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

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

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!]

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Returning briefly on a supply run, it doesn't take Korrin long to hear about the rift that had opened up in Skyhold. The poor soul who first mentions it doesn't have much in the way of details despite the Vashoth mage drilling him for information. But Sina -or rather 'that Dalish with the chest shard- is mentioned as having played a major part and that sends her running.

Korrin will check the infirmary first; if Sina's not there, then her usual resting place. If not there then she'll just harass whoever she must until answers are forthcoming. Either way, her approach is not at all quiet nor does she think to make it so. At the moment, all that matters if finding her fallen friend.

Eventually, Korrin's search--and one of Adelaide's students--will lead her to a tent set up in the corner of the garden. Inside, both elves are asleep. Sina is curled around her chest, the glow of the shard soft and eerie in the dim light of the tent, while Nari has fallen asleep beside the cot, legs tucked beneath her, hands cupped around Sina's slender fingers.

Stirring at the rustle, the hunter will sit up quickly, eyes darting to take in the Vashoth mage. Upon seeing the naked worry on Korrin's face, she'll relax visibly, rubbing her bleary eyes with the heels of her palms.

"She's sleeping, but her breathing is easier today."

The tension in her shoulders fades a little upon hearing that, and Korrin crouches down both to better observe Sina and so that Nari won't have to strain to look up at her, as most do. She lets out a soft sigh, inexplicably guilt-ridden for having been absent at the worst time, despite not knowing how her presence alone could have prevented this.

"What the hell happened, exactly? All I've heard was something about a rift spewing demons and Sina being near it." Despite her blunt words, her tone is nothing but concern, her gaze centered on that glow of the chest-shard.

"I wasn't there when it opened," Nari replied, guilt heavy like stones in her voice. "I ran as fast as I could--when I got there, Sina was on the ground, convulsing, the shard was so bright, and there were demons." She rubbed an eye again, then reached to check the cloth on Sina's forehead. Finding it dry, she dipped it into the bucket of cool water nearby, wrung it, and replaced it as gently as one might touch a frightened bird.

"Adelaide came soon after, thank the Creators, and began to heal her. Then the Rifters came and tried to close it, but Sina's shard connected to the rift when theirs did and it hurt her, so we moved her away, and..." The hunter's eyes had started to glimmer, "and she--stopped breathing, but Adelaide and her spirit brought her back." Nari sniffed once, roughly, and ran her hand beneath her nose. "And then they closed it, I guess."

"I... I've heard some muttering that they think Sina opened it. Without meaning to, of course, but... that we don't know what the shards can do or how they do it."

That she had her blades within easy reach said enough about what she thought might come from the talk.

Edited 2016-01-30 20:58 (UTC)

As that cloth on Sina's forehead is temporarily removed, Korrin places her hand there, though whether clammy or feverish she doesn't seem satisfied. How can she be, seeing the poor Dalish mage like this? Just looking at her has the Vashoth blinking back tears, though her expression hardens at that last part, and she blades to those blades with an approving nod.

"Fear makes people angry and stupid, and that fact that we have plenty of shard-bearers around might make them targets. Fucking idiots, would they really be so quick to forget that said shard-bearers have saved us, time and again? Look, I won't be around for long -Emprise du Lion is still too much of a mess- but while I'm here I won't let any panicked idiots reach her or you. And I'll check in with those remaining to see who can help keep watch."

Edited 2016-01-30 22:16 (UTC)

It'd been simple enough- propping up a tent in the gardens where it was warm, where Sina usually felt the most comfortable. After what she had endured? Somewhere secure and comfortable is best. The bone deep ache and raging migraine the next day had been well worth her efforts. The girl lives. It's more than she'd hoped for when Sina went still and quiet and cold under the rift.

Adelaide blinks at being addressed, her own lips stretching in a wry, weary grin. "I made a promise. I am not in the habit of breaking them."

"Even so," Nari continued with quiet insistence, "even if you could not help but aid, by virtue of who and what you are, that doesn't make it somewhat you shouldn't be thanked for." She puttered about, doing the small tasks she could. Organize herbs, cloth, bedding, stoke the low embers that kept the tea hot.

"Your spirit, similarly." A beat, and then, "may I ask how you came to be ladarelan'elgar? There are stories of those who walk with spirits, and their works, but not many of how it came to pass."

"Thank you," she said. Simple words, but there was a depth of gratitude to them. "If you would, apologize to the scouts for me? I meant to come and join the front lines in Emprise. I meant to be on my way out with a caravan that same day, but then--" she gestures helplessly at their surroundings. "I can't leave, not now, if she were to wake up alone..."

Nari chuckles, although the sound is more forlorn than anything. "I don't know which of us needs me by her bedside more. Me, most like." Sina had plenty of people who cared deeply for her--she cultivated good will almost as well as plants. Living things just seemed to love her. Nahariel on the other hand... she had only one Sina.

"I'll send letters with the supply trains, if you like. By crystal for any more immediate news?"

"Compassion? They cannot bear to leave pain unsoothed or a wound unmended. It is a large part of our contract that allows me to work with them- seeing to it that they can treat as many as possible." A spirit must fulfill it's purpose. It is as vital to them as air and food to mortals.

Adelaide stretched a hand out, fingers glowing blue as Comassion's awareness swept over Sina. Weary, but well. "I've been able to hear spirits for as long as I can remember. I was not able to understand them until I was twelve. Compassion has been with me since I was a child."

Korrin nods, likewise grateful. She's going to be busy most of the time and weary the rest, but that won't stop her from wanting to check the crystal for any word. "Please do, when you get the chance. Araceli and I have come to enjoy her company, and I know she'll be eager for updates."

Knowing that Araceli has her own shard as well, her shoulders slump. Could this happen to her, too? What if it was inevitable, given time? "I thought the shards were stable, not like the Herald's at first. If they can do all that, even without the Breach around to provoke them...." Trailing off, she falls silent for a moment, filled with nothing but dread for those affected. "You won't have to leave her bedside. If you're running low on supplies, I can take care of that while I'm here. Anything that will help her or you." At this point, it's going to the same cause. And poor Nahariel must be beyond exhausted.

She scratched her head slightly, and sighs. "To be completely honest, I have no idea what we need. Everything I know about field medicine is totally useless. It's not as if it can be bandaged. Herbs maybe? Adelaide or one of her students would know. Or actually--" she brightened suddenly. "You're a mage, right? Do you know what might be useful to help replenish stores of energy after doing a lot of magical healing?"

Absently nodding to the first question, Korrin frowns in thought. "Regeneration potions might help to some small extent, since they last over a period of time. More than that, magic-wise, and Adelaide ought to be consulted since healing is her expertise, not mine. I wouldn't want to make things worse, even through good intentions. I hate to say it, but it might be that only time will replenish what she's lacking."

It's not the answer she wants to give, though, and her expression is apologetic. "Has she awakened at all? Does she know what's happened to her?" The more lucid, the better...right?

Nahariel shook her head quickly, "Oh, not for Sina. I mean for Adelaide. She expended so much to keep Sina alive and block as much pain as she could. I don't think she would ever complain about it, but if there's something that could be done, I would like to. As far as Sina..." her expression turned more somber, looking back to where her clansister lay curled.

"She's spoken once or twice, but in a delirium. I'm not sure she knows where she is, or who is there, even when she does stir." Absently, she reached out to hold one pale hand, gently rubbing it with her thumb. "I think she must know a little, somewhere. If she wakes truly, I'll tell her you came."

It isn't the best news, but the fact that she'd awakened at all, even in that state, is something. Korrin tries to smile, taking what she can from that. "Thank you...and I hope she does. Maybe she can tell us more when she's further healed, but either way I'll just be grateful to see her awake and coherent again. If there's anything that might cheer her up, I'll see what I can do to send it over."

It's a fair bet that Sina will have more halla figurines and plant seeds than she'll ever know what to do with, but Korrin will wrack her brain for something more than that as well. "Oh--Adelaide?" The correction causes her to relax a little, much less uncertain when it comes to the woman who hadn't nearly died with a shard in her chest. "I can leave some lyrium potions for her; it's not as though I can't make a fresh batch for myself before leaving, and it won't take too long." Adelaide probably has her own, but it can't hurt to leave a few more.

"That would be--" Nahariel began. She meant to say 'kind,' but what came out instead was a small strangled noise. Her chest felt suddenly heavy, cheeks tingling, vision blurry as she suddenly found herself watching her clansister through a liquid veil. She clapped a hand to her mouth and blinked hard, a single tear escaping down her cheek in a curving line not too far from that of her vallaslin.

Kind. Everyone had been so kind. Adelaide, Bruce, Korrin, Sam... none of them of the People. Even Alayre, a Templar, had done his level best to bring them both safely to Skyhold. She'd been so afraid. So afraid of being alone, just the two of them. Afraid of the Inquisition. Afraid of what it would mean to be among shem'len. And most of all, afraid of the shard. Afraid that she could do nothing to stop it when the time came.

And the time had come, and she had been right. She couldn't do anything to stop it.

But Adelaide could. Had. And so had the Rifters, and the Ashara, and the Wardens, and the others who had come, refugee, to Skyhold. Even now, a qunari, whose curving horns had near brushed the top of their tent, offered kindness.

And so, overwhelmed, her cheeks ruddy with the embarrassment of it, Nahariel wept into her hands.

Upon seeing that first, single tear, Korrin pauses awkwardly, not knowing what she should do. She barely knows Nahariel, only speaking to her directly just now, and uncertain if the Dalish woman would accept or reject whatever comfort she attempts to provide. But that weeping tears at her heart and Korrin isn't one to be idle when people are suffering. Not one to have much patience with bland, meaningless reassurances, Korrin doesn't give them now. But she does settle down by Nahariel and gently draws her in close, her large and sturdy frame more than capable of supporting the smaller elf woman. There's no rush on the Vashoth's end; Sina's clanmate can take all the time she needs.

For a long while Nahariel was like a board in Korrin's arms, still and stiff save for the shaking of her shoulders, but she didn't pull away. And then, when the Vashoth mage didn't either, the hunter's posture slowly softened in the embrace, although her hands remained clasped over her face.

Finally, she gave a rather long and decisive sniff, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

"...Keeper Thalia would be ashamed of me, I think," she said with a small rueful chuckle, the words slightly muffled by her other hand. "Even though the Vir Adahlen teaches that we're stronger together... I'm not sure she meant the 'we' to include those not of the People."

Nari sniffed again, and looked up at Korrin, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy but full of gratitude. "But... I don't think I'm ashamed of me. Too ashamed, anyway," she chuckled again, rubbed her eyes, "I did cry on someone I hardly know.

"Ma serannas, Korrin. For being fond of Sina. For the potions. And hopefully for not making fun of the state of my face right now. And... for doing your part to prove me wrong about us being alone."

Pel has settled for hearing about Sina through other sources, certain that the last thing the girl needs while stressed is to see her. Nahariel approaches, and Pel looks up, almost too eager for news. And she is surprised.

"You...you're sure? That's not going to put more strain on her?"

If there's anything remotely wrong with Nahariel's fate as it is, Korrin doesn't seem to think so. She shakes her head, not about to kick someone when they're down anyway. Teasing of any sort can wait for a less fragile time, and when they're more familiar with each other.

"Good, because you're not. These are extraordinary times, and I'd hope your Keeper would bend a little in light of that. Most of us here aren't Dalish, but that doesn't mean we can't be your 'clan away from the clan'. Many of us are in the exact same state, separated from family and those who might as well be. Drawing together in times like these makes it easier to cope with all the shit thrown at us."

The hunter's eyes will widen briefly, "Since so young? In dreams, or even waking? I--" she'll cut herself off, and look embarrassed. "I'm sorry. You're weary. I've just never met a true era'elgar."

Nari lifts her shoulders in a small shrug. "I don't..." A pause, and then, "She's not awake. Or when she does, she's deep in delirium. I don't know what to do besides wait, and I thought maybe... if I could bring someone she asked for..." She crosses her arms over her chest, looks at the pattern of the stone by Pel's feet. Nahariel is silent for a while longer, and then:

"...I think she'd like to know that you still consider her a friend. If you do."

"Mostly in dreams- when I was very still and focused I could hear them while waking. The older I became, the better I heard them. I did not understand them but..." Knowing she wasn't mad- that was worth quite a bit. "What does that mean, exactly? I have not heard that before."

"Era'elgar? It is a mage who has a spirit within them. A good one. If they use it to aid in healing, as you do, we call them ladarelan'elgar. Ladarelan is our word for healer, elgar for spirit." Nari leaned against the wall, frowning slightly. "I've heard what humans call those possessed by demons, but... is there a word for those like you, who work with a spirit as a partner?"

She wanted to go farther, to ask whether or not the Chantry, in its infinite wisdom, even discriminated between the two, or if they held all the denizens of the Fade in fear; but those were harsh questions to ask someone who more than likely bore the brunt of what the Circles had to offer.

"Spirit Healer is what we are called most often." Era'elgar. That is something else she tucks away- perhaps she can read up more on how the Dalish handle such things- spirits and demons and possession. But for now...she keeps her focus on Sina and soothing the damage the rift caused. "It is different- our spirit is truly a partner on their side of the veil. They do not share our skin, merely come when we call. Further research is...restricted due to the danger of such things."

Madame de Fer has serious issue with a rift being opened directly in the fortress, but then, she had serious issue with an Abomination happening as well. They know so very little about these shards in people and what they can and cannot do, beyond the closing, and now opening of more rifts. It is trouble, plain and simple.

But this is not the reason she has come. Whether any of the mages in the Inquisition even know, or like it, Vivienne has collectively given herself responsibility for the welfare of them all. She considers them all hers, Dalish or Circle or apostate. Because someone must be active in seeing to their care and safety. Sina is no exception to this blanket concern. If anything, she's especially so, as she rather reminds the Iron Lady of a timid deer, easily startled.

Espying Sina's guardian in the tent upon entering, she inquires after the little mage softly lest she be woken. "How does she fare?"

The poor dear looks scared and in pain, even in her slumber.

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

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