[Open] [I can move mountains, move mountains.. ]

[sunshinethroughgrey]

WHO: Bethany Hawke and You
WHAT: Exploring the Inquisition
WHEN: The next few days of Wintermarch
WHERE: The garden, the tavern, the courtyard, the library.
NOTES: Content warnings, OOC notes, links to other relevant posts, etc.

The first thing Bethany did after arriving at Skyhold?

A bath. A beautiful, long hot bath where she soaked with nice soap and some sort of fancy oil and just ... cleansed herself from about a week's worth of sand and dirt. After that though, well.

Bethany used to be the sort of person who would keep to the edges to not be noticed. Kept herself hidden, to keep herself from being taken to a Circle. Her family went through such risks to keep her free - keeping her head down seemed to be a small sacrifice to make.

Now, nine years - almost ten! - years a Warden and she still observed quietly from the background. Yet now, she would step forward. Move more boldly, with more confidence and a great deal more poise. She also, as she had been apt to do even in her days in Kirkwall, stopped to help people.

So there you will find her, all around Skyhold, quietly soaking up everything, or chatting happily with someone as she helps them carry firewood or food out to the hungry troops training in the yard. The first thing you will know is that smile - dimples and bright, and completely unfeigned. Who knows, maybe it's just pointing at you.

Comments

[chainlightning]

Smile, meet other smile. Merrill is simply looking around when she catches the flash of teeth, dimples and brown hair; she's smiling back automatically when her mind catches up to her reflexes, and then she's not smiling at all. No, she's beaming, and Merrill is darting over in the next second to wrap her in a hug.

"Bethany! Oh, it's been ages-!"

Or close enough. Too long, at any rate, and Merrill remains horribly glad that Anders was able to help Bethany survive and join the Wardens, even if she had to leave Kirkwall after.

"When did you get here?"

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany smiles at the dark-haired Dalish elf with the big green eyes and the soft look about her that's both endearing and makes you want to just protect her - waitaminute.

She lets out a happy noise, as Merrill's hug is returned with interest and she squeezes her friend back.

"Merrill! Maker, it is so good to see you!" She leans back, scanning over her friend, "All right, two ears, two hands, two feet, ten fingers and ... yes, not wearing boots, ten toes."

She gave her another impulsive hug. It was almost like coming home. "Not long ago, a day. I arrived with my friend Nathaniel."

[chainlightning]

Humans don't have clans the way the Dalish do. Still, Hawke had been like a Keeper of sorts, with her friends and family all congregating around her. Seeing them again is like coming home, in a way, even with all the other friends they've made in the meantime.

Merrill laughs -- yes, all limbs accounted for -- and returns the second hug. Then it's her turn to lean back, to see if Bethany is all there, if she's changed in other ways.

"Oh, good! Then I haven't just somehow missed you." A pause, then- "I showed up around a month ago, I think."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

It was like a family - a different sort of family than the Wardens. Marian, and all the people she brought together? It was sort of a symbol of everyone coming together to bring people together. Wardens came together, for the greater good -- and Bethany had always found it a little harder to have the bonds she had within that second year of Kirkwall.

There were precious few Bethany would call as good as family. The Kirkwall gang? Always, always family.

Bethany was all there - a few years older, and she looked a bit tired around the edges, but she was all there. She beamed at the elf, then took her by the arm. "No, you haven't gone wandering off and missed me calling out to you a half a dozen times. Come on, I want to steal you for breakfast and hear all about this month here."

[gatheringstorm]

Now that Korrin has returned and assembled her spirit blade, she's taking as much time as she can to get accustomed to it before heading back out. Keeping her distance from the regular troops, she goes through her practice sets, learning how it feels to wield a sword instead of a staff. The balance is entirely different, but not an insurmountable obstacle, and she seems to enjoy the challenge if her time spent there is any indication. A lot of her training is repetitive, working through the same motions over and over until she gets them right, her spirit blade winking in and out of existence as needed.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany has just brought out a platter of sandwiches for said soldiers, beaming even as they thank her quizzically (Wardens bringing sandwiches?). She is putting the platter back, heading back up to Skyhold proper when she is faced by

A

Qunari

With a glowing blade.

She immediately grabs for her staff, her body moving automatically to defensive stance as she raises her hand to pull down the Maker's Fury -- when she notices three things.

One, the Qunari isn't even looking at her.

Two, that Qunari is a woman.

Three ... that's a magical blade.

So instead of pulling a spell, Bethany just gawks.

[gatheringstorm]

Rather proud of her progress, Korrin pauses and grins, admiring the blade for a moment longer before letting it vanish. Straightening, she wipes her brow, and that's when something in the corner of her vision catches her attention. Glancing over at the new Warden in a defensive stance, her smile doesn't fade any. Her practice session wasn't perfect, but it'd gone well enough that she's not embarrassed about having had an audience.

"Which is it, the horns or the blade? Or both?" Yeah, she's used to human gawking for one reason or another. At this point, it doesn't faze her at all.

[serannas]

It's not an unusual sight to see Ellana jogging up to someone in Skyhold who is carrying a burden and offer to help them with it. If it's something she can lift with her own two arms, she'll do it. She can also lift boulders and scaffolding with magic, but with most of the direly needed repairs to Skyhold already done, there hasn't been need of her services there.

Seeing the woman carrying firewood, Ellana comes over with a friendly smile. She's been learning from Morrigan how to deal with people who don't take kindly to elves or mages, so some of her apprehension on meeting new people has slipped away. She'll be nice and if others are mean, she'll cut them down to size, as Morrigan said to.

"Hello. Would you like some help carrying all that?"

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany turns with her arms filled with wood, and beams at the young elven woman who came to help her. Gracious, she thought she would drop them on her own feet here after a moment. "Yes, oh thank you! The healers said they needed more wood for the fires, and all the soldiers are busy so I said I would make a run..."

She put about three or four logs off the top into Ellana's hands, laughing a little, as she shifted a little so her staff would stop banging her between the shoulder blades. "And of course, ended up loading myself down. Come on, this way."

A pause, before she shook her head, "Maker, my manners. I'm Bethany Hawke, who am I thanking again?"

[serannas]

Helping the healers isn't something Ellana often does, because she feels she'll get in the way. It's better to just let them work and stay back. But wood for fires? That, she specialized in. Back in the clan, the furthest she was allowed to wander was in the nearby woods, looking for dead fall.

"Ellana Ashara," she replies, the name 'Bethany Hawke' registering to her as someone Varric's written about. "Have you just arrived? I don't recall seeing you before, but it is a big place."

[justice_is_blond]

The fire's dying down. It's a minor nuisance, but someone was supposed to have brought more wood earlier, and the fact that he's got a patient means Anders can't go fetch more. Or go looking to see if the person assigned to do the task tripped on something hidden under the snow and needed healing. At least he's not the only healer here, though. That's a nice change.

He brings up a wisp to provide a little more light as he finishes making sure he's got everything out of the nasty scrape on his patient's back, frowning in focus. There's someone approaching by the time he's finishing up and patting the patient on the shoulder, telling them he can leave, and Anders gets up and turns to see a smile that he's not altogether sure he wanted to see. The firewood in her arms, yes. Her? Is every single person he knew from Kirkwall going to be showing up in Skyhold?

[sunshinethroughgrey]

The tent all the way at the far end of the camp, and while Bethany managed not to trip, thank the Maker, she was fairly slowed by the bundle of wood she was carrying with her. When she entered the tent, she bit her lip as she looked at the blonde healer with his back to her, taking care of the wound on a soldier's back.

Instead, she went immediately over to the fire, and started to feed it a few logs, keeping her back politely turned while the patient dressed. Only then did she rise and speak, juggling the last few logs and smiling bright, "I'm sorry about the delay -- I had to make a few trips to get the wood for every ... "

The logs slipped out of her grasp as she stared at the man in front of her. A man who had saved her life and then turned around years later and destroyed all of Kirkwall. Blood drained from her face, before her jaw tightened and her golden brown eyes flashed. She stepped over the logs, stepped lightly over to him, lifting her hand and SLAP -- smacked him as hard as she could.

Then while he was gathering his wits about him, her face broken down into tears as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face into his shoulder as she sobbed, "Oh ... you ... you ... stupid, careless ... IDIOT."

[justice_is_blond]

The slap made him furious. Absolutely, blindingly furious, and for a moment there's a dangerous crackle in the air because how dare anyone? He had saved her life, and of all people she should have seen how horrible things were getting for mages in Kirkwall, but before there was the chance for him and Justice to gather too much steam she had arms around him and she was crying... and he was left standing there in some shock from the emotional whiplash.

All he could do at first was blink and feel joined anger subside. Anders took a slow breath, let it sink in that she was hugging him, and finally lifted his own arms to hold her back. She was Bethany, slap aside, and he'd cared for her a great deal.

"Right, so how do you really feel?" His voice was bewildered. Slaps tended to mean rage and hatred, hugs tended to mean liking. Maybe she meant both. It wasn't like hearing the song really helped one keep their head straight, and Corypheus was doing his darnedest to make that song ring out.

[hugeinorlais]

Varric was not, generally speaking, a morning person. He usually woke up with a grudging sort of slowness, and proceeded to be a bit hazy until he'd found a cup of something strong and hot (be it tea or otherwise), and ate something. In Kirkwall, this tendency for slow rising had only ever been a charming quirk and, considering Kirkwall's active nightlife, had never actually hindered his activities. Here, in the ass end of Thedas, where it was always cold and the tea was perpetually stale, Varric's grogginess was something he struggled against and, as such, it took on a hint of perpetual irritation.

His questionable mood cleared quickly enough, of course, like early morning fog burning off in daylight, but it was always there the next day.

When Varric came around to his table, at barely seven in the morning, and found his fireplace lit and a plate of food waiting for him, he was flummoxed, but he lacked the presence of mind to ask questions. In fact, he was still so groggy when he sat down that he didn't even question Bethany's presence at the table, nor why she was in Skyhold at all.

It was quite possible he hadn't yet remembered they were in Skyhold.

"Morning, Sunshine," Varric mumbled in the friendly but woebegone tone of someone who wanted, quite desperately, to climb back in bed but couldn't. He dropped himself into his chair and, as he picked up a piece of warm bread, shot a bleary stare at Bethany.

It lasted for several seconds before his brow furrowed with visible confusion.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

The moment Korrin had told her that Varric was here, it had taken everything in Bethany not to go running off and searching for him. As it was, when more details unfolded, and she knew where to find him? She sought out the table in the Great Hall where he could be found -- and of course he would put himself by the biggest fireplace with a large table where he could conduct his piles of paperwork.

Considering the hour, and the fact that he was absent, she knew it was possible she would keep missing him throughout the entire day. The only thing to do was lie in wait when she knew that he would be there - early in the day, groggy from the night before. She herself was used to waking early - the darkspawn waited for no man, woman, dwarf, elf or otherwise. She went to the kitchen, charmed her way into using the facilities, and brought Varric a tray like she and Marian used to in Kirkwall, from what they could do in Gamlen's ...sigh, hovel.

She sits, sipping her tea as he approaches, happiness sparking perhaps one of her brightest smiles yet, but merely responds with a gentle, "Good morning, Varric."

She took him in, a little older, a little wiser, but still Varric. Varric who could somehow find a way to get her letters no matter where she was. Varric with his crooked smile and soothing storyteller voice. Oh, and the chest hair, no one could ever forget that -

Her dimples flashed, as he stared at her with confusion, and she pushed his mug of tea towards him. "Drink up. You'll know what to say in a minute."

[hugeinorlais]

Varric's confused half-glower maintained as he reached out and carefully wrapped his hand around his mug of tea.

Something wasn't right about this situation, that much he knew, but he was having real trouble putting his finger on what. Was it the bread? If it was, he'd already taken a pretty hefty bite out of it, so there was no going back on that end. His brain chugged and he absently lifted his tea. Was it the tea?

He glanced at Bethany.

No, Bethany and Hawke would never mess with a dwarf's tea, he was too easy a target before he woke up--wait--

Varric blinked hard and, as the situation finally started to fall into place, he very nearly choked on his drink. After a quick bout of sputtered coughing he gestured with his breadroll at the mage.

"You're here!?" Varric almost shouted. He looked between his hands with sudden urgency; he was holding too many things. He promptly dropped his bread and set down his mug. He was out of his chair and alongside the table an instant after that. "How long have you been here, Sunshine? What are you doing in Skyhold? Andraste's ass, you're in Skyhold--did something happen?"

[aggregiopavali]

Fenris had finally woken up, after another late night drinking and gambling in the Tavern, hauling himself towards the bathhouses to make use of them. At least here he could keep clean, and made good use of the facilities.

He walked back towards his room, contemplating how he really needed to get out of Skyhold for a few days, to get away people and go and hit things once again when he stopped dead, seeing a vision from his past in front of him. Surely it couldn't be? Perhaps he was still drunker than he thought, and imagining things.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

If you didn't think that Bethany bathed herself every day now that she had the opportunity? You were absolutely mad. After doing her morning exercises - Warden training was like clockwork after all - and breakfast - she would head down to the bathhouse to clean up and luxuriate in clean hot water and soap, oh glorious soap. She even replenished her supply of hair oil, scented with lavender like she preferred.

How she had missed Fenris at the bathhouses would be a mystery to her - how she had kept missing Fenris would be a mystery - but it wasn't until she was leaving her room and heading out to see what she could do in Skyhold at large that she turned and found green eyes fixed on her, with white hair falling over one eye in a rakish manner he never intended, lyrium tattoos along his neck and -

"Fenris." She whispered, before she moved across the courtyard and flung herself at him, hugging him tightly as she could.

[aggregiopavali]

Fenris was good at keeping out of the way when he had to be - otherwise he might end up being sent out on missions. The Western Approach had been bad enough, and the sand... never again.

It was Bethany. He'd always been fond of Bethany, who was one of the most genuine people that Fenris had ever had the pleasure to know. He would put up with a lot from her that he wouldn't take from anyone else - for instance, the hug that she suddenly gave him, and that he shyly returned. "What are you doing here, Bethany?" he asked after a moment, pulling away to look at her properly.

[easternseaqueen]

Isabela just laughed when she caught the bright, familiar smile across the courtyard. She put away her daggers and sauntered over.

"Well, well, it's about time you showed up. I was afraid the Wardens might have gotten you for good."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany turned at the sound of an-oh-so-familiar voice, and yes Isabela, that smile brightens just for you. Right before you find yourself with an armful of Bethany Hawke, hugging you tightly and saying joyfully, "Isabela! No one told me you were here!"

[easternseaqueen]

The pirate laughed and, sure, hugged back.
"Is it really that surprising? The Inquisition's willing to pay. I can't turn that down."

She gave Bethany a good look.
"Seems like Wardenhood becomes you. Any good stories you're going to tell me?"

[paperwing]

It's late into the day when Sabriel finally has the opportunity to go in search of Bethany. She's not hard to find; she's right there in the courtyard, and though she does not know her and has not met her personally, the description fits. As does the uniform.

"Warden Bethany Hawke?" she inquires as she approaches.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany is, in fact, standing in the middle of the courtyard, soaking in the sunlight and the simple majesty that is Skyhold. She's never seen anything like it - a fortress that seems like it was just waiting for them. She can almost hear it singing in the stones to them, older stories than even the calling itself.

When she hears someone calling her name, she pulls herself out of her reverie to offer a quiet and polite smile, turning towards the younger woman. A younger, almost familiar looking woman, who is also wearing a Grey Warden's armor.

"Yes, that is I." She tilted her head, curiously, before smiling again, "I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, fellow Warden."

[paperwing]

Much of her armour is packed away, but she'd be hard pressed to part with the griffon emblem, which rests over the shoulder of her tunic. If it weren't for her desire to meet with the new Wardens, to hear of news, to simply relish the fact that they were alive, she might have left her to soaking in Skyhold. It is a sight to behold, to feel, to grow used to. She had similar revelations of how old it must have been when she first arrived. There was a lot of history here, and not just from what her sense of death told her.

"Warden Sabriel," Sabriel says in return, resisting the urge to curtsy. "Abhorsen," she adds, belatedly, much as she does not like to use it. The Abhorsen was her father, not her, but it does identify her to other Wardens. "I escaped Montsimmard with Alistair, some time ago."