Official Inquisition research. Go about your business."

She bends her head to go about hers.

[wickedchase]

"Now now, there's no need to be so cold."

A small chuckle escapes him and he slides out of his seat, the motion smooth as he struts over closer.

"As it so turns out, we're both very official Inquisition agents." Holding out his hand, he forms a veilfire flame himself, his eyes gazing down at the rune. "Of course, you look like you're in a very official position here, officially researching. Officially."

The smile never wavers. "It must be terribly interesting."

[mythalenaste]

"Hold the bloody veilfire still and keep looking at the rune and you'll see what it's all about. I won't need to explain it." Him being a mage with vallaslin does not mean he won't fuck things up for her. Ugh, she hates it when people have a theatrical sense about shit anyone can do. Or. Shit any mage can do.

The rune communicates a building sense of epiphany, excitement, and desperation. A part of a puzzle, or complex code.

[amygdalae]

Bruce had heard news of Pel's return, but he hadn't managed to find the time to speak to her until late at night when most of everyone else was fast asleep. Asking the guards informed him that she was currently in the library, and thus that was where Bruce set his path towards.

Climbing up the stairs he soon noticed the familiar figure of her, and as he approached closer he cleared his throat, just loud enough so that Pel could hear him and he wouldn't startle her. "Didn't you just return from the Mire today?"

[mythalenaste]

She smiles, genuinely glad to see him.

"Yes. I've a lot of work to do before I can turn in my report, though. It's good to see you."

[amygdalae]

"It's good to see you too. Although I can't say I'm entirely glad that you haven't let yourself rest." He takes a step closer, enough so that he can see the stacks of paper and work that Pel had around her.

Bruce gives them a passing glance, only making out a few words himself, frowning in disapproval. "You should rest. The reports can wait until you've had sleep, I'm sure." The trip back here must have been exhausting after all, and Bruce didn't even want to know how she's still keeping herself working like this. Or, well, he did know in a way. but that was neither here nor there.

[mythalenaste]

"I slept a little, earlier." On top of her books, by accident. If she stops working, she faces the fact of Merrick not being nearby in case something happens. But he has the others looking after him, so she knows he'll be okay. Logically.

[byblow]

There wasn't a moment when Alistair decided not to go to the Fallow Mire to help, or any conscious and rational reason why he didn't. He's invented a few by now--someone ought to be here in case there's news, he's the one any Grey Wardens out hunting for them are most likely to recognize on sight, never know when there might be darkspawn in your mountaintop fortress somehow. He came briefly close to thinking about the fact that he hasn't put a toe into Ferelden in ten years, and then he veered away into thinking about something less fraught.

Anyway, he's here. He's been here. He's struggling to feel useful enough to justify the fact that he's been here, and being a pack mule for someone who lacks one is better than staring at clouds.

"Here," he says, stepping in toward Pel and her lots of crap with his hands already extended. "I've been training for this my whole life."

[mythalenaste]

A faint smile touches Pel's lips, just enough for her teeth to peek from between. It's not a reserved or stifled smile; her level of expression is just rather lower than other peoples'.

"For this, specifically? Carrying things for magic researchers?" She's not teasing him, just lingering in the joke for a bit. Lighthearted moments should be relished. "Or just carrying things?"

[byblow]

"Carrying things, generally," Alistair says, "but I do specialize in magic research things." He's doing his version of a straight face: unsmiling, almost, but with obvious effort and his eyes bright even with circles underneath them. He wiggles the fingers of his open hands invitingly--load him up.

[mythalenaste]

She finally grins properly, visibly relaxing, and hands him about as much as she herself would carry, which is no small weight. She's accustomed to hard work.

"Ma serannas." She loads herself up, hoists, and starts walking toward the keep. "It needs to go to the library. Since you're helping, I'll make a meal for us both when it's all moved."

Library (Forwarded some time after after Salem's arrival)

[el_tybs]

Great, just great. The Elf he had been treating at the tents for frostbite had up and left. Or stolen by another Dalish, but that seemed rather unlikely since Salem had been in the healing tents for a reason, and would hope that they trusted the healers in the Inquisition to do their job.

Ugh. He had hoped after coming back from the Mire things would settle down a bit, but there was still plenty of things to stress over. Running around Skyhold looking for an elf didn't help that any - they were damn good at hiding. If he didn't find Salem today he would have to suspect that he wouldn't be able to until the Elf made himself seen. Sam could only hope at that point that where ever he had went he was treating his wounds. Without proper healing and bandaging Salem could have some major issues.

He'd already covered a good amount of places he figured the Elf would or could have hidden without luck, so the library and rookery were his next destinations to check - it was high and out of the way so it made sense. At least that was the plan up until he spotted Pel. Maybe she had seen something.

"Pel?" he asked in a low voice, it was the library after all, not really wanting to bother her.

[mythalenaste]

Pel raises her head from her work, eye taking a second to focus on Sam, being so accustomed to staring at things close-up for the last few hours.

"Sam." She nods her head in greeting. Her roommate's special friend. "I'm glad we ran into one another. We need to work out a system for when you and Krem need alone time and don't want me to barge in on you."

[el_tybs]

Sam smiles when she says his name, but obviously taking some time to adjust her eyes. He remembers that feeling when he had to read volumes of books back in the Circle. He wants to ask her just how long she's been at the books as friendly conversation before he brings up the real reason he's there, after all it has been some time since it's been some time since they've sat down and talked.

He doesn't even get to offer a greeting save for a nod in return though. No, Pel obviously has other plans.

Save for how Sam freezes in place and his eyes widening a bit, he isn't quite sure how to react to that. 'System', 'alone time', and 'barging in' are the words that stick out in that sentence. For a moment Sam opens his mouth to say something, but it quickly closes and he instead just bites his bottom lip.

"... What?"

[mythalenaste]

"When you and Krem want to spent the night together," she puts bluntly. "Obviously if it's in your quarters it's not a problem, but if it's in ours, I'd like some signal before I accidentally interrupt the two of you."