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Post by alya karimi on May 15, 2014 20:14:29 GMT
I SWEAR THAT YOU COULD HEAR IT, IT MAKES SUCH AN ALMIGHTY SOUND  for once, it is one of the ensigns who buys alya a drink, and not the other way around. she sits at the bar with none of her usual cheer, staring into the wood as if she could bore holes into it. the air is heavy around them, and none of the four seemed eager to break their silence. most of them were used to being comforted by their constable, and not the other way around. still, they couldn't leave her alone to her miseries. that was never on the table. the dwarf gives it to her straight. "warden-constable, the calling happens to every one of us eventually-"it didn't mean that they should be cheery about it, alya thinks. their elven mage kicks him under the table. "of course she knows that better than anyone; you are certainly not helping.""then say something to us, alya" he orders his own pint of ale. "otherwise, good natalie over there will probably feel the obligation to fill the silence with some dirty joke that will probably make everything more awkward than it has to be.""hey!" protested their archer. what is there to say? a good man is probably dying in the deep roads tonight, a destruction that is forged by the choices that nobody could make for him but himself. she isn't paid to demoralize the men. maybe alya does not have the right temperament for the job after all. she had seen her first warden-lieutenant off to her calling once. she had thought it to be a mistake at the time. now, she realizes that it would have been a bigger mistake to stay home and pretend that nothing ever happened. they aren't just meat to be fed into a war grinder. alya has all the details. now all she has to do is believe. "you've done all you can for everyone" he grunts, if only because alya needed someone else to say the words sometimes, even if she knows the facts herself. "we're all gonna miss alexis, but -- well. you left your clan because you were sick of mopin' and gripin' about things that you could change yourself, right? you're gonna move forward and win us a few darkspawn scalps, and alexis will rest easier for it."well. that isn't exactly how it happened, nevertheless, alya sets down the glass that she did not remember picking up in order to give the dwarf a nearly bone-crushing hug. "sorry"
"alright, alright. now quit it before i start growing a set of feelings" the wardens laugh despite themselves. Leithian LAIKA OF GS! |
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ELF
“ a growing recognition of the genius of birds. ”
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Post by Leithian on May 16, 2014 15:56:53 GMT
time is the great destroyer
| Human beer tastes like swill. Not that Leithian had ever touched Dalish liquor, but she's certain it couldn't be as rancid as whatever was in the mug her coworkers had pressed into her hands the first day and insisted she try.
But she needs the job. There is no room in this world for her to be a Keeper, and there is no support system like the Dalish have in the sharp-edged human civilization. It is everyone for themselves, here. If they can't walk, they crawl. If they can't crawl, they die.
Leithian brings another round of drinks to the group of Grey Wardens clustered at the end of the bar. She's made enough drinks for them--and they're loud enough--throughout the night that she has grasped the basic idea of what happened. A comrade lost. If there's more detail to it than that, she's uninterested. As long as they keep the coin flowing, that's all she needs from them.
But there's a Dalish elf among them. The vallaslin blooming across her face is dedicated to Andruil, and while Leithian can't suppress entirely the disgust welling in her at the other elf's comfort with her companions, with her place in this world; she's here too.
And more than that, she wants to speak her language again. So when she drops the mugs of ale in front of the group, she speaks to the elven woman.
"Ir abelas," she says. "Lath araval ena arla ven tu vir mahvir, melana ‘nehn enasal ir sa lethalin."
alya karimi
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Post by alya karimi on May 16, 2014 17:49:46 GMT
I SWEAR THAT YOU COULD HEAR IT, IT MAKES SUCH AN ALMIGHTY SOUND the girl isn't a warden, but alya is not the one to shun comfort wherever she can derive it. there's not nearly enough of it in thedas for her to be picky at all. that, and she has not heard her keeper's words in a long time. alya understands that the song is dalish tradition, and not exclusive to her clan, but to her they will always be neo's words. death never existed in a vacuum, and hunting accidents aren't the only tragedies out there. only natalie and the mage pay her any mind - their other warrior is already slopping ale down his beard. "friend of yours?" asks the girl. "we have never met, but that means little." alya receives her drink gratefully. "...ma serannas, falon." shit, she hopes that she does speak the common tongue. the incident with the ferelden warden was unpleasant enough, and her elvish is shit too. "are you...are you a keeper?" her voice is quiet as she murmurs the last part. it's a stretch, but nobody else would be using that song in casual conversation, would they? (or maybe you just want her to be - just like neo) she's only hedging on a guess, but her blood runs cold as she thinks about neo. alya hopes that she had nothing to do with the downfall of their clan, but neo was too secretive for the warden to ever be truly sure. "uh, so. what's a keeper?" natalie asks with a furrowed brow. "... my best friend." alya replies thoughtlessly, bringing the glass to her lips. "oh. right. lore-keeper, spiritual leader. huge bookworm, although nobody ever calls them that." she laughs before catching leithian's eye. "...abelas" it was not a word that she forgot so easily, for obvious reasons. Leithian LAIKA OF GS! |
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“ a growing recognition of the genius of birds. ”
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Post by Leithian on May 18, 2014 5:27:12 GMT
time is the great destroyer
| "Of sorts," she says and smiles ruefully, her hand rising to her face. "I was the First of my clan. I never received my vallaslin and I never became the Keeper officially but--"
Her smile faded into a carefully neutral expression.
"The rest of my clan is lost, so I suppose I am the Keeper now. I am the only one left."
She leaned forward at the other Dalish woman's next words though, her face lighting up.
"Did you clan have very many writings? We had so few, and they're all gone now."
alya karimi
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Post by alya karimi on May 18, 2014 12:39:55 GMT
I SWEAR THAT YOU COULD HEAR IT, IT MAKES SUCH AN ALMIGHTY SOUND the server is a distraction. the server is a welcome distraction. their warden-constable is in need of distractions right now. the dwarf is paying plenty of attention, even if it only looks like as if he is drowning himself in ale. maybe it's the beard. he finishes his glass and sets it down, getting up from his seat. "that's it for me, i think. c'mon, natalie. eduard. we got a patrol shift today, just outside of lothering" it would probably do alya more good to lose herself in conversation about something other than impending death by darkspawn dismemberment. it takes the archer a couple of seconds before realizing what the man is getting at. alya only gives them a blank stare. "...no you don't. ignes, roland, and cassandra are manning those northern routes tonight. i checked the schedule last week."the three look at each other knowingly. makers bless alya and her naive dalish heart. "they're recovering in the barracks from a bout of food poisoning" the mage coughs onto his sleeve. "probably something in the water."
"oh" her face falls as she squints at her own glass suspiciously. "uh -- wish them well for me!"despite their best efforts, their exit is rather awkward. think hawke-as-aveline's-wingman awkward. with the same vibes. "we...we were talking about vallaslins. and keepers." says alya confidently. "right, um. you shouldn't worry so much about some silly blood writing! i mean i know it probably sounds a little rich coming from someone who has theirs, but neo didn't even have hers yet when she took over as the keeper!"her speech becomes a little more animated - she hasn't had the opportunity to talk about her childhood friend in what feels like forever. "by the creators, neothari was so smart. like she knew everything, and she wasn't afraid to go after whatever she didn't understand." don't go there, alya. don't think about that again. whatever is past is past. "everyone used to say that she was so much better than her mentor, and she wasn't even super stuck-up about it! trust me, you're perfectly okay without some vallaslin."("alya, my pride is my downfall. i have too much of it.") she should probably hate her own admiration for their keeper. if only she had not been so starry-eyed, if only she had been a little less careless and loved neo a little more jealously, would she still be alive? would they be fighting the darkspawn together? her love is far too soft, she thinks as she takes a drink of beer. she does not even notice the taste.
"wait so...what happened to your clan?" he grip around the cup tightens, afraid that she already knows the answer. "when did you have to ... leave?" creators, why is this day getting heavier and heavier? "keepers are the only literate people, so i can't say that i've had a lot of use for books. besides -- " alya can't help but smile mirthlessly. "--none of those musty old scrolls did anyone any good once the darkspawn rolled around, i'll say.she does not even bother trying to keep the anger out of her tone. LeithianLAIKA OF GS! |
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