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

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

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.

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The Herald's Rest is clean, well-lit, and Maryden is playing a new tune on her lute. It's the perfect place to get away from it all, hot spring aside, and Korrin smiles appreciatively. She doesn't stop until reaching the bar, ordering some honey mead.

"You were there when he 'died', right? What did it take to bring that asshole down, even temporarily?"

Bethany doesn't know the tune, but the bard gets a smile. Bethany had never been musically inclined herself, but she always loved a good story through song. Taking the stool next to her, she herself ordered a honey mead as well, her face curving into a slight 'face'.

"Yes, I was." She paused, then sighed, "It took ... everything we had. I won't lie, it was a brutal battle, from start to finish."

"Even without his forces, I don't doubt it. Nor do I doubt Varric's sword that Corypheus was no longer drawing breath. But something gave him the ability to come back. Were there any hints of it where he was imprisoned?"

Korrin doubt there's much to go on, if anything, but still, she has to ask if only to clear her own head. When there aren't enemies to fight, she gets too tangled up in her own thoughts. The addition of the honey mead is a welcome distraction, though, and she takes an appreciative sip.

"No, he was dead. He ... blew away, right before our eyes." Bethany inhaled slowly, before she frowned. A thoughtful look on her face, as she took in a drink of the mead. "Well, he did have very direct link to the other Wardens there, and Maker knows he had direct control of the Carta agents."

She takes another sip, her lips pressing in a thin line. "I just don't know how that could translate into supposed immortality."

"A direct link...sounds like blood magic." Korrin shudders, never anything other than highly unnerved at the thought of such magic practices. But if Corypheus is truly as ancient as they say, he'd be from a time where such was commonplace.

"I've no idea either, so I'll stop pestering you about it. You'll probably get more than your fair share of that from everyone else, just because you were there and you're a Hawke."

"Oh, it most certainly was." Bethany said with a dark look, "The kind that I hoped never to see again. That thing is a monster, through and through."

She quirked up a grin at that, before answering innocently, "Honestly, you're doing better than most. You haven't once asked me if my sister is the most beautiful, most daring, most awe inspiring heroine of the age and what does she like in a mate?" Not a hint of jealousy there - just pure amusement.

"And she is. Although I think what she wants in a mate is not to have one. She is, by the way, absolutely stunning. That's just in the Hawke genes though. Carver and I are equally pretty." She tossed her hair a little, before bursting out laughing.

Korrin chuckles at that, raising her tankard with a grin. "No false modesty, eh? I like it. And I'm sure you're sister is as epic as Varric's book has described, but I'm already content with another beautiful, daring, awe-inspiring woman, so Hawke is safe from me. Even if that wasn't the case, it's not really my style to hit on someone through their siblings. That's just weird."

"Honestly, false modesty is usually what ends up getting Carver and I in trouble in the first place." Bethany stated with a rueful little smile, before she brightened, "Oh? Then she really must be beautiful, daring, awe-inspiring aand uttering charming. And you wouldn't believe me if I told you how many times someone has tried."

She rolls her eyes a little, before she takes another drink.

"She's all of those things and more, in a tiny not-Antivan package." Korrin grins, figuring that it's the easiest way to refer to Araceli and the most apt, in her mind.

"Oh? And how many times has that happened since you arrived?" Bethany's almost brand new, to be sure, but Varric's books are popular around here. Korrin wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that there have been a few incidents already.

"Not Antivan package?" Bethany looked amused at the turn of phrase. "Maker, what sort of packaging is she in then?"

"Let's see ... " Bethany pursed her lips together, "I've been here a day - so about five times. I'd say Marian is slipping but everyone thinks she's dead so really, she's not doing that badly." She took a sip of her mead, then looked up at Korrin, "And no, I don't believe my sister is dead. Not for a moment. We would have felt it, Carver and I. I imagine when she pops back up again, she'll have some fantastic story of where she was and then? I'll be literally piled with people who want to 'get to know her better'."

Her smile returns, "Carver always fares better in these situations - he always knows to flirt back."

Korrin chuckles at that, taking another swig. "If you're looking to catch up, I'm sure Zevran would be more than happy to help out there. He's very generous with his time, and if you're not interested in him, he won't take it personally."

Her amusement fades briefly as her gaze becomes one of sympathy. "I wouldn't know, being an only child, but for your sake I hope that sibling-sense keeps working. And considering all she's survived, I'd doubt it too. If she's half as tough as Varric's told me, she'll outlive all of us."

Not that Korrin's intending to meet her end any time soon. And the smile returns after a moment. "The packaging I mean is a rifter sort. She's from elsewhere, beyond the Fade. But her homeland is so akin to Antiva that I tend to think of her as one anyway. Zevran, too."

"Zevran Arainai? The Zevran Arainai?" She stated, her eyebrows raising together. She had heard about the man - if Varric's story wasn't enough, Marian was all together too thrilled to share the experience. "I ... have heard he's probably the most amazing thing inside a bedroom since a feather down blanket."

And Maker, yes, now she's flushed. Sigh. Switch it to sibling senses. "It's a funny thing, that. I don't think I could ever really read either one of their minds but ... I always just know if they are all right, or not."

She grinned at that, before she tipped her side to the side, "Now that sounds like a woman you should hold onto."

Korrin doesn't verbally respond to that comment about Zevran, but her knowing grin probably says all it needs to. Why pretend she hasn't bedded him, like half of Skyhold? Or it seems that way, as he's never lacking for company.

That grin softens at mention of Araceli and she nods, cheeks warming. "Oh, I intend to, rift nonsense and the end of the world be damned. When you know how you feel about someone, why wait?" At least, such is her way of things. Patience and subtlety aren't her strong points, nor would she want them to be.

"Will your brother be joining us, too? There's more than enough work to go around, whether Warden-related or otherwise. The Inquisition needs everyone it can get."

Yes, that smile really says it all. She felt her cheeks flush, before she cleared her throat. Well that really just said it all, didn't it? She was just not going to think about that one, no thank you.

"Now that would be the kind of relationship we're all looking for, isn't it?" She grinned, before lifting her mug to her. "To you and your amazing not-Antivan. May you have many, many chances to feel this way together."

Her expression sobered a little, "I don't know, honestly. I was only safe because in the midst of my Warden friends. I don't know if Carver is on is own, or if he has his own friends with him. I don't want to leave a safe hiding spot."

Echoing that grin, Korrin lifts her mug in turn and takes a hearty swig to that toast. She makes a mental note to introduce them sometime; Bethany's new, and another friendly non-Warden face might do her some good. And it also can't hurt to let more natives see that rifters aren't demons.

Her grin fades at hearing that news, and though they've only just met, she rests a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "I don't blame you for that, not with how nasty it is out there. As far as I can tell, Hawkes are a resilient bunch. If he's anything like his sisters, Carver will manage. Perhaps Sister Leliana can help you learn more."

Honestly, Bethany does enjoy meeting new people. She tends to be on the quiet, wry side, mostly to protect her family from her heritage. Meeting Rifters? A whole new experience.

She looks over at Korrin, and smiles up at her. "I hope so. We have been, so far ... and I'm not worried. Well, overly worried." She sighs, "I'd just feel better if he was here, with me." Marian too, but she wasn't going to go pushing that particular button.

"Sister Leliana ..." She shook her head with a wry smile, "I can't believe she's the Left Hand of the Divine - do you know she used to be a lay sister in Lothering?"

Setting down her not-quite-empty mug, Korrin tilts her head at that. "I knew she was that, and of course about her joining the Hero of Ferelden, but not about Lothering specifically. That was your hometown, wasn't it?" Or one among many, but at the moment, the details from Varric's book are a little fuzzy. "Did you know her well, back then?"

"I knew about that, of course, but honestly I couldn't believe it was the same person." Bethany eyed the near bottom of her mug, before she stated simply. "It was. Nothing much there, but it was where my parents had our farm. Where we were all born. Sometimes I wonder about going back there, visiting my father's grave ... but I've been told there's little left."

She took the subject change, and went with it, "Not that well, but well enough. She used to tell me tales of Andraste, and all the miracles she performed. It was comforting."

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