[Closed] Peeking at the Peak

[justice_is_blond]

WHO: Alistair, Anders, Carver, Loghain, Nate, Teren
WHAT: A happy little field trip out to a happy little place, all in hopes of continuing with a Blight cure.
WHEN: Drakonis 5
WHERE: Soldier's Peak
NOTES: Summarized here.

The Fortress looms before them, cold stone walls protecting cold stone towers, rimmed by cold snowy hills.

It's cold, basically, and somehow manages to look even colder than it feels. The stairs upward are no longer even, crooked and bent as if some giant decided he wanted to romp his way through, and the gates are askew and slightly open.

On the approach there's little noise beyond wind whistling through, until the gate is touched and a flock of ravens bursts upward in a cackling cacophony. Beyond that it's still. Too still, perhaps.

Comments

[justice_is_blond]

The flinch makes him worried he's said something wrong and he runs through everything again mentally, trying to sort it out and figure out what he needs to apologize for, before she's nodding and talking quietly in a voice that's far from upset.

"Teren," he says gently, not sure where he's going with that. It hurts to hear her call herself homely wench and hazard, because it sounds like she believes it.

"I don't think he's thinking of use. I think he's thinking about company, about something shared." In the time they have left. They've both been Grey Wardens for a while, and while Anders has leads on the cure he doesn't have anything solid and time is against them. All of them. "Sometimes taking the chance doesn't work out and it hurts. And sometimes something amazing comes from it. Maybe it's time that you got something amazing for once."

He had it. She should have it too, and Loghain as well.

[doneisdone]

Luckily, if he'd said something wrong, Teren would no doubt have called him on it by now. She's hardly known to hold back her feelings on a topic, although on this one... perhaps. But her body language suggests she isn't closing off any more than usual, that this is how she's naturally reacting to the conversation.
She gives a little snort to Anders' final point, but it's not derisive, and is even accompanied by the faint twitching of the corner of her mouth, as though she's on the verge of smirking but just needs a bit more reason. "I suppose... the worst thing can happen is he kills me. Or. You know." She shrugs, rolling her eyes as though exasperated with her own situation, "becomes convinced I'm the sixth blight. ...I think he'd have some support with that."

[justice_is_blond]

There's a joke here that he's not going to make, because he respects Loghain. But it absolutely lingers for a moment before Anders shakes his head with a faint smile.

"Please. Do you know how many Fereldans are everywhere? You'd have at least equal support. Except he's not going to try that, because he's a decent person. He's not going to try to kill you, and he's not going to try to rally the Wardens against you. This... People judge. They don't like what's different. But we're our own small group, our own small community with the Wardens here. We don't all like each other all the time, but we don't want to get each other killed."

Maybe Alistair and Inessa still do with Loghain, on second thought, but there's no point in adding that disclaimer.

Anders shrugs. "You don't have to try with him. I would. But I am, obviously, not you."

[doneisdone]

It's a while before Teren responds, and when she does, it's little more than a nod as she looks off toward the direction from which Loghain came. Perhaps she'll talk to him, perhaps she won't, but at least certain matters have been settled.

Maker forbid she might even feel better.