(no subject)

[freedom_is_grey]

A crackle of lightning and the smell of burning accompanies Ysalwen as she enters Milliways. Blood, reddish-black and viscous, is spattered on her robes, and the air around her looks faintly warped.

Liranan is hard on her heels, hide covered in kaddis and a spiked black collar on his neck, teeth bared, with a snarl boiling in his throat. His hide is similarly blood-spattered.

"Andraste's ass," Ysalwen spits, as the door clicks closed behind her. "This is not where I wanted to be."

Maker-be-damned darkspawn in Vigil's keep, and the Wardens missing, or dead. Ending the Blight was supposed to stop this sort of thing.

She'll think to clean up once she finds the door resolutely shut fast behind her.

Probably.

After spitting some blistering oaths at it first.

Comments

[heatherandsteel]

Quentin is tired and worried when he enters, he hasn't been thinking about Milliways, his thoughts are more on Toby.

When he enters on his way to the kitchen, he almost walks into Ysalwen, his disguise is down and he looks her over with a frown, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

[freedom_is_grey]

Her magic swells, ice sparkling at her fingertips for a moment before she realizes it's Quentin and pulls it back.

Liranan, too, shows more of his teeth, and keeps himself between Quentin and Ysalwen, regardless.

It's been a bad day.

"No," Ysalwen grits out, after a moment. "I'm uninjured, and there's a healer waiting for me back on the other side of the door, anyway. Once I can get to the man, that is. And back to the battle. I'm needed."

Dammit, door.

[heatherandsteel]

He nods, and moves out of the way to give her a clear chance at the door.

The look on her face is far too familiar from his life of late, "Of course, open roads."

[freedom_is_grey]

She snorts, sharp and violent.

"If only you were the one I needed to convince."

Ysalwen reaches out to pull on the handle again, regardless.

As if this will change anything.

And the door stays closed.

Andraste's tits.

[heatherandsteel]

"Oh, that's not good,"

He's never had the door close on him, though he knows about being trapped in knowes and realms.

[freedom_is_grey]

"Understatement," she says flatly.

"I should have expected this. Somehow."

At her side Liranan growls. Maybe he thinks he should have expected it, too.

[heatherandsteel]

"I know, sorry. Because when things are bad, they can always get worse?"

Its a way of thinking that makes complete sense to him.

[freedom_is_grey]

"No, no. But because people seem to want to save me from myself at the worst possible times."

Like now.

For example.

[heatherandsteel]

"That, yeah. What are you being saved from doing?"

He's curious and maybe there's a way that he can help get her back.

[freedom_is_grey]

"Driving the darkspawn from Vigil's Keep, it appears."

For a moment it almost looks like she'll kick the door, but she refrains.

One breath.

Two.

"To be fair, I'm out of lyrium potions."

[heatherandsteel]

"What do those do and could you take the time while you're here to make more?"

Potions are what Walther does but he knows some of the theory.

[freedom_is_grey]

"They replenish magic. And if I rest here long enough, I won't necessarily need more."

And maybe she can buy some from Bar.

"I should probably eat, too. And maybe sleep. Until Bar decides to let me go."

If she's got to be practical about it.

[heatherandsteel]

"Eating and rest are always best to get whenever you can. My knight is bad about that, she goes until she gets too injured to keep moving unless there's a moment to rest,"

Its worrying and now she's not doing anything which is worse.

[gotham_knocking]

"It's never where anyone wants to be half the time," comments a man at the bar in a rumpled button down shirt and tie, sipping a beer.

[freedom_is_grey]

Liranan spins to put himself between the speaker and Ysalwen, just as she turns to meet his gaze with her own.

Some of the crackling magic in the air fades, but the warped air between them remains.

Shields, you see.

"Only half?"

[gotham_knocking]

OK, that is one weird special effect. Meaning magic, most likely.

"The other half, people really do want to be here, to meet someone or to get away or just get a beer.

"But it looks like you need to get back to something serious, so I shouldn't keep you."

[freedom_is_grey]

"You're not the one keeping me."

She half-turns, tugging at the door again as if to check that it remains stubbornly shut.

"Andraste's knickers!"

She may be a little bit angry.

Smidge.

[gotham_knocking]

"Ow. That sucks."

He wonders who Andastre is and why she or he has knickers. But this isn't the time to ask about that.

[freedom_is_grey]

"At least I'm not dead."

She'll . . . take it. If she has to.

[gotham_knocking]

"Not dead is good. I like not dead.

"Maybe the bar wants you to take a break and get cleaned up before whatever comes next?" Which is clearly unpleasant.

[freedom_is_grey]

"I do, too."

She looks down at herself, then, and snorts out a rough laugh.

"Well, being clean would be noticeable, when I go back. But resting, eating, and buying some more lyrium potions might not go amiss, actually."

Bathing --

Eh. She'll just keep the dirty robes. No one will remember the specific locations of blood and/or dirt smudges.

Surely.

[gotham_knocking]

"Good point about the, er, mess. Unless you want to advertise about the Bar." Never an easy thing to explain, is it.

"What's lyrium?"

[freedom_is_grey]

"Most people would just assume I'd wasted magic or fallen into the Fade again."

Or something like that.

"It's a mineral that channels magic, in a way. The dwarves mine it, and in its worked form it can replenish the reserves of magic-users like me, and give Templars their magic-affecting powers. I am not a Templar."

They're more like knights. For future reference.

[gotham_knocking]

"That just went over my head. We don't have much magic in my world. Certainly not like that. And the only dwarves are just a kind of little person." Yes, his girlfriend is from a magic world, but she's never tried to teach him about how things work. Mainly because she doesn't really know, either.

[freedom_is_grey]

"It's all right. I can try to make a more coherent explanation later, but right now -- "

She spreads her hands, letting a little bit more of the magic eke away. The air between them goes back to normal, clear and unwavering.