[I: OTA, II: Semi-Closed] Finding Forever

[nadasharillen]

WHO: Part I: Anyboooody!
Part II: Nahariel, Cade, and whoever's with Cade when he found
WHAT: I: Come get a free drink and tell Nari where you were when the Chantry blew up.
II: She has a cunning plan.
WHEN: A couple of days after the forest springs up
WHERE: I: Hanged Man
II: That good good new forest
NOTES: probable discussion of PTSD

Part I:

Nahariel spends a good day just... looking. Watching the general consternation of the populace that comes and goes, some of whom she'd seen come to leave items or worship at the crater before. They look unsure now. Something had happened here, something big and terrible. So she spends that night at the Hanged Man buying drinks--she hadn't much use for fine things, and her carvings had sold relatively well here--and asking for stories.

Word passes through the tavern pretty quickly that there's an elf at one of the corner tables doing this, and she greets anyone who sits down with a crooked smile, a drink of their choice, and a question:

"Where were you when the Chantry bombing happened?"


Part II:

The last person she spoke to that night was an off-duty Templar. The center of their faith, gone in an instant, their Knight-Commander in the grip of Red Lyrium fueled insanity, Abominations everywhere. The Templar looked harrowed, like they hadn't slept since--or not well, at least.

And Nari had seen that look before.

And she remembered what just a bit of her whistling a Chantry song had done.

And she got an idea.

The next day not too long after sunrise she put on her working leathers, divested herself of anything that could be considered a weapon--aside from her tools, of course--and set off to find Cade Harimann.

Comments

[nadasharillen]

She opens her mouth, then closes it again with a furtive look at Simon. Being rather unsure about how this would all shake out, Nahariel had rather hoped that she'd run into the Templar alone so as to have as few witnesses as possible to any failure. Perhaps it wouldn't mean as much to him as she thought it might. Or he'd find it silly. Or think it wasn't her place.

Well. Not every shot lands. Spend time crying over a lost buck, and lose another; companion or not, Cade was here now, so she started again.

"It's Cade, right?" She asked, careful to pitch her voice in the least demanding tones she could without sounding like she was purposefully modulating. Creators bless storyteller training.

"I'm Nari. You were in the hall at Skyhold while I was carving the steps. I've got a somewhat related project that I could use your help with... if you've the time and the desire, of course," she finishes, eyeing the bag over his shoulder.

[onlyhymns]

Cade nods dumbly to confirm his name, then hesitantly does so again, suggesting that he'll help. He's still a bit too down and shellshocked to be of much use verbally, but the inquiry is nice enough.

[paladingus]

As companions and witnesses go, Simon's not too bad a one to have. The idea of a project isn't quite what he was expecting, but--well, couldn't Cade use something like that right about now? Something distracting, and encouraging, and possibly something he'd be paid for?

"What sort of project?" he asks, with all evident interest.

[nadasharillen]

"It's to do with the forest," she says. "I'm a woodworker. There's a lot of wood in there now... but there're a lot of things missing too."

Nari sighs and looks pained, running a hand through the crop of her hair as she does so often when she's discomfited. "I'm not Andrastian... obviously... but I know lots of people are, here. Maybe most. I was thinking Kirkwall could use a statue of her again, perhaps as part of a larger memorial or space to go and think... and that you might be able to help me accomplish that."

It had sounded more glamorous in her head.

[onlyhymns]

"...of Andraste?" Cade asks dumbly, looking towards the forest with visible unease. "Why?"
Perhaps the question is too blunt, especially considering she literally just told him why, but you know.... She's Dalish. If this is all a big Dalish curse, could this be part of it?

[nadasharillen]

"Because... it means a lot to a lot of people. People I've grown to care about." She smiles, a little sadly, "And because in their place, I'd..." she pauses. She'd meant to say something about how she'd want someone to offer to help, but if someone blew up an icon of her faith, she'd want to curl around that wound. And if she'd been there when it happened--

"Well, to be honest, I'd probably want to take care of it myself. Wouldn't want outsiders dabbling in things they don't understand. So I guess... you were here, and you got hurt, and I'm just... offering." Nari lifts her shoulders slightly, spreading her hands helplessly. "I'm sorry if it was in poor taste of me to do so."

[paladingus]

"I don't think it was," Simon interjects. "It's kindly meant, and that's what matters." If Nari were a mage, he'd be more suspicious, less charitable, but she's no suspect in the creation of the forest. She's just trying to reach out and make amends, build bridges, and that means something.

He's uncomfortably aware that next to Cade, he's an outsider here too, meddling in things he'd distanced himself from as well. But if his input is being accepted, he'll keep offering it.

"You ought to do it, Cade. It'd be good to have."

[onlyhymns]

The open acknowledgment of his pain-- even if it's a pain of the past, not the one he's enduring right now-- hits Cade the right way, and he nods silently, with a quick uncertain glance to Simon. Dalish are frightening, but not as much as they used to be.
"...all right," he ventures, shifting his weight uncertainly. She'll have to tell him what to do.