[ OPEN ] I Still Feel Alive

[sulahnan]

WHO: Character(s)
WHAT: Catch-all
WHEN: Drakonis (but other times welcome)
WHERE: Around
NOTES: Should be pretty tame, mention of trauma will ofc be labeled with CW. Starters in the comments.

Well then.

The month of Guardian came and went like a beating: brutal and cruel and over faster than the lasting pain it inflicted. Now, it's Drakonis, and the goal is a return to something resembling normalcy.

Athessa can be found studying and taking lessons with Ser Marcus in the library or in Enchanter Julius' office, snooping around Kirkwall, and trying her best to stay out of trouble around the Gallows. Her late night hypothetical musing via crystal has all but ceased, and gone are the days of icing the floor to skate on socks.

Maybe she could do with some cheering up, or a good tussle.

Comments

[technologist]

The theatrics earn an expression so deadpan that it's verging on straight-up dead inside, but the spark of recognition when he hears her name resuscitates it slightly.

"I'm Fitz," he says, absently turning that vague pointing gesture back on himself. "We spoke briefly on the... with the books."

Extremely weird technology. Magic, whatever. Feels like a much worse version of Yahoo! message boards.

[sulahnan]

Ah! Her own spark of recognition raises her brows.

"Oh, you're the one Sabine was trying to dupe," she says, as if that's his entire identity thus far. But back to the books at hand, Athessa looks down at them and reads a few of the titles--as many as she can in a reasonable amount of time, anyway.

"Have you met Tony? I think he's also looking into rift stuff and how to get home."

Idly, as if it's not a weird thing, she opens the book of poetry Fitz had thrown and fetches a pressed flower from between its pages, then sets the book among the mess.

[technologist]

"Really?" Said with a tone that clearly means he doesn't approve of that being his entire identity thus far, but it's more of an aside. He seems to be splitting his focus between her and the desk, idly flipping one of the stray books closed. One about dwarves — a cultural history, translated, and absolutely not helpful.

"Yeah, I've met him." Tony. The first-name basis is still an adjustment. "We're from the same world, actually, me and him. You'd think that'd double our chances of getting back to it."

He doesn't sound optimistic. A pensive beat, then he lifts his gaze to give her a curious look.

"Do you know him well?"

[sulahnan]

"Ummm yeah I just found out that one of my best friends is an ex-dyed-in-the-wool spy-slash-assassin, so I don't think I'm really qualified to say how much I know someone right now."

Athessa shrugs and sets the pressed flower on the desk.

"But don't you think you'd have better chances if you I dunno...worked together?"

[technologist]

Oh. Fitz watches her with a blank stare as the flippant remark sinks in, and for a second the subjects of Tony and home are completely lost. It takes him an awkward beat to struggle back on track, and even then it's half-hearted. Distracted.

"We are. Or we will, it's just— it's a difficult problem."

A difficult problem, like being stuck in an alternate dimension is just a frustrating equation. The words that follow are a little lackadaisical, held in limbo between wanting to help and being immensely unsure whether it's his business.

"That's... if they're professionals, that's their job, isn't it? Fooling people. That's not really on you."

[sulahnan]

She looks at him flatly. Or maybe that's just how she looks when she's high, but...no, it's definitely a flat look.

Because it's not about being fooled by a friend. It's about the possibility that that friend isn't a friend at all. No matter how much assurance she's given to the contrary, there's still doubt, and it was recent enough that the seed hasn't yet died.

"Sure."

Athessa glances back at the carnage behind her, chewing on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully.

"Can I help? I'm not a smarty-pants like Tony but I might be able to do something."

[technologist]

It's easy to pick up on how loaded that "sure" is when he's usually the one saying it. Being on this end's absolutely more awkward, and he's not really sure whether that sure means enough or the opposite. Probably best to just follow her lead, which he does, swinging his focus back to the books on the desk as if they're somehow very interesting (they still aren't).

"How familiar are you with the library?" His gaze settles on the the dried flower, and he tacks on a quick and curious: "Is that yours?"

Does he actually care? Not much, honestly. Maybe that's a common thing here, maybe she found it by chance. It just feels like an easy way to steer the conversation further away from Top Ten Anime Betrayals.

[sulahnan]

"Huh? Oh, yeah," She pokes at the flower once idly. "Made a bunch of them last year."

It simultaneously feels like a lifetime ago, and last week.

"I'm familiar-ish."