faderift | PLAYER PLOT | Forgetti Catchall, now in the right comm

[ hey, the lady with the dog. ]

Where?

[Silence follows for a long moment, and when she comes back on the crystal, Fifi sounds breathless and distressed.]

Lowtown. But I think-- I think he's gone. For now.

[sniff,]

I'm coming back to the Gallows.

Want company, lethallan?

[ kindly, gently, but if she says no he won't push. might check up on her in a bit, though. ]

[lethallan-- she's heard that word before, knows it's Elvhen, but no more than that.]

I-- yes. I would.

Do you feel safe staying where you are? I can come to you.

[ the sounds of movement from his end of the crystal imply that he is, in fact, already on his way. ]

I'm on my way to the ferry.

[Her voice is beginning to calm-- she has things in hand, but is grateful for the prospect of company nonetheless.]

[ he usually wouldn't respond back at this point, he'd just leave the conversation there and then appear next to her some time later, but she'd sounded distressed enough that he's inclined to be slightly more communicative than usual. ]

Meet you there, then.

[ so when he shows up at her side a couple blocks from the ferry, hopefully she doesn't jump out of her skin or anything. ]

Aneth ara, lethallan.

[A quiet, slightly relieved smile is her answer: she doesn't know the language, but takes its meaning well enough.]

It's kind of you to do this, [she says in a low voice, pausing to glance about-- whoever the man was, he's stopped following her.]

Thank you.

You needed help, [ he shrugs, because for him it's as simple as that. elf lady needed help, he was around, he helped. if she'd been human it might have been different, but she isn't, so it wasn't. simple. ]

Do you want to talk about it?

[She opens her mouth, begins to shake her head, but something stops her; the fear and sadness well up from within, brought forth by a sympathetic voice and ears that, for once, look like hers. Before she knows it, Fifi's eyes are wet.]

He, [she begins brokenly, hating herself for being inarticulate and weak and frightened,] --a man stopped by us, as I was telling him to go away. And he asked if I was bothering him.

[Angry tears spill, and she covers her face.]

Enculés, [she hisses.]

[ his steps only stutter for a second, eyes widening a fraction, before he tamps the spike of creators please no down. he'd been avoiding touching her, unsure if she'd welcome even glancing contact, but now he cups his hand gently to her elbow and steers her out of the path, into the shadows between buildings.

he doesn't speak orlesian, not a single word... but he doesn't really need to, does he. ]

Nothing wrong with some angry tears, [ he says softly, and stands with her while she cries. ]

[She doesn't cry for long before her hands curl in front of her face and she wrests them down, eyes shimmering and furious.]

Every day it's like this, [she hisses,] these people wouldn't piss on us if we were on fire.

[The rage flares, then quiets, turning into a bitter laugh; the episode passing, Fifi finally looks to Talin, adding,]

who will wash their floors then? [though her eyes are apologetic, there's a dark humor in the question. she's tired.]

[ he meets the dark humour in the question with a humourless huff of laughter.]

I've never known shemlen to think that far ahead, have you?

[ who will wash the floors? the dwarves maybe, once the humans muster up a justification for it—qunari are too large.

it'd be a poor spy who'd pounce on any suggestion of elven dissatisfaction with the world; it'd be a poorer spy who makes no note of it at all. talin tilts his head down at josephine, meeting her eyes with a conspiratorial smile.]

'S why us People have to stick together, hey?

[A weak chuckle, and Fifi rolls her eyes, but doesn't rebuff him.]

I suppose. [more gently,] you're the first in Riftwatch for a while. Which, I mean,

[quickly adding,] in Riftwatch. [not the cleaning staff, not the kitchen staff.] But don't let that cloud your perception of them. By and large, they're good people.

[it's awkward, and she still has some tears to wipe away, but she offers a grateful smile for his presence.]

You're Dalish, [she offers in observation.]

As good as shemlen can be, [ probably sounds like he's agreeing with her, at least.

his smile turns from conspiratorial to soft in answer to hers. josephine is older than him, he thinks, though not so much it's terribly obvious. still, she's from the city, and no matter how many years she may have on him talin can't help but feel a fraternal urge toward care for his city-raised brethren. they understand so little of their birthright. ]

What gave it away, was it the accent? Do I not sound like I come from a city?

[ he puts on his best marcher accent. it's... fine. she's probably heard worse attempts, somewhere. ]

Would you believe me if I said I'm from Ostwick? No?

[Her resulting smile is polite, but not necessarily with agreement-- some shem'len can be very good, in fact, but arguing the point right now is too exhausting a prospect.]

The language, [Fifi clarifies, her smile broadening a bit self-effacingly.] Lethallan. [When she says it, the last 'n' is a bit nasal, Orlesian: lethallaine.]

I would. [Believe it. She begins to walk slowly, toward the ferry.] I admit I don't know much about a fair number of places, or their accents. You could tell me you're from Orzammar and I'd probably believe you.

Edited 2025-01-28 23:43 (UTC)

Lan, [ he corrects her, though not unkindly, ] lethallan. Means "friend". Lethallin, if you were a man.

[ he follows her, matching her slow pace, hands behind his back. ]

Technically I'm Orlesian, same as you. Born in the borders of, at least, so I can't be anything else.

But yes, [ after a pause, a breath, a far-away look in his eye, ] I am Dalish. Never been to Ostwick, or Orzammar. Clans tend to stay on the right side of the Deep Roads.

[ that is, above and outside of them. elves don't belong underground. ]

Lan, [Fifi repeats carefully, committing it to memory.]

Understandable. [The ferry is approaching, so she hurries her step slightly, but not so quickly that Talin can't keep pace,] what has brought you to Riftwatch?

Evil Vint magister doesn't seem like he'll care much for Dalish if he wins, [ is the practiced, part true answer. he's spared from having to consider if he wants to give her any more by their focused beeline for the ferry, and by the time they're aboard the boat he's mostly expecting her to have forgotten she'd even asked.

he waits a few moments to turn it around on her, letting them both catch their breaths and appreciate the salty air before he glances at her sidelong. ]

You, lethallan? Why'd you join up?

[She laughs drily. Yes, evil Vint magisters aren't known for that,]

A good enough reason as any, [she muses, pausing when he asks:]

Opportunity. Things weren't working out in my previous occupation, and Riftwatch needed staff. I thought, why not help the cause however I can?

[Crossing the gangplank onto the ferry, she smiles thoughtfully at Talin.]

I imagine it was difficult, leaving your clan?

[ that's not an unusual reason, but it is unremarkable enough to still feel incomplete—plenty of elves feel like things aren't working out in their occupations, they don't go haring off to join world-saving organizations of dubious efficacy. of course, talin's reasoning isn't any more complete. he won't prod her for details, at least not in public...

though maybe he should, if it would distract her from this particular line of questioning. he doesn't flinch from the question, or even twitch, but it's a long moment before he can bring himself to respond. ]

Yes and no, [ he says finally, leaning against the ferry railing. ] I miss them. Leaving them behind was not easy. It got easier when I realized I wasn't leaving them anywhere, though.

[ he presses one hand over his heart, closing his eyes, ducking his chin, turning his attention inward. the corners of his lips tug upward—but it's not a smile, really, not quite. ]

They're with me wherever I go, in everything I do. I couldn't leave the clan any more than I could leave my arm, or my heart. As long as I remember that, it's not so bad to be apart from them.

[Fifi's expression is sympathetic, a small and wistful smile twitching onto her mouth as he explains.]

Sometimes that's how it has to be, [she agrees gently,] but... well, Riftwatch has eluvians, and it's never been faster to visit home.

[Her smile brightens,]

I've been able to return to Val Royeaux, just to say hello from time to time. You'll find they don't have to be so far away. Also,

[she nudges her head back toward the receding Lowtown,]

the Alienage always needs help and hands. They're not your clan, but you can come with me sometime if you just want to be around others.

[ his answering smile is amused, secretive—the smile of someone who is not at all telling the whole truth, but talin doesn't offer any clarification as to what it is fifi's said that's so funny. ]

Yes, [ he says, nodding, ] I still can't get used to how easy it is to get around Thedas. So many corners of the world unseen since the time of Elvhenan, suddenly open to us again...

[ it's an insult that so many of these eluvians are in the hands of shemlen, that they will never even consider giving them back to the elves for whom they are a birthright. it infuriates him sometimes if he thinks about it too long, so he chooses not to think about it. ]

I've been working in the Alienage already, with the Templar Cedric. I'd be happy to spend more time there to help our People more.

Oh! Cedric is a good sort.

[Folding her arms to rest on the railing of the ferry, Fifi casts a cautious look out over the water before resolving to focus on Talin instead-- if she noticed any strangeness in his smile, she doesn't comment on it.]

You've seen the trees? [she asks, lowering her voice secretively,] in the Crossroads.
[She breaks into a grin.]
I've never seen anything like it.

[ talin hums, though whether it's agreement he's intimating with the noise isn't quite clear—cedric is certainly a sort of something. quality on that one's unclear, chantry as he is. that's easily set aside, though, and talin's focus draws back to fifi from the water he's been considering, his smile turning conspiratorial. ]

They're beautiful, aren't they? The whole place is. It's almost enough to make you feel bad for the shemlen.

[ almost. not quite, though, at least not talin. if anything, he looks a little pleased to have something that the humans not only don't, but can't. ]

PLAYER PLOT | Forgetti Catchall, now in the right comm

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sorry it's been 84 years

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🎀