faderift | (no subject)

WHO: Fenris and Open!
WHAT: Powers going awry!
WHEN: During these last couple phases of the illness, so when powers first go all weird and onward. Anything goes! The timing is pretty much all over the place, so anything taking place in the Gallows is obviously pre-quarantine!!
WHERE: Kirkwall, the Hanged Man, the Gallows
NOTES: No warnings, just the plot-stuff going down. Maybe a bottle of wine or chair or something is harmed though, whoops.

You dropped something

It starts unexpectedly. Fenris is minding his own business, just out shopping for supplies to bring back home. It’s nothing particularly special, just some food, plenty of liquor, and a bunch of potions, because at this point it can’t hurt to have extra around. He’s all bundled up now, trying to cover the brands as much as possible.

Very suddenly, he feels the return of that burning sensation he's been getting lately. He growls in anger at the feeling, an anger he often channels into activating his powers. It's enough to do it at the moment. Everything he’s carrying just falls through his hands, just like that, smashing on the ground. The liquor goes spilling all over the ground as the bottles shatter. He gasps in alarm as he holds his arms up, noticing the familiar glowing that happens when his power is active, surrounding his arms which have a transparent overall look to them...

Have a seat

Fenris needs a drink, or probably several. Even he has his limits for staying holed up in the mansion, so he eventually makes his way to his favorite shitty bar. Once there, he orders his usual, and takes a seat…

...or tries to take a seat.

Instead, he just falls completely through the chair, starting to faintly glow as this happens. He’s quick to move away, and with good timing as he returns to normal, feeling himself solidify. He mutters a curse under his breath as he tries again to sit down, only to undergo the same result. Then again. The angrier he becomes, the harder it is to control, so the more it keeps happening.

Training session

It’s no better when he goes to the training area in the Gallows. Fenris figures he needs to get a handle on what’s happening. Maybe if he works on it, he’ll find some way to adapt to how fickle his powers have been lately. Sword in hand, he warms up first by going through some regular routines that don’t involve the brands.

Once he’s ready, he concentrates, attempting to make himself turn insubstantial. He starts to glow as usual, so far so good… and then he finds that everything is working well, better than usual, in fact. He whirls around the practice area, slicing and stabbing at the dummies. He comes close to reaching his hand through one of them, but then the glow surrounding him starts to sputter, fading all at once. He slashes at the target in frustration.

Pain is one thing that he’s accustomed to enduring. But this unpredictability is too much.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fenris isn't the only one needing a drink. Korrin, deciding to remain outside the quarantine zone, could use a little time to unwinder as well, or at least making the attempt. Given the state of too many friends -not to mention Araceli- that attempt might not be that successful but at the moment, there's absolutely nothing else for her to do. So she'll order a drink while keeping her sending crystal handy.

And then she hears a loud thud, prompting her to whirl around. Several people back away in surprise, but as Fenris repeats the experience over and over, some of the less cautious bar patrons start to laugh. That's enough for Korrin to narrow her eyes and step forward.

"Back to your drinks, all of you! Don't make me come over there." She strides over to Fenris, frowning in concern. "...it's getting worse, isn't it. When did this start happening?"

It's definitely worse, and it's just getting increasingly more frustrating by the moment. It doesn't take much to activate it... and he's realizing that the more agitated he's getting, the more it's happening. Right... he has to calm down and get out of a mindset that will set his power off...

He shoots a glare around the room, then turns his attention toward Korrin.

"Just over the last week or so... it really doesn't take much to set it off. Then, sometimes, it doesn't work at all when I want it to." He frowns. "You can guess why I needed to come here." Sure, there's still the itching and burning, and the brands have gone all weird... but he's dealing with it, as much as he can.

Korrin nods slowly, her expression grave. "Yeah, no shit. That'd be enough to drive anyone to drink. I've heard other affected people have similar problems, but of course you're a special case. That's gotta be a pain and a half in itself, right now." No one really has expertise on his condition when it's 'normal' for him, let alone now.

"I'll buy you a round, and if you're tired of people and want to drink in peace, we can claim a back room."

"If you ever have the option to become a 'special case', do yourself a favor and don't take it." He sighs, frustrated with the whole situation. But he knows he ought to calm himself, so that he stops being in this mindset to activate his powers. It seems like even just breathing will set it off, these days, it's so touchy. "I don't think the effects are the same for the others, but... it's troubling, considering the potential causes behind it. Anyway..."

"I'd like that back room option about now."

"C'mon, then. And thanks for the warning, but I'm pretty sure I'd give it a hard pass anyway." She stands up and signals to the bar, then glances back. "Don't beat yourself up about it, eh? You did what you thought you had to do. We're working to get this sorted out. Believe me, a lot of people have a stake in seeing this through. That doesn't mean it won't suck in the meantime, though."

“I don’t blame you.” He sighs, shaking his head. “I just wonder when all of this will end. It’s been going on for long enough.” His expression darkens. “Long enough that they’ve seen fit to imprison… I mean, quarantine… the entire Inquisition for this. I don’t think it’s nearly the contagion that they’re saying it is. Perhaps among rifters and Templars… but for most people? I see no concern.” He rolls his eyes, not too impressed with that whole idea. He’s not that against locking up the rifters, so if it had been aimed solely at them, fine, but to shove the whole Inquisition in like that? No thanks.

"No, it hasn't touched anyone else, that I'm aware of. I've been fine this entire time, so it must just have something to do with lyrium and...fuck, whatever is getting to rifters." That doesn't mean the events aren't taking their toll and there are dark circles under Korrin's eyes, and less overall energy on her part than usual. But there's enough to snag drinks and guide them to the back.

"How the rifters factor in is something of a mystery." Fenris frowns, hating that he somehow has something in common with mysterious visitors who drop out of rifts. It's just unsettling to him. But somehow, it's all connected... it has to be, they just haven't found the particular thread that makes said connection.

After they get their drinks, Fenris follows along, taking a seat, very carefully, and then a long, much-needed sip of his drink. That he manages to stay on the seat and his cup stays in hand are both minor victories at the moment. Her state doesn't miss his attention, either. "How are you holding up throughout all of this?"

"My kadan is all blue and manic, so honestly? Not great. At this rate, it's going to end badly if they don't hurry the fuck up with a cure. They can't go on like this, Fenris." Korrin sighs, that weariness descending on her like a ton of bricks. She takes a lengthy swig, not that she truly thinks it will help at all. But it's something to do other than wait for things to get worse.

"No kidding." He takes a long swig of his drink, as well, definitely needing that. He's had more than enough of dealing with these weird effects, of not knowing if his power is going to behave. He doesn't want to end up half-phasing through things, after all... the constant dropping things is bad enough. And the way things are going with the rifters... "Are they getting any closer to that cure that you know of?"

"Every day I ask and every day I'm told in increasingly curt tones that they're working on it. Maker knows they'd love to bring it faster, if only to shut me up." Korrin doesn't sound repentant about that in the slightest but then, with Araceli's life at stake, why would she be?

“In my experience, ‘we’re working on it’ is code for ‘we’re clueless and desperately scrambling for answers.’” That’s the impression he’s been getting from everyone about it, anyway, in all of their communications on the matter. He sighs and drinks some more. At least the glowing that’s been coming from his brands is easing up, a little. For now. They’re so sensitive that it’s hard to stop them from acting up, even at the slightest thought. He’s apparently got to completely stop thinking about them, noticing them in any way… or face their malfunctioning again. How fun.

"You're probably not wrong on that, but I can't be there constantly to help, not when Araceli needs a pair of eyes on her." That she's not with Araceli now means that someone else is watching her, but Korrin prefers to take up the bulk of that. "And I've no idea what to suggest, anyway. I may be a mage, but...I've never seen anything like this."

"Nor have I. I'm no mage or magic expert, but I've seen plenty of what happens when magic goes awry. It's nothing like this." The whole thing is troubling, really, this idea that something new and unusual is happening, that things are off balance enough to cause this. "Maybe those rifts are starting to cause more problems that we didn't see unfolding before... who knows?" That's the one thing that's changed in the last couple of years... could the rifts' appearance have set this off? He has no idea, really... like most everyone else, he can only speculate.