In a moment of glorious surrender, you were broken for all the world to see...

[nadasharillen]

WHO:Nari and Sina Dahlasanor, Adelaide LeBlanc, Pel Ashara, and YOU!
WHAT: Visiting Sina in Recovery -- for whatever reason
WHEN: Beginning of Guardian, the first weeks after the Surprise Rift is closed.
WHERE: A private tent in the Skyhold garden
NOTES: Positive and negative reactions both welcome! If you're not sure what happened, check that sweet sweet 'Surprise Rift' link!



In the days following, Sina sleeps, the toll the active shard took on her thin, pale form evident in the hollows of her face; the way she'll wince and gasp, fingers grasping and twisting at the blankets. Sometimes she wakes in mumbling delirium, staring glassy-eyed at the wall. Rarely she'll open her eyes and actually see, lucid, but weak.

Always, her clansister is there. She looks like a fretful shadow of herself, wary. Her knives are sheathed but close by, lest anyone come to take issue with the small bed-ridden mage.

Wounded she might be, but she'd still opened a Rift in the heart of Skyhold.


[Adelaide.]

Nahariel is like a ghost that haunts her clansister's bedside. She talks little, sleeps less, and is only away for the briefest of reasons--one of which is to make sure Adelaide never runs out of tea when she's there. One day, as she sets down another cup, she suddenly and quietly speaks.

"I don't think I ever thanked you properly. Or your spirit."


[Pel.]

At some point during the next days Pel will look up to see the swarthy hunter often seen in Sina's company, with very little sound to accompany her appearance beside a polite throat-clear. She looks... tired.

"Pel?" She asks--mostly a formality.

"Sina was... mumbling in her sleep. She said your name once or twice, and..." she'll trail off, and run a hand through her hair with a sigh. Some of it sticks up afterwards--it doesn't look as if she's taking care of herself much.

"I know you fought not too long ago, and you were both hurt, but... would you come and see her? I think she'd like that."


[Everybody.]

[Bring flowers? Study her? Cry a bit? Be accusatory? Come on in!]

Comments

[mythalenaste]

Pel's hands calm a little as she braids Sina's hair--two rope twists in the front, mingling with the rest of her hair. Then she decks Sina in flowers, framing her sweet face in fair petals.

"Morrigan and I finally translated those Veilfire runes from Keeper Hawen," she says, trying to remain relaxed so she won't over-excite Sina. "They're directions to the lost Temple of Dirthamen. Leliana has granted my request to fund an excursion."

[eolasemah]

Sina's eyes widen, and though she winces again at the sudden intake of breath, it's impossible to mask how intrigued the news makes her. She opens her mouth as if wanting to say something, thinks better at it, and simply looks at Pel imploringly. She wants to know more.

[mythalenaste]

A warm smile, unhindered by Pel's usual self-consciousness about how her smile looks.

"We're going next month. Word is the last people to seek it out was a group of treasure hunters who were never seen again. I'm sure the Veil must be very thin there. We may need to purge the area of harmful spirits, but when we have--Sina, it is one of our holy sites. And you have helped to uncover it."

[eolasemah]

At that, tears spring to Sina's eyes. Perhaps things will get better after all, with the force of the Inquisition behind them, with people actively trying. Her encounter with Merrill springs to mind, one of several examples she's seen recently of the People working hard to right the wrongs against them. Perhaps they won't all disappear into the annals of history. There is hope.

She can't resist, and though it hurts her, Sina manages to croak: "...I wish..." and after a breath, "...I could.. come." The words are only half-voiced, half-articulated, but her intent with them is clear.

[mythalenaste]

"Don't speak." Pel is deeply moved by the effort Sina makes to express her desire, though. Her smile wanes. "If we can make sure it's safe, I'll take you there myself one day. Maybe in summer, when you're feeling better. I'll just make Merrick carry you."

It isn't likely to actually happen. If Sina can barely breathe now, what are the chances of her surviving until summer? But these fantasies are important to convalescence. Planning a life ahead of illness is crucial.

[eolasemah]

Speaking was a mistake-- not only do her lungs hurt, but that whole region, including her throat, is still sore from the shock. She squeezes her eyes shut from the pain, nodding through it nonetheless with a small smile. She will go, she decides. By summer, this will all be sorted out. It must be.
In the meantime, she's exhausted from even that minimal effort.

[mythalenaste]

"You ought to rest now. Would you like me to bring a book to read to you?"

[eolasemah]

Sina nods again, letting her eyes fall closed despite her wanting to talk to Pel. Something to alleviate the tediousness of constant pain will be so welcome.