wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast

[dashing]

WHO: Herian & others; starters to be added
WHAT: An injured Knight-Enchanter returns to Kirkwall after close to two years up in Skyhold with the Inquisition.
WHEN: the next couple weeks, maybe longer?
WHERE: Infirmary
NOTES: Gross injury stuff, Herian's eternal angst bucket existence
I am starting off with a couple of closed starters at the moment, and I'll add open ones once I am less of a lost baby lamb. (Or if you'd like a custom starter totally pm me and we can figure that one out!)

Comments

cw injury metaphors bc big mood

[dashing]

How is this more painful? Emotions that she had been so adept at locking away feel so raw in this moment, perhaps due to the exhaustion, the physical pain, the sharp reopening of another rather more metaphorical wound. Was it the cutting open of flesh so that it might finally heal, or just picking it over ruthlessly? Her mouth does not feel under her control - she is aware of is tugging sharply downwards and to one side, and she makes sure to be facing down as if that might revoke the familiarity Cosima once had with her body language, or conceal the threatful tears when they are so close together.

“I missed you.” There’s a crack in her voice that she can’t hide away, and she keeps her gaze turned down. Cowardice, now, as well as all else? It does not feel so different to a dam starting to break apart.

“You speak it true. We cannot simply resume and pretend all is as it was. There is— there is much new to learn and consider.“ Her breath shakes as she exhales, and she sighs with frustration as her lack of composure, and she stiffly wipes her eyes with the back of her other hand, facing away from Cosima as she does so. Bandages for absorbency, at least.

“Is all well at home? With Sarah and your sisters, as well?”

[youwonscience]

She softens a bit, at a slightly less fraught topic of conversation, letting Herian's confession go when it feels as if she's one raw nerve that even affectionate pressure might hurt.

"Yeah, they're good. Sarah and I got a lot closer, the past few years. Oh, um, Helena had twins, so I've got two new nephews, they're cute." Quieter, she adds: "I found our cure. Finally. That's what I was doing, when I came back, I was traveling the world to get it to my other sisters. Turns out there's a lot more of us than we knew." And now they'd all have a chance at a quiet, ordinary life if they wanted it. Of course, the cure meant a lot personally, too, but she expects she doesn't need to spell that out.

[dashing]

It takes a moment for that to fully register, around the headachy muddle that her mind seems to be reduced to. Exhaustion and emotional exertion are terrible, anyone who disagrees is a monster. Her brow furrows a moment, and though she hastily wipes her eyes again, Herian looks to Cosima with a smile, surprised and warm.

“You found a cure?” Her smile brightens, despite all the other complications of this conversation, and she looks at Cosima with renewed wonder. “You are truly beyond compare, Cosima.”

She remembers that day, carrying Cosima to the infirmary when they were barely known to one another, the need for regular visits and the exhaustion it could bring. “Congratulations hardly seem sufficient.”

[youwonscience]

It breaks her into a warmer smile. "Well, I had help, it wasn't just me. But thanks, yeah. It's big. It's been a few months, but I'm still getting used to it. You know, conceptually." She feels better, which is a big win on its own. But the long-term ramifications are still sinking in. She suspects that will take awhile.

She rests a hand on Herian's blanket, not touching her, but a little more relaxed all the same. "Now we can get you healed up, and we'll be in great shape." Sternly, to Franklin: "No catching a cold or anything, OK?"

[dashing]

Something about, we’ll be in great shape stirs hope in her, as foolish as she knows that to be. Cosima is just returned to Thedas, Herian remains emotionally raw and vulnerable. It is not the time for her focus to be cause on such matters, and yet.

“He is immune to any many of sickness. The sheer force of his optimism seems to chase away any miasma or infection.”

See, she remembers some of the stuff Cosima explained to her, even if old habits are hard to shake. Her gaze is caught in Cosima, though, as Franklin shimmies forward on his belly, and rolling on his back to request pats.

“That you and your sisters can be safe and well is... a relief beyond words. You all deserve every happiness, after all the turbulence you have endured.”