Our aspirations are wrapped up in books

[bookish_lioness]

WHO: Hermione Granger and Open!
WHAT: There's a new witch mage wandering around Skyhold. Come say hello?
WHEN: Backdated to her arrival near the end of Guardian and onward throughout Drakonis.
WHERE: The library. All over Skyhold. But mostly its library.
NOTES: Feel free to run into her pretty much anywhere, or have her run into you. And be prepared for all the questions about your character and Thedas/their homeworld and everything in between.

If not for the fact that Hermione had spent so many of her formative years in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Skyhold might have been overwhelming

As it was, the sprawling fortress was a little hard to get used to, since the academic environment that had given Hogwarts some sense of structure amidst the chaos wasn't present here. There was a library, thankfully, and she spent much of her time there, though it was so small that she was certain she'd end up reading every book in there in two weeks' time if she didn't actually go out and explore the rest of her surroundings.

And so every so often, she pried herself away from the cold little corner she'd set aside for herself and wander the rest of the area, though granted, she more often than not was carrying at least one book with her. Usually it was one of the books that had survived the trip through the Fade; anyone who might spot her in the garden or tavern or a safe distance away from the sparring going on in the training grounds might notice her engrossed in such unfamiliar titles as Hogwarts, A History or occasionally digging through Spellman's Syllabary in the vain hope of finding recognizable runes on various inscriptions throughout Skyhold.

After all, just because she was endlessly fascinated by all the new people and cultures and history and magic, it didn't mean she didn't occasionally need a bittersweet reminder of home. Especially when her other major reminder was her wand, which - despite the fact that she'd taken to finding the most solitary places she could find and practicing with it harder than she ever had the night before an exam - still wasn't behaving properly at all. Apologies to those of you who end up slipping on some wayward ice or getting sprayed with pebbles from a spell gone wrong.

Comments

/random horribleness

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin doesn't often seek out-of-the way areas, but when she does it's usually with the purpose of reading letters from 'home' and writing back. She has a stack that needs answering, having accumulated since her departure for Emprise du Lion. Now that she's around again, they deserve some decent replies in turn. Hence her picking that abandoned tower not too far from the tavern. Given it's decrepit status, no one seems interested in claiming it and as such its a perfect spot.

The Vashoth mage steps inside...and promptly yelps as she slides on a patch of ice that shouldn't be there. She reaches back for the doorframe but misses and promptly falls on her back, her letters scattering everywhere. There's a hiss of pain, though she can barely manage more with the wind knocked out of her lungs. "Vashedan!"

no that’s horrible and by horrible I mean perfect

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione used to be able to manipulate her magic seamlessly, which means that she's extraordinarily frustrated by the state of things now. It's taking far too much effort to do something as simple as a Levitating Charm, and she just barely manages to see the broken chair she's focusing on twitch just slightly off the ground before she hears someone cry out, causing her to jump and whirl around with a gasp.

She's not sure if it's worse that it's someone she knows versus someone she doesn't but either way, Hermione immediately (and carefully) makes her way toward Korrin, reaching out a hand for her... despite the fact that the much larger woman is more likely to pull her down with her than be helped up. "Korrin! I'm so sorry! Are you all right?" The scattered papers everywhere make her fret for a moment that she'd dropped a book and the pages had flown out of the seams, and that just makes her feel even worse.

[gatheringstorm]

The hand up is appreciated, though mindful of the size difference, Korrin tries to stand mostly on her own effort. That's slow going, though, as she moves stiffly and winces. That's going to hurt for a while. She takes no notice of the scattered letters for the moment in light of that, as bending over to pick them up just isn't going to happen right now.

"Hermione? I--ow--that'll sting for a bit. I've had worse, though." Far worse. She does her best to avoid that slippery patch of ice on the floor this time, not wanting an encore of her graceless moment. "Experimenting with ice magic?"

[lettersfromhome]

Mia comes to the garden now and then, when she isn't otherwise occupied bustling around the castle. That does take up a tremendous amount of the day, partially by design, but she's been told more than once that taking a break won't hurt.

And the garden is such a lovely spot for sitting, taking in the sunshine and the smell of flowers, and setting up for a game of chess. Some days she plays herself, for lack of any competition, and other times people invite themselves over to join her. She's just in the midst of moving towards the pavilion to set up such a game when she spots the unfamiliar girl nearby, her nose pressed into a book.

"Good reading?" she murmurs, by way of greeting, before stepping up towards the table already sitting at the ready.

[bookish_lioness]

Sometimes Hermione can still pretend that she's at Hogwarts, just... during a holiday when there are no classes and most of the other students have gone home. The grounds here at Syhold are certainly almost large enough to be similar, after all. But at Hogwarts, people generally don't talk to her when she's reading, not unless it has something to do with last-minute review for an exam or, you know. A matter of life and death.

So when she hears someone speaking nearby, she glances up for a moment, only to be surprised that the unfamiliar woman is speaking to her. Considering it to be simply idle chatter, she smiles a little, a fingertip holding her place in her reading.

"Research. After a fashion." She's still holding onto some hope that re-reading the books from home will shed some light on how she'd gotten here and how she could get back, but even Hogwarts, A History has its limitations.

[lettersfromhome]

Mia's eyebrows lift. "Goodness. Well, I didn't mean to interrupt," she answers in turn, setting the board on the table and unfolding it, picking up the pieces that have scattered along the inside. It will take a few moments to set them all into place, and she does so with practiced patience.

"You couldn't have picked a nicer spot for it," she adds after a moment, turning her head to gaze skyward. A few ravens appear to be leaving the tower, off to destinations unknown.

[serannas]

Hermione wasn't the only one looking for a solitary space. Ellana didn't mind others coming across her practicing her lute, but that was because she was switching between the few songs she actually knew rather well by now. There were still a few slip ups that left her flustered, but she decided to move on to something new rather than go over the same few pieces yet again. She'd asked the minstrel in the tavern to write out a simple song for her -- only a few repeated chords -- and now Ellana was looking for a quiet spot to practice this new song. She knew that the ramparts above the barn rarely saw people, and the wind up there would carry away her poorly played notes, so she headed up there, lute strapped to her back.

To her surprise, someone was already there, and holding a strange little stick. Ellana was just about to make her presence known when a load of pebbles came flying at her and she let out a yelp, dropping a glyph under her feet to raise a barrier over herself out of pure instinct. There was a brief moment of panic, born out of the fact that some people just really, really hated elves, but then logic kicked in and she knew that if this person wanted to hurt her, she wouldn't use pebbles.

"What are you trying to do?" she asked tentatively, still unsure if she was unwelcome.

[bookish_lioness]

Hearing someone cry out, Hermione gasped and turned around, immediately stopping what she was doing. A few larger rocks littered the floor around her, but she forgot all about them as she took a tentative step towards the other woman, reaching out a concerned hand.

"I'm sorry! You didn't get scratched up, did you? I was just trying to work on some small Blasting Charms; the larger ones haven't been working very well for me, so I figured that I could start small and if things got out of hand and I fell, at least I'd fall into the hay. Probably. Maybe if I stood a bit more to the right...."

Feeling a little foolish, Hermione hid her wand up her sleeve, giving up on magic for the moment at least. "I didn't know people came up here. I can go find someplace else to practice."

[serannas]

Quick to shake her head no, Ellana gestured to herself to show she was fine. There were thin blue lines swirling around her form as evidence of her barrier protecting her, but it was rapidly decaying without being cast with a staff for focus.

"I'm fine. I've never heard of a Blasting Charm before." Her head tilted in curiosity, especially as the wand disappeared up her sleeve. "You're one of those who came in through the rift, aren't you? Don't worry about being up here. I was just looking for a place to practice music, but you were here first."

[fightingale]

New figures near the Rookery do not go unnoticed. Her scouts keep track of those lurking nearby, and the library was extremely nearby. A young woman, they said, sometimes seen with a stick. Some manner of mage, perhaps, and although one of her scouts had skidded on ice after seeing her working with her exceptionally tiny staff, the act had apparently not appeared to be a malicious one.

Leliana finds herself curious, one day, when she spots the young woman in the Library, and not for the first time that week. She, herself, has a gift be blending and being unseen, but then that is what she was raised to be. Minstrel turned monster, you could say.

Approaching the potential-mage potential-rifter, Leliana takes note of the book she is reading, eyebrow quirked as she stands, posture overly correct and hands behind her back. "That one is a less than reliable account of elven history," Leliana offers, quietly. "Better you speak to the Dalish and to our Arcane Advisor, if you should wish to gain some understanding."

Understanding of the Dalish and the plight of elves is skewed enough, as is. Better to go to those who have lived it, and those who have dedicated so much of their life trying to piece together whatever understanding they can gather.

[bookish_lioness]

While Hermione has grown marginally more observant since the beginning of the Second Wizarding War - she notes how many possible exits a room has and where there would be the most cover in the midst of a sudden battle, for instance - she assumes she's relatively safe here, especially when she's hidden among her books. The only dangers she knows of in this world are the demons that fall out of the rift, and as she hasn't seen any of that distinctive green color outside of the palm of her hand, she's going to assume she's not in so much danger that she can't afford to get lost in a book or two. Or seven.

It's especially easy to get lost in her reading when she's learning about an entirely new world that sounds eerily similar to hers in some respects and yet not at all like it in most others. She knows about elves, and has a great affinity for them, but she hasn't seen any around Skyhold (at least, not any that she can recognize as elves). And what's described in this book... it doesn't sound very elfish at all.

But then an unfamiliar voice seems to explain why, and she looks up to see a woman that she hadn't noticed before. Which isn't out of the ordinary, really, considering how many people have sought out shelter in Skyhold or have otherwise come to call the fortress home.

So she manages a small smile as she quizzically asks, "Dalish? Those are the nomadic elves, aren't they? I thought they avoided humans?" Flipping through earlier passages of the book, she explains, "I'm still trying to learn about the different kinds of beings that inhabit this world. We have elves at home, and no one really knows much about them either... but unless this writer took certain liberties in the way she describes the elves here, I'm going to guess there are some marked disparities between the two."

[fightingale]

If she had any reason to doubt that the girl was likely a rifter, those are now vanished. Interesting to listen to her voice, though. Lara and this young woman had accents that seemed not terrible different from one another, but Lara had said that elves lived only in the realms of fiction in her world, and so too dwarves and dragons. Qunari existed not at all. Then again, there are those of Thedas with similar accents, but the overlap in some things was intriguing - moreso, given her and Morrigan's fledgling project.

"That they are, though it is rather more complex than their simply being nomadic." And Leliana nods. She speaks with careful precision, always, and her own accent might not sound so terribly unfamiliar to Hermione - though it isn't quite French. "And for the most part, yes. With good reason, as well, but times such as these have the potential to draw people together who might not otherwise find any commonality. The Dalish lend the Inquisition their aid and their knowledge, and for that we owe them much." And they had already owed them far more than could ever be given.

"Well," she starts, glancing towards the Rookery and allowing herself the indulgence of sitting for a moment, instead, "there are accuracies, and then there are exaggerations and distortions of fact. It is hard to find a book that treats elves fairly, in truth. Thedosian culture is rich with the urge to denigrate them. "But if you have questions, I can endeavour to answer them with a little more balance, until you find time to speak with them, if such a thing should even interest you. What differences have these books indicated between the elves of your world than ours?"

She should probably introduce herself, but this is a matter she feels rather passionately about.

Some random garden area between point A and point B?

[demonicbeauty]

Ariadne had found the absolute, perfect tree branch. It was high enough off the ground to feel safe, but low enough that she wasn't quite hidden by the leaves of higher branches. It rose at just such an angle that she could tuck herself into the nook where branch met trunk and feel stable, but it wasn't so high that she was uncomfortable straddling it.

It was such a little thing to find. But somehow, it made Ariadne more comfortable than she'd been in months. If she just squeezed her eyes shut the right way, she could almost fool herself into thinking that she was back in the forests of Deleo.

Funny. She'd never really been all that homesick for the forest before. Not while she was living in Valeria, a place full of bustling and energy and life. It was only now, when the possibility of ever going back to her childhood home seemed so remote, that she found that she missed it.

The branch would have to be a good-enough substitute.

And for the moment, it was. She was stretched out and content, absently playing a few notes on her pipes when an unfamiliar scent caught her attention.

Someone new? How exciting!

Sounds good! o/

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione had started out looking for some place with no people or animals around, since her magic was beginning to be more of a nuisance than anything else. People kept getting hurt, or at the very least annoyed, and she really didn't want to end up wearing out her welcome when she had no place else to go at the moment.

But despite her search for solitude, she couldn't help but realize that she was walking towards the vague sound of music, and she eventually looked up, catching sight of someone in a tree. For a moment, it seemed like the sort of mad thing Luna Lovegood might do, but then she realized that no, Luna wasn't here, and that girl up there looked nothing like Luna, and it probably wasn't very polite to stare.

At least, it wouldn't be polite to stare without saying something, so she offers a smile before moving to continue on her way. "That doesn't look particularly comfortable."

[demonicbeauty]

Ariadne glanced down at her position curiously. Humans were always so strange when it came to comfort. Of course, it had taken her forever to get used to sleeping in a bed, but now she quite enjoyed it.

Matter of taste.

With a shrug, she hooked her right knee around the crook of the branch and threw her weight forward, flipping so that she was hanging upside down by her knee. The long rope of hair over her shoulder, pulled into a neat braid, coiled on the ground beneath her.

She offered the stranger an impish smile.

"Does this look better?"

[el_tybs]

It's after a long practice session in the training ring that Sam actually notices her, reading on her own off to the side, but still within eye shot from where he was. It was not a typical spot for someone to try and read considering the amount of noise and wind that usually swept through this part of the area. Curious, he makes his way over, loose shirt a bit wet from sweat and water and towel wrapped around his neck.

Upon getting closer Sam tilts his head, unfamiliar with the title of the book. Not that he knew every title, but certainly Hogwarts did not ring a bell. "Afternoon," he greets warmly, trying to grab her attention without startling her.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione has learned to block out all sorts of background noise, from games of Exploding Snap to magical pranks being pulled. So long as no one addresses her directly or says anything that would ring any internal alarms, it takes a lot to actually distract her from a book.

Even a book she's read a hundred times over still has its charm, and so she's completely engrossed in the one she's reading now before she feels someone standing fairly close to her; given that she doesn't sense anyone else in the immediate vicinity, she can only assume that the greeting is meant for her, and so she looks up, smiling a little in greeting.

"Hello," she returns, before noticing the state of him. Gaze shifting over to the training ring, she asks, "Been sparring a bit, have you?"

[el_tybs]

"Just finished actually, yes." Saying that, Sam looks over at his shoulder at the training ring as well for a moment before turning his eyes back. "Don't see many people choosing this spot to read. Interesting book? Can't say the title of it is familiar."

That's not the only unfamiliar thing here. He doesn't know everyone by name, but he's pretty certain he hasn't seen her around Skyhold before. Not only that but her accent isn't like anything else he's heard. "Did you just arrive to Skyhold?"

[theproperglove]

Josephine is returning from an errand when she notices the stranger. She doesn't get out of her office too often these days, so it is not so unusual to run into more people that she doesn't know. However, Josephine likes to know people, and she hasn't taken the chance to strike up much idle conversation lately.

Mind made up, she begins to make her way over. It is when she draws closer that Josephine realises that this young woman is no mere refugee or soldier, but as a matter of fact, most likely a rifter. She falls into step with the woman, almost shyly before asking, "If you're busy, I'll not disturb you further, but I couldn't help but notice..." Her eyes fall to the books in the woman's hands. "I don't believe I've heard of Hogwarts before."

[bookish_lioness]

Most days, Hermione finds herself feeling painfully out of place here, even if she knows she's only one such person who feels that way. Even so, being unable to fully understand this world and the people in it bothers her, and no amount of reading really helps her get a sense of what Thedas is really like. So she continues to try talking to people, almost as though this is an overly complex and strenuous social experiment rather than an instance of her being utterly stranded.

When she notices someone walking alongside her, she's only surprised for a moment before managing a small smile. People here have been so friendly that it's hard to believe that things are as dangerous outside of Skyhold as she's heard. "Oh," she remarks, slowing down and looking down at the topmost book piled up in her arms, "no, I suppose you wouldn't have. It's a school. My school. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I've read this book dozens of times, so I suppose it makes me feel like I'm not as far away from it as I feel."

[theproperglove]

At Hermione's answer, Josephine's eyes light up in delight. "So, you are a rifter. I always wonder what you all must think of Thedas. It is a shame you could not come during less tumultuous times. There is much--" And Josephine realises she is rambling; she cuts herself off and does her best to restrain herself.

"Hm. In any case, I can understand the homesickness to some small degree. I may not have come as far as you, but I miss it. I hope your stay so far has been pleasant enough, despite the current circumstances?"

wand problems

[dreamcatcher]

Emma has done a lot of traveling in the past few years, yet somehow that doesn't make it all that much easier to be plopped into a different magical world. As far as she can tell, there aren't too many connections with this world and the ones she was at least vaguely used to. It wasn't some far adjacent country in the Enchanted Forest. It wasn't some sisterstate of Wonderland. Which meant she had no idea where the hell this 'Thedas' was meant to be, relative with where her family was. It was very unnerving.

It would have been unnerving all on its own. When she's carrying the weight of more dark magic than any person could possibly want? It's even worse. She's usually better at blending, finding her own way into the thread of daily life through sheer survival. It's a hell of a lot harder when she tries so desperately to keep everyone at arm's length — for the safety of everyone, not just herself.

She spends plenty of time wandering around, though. Idle hands and thoughts were a bad combination for her these days. She's definitely not expecting to walk across a sheer patch of ice in the middle of the castle, and there's little grace in her arm windmills to keep her footing. Apparently not even dark ones could look cool when trying not to fall on their ass. She spots someone, a girl, with a stick at the ready, and it takes her a horribly long time to realize what it must be.

"Is that a wand?" The last time she saw a wand, it was when she was using one. The wand of the dark fairy to open a portal to get her and Hook back to Storybrooke. It feels so long ago... her gut clenches at the memory, and she misses him despite herself. No, focus on the present... thoughts like that won't get her anywhere. "I'm guessing the impromptu slip and slide is yours too."

[bookish_lioness]

It's the flailing of arms that catches Hermione's eye first, and she turns with a start, tempted to use magic to fix the problem before realizing that right, it's been taking all of her focus just to keep her wand from recoiling like a shotgun. Her magic has been all over the place, sometimes stronger than expected and other times hardly passing for actual magic at all, and so she's been much more reserved in how she's been using it. That's why she's been trying to practice at it wherever there seems to be limited traffic.

Of course, she's quickly finding out there's no such thing as limited traffic in Skyhold. She's beginning to think it's even worse than Hogwarts, what with there being no class schedules or curfews to thin out the crowd.

At any rate, she at least feels appropriately guilty even if she opts not to attempt to use magic to try and keep this woman upright. She does well enough with that on her own, leaving Hermione to promptly reply, "I'm so sorry! Ice and fire seem to be the easiest sorts of spells for me these days, and since fire is so destructive, I'm reluctant to do more than a Bluebell Flame, even though people keep slipping on-...."

She trails off, then, realizing that the woman had recognized her wand as an actual wand, and not just as a tiny staff, as so many other people here have called it. Quickly looking her over, she manages to just barely spot the familiar mark on the woman's hand, and she can't help the surge of excitement that goes through her. Could this be someone else from her world?

"You know what a wand is! Are you a witch?" Her accent sounds American, and Hermione had never met an American witch before, which just makes this meeting that much more interesting for her.

Library!

[justice_is_blond]

He's got a few books to return that he'd been studying, mostly discourses on how various nations and their mages viewed and worked with spirits. They haven't been helpful in the least. It's little surprise.

What is a surprise is a new face in the library, one he's not run into before. Anders nods to the young woman as he slips books back on the shelves for what may be the last time.

"I think I saw you briefly in Emprise du Lion?" His time had been spent healing those injured by demons, and there'd been a lot of them, so few names and faces had really stood out. "What are you reading?"

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione's come to notice the familiar revolution of faces in the library, given that it's where she spends most of her time. So when someone she hasn't seen there before addresses her, it's enough to take her away from her reading for a few moments. After all, she's been finding that talking to the people here has been, in some respects, more informative than reading.

"Oh... probably? I know that's where I was when I'd first arrived, but you'll have to excuse me for having been a bit too frazzled to have remembered much about who I'd come across there." Holding her place in her book, she shrugs a shoulder and explains, "People keep calling me a 'mage', so I'm picking through whatever books I can find on them. I'm finding... a lot of information, but I can't say how much of it is actually helpful." Some books had been written with a clearer bias than others, either for or against mages, and so she has no idea how to tell what information is actually accurate and how she should be feeling in terms of her place in Thedas.