I'm one of few who's left [OPEN]

[failedfirst]

WHO: Velanna and you!
WHAT: Day in the life of a Warden elf-mage
WHEN: End of Drakonis through Cloudreach
WHERE: Skyhold, Warden camp, forests beyond
NOTES: You can check her info post for stuff or hit me up via PM or plurk if you want to hash out anything, OR if you'd like your own personal starter let me know and I'd be happy to do one for you!

⓵ Warden Camp
Velanna isn't a "group mentality" kind of person, so while most of the Warden camp is open season, her tent is pitched deliberately a little further away from the others, and she has her own fire and fortifications that she's built up herself with magic. The tent itself is fairly unremarkable from other Warden tents, but there is an impressive wall of earth and short tree growth keeping the elements at bay.

If someone were to wander close enough they'd find Velanna sitting outside the tent cross-legged with a book in her lap and a few more nearby. Stop at your own risk.

⓶ Warden Camp (outskirts)
The only way to keep your skills sharp is by practicing them, and while Velanna is perfectly aware there's a training ring in Skyhold, there is something unsettling to her about using her magic in a courtyard surrounded by templars and other shemlen. Mostly the templars though.

So instead she finds an unpopulated and semi-secluded spot on the edge of the Warden Camp. She goes through general motions followed by cycling through her spells and even physically beating on a broken tree with her staff to make sure that her abilities don't dull while sitting on her hands waiting for something interesting to happen. It's also a good way to channel some of her frustrations, which are nearly constantly bubbling just under her surface.

⓷ Forests surrounding camp
Walking in the forest is a time of peace for Velanna. She's long felt more comfortable among the trees, and she finds her mind wanders less when she's alone and focused on a task. Normally, she's hunting. Her technique is a little different than most hunters, she doesn't waste her time with a bow and arrow, instead she lets the forest do her work for her. Sometimes a rabbit will get thickly ensnared in roots that it didn't see as it darts away from the sound of a predator, or a bird is crushed under a surprise falling branch.

These may not be the forests she grew up in, but all forests connected to the earth and that is a connection Velanna spent her formative years learning how to adapt and use. Every once in a while she'll take a more direct approach and set up real traps or use offensive magic to quickly take something down, but the smaller game she can carry is easy enough to trick into tiny manipulations.

⓸ Library
The only place in Skyhold Velanna regularly visits is the library. She has always loved books, and her studious nature as a child had only grown as an adult and she gained more access to larger libraries. The selection of books on subjects Velanna is only passingly familiar with in the Skyhold libraries means she spends a surprising amount of time there, tucked in a corner or browsing the shelves, her eyes wide from the possibilities. Even the human stories are interesting to her, because it's new information.

She'll likely avoid talking to anyone, but if approached just right she might be amiable to talking about what she's reading (or sometimes writing, in a well-worn book.)

Comments

[failedfirst]

"What brings me joy," she replies, after a moment. This isn't something she usually talks about, but she knows Anders isn't like her. He isn't used to being the one that people don't love.

"I think of... the people who matter to me, my writing, magic. You cannot change small minds, and it is not worth your time." She looks up at him, folding her hands over the cover of the book after closing it. "The people who remain even in hard times... those are the opinions that matter."

[justice_is_blond]

Joy is a difficult concept anymore. There's fleeting joy from physical escapades, but it's just that - fleeting. There are brief moments when Justice is still and Purrelden is purring and he feels some peace, but that doesn't approach joy.

"Small minds will see mages back in a cage. Small minds..." He trails off as emotion finally enters his voice. There's no pretending this is a casual visit, really. The hate's a burden as much as the fear.

"There are so many more small minds than there are people who matter. What I... What I did, I can't have it be for naught, because then their hatred becomes justified. Their glares do. The muttering, and the spitting, and the swings. I don't have anything that brings joy anymore. I don't even know how to find something, and if I did, Justice would find it a waste so there'd be a headache involved in that." It's a rush of words, more than he'd meant to say, but once the floodgates are burst there's little holding back the flood.

[failedfirst]

She listens to Anders silently, before letting out a quiet sigh. It's complicated, and she knows that. Part of her can't begin to imagine what exactly Anders is going through, continues to go through. She's never known anyone to survive a possession.

"I think us sitting here proves what you did wasn't for naught. There are mages free right now because you did something radical and foolish. As for Justice... ignore him." She doesn't know how easy that is, but it must be possible otherwise Anders wouldn't still be retaining some of himself. "He should have possessed another corpse if he did not want to deal with opinions different from his own. Wallowing in everything that has happened will kill you."

[justice_is_blond]

He exhales and leans forward, resting his head in a hand. True. The Circles are broken. He's made a difference. For most mages. But not for himself. Nothing ever works for... He cuts that trail of thought off before Justice can seize upon it and go off on a tangent about the selfishness of man and how Anders needs to focus on the whole rather than himself.

"I wish he'd chosen another corpse." Those are words he's not spoken before, and he can feel Justice go still and silent. But he's never had a wish come true before. Why would that ever change?

For a moment he closes his eyes. "Would you tell me of something? That brings you joy. How it does. I'll not laugh or mock."

[failedfirst]

The urge to comfort someone doesn't rise up in her often. She's never considered herself nurturing, even where Seranni was concerned, she'd been a little obtuse. All that aside however, she feels for Anders. Before she can really think about it she's moved closer and put a hand on his shoulder. She wants to ask him why he'd taken Justice into him at all. It was obviously a terrible idea. Of course, maybe it was because she'd told Justice to stay away from her in the event she died.

His question took a little more priority though, and she pauses for a moment, before sighing.

"My father was the clan storyteller. Beyond stories, he used to sing elven songs to Seranni and I. Sometimes when I feel lost... I sing those songs and I feel he is still with me."

[justice_is_blond]

He gives her a small, faint smile. It's hard to feel it, but Velanna is making an effort to try to comfort him. That's rare. She deserves a sign that he appreciates this from her.

"My mother used to sing to me. I can't... Sometimes I can remember parts of the songs, but not the whole of them. It's been such a long time. If I heard any of them again, though, I'd know them in a moment. Maybe I should see if I can find the words. It can't... harm." He'd been going to say it couldn't hurt, but it easily could. It's likely he'll never know if his mother is still alive.

"...Do you sing? I'm not comparing you to my mother, before you contemplate if there's offense in that."