( closed ) one track mind, one track heart

[fightingale]

WHO: Advisers (Cassandra, Cullen, Josephine, Leliana), some Grey Wardens (Herc, Bethany, Nathaniel) and that other Grey Warden problem child (Anders); closed
WHAT: Leliana informs the Advisers she discovered Anders, the Wardens call dibs, everyone is grumpy and stressed.
WHEN: almost immediately following this with some timeywimey in the middle, before Cassandra and Leliana's epic disagreement
WHERE: War Room? War Room.
NOTES: AHHHHH
Not sure about warnings so I'll edit here as necessary, however! If a warning-worthy thing pops up in a tag, pls warn in the subject line!

More ooc notes, I think I got this all correct from our discussion but prod me if I got this wrong:

Leliana's initial starter - open to all the Advisers, Anders reveal, discuss
Grey Warden starters - individual starters for Herc, Bethany and Nate, advisers feel free to thread individually as you see fit or as your whims/character stuff guides you, no need to tag all wardens unless you are keen to :]b

and then freestyle discussion threads, basically :Db

And finally:


How everyone is going to feel after this, probably

Comments

[pinprick]

There is a long, breathless pause. Nathaniel teeters on a fence, stares down at the side he's considering, and looks back. This is the perfect opportunity. Everything could be made or destroyed by this moment. But even though he is Fereldan, Nathaniel is versed in the Game. His own mother played it against him when he was a child, and he knows what it looks like when an opportunity is ripe. She is sympathetic. She has laid down a single condition. Now is the time.

"That," he says, quietly, as if Justice could be listening now, "does not have to continue to be true."

He glances up at Leliana to gauge her reaction.

[fightingale]

She has seen it done before, had watched when Connor was freed, yet Leliana holds her tongue, keeps her expression carefully schooled. She will not be played for a fool, be manipulated, and she will not risk this Inquisition any more than it has already been rocked.

"Explain," she says, calm and quiet - keeping her cards to herself, for the time being.

He has not earned her trust, nor her good will, and neither has Anders. Feeling for him is not the same as forgiveness. Feeling for him is not the same as no longer wanting to see him suffer. But Nathaniel has... said words that bear consideration, even if she will interrogate them from every side, consider every motivation and try to scrutinise them.

[pinprick]

Nathaniel holds her gaze and lays two words at her feet.

"Connor. Guerrin."

There. He has sealed Anders' fate. There's no turning back now. Maybe one day, Anders will forgive him. Maybe one day, Nathaniel will forgive himself.

[fightingale]

Leaning forward, Leliana studies Nathaniel carefully. It seems a risky card to play. There are so many ways it could go awry, and it had not been easy to see Connor freed. Based on what Nathaniel has said thus far, Leliana starts to assemble the pieces of the puzzle. It is hardly a great leap - of course Justice could not know, and by extension, neither could Anders.

"You want to see them parted." Not impossible, she thinks. "Why?"

There are so many reasons to imagine, but she wants to hear his reasons. Neutrally, she elaborates: "Why is it important to you?"

[pinprick]

Of course this question would be asked. And as he decided before, he will hide nothing.

"Because I'm one of the ones who failed him, well before this occurred. And I'm done with it."

He lets out a breath.

"I...may have been part of the reason Justice considered possessing a living, willing person."