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WHO: Fiona & you
WHAT: Fiona and all of her Skyhold haunts
WHEN: Late Guardian (Covering a span of time)
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Nothing presently

library;

Her most frequented retreat upon arriving at Skyhold, it is quite, the alcoves are relatively secluded, and she can easily lose herself in all of the books. It is where she can be found most often if one wishes to enjoy her company. Advice? Counsel? Favors? Idle chit-chat?

stables;

Rarely, she can be found near or around the stables, for reasons entirely her own. These days Fiona seemed somber, but fully determined to redeem herself from the mistakes she's made. Now and then, however, she can be seen with the animals, it wasn't often that she had contact with horses so stroking them was a treat.

She was also keen on the dogs roaming about, though the Grand Enchanter did not seem the type, she had quite the liking for a nice, sturdy hound as opposed to the sad toy dogs they had in Orlais. In the mud and grass she could be seen rubbing bellies and scratching behind ears.

More rare than seeing Fiona with the dogs was the occasional laugh at their doggish antics.

garden;

When not in the library or around the stables she can be located in the Garden, fresh air, exercise? Even she needs these things, but more importantly the atmosphere is excellent for meditating.

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"I doubt there is much of a difference between elves and 'dog lords'...or dogs for that matters...among the Orlesian elite," Fiona confessed aloud, and she meant every word of it if she was to be completely frank. One could argue that not all Orlesians were the same, just as not all nobles were the same and she knew this well, but she had also lived in the alienages of Orlais as a child so she was not ignorant either.

"The company of dogs? Far more attractive in my opinion," a high compliment indeed that earned her a rather fierce face licking. The dogs in Ferelden were smarter to boot.

"I couldn't agree more, but then I'm less than fond of people who mutter 'ox' every time I pass. That...gets old." If Korrin wasn't bound and determined to behave herself for the sake of the Inquisition, said elite would most definitely not forget the reaction of said 'ox'. But she's trying to keep her outbursts of temper limited to more important things, like mage council meetings.

"My parents' company had a few hunting dogs and such when I was with them, but they weren't mine and weren't pets. That was made very clear. I wouldn't mind one now, but what I do and where I go would be too dangerous for anything short of a mabari."

And even then, she'd worry. Could a mabari truly stand up against a Red Templar or rift demons?

"Shame on them. I agree completely...when I was first in the circle I heard 'knife-ear' quite a bit. Being the only elf in an Orlesian circle, it didn't make it any better," bigotry was all the same, she'd learned to ignore it and realized they could have done and said worse things, but she still hated it. The loneliness of it, not a friend in her corner, but it made her stronger regardless.

"I had a cat once...well it wasn't really mine...it was a stray in the alienage. I would feed every night until he stopped meeting me," and she knew, in spite of all her childish dreams and hopes that the cat had climbed the walls and escaped to the other side where the rats were fatter and the scraps were more plentiful...she knew her cat had been made a meal of.

"Mabari are fearless warriors...I knew one, Hafter, he took on Darkspawn without a shred of fear," and what a handsome beast he was at that.

"That sounds like Jayne and Bronson and every mabari my mercenary friends have or had. Such brave pups. Who's a brave pup? Huh? Is that you?" Korrin can't help but get all mushy with the silly canine for a moment, pleased to just have attention from people.

She looks up at mention of the discrimination Fiona suffered, though, her lips forming a thin line. "So much for Circles having been the bastion of safety and solidarity that some promote. As far as I can tell, it's always humans who say that, too. That's why I let Adelaide talk me into being on the council, you know. It's easy for them to forget that non-humans often have it even worse, if they aren't reminded."

Fiona rocked back on her heels, trying to keep her laugh polite, but it was difficult not to when Korrin spoke to the hound that way. It was refreshing if she was to be honest about it and it wasn't very often that she found herself laughing so openly.

There was a great deal that Fiona had suffered, but it was best to keep it on this level for the time being. She nodded, though, "hm...that is the truth. While I had been Grand Enchanter for a time, and while that is a position of power very few non-human's have held over the years...there is a certain hierarchy within the circles depending on who you are and where you are from. Orlais...is special in certain regards."

Special

Getting that laugh out of Fiona makes Korrin smile warmly. The Vashoth woman hasn't had much time for laughter and silliness, so whatever brief moments she can get are very welcome. And though she doesn't know the Grand Enchanter's story in detail, what she is aware of has her thinking that she's in desperate need of the same. The presence of the hounds keeps her temper down, as she wouldn't want to scare them off.

"I'm not surprised. That toxic Grand Game permeates everything, doesn't it? Even places you'd think would be safe from that nonsense. And the deeper the Inquisition heads into the Empire, the more of that there is to deal with." Emprise du Lion wasn't too bad in that respect, though it was in every other way. "That you put up with that bullshit as long as you did and stayed sane...well, I'm impressed."

Fiona expected that there were a great number among the inquisition who had very little time or opportunity for laughter. Some more so than others, so little moments like this were always a refreshing break in the ill-fated atmosphere that surrounded them most of the time. That Korrin would indulge her like this? Fiona could deeply appreciate the gesture.

"Yes and it will not be easy, especially if the Inquisition finds itself in the Empress's court...then we will all be susceptible to the manipulations of the Empire. Celene herself might have intentions that are not as terrible as Gaspard's...but she wears a mask all the same," she could only imagine the mechanisms that could and probably would happen the closer they found themselves to the Lion's den, "I am not so sure I would have survived it had I not finally discovered that I was a mage, to be perfectly honest."

Unsurprised about Celene or Gaspard, Korrin sighs. "Those in power are always awful to some degree; you don't get to the top of the heap without getting your hands bloody. Some are just better at hiding it, that's all. I never really cared for any jobs my company had to take in the Empire, since it always came back to some noble pissing contest. Give me darkspawn or dragons any day of the week."

She pauses to give that whining hound a scratch under the chin, smiling a bit at how easily it's appeased. "Considering how much you must have hated the Circles to rebel, that has to be really ironic. Did you really say 'fuck the Divine' or were they exaggerating about that?"

"There are lists of reasons to dislike the circle, particularly for someone who has known imprisonment and freedom...the circle is just another prison. For some it might be a pretty, gilded cage that offers protection, but a cage nonetheless," and having been a slave before her time as a Grey Warden, Fiona knew the value of her own freedom, even though she'd been bound by the same fate as the other Wardens. When the content of her speech had been brought up Fiona smiled sheepishly, "guilty. Yes, I did say that, it is not that I had anything against the Divine personally, she was sympathetic toward mages, but her sympathy was not enough. People are sympathetic toward elves, but has that elevated us?"

Fiona's admission prompts a quick grin from Korrin, who nods in full agreement with what's said. "It hasn't, of course. Words without actions to back them up are just that, and not deserving of respect. My people aren't treated as badly, but we're not accepted either. We live on the fringes not because we want to, but because we have to. I love the mercenary life, but there are many who don't, and that's often the only role available to them."

That or bodyguarding or banditry, but Korrin doesn't feel like covering all the popular stereotypes. "When you're a non-human and a mage, it's even worse. Twice the scorn for the price of one. That's why it matters more than ever what we do now. I have no intention of living in a cage, gilded or otherwise." Not that she's heard of any Vashoth living in Circles, but really, who wants to be the first one?

"Naturally. Elves are either pretty adornments to be treated as such, or we are vermin, again to be treated as such," as was the way the world worked, but Fiona had grown enough in her time to know that not everyone was the same, "being of the non-human variety and a mage at that certainly places the both of us in more than one category of discrimination...the labels...the positions to which we belong to or fill within this world become even more defined."

Fiona was smiling not because the topic of their conversation prompted it, but because it was quite nice to find someone who was understanding of similar issues that she faced. And she liked dogs. It had been a while since Fiona last had a friend, as a leader she did not have the luxury, there were people needing cared for and protected. Duncan had been her last, true friend and he was gone, it would be nice to have more of them considering she was not popular with many at the moment, "I...do not think I formally introduced myself, I am Fiona."

Korrin smiles and gives a polite nod at that, though the hound beside her nudges her when she briefly stops petting him to do so. Such a greedy thing. "It's difficult to hear your name and not immediately attach 'Grand Enchanter' to it. There may not be Circles anymore, but influence like that doesn't just go away, even now." Despite what happened in Redcliffe, some mages still look to Fiona and appreciate what she initially did for them. "I'm Korrin...Korrin Ataash of the Valo-Kas. Though now I guess it's more appropriate to say I'm a Knight-Enchanter under the service of the Inquisition."

Her lips twitch a little at that. "I know, it's weird for an apostate to use a Circle-based discipline. I'm still not used to that, but the style of magic suits me more than anything else I've seen." Plus, it annoys the purists, which is always a benefit in her eyes. "Just between us, though, I'm fine with shedding labels whenever possible, though. The rest of the world will do that for us; I don't feel the need to add to or reinforce them."

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