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[wheretheferngrows]

WHO: Fern Doirnáin, Alistair, any other Wardens who want to be around to witness this sad scene + OPEN
WHAT: One elf tries in vain to convince a Grey Warden to let her join their ranks.
WHEN: Directly after this thread with Anders.
WHERE: The Grey Wardens' office; directly after, the ferry pier.
NOTES: The scene with Alistair is open to other Wardens only; the second scene is open to anyone!

I.  BADGERING ALISTAIR


There are so many twists and turns and corridors that lead to no where in particular in the Gallows that it takes Fern--already keyed up and anxious and fighting back frustratingly childish tears--longer than she'd have liked to find the office used by the Grey Wardens in Kirkwall. If nothing else, the time spent walking herself in circles does give her a bit of time to dry her eyes and regain her composure, which means when she finally stops in front of the closed door and raps on it, she only looks like she's fighting off a cold, rather than recovering from crying like a baby ten minutes ago.

Waiting for the door to open, she waits outside and picks at her nails, bouncing on the balls of her feet to release some nervous tension.



II. THE GALLOWS DOCKS


She's dealt with disappointment before in her short life, but somehow, it's never quite hit her like this.

Regardless of how her conversation with the Grey Warden went, by the time she's left the Gallows and made her way outside again, her disappointment has transformed itself into an all-consuming, despairing ache in her heart, and the tears she'd thought she'd finished crying before are threatening her again in earnest. Humiliated and furious at herself--what a stupid thing to think she could do in the first place--she finds an isolated part of the pier and sits down on it, face pressed into her hands. 

Comments

[justice_is_blond]

He exhales quietly.

"I'm sorry. I know how important joining can be, and what opportunities it can give. But this means you're not bound." That's probably not helping. "Is there... What's your skill set? Maybe I can help you find something else."

At least she's not giving her life away to the Calling. She's young, and clearly she's not in some sort of legal trouble if she's been turned down. Alistair or Nate, whomever had spoken with her, surely wouldn't have let her continue to be at risk.

[wheretheferngrows]

"What's your skill set? Maybe I can help you find something else."

She stares bleakly back at him, then lifts both her eyebrows and skinny shoulders in a shrug. "I can herd sheep?"

Not the most useful of skillsets, no. Deflating, she rubs at the tear tracks on her cheeks and sniffs; her sinuses are undoubtedly stopped up completely after all that crying. She tries to come up with some other skills to share with him. "I can tend a garden--I can mend things that need mending, like tables and such. My Aunt Lorna taught me some magic but--but nothing that useful, just stuff for soothing animals and helping plants grow. I never learned, um--the schools. I don't know any of that."

[justice_is_blond]

"I can teach you more magic." It's one of the easiest offers he's ever made - she's upset and at a loss but not afraid of herself if she's offering that up. She's the generation that he has wanted to see, selfishly even needed to see, so he can have hope that they will find freedom a need.

"I'm trained, and if you're fond of gardening and you don't know how yet I can teach you how to sprout a seed. Or any of the schools you want to learn, anything except entropy." It takes actual work to keep from sounding too eager. She's tiny. A very happy-to-help human man could be terrifying.

[wheretheferngrows]

He's reining it in, but his eagerness is still easy for Fern to pick up on. She's a little startled by it, regarding him warily, but the look doesn't linger for long. He's been kind to her, and he certainly looks old enough to be a proper enchanter, like the other two by the docks.

"Maybe," she ventures cautiously--best not to commit to anything too soon, just to be safe. She exhales and says instead, "I think I'm just going to focus on the garden here for a little bit. Thanks, though." This added with an uncomfortable little smile; it still feels weird to be thanking shems for anything.

[justice_is_blond]

Anders nods. A maybe could mean anything, but he's not going to push.

"I won't be in your way too much longer. There's a few more herbs I need, but then I'll head back to the infirmary. If you do decide you'd like to learn, I'm often there or... On second thought, find me there. Darktown isn't a place to wander in searching for someone."

He hesitates for the briefest moment before saying what could change her mind from maybe to no.

"Ask for Anders among the healers and they can direct you to where I am."