Ellie, unfortunately, knows to be wary of strange dogs. Even if she's never had a Mabari at her throat, the WLF and Rattlers had kept plenty of animals trained to track and attack strangers in their territory.
She stills as the canine comes into view, the smile dropping away from her expression as her eyes lock on his.
She gives the impression of a cornered cat; if she had fur she'd be puffed up, hackles raised, assessing him for possible threat.
It doesn't make much sense for her to feel threatened by anything inside the Gallows, but the feeling that slides down her spine when their eyes meet tells her this is more than a dog.
He hadn't though the room's scent all that familiar, and Mado sees now-- and smells-- by the change in the air and in Ellie's bearing, that he's made a mistake. In a quite un-canine-like fashion, he furtively backtracks out of the room, and what follows is an unseen but certainly heard process that is hard to describe on both fronts. Sort of a whooshing sound, maybe. But what follows it is a gentle little rap on the doorframe, followed by a sincere but hushed (people are sleeping), "apologies if I startled you, amica, I don't think always," from around the corner.
It's almost more startling to watch the dog's reaction, almost like an embarrassed human backing away from startling someone. It soothes Ellie's nerves the way few other things could, and she goes from defensive to curious, tilting her head to one side and sliding off the windowsill, following for a few steps.
It's not fast enough to catch a visual of whatever happens around the corner, but when he reaches the doorframe, she's there, wide-eyed.
"S'okay," Ellie answers, with a growing smile. Apparently with the possible threat gone, curiosity win out tenfold. Her eyes are bright, making her look her age, fading out the scars and sun damage and the way she holds herself like a hunter.
"Are you a werewolf? Were... dog? Is that a thing?"
Enthused by the topic, Mado crosses the threshold and gives a little bow. "Werewolves, I've heard of such folk, but they were the result of a curse placed on villagers by a Dalish Keeper. I'm only a mage, and though I suppose I may be cursed, it is not to be a man with a wolf's head."
Ellie bites her lower lip to stave off the urge to laugh along with him. He's definitely one of a kind, and she can't help liking someone so positive about the world and his place in it.
He almost seems like a dog made human, with his enthusiasm.
"I'll bet," she says with a grin of her own, leaning against the doorjamb. "I've never heard of a mage who could turn into an animal before, though. That's awesome. How'd you figure it out?"
His energy is cheerful, but there's a tenderness to it as well, a warmth in his eyes that only broadens when he sees Ellie smiling back. It's rare, actually, that anyone does.
"I'm not sure that I did! Figure it out." He taps his chin. "I was a boy, running from a shopkeeper. I'd stolen something, and envied how the street dogs could escape these moments with such speed, could hide so easily. Before I knew it, I was one."
He shrugs helplessly. "If I could repeat the process of learning, my life would be much easier!" A beat, and then he nods to Ellie. "Are you Thedosian?" It's a fair question, these days.
Ellie's smile widens, and she shrugs her shoulders, shaking her head.
"Sounds a lot like how I figured mine out, but I don't turn into a dog." She holds up her hand, pulls back the edge of her glove to reveal the anchor shard, green and glowing faintly. Otherworldly and somehow commonplace, here.
"Nah. Rifter. Came through a few months back. You?"
"Aha!" Mado exclaims on seeing the shard, and gives a single nod of his head. "If only we could go by that alone! I've seen more than one native who has them as well. Not that I doubt you're special." He grins, and it's clear the comment is free of sarcasm.
"I am from Antiva, north and east of here. A very long walk."
"To meet family!" Mado exclaims, but unhelpfully does not supply her with who his family is (they seem to get angry when he associates them with himself).
"And to join the war effort, of course, though I did not realize that until I had arrived."
"None taken," is the cheery reply, and it's clear he means it. "Although lots of poetry and music comes out of wars, so I suppose I'm not uninterested. I just wish there weren't so much of the, oh, you know, killing and dying."
He means it, too, a glint of sadness overtaking the warmth in his smiling eyes.
"I hope it hasn't been too upsetting, coming to a place like this."
The corner of Ellie's mouth twists, her shoulders rising up just a touch, discomfort fanning up like heat from a fire. He very obviously means it.
"... where I came from, this isn't so unusual."
Worse, actually, but there's no way to say that that won't immediately inspire pity, when for her it's just a reality. It's not something she likes, but it's something she's used to.
"At least with a war there's supposed to be an end, right?"
"I'm sorry to hear that." The corner of his mouth twitches up slightly, the fullness of Mado's sincerity writ on his face.
"If I were to awaken suddenly in a new world, I should wish it a happier one, where wars do end." He pauses, and, perhaps sensing that the topic has taken a turn for the dark, adds, "...with lots of food."
"I could drink to that. Especially the food part," Ellie says with a shrug, eager to make light of it, though she's not entirely used to enough food either, by the look of her.
Though he doesn't recognize the expletive, Mado grins sympathetically as Ellie corrects herself.
"It's all right," he assures her, bobbing his head in response to her observation, "truly, no one does. Well! Until they do. But that hasn't happened in a long time."
"There was, erm, a period of time," Mado proceeds, with an uneasy-but-still-pleasant grimace, "when I was afraid to reveal myself for what I can do, here in Riftwatch. It was a bit upsetting for some, to find it out, to know that they had been interacting with me all the while without realizing the dog had a person's mind."
He scratches behind one ear with his fingers.
"It was unfair of me! I see that now. Nobody wants to feel tricked."
Dogs, and animals in general, were definitely treated differently. There were things the barn cats knew that nobody else did, to say nothing of the horses.
Ellie's face softens; some of the kindest, most sincere people she knows are also the ones most hurt, and it doesn't take a genius of social cues to see that he's carrying some shit around. That's all of Riftwatch, but some waters run deeper than others.
"I don't blame you for wanting to protect yourself."
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faderift2021-08-27 09:27 pm
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She stills as the canine comes into view, the smile dropping away from her expression as her eyes lock on his.
She gives the impression of a cornered cat; if she had fur she'd be puffed up, hackles raised, assessing him for possible threat.
It doesn't make much sense for her to feel threatened by anything inside the Gallows, but the feeling that slides down her spine when their eyes meet tells her this is more than a dog.
"... okay," she says quietly. "You're a new one."
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But what follows it is a gentle little rap on the doorframe, followed by a sincere but hushed (people are sleeping), "apologies if I startled you, amica, I don't think always," from around the corner.
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It's not fast enough to catch a visual of whatever happens around the corner, but when he reaches the doorframe, she's there, wide-eyed.
"Holy shit," she whispers. "That was you?"
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"It was me," he confirms, "just passing through, Signorina, nothing untoward. Sometimes I forget what I look like."
As in, sometimes he forgets he is a dog and not a person, or perhaps the other way around.
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"Are you a werewolf? Were... dog? Is that a thing?"
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Enthused by the topic, Mado crosses the threshold and gives a little bow. "Werewolves, I've heard of such folk, but they were the result of a curse placed on villagers by a Dalish Keeper. I'm only a mage, and though I suppose I may be cursed, it is not to be a man with a wolf's head."
He grins, as if enjoying the mental image.
"Being a dog is quite the useful way to live!"
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He almost seems like a dog made human, with his enthusiasm.
"I'll bet," she says with a grin of her own, leaning against the doorjamb. "I've never heard of a mage who could turn into an animal before, though. That's awesome. How'd you figure it out?"
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"I'm not sure that I did! Figure it out." He taps his chin. "I was a boy, running from a shopkeeper. I'd stolen something, and envied how the street dogs could escape these moments with such speed, could hide so easily. Before I knew it, I was one."
He shrugs helplessly. "If I could repeat the process of learning, my life would be much easier!"
A beat, and then he nods to Ellie. "Are you Thedosian?" It's a fair question, these days.
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Ellie's smile widens, and she shrugs her shoulders, shaking her head.
"Sounds a lot like how I figured mine out, but I don't turn into a dog." She holds up her hand, pulls back the edge of her glove to reveal the anchor shard, green and glowing faintly. Otherworldly and somehow commonplace, here.
"Nah. Rifter. Came through a few months back. You?"
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He grins, and it's clear the comment is free of sarcasm.
"I am from Antiva, north and east of here. A very long walk."
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"Really long walk. I've seen the maps. Why'd you head down here?"
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"And to join the war effort, of course, though I did not realize that until I had arrived."
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"No offense, but you don't seem like the type of guy to be interested in a war. This place is full of jaded old soldier types."
rises from the dead
He means it, too, a glint of sadness overtaking the warmth in his smiling eyes.
"I hope it hasn't been too upsetting, coming to a place like this."
<3!
"... where I came from, this isn't so unusual."
Worse, actually, but there's no way to say that that won't immediately inspire pity, when for her it's just a reality. It's not something she likes, but it's something she's used to.
"At least with a war there's supposed to be an end, right?"
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"If I were to awaken suddenly in a new world, I should wish it a happier one, where wars do end." He pauses, and, perhaps sensing that the topic has taken a turn for the dark, adds, "...with lots of food."
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But, details.
"Who'd you join up with? What faction?"
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Mado pauses to search his mind for the answer, since as far as he knows, the faction he's joined is Riftwach. "--oh! Division! Scouting!"
He lights up as though pleased to know the answer.
It is actually I who needs to sleep, apologies
Ellie places her palm over her face, rubbing it -- fuck, but she needs to sleep. That was not the right word.
"That's the one. Me, too- Scouting. I mean, I can see why they'd want you, especially if you can shapeshift. Nobody ever suspects the dog."
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"It's all right," he assures her, bobbing his head in response to her observation, "truly, no one does. Well! Until they do. But that hasn't happened in a long time."
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"Kinda sounds like there's a story there. Somebody suspect you?"
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He scratches behind one ear with his fingers.
"It was unfair of me! I see that now. Nobody wants to feel tricked."
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Dogs, and animals in general, were definitely treated differently. There were things the barn cats knew that nobody else did, to say nothing of the horses.
"Sounds like you stopped that, though."
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His smile is a bit strained, but his gaze is sincere.
"To do magic, in Thedas, it's not always a positive thing. Come to think of it, living as a human is the same."
His brow knits poignantly, as if in response to some memory or another.
"There are times when it's better, to simply be a dog."
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Ellie's face softens; some of the kindest, most sincere people she knows are also the ones most hurt, and it doesn't take a genius of social cues to see that he's carrying some shit around. That's all of Riftwatch, but some waters run deeper than others.
"I don't blame you for wanting to protect yourself."
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