004 || video;

[nugqueen]

Who: Leliana
Broadcast: yes
Action: aboard the blue fish
When: now

[Leliana's address to the network came somewhat late - someone had gotten revenge for her prank, after all. Her cowl is pulled back resting about her shoulders and her skin and the ends of her hair are still drying after she'd scrubbed the ink off. Schmooples could be heard snuffling from her lap, his long ears making a cameo as he was cradled against her.]

I apologize. It seems I mayhap have fallen victim to a long slumber. I don't recall the ships leaving the planet we were last on, but I am to understand some time has passed.

[Guaranteed, Riona waited a good few days before daring to draw on her face.]

I will be resuming my duties in the Interfaith Center – Stefan, I apologize sincerely for my absence. I hope it has not caused an inconvenience.

[She smiles warmly, blue eyes lit up as she continues speaking.]

For those who do not know me: I am Sister Nightingale and I assist the Interfaith Center for those of Andrastian faith, hailing from Thedas. I can also be found aboard the Blue Fish, should anyone ever seek counsel from me outside of the Center. You do not have to be Andrastian to do so, of course.

Private: Riona Cousland Theirin.

[There's a bit of an evil smile on Leliana's face as she switches the feed to private.]

You got your revenge, no?

[She laughs warmly, her eyes alight with mischief]

Care to join me for lunch? I'm feeling a bit peckish after being out of sorts. You can catch me up on all the latest gossip.

[She runs her fingers through the wet ends of her red hair and Schmooples crawls up her chest into view to snuffle at the camera over her shoulder.]

I hope I didn't worry you too much.

Action

[Leliana can be found either aboard the Blue Fish or in the Interfaith Center praying silently before her own hand made totem statue of Andraste. The nap seemed to have done her at least a little good. Still she felt the lingering grief of home and the troubles it faced but she was slowly becoming more at peace in her new life. Perhaps she could finally lay down her burdens? She wasn't so sure yet. For now she moved on to the next stage of things – normalcy.

Aboard the Blue Fish Leliana makes her security rounds, stopping to take a break to make some tea and enjoy some quiet in the kitchens. Something seemed amiss, though she couldn't put her finger on it nor guess that perhaps that it was because a crew member had gone missing. Still the stillness put her at ease.]

Comments

Action

[wolfehawke]

[Adalwolfe never spent much time in the Chantry, not like his sister. He'd come into his magic before Lothering and thus avoided it when he could. Of course he still went to check the board, and during holidays - it would be suspicious if he didn't, along with all his family - and even knew parts of the Chant by rote, but being an apostate means being very careful and generally avoiding buildings full of Templars whenever possible.

It feels strange to step into the Interfaith Center with that behind him, and with what had happened the last time he'd set foot anywhere near a Chantry building. He's not completely sure why he's here, really. Well no, he is, he's here to see Sister Leliana, but the why of that is a concern. He doesn't owe her anything, doesn't need to explain the situation to her regarding Anders, but he also doesn't want any unnecessary misunderstandings or actions. Varric had said Leliana could be ruthless, but she had her heart in the right place and if there's anyone Adalwolfe trusts regarding people, it's Varric. Still, that had been his Thedas. How different is this version?

He leans in before actually stepping through the door, looking left then right and whispering quietly so as not to disturb anyone unduly.]

Hello?

Action

[nugqueen]

[Leliana was busying herself with lighting candles, holding the long match in her hand and drifting from candle to candle around her totem of Andraste. While it was not nearly the same as being inside of a Chantry, Leliana felt at peace. It gave her a place to have a moment of quiet reflection. So many things swam through her mind of late. She had chosen to lay aside what issues she had with Hawke, what issues she had within herself and without in relation to the events of the last ten years. The Left Hand should lay down her burden...

Justinia's words and her teachings still stuck with Leliana. All she had to do was close her eyes and she could see her as she'd been when they first met. Leliana had been frightened and angry then, fresh from Margolaine's betrayals. Justinia had shown her what it was to have faith and devotion to another person again. She had shown her where her true calling resided.

And now she was gone.

When Hawke arrives, she lowers her match, setting it down after blowing the smoke out at the end. Hawke's voice had brought her out of her thoughts for the moment. It was just as well, considering Justinia would have hated to see her linger in the past.]

Welcome to the Interfaith Center.

[Leliana gestures to the spot where he should remove his shoes. Her own boots were left to the side. It was a strange custom she'd been taught but it was what was required of the Interfaith Center, should someone want entry.]

Can I help with anything?

[wolfehawke]

I need-

[Adalwolfe struggles with his boot for a moment; even without the armor on it, they're a little bit of a tight fit and go all the way to the knee where he'd tucked the culottes he'd gotten on planet into the top. Giving up on all dignity, he plunks himself down in the entry for a moment to fight them off and then places them gently standing up near Leliana's pair.

Maybe he shouldn't have given Cole the shoes Atroma had left for him on arrival. Could have saved a bit of face. Then again, the spirit really had needed them more than Hawke did.

Embarrassing moment over, Adalwolfe gets to his feet to smooth his shirt and clear his throat. He's here to talk about something serious and he needs to be taken as such. Hopefully that ship hasn't sailed.]

I need to speak with you about Anders.

[He keeps his voice low, as befitting of a Chantry. He's never been terribly religious, but he does respect those who do believe. It's a difficult thing, to trust in a Maker who's barely shown He's even still looking on the world and a martyr long dead.]

Action

[save_the_souls]

[Allen was coming into the kitchen to grab his own cup of tea, when he sees Leliana sitting at the table. The sight alone is enough to make him break into a relieved smile]

Ah, you're finally awake!

Action

[nugqueen]

Indeed! And I seem to have missed quite a lot, no? I heard that you and our esteemed Captain acquired dinosaur meat.

[She sips her tea, eyes alight with excitement.]

I'm sure there's a good story to go along with such a feat?

Action

[save_the_souls]

[He laughs a little as he heads to the counter]

Well you could say that. It certainly wasn't easy, that's for sure.

Action: Blue Fish

[killedwithlove]

[Cole ventures to the Blue Fish because he saw Leliana's transmission...

And he saw those nug ears.

And Cole loves nugs.

He appears in the doorway of her room, knocking on the outside and peering in.

He has a small entourage of fluff slugs living on his hat.]

Can I see Schmooples?

[nugqueen]

[If she wasn't used to Cole flitting in and about Skyhold she would have been startled by his appearance. When he arrives, she waves him in and Schmooples leans in his direction, snuffling and ears twitching at the sound of his name.]

Of course. He loves making friends.

[She gives pause when she sees his little fluff snugs - she'd seen them on the planet they'd been on before but she hadn't expect him to gather so many together. Of course he would. Cole was definitely the type to wrangle cute fluffy creatures. He was a strange child but a kind one all the same. It wasn't any trouble to hold Schmooples toward him so that the nug could be handed over.]

Have you been well?

[killedwithlove]

[They just sort of... decided to come with him. And the gardens of the Pathstone provide plenty of food.

He sits down on the floor, awkwardly taking Schmooples and then setting him down in his lap, letting him stay or leave as he wants. Cole just isn't used to holding animals... usually they just come over to him and climb over him.]

Yes? I haven't been unwell. I liked that planet a lot. Hello, Schmooples. You have very magnificent ears.

[He holds his hand there to be snuffled.]

video

[bryces_pup]

I did, in fact, get my revenge. The large mabari on your cheek was my favorite.

[She snickers.]

Lunch would be good. There's a ridiculous amount of dinosaur meat in those refrigerators. Sokka and Allen killed a large one while we were still on land.

[THOSE TWO, SHE SWEARS.]

I'll come meet you in the kitchen. There are... one or two things you should know about.

video

[nugqueen]

Ah, it was a shame I had to wash it away.

[Except not really because she can't exactly present herself with mabari on her face!!]

A... dinosaur? Maker's breath how'd they manage that?

[She can't wait to hear the story it sounds like a good one.]

Has something happened while I was asleep?

video

[bryces_pup]

Not the slightest idea. I only arrived after they somehow managed to get the meat here.

[Her smile falters.]

Two things: Beverly has disappeared. We can't find any trace of her, but she hasn't gone home as far as we can tell.

Secondly... Anders went into one of those sleep comas. He woke up just a day or two ago. He's... aged. Considerably.

Action

[alwayscomeback]

[Sokka is always happiest when he knows his crew are safe and accounted for. This just leaves the big, horrible question of what happened to Beverly. That one is really starting to eat at him.

Still, he offers Leliana a wide smile as comes across her, pausing on his way to the kitchen for a snack. He's genuinely glad to see her. ]

Welcome back to the waking world.

Action

[nugqueen]

Thank you. I can safely say being awake and about is far more exciting. Riona tells me that you and Allen acquired a cache of dinosaur meat straight from the source. A story like that is worth recounting, no?

[Please tell her all about it!!]

Action

[alwayscomeback]

You better believe it is! And man, that's a great story, we-

[His smile suddenly fades. Important business first. Fun later.]

I should tell you first, though. Beverly's gone missing. She's still listed as a member of the crew, so she's probably not gone home, but we can't find her anywhere.

Video - yes you get both

[wolfuncaged]

Welcome back, Sister Nightingale. It seems to have been the month for Thedosians experiencing overlong sleeps.

Video - yay two of my favorite fellas <3

[nugqueen]

It seems so - Riona was asleep before I and it seems it was due to be my turn. Unless you had someone else in mind?

[She had no idea about Anders, of course, having been asleep prior to. She also has no idea anything might be different about him yet. The two hadn't spoken since before her own slumber.]

Video - YES GOOD

[wolfuncaged]

Anders was recently asleep, also. He's only just awoken.

[How about that tenseness in his voice, Leliana? All is not well, there.]

Action - Interfaith Center

[apurrstate]

[He stood outside, out of sight of anyone in the room who might look up, but close enough to know he'd come this far and the only thing still keeping him back was himself. It had been a fight with himself even to get from the Three Twins to the Iskaulit.

He'd heard her broadcast and it had stirred something in him. He hadn't even known there was such a place as an 'Interfaith Center.' Memories of quiet moments in prayer with his mother, their faith the only thing really allowing his father to open up to him, thoughts of hope in those younger years before it all came crashing down in a storm of disillusionment, those where what had gotten him here to this hall.

No it was thoughts of a red night and the smell of a burning city and the sounds of death in the streets, mages, templars, random Kirkwallers caught in the crossfire as desperate and fearful mages turned to what they saw as their only hope and became abominations.

Damn the Chantry for it's corruption and vile attitude, praising the Maker and His love and brilliance in one breath and deeming His children unworthy of praising him in the next. The Chant was for everyone, the Maker loved everyone, it was the Chantry that was wrong and dangerous, that ruined lives.

But the Chant could still bring tears to his eyes. The village in Orlais, the home he and Hawke had made for nearly a year, those simple people sang more beautifully than any Mother Anders had ever met. Their love and reverence had reminded him of what had once delighted him about his faith. A faith he still had to his core.

But considering the blood on his hands he'd never stop atoning for, did he really have any right to Praise the Maker or pray to Andraste now? He'd prayed more in the last few months in Orlais than he'd prayed in the years since arriving in Kirkwall, but alone by candlelight, begging for Hawke to return to him safely seemed different than stepping into a holy space to try and talk to a woman who didn't owe him her ear.

He sighed heavily and his breath shuddered, nervousness pulsing through his limbs and tightening his chest. Anders took a step and then another until his feet had finally carried him to the doorway. He nearly asked for permission to enter, but his mouth was dry and the words wouldn't form.

He hovered there in the doorway, his own silence heavy on his ears as he fought to dredge up something to say, anything.]

...hello..?

Action - Interfaith Center

[nugqueen]

[Leliana hadn't left the Interfaith Center just yet, having spoken briefly with Fenris on the network. She knew now that Anders was aware of his future. It had been all well and good to be kind to him when he didn't know. He had nothing to be blamed for then.

Knowing the truth had brought immeasurable guilt. She'd gone to Kirkwall to warn Elthina but she had refused to leave the Chantry and it cost her and many others their lives. She wanted to be furious with Anders. What he'd done had been the spark that had hurt hundreds and thousands of mages, templars, and innocents. It had been one thing to know that Hawke had killed him - her Hawke, rather. The one he knew served only to frustrate her with his impractical and emotional way of doing things. He didn't think and reminded her more of a child stumbling about trying to keep his toys from collapsing at his feet when he kicked them on accident.

She couldn't afford that sort of sentimentality, not after everything she'd seen in her life since the Blight and since Kirkwall.

She was angry. Leliana wanted to be furious at Anders, to give him the burning pain he'd given so many good people. To her, the idea of blaming the entire institution of the Chantry and the Templars was foolish, but then she could hardly blame him or the other mages of his ilk. When you beat a creature long enough, eventually it bit you back.

When Anders' voice rings out, Leliana very nearly drops the candle she'd been lighting. Instead of going to him immediately, she stares down at her statue of Andraste, willing herself to not give in to grief or anger. Riona would be heartbroken if she struck out at Anders and yet she still felt bound by her duty to protect the Chantry. It was a complicated feeling.]

Blessed are they who stand before
The corrupt and the wicked and do not falter.
Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just.
Blessed are the righteous, the lights in the shadow.
In their blood the Maker's will is written.

[She'd asked once if that had been what the Maker had wanted blood. Surely that had to have been why Anders still lived after the destruction he had wrought. That would be why the Breach had come to be and Justinia had died. The Maker had sought to remind her that her work was not done, no matter the peace that it brought her at times. There would not be peace waiting for her in Thedas just yet.

Standing back from her candles, she turns towards the entrance of the Interfaith Center and makes her way towards Anders.]

Shoes.

[She gestures to his feet, wearing boots, and then hers without. It was a strange custom but something Stefan and Misty had requested she follow and she did so without complaint.]

Are you looking for something, Anders?

[She smiled softly, trying to keep their last conversation in mind: he'd been a sweet innocent mage who had loved cats. In a way he was still that person, but innocent no more. She wanted to forgive and forget and yet her agony over Justinia was like a burning flame, as if he'd been the one to kill her himself. His deeds had certainly set the world on the path of her death and the death of many templars and mages.]

[apurrstate]

[No, he should just turn around and leave. This was foolish. He'd heard from Varric's letters about the Inquisition's spymaster and her long reach. From what Varric had told them, she surely knew about him, had known about him even before when he hadn't done anything.

Faith or no faith, he shouldn't be here. He was honestly surprised she hadn't already banished him from the room.

He hesitated another moment before finally reaching down undo the buckles of his boots and kick them off where he was supposed to. He took another step into the room.]

I don't know.

[Shoes off, plain clothes from the last planet, and staff still on the Three Twins, he couldn't deny he felt overly exposed to sharp edge just under the surface of her gaze.]

I...suppose I am, yes.

video.

[ofkirkwall]

[ By now she knows about Anders, surely, so Hawke does not open with that - no point really. All she does is smile that usual smile of hers, the one that covers the chaos to thoughts and feelings undoubtedly surging about her head. The problems Anders' reawakening bring, the hurt, the little things that have never been faced.

Everything is fine. There is absolutely nothing wrong.

You're a fool, Marian. ]

Good morning, Nightingale.

video.

[nugqueen]

[There's chaos running through her head as well. She had been unable to stop what happened in Kirkwall. Leliana remembered the frenzied reports, the frightening start of the Mage and Templar war that unfolded like an avalanche of destruction. Men and women fought one another, innocents were displaced from their homes. She remembered how determined Justinia had been to set it right again and then the hollow agony in the pit of her stomach when news of the explosion at the Temple of Sacred Ashes had come. No amount of prayer seemed to ease her worries that Justinia yet still lived, that somehow she had been alright.]

Hawke.

[Leliana gives a bit of a nod, a sad smile of her own. She knew the others would be opposed to her wishes when it came to Anders. So far the only one who seemed openly worried about Anders and Justice's existence in the fleet besides her was Fenris, but then he hated the corruption of mages - not without reason.

Leliana didn't want to have to do anything to Anders. She'd been content to pretend it never happened, that the war hadn't started right in Kirkwall at Hawke's doorstep. The Anders that had been here before had been an innocent, save for his attempts to flee the Circle. She didn't blame him for that one bit. Still, she knew she would be overruled by Hawke, by the Warden, and she would have to grit her teeth and allow it because she knew Justinia would not have wanted more blood to exact vengeance for the blood that had already been spilled.

It was a loaded silence that seemed to have settled between the two women.]

It seems I've been released to Atroma's whims and fancies again, like the rest of you.

[And oh did Atroma seem to be laughing at the lot of them.]

action; slides in late

[stefanged]

[Stefan doesn't linger long in the prayer room today. Beyond his own daily prayers, he's gained enough support to do more of the things that make him feel better.

But as he finishes up one of his daily prayers, he can't quite help noticing Leliana. The totem, admittedly, gives him pause. Islam's never been big on stand-ins, let alone symbols of worship. BUT he's a chaplain, and chaplains have always supported everyone, regardless of their own beliefs.

So he sits beside her, crossing his legs and waiting for the right moment to talk.]

Hey. I could use some help in the kitchen, whenever you're ready.

action; and no starbucks? boo

[nugqueen]

[Leliana was still trying to understand the Interfaith Center, really. She'd only placed the totem on the chance that others who practiced the same faith as her in the fleet might come, to give herself a place apart from the bustling noise of the Blue Fish - and really 'noise' was putting it lightly when it came to Sokka and Allen. At times she was found here, silent and contemplating, more than anywhere else. When Stefan addresses her, she nods and moves to her feet.]

Of course.

[She smiles, a rare thing from her lately. This place wasn't the Chantry but it had the same atmosphere. Stefan was kind to her, as was Misty.]

I know I haven't lingered enough to ask what sort of routine you and the others follow.

[She did dishes and other menial chores when asked without complaint, however. The only thing was that while she was happy that didn't necessarily mean she'd found a place of her own inside the Center, save for her little totem and occasionally helping those who asked her questions on occasion.]