set your heart against the scales, keep your head above the tide

[dashing]

WHO: Ambassador Amsel & others
WHAT: a Herian catch-all
WHEN: through the month
WHERE: Kirkwall
NOTES: closed and open starters to be added through the month, I have a hideous cold atm and am even more forgetful than usual, so if we have discussed something and I've neglected to follow up or set something up, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Comments

[rathercommon]

Cosima, Araceli, and Church.

[ Kitty nods - though she doesn't miss that little fond look. Cosima's someone special to Herian, then, huh? ]

I'll remember that. [ Then, tucking her hair behind her ear - ] And - I haven't been compassionate. Not for most of my life. I've killed loads of demons, over the years, but recently some things happened that made me think about...Well, they're forced to do things they don't choose to do, don't they? If they're dragged out of their own world, or even stuck somewhere they hate being, then their evil is sad but almost understandable in a way.

[dashing]

( Let her share with you this 47 slide presentation she has prepared on why Cosima Niehaus is objectively the best person in any world ever. )

There are certainly those demons who are... I think, at the mercy of other demons and powers, yes. But so too are there those who act maliciously of their own accord, tormenting and killing for their own reasons. I am not... I do not study spirits or the Fade, so I would be lying if I tried to claim myself the most reliable source of knowledge, in that. I will say that I and others were recently the prey of a demon that sought to make us its puppets, and destroy us. I am not sure that demon was the pawn of another being.

[rathercommon]

Yeah. Me too.

[ Kitty tucks her hair behind her ear, and amends, a little awkwardly - ]

Not - the puppet thing. But the destroying us thing. It came after us, and it was cruel, and it loved its cruelty. It loved every second of it. But - [ She shakes her head. ] It also had been trapped in a box, alone, for a hundred and fifty years. Unable to move or to speak. It was mad, and I don't know if you're allowed to hate something mad.

[ She shakes her head. ]

It's...I'm sorry you had to go through that, though. That must have been dreadful. Horrible.

[dashing]

( I don't know if you're allowed to hate something mad. Such a strange thing to hear, certainly more considerate than words she has heard from many. A mark of empathy, she thinks. )

It is not an experience I am eager to repeat, nor one I would wish upon another.

( To say the very least. )

Though I applaud your openness I would say that until you have a better grasp of the spirits and demons here, consider all things with caution. The Chantry has much to say on spirits and demons that is condemning, and even Spirit Healers are regarded with suspicion, at times. Devout though I am, I think... the Chantry does not know all things, and rarely is knowledge absolute.

( She takes a moment to consider, and tilts her head very slightly to the side. ) Although, speaking of the Chantry, there is a favour I would ask, if it would be of interest. There is no obligation to it.

[rathercommon]

Meaning -

[ Kitty tilts her head slightly to the side. ]

What, keep my mouth shut so I don't get in trouble?

[ That's not said with much acidity or bitterness. It's rather matter-of-fact. ]

But - yeah. I'd say I owe you a favour, after all this.

[dashing]

( A moment, head canting very slightly to the side as well, gaze resting on Kitty as she takes that in. It speaks to a sort of practical defiance and spirit that she by no means disapproves of, but that is likely to find resistance with those less... considerate of rifters. She lets the response rest for a moment. )

Not a favour owed, by any means. You are under no obligation or expectation. If it were of interest, however, I have requested that Brother Jehan do a survey with the rifters of their feelings of the Chantry and to better our understanding of the religious backgrounds they come from. We are ignorant of much.

( Herian exhales, contemplating how to go on. ) I think it would be better for a rifter to be amongst those doing the interviews, and I think a newer rifter whose views may not yet be considered to be warped for or against the Chantry in the eyes of locals or rifters might take to the task better than one on whom preconceptions have already been set.

[rathercommon]

Wait - really?

[ Kitty's expression brightens considerably. She's clearly excited by this prospect. ]

You want me to ask questions?

[dashing]

Yes.

( Okay, good, this isn't going disastrously. )

Brother Jehan is looking to the questions, but I am sure he would be glad of input from both of us in developing the questions to be asked, and there will be room to branch away from it and learn from people and let them feel confident to be open. The Inquisition has much to learn.

[rathercommon]

[ Kitty actually lets loose a small smile - an uncommon look for her - and shakes her head. ]

I'd gladly do it. Though - [ A little more seriously - ] I'm going to say something if the questions seem - you know - leading, or invasive. Sometimes these questions, they can be used to try to change people's minds or abuse 'em into agreeing. And I won't stand for something like that.

[dashing]

Good. We need to learn about people, not... invade, as you say. Their comfort and security is important.

[rathercommon]

[ Of course, "don't be invasive" is a little rich, coming from Little Miss What Are Boundaries over here. ]

Brilliant. Than I'm absolutely in. Who's the other one, the one you mentioned? John?

[dashing]

Jehan. A Chantry brother who works with the Inquisition. I requested he take the assignment as part of the Chantry Relations project. We are not yet greatly familiar with one another, but he is a man in good standing with the Chantry and with a sharp mind. His views are not conservative by the standards of Thedas... from what I have learned from rifters, though, is that many from other worlds consider those with views in keeping with much of Thedas as backwards and... small minded.

( A little shake of her head. )

I do not wish to see any made more wary by this. Thedas and rifters need to come together, not... alienate one another.

[rathercommon]

[ With a wrinkle of her nose: ]

Never mind that everyone has their share of views that are backwards and small-minded.

Anyway - I'm definitely all for something like this. I'm tired of things getting set on fire just because people won't listen to other people. It's stupid and frustrating. So yeah, show me how to help.

[dashing]

Certainly.

( And then there's how condescending and invasive she finds it that some rifters think themselves more one with the elves of this world than a human with elven lineage.

And old injury, but one she cannot easily forget. )

I will introduce you to Brother Jehan later today, if that is to your convenience.

[rathercommon]

Sure. Erm - how...prickly is he?

[ Translation: how diplomatic does she have to be, because it's not exactly one of her skills. ]

[dashing]

He is...

( . . . )

Classically Orlesian. ( For better and worse. ) I would not say prickly so much as conservative. He is friends with some bold and playful personalities.

[rathercommon]

What does "Orlesian" mean?

[dashing]

Ah.

( Hmm. )

Orlais is a country here, unfortunately stereotyped based on the attitudes of its human nobility. Arrogant and... narrow minded, and often absurd or concerned with things that do not matter to common folk.

[rathercommon]

So - he's narrow-minded himself?