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[It's all so strange.

In all fairness, so has the rest of his life been, ever since the Conclave-- really, he shouldn't have been surprised-- but at least all the other strangeness had been in Thedas. There had been some familiarity there, a framework he knew. Here, though? All Arhen can really say for it is that it's not the ship, not so cramped.

So he's been exploring since they arrived, a little aimlessly, just seeing what catches his eye... and when something does, it makes him stop dead in his tracks for a moment. That's a figure he knows, he's sure of it, he just needs to get a look at his face--

Dorian will find a short, redheaded elf suddenly appearing at his side, leaning around to peer up at him with wide and disbelieving eyes; he reaches out to take hold of Dorian's arm, hoping to stop him there.]

Dorian? Vhenan- they brought you here, too?

[There's no way it isn't him, he knows that face, but- there are all sorts of tricks, aren't there?]

[Dorian does stop, and looks down at the elf. He has tattoos on his face, so there's a chance he's from the Fleet. Has he simply not seen him yet? Curious. And he clearly knows him, but as much as Dorian thinks about it, even for only a few moments, he can't place him, exactly.

He calls him something in Elvish, and something tells him what it means. If he wasn't being strangled by his own heart as the phrase comes directly to his mind- heart, a term of affection- he might think it curious that the translation came so fast. Instead there's confusion.]

Vhen-

[Dorian tilts his head a bit, looking down at him. He looks him over again. There was something oddly charming about him.]

Pardon, have we met? I'd like to think I'd remember a face as charming as yours.

Edited 2015-02-08 03:38 (UTC)

[Have we met. That makes his heart sink just as fast as it had lifted, and he barely stops himself from telling Dorian that's a terrible, terrible joke-- the lack of recognition's clear in the way he looks at him, and he wouldn't have gone that far.]

...I'm sorry, I- knew someone who looked like you. It must be a coincidence.

[If Dorian somehow doesn't know him, then what good would it do to tell him that no, he should be familiar? He'd sound mad. Instead, he forces an apologetic smile (if a rather thin one).]

Arhen, formerly of clan Lavellan.

[He can't quite bring himself to say pleased to meet you to Dorian, of all people. Pleased to see him, absolutely, but it's hardly a meeting.]

[And that is a mystery. He thinks over it, and he feels himself almost strangled by hope.

Lavellan. Clan Lavellan.

Dorian of all people knows that timelines are precarious things. One small movement here can change a thousand futures. And it's not necessarily linear. Time is a curious thing. Arhen could be from his future, for all he knows.

For what he knows now, the elf excited to see him, calling him something that he knows has more meaning than simply words, he could have been his future.

There are so many questions to ask, and he looks down at the hand on his arm, almost burning his skin despite his clothes.

So many questions, and he can barely bring himself to ask one.]

...perhaps it would be best if we went over this one point at a time. How do you know me?

Edited 2015-02-08 04:04 (UTC)

[He isn't simply assuming it's a coincidence? Arhen blinks up at him, the confusion clearly written in his expression-- the man doesn't know him, but he's accepting that the opposite's true?

Still- curiosity is a much better sign than if Dorian had written him off as being mistaken. They've seen plenty of strange things before.

(Maybe this is something he can fix.)]

I don't suppose you remember working with the Inquisition?

[Question for a question, Dorian. It's an answer in its own right.]

I do, quite clearly. We were just getting cozy in Skyhold, before I was brought here. There is...are you recently arrived? I've found that we're all scattered a bit across different timelines.

[His mind was trying to work out this puzzle, more than curious about him. Did he know Jove? How did they meet? It was all very strange, and curious, but nothing he couldn't sort out.]

Different timelines? Like what happened with Alexius-- did anything happen in Redcliffe, do you remember that?

[There it is. Now the confusion is beginning to fade, replaced with keen inquisitiveness, and the look he fixes Dorian with is sharp and intent. That shouldn't be possible, but then again-- a few days ago he would have said that traveling among the stars themselves wasn't possible, either.]

I- think you understand a good deal more of this than I do, Dorian. Explain, please.

[He wants to shrug off the contact, but he doesn't, he just glances down at the elf. Curious. He was a mystery, once he wanted to know more about.]

I remember it very clearly.

[He almost asks for more information, but he is asked, and so he nods.]

We've been brought here to be watched, for entertainment. There are others from Thedas here...Varric, and Jove...but they are both from slightly different times than I was.

And there were others, old friends of Varric's.

There are also others from different worlds, here. Curious, but I'm still puzzling that all out and learning what I can.

...if I hadn't seen the stars with my own eyes, I might not believe it. Different times and worlds.

[Arhen is still trying to accept that, in all honesty. On one level, of course it makes sense that all manner of impossible things could happen; this is clearly not the Fade, nor is it any world he knows. He recognizes none of the stars from home. But knowing and truly taking it in are different things, and he's working on the latter.

After a few short moments of silence, he breathes out a heavy sigh and shakes his head, letting go of Dorian as he shifts back to allow him a bit more space. There's one more thing he needs to know to be able to give that first question a straight answer.]

Dorian, who led the Inquisition?

[Some part of him had been longing for a touch like that, something so familiar, but it's entirely alien to him. No one touched him out of anything but meaningless passion- it's simply the way things were.

Dorian had been aching for that, for some sort of closeness that wasn't entirely confined to the dark, to closed doors and never spoken of. But now he was faced with it, in whatever sense this elf was, it was strange, alien to him.

He let out a breath, stepping back and folding his arms across his chest.]

Jove Lavellan, of course. A member of your clan.

[And that explains it.

At first, Arhen's expression doesn't change; after a moment he reaches up to cover his face with one hand, shoulders slumped, then shaking. He can't keep it stifled for long before he breaks into laughter, though-- not honest, amused laughter, but the kind that comes when there's just no other way to let something out. It all makes sense, and Creators, he's sure he really does look mad now, but he can't stop.

Dorian doesn't know him because he doesn't exist, and yet here they both are. It'll be a few more moments before he can speak.]

You do know me, you just don't- know me.

[No, that doesn't sound any better.]

There was no Jove in my clan, Dorian.

[Dorian leaves him be, and when Arhen laughs, he pauses, watching him. That wasn't the reaction he expected, not in the least, and when he finally speaks, he's taken aback.

His own words echo in his mind, ones he said to Jove. In another life, perhaps... and he finds himself shocked to near silence.

In another life, another world. Another timeline. Of course, it all made sense.

He felt a stab of something- envy, perhaps, or longing. This man he had never known, but had known him...]

So then, I see...I take it you are the Inquisitor, in your timeline?

[There are a thousand questions he could ask, but they all die on his lips. None of them mean as much as the question he wants to ask, but can't bring himself to.

He needs to know, but at the same time, he's terrified of knowing the truth. Of knowing if, in some other world, he wasn't alone.]

Inquisitor Lavellan, at your service.

[He keeps a straight face through it, but immediately wrinkles his nose. No, that title doesn't sit so well even outside Thedas.

...but if the others are from different times, like Dorian-- the metaphorical lightbulb going off is almost visible as realization hits.]

Creators, don't tell the others, this might be the only time in my life that anyone from Thedas won't be bringing all their problems to me. Tell me they knew this other Inquisitor, too.

...no.

[His words are heavy on his tongue, and he swears, he looks up at the sky and he swears in Tevene, for a few good moments, cursing everything that he could think of.

And when he's done, he shakes his head, and it's his turn to laugh. He sighs, shaking his head.]

Venhedis. Of course, how fickle fate is. No, they don't know her. It would appear I am the only one from our time. I've not breathed a word of the whole...Herald of Andraste business. Varric would rather not have the story spoiled for him, you see.

[He laughs, but it's a bitter scoff.]

Varric doesn't know-?

[He blinks, confused, before he realizes.]

...different timelines and times, then? He hadn't even heard? This is- it's going to be difficult to keep track of, isn't it. I think I already have a headache.

[And with the way Dorian had taken his answer, he can't help but think that asking no more questions might be the best way to proceed. He's hardly inclined to keep pushing the subject after that.]

But I've been keeping you, haven't I.

I...should probably go.

[He doesn't want to. He wants to know more, needs to know more, but for the moment, he can't even bring himself to ask. It seems terrible, this choking hope that in some world, he had someone by his side, that he wasn't alone.

He can't bring himself to ask, but the desperate thought catches in his mind, repeating itself like a prayer.

Did you love me?

He can't bring himself to ask it, and instead he reaches out, closing the distance between them, and hesitates. He wants to touch him, to know that he is real, that there is someone who can care for him. He wants to hold his jaw, see if the delicate lines of his face are as soft as they look.

He rests a hand on his shoulder.]

We will speak again soon. ...do let me know, should you need anything.

[He doesn't want to be a stranger to him, but he barely knows a thing about him. Certainly, he knows he is the Inquisitor, in his world, but he knew nothing else of value.

Arhen was a mystery to him.]

Edited 2015-02-08 06:05 (UTC)

[He reaches up to cover the hand on his shoulder with his own, just briefly, before he lets go. He has no idea what, exactly, is going through Dorian's mind, but as much as he'd like to encourage him to stay and talk... too much at once won't do either of them any good.]

Take care of yourself, won't you? Not that I expect any less. You'll look just as good next time, I'm sure.

[That feels more like normal, and it brings a fond smile to his face, one that's tinged with a hint of sadness. Dorian hardly seems different; it's strange to think that this isn't his Dorian at all.

Arhen steps back, about to turn to leave, but it's too difficult to go without saying something else. Dorian never mentioned that he understood what Arhen called him, at first, and so he has yet to realize that his words will actually be understood.]

Ma serannas, ma vhenan.

['Thank you, my heart.' For the explanation, for his time. For being able to see him here, even if he's not the same one. Only then does he turn away and slip off.]

[Dorian watches him slip away, the elf quickly disappearing from view, as if vanishing. That was how they were, ephemeral, almost like spirits, the Dalish.

He wonders, perhaps, if this will be the only time he sees him. Ma vhenan, it resonates through him, and he can still feel him on his fingertips. Arhen.

He can't tell if he thinks his name, or if he whispers it, a name that somehow he knows he will not forget. And those words, ma vhenan, they weigh on him like an anchor on his heart.

Arhen cares for him, at least. Dorian dares not hope for love, that is too much to ask of anyone. But he can hope that maybe there is something there. That perhaps, in some world, he isn't alone.

It's terrible, knowing that somewhere, he might be happy.]

Amatus.

[He almost hisses it, the word coming to his lips and then leaving him, going into the chilly night air.

He stands there, feeling too numb for any other reaction, and he finally turns, pulling out his communicator.]

[Open Moons Mingle Log]

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