ataraxioff | SEATBELTS EVERYONE!!

[The sound of armor alarms him. Solas has been awake long enough to learn to fear that sound.

But he has no staff, and his clothes aren't at all traditional Thedosian robes. At a casual glance, he knows he doesn't look like a mage. Just an elf with no home.]

Not at all. [He manages to keep his expression neutral when he looks up.

Somehow.

Remarkably.

Underneath the thin veneer of calm is mounting panic. She's not just in armor, she's in templar armor.]

All that... armor can't be comfortable. [He's going for casual. It comes out strangled.]

[She's aware the armor can scare people, that's kind of the point beyond simple protection. But she can at least appear to relax, smile, and seem mildly less formidable.]

Comfort is not the sole priority of any armor.

I wasn't sure if you were speaking with another. I had heard you, or someone, while I was walking.

[There's of course Cole, but she seems to be able to see him more easily now. Even when it's unwelcome. But that didn't mean Cole was the only one capable of doing that or something similar on board this ship.]

[Solas is too busy forcing himself to be casual to notice the smile.]

Ah, no. Just myself. I sometimes find speaking aloud helps organize my thoughts. [Liar.

There's also now panic because a templar might have heard him talk about dreaming, and he doesn't have the Inquisition to protect him from--

He blinks.] Forgive me, there is a... a strangeness about you.

[An interesting turn of topic, if random.]

I beg your pardon?

[Had they not addressed the armor already Evangeline would have imagined that would be cause for any strangeness. Few others wore armor around here and she knew it made her stick out like a sore thumb. But it also served for easy identification so she never thought twice of it. He likely was referring to something else then, as curious as she was to what he could mean she also didn't want misunderstandings and this place was potentially full of misunderstandings.]

You are recently arrived here, I assume? I'm still learning my way around, myself, but I can't say that I have seen you before. I'm Evangeline de Brassard.

Recently, yes. I am Solas, if introductions are to be made.

[He unfolds his legs, standing from where he sits on a large boulder. Bluntly, as he leans forward:] You carry a piece of the Fade with you. [Tact? What is tact?]

[Ah, that strangeness. Should have guessed. And how did he pick up on that so quickly, she can only wonder. She'll fold her arms and hold as much neutrality in her expression as she can dare stuff in.]

You have a point to that, I assume?

[And it could have been Nice to meet you! Let me show you around. Never mind.]

Of course.

[He's turning hostile now, and it takes a considerable effort to keep his magic at bay. Certainly, he's tipped his hand, but he'd rather not shout "I'm a mage, arrest me, templar!" from the mountain tops.]

You carry with you a spirit, though you are not one. How? Why? To what end have you bound it?

[She can hear the hostility picking up in his tone. Silently, she's hoping this doesn't end where it appears to be going. So much for avoiding misunderstandings, but perhaps he's reasonable. She's going to have to trust that. Forcefully, she'll relax and keep her hands by her side and open. Careful not to even make a fist or appear to be going for her sword. It's the best she can do.]

I'm no mage, why do you assume I have bound anything?

Because you have a spirit inside you. Its light flickers against your skin, a steady pulse of power. [His eyes narrow.]

A templar possessed.

[Then his lips curl in a pleased sort of smile. He's enjoying the irony.]

It is what it is.

[She likes breathing, personally. If she has to explain further, she may. But she'd honestly just prefer not to at this point in time to a stranger.]

Interesting, though, that you can see something like that so easily.

[Color her curious. Even Rhys admitted he couldn't pick up on it, and Dorian hasn't said a word. Although, that doesn't mean the man is oblivious to it, either.]

[Someone's tipped his hand too much.

Realizing that, he shrugs.] It is not so difficult if one is attuned to such things. [Vague Solas is vague.] A good friend of mine is a spirit. [Or was a spirit. Solas is willing to consider the fact that if Cole is on the Tranquility, he is likely not the Cole he knows.]

And thus your friendship allows you to see others so readily, is that what I'm to understand?

[Correct her if she's wrong. She's just trying to figure you out. It's not at all said with distrust or as an accusation. It would just be nice to clear up some of this confusion.]

I have known spirit healers who could not take notice, had they not known beforehand. It cannot be that simple.

[One day, he might learn to be more subtle. One day. Maybe.

Probably not.

He gives her a tight smile and inclines his head.] It is my experience that humans have an incomplete understanding of the world around them, especially as it pertains to spirits.

[Don't Dalish have tattoos and such? He's obviously not from a Circle. But then, that's a little hard to tell anymore, especially here.]

You should give us some credit. This particular one was studying demons previously.

[And then she holds up a hand.]

It doesn't matter. I'm not here to question you. If you have a problem with my presence, say so, and I'll leave.

[Her hand stops the scathing comment he has at the ready. Give humans credit? Never.]

I take issue only with the binding of a spirit against its will, and you have not yet addressed that. [He can't stop himself from taking a dig at her, though.] Tell me, what did your fellows think of your possession? How does it feel when you are the one being hunted?

[Hunted, hmn? Apostate. Definitely an apostate. Whether that's before the Circles fell or after or always she can't tell from that little bit of conversation. But at least it rules out some possibilities.

She doesn't appreciate the dig though. It's too soon and he doesn't have a clue with what he's talking about. Her chin tightens, nearly shaking in disagreement, if only to avoid rolling her eyes.]

You take personal offense? Very well, I left the Order and what it's become on my own volition before any spirit was bound. Whether or not it was bound against it's will, I cannot say. Regardless of if you believe me or not, I apologize if that appears to be the case. I understand little if anything of it, that much is true, but I know I would be dead without it.

['And someone else wouldn't be' is silent on her lips. Because that's survivor's guilt for you and he is lucky she's divulged as much as she has. She feels bad enough as it is without being prodded at like this.]

[There's a moment where he almost says "The only good templar is a dead one." In that moment, there's a tension between them. Maybe it's just his anger or his perception. Then he remembers Cassandra. He recalls what little he knows about the Seekers and their rites.

So he swallows back the words and offers her a polite half-bow.]

A dear friend of mine is a spirit. [Solas dissembles artfully; almost all his friends are spirits, but he's not going to tell a templar that in any circumstance.] One of our greatest fears was that he would be bound in service to our enemy. That fear has not left me. If you have bound a spirit, I would worry also for him, whether he is here or not or if he should come to be here.

[He pauses, briefly, and then adds with a surprising measure of sincerity:] Forgive me for my assumptions. Things are rarely as simple as they appear. If you are alive with a spirit inside you and have not been overcome, you are not the monster.

[Isn't that a switch. She's not terribly convinced given his only recent distrust and attitude. But how kind of him to notice she's not a monster. She knows the Order is waste deep in disappointment to all of Thedas or she might be less convinced by his sincerity. He doesn't, in fact, need to apologize to save his own skin here. She'd like to think she doesn't have to be a threat at all, but perhaps for clarity...]

For whatever comfort it may be, I'm not your enemy and harming any friend of yours or you isn't something I would do unless given good reason. I can promise you that much.

[He's too used to betrayal - usually his own - to put too much trust in what she says. People are fickle. They change. He's been the cause of enough fighting and backstabbing to know.]

Be careful what you promise, templar. Fate often has a way of twisting us so we break those promises. But the sentiment is a good one and it isn't unappreciated. [It's just one backhanded compliment after another with this one.]

It's a vow the Order was intended to follow and one I've already made, I only repeat it now because so many have forgotten it.

[The Order deserved a slap on the wrist though. It's just fact.]

I think I've kept you long enough from your conversations. [With yourself. ...Of course.] Unless there are other concerns?

My conversations with myself? [He chuckles softly.]

It was... interesting to meet you, Evangeline. I hope we stumble across each other again, in the future. [It's hard to tell if that's a threat or not. It might be, but it's said benignly enough.

Solas does want to meet her again, however, if only to poke around at the spirit inside of her. And make a better impression, if that's possible. At least in his own mind, it's easy for him to acknowledge that it probably isn't.]

[She doesn't see it as a threat, even if she should. He's already done enough damage with impressions and assumptions that a second wind couldn't be worse. Probably.]

I help patrol for security here, I'm sure we will in time.

Have a good day, Solas.

[Or night? Whichever, who can even tell. She'll turn and leave the way she came before another word can be said. Interesting is certainly one way to put all of that.]

SEATBELTS EVERYONE!!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject