[CLOSED] YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN

[katabasis]

WHO: Gwenaëlle, Loxley, Abby and Derrica
WHAT: Closing a rift
WHEN: Sometime in Harvestmere
WHERE: Rivain
NOTES: OOC info is available here. Add warnings in your subject lines if applicable.

Cutting across Rialto Bay proves to be less dramatic than feared by the crew of the Amberdine, the fleet little trade ship who had agreed to convey the four Riftwatchers to Rialto in exchange for added firepower. Despite tales of cutthroat pirate activity in the Bay, the Amberdine and her cargo of wool, furs and wood makes the crossing unmolested.

Bound for the bustling harbor of Dairsmuid, the ship makes a brief stop south of there to see Gwenaëlle, Loxley, Abby and Derrica ferried ashore. The agreement is that they will see the rift in Sanavo dealt with, and then travel north to rejoin the Amberdine in Dairsmuid a week hence. All together, with a new cargo of tea and sugar, they will make the allegedly risky sprint south again.

But in the meantime: Sanavo, a quiet village tucked in along the coast. It's immediately clear that the pearl harvest must be the only thing that sustains its existence. There are no fields for planting or grazing lands, and little visible evidence of trade that isn't somehow accessory to either pearling or fishing. Clearly, the pearl business must ordinarily be good enough to sustain the few hundred people in residence.

What quickly becomes just as obvious is that, despite the warm welcome by the village council—a trio of women of disparate ages—, the generous accommodations, and the fact that Riftwatch is here to help them, the locals are clearly wary of their guests. Children of the village have been subtly discouraged from interacting with the visitors, a number of doors have been judiciously closed, and in general there is a sense that everyone is keeping a careful eye on the four strangers.

But it's probably nothing to worry about. Maybe once the rift is closed and they have a better sense of who they're dealing with, the chilly edge will defrost…

Comments

[tender]

This feeling, Derrica understands. Maybe not the exact circumstances (no one has ever kept her in a cage) but the idea of something so horrible that it is hard to put into words. It had taken her years to find a way to speak of Dairsmuid, and every time it still feels like cutting herself open, tearing at scars only just healed.

Beside Abby, Derrica shifts up, drawing her knees beneath her as she links her fingers more securely through Abby's.

"You survived it."

Even if Abby is here instead of there.

"There's nothing they can do to you, not anymore. And you don't have to know how. Or even try right now, to find a way," Derrica tells her, before adding, "Just breathe. Remember where you are."

[armd]

Closing her eyes doesn't help, is worse even, too dark. She needs to- Abby opens them up, looking around, checking exits.

They're on the beach. Here, not there.

Another soft, shuddering breath. Suddenly she wants to cry, her eyes prickling over hot at the edges. It's just that she hates that it affects her like this, that she can put herself back there in seconds and have to fight her way out, all over again. But Derrica's fingers weave through hers to draw her attention that way, gentle, like one might coax a wary animal closer.

Abby doesn't think she can say anything. She doesn't trust herself to open her mouth, so she nods stupidly and breathes in through her nose. Her lungs clench up. The exhale shudders out of her, barely clears her body before she pulls in again, fighting the thickness of dread.

Whispers, "Okay."

[tender]

"Okay," Derrica echoes. "You're okay."

In which okay is such a limited, narrow thing. Abby is okay in this moment. She's safe. Nothing here is going to hurt her. And she can take the time she needs to process all that she's survived.

Heal, even if it takes months and months.

"You can stay, as long as you like," she offers. "I know it was worse for me sometimes, at night."

When everything was quiet, and she had nothing to do but think on the past.

"We don't have to talk anymore."

[armd]

"No," she says thickly, shaking her head. She has to force the words out. "I want to talk. But not about that."

It's too close to the surface as it is. Staying so close to the beach makes her think about the boat and being on it with Lev, and then that tumbles down into what she let happen to him; like Derrica said, it's worse at night. She sniffs, and brushes her hand across her face when she blinks and two tears have the audacity to spill over.

"Um," in an attempt to hide it, "You- do you know Loxley at all? I sorta just met him." Obviously she's seen him around but they haven't spoken much before now, is what she's trying to say, in her attempt to reach out for any new topic of conversation (everybody already knows Gwen, so).

[tender]

An unexpected choice of segue. Derrica's eyebrows lift in surprise. The worried pinch of her expression softens, easing into a smile. Her fingers tighten lightly over Abby's hand.

"Yes, I know him."

A minor understatement, somewhat. Her smile widens a little as she says this, though her grip remains on Abby's hand.

"What do you think of him?"

[armd]

She catches Derrica's amusement and it burns her a little, in the second or two that she thinks she's being laughed at, but, slowly, she recognises that it wouldn't feel like that if she weren't so raw-edged. Derrica's fingers haven't left her hand at all; Abby relaxes.

"He's... interesting." She thinks she likes that he's bold, that he'll say anything. He's the first Qunari she's ever met. "We talked a bit on the beach this afternoon. Nothing important or anything, but it was nice."

False-grouchy, now. Abby doesn't really mind. "He said I seem like I could use some relaxation." Rude.

[tender]

"I think he's right."

Straightforward agreement. Whatever fraught uncertainty lies between herself and Loxley at this moment, Derrica knows his assessment to be true. And she also suspects Abby will find it difficult, needed or not.

"You can trust him, you know. He's very kind."

Newly met or not, Derrica's certain he'd have Abby's best interests at heart.

[armd]

"Yeah," Abby admits, sighing, "He is."

Not hard to see that, huh. It's not like this is the first time Abby's ever had a joke of that flavour aimed at her before either, and she shrugs a shoulder. "My- friends back home used to make fun of me for not relaxing all the time. Manny kinda made it his business just to tell me to unclench, actually."

That's still funny to her. Her lips twitch a little at the corners. "I do trust him," she adds, almost off the cuff, casual. "You too."