SS Pathstone Mingle

[heresyandlace]

Who: Crew and visitors of the SS Passive Aggressive Pathstone
Broadcast: Probably not
Action: Aboard the ship
When: All February!

[with how good everyone on this ship is at settling differences, getting along, acting rationally, and sharing their things, this month will go by without any ripples.

the audience will be so bored. there isn't ever any drama on this ship. at all. it's great.]

Comments

Cole

[killedwithlove]

[Cole has helped avoid fights by not arbitrarily making off with the ship to run cargo, or flying them around for no reason. In fact, he's not been on board a huge amount, because he ended up working as a taxi driver for a while.

But he's stopped doing that now and has taken to hanging around the ship more. He's even acquired paints and some cleaning solvent in case he decides to remove the terrifying attempts at painting from his bunk walls.]

[dirth]

[ Solas wastes little time, once he is adjusted and settled, in finding Cole. He had promised that he find him and he is doing his best to make up for what he has missed; it has been months, and he is aware of it, and he feels the sting of it in the pit of his stomach. He missed Cole, missed the gentle companionship and his quiet compassion, and now that he has it again he isn't certain what to do.

All he can do is step up behind the young spirit and fight back his soft smile, tilting his head. ]

Cole.

[killedwithlove]

[Cole can often be found in the bridge now. His pilot augment means he's more attached to Pathstone than ever and spends a lot of time sitting and talking to her.

But he feels when Solas enters the bridge. It's a pressure against his awareness, eyes blinking in succession and watching.

He spins in his seat, but doesn't launch himself at Solas, because he needs to work out what the rules are again.]

Solas.

[dirth]

[ Things have changed, ever so slightly, but not enough that Solas feels totally out of place. He's fit back into the crew as easily as he did before, keeping to himself and making himself an invisible figure - he was personnel, after all. There wasn't much need of him in the long run, not much talent he could offer in the wake of the gifts others had been given.

He watches Cole for a long moment, wondering, before he shakes his head and returns the smile to his face. ]

You seem comfortable here.

[ An idle observation, waiting for Cole to make his choice. ]

[killedwithlove]

[Cole nods after a moment.]

I have pilot augment now, which is nice, I can fly Pathstone and stop her being hit when we come under attack, and Tekhetsio yells at me a lot for making us look 'stupid' but I don't really understand that.

Am I allowed to hug you? Jove and Elize hug a lot and I've got better at it, but you've changed a lot and I don't know what the rules are.

[dirth]

Tekhetsio appears to be the type of person that would yell no matter what.

[ It's second nature to try and soothe Cole now, and Solas watches, hesitant for a moment before he softens, relaxing in front of the spirit. After a moment he steps closer, offering a hand. ]

I have not changed so much that I would turn you away, Cole.

[killedwithlove]

Mm, that's true. Tekhetsio is happy when he's yelling at people.

[Cole looks at the hand and then at Solas.]

Yes, I know, but that doesn't mean you'd like it, just that you'd tolerate it.

[Guess who has done a bit of growing up since you left, Solas?]

[dirth]

[ Solas fights back his little chuckle, shaking his head and softening his gaze. ]

I would imagine that he finds happiness in the strangest of places.

[ For a moment, all Solas can do is stare before he sighs. ]

Come, Cole.

[killedwithlove]

[The sigh has Cole drawing back slightly, looking uncertain. Cullen used to give the same sort of sigh and it usually meant 'I'm putting up with you for Jove' to his ears.

Being alone hasn't been great for Cole. It's made him that bit wary and unsure, a bit more like the uncertain young man Rhys knew.

He watches Solas from under the brim of his hat but doesn't actually attempt to close the distance for a long moment.

Then, he finally stands up and keeps standing there.]

[dirth]

[ Careful, Solas watches him, his gaze sure and set before he takes a step forward. Time has changed Cole, the fleet has changed him, and Solas can feel it brimming between the two of them - because Solas has changed as well. It is not just his armour or his memories that have changed, but the way that he views people, the things he had been forced to sacrifice again and again - it all comes back together and leaves Solas at a loss, frustrated and confused as much as he is glad to be back.

Careful, he reaches out, pressing a hand to the back of Cole's neck and drawing him close, wrapping the other one around his shoulders. It is a little awkward, at least at first, if only because Solas is entirely unfamiliar with the action. ]

I am glad to be back with you, Cole.

[killedwithlove]

[Once Solas initiates the hug, Cole folds into it. He hugs better than he used to, because he's spent a lot of time hugging and consoling Elize and the odd hug from Jove as well.

He hugs tight and firm and buries his face into the crook of Solas' neck, eyes closed and soaking in the familiar presence. It drowns out the outside world, quieting the hurts and cries for a few moments.]

[dirth]

[ Solas breathes out a shaken noise, lifting his hand to press it to the back of Cole's head, almost hard against the softness of his hair. He had always believed that spirits were among the few that could truly understand him, that shared his passion and the nature that bore all his sins, but his relationship with Cole was different than anything he had shared before. Cole was as close to family to him than he had been blessed with in a millennia, and this young spirit of Compassion knew more about Solas and his weak, bitter heart than all of Thedas could hope to imagine.

As his fingers press, his magic folds around Cole. All the blocks he had placed on the young man, all the careful touches of his magic that had stopped the spirit tracing him, the careful means he had put in place to stop Cole learning too much and trying to fix hurts that were impossible to mend - he took them all away. Now there were no barriers between the two of them and Solas held on to the boy, accepting his fate and knowing that this is a place where he could belong.

He Who Hunts Alone, the Bringer of Nightmares... Fen'Harel was no longer alone. ]

[killedwithlove]

[The tingle of magic might make most Thedans flinch and worry, but Cole trusts Solas and he trusts that the magic won't hurt him.

And then, for the first time, Cole can see Solas. See the things he saw, but didn't see. Correlate the picture into a whole and unlike Compassion, he sees it and understands that he can't meddle and tweak to make it better, exert soft influences.

He gasps. He feels the pain, acutely and deeply, knotting through him and the memories of empty spaces yawning open. The loss of the Fade–normally nothing more than an abstract–becomes a keen, sharp razor's edge of half remembered flickers of his own life.

His face is wet where it presses to Solas' neck. He squeezes tighter. He doesn't let go.]

[princessia]

[ With their accounts still locked, Elize had already been under the assumption that the majority of the crew has been occupied regaining their funds. She has been keeping busy too, which has kept her from feeling down when the others are working.

But when she sees Cole on the ship, she's already racing in his direction to give him a hug. It's not even a hug because she's feeling upset this time, like she was the past month. She's only genuinely happy to see him. If he's carrying any paints at the moment, sorry about that. ]

[killedwithlove]

[The paints are dropped. They're still sealed, it doesn't matter. He bends to scoop her up as she pounces, holding her tight and close and feeling her happiness bubble and fizz about them.]

Hello, Elize.

[princessia]

[ She's given a brief start, but starts to giggle with delight as he scoops her up. In return, she hugs him as tight as she can and lifts her head back slightly to look at him. ]

Hello!

[ Then finally she realizes she must have made him drop those paints. ]

...oh. I'm sorry about that.

[killedwithlove]

It's all right. It didn't hurt the paint.

[He doesn't put her down. Sometimes, hints of Cole peek out, reminding him how to be a big brother.]

[princessia]

[ Well, she's quickly back to smiling.

And she has no objections with being carried. Even if she openly protested about it, it would have been a lie. She likes being carried like this. ]

Were you going to paint some more? Do you need help carrying the paints? I can help!

[killedwithlove]

I was going to give some of them to Solas, so he can keep painting. He paints a lot nicer than I do.

[princessia]

Wasn't he teaching you painting before? Maybe he can help you paint your room.

[killedwithlove]

Yes, but he went away for a long time and I don't remember new skills well.

[princessia]

You can ask him to teach you again.

[ A pause, then her voice goes unnecessarily quiet into a whisper. She's not even sure why she's whispering question. ]

Do you think he can teach me too? I've never painted before.

[killedwithlove]

He'd probably teach you. He likes me and Jove, so he'll try to get to know you and once he knows you, he'll like you.

[princessia]

I talked to him once before, a long time ago. I hope we can be friends.

[killedwithlove]

[Cole isn't sure Solas has friends. He doesn't even know if Solas would call him a friend. He called Wisdom a friend, before she was destroyed by the mages, warped into Pride.]

He'll remember. He remembers lots of things. Too many things, sometimes.