[ open ] fly high across the sky from here to kingdom come

[shieldwalls]

WHO: Aveline + open
WHAT: arrival + exploring
WHEN: around the time when the Rifters arrived + first few days afterwards
WHERE: all over.
NOTES:  none... that I can think of!

Courtyard.

Skyhold is a marvel, Aveline will give it that. Grand turrets and towers she can see. The first look at the famed Inquisition is the activity going on in the Courtyard, where vendors sell their items, soldiers spar and train. She allows the guard beyond the gate to take her horse and she hefts her pack, so that the battered Templar shield at her back is visible. The air is crisp and cold and there's mud on her boots, caked and dried.

Hadn't missed that much.

She hadn't thought that she'd be setting foot on Ferelden soil once again in her lifetime, but here she is. Aveline only pauses briefly to look around, before stepping in proper, almost immeadiatly turning towards the first individual she sees.

"Excuse me. Can you direct me to Commander Cullen's office?"

The Rookery.

It's difficult to locate, with all it's many staircases and different rooms all over, but the first place she visits is the Rookery, a letter sent off to Donnic and Kirkwall to let him know that she had made it. It's short and non-descriptive, but Donnic would understand the need to keep things vague, with Sebastian and Starkhaven currently backing down against them. Oh sure, they'd likely hear from him again.

She watches the bird with her letter attached grow smaller into the distance until it's but a speck, then gone. Strange to think that she had allowed herself to come this far, travel so long to be somewhere else entirely -- her life back across that sea (and Maker, does she not look forward to the ship ride back). But if her friends needed her, than she would be here.

Training grounds.

Even after the long journey, Aveline doesn't take long to rest, she freshens up and changes from her armor to more casual training attire -- the sword and shield are both still at her back as she makes her way down towards the training grounds. The dummies near the tavern are well worn, and used. There's and edge of nerves to her, a knot of worry that she can't quite push down or shake but it doesn't show on her.

Her strikes are well placed, each swing of her arm is strong and every hit with the flat side of the blade is followed by a second one directly after. After a while, she swaps the sword for her shield, blocking imaginary blows and hitting the dummy with solid hits.

Her hair is falling out of it's tie, by the time she is finished and the sun is beginning to set and finally she feels worn enough to go rest.

Exploration. - everywhere else

From the gardens, to the tavern, to the library -- Skyhold is vast and it takes a matter of hours to walk around it entirely. Aveline prides herself in knowing the long winding streets of Kirkwall -- and even ten years in the city, there are passages and areas that she still discovers, but otherwise, she knows her city.

But she hadn't always, just as she doesn't yet know the layout of the change in scenery. But that is what she's doing. Certain areas are off limits and those are the ones that she doesn't scope out, but she works to familiarize herself with the layout, landmarks -- what is where, and perhaps... she is looking for certain familiar faces in each one of these areas.

Wildcard!

[ If you don't see anything that tickles your fancy here, feel free to come up with your own. Aveline will be all over, exploring. And if you'd like to plot with me personally, you can send me a pm or hit me on plurk
at rabbithearted

Comments

[shieldwalls]

Aveline returns the hug, briefly -- stepping back slightly to take a breath when Merrill lets go. She'd almost forgotten how talkative that she can be, but it's perhaps slightly to do with the elves of the allienage are quieter when she goes in to check in on the area.

"To answer your questions... the trip was long, but I'm fine." Travel by boat - which hadn't been a problem going over had hardly been pleasant. That detail isn't important and is embarrassing enough to get no mention." Kirkwall is doing better. Reconstruction is coming along further now that Starkhaven has interest that lies elsewhere, there's still a ways to go, however. The allienage is quieter, you are missed by many who've remained."

"Donnic is well. He wanted to come with me, but I wasn't going to short the guard a fine guardsman or two to accompany me when I didn't have to," already, she misses him -- "and I've only just arrived."

[chainlightning]

They'll get used to you eventually, Aveline -- or some of them will. Some of them are here with her, even, which means they're getting all sorts of chances to be exposed to new and weird varieties of humans.

"Oh, good." There's such an intense sense of relief there that Merrill can only be talking about Kirkwall itself. Rebuilding, Starkhaven looking the other way -- she had worried quite a bit, despite not often letting it show. "Well, with you here, I'm sure this will all be finished up much faster than it otherwise would! Then you'll get to go back and see Donnic soon."

Speaking of going- "Oh! Um, is there anything I can do to help you? Since you've just arrived." Please do not ask her for directions.

[shieldwalls]

"I don't know about that. I'm only one person, but I do hope to be of some help, while I'm here. Donnic understands why I want to do this."

Sorry, Merrill. Directions are exactly what she's after, but she recalls her sense of direction is, no offense -- questionable. "I was hoping to speak with Cullen, actually. Does he have an office or somewhere he's normally found?"

[chainlightning]

One person, but one heck of a person, as far as Merrill is concerned. Aveline isn't Hawke, but she's up there.

"Oh- yes! It has a hole in the ceiling, and it's up in the ramparts." Merrill isn't entirely sure where in the ramparts, but at least she got the general sort of area.

Which reminds her.

"Ah- did, um, anyone tell you that Anders is here? The Grey Wardens are watching him."

[shieldwalls]

"Thank you. I should be able to find the ramparts." Don't worry, she won't ask for directions.

At the mention of Anders, she stiffens slightly. "Yes. I know he's here. Varric said so, as did the letter that the Spy Master sent to us."

She's not happy with this. Clearly. While she hadn't been very close to him even before -- Aveline had trusted him, for the most part. He should not have been pardoned, but arrested and tried. Sebastian would not have tried to take the city, then. Even if she disapproves of the man's actions on a city that did not hold who they searched for -- she doesn't fault him for wanting to see justice for those who'd perished.

"I'm not here to try and arrest him, if that's what you're wondering. But I can't say that I wouldn't like to."

[chainlightning]

"I thought I should make sure you knew," Merrill tries to explain, though it sounds a bit dumb to her own ears. How can she explain that she feels bad for the man, even though he's always treated her poorly? How can she explain how tired and alone she's seen him look, when he thinks no one is watching, and how it's pulled at her heart?

She can't, really. Sometimes, in the dead of night, she can still hear him in his crueler moments. Other times, she can see Justice ready to smite her down. But he worries about her too, as much as he tries to hide it, as much as he insists he doesn't.

"The Grey Wardens are watching him, since- well. He's one of them. I think you'd like the most senior warden -- at least, I think he's the most senior? He's definitely older than the others. His name is Hercules and he has a dog. Bethany likes him, too -- oh! Bethany is here!"