004 // the house of sin

[serpentis]

Who: Dorian and assorted guests
Broadcast: Fleet-wide, 3/10
Action: In a villa practically in the forest (THE HOUSE OF SIN)
When: Broadcast- 3/10 // Action- 3/9-3/31? Until we leave.

Broadcast:

[The broadcast goes out on 3/10, and Dorian smirks a bit into the feed.]

I believe I've secured lodging for myself, with room enough for several others. If you need a place to stay, do let me know. It's a quaint little villa a bit outside of town. ...please don't mind the suspicious glances, I assure you, I've done nothing entirely against the guidelines that were set.

---------

Action:

[Dorian has secured a villa, but the residents of Mor don't seem too keen on having an evil mage for a neighbor. As the month goes on, more and more villagers will show up to stand at the gates of the villa and threaten to come in after the "evil wizard".

Maybe he shouldn't have gone so overboard with the whole "contacting the spirits of the dead" thing.]

((OOC: Mingle post for the House of Sin. We'll pretend there are enough rooms in here for everyone! Even if you character only drops by to rest their feet a bit, everyone is welcome to visit and stay the night if they want.))

Comments

[serves]

[Cullen picks a room as secluded as he can find. Trauma was a silly thing--regardless of worlds or timelines, it could still follow. He imagined that there was some timeline in which he never experienced the horrors of Kinloch, and that he grew up to be a man that didn't toss and turn in his sheets and plead for the demons to leave him alone or end his misery. If only.

He retires late after a day of exploring or sparring or conversing, but even exhaustion doesn't always keep the nightmares at bay. There were a number of reasons why he stayed in a drafty loft in Skyhold when there were other places to sleep. But the main reason was solitude.

People were less likely to hear his muffled cries from his tower. He still had some dignity left--but that might change, here.]

[dawnwillcome]

[The room Jove chose for herself was the one just beside Dorian's, but there had been no actual purposeful attempt to avoid the room Cullen set himself up in. If anything, she's been just as friendly, just as open with him as she had ever been. It's Cullen that isolates himself and she assumes it's because he's embarrassed, so she says nothing about it.

It would have gone on that way likely forever if it hadn't been for her passing by his door on her way back to her room after a quest for a glass of water. It's late at night, there are no other sounds in the villa, and the sounds of him in distress are easily heard once she stops to listen to them. For a moment she hesitates, but there's no question about how this will end.

When she knocks and calls his name and he does't answer, Jove sighs and pushes the door open to lean inside. He still doesn't respond, even as she creeps closer, and finally Jove reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder as gently as she can.]

Cullen, wake up.

[serves]

[The touch to his shoulder has him waking with a start, a cool layer of sweat on his skin. The pulling, tearing, ripping--it's all too vivid, and for a moment it looks like he might not be seeing Jove.

But then he blinks and his eyes focus on her face, and he looks like he wants to dive into that volcano, body tense.]

Jove. I'm--forgive me.

[dawnwillcome]

[She shakes her head, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. Propriety would have her taking that hand away after that, but she doesn't. Not when he's so shaken.]

There's nothing to forgive. Are you alright now?

[serves]

[No, he's never alright after waking up from a nightmare, but he swallows back the burn of bile as he nods.]

Yes. I'm fine. It's just a bad dream, that's all.

[dawnwillcome]

I hate to tell you this, but you aren't a very convincing liar.

[She should absolutely go now, tell him she hopes he'll sleep better the rest of the night. That's what she should do, but instead she finds herself sitting on the edge of the bed.]

Do you have nightmares often?

[serves]

[It's hard to lie when everything from the sheen on his skin to the tired pull under his eyes says he's not alright. His heart is still pounding far too fast for his liking. But he sighs, letting himself sink back into his pillows, hand coming to rest over his eyes.

She shouldn't have to deal with this. With him.]

Not often. [But often enough. He sighs. How much did she know?] But without lyrium, they're worse.

[dawnwillcome]

[She knows that much, and her frown is entirely sympathetic. She'd admired his strength from the beginning, had seen him on his bad days, but this was something she had never known he suffered from.]

Is there anything that helps? I've got a good sum of money saved now, if there's anything from the market that you think would help you only need to tell me.

[serves]

[He does his best to keep it hidden. Few people needed to know what weaknesses the commander of the Inquisition had.]

Not that I've found. [He presses his thumb and index finger into the corners of his eyes, trying to relieve some of the pressure there.] I wish there was something, but--[Only lyrium could buffer him from the nightmares. That was no option.]

Don't worry about me. I'll be fine by morning.

[dawnwillcome]

Morning is a ways off, though.

[There's not any pity to her tone, as bad as she feels for him. It's just an unfortunate fact. She tries smiling at him, hopeful humor will do something - anything - to ease this a little.]

Are you trying to give me orders again? That's certainly one I can't follow.

[serves]

[Her presence does more than her humor. Cullen lifts his hand to look at her.]

You're up late enough. I don't want to keep you from your bed.

[dawnwillcome]

Lucky for me, I've been a bit too invigorated to do much sleeping here. It must be the woods, some elf thing.

[She reaches for his hand, laying hers gently over it.]

I can stay.

[serves]

[It's almost involuntary, the way his hand carefully turns under hers to give her fingers a squeeze. It feels natural.]

You don't need to. [But that soft tone of voice says that he'd like her to. Some company to distract him from the nightmares and memories trying to claw back into his mind.]

[dawnwillcome]

[Even for her it feels natural, so she links their fingers together and gives his hand a gentle squeeze in return. I'm here for you, she hopes it says. Nothing will ever change that.]

Of course I don't, and yet here I sit. We could play a game of chess, if you like. Or go for a walk to tire you out.

[serves]

A walk isn't a bad idea.

[She draws a faint smile out of him. Were he in Skyhold, he wouldn't be getting back to sleep. He'd let the cool air dry his skin, let it wake him up, and then he'd work straight on until the sun rose and hope the next night he was too exhausted to dream.]

Give me a moment and I'll be ready.

[He has to get up and put on a shirt.]

[dawnwillcome]

Ah, right, of course.

[She lets go of his hand and turns her eyes towards the ceiling, because while she hadn't missed the fact that he was naked from the waist up at least, it wasn't something she had focused on while he was crying out in his sleep.

Now that they have drawn attention to it, she's gone a little pink. Hopefully the room is dark enough he won't see it.]

Should I wait for you outside?

[serves]

[He's already slipped into his shirt by the time she finishes asking. It's loose and wrinkled from being under his armor, but he's in no mood to go through the task of gearing up. It'd just be a short walk. He does, however, set his sword aside with intent of strapping it on once his boots are on his feet.

But before that--he pauses, walking over to meet her while plucking his cloak off of the chair he'd draped it on earlier in the night, furry collar and all.]

It's a little chilly. Here.

[He holds it up, willing to help her slip her arms into the assuredly over-sized garment on her.]

[dawnwillcome]

Does this mean I get to be the lion now?

[She wouldn't refuse it though, not when it is cold as she's had a particular aversion to cold since Haven. More importantly, she knows him well enough that refusing would only hurt his feelings and that's the last thing she wants to do for any reason, but doubly so when he's probably still feeling incredibly vulnerable.

So she slips her arm into it, turns so he can settle it over her shoulders. Is this something he had done for her before? Would he get her all tucked in to the warmth of his coat and then hold her for a moment, cheek against hers, hands on her hips, until he pulled himself away?

That's... she really needs to think of something else.]

You won't be cold without it?

[serves]

The most fearsome of lions. [Pulling the fabric around her and making sure it stays in place takes his mind off the reason why they're here. It's a little ridiculous, her in a cloak probably five times too big, but there's something charming about the way she looks wrapped in it.

He feels too warm.]

I think the last time the cold bothered me, we were in Haven. [He runs hot. Blame his Ferelden blood. And with that, he sits to tug on his boots.]

[dawnwillcome]

I think Haven was the last time the cold didn't bother me.

[But she's distracted as she says it, watching him reaching for his boots. This seems silly.]

Cullen, we're just going outside. You don't need shoes or a sword. [She comes over and reaches a hand out, looking even smaller than usual with the fur of his collar tucked around her and the thing hanging down far past where it should.] Leave the boots, who knows the next time we'll see grass. You should feel it between your toes for once.

[serves]

[Look at all that apprehension on his face.]

I don't know if that's a good idea. We don't know what's out there.

[dawnwillcome]

Certainly nothing I can't handle on my own.

[She lifts her hand and wiggles her fingers, letting electricity arc between them and give the room a slightly purple tint.]

Mage, remember? I'll protect you.

[serves]

[Close proximity to magic after those nightmares makes him uneasy, but all he does is press his lips together and look down at his feet.

He's too tired to argue this.]

Very well.

[dawnwillcome]

[Isn't that interesting. She's always been proud of her magic, of the fact it would keep her clan safe one day. She liked the power it gave her to protect people who needed help and slay the ones putting innocents in danger. She had thought, perhaps stupidly now that she considers it, that if she found someone it would be someone who also appreciated her abilities.

He is a templar, though. Perhaps her magic had been a test between them after all.

And now she feels guilty for pushing him, for making him give way like that, so she lowers herself to her knees and reaches for his boot. Her hands are free of magic when she reaches for the back of his leg, clearly intending to help him get his shoes on.]

[serves]

[It takes him a moment longer than it should to realize what she's doing. The instant he does, he's leaning down to gently grasp her shoulders and pull her up.]

Maker, no. Jove. [He didn't need to be dressed like a child, and the Inquisitor should not be on her knees. Especially before him.] Let's go for that walk. I haven't felt grass beneath my feet since I was a boy.