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WHO: Kain Ventfort and OPEN
WHAT: The return from a month's captivity in Tevinter's 0/5 star accomodations
WHEN: This month, now-ish
WHERE: Inquisition areas and around Kirkwall
NOTES: References to captivity, nightmares, and associated dark things

I. Infirmary

They had made sure to keep the captives well enough to stay alive, so they might retain their usefulness… but that was about it. There was little regard for their mental states, particularly, or looking too closely after their overall statuses beyond the basics. Once the adrenaline of the escape had worn off, Kain had crashed pretty hard. He'd gotten quite weak while lingering in a cell, and feverish and sickly in those last couple of weeks, all of it aggravated by his worsening insomnia.

So on returning, it was off to the infirmary with him to start his initial recovery.

He's being given all kinds of herbs and tinctures, along with the healers tending to him as well. They've been adjusting and adapting what they're giving him, not about to let him leave until he's got the right mix that'll work. Some of those things should be helping him sleep, and for the most part, they do… Mostly.

The nightmares still keep coming back, like they are right now. Kain wakes up with a sudden jolt, screaming as he flails his arms around against an unseen enemy.

II. Chapel

Kain hasn't always been the most devout, even if he considers himself Andrastian in theory. But he feels compelled to pray, though he's unsure if he's there to thank her for being freed, or simply to ask the Maker… why. It's an excuse to leave his room, anyway, and the healers have allowed that much, since it's not too strenuous to walk there.

At least it's blissfully quiet here, something he's sorely needed after the month of whispers in his head. Perhaps even a little too quiet.

Although he starts out kneeling, deep in prayer, he soon enough finds himself nodding off… eyes getting heavier and heavier… Until Kain ends up curled up on the bench, fast asleep. After the month he's had, and the mix of various herbs he's been taking to help him sleep, it's no wonder he can't keep awake.

His snores are hard to miss, loudly echoing throughout the chapel.

III. Kirkwall Merchants

Amid all the chaos, he's lost his favorite pair of gloves. It's a small thing relative to what he'd been through, but to him it matters. They'd been perfect for covering up his shard and nothing else he owns entirely does the trick. At the moment, he's still not in the best state of mind, so he's become a little obsessed with finding something new to cover up that shard, especially after all that he's been through recently.

So Kain is at a glove merchant. He's trying on pair after pair, one by one, all different colors and fabrics. One by one, he's also tossing them aside when he still sees that glow emanating through them. There's a black leather pair which seems almost promising… but no, they don't quite fit. A soft velvet purple pair, no. A silky deep maroon, also no. A plaidweave pair… yeah, definite no.

Kain sighs in frustration as he holds his hand up to observe that faint glow through the plaidweave.

"How annoying. I guess I really will have to return all the way home to get something…"

IV. Griffon Roost

It feels like forever. Kain still isn't in the best of shape, but he's desperately missing Potato, and the griffons in general. So at some point he heads off for the roost. He's oddly nervous as he approaches. What if she's moved on from him? Does that ever happen, after a long enough span of time apart?

Of course, he had nothing to worry about. As soon as he enters, cheerful squawks greet him. The griffons all know and like the Warden, since he always comes bearing plentiful treats.

Potato is the most enthused of all. She bounds toward him, knocking him flat over. He's a bit too weak to get up just yet, but he doesn't care at the moment. As for Potato, she's nuzzling him like a fiend and making very elated noises. She's clearly missed him.

"I'm... glad... to... ahh, to see you, too, Potato…"

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Kain watches, gasping in surprise as she lightly kisses that glowing mark, the thing that's been the bane of his existence. The thing which he's seen for so long as an invasion upon his body, something that doesn't belong.

They'd had at least one or two prisoners who weren't shardbearers, who were used for other purposes, such as keeping everyone in line by threatening them. But that was exactly it. They'd only needed a couple of those. Anyone else would have been expendable. He'd only lived because of the shard, but he'd only been captured and endured that past month because of it as well. It's a maddening predicament.

"Or it was the only reason I was captured. Perhaps I could have escaped, they wouldn't have been as fixated on me specifically were it not for this thing... but..." He sighs. "Who knows, truly."

He lowers his voice. "I promise, I'm planning to stay alive." Or die trying, some dark thought goes in his mind, but he really is more determined now, with someone worth living for in his live.

"Good. I won't allow you to forget that." Inessa smiles slightly, but her eyes and tone are entirely serious. Kain has a habit of undervaluing his own life entirely too much, in her opinion. That their lives will be short is no reason to devalue them, but rather the opposite.

"I know it's tempting to get caught up in what-ifs, but...don't. You need to heal, and that won't help."

"I'll count on you for that, then."

There are many ways in which having Inessa in his life improves it considerably. Her ability to make him see a point in living is certainly one of them. Not that he's actively eager to throw it all away, but... sometimes he just needs to step back and be reminded that even his life matters.

"I... I know. I'll try not to. Not to let myself get too caught up in such things. It's hard, though. It keeps going around in my mind, and..." He sighs heavily, his expression very lost and more vulnerable than usual. "I'm sorry. I'll be stronger. I'll get stronger. I will, I promise you."

"As long as you help yourself, too." Inessa will do what she can, of course, but she can't do everything for Kain. He needs to be responsible for himself, too, for the sake of their cause and in general. But there's no lack of faith in her voice, merely calm assurance. He can do this.

Leaning in against him, she nods and gives him a light squeeze. "You'll get there, a little at a time. I know you will."

"I will. I promise. I want more than anything to be... to feel normal again." He feels far from it right at the moment, despite being back in Kirkwall, far away from the awfulness of that past month. He's recovering, but it's a slow process, and even slower for the mind than the body.

"I'm so glad I have you. I don't know what I'd do otherwise."

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