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So I have. [Solas rises from where he sits, his toes digging into the grass.] And so, it seems, has everyone else. [One brow lifts.] Should I expect to find Bull and Blackwall as well? Will Sera run by my room shouting "elven glory" while cackling?

[His words could be cruel, but he tries to temper them with a small smile.

Cullen always makes him slightly uncomfortable, but he does appreciate what the man has tried to do with his life. It is admirable.]

No, but Dorian might make some witty remark about your clothing.

[It's lightly spoken, and Cullen folds his arms, leaning his shoulder against a nearby tree. He didn't typically interact much with Solas in Haven, and he isn't sure if it's because their paths just never happened to cross or if the elf had actively avoided him. He wouldn't exactly take offense either way- the sudden appearance of the apostate offering assistance with the Breach had been suspect, and Cullen is somewhat used to mages either confronting him or ducking around him due to his history with the Templars.]

It's just you, Cole, Dorian, and myself- from the Inquisition that is. [There's a pause, and Cullen sighs. Having others around from his past had complicated matters recently. Solas doesn't seem the type to care or be caught up in the fights and anger that had happened between the group of them thusfar, which is something of a relief. At least someone rational might help smooth things over a bit.]

There are others here too from Thedas. I doubt you would know them, but I've met several of them in Kirkwall and Cole knows the others from the White Spire.

Witty? Unlikely. Belligerent, assuredly.

[Solas bears a surprising amount of respect for Cullen. A templar seeking to overcome his addictions, to distance himself from his order? Of course Solas would approve of the choice to exercise one's free will.

Especially as it aligns with his own opinions.]

The White Spire? Templars or mages, then? Need I be concerned for my own safety? [The question is asked lightly, but there is weight to his words. He'd really rather not deal with overzealous templars trying to smite him.]

[Cullen has to bite back a smile at the mention of Dorian, and looks away for a moment, as if that would hide his expression for the moment. Solas has a point there- not only has Dorian exploded a monster over Cullen's mantle, which Cullen is convinced was not an accident, but their most recent fight (fight? if it could be called that) had been about Dorian's witty, belligerent comments on the same subject.

Still, the tone of the mage's question makes things a bit more serious and Cullen nods, returning his gaze to the elf with a thoughtful pause.]

Mage and templar. And I doubt it- Cole assured me that they were good people. I've spoken with Ser Evangeline, and I doubt she'd be interested in pursuing apostates here, of all places.

[Which... the fact that he's on speaking terms with Cole is a large enough change as it is, but adaptation is necessary in a place like this, and the spirit had proven himself invaluable.]

[Solas's expression doesn't even flicker, but his posture changes ever so slightly. His shoulders go back as he clasps his hands and begins pacing, his toes digging into the dirt as he walks. There's not enough life under his feet. The ship thrums, yes, but it doesn't truly live, and the sensation is disquieting. Everything is disquieting.]

That is good to know, thank you. [There's a compliment in those words. A tacit approval of Cullen in spite of their myriad differences.]

And here is a massive ship that soars through the empty spaces between stars. Tell me, does it have a purpose? Do we have a purpose? Can we be returned home?

[He nods at the thanks, watching Solas curiously when he begins to pace. Cullen may not know the mage very well, but he can recognize the signs of stress when he sees it- and who could blame him, really?

The sudden questioning shouldn't come as a surprise, but it does. Cullen felt much the same when he first found his way here, but he hadn't expected such a rush of them from someone like Solas. The fact that this place is unnerving even to one of the calmer men he knows is... well, disheartening, but not entirely a surprise. Unfortunately, he doesn't really know much more than anyone else here, and his words could hardly be considered an answer or a reassurance.]

I don't know. I wish I could tell you more, but nobody that I've asked has seemed to have any idea. Every month, we are transported back to the pods we've arrived in and the ship makes a 'jump'- it travels somewhere new. The crew of the ship is missing or... otherwise won't contact us, save for a few, but communication with those few is not common.

[A pause, and he glances away.]

If there's a way to return home, nobody has managed to find it yet.

Of course not. A way to return home would be too kind.

[He frowns deeply, his brow creasing as he turns on his heel, a rock digging into the sole of his foot. He doesn't grimace. Doesn't react at all.]

And we simply exist here? Experiencing life dancing amongst the stars? [He finds the notion both fascinating and horrifying. He has seen magic do incredible things in his lifetime, but even someone who has seen wonders rise and fall balks at the notion of sailing through the stars.] Does the ship ever stop? Or does it simply continue on whatever predetermined path it's been given?

It hasn't stopped since I've been on it.

[There's a pause, and he hesitates- the information is unpleasant, but he doubts that Solas would want it withheld. He seems the type to care more about the truth and what can be done with it than pleasantries. Cullen respects that, and so he doesn't waste any time sugarcoating things.]

The guides that I've read say that it's a warship, but it has been classified as missing by the people who created it. Nobody knows where we are, and our location between these stars changes monthly.

[A warship. Wonderful. He's not surprised to learn that something appearing so beautiful would have deadly purpose. Humans made it, after all. But he's offended enough people for one day, and wisely keeps that comment to himself.]

If it was classified as missing, then there has been some communication with those who made it, I assume. Or are we somehow receiving communications whilst being incapable of sending them? [Shoddy workmanship. It figures.] No matter, I suppose. If we are abandoned to the stars, then we are abandoned. It is fascinating that we stand somewhere in the heavens, is it not? Corypheus would be furious.

All I know is what the guide said.

[Cullen frowns at that though, because Solas brings up a good point. How would they know? It's something he should have caught and asked about, but at the time he didn't.]

Corypheus? [The thought makes Cullen pause.] I'd think that he'd be just as furious to be here. There doesn't seem to be much point in being a god in a place like this.

[He bursts out laughing before he can stop himself. Granted, he doesn't consider himself a god and he resents the Dalish interpretation of what the "Creators" and "Forgotten Ones" are. Or were.

He sobers himself a moment later, lifting a hand in apology as he shakes his head.] Forgive my humor. It is... [He leaves that hanging, letting Cullen fill in the space as he will.]

If one needs a point to be a god, one is not a real god. I'm sure Corypheus would spend his time here attempting to master the ship and bend it to his will.

I think we can all agree that Corypheus is not a real god.

[The laughter is a little odd, but Cullen doesn't comment on it, instead shaking his head and looking out toward the gardens. Solas has always been kind of an odd duck anyway.]

But I'm sure he would as well. Let's hope that we never get the chance to find out for certain.

Indeed. That would make a situation that is curious at its best into one that is untenable.

[Solas follows Cullen's gaze, studying the depths of the forest with interest. There is a strangely dangerous edge to the place. He is willing to dismiss it as the kind of danger inherent to all wild places, but this seems, somehow, more than that. It makes him uneasy.]

Did you say how long you've been here? Months? That every month we find ourselves in that vat of... [He flounders, searching for an appropriate word. "Goo" isn't very Thedosian.] Of muck?

[Cullen nods, a little grim.]

Unfortunately. It's supposed to prevent the ship from killing us when it... jumps? [Which just seems ridiculous to him, but that's the verb that people keep using. A jumping ship. That kills you when it jumps unless you're in a pile of goop.

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to him either.]

We're still alive, but I'm not sure that counts as proof that we would be dead otherwise.

Killing us? How marvelous. [He had considered finding a way to remain outside it, simply to observe, but now? Any desire he had not to climb into the muck has vanished. Solas knows a bad thing when he hears of it.

He pauses for a moment, then smiles wryly.] Though I suppose no different than Thedas. Now we simply have a constructed monstrosity instead of an insane magister, dragons, or bears.

Unless those are in this garden, somewhere, as well?

[The dry humor makes Cullen laugh slightly and he shakes his head, leaning his shoulder against the tree.]

Not that I'm aware of, but I wouldn't be surprised. Several weeks ago, there was an infestation of fearlings- though they didn't call them that. [Which in itself was strange, but Cullen still isn't quite sure what to think of it.]

They were supposedly from some other world than our own- magical creatures, but not demons. Their purpose was the same. [And so he shrugs, because anything that can do that might as well be a demon to him.] I've taken it as a lesson to not take things for granted here. The gardens had no insane magisters yesterday, but today, your guess is as good as mine.

SEATBELTS EVERYONE!!

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