[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

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"See, precisely that. Getting swept up does a woman good. Cleans out the sensitive cobwebs of youth." She glanced over at Ellana, and her dimples flashed. "Now look at you - who are you thinking of?"

"Bless me, now that would make getting swept all the sweeter." She would have put a hand to her forehead dramatically but, well, carrying logs.

[serannas]

"No-- I'm not--" She stumbles over her words, unsure of what to say, especially to someone she's just met. Ellana hasn't been open about her feelings for Felix with anyone else yet, because she doesn't want to get her hopes up too high. The last time she had a romance, it all went horribly wrong, and she wants to be smarter this time.

"I mean, I may have been, but I can't talk about it right now. I'm sorry."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Oh, no. Bethany stopped, her expression going from smiling to worried at Ellana's voice, and her unsure expression, "Oh, no, I just meant to tease. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

She turned towards her, "You can always tell me just to take my nosey nose out. I won't be offended at all."

[serannas]

Ellana is quick to reassure her with a smile. "You're not being nosy. I just have a hard time hiding what I'm feeling. And I haven't told anyone else either, so it's not just you." She's hardly certain what she feels right now herself, so it's best not to try and put a name to it. She doesn't want to get ahead of herself and feel too much too soon.

"I'm really not a very secretive person," she goes on to say. "We could speak of other things."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"I see ... well that, I absolutely understand. I've had enough crushes to bury myself, and Maker knows I never hid it well but what could I say? But if it is making you uncomfortable - let's talk of something else."

She continued forward, shifting the wood in her grip again. Thank the Maker, they're almost across the bridge so they could put down this load and rest their arms. "What is your favorite field of magical study?"

[serannas]

Well, that sure is a thought-provoking question. Ellana hasn't really studied much magic beyond the basics.

"It's hard to say. I'm most experienced in the fire spells, but I think I like using the storm spells more. I know few cold spells, but I'm taking lessons right now in order to learn them." She pauses, and then adds, "There is talk of harnessing the power of the rifts to fuel spells. It's still being studied, of course, but it sounds interesting."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany nodded her head, her lips quirking up at the edges. "I've always been rather fond of fire myself, honestly. I never could get the handle of storm spells -- but ice? Oh yes."

Now that was intriguing ... "Magic from bending the power of the Fade itself? I didn't even know that was possible. I've master the forces around us - but the Fade ... " She shook her head, "I'm sorry, just the principles behind it are fascinating. How would you control it?"

[serannas]

"I assume you must have a strong will to wield that source of power. You have to control it, and not let it control you. But beyond that, I'll have to wait until more works are published to see what it's all about." It's something to consider as a specialization. The spells that would come from twisting the rifts to her will would be amazing.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"You would have to. A will like iron." Her expression was wistful - Marian could have done it. But Bethany was prejudiced -- she honestly thought her sister could do anything. "Maker, I hope they come out soon -- I'll have to catch up on the principles when it does."

She sighed, with some regret, as she dropped some of the wood by the first healing fire.

"The Grey Wardens get a lot of the best volumes of magical theory -- but you have to be assigned to a regular fortress to have access to them."

[serannas]

"And I take it you weren't?" Ellana asks, moving on a little to put her wood down at the next fire. "I know a couple of the Wardens here. They're friends of mine."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"Not for any long stretch of time, no. I think the longest I was in a fortress before going back to the Deep Roads was, oh, six months?" She paused, then grinned. "Which ones, so I can tell you horrifying stories about them?"

[serannas]

Ellana ticks them off on her fingers. "Alistair, Sabriel, Scipio, Kaidan, and Felix." She says the last name easily enough, but if Bethany is observant, she may notice the way Ellana's eyes dart away at the name and her cheeks go pink again. Araceli has been giving her lessons on how to lie and tell when others are lying, but she's not doing very well yet at keeping her emotions hidden.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany goes through the names - she of course knows Alistair, but Sabriel is virtually unknown to her except by family reputation, just met Kaidan, and has yet to meet Scipio ... or Felix. Her eyebrows lift at that little blush, and she wonders if this is the particular fellow her new companion might fancy.

However, she politely bites her tongue and smiles instead. "I'm afraid the only one I can really tell embarrassing stories about is Alistair. I don't know the others well enough, well, outside of reputation."

[serannas]

"Oh, I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate you telling me such things." Ellana only lets that sentence hang in the air for a moment before adding, "So of course, you should tell me everything." Alistair would pout and whine, and then wave it off. Maybe turn it around to make another joke about Ellana's feet. It's his way, and she wouldn't have him be otherwise.

"I think this wood will be good for a few hours." She says think, but in truth, she knows. One doesn't stare at fires all day every day without become well acquainted with how they burn based on the type of wood, weather, and other factors.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"He absolutely wouldn't, and will probably bring up some rather embarrassing stories in turn." Bethany dimpled, brown eyes glowing, before her expression became a little more serious, "But I would never say anything really horrid about him, because there isn't anything. Alistair is one of the best people I have ever had the privilege of working with."

She eyed the piles of wood, before she pursed her lips, "Are you certain?" She doesn't want to leave them without enough wood for the water they'll need for bandages, and the like.

[serannas]

It's not surprising that Bethany would think so, as Ellana shares her sentiment. Alistair is one of the people here that she considers a close friend. He's funny, easy to get along with, and he helped save Felix, even if he claims it was all Sabriel's doing. Obviously he was needed for whatever the ritual Kaidan spoke of entailed.

"I believe that. A funny story that's just a little embarrassing would be fine by me."

She catches that bit of doubt in Bethany's expression and nods, moving to pick up a piece of wood.

"Oh, yes. Look at this. This is hawthorn. It's one of the best woods to use because it burns a long time. And it's dry too. Green wood doesn't burn nearly as well as dried out wood. This wood in this amount will last them."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"Oh, well, then let me tell you about the time that Alistair stated that he was still young enough to stay up all night and be fit to go through the entire day? And then he fell asleep in the middle of lunch - face went right into a bowl of gazpacho. He woke up two hours later with a piece of gazpacho soaked bread stuck to the side of his face." Bethany stated, with a little grin.

She blinked at the wood itself, before she grinned widely, "That's amazing! I never would have known that. For that, you are owed some tea."

[serannas]

Ellana giggles brightly at the story, but then her face takes on a mildly puzzled look.

"Wait; what's gazpacho?" It's definitely not a food they had in the clan. But whatever it is, she's pleased to be offered tea, and she grins. "I would love some tea."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany pauses, then explains quietly. "It's sort of a cold tomato soup. Very popular in Neverra, actually. Sometimes when you're traveling you have to taste all kinds of odd local cuisine."

She grinned afterwards, leading the way to the kitchen. Now that she knows where it is, and all.

[serannas]

"Oh, I've never been to Nevarra," she replies, moving to walk beside Bethany. "I'm not sure I'd like soup that's cold, but I would try it once just to say I had! You must have traveled all over as a Warden. Do you have a favorite place?"

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"Truly? Oh, it's a beautiful place. I wasn't there long - just long enough to take care of a darkspawn problem -- but it really was beautiful." Bethany's smile was a little wistful. "Hmm, I prefer my mother's soup honestly -- never could get it the way she made it. And my favorite place? ... well, you'll find it hard to believe, but a whole in the wall bar called The Hanged Man, in Kirkwall."

[serannas]

"I can actually believe it," Ellana replies, giving her a smile of understanding. "Varric misses Kirkwall too." She's asked him about it, and he said something to the effect that it was a shithole, but his shithole.

"You must have had some good times there. Bars are gathering places for friends to sit back and relax."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"I'll bet he does. Kirkwall is in Varric's blood, and he knows it backwards and forwards." She smiled, a little wistful, "It wasn't always the nicest place to live -- but we were together there. That made it more like home than anythng else."

She dimpled again at that, her brown eyes lost in memory as she started to walk back towards Skyhold, "Maker, yes. Wicked Grace games until the early morning - Carver and I trying to get Isabela to tell us all her dirty secrets and Marian stopping her. Aveline trying to explain to Fenris and Merrill why they couldn't just go traipsing around Hightown gardens because no one bothered to lock their gates. Anders and Varric telling horrible templar jokes... "

She paused, and sighed, "It all seems so long ago."

[serannas]

The descriptions can never match what it was actually like to be a part of it all, but Ellana still has a picture in her head, even though she doesn't know what many of those people look like. Sitting around sharing drinks and stories, playing games, telling jokes; it all sounds wonderful. It sounds like something they could have here at the Herald's Rest. There is still some tension between people here, but the longer they work together, the more that's starting to fade.

Ellana looks over and worries her bottom lip at Bethany's sigh. "I'm sorry if I made you speak of something that causes you pain now."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

In Bethany's mind's eye, she can see it all. Coming back from the Bone Pit, Varric telling the wild story of Marian climbing atop the dragon and Marian rolling her eyes and grinning into her cup of mead. Anders poking at Varric for making it up, Fenris and Aveline trying not to laugh and failing, while Merrill giggled and Isabella added all kinds of sexual embellishments. Carver grinning at Isabela while she flushed bright red but couldn't stop listening, watching all if it.

That finally connected to this place, a gentle snowflake of a hint. Skyhold wasn't home, but it welcomed it. It made you feel safe, as if you belonged.

She blinked at Ellana's statement, before she smiled softly, "It doesn't cause me pain. Does it make me wistful? Always. But you hold onto the good memories, especially through the bad times. I don't regret a single thing about the life I live now, or lived then. I'd change nothing, outside of my mother dying."