(no subject)

[ancarrow]

WHO: Eirlys and YOU
WHAT: Eirlys arrives back in Skyhold
WHEN: End of Drakonis
WHERE: Skyhold's courtyard and throne room
NOTES: No warnings. Prose and brackets both welcome. So yeah, Eirlys is back, I have a CR meme comment for her here!

a) Courtyard
At first glance, it's not obvious that Eirlys has been away. She gets back into the routine of life at Skyhold easily enough, if for no other reason that she excels under the sort of pressure that the healers there - and everyone else, for that matter - are under. She's brought a fresh supply of herbs and poultices, and she's kneeling in the midst of the sick and wounded, attending to them as best she can. On looking closely, however, she's very pale and tired, and she's far thinner than she was when she left Skyhold, after months of scarce food over the winter in the alienage. While she remains the pinnacle of compassion with her patients, she doesn't seem too pleased to be back overall.


b) Throne Room
It takes her a few days to pluck up the courage to make herself heard. She dislikes being the centre of attention, preferring to focus her efforts on the wellbeing of others instead, but she knows that in the long term nothing will change unless she speaks up.

She makes her way over to anyone who looks important - or at least, anyone who looks like they belong to the Inquisition more than she feels she does herself. Clearing her throat, she asks quietly, "Excuse me, but I need to speak to those in charge."


c) Wild card
Choose your own starter, or hit me up at viridianwings if you'd like me to write another option for you!

Comments

Courtyard

[judgemewhole]

Across the Courtyard, every afternoon, James is going through his correspondence and writing letters to people across Thedas. He is writing reports for Cullen on the progress of the troops, and sketching up plans for blood mage hunts. Usually, he has his head over his parchment and writings, but for whatever reason, he looks up today and see the young elven woman across the way.

His first thought is that she looks tired, as she bends over another soldier, tipping his chin back so he can drink the potion. The second is that -- he's certain he might have seen her before, but not for some time. He frowns, briefly, and continues to watch her for a moment.

Then he puts up his quill, rises to his feet, and makes his way across the courtyard to her. He stops a few feet away, folding his hands back behind his back as he calls out, "My lady, would you like some assistance?"

[ancarrow]

Eirlys' lips purse into a thin line at such a polite greeting, never sure if it's one that's sincere or intended to mock her, as her status as a lowborn elf is so obvious at first glance. Then she lets her guard drop a little, smiling gratefully at the offer.

"If it won't inconvenience you, Sir. There's plenty of work to be done and precious few hands to help." She shifts her position a little so there's room for him to reach in. "Hold this poultice in place, while I pack it to the poor fellow's leg."

[judgemewhole]

You know, it should say something about the company James has been keeping that a suspicious glance does not send him immediately in the other direction. Instead, he waits, and is rewarded with a grateful smile, which is a surprise in of itself.

"It absolutely does not." He stated, before he knelt beside her, and nodded as he looked over at the soldier, then down at the wound. He tutted softly, "Poor fellow - looks like a magical wound. Venatori?"

He holds the poultice as he should, clearly not someone who is disturbed at the sight of gore.

[ancarrow]

"It wouldn't surprise me." She reaches across James to get the straps of cloth she's torn in advance to hold the poultice in place. "But he hasn't been in a position to tell us, so far."

She sincerely hoped that would change, that her care would make him take a turn for the better, but she doesn't have too much experience with magical injuries.

[judgemewhole]

"Then I shall put a few prayers in to the Maker, while you bind his wounds." He held the poultice firmly in place, and as good as his word, closed his eyes to pray over the man lying below him. Putting it out into the universe that this man needed to live to see a few more sunrises.

courtyard

[serannas]

Here is a face Ellana hasn't seen in far too long! Pleasantly surprised, she approaches once Eirlys is free from tending patients.

"It's been so long since I last saw you!" she exclaims, giving Eirlys a welcoming smile. "How have you been?" Right away, she notices that Eirlys doesn't look very healthy herself. But surely if she's sick, she would have done something about it by now? Perhaps she's just overworked.

[ancarrow]

She hadn't let herself get her hopes up that she'd see anyone she recognised on her return to Skyhold, both with the far-flung places the Inquisition's members were being sent to and the steady trickle of casualties, though out of everyone she's particularly glad to see Ellana safe and sound. She rises, brushing the dirt and dried elfroot from her hands, making her way over.

"It has been a long time, hasn't it?" She returns Ellana's smile, though it makes her face look even more pale and a little sunken. "I'm glad you've stayed safe."

[serannas]

"So far, so good," she replies, hoping things stay that way for her. She's seen combat in Emprise du Lion, but thankfully came out of it unscathed.

"Were you on a mission, or did you return home?"

[ancarrow]

"A little of both." She frowns as she thinks back to the weeks she'd spent in Redcliffe. "I was sent up to that town in the Hinterlands, Redcliffe, to assist with their wounded. It was all right at first, I was kept very busy, but after a while, when things had slowed down more, the locals told me in no uncertain terms they'd prefer to be cared for by their own people." Her tone makes her meaning clear: they didn't want an elf administering to them. "So I went back to Gwaren." She shrugs, knowing she should feel bad for not having come back to Skyhold but not being able to bring herself to, not with all that had happened in the alienage in her absence, disease and suffering she's sure she could have alleviated.

Courtyard

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin notes Eirlys' familiar face, of course...and the accompanying pallor and lethargy. The longer she lingers to observe, the less she likes what she sees. The Vashoth woman restrains herself from heading over only while Eirlys is involved with patients, aware that there are those in more urgent need. Still, when there seems to be a quiet moment, she'll head over.

"Hello again...Eirlys, right?"

[ancarrow]

"Hello, Korrin." Eirlys smiles brightly when she sees her - remembering her immediately, but then who would forget the first Qunari they'd encountered? - feeling glad that she's safe and sound. "You're not in need of treating, are you?"

[gatheringstorm]

The Vashoth woman shakes her head, smiling back though it's one tinged with concern. As usual, she says what's on her mind quickly and with little preamble. "No, I'm fine. Forgive me for saying this, but you seem more careworn than when last I saw you. Are you well?"

[ancarrow]

"As well as can be expected." She relaxes a little, feeling somewhat pleased that Korrin's come to see her rather than just needing her services. It's nice to be remembered, something she's never had to consider before. "I spent the winter back in the alienage, so I'm sure I look a little the worse for wear." It had been a harsh winter, with food scarce and disease prevalent, and Eirlys hadn't thought twice about looking after her people before herself.

Courtyard

[wontforgetyou]

It takes Jamie a moment to recognize the slender figure kneeling in the courtyard. She's thinner than he remembers, and there's something about her that seems worn down, the sort of tired that won't go away with a wee bit of sleep. But seeing her working at the tents is the same, and that finally is what gets everything to snap into place.

She's with a patient at the moment, but he's spent enough time here in the past few months that he's able to help in some small ways. He's certainly willing to do the same now, and as there's no hesitation before he approaches, setting down the box he's carrying along the way.

"Here, let me give you a hand with that."

[ancarrow]

"Thank you, an extra pair of hands is always welcome." Eirlys moves over to make room for him, then snaps out of her preoccupation with her work to recognise him, looking delighted. "Hello, Jamie. I'm glad you've stayed safe."

[wontforgetyou]

"Suppose that depends on your definition of safe, really."

By the time she looks up at him, he's grinning - but he's happy to see her as well, and after a few seconds, the grin softens into a warm smile.

"Hullo, Eirlys. It's good to see you again. When'd you get back, anyway?"

[ancarrow]

"Only yesterday." She'd hoped to be back over a week ago but she'd underestimated just how far it was to walk, especially in her weakened state. "It feels like I've been away years."

Courtyard

[justice_is_blond]

It's not hard to notice that one of the people who is helping out doesn't look healthy or well-fed. He knows the look well. Personally, even. But he doesn't approach right away because he also understands the drive to help those who need it.

When the amount of people who need assistance dies down a little, then he approaches with what snacks he'd brought up today: a piece of fruit and a few strips of dried meat.

"May I suggest taking a break? There's no point in working to exhaustion." Anders is a hypocrite and he knows it, but at least he can provide this hypocrisy with a straight face.

[ancarrow]

"I've become so used to exhaustion, I barely notice it any more." It's not until she admits it aloud that Eirlys realises how bad that sounds, but there's been no time to stop, first working round the clock against the disease that was devastating her alienage, then with the constant flow of wounded now she'd returned to the Inquisition. Her stomach growls at the sight of the food, and she wonders when the last time she ate was. "You're right, though. A break would be most welcome."

[justice_is_blond]

"I've been there." His voice is quiet, and he nods toward a nearby low wall that can be used as seating while holding out the food. "And I can hear your stomach. Go ahead and take this. I can easily get more whenever I get hungry."

Not so easily, he has to make sure he's got a Warden along with him, and that it's a certain set of workers in the kitchen who are kinder. But he's adapting. It's a part of being alive.

"You move with familiarity, as if you know the place and the way patients come in, but I can't recall seeing you around earlier than a couple of days ago."

[ancarrow]

She takes the food somewhat reluctantly, convinced that she's depriving him of it, but as soon as she takes a bite she goes for it ravenously, not stopping until all that's left are the crumbs she licks from her fingers.

"Thank you, Ser." It felt nice to have someone looking out for her own wellbeing, instead of just offering that to others. "And you're right, I do know the place. I was here for a while, just a month or so, before both the Inquisition's business and my own took me elsewhere." It's just as busy as ever, though. It had been easy for her to get back into the swing of things, as though she'd never left at all.

Courtyard

[ombranera]

Now here is a face he missed. A face that seems a bit more strained, a bit more thin than he recalled, but a face he is glad to see all the same. Zevran sidles up with a mug of tea in her hands- healers do often work so terribly hard after all, and offers it along with a smile made crooked by the new scars curving down one cheek. That and the milky white of his right eye are the only real changes in his life, at least. "It has been some time, Bella."

[ancarrow]

Eirlys reaches up for the mug, but before she takes it she sees the injuries to his face. She rises sharply, raising a hand to run over the scar. "What happened?"

[ombranera]

"The Crows caught up with me." He shrugs turning enough to brush her fingers with his lips. "I was rescued and injured on the way out."

[ancarrow]

She feels her cheeks tinge with colour as his lips pass over her fingers, and she bites her own lip in a vain attempt to make the blush disappear. "In that case, it seems the Maker was with you. I'm glad you're all right."