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[stabsbooks]

WHO: Cassandra Pentaghast and you
WHAT: Cassandra, in and around Skyhold
WHEN: First half of Drakonis, before the ball
WHERE: Various
NOTES: Does your character want to yell at Cassandra about Anders? About Galadriel? About her choices in general? Alternatively, do they want to celebrate her on a job well done and thank her for her vigilance in keeping Skyhold safe? Maybe try to finally get a straight answer about exactly what is going on? This is the place!

For timeline purposes: post-Anders announcement; before/in the midst of/after rifter interrogations; either pre-Galadriel's imprisonment or while she still languishes in the cells.

She might be found swinging angrily at the dummies in the yard, assisting Cullen in training what recruits they have, or nursing a large ale at the Herald's Rest. More than likely, she's dodging Vivienne and her endless preparations, instructions, and reminders for the ball. Wherever she is, Cassandra is likely not in the best of moods, and there is a certain righteous fire in her gaze whenever she is challenged. Leliana's words and the way she had looked at Cassandra still sting, but she does not regret what she has done.

Still, no one can possibly be angry all the time, right? Maybe you'll catch her on a good day...

Comments

[stabsbooks]

Cassandra listens as Araceli says her piece, saying nothing, her expression slowly morphing from blank confusion and concern into something more serious. She is tired, she is frustrated, and she is slightly melancholy from the drink. Araceli's torrent of words is jarring, unexpected, and - as she listens - concerning.

"You went to see her." She had not outright barred the prisoner from having visitors - but truthfully, she had not thought much of it at all, or expected that anyone would care to go and talk to the rifter. Much less Araceli. She laughs, bitterly. "And she threatened you." It is hardly a surprise. It is what the elf had been imprisoned for in the first place, after all. She shakes her head, watching Araceli keenly. "You went to the prisoner in her cell, you antagonized her, and now you come to me upset that she responded in kind? What would you have me do? I cannot imprison her further."

She frowns, suddenly suspicious. "Why did you visit her at all? What sort of solidarity were you hoping to achieve? You were angry at her for being arrested?" Not for what she had done, no - for being caught, for how it might reflect on others. She moves closer, eyes narrowing. "What is she to you? What do you know of her?"

[foxsays]

Her question is asked archly, surprised by the Seeker's attitude. "Is it so strange that I would want that? I don't know her, a friend spoke of her once but that doesn't matter when it comes to us. Here is the problem: we came through rifts and before we get to be anything else, we're rifters. We can't change that. If she thinks she's above that then I don't have the luxury of not caring about what she thinks. I wish I could shrug my shoulders and not care. It would be easier. Do you think I'm a silly little girl that can't put things together? We were never questioned after we arrived in Skyhold. Not those of us from Haven, the Fallow Mire, that small first group in Emprise du Lion. But she gets locked up, and we get hauled in." And it wasn't subtle, it was one of the first things a new arrival had brought up to when they'd met. "I have been trying to make sure that wouldn't happen, I even went to dinner with that Knight-Commander who ranted and raved over the sending crystals like a madman, not because I wanted to but because I thought it might be damage control, that in some way it might help."

This isn't Leliana, who knows her secret, that Araceli guards a queen when she's at home but right now her word might mean even less to Cassandra than it did in the interrogation chamber. It has her shaking her head, roughly pushing her hair behind her ears for something to do with her hands so they don't curl into fists on the table. She has tried not to rock the boat, she has tried to behave and keep her nose clean so that one of them at least can always say they have a spotless record, to beg for a chance should it be needed, and she won't have some woman who thinks herself above them all ruining that. She has tried not to let anyone see how miserable she is whenever she thinks of home or how frightened she is of her mark, what it means that she's changed so that no one can point a finger at her in accusation. She has done her very best to be helpful, taking whatever assignments are given, to pitch in to help the Inquisition. All that information she's gathered too, so people can understand the world they're in now. Understanding is always key.

"This is what I didn't want happening!" Once her voice climbs enough for people to glance at them, she drops it again, forcing herself to take a deep breath and calm herself. If she misses Leandra's gentle hand on her arm or at her cheek, then no one is here to know and she drops her head so Cassandra can't see any grief in her eyes, because it isn't hers to see. "I didn't want the actions of one of to reflect on all of us. That is why I went to her, that is why I am upset!"

Not angry, but upset. She is worried and it's eating a hole in her; when hasn't this been simmering in the back of her mind, how many times has she bit her tongue until she could almost taste the blood in her mouth. Is it any wonder now that she demanded an explanation from Galadriel? Is it any wonder now that she worries even more about their reputations, when a threat escalated so quickly into something so vicious?

[stabsbooks]

Cassandra listens, stony-faced, but her expression creases into a disapproving scowl as Araceli finishes speaking. This is baffling. Baffling, and a waste of time she does not have.

"You are a foolish girl," she says, her voice low, but sharp. "Galadriel's actions reflected on no one but herself. No one else was held accountable. I questioned you, and when you proved yourself not to be a threat, I let you go. What more were you afraid of?"

She's not really expecting an answer, nor does she want one. She stands, her drink forgotten on the table. The atmosphere of the room is suddenly oppressive. She needs to get out, into the open air.

"You do yourself no favors by attempting to ally with her. Do not approach her again." Cassandra frowns down at the girl, forbidding. A warning. "I will not judge you for having something in common with her that you cannot help. But be careful of the company you keep."