Video 01

[killedwithlove]

Who: Cole and anyone
Broadcast: Fleet-wide
Action: Marvisa
When: Now until the next shuffle?

[Cole doesn't usually sleep, so waking up is very unfamiliar. He doesn't usually feel the cold or heat much, so the deep coldness in his bones is alien.

He jerks upright with a gasp, hands scrabbling at the back of his neck and then he vanishes in a puff of black-green smoke and reappears in the corner of the room, pressing himself back into it, staring around with wide eyes.]

Whispering, watchful, wakeful, wondering, where?

[He then spends a while patting things around him like the floor and wall, whispering under his breath.

In all honesty, he'll stay in that room until someone convinces him to leave and go elsewhere. It's not like he has to leave for any reason.]

Comments

video

[killedwithlove]

I don't like being alone. It's too empty, echoing, escaping out of me.

video

[howcanihelp]

[ She probably doesn't dislike it quite that much, but Steffa is definitely sympathetic.

She doesn't like being alone, either. ]

Is there anything I can do? It's not the same, but we can talk here.

video

[killedwithlove]

Talking... helps a little. Being with people helps more.

Thank you. For offering.

video

[howcanihelp]

I don't like being alone, either.

My name's Stephanie, by the way.

video

[killedwithlove]

I'm Cole. Everyone calls me Cole.

video

[howcanihelp]

It's lovely to meet you, Cole.

[ she smiles ]

It looks like you already know some people here, you're from Thedas as well, then?

video

[killedwithlove]

Yes. I'm from Thedas. Cole was from Fereldan and I lived in the White Spire in Val Royeaux. Well, not in the Spire. In The Pit, which is underneath.

video

[howcanihelp]

Well, I'm from Ferelden as well, it looks like we have something in common.

video

[killedwithlove]

Or was he... He was taken to Val Royeaux. Maybe he was Orlesian...

[Cole looks a little bewildered. It's not something that ever made a strong impression on Cole.]

Maybe from the Frostback Mountains. I lived in The Pit. Then I went to Fereldan, after I killed Lord Seeker Lambert.

Did you have a mabari? Cullen has talked about mabari.

video

[howcanihelp]

[ She's not sure what to think about the third person stuff... dissociation, maybe? ]

I was born in Kirkwall, apparently, but I was taken to the Circle in Ferelden. I think it happens pretty often, he might have been from anywhere, really.

[ what, did he--

...you know what, she doesn't want to know. Or if she does, she'll ask... someone else, probably. He seems to have his own issues without her drilling him on murdering the Lord Seeker.

Maker knows she killed Arl Eamon, and nearly killed Teryn Loghain, so it's not as if she's without her high-profile death count... ]

I do, actually! I miss him terribly, he and I have been through a lot together.

Re: video

[killedwithlove]

Varric's from Kirkwall. He thinks of it fondly, but then the horror overwhelms his fondness and he stops thinking about it again.

[He regrets a lot from that time. He doesn't regret killing Lambert. Lambert was a monster.]

Tell me about him?

[He hugs his knees to his chest, looking up and watching intently, like a child waiting for a story.]

video

[howcanihelp]

[ Steffa smiles and leans forward, resting her chin in her hand ]

Well, let's see... I first met Arrow in Ostagar. He'd gotten sick from Darkspawn blood, and the man looking after all the hounds asked me to find an herb to help heal him, if I could.

I was lucky, and spotted it very quickly when we went out to the wilds, and was able to help him before the battle.

video

[killedwithlove]

That was good. It's good to be able to help people.

[Arrow clearly counts as people to Cole. Best not to question it.]

I don't like Darkspawn. Their song is jagged and unpleasant. It crawls into people and slowly takes them over. Is Arrow still alive?

video

[howcanihelp]

It is. It's probably my favorite thing in the world.

[ Arrow counts as people to Steffa, too. Her best most loyal friend. After Natalia, of course. ]

I don't like them either. [ she shudders a little - she's had far too much experience with them, and what he says about crawling in and taking them over... well, it hits a bit too close to home. ] He is! Or he was when I came here. We were... looking for someone important to me.

video

[killedwithlove]

Did you find the someone important to you? Or do you not know how they are?

video

[howcanihelp]

[ She sighs, a little sadly ]

I didn't find her yet, no. I hope-- I hope I will, when I get home, but I don't know if I'll be able to.

video

[killedwithlove]

Who is she?

video

[howcanihelp]

[ That gets a tiny bit of a blush ]

She-- we were... lovers, I suppose. She left to protect me, I think, but... I want to make sure she's all right, at least.

video

[killedwithlove]

Oh. I don't understand that. Leaving never makes sense to me. It hurts people.

video

[howcanihelp]

Yes, it does.

[ little sigh ]

But I'm hoping I can find her and maybe convince her that I want to be with her no matter how dangerous whatever she's doing is. If I can get home...

video

[killedwithlove]

Love makes people better. Stronger. That's what the books say. Varric says it, but then he looks sad.

video

[howcanihelp]

I think that's true. I think love can give you strength.

[ She looks sad, too. ]

It can also hurt, a lot, when you lose it. That's probably why he looks sad.

video

[killedwithlove]

[Cole thinks and nods and decides to keep his mouth shut about Bianca.]

Maybe. I don't know.

video

[howcanihelp]

[ Probably for the best. Good job, Cole! <3 ]

I'm Stephanie, by the way.

video

[killedwithlove]

I'm Cole.

What did you do in Thedas? I can't tell this far away, I can't read you.