driftfleet | 004 || video;

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004 || video;

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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.]

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

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

[She could already tell without asking. No one who remembered what happened at Kirkwall would ever be pleased to think of it or talk about it. That was the assumption she was going on, though she knew there was not much love between the broody elf and the destructive mage. Still, she did not begrudge Anders' frustrations - it was the end result she had an issue with. Murdering hundreds of innocents in the name of freedom was not something she could abide by.

As it were, Kirkwall was the inciting force of the current Templar and Mage war that raged on back home. If he remembered... that was only too unfortunate. She would regret it, should the day come where she would need him to answer for his crimes. Hawke had killed him, according to Varric's account of events, but she knew that was not always true in this place. What she knew and what others knew could be entirely different events.

She imagines Fenris can see the wheels turning in her head without her even speaking a word. Just as tense, she rests her hands together beneath her chin, as if she could pray all of this away.]

I take it his memories have caught up to certain events? Or is there another reason you look as if you need a stiff drink to wash some bad taste out of your mouth.

Edited 2016-08-11 19:52 (UTC)

[Oh, if only you know, Leliana. Which...actually, he knows she might be one of the few people here who can look at this with some degree of distance. Everyone else here from Thedas is pretty close to Anders. They might lack the...clarity that's needed in this situation. ]

A little of both. I would not refuse a drink right now, in all honesty.

[Come drink with him, Lels, they can have a great bitch about everything. It'll be the best ever. ]

[For a moment there's a flash of something - anger, a thirst for vengeance - but then it disappears. Anders had been so different the last she'd spoke to him. She wants to hold onto that and remember that even the most gentle of mages could be twisted. She knew the story - Justice had possessed Anders. He'd been a good spirit, not unlike Cole's Compassion, but it didn't save him from being corrupted by Anders' desires for mages to be free from the injustices of the Circle.

Unfortunately, the Chantry was not a governing body. They could not sway the Templars, only hope to guide them, as Justinia had tried to guide both sides to peace.]

Blood and damnation... I assume the Hero of Ferelden is aware of this as well?

[And she was friends with Anders which meant there was absolutely no way Leliana would be allowed to confront him. Part of her didn't want to bother because she knew, in some version of the universe, Hawke had passed judgement upon him for his actions. It still didn't help her feel better about having to sit by idly while Anders walked with a demon possessing him.]

I have wine - Varric left a bottle for me when he departed back to Thedas. Perhaps we can sit together and talk about this more privately?

[Because she knew Riona and possibly Anders and both male and female Hawke could probably see this as they were speaking. It wasn't as if they were having an overly private conversation. It killed her to be so secretive to the one woman left who still believed in her being a genuinely good person, but now was not the time for guilt. She wanted to hear Fenris' thoughts unabridged.]

[He understands the anger. He felt it himself. He'd hoped, when Anders showed up younger and free of the thing that drove him, they were safe from it. This, it seems, is no longer the case. They have to be careful. On guard. ]

I do not know. I assume that she does, yes.

[And from what he heard of their tales, Riona knew Justice, too. That would be a tangled mess to deal with when they inevitably would have to. He hopes he can show her sense, but somehow, he doubts it. ]

That would be amicable. I will be there shortly.

[The Blue Fish was one of the places Cole would go, but he'd just have to deal with that if the spirit made an appearance. This was a far more important matter to attend to before any of that. He knew, too the secrecy was important. They NEEDED it, at least for the time being.

And, true to his word, it doesn't take him long to get a shuttle and fly himself over to the Blue Fish. He doesn't know the layout of this ship as well as his own (wow they have so much STUFF) so he'll be wandering around trying to find her.]

[One thing that she often enjoyed about her former profession as a bard was her ability to move silently throughout the ship and to go unnoticed. At times it lead to occasionally startling the bejeezus out of the less alert members of the crew and others it was mostly easy for the fact that she could shut out the noise of the ship if no one was stopping her to chat. This was one of those times where she was able to do just that.]

Fenris, you'll get lost if you go that way.

[She found herself not far behind him, probably appearing like a ghost to the unaware. She hadn't seen Fenris' skills of perception for herself, but she didn't imagine it would be easy to catch someone of his skill by surprise.]

Come on, then.

[She waves him forward, moving to retreat back down the hall. She couldn't decide if it would be wiser to retreat to her quarters or if sitting in the kitchens would work. Riona was off seeing to her own duties and Kiter would not listen in on her, that she was aware of. Should she feel worried about something like that? It wasn't as if she had anything to hide from her beloved Hero of Ferelden and yet she didn't want to disappoint her with her personal feelings on the matter of a certain mage.]

[Fenris, by his nature isn't prone to surprise. He knew if he wandered enough, she would find him, and lo, here she was. He couldn't really sense her that much, he's a warrior, not a rogue, after all. But he wasn't created to be a weapon for nothing. So he doesn't look surprised at all when she speaks.

He gives a silent nod of greeting and acknowledgement, before following her silently. He didn't know this ship, nor it's crew well. But he knew Leliana would find the best place to talk regardless of that. He'd just her judgement on such a thing.]

[Not wanting to take chances, the only obvious choice remaining, after some momentary deliberation, was that they speak in her room in the barracks. She didn't want to risk unwanted parties overhearing, should they say something (should she say something) and have it get back to Riona or anyone else who might be unhappy with certain views.]

Apologies for the lack of a tour - perhaps if you wish we can bother Riona with one later.

[Leliana gives him a terse smile as she moves closer to the barracks, stopping in front of her room. It was sparse and not the least bit crowded. It would do for a private conversation. The only thing she had in it marking her as a Thedosian and a Chantry Sister was a finely carved statue of Andraste that she made herself, set aside on one of the end tables.]

Hopefully this will do nicely.

[At times like this she missed having a War Counsel chambers or other such stretching rooms. This would work for the time being and it wasn't as if she should feel embarrassed by it. The room hardly resembled something exactly to her tastes.]

It is fine. There are more pressing matters at hand.

[Not that he'd enjoy one anyway, not knowing Cole comes here. This is a rare visit, and he intends to keep it that way. He notes the carved doors as they pass, they must mean something to everyone here, how strange. He supposes there's some camaraderie here. Or people are very territorial. Either or.

He steps in and honestly it does him well enough. He's never been one who needs a lot in life, and given the intimate details of their conversation, it's probably for the best.]

It's fine by me.

So. We should start from the beginning, I think.

[ She leans against the wall nearest her, facing him with her arms tucked behind her back.]

Varric filled in the majority of events that lead up to the Chantry explosion and it's been some time for me since then. It's safe to say we can skip that part. My largest concern is what course of action we could take with Vengeance. Anders could be normal enough on his own, as he seemed in Kirkwall for years, but I want to know what is in front of us - if he is too dangerous and unpredictable to be allowed to continue as he is.

[So no bones about it then: if Fenris gave her enough evidence to support such an action, she would have no qualms about killing him.]

Neither Hawke will allow us to kill him. Nor Riona.

[And he isn't about to get dragged into a battle with them over it. He knows where she's going with it at least though. ]

That would have to be a last resort. My thinking was there are people from other worlds here, people with abilities beyond that which we've seen in Thedas. Perhaps someone will be able to remove Vengance from him, without killing him in the process. Not that it would matter, death is not permanent here.

Could these people help us avoid the demon possessing someone else? Or themselves. I won't involve others with that risk in mind, not without assurances that it can be avoided causing another problem. The last thing we need is it taking control of someone more powerful.

[That would be so much worse. Anders by himself was a non threat but with Vengeance he'd become a murderer. If the demon latched onto someone else with more power it would be far more dangerous.]

That is my concern also. I have no intention of letting that thing gain control of someone else. There are being here with powers that make Anders look like nothing. I would prefer the demon be exterminated for good, once it was removed. Then we need not worry about such a thing happening, and they get to keep their precious mage alive.

[Yup. Definitely they need to break out the wine. She knows there's no love lost between Anders and Fenris - Varric had said as much when he'd been interrogated - but all of this was going to lead to a headache should she try to stick up for Anders even the smallest bit. The one she'd met before hadn't been a bad person.

Casually, she stops next to her storage containers, pulling out a couple glasses and then the bottle of wine itself. She pours the both of them a glass and once he's handed his she's satisfied enough to respond.]

I won't argue mage rights - I've worked with the Chantry for years enough to know that is a wasted effort with most without Divine Justinia's voice to the conversation. However, Anders as a person is not the problem - not entirely. His anger corrupted the spirit who possessed him but that alone is not enough reason to condemn him in light of the facts. Our concern should be the demon but if it is impossible to extract it, I will bear the consequences. I am duty bound as the Left Hand of the Divine and you are not. I won't have this spiraling into some sort of problem beyond that.

[Leliana is technically going behind a few backs with this talk, namely the Warden. Riona would definitely be hurt. Already she had worries that Leliana had strayed from some path of good that Leliana scarcely believed in anymore but still wished she did. Stopping the demon was for the good of everyone in the fleet and she would regret having to kill Anders if it came to that.

She moves back to her spot, leaning against the wall as she drinks her wine.]

[She's good to him, giving him wine, he approves greatly of such things. He takes a drink and hates to admit she's right. He's learned to absolutely despise Anders, and with good reason. The man always compared the slavery he and so many others go through to the mage plight, ignorant of the fact that mages were the slavers in this scenario. That what mages went through in the circles can't ever ever compare to that of a Tevinter slave.

But...the younger Anders. He's shown that Anders isn't a completely lost cause. That there was good in him, and the possession by the Justice was the likely cause of his turn. ]

Hm. It is clear he and the demon fed off one another, to create what we have now. While he was his younger self, he was almost a different person. It is disconcerting.

[Fenris is never a fan of his worldview being shifted. At her offer, he tilts his head, frowning softly.]

You would do that? I doubt Riona would be grateful for such an act. And Hawke...

[Hawke would be devastated, both of them. No one but him wouldn't see it for what it was. They'd make her a pariah at the best, try to kill her at the worst. ]

I agree it would need to be done, but you would be risking your life. I do not trust Adalwolfe not to seek retribution.

Without the demon to feed off of his anger or to supplement it, Anders would be rendered mostly ineffective. He is not in chains here. There would be no reason for him to take up arms.

[As for the others... she's already thought it through. Riona she could reason this out with. She would have her friend still, albeit not without some stern discussion. Hawke... both Hawkes... she was not afraid to die if it came to that.]

He can try. I'm not so easily killed and Riona can be reasoned with. She would be unhappy but she wouldn't attack me. She also would not allow Hawke to come to blows with me. If it did come to that? Then I would return regardless, no?

[She wasn't afraid of death, not by a long shot.]

He would still likely be a dour annoyance, but that is better than the alternative.

[A decade of listening to the man bitch and wine leaves it's mark, it seems. Still, he'd rather drown Anders out than deal with him blowing people up.]

You would, but I doubt it is a pleasant experience. I imagine Atroma will expect some sort of price for their resurrection, I just have not figured out what that is yet. It's best avoided, if possible.

...Still. I understand that sometimes, needs must.

Yes, of course. Annoying is better than possessed.

[His information about Atroma intrigues her, not that Leliana is eager to test it.]

I am not afraid to die for something I believe to be right. While I believe all Mages deserve freedoms and to be treated as equals, possession is a risk that comes with dangerous outcomes. We do not know the circumstances behind Vengeance, but we can stop it from surfacing or moving to another host. If that is not reason enough for Hawke or Anders to risk the outcome that is their problem not mine.

[Leliana takes a sip of her wine, glad for the liquid to steady her.]

[It's refreshing to talk to someone who understands that sometimes the unpleasant path needs to be taken for the best outcome. He's usually met with a wall of refusal, that the only good outcome would be everyone remaining alive. Sometimes, it is not feasible.]

Marian may see sense...it's unlikely, but she might. Adalwolfe certainly would not, in his timeline he is willing to kill any of us to protect Anders. He killed his version of me. Though as much as he thinks otherwise, I will not attack him here.

[Because he could never imagine attacking a Hawke or because he has a point to prove about that. They are both equal reasons factoring into that. ]

The risk to the Fleet at large is too great, though. We cannot sit idle. It would be best if we could remove the demon and eradicate it. There are likely people here with such abilities, I believe it is called an exorcism.

[Once upon a time, she would have been one of the voices refusing him. She had feared turning into Marjolaine, giving in to to thrill and the adrenaline she got from killing and fighting with every breath. Now she had no such convictions. She was her own person, after all.]

Marian - the one I remember... she killed Anders for what he did at the Chantry, with deep regret. If I recall, the two of you ran off together and the rest disappeared for a time. Don't quote me on that though.

[She gives an impish smile, suggestive and obvious as if she'd outright said it. The question is there too: 'Is there something between you two?' But then, she wasn't going to tease him about it just yet.]

I think you could convince her. You two are friends, no?

[Oh she definitely wants to ask. She loves gossip and she would probably tease Marian mercilessly. All thoughts of teasing fly completely out of the window at his words. 'He killed his version of me'.... It made her blood run cold. What if there had been a version of her, earnest and young and full of songs, that had met the blade of a Warden? It was a terrifying thought.]

Why...? Why would he do that?

[She already felt as if she could not trust Adawolfe's judgement but this...? Killing a comrade at arms. If the Marian Hawke she knew were here, seeing Anders... would she tell him what had been done to him by her hand? Why? She didn't have answers to that question.]

Why would he tell you something like that?

[It's the only logical conclusion she can draw, given his history of blurting out awful truths. He'd told Riona the Inquisitor - that she - had sanctioned Alistair, the King of Ferelden, to go into the Fade and that he had been left there. She had no idea of what the political ramifications would be. The thought made her feel ill.]

[He exhales softly at that. Interesting to know there are other Hawkes that chose him. All the others he has known have picked Anders. It's a little strange, how that turns out. ]

I believe the Marian from here also ran off with me. Though she did not kill Anders, from what I understand.

[He doubts she ever would. She lives the stupid idiot too much. ]

I will talk with her, all the same.

[Trying to get gossip from Fenris is like trying to get blood from a stone. His expression remains stoic throughout. He's so dull, sorry Leliana. At her questions about Adalwolfe, however, his brow furrows. He's used up his anger on it. These days, it just makes him feel tired. ]

I do not know. Apparently I turned on him when Meredith snapped. He said he did not get to know me, it seems he earned neither my trust nor my respect.

[His hands twitch a little, his eyes narrow. ]

He seems to be under the impression that he can mend it by spending time with me now.

[Leliana sips her wine, the wheels in her head turning yet again over the information he gives her.]

Then he is a fool. However, I won't deny that the Hawke I know isn't a sentimental fool herself. Knowing her like, she probably beat herself up over Anders and the Chantry. I only know about her what Varric has told us.

[And Varric had never revealed her location, much to Cassandra's frustration. Perhaps she had been able to forgive herself? Perhaps she had found peace with Fenris. Leliana had not asked her.]

Edited 2016-08-25 20:59 (UTC)

It seems to be a common occurrence, no matter what the Hawke. Perhaps that is what makes them stand out so much, which makes them so different, along with the Inquisitor and the Hero. Or perhaps it is because they make such great waves in Thedas.

[He looks down at his wine glass thoughtfully. He's often wondered why the big changes in their world always centre around those three people. What does it mean? ]

Regardless. Though she may not be my Hawke, I have come to know her well. I know she will not like it, but may understand, if we have absolutely no other alternative.

I had heard there were different Wardens and Inquisitors but I have not seen it for myself, only in the two Hawkes we have on board. Alistair told me that the Warden he knew was quite different from Riona - a mage.

[She left out the part that really intrigued her still: that she had been involved with Leliana. It made her wish she'd asked him more what this woman was like. Now it was too late to do more than wonder what could have been, in another life. It was an interesting thought, to be sure.]

It seems, universally, we agree that they are resourceful and somewhat flexible if they have the mind to be so.

004 || video;

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