video

[veilstrike]

Who: Leilani Lavellan and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: On the Blue Fish
When: Now, after gifts have been opened!

[ The video opens with Leilani fiddling with something in her hands, but she's quick to turn her attention to the camera and focus on the people she's talking to. She's well practiced at the art of focussing her attention on people rather than things; the Inquisition had demanded it from her, and she barely had any time of her own. No time for worries or fears or sadness; only work and fighting for whatever future Thedas had left. ]

In my clan we did not celebrate the winter as the rest of the world did. I didn't recognise that there were different celebrations until I became the Inquisitor, and then it felt as though I was pretending to understand something that was completely alien to me.

[ Frowning, she drops the necklace from her hands. ]

I'd like to know more about your traditions, if you'll appease me. I've never had much time to sit and talk about these sorts of things, so anything that you might be able to tell me would be welcome. There is always time to learn something new.

[ It also distracts her, so it's a welcome relief. ]

Comments

[veilstrike]

[ That has her actually laughing, leaning forward to rest against him, squeezing his hand. ]

You are utterly ridiculous.

[fantachetic]

Perhaps you need a dose of it.

[ He's glad to have made her laugh, at least. It's better than the forlorn expression she had been wearing. ]

[veilstrike]

Things have been a little serious of late. [ Her spare hand is still thumbing her necklace, and she frowns again for a moment before her eyes flick back to him. Much nicer to look at, she thinks. ] Were you given a gift as well?

[fantachetic]

Not without reason, though I will admit I'm glad to be rid of it. [ Everyone was glad to get off the planet, though.

He glances to the bed on the other side of him to the box and nods. He can't really express how grateful he was, seeing what he'd been given. ]

I didn't expect to see it again. [ He simply passes her the box so she can look. Even if she doesn't understand the meaning behind it. ]

[veilstrike]

Are you telling me you didn't love the planet that was literally trying to eat us alive? For shame. [ Healthy humour makes all the pains disappear, surely?

Still, it's easier to look over at Dorian's box, to reach out and take it as he hands it over. She's careful with it, even as she's unaware of what it is, what the significance is to him. ]

It's lovely. Can you explain what it means?

[fantachetic]

My birthright. It signifies my place in my family as heir.. Though I'm not certain what good it would do me now. I just.. [ He brushes his fingers over the golden surface with a brief moment of awe. ]

It was a pleasant surprise.

[veilstrike]

It means something. It's important.

[ Just like the jawbone means something to her; it's a last link to someone she's trying hard not to give up on. Smiling, she closes the lid on the box and passes it back over, carefully. ]

I'm glad you have something to make you happy, Dorian.

[fantachetic]

I don't know about happy..but the peace of mind that I have it back is good.

[ No need to worry how to get it back without involving the Inquisitor or Josephine, or figure out a way to reason with that slimy toad. ]

At least I didn't fuck that up, as well. [ Ahaha ha ha haaa... ]

[veilstrike]

[ A part of her wants to know how he lost it in the first place, but it doesn't seem much like a story he is interested in telling. Instead, she shakes her head, drawing him closer so she can lean against him - and so he can lean against her in turn.

She doesn't have to carry everything and neither should he. ]

Sometimes, messere, fuck ups are necessary.

[fantachetic]

[ He would tell her if she asked, of course. She's not likely to judge him too much. Dorian leans into her slight weight, a sigh escaping him. So used to carrying everything on his own, he wouldn't really know where to start in unloading his burdens.

It's good to know that she knows what a toad his father is, but that's only the half of it, unfortunately. ]

In this case, I would have to agree.

[veilstrike]

[ She leans into him and grips at his hand, a weight for herself and him both. It's not easy, being here and being reminded of all the things at home, all the things they had left behind, but there's not much they can do about it.

It's not like being trapped in the future; this time there's nothing they can do to control it. ]

If I hadn't fucked up snooping at the Conclave you and I would never have met.

[fantachetic]

[ In the end, it's all about their choices driving them. They did what they felt was right at the time, hadn't they? If she hadn't been at the Conclave, they'd never have met. The same goes if he'd never left Tevinter, but he doesn't want to think about that potential future. Or lack thereof. ]

I'm rather glad you did, if I'm being honest. Things would have been unbearable had different decisions been made.

[veilstrike]

I think I would go through it all again if it meant I could find you all.

[ All the fighting and the pain and the heartbreak... The suffering and the agony and the way her heart and mind hurt all the time... It was more than worth it. ]

I'd choose you over something as silly as peace.

[fantachetic]

You don't mean that.

[ She really can't mean that. Peace is the general ideal that the Inquisition strives for- saying she would give that up for him? It's crazy. He can't think of anyone else who wouldn't throw him under the carriage if it truly came down to it. The needs of the many always outweigh the needs of the few. ]

[veilstrike]

I do.

[ Thoughtful, for a moment, Leilani lets her fingers trail over the shame of the jawbone around her neck. ]

Things happen for a reason. They must do, otherwise our lives would be one comical joke played by the Gods and Creators. The choices I make... I trust myself to make the ones that I think are best, but I am also aware that I am changed and influenced by the people around me.

[ How much of her life had been her own, and how much of it had been manipulation? Knowing what Solas did, what he caused... She wonders, questions, frequently. ]

I may not have been able to choose the path I walk no more than I could choose what Corypheus and Solas do, but I can choose my friends. I would choose you, Dorian, a thousand and one times, no matter how many chances I was given. I would never choose anything else.