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WHO: Terra Branford and YOU!
WHAT: So a Spirit Medium walks into a fortress...
WHEN: Early Drakonis
WHERE: Around Skyhold
NOTES: Fresh off the mountain and just trying to find somewhere to not be stepped on there are so many people here.

CAMPS
It was a long trek up the mountain and Terra has never been so happy to see a grouping of people as she is in this moment. Her eyes light up when they land on the camps just outside of Skyhold's walls and she sucks in a slow breath before continuing to trudge forward. She's bone weary and ready to settle down for a nice rest by a warm fire. It's just a matter of finding someone who doesn't look like they'll cause trouble...

She sucks in a slow breath and goes to the nearest fire that isn't surrounded by a large group of people, pulling her travel-worn cloak around her body as she approaches the figure by the fire. "Excuse me-- is it alright if I sit here?"

STABLES
One of the first places Terra bee-lined to when she arrived in Skyhold was the stables. Not only was it warmer in there, though if a bit smellier, but there were so many beautiful horses that she couldn't not spend a fair amount of time there. She has a small smile on her face as she takes one of the brushes from a corner and heads toward one of the magnificent beasts in order to give it a loving brush down. Animals were easy to deal with than people: they didn't ask a lot of questions she couldn't, or didn't want to, answer, and all they asked in return was a little attention and a little food.

She can handle this.

LIBRARY
Terra has never seen so many books in her life. Not that it matters too much, considering the fact that she can't actually ready any of it, but the point still stands. She walks along the shelves, her fingers dancing across the spines of the books, and a faint shiver rolls down her spine. There's a ghost of memories on these books, spirits lingering within them, and she pulls her hand away with a small gasp, curling her fingers against her chest.

A puff of breath leaves her as she turns away from the shelves, moving toward the railing to lean over the edge and stare down at the floor below her. A squeak leaves her as her body starts to tilt just a little too far and she catches herself, pulling back before she falls only to stumble into someone behind her. "Ah! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-- Sorry."

WILDCARD
( She can be found pretty much anywhere that isn't the bar or training grounds. Otherwise, go nuts! )

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Korrin wants to make a beeline for Skyhold and forgo the camp, but as exhausted and frozen as she is, her body won't allow it. Not just yet, anyway. Reluctantly bowing to necessity, she plops down by the fire and holds out her hands, hoping to regain some feeling in her fingertips and face.

The tentative question snaps her out of pleasant kitchen-raiding thoughts, and she smiles upon recognizing Terra. "Hey, you. Glad you could make it."

Terra hadn't recognized the woman from behind but the moment Korrin turns around her face brightens, her weariness leaving her if even only for a moment. She smiles as she steps around the low seating to drop down next to the fire, scooting as close to it as she dares, before turning her attention upward. "I hadn't thought I'd run into you so soon. How have you been?"

"All things considered, not bad. Emprise du Lion is less of a mess, so that's a win. We cleared out high dragon breeding grounds, so now I have more dragon scales that I know what to do with. It's a good problem to have." Korrin chuckles at that, knowing she'll have to make something nice out of it, but still undecided as to what or if it'll be a gift.

"I might be called to head back there again, but...at this point, the need is less urgent, so we'll see. How have you been settling in?"

"I've only just arrived, actually." She lets out a breath as she pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her thighs as she rests her chin on her knees. Her eyes turn toward the qunari as her body slowly starts to warm and relax from the ridiculous climb and she offers her a slightly sheepish grin. "I got a bit turned around during a blizzard. It took me a little longer to get here than I thought it would."

"Ugh, I knew I should've stuck around to lead the way." Korrin had assumed that once at an Inquisition camp, it wouldn't be difficult for Terra to reach Skyhold from there. After all, supplies were always outgoing and refugees incoming...but a blizzard would certainly make that feat an ordeal. She frowns in concern, looking her over. "Do you need something else to warm you up? I was going to get tea, so it's not a problem to snag another mug."

What she really wants is spiced wine, but alas, no ingredients.

"Oh, don't worry too much! It's fine, and you had other things you needed to do. It wasn't a terrible trip, really, just... long." She got to see more of the world in a few weeks than she has in her entire life, anyway. It might have been a little too overwhelming for her if she had to try to keep up a conversation at the same time.

She perks up slightly at the mention of a drink and she nods. "Tea would be wonderful."

"Tea it is, then. Just a sec." Withdrawing her hands from the fire, Korrin heads into the nearby mess tent, returning a few moments later with a cup in each hand. "Here. It's not much, but it's hot and that's what counts. At least until we get to Skyhold, where they have better. And I'll have to talk Asher into passing off one of his bear blankets. You'll never feel cold again in one of those."

And it's not like he hasn't killed a ton of bears at this point. He won't be hurting for bear pelts.

Terra takes the cup from Korrin and wraps her hands around it, letting the warmth seep through her skin. It felt fantastic, and she couldn't wait to cool just a little bit in order to actually drink it (which shouldn't take long, considering the temperatures). She lets out a slow breath after a moment and finally brings the cup to her lips to take a sip, smiling as it warms her from the inside. "You're very kind, Korrin. What would I do without you?" Terra grins a little as she takes another drink, her gaze turning toward the fire.

"Not need to crane your neck up so much?" Korrin flashes a grin and settles down, stretching out a bit. "Times like this, I'm tempted to get a mabari. You know, so I can have a warm pillow to rest against." But they're also a lot of work, and with the training and council duties, Korrin's pretty sure she won't have the time. Oh, well.

That makes her laugh and she grins, finally unfurling herself to stretch her own legs out toward the fire, warming the bottoms of her feet. The fire was wonderful, more than she could possibly hope for, and she lets out a breath. She perks slightly at the mention of a mabari, however, and she nods. "They're wonderful though, aren't they? So incredibly smart. I'm sure they wouldn't mind being used as a pillow."

Thawing out is doing wonders for her mindset, and the tension within dwindles as she stretches out as well, though careful not to take up too much space. Among the smaller races, that's always an issue. "Maybe, though with the shape of my horns I'd have to be careful. It's probably a long time from happening, but at least I have my friends' pets to spoil. If you need some quality time with a mabari, I'd be happy to introduce you. Jayne and Bronson always love the attention."

Another day, another round of riding practice. Kain still misses the chocobos of home, but he's determined to get used to the horses of this world. So he's headed into the stables, walking past someone else already there with one of the horses...

Wait... is that...

"Has Chaos sent you?" The tall armored warrior has paused, getting into a very guarded posture, looking almost like he's ready to defend... or even attack. He hasn't drawn his weapon yet, not that there's room to swing it in here. Yet even as he narrows his eyes, watching her closely, he realizes... there's something different about her. It's more like she's just someone with a passing resemblance to Terra, and nothing more. Strange.

Terra starts abruptly when the voice sounds behind her, not having strictly noticed that someone else had entered the stables in the first place with how engrossed in grooming the horse she had been. She turns slowly and pauses, staring with no small amount of wide-eyed wonder at the armored figure in front of her. Maker have mercy who is this?

She shifts a little, putting a bit more of the horse between her and the newcomer, confusion flickering across her face at the question. Chaos? Well, she supposes a chaotic uprising is what got her out of the situation she had been, but the way he asked that question didn't seem to suggest that's what he meant. So she shakes her head, resting a hand on the horse's neck. "No...? I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

No... this is all wrong, he doesn't understand. Kain watches her carefully. Everything from her hair to even her style of dress are totally unlike the Terra he knows of. It's very surreal in a way, since there's still that essence of her there at the same time. He furrows his brow, keeping in mind what Vaan had discovered. Terra wasn't entirely willing to fight for Chaos...

"Don't you remember? The war of the gods? We were taken there from our worlds... now somehow we've now found ourselves in yet another world entirely." But even as he says it, his instincts are telling him that's probably not quite right.

She has no idea what he's talking about and it worries her. Should she remember? Is this something important that's happened to her that she's somehow managed to forget? But... no, that can't be right. Their worlds? Terra was born here, has lived in Thedas her entire life. What other world could she have possibly come from?

So she shakes her head a few times, a hand idly stroking the horse's neck in order to calm herself. "I'm sorry, I think you might have me confused for someone else. You're one of the ones who came through the rift then, right? Maybe I just remind you of someone from home." Terra offers him a small, apologetic smile, before she holds out a hand. "I'm Terra."

The same name, even. That's alarming, but even more is the fact that she confirms: she's not the Terra he knows, but one who grew up here. This is her world. She's the same and yet not... He realizes how crazy it must have sounded, him so clearly mistaking her for another. Maybe though... maybe it's for the best that she's not aware of all that happened, being chosen by Chaos, and largely controlled by Kefka.

"Then forgive me my mistake... you strongly resemble someone I knew... strangely enough, it wasn't my home, but another world I was pulled into, to fight a war... I'm Kain Highwind." He takes the offered hand to shake it.

Terra shakes his hand, letting it linger for a brief moment. This is the first Rifter she's met, and it was... well, it was certainly not a normal first time interaction, she thinks. But he seems nice enough, if a little earnest in his insistence. But she nods a bit as her hand drops down to her side. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I'm not her. It can't be easy, being brought here from somewhere you know without anyone you know. Well-- a second somewhere you know. You've traveled like this to another land before?"

That... seemed unusual.

"It's all right... it was my mistake, thinking you were someone else." Kain has decided he doesn't want to tell this Terra a whole lot about the one he knows. Her story isn't a pleasant one, after all, and he doesn't want to frighten her. She's nothing like the dangerous enemy she'd appeared to be.

He nods grimly about the travel to other worlds. "It's true. I was brought to another world to fight in a battle between two gods... I knew nothing but endless war, until I arrived here. I know what some may say about Thedas... but this is an improvement to me." Even if it's nothing like home.

"Apology accepted." Adelaide's hand is light on the girl's back as she steadies them both, the girl from stumbling backward and she from tripping with the weight of books tucked under her other arm. A moment where it seems as though they might slip comes and goes with little more than a faint sigh. "You should be careful- these railings are not what they should be."

Not yet, at any rate.

A lingering impression of contact is left behind even when her hand drops- the barest wisps of Compassion coiled close and comfortable about Adelaide as they ever were. "They are even more precarious in the rookery. You ought to mind that."

Terra sucks in a breath at the sensation, her back straightening a little. She can't even turn yet, her head tilted slightly as she tries to place who it was that touched her. One of the kinder spirits, to be sure. Whoever the woman is behind her can't be a bad person.

She eventually turns and looks up, finding herself staring for a moment with wide eyes before she clears her throat. "Thank you. I'll try to remember that." There's a moment of uncertainty that crosses over her features as she bites down on the inside of her lip and she glances furtively to either side of them to make sure they won't be overheard before she leans in. "I cannot place its name. Who's with you? They're very kind."

"Good. We have yet to have anyone actually fall from the railings- much as I consider it only a matter of time the longer we are able to put it off? The better." Perhaps some reinforcement is due.

Or at the very least, signs.

The question, however, catches her off guard for a moment. The girl is no spirit healer else Adelaide would be aware. Compassion settles, curious, but otherwise unobtrusive. "You can sense Compassion?"

Ah. She's done it again, hasn't she? Let herself be known without meaning to. It's just-- well, she couldn't help it. Being able to know spirits was such a natural part of her being that even pretending otherwise was harder than she's found it to be worth.

Terra nods a bit at the question, taking a small step back to put some space between the two of them. Her hands absently toy with the bottom hem of her simple tunic, twisting it around a bit. "I can. Compassion..." Her head tilts to the side and she closes her eyes, taking a slow breath. "Yes, I see that now. You're very comfortable together, aren't you."

"That is a rare thing." Rare and curious, but not so much that she would attract undue attention- especially with how the girl steps back. Caution learned or practiced due to what she can sense, however it is she is able to do so. Gently- as much as she has capacity for gentleness, Adelaide extends a hand in greeting. "I have known them all my life, we work together to heal. My name is Adelaide. What is yours?"

Asher's tent tends to stand out amongst the many, liberally painted with kaddis and with an old shield out front, similarly painted, that seems to function as a board rather than battle equipment, scraps of parchment pinned to it by small knives. The fire burns merrily as a few chickens in a rough pen peck and scratch in a patch carefully kept clear of snow.

A grizzled and scarred mabari perks up at her approach, stump of a tail wagging, his one good eye on her as he ambles over, hoping to be petted as a tall man appears out of tent, offering a nod and smile.

"Feel free, s'colder up here than most are used to. Need something to eat or drink?" Perks of being a farmer's child: the care packages he's sent are honestly incredible.

The mabari couldn't have found anyone better to come to for love and attention. As soon as Terra sees him she drops down to her knees in front of him and brings a hand up to scratch at the top of his head, beaming at him as she strokes back his fur. "Oh, well aren't you a handsome fella. Just look at you."

It's enough of a distraction that she doesn't notice the man who emerges from the tent right away which, after she does see him, she isn't sure how she missed him. Her head cranes back and her hand on the mabari stills slightly as she finds herself staring for a moment. That... is a very large man. Clearing her throat, Terra pushes herself back up to her feet again, dusting her knees off as she does before she lifts her gaze again. "Ah-- please. That would be wonderful."

Old but not past being shameless, the hound leans into her touch, ignoring his small feathery charges as Asher laughs, giving him a rub on the back. "Best thing about him having one eye is that no one can tell when he's winking at ladies, keeps him out of too much trouble."

Actually he scares Orlesians just by standing next to Asher but that's another story for another day.

Since his arrival in Skyhold, Asher's had to reluctantly relinquish his title as tallest man in the room since there are plenty of horned folks all bigger than him but he disappears quick enough back into the tent, coming out with utensils that have seen better days but there's watered wine, meats and cheeses, more than making up for it. "Better eating here instead of dealing with the cook in Skyhold, she's a right harpy, and it's a long hike up the mountain if you're not used to it. You new here?"

The camp is certainly large enough that he barely even knows his immediate neighbours and the jaunt to Emprise du Lion didn't leave him much time to get on with interruptions.

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Camp

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Stables

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Library

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camp;

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