faderift | ( open ) black tears on my freckles

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( open ) black tears on my freckles

WHO: Six and you!
WHAT: Adalia is gone and things suck
WHEN: Post-Battle
WHERE: Gallows
NOTES: N/A, just sad bean

She has not seen her sister since before the battle.

Six's movement has been limited: her leg is still not entirely healed and the medical attention she was given was enough to get her walking, but she refused much else. She walks with a limp and a crutch, her eyes darting here and there as she moves around the Gallows, seeking out anyone who might be able to help her. She doesn't recognise everyone, even now, months behind her, and there's an edge of uncertainty that buries down inside of her, like a gnawing feeling in her gut.

She spends hours walking around, checking rooms, peering here and there. Her leg begins to ache, an agonising throb that makes her feel intense and pained, but she does not give up. Two wanders at her side, sniffing here and there, trying to find some trace of Adalia to follow. The fact that there is nothing makes her uncomfortable, and the sourness continues, settling on her face as she moves forward and ends up slumped in the corner of the training area.

With her broken leg and her cuts and bruises she can't lift a sword, but she can watch, set and a touch shattered, her frown set on her face and her eyes closing for long periods of time. There is no reason for Adalia to be on a mission, no sign of her being sent somewhere... There is no explanation that she wants to consider. It pains her.

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Inessa is in the gardens, focused on her own mabari. Garahel is sporting some new scars since the battle, some in areas that make it likely his survival is attributed to one amazing spirit healer. He moves a little stiffly, but Inessa knows what will perk him up. Reaching into her satchel, she pulls out a ball.

"Time to exercise, Garahel. You'll healer faster if you remain active, right--"

He does perk up and bark, but that's because he just caught notice of who is nearby. Turning to look, Inessa takes in the sight of Six and Two, especially the former. There's a flash of relief -she's still sorting out who survived the battle- and then concern, given Six's half-healed state. She makes room on the bench, gesturing for Six to join her if she wants.

"I have more than the one ball, if Two would enjoy a game of fetch as well."

Two is a dutiful and loyal companion no matter where Six goes, be it for a walk, a ride or a wander. He never strays too far from her side, even with the promise of company and friendship hanging around his shoulders - so Garahel distracts him, and his head and ears perk up, but he does nothing other than wag his tail until he knows he is permitted.

Reaching down, Six brushes her fingers over the Mabari's head before she nods, letting her hound rush forward to greet the other.

"I think he might. It would be good for him." And the bench would be more than welcome, considering how her leg is aching. Walking over, Six settles down, stretching her leg out in front of her with a soft noise of frustration, trying to swallow it down and calm herself as best she can. There is no need to show weakness.

"Does he play such games often?"

Glancing alternately at Garahel and Two, Inessa is pleased to see her mabari not encouraging bad behavior. He wages his tail happily upon seeing his friend, but doesn't whine or jump around in impatience...probably because that would also not be ideal at this time. Still, she has to give credit where it's due.

As the pair rush to great each other, the elven Warden looks her over, trying not to appear as concerned as she is. No doubt Six is tired about inquiries to her health, as Inessa is about her own. "Catch? Oh yes, he has since he was a puppy. I think as he's grown older, it's more about making certain I get out of the office sometimes. However, this is for him more than me at the moment. Those muscles need to see some use while he heals from the battle."

And there it is, a light invitation to speak about it, if that's what's troubling Six. It's troubling many others, so she can't blame the other woman for dwelling.

At least Two is dedicated enough to not be completely lost in the distraction of his fellow hound - he does turn, sometimes in circles, to look back at her and make sure that his mistress is safe before he turns his attention back to Garahel, little tail wiggling and head tilting from one side to the other. Six makes a note that perhaps she ought to make sure that her Mabari has a means of making himself more social, that he is not completely cooped up or locked in the Gallows with her training. It would do him some good.

Lifting her head, she does what she can to appear less tired and broken, both in spirit and in body. It's not hard to realise the two of them are checking one another: soldiers recognise wars in others and after a battle such as the one they had just fought it is impossible to deny the worries one might feel towards a friend. Six is less subtle about her own examination, lips pursing for a moment before she shakes her head.

"I should entertain Two more." But her eyes dart to one side, looking at Inessa again, before she stares forward again, expression suddenly a touch harder. Darker. "I have lost my sister."

Adalia, gone. The news has her abruptly straightening, turning her attention from observing the pups to Six, eyes saddened and her lips tugging in a sympathetic frown. "Oh, no. I'm so sorry." Whatever her own differences with Adalia, Inessa was happy for her sisterly bond with Six. She hesitates a moment, then rests a gentle hand on Six's arm and sighs. "...she has returned home, you mean?"

However painful the latter fate is for Six, it's better than dying in Thedas. It has to be.

Six's hands are pressing into her thigh, looking at her gnarled leg with a set, determined expression on her face. There's something sour about her, there's no denying that, and the loss of her sister burns somewhere deep inside of her. Managing her heartache is not something she has been particularly adept at - she had lost her mind entirely when Adrian had been killed - but at least her sister is not yet dead. There is that.

"I believe so." Shaking her head, Six breathes out. "She did not die in the battle."

Inessa relaxes a little at that, relieved though still sympathetic. "At least there is that, but it's still a harsh outcome nonetheless. We have closure with the dead, but when a rifter vanishes, that doesn't happen. It can't." Adalia could always return, just as she was. But if she doesn't? Nothing about the Fade is predictable, least of all the people who step through it. Her heart aching for Six, she slips her hand atop her friend's and gives a gentle squeeze.

"I won't stop searching for answers about all this, but I know that's little comfort when they are so slow in coming."

"If she has returned to our home..." Six's face settles, something set and serious colouring her for a moment. If Adalia is home then it means that she is with the dragon beast again, with his darkness sinking into her heart. Without Six and Sarenrae there to help guide her and show her the pathway to redemption and the light... There's no way for Six not to fear for her sister.

She hopes Sarenrae will find her still.

"There will be answers. I know that. Until I learn them myself I will not be appeased, but I have no other means of controlling this situation. I am as trapped here as any other Rifter and I must learn to adapt."

"That's true...but you need not do it alone. You're welcome to find me -us- whenever you like. Even if you're not feeling social and you just want to sit and read in silence together, I welcome it." Inessa smiles a little, encouraging, and that lingers as she glances to the dogs. "Garahel is always happy to have company, too."

"That is kind of you." Six says it gently, with a tenderness that cannot be avoided. "I am not sure how often I would draw upon that offer, but I appreciate it all the same. I have never been... Talented at socialising." But Two comes over and nudges her hand and then goes to Inessa and she softens. "Perhaps it would be better for me to do it more."

"To be bluntly honest, neither have I. You don't become a bookworm and teacher's pet without sacrificing some social skills." Inessa smiles and strokes Two, then Garahel as he follows his body over to the ladies. "However, I've found it's always a bit easier with mabari around. They have a talent for being social that helps fill in that gap."

"I was not raised with others." Six's face is set, hard, remembering her childhood with a sudden edge of tension to her shoulders. Two whines, turning from the gleeful petting to nuzzle at her hand, trying to comfort. "But he has been good to me, you are correct. There are people here that are more willing to speak with me seeing him at my side."

The tension is noted, and Inessa's grateful for Two's comforting presence. Garahel likewise glances up at Six and wags his tail, wanting to see the lady smile again. The Warden nods, a wry smile on her lips. "An elf alone isn't worth much consideration or attention, but add a well-bred mabari and suddenly the mood is always a bit warmer. At least among Fereldens, but others at least tend to be respectful."

And doesn't that sting a bit, that an animal -however intelligent and lovely- is more highly regarded than an elf. It's one reason she's rarely seen outside the Gallows without her companion. She pauses, glancing down and giving Garahel some love. "...it sounds lonely, being raised that way. You can always speak of it if you'd rather, but I understand if it's too much. Time doesn't heal all wounds, I know."

"I have been told to be thankful for my appearance," Six lifts a hand, touching her ears; slightly pointed, but barely enough to betray her heritage. It is clear which side of her bloodline she takes after and which side Adalia did. Few would imagine them sisters to look at them in strength and appearance, but in heart... Perhaps that would explain it as much as blood could. "I am mistaken for human more often than I am given the due my blood offers, but Two helps. People are often more concerned with him than they are with myself."

Gentle hands keep stroking over Two, his head and his face and back to scratch at his ears, and his behind wiggles in time with the pets, accepting them and enjoying them with a quiet little whine. Her hands only hesitate when Inessa speaks again and she pauses, breathing out softly before she looks over.

"... I did not grow up with a loving family," she admits, voice a touch lower, marred with some grief. "My father was not a kind man and I learned that at a young age."

The notion of half-elves is still a bit confusing to the elf raised in Thedas; either you were are an elf, or you weren't. Elf-blooded never showed signs of their non-human heritage, that was always the way of it. So to see someone with even slightly pointed ears thought of as more human is odd, and stirring feelings she can't quite label, yet.

She reaches into her satchel to retrieve a couple of mabari crunch treats, to keep the dogs happy while they talk. As Garahel inhales his own, she nods grimly, her mouth forming a thin line. "It's a terrible thing, when those who are supposed to protect and nuture are instead the source of fear and pain. How long did you have to endure it before you could leave?"

Living a life where you had been too little of one race and too much of another had not been as pleasant as people might imagine. Six knows it from personal experience; the elven of her land consider her soulless, beyond their reach, and the humans think of her more as a half-breed than anything else, a mutt of two races. She had been lucky that she could hide her heritage with hair and strength.

People do not expect someone her size and bulk to have elven blood.

"Fifteen years," she admits quietly. "I was fifteen when I left my town and escaped to join the mercenaries. I worked with them for almost seven years before I began my training as a Paladin."

"So young...." Inessa shakes her head, thinking back to how she was at that age. Confined, yes, but also sheltered. Compared to an abusive family home she would still have chosen the Circle every time. There's a glint of admiration in her eyes for the woman beside her, what she made out of herself despite what was endured.

"It doesn't sound easy, but at least it was a life of your own choosing. I'm glad you were able to escape, and find your own path."

"Is it?" Six has no comparison, nothing to make her think her age, barely fifteen, was young or old or anything between. She had simply been desperate to escape from the hands of her father, desperate to find a place for herself, a quest that she thinks she is still working towards. There's an edge of something, still an ever present tension that settles uneasily on her shoulders; speaking of her father is clearly something she is not comfortable with, even now.

"I found a path. I am not sure if it was the best one, but I hope that it is." Her hand lifts, touching the symbol around her neck. "Sarenrae guides me now. I could not ask for more."

Inessa's gaze drifts to the symbol, contemplative. "I'm beginning to think that none of us really know for sure, not in the moment. So, all we can do is follow our instincts and see where the path leads. Whatever is truly best, we'll make it count somehow."

"I am doing what I can," she agrees, nodding her head. "I think my sister wished to help Thedas, to see it flourish. I would like to continue that wish, not because it is my duty, but because I care for this place." Slowly, her fingers slip down and away, glancing at the spark of her shard in her hand. "I wish to help those that cannot help themselves. That is my path."

"We need more people like you." Inessa's smiles returns, soft and gentle. "I know you didn't decide to be here, no one did. It's not fair...but that's not the point, is it? If you can help those who cannot help themselves, then I'm grateful nonetheless." She sighs, looking down to that spark as well. "You would make a fine Warden, if we were recruiting."

Perhaps one day...but that's not for Inessa to decide even if she could recommend it.

"I do not think of myself of so worthy of compliment," Six admits. She might not have agreed to come here, but she thinks that she would have answered the call anyway, if Thedas had asked. It is her duty as a Paladin of Sarenrae, with her Oath binding her, to do what she can for people, to redeem those lost to the light and seek to aid those who were damaged by it. Thedas needs more of Sarenrae's guidance.

The rest makes her pause, though, blinking.

"I am honoured," she says finally, voice soft. "If it were to ever change... I would be glad to try."

In her endless wandering, Six encounters another ghost: Cade too has a distant look about him, a deep-down silence disrupted only by footsteps.
He's standing at the harbor, looking out at the sea, his eyes matching it in color when he turns to see who approaches. The sight of Six is reassuring, in the way of like meeting like.
He nods a greeting.

Cade is a familiar face to her at least and Six is not put off by the thought of spending time in his company. Together, the two of them understand the companionship of silence, the way that two people can be together and not require anything more than what brings them comfort. It takes her a little to hobble over, her leg still unsure in her step, but when she does she nods her head in return.

"Cade. Are you well?"

Cade nods automatically, with a blank, wooden smile that suggests anything but; but in his heightened senses, he too can see that something is amiss.

"...yourself?"

It's an expression she herself is somewhat familiar with - she's not happy and she understands what it means to try and bury that somewhere. On her back the phantom pain of her scar thrums through her, eyes downcast.

"Healing. The battle was not easy."

"No."
It wasn't, and Cade knows that the aftermath is often harder. It's easy enough to lose oneself in the thick of battle, but it's in the quiet after, wondering what could have been done differently or less painfully, when the real suffering begins.

"...you're intact," he says faintly, glancing her up and down and offering a sad smile, "that's something."

It could have been worse and she knows that: she might not have come out with her life. In the end she had, but some of the losses... There is no Adalia now, whether because of a Rift or the battle, and she is not comforted with the knowledge that her sister may be alive elsewhere.

Little will ease that burden.

"Mostly," she agrees with a nod of her head, stretching her bad leg out carefully. "I am alive, and I am thankful for that. I," and here she look a little pensive, "have some apologies to make but am otherwise unscathed."

A hesitation, and then a nod. Cade understands the feeling well, even if he has nothing further to add.

He stands for a time, looking out in the same direction as Six, keeping her company in silence.

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( open ) black tears on my freckles

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BURSTS IN A YEAR LATE WITH STARBUCKS MEA CULPA

SCOOPS HIM UP

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