Starlit @seeliestar - Tumblr Blog

loadeddeck‌:

Caught.

A moment of weakness that he was already ashamed to be caught in, discovered by a person he held above all else. Hands came around his and her voice was so gentle that he wasn’t sure if she was here to convince him to come down or coax him into it. He couldn’t look at her, but gloved fingers curled into the two that squeezed his, trying to pull him from the edge.

He didn’t want to go.

But she was right.

He had already been discovered and imagine the uproar that he’d cause if someone else came by and saw him. He slowly stepped down but not for a second did he unclasp his grip on her hands. The single sob that had vacated him was all he had the strength, the tears still glossing scarred cheeks. He used his other hand to wipe them, pinching the bridge of his nose as he pulled himself back into some role of formality.

“I’m sorry.”

He offered it so quietly. Something the Lionclad General never seemed to be. Troubled, angry, loud, violent, and forward. Maybe those were words better used to describe him. His eyes were still glossy when they opened, amber eyes only sparing her a glance.

“It just… got too much all at once.”

★ Her heart hurt to see him in this state. He squeezed her hand, and she felt it tug hard at her chest. He stepped down, thankfully, and she dispelled the barrier. Hopefully no one had really paid that any mind, and if they looked now, all they’d see was her and the commander having a quiet moment.

If only it were so.

“Sshhh. It’s okay.” She comforted, “You don’t have to apologize. It’s okay.” She squeezed his hand in reassurance, smiling softly at him.

“If you’ll let me, I’d be more than happy to listen. Talk to me, Cullen. Tell me what’s going on. Let me help... or try to. Please.”

Her hands trembled slightly around his. She’d grown very fond of him since she arrived at Skyhold. He’d always seemed so strong to her, to see him undone like this was devastating. She wanted to reach up to touch his face, but didn’t want to let go of his hand. After a moment of hesitation, she unlatched one of her hands from his and reached up to cup his cheek, stroking her thumb over it.

“Whatever it is, you’re not alone.”

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;templarvowed #;tw: suicide #;tw: suicidal ideation

loadeddeck‌:

Candy’s smile dropped the moment that Blackwall left her sights and zoomed behind start only to come to a stop at a locked door. Candy exhaled, reaching up with her good hand to pull a pin from her hair. She really didn’t have any of her tools on her. Her daggers or her lockpicks. But the pin would do. There wasn’t even a conversation. Candy knelt by the door and Stary had already turned to watch her back. The locks here were old, easy. It was a favorable place to be for someone with her skill sets. Being a rogue class assassin made locks child’s play.

“Got it,” she tucked the pin back in her hair and pulled open the door. The mirrors made her nervous. She didn’t know why. The way they glimmered like water yet still held a perfect reflection. She inhaled moving to let Stary in before closing the door. “I always made Solas do this…” she muttered. “You know how to open the doorway, right?” she looked back to the door with a sense of paranoia.

★ Once the door was closed behind them, Stary sighed and eyed the mirror with scrutiny.

“He never showed me, but it can’t be that hard.” She hummed softly, tracing the edge of the mirror with a finger. Were they activated by words? Phrases? Magic alone? No, that couldn't be the case, if the less magically inclined were getting through. She placed her palm against the surface, pushing it. It rippled beneath her fingers, and gave, letting her hand through.

“Joke’s on us, it’s already active.” She turned back to face Candy, brow drawn in concern. “Think he knows?”

If he was expecting them, that made her plans of getting the drop on him to read him the riot act a little less possible. Oh well.

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;thelock

@loadeddeck// templarvowed, from here

★ Two hands closed around his free one, and a shimmering red-orange barrier appeared between him and the abyss, both slowly, as to not startle the commander.

“Cullen...” Came the soft croon, quiet, gentle. The hands curled around his squeezed and pulled back carefully, urging him to step off the ledge and back onto solid ground.

He hadn’t been in his office when she’d come looking for him. That had struck her as odd, as he was usually nose-deep in his work, and difficult to pry out of it at the best of times. He wasn’t anywhere near the barracks, wasn’t training, wasn’t in the war room, and so she’d wandered the ramparts looking for him.

That’s when she spied him on the bridge overlooking the pass. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d run faster, and had leaped down more than one flight of stairs. It had been a war with herself whether or not she’d throw up a barrier and startle him with magic, but she had decided on it in case he took that step before she got to him.

What was he thinking?! Concern outweighed anger in her mind, and she swallowed it down. This was no time for a lecture. This was time to be comforting, to be supportive. She knew of his troubles with Lyrium, but didn’t quite know the extent to which it bothered him. And... he’d never said anything about emotional turmoil.

Stary’s brow knit together in a tender expression of worry, and her lips slightly parted with quickened breath. A witty quip weighed heavy on her tongue, but now was neither the time nor the place.

“Come down before someone else sees you.” Eventually tumbled from her, soft with worry and warmth.

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;templarvowed #;tw: suicide #;tw: suicidal ideation #;tw: addiction #;tw: substance abuse

loadeddeck‌:

Candy’s arms crossed behind her back the other hand holding to her wrist tightly to avoid showing any pain on her face. The last thing she needed was Blackwall getting Bull or Cullen.

“You know I hate meetings, Josephine and Cassandra and being their undivine and Divine selves,” she offered the Warden with a shrug, “So we’re just helping out while we wait for the Council to get their heads out of their asses.” she moved her hand to give Blackwall the classic finger guns. He seemed unsettled,

Just don’t go far, there’s a lot going on.

Candy rolled her eyes but gave a half-hearted salute before pulling Stary by the arm the moment Blackwall was out of view.

“He knows I’m lying we’ve got like three minutes to find this Eluvian before he tells Bull and Cullen that I’ve gone AWOL.”

★ That damned council. If Stary had her way, she’d tell them to absolutely shove it... but that lacked diplomacy that she valued greatly, and would make them enemies of all of southern Thedas.

She waved the man off as he left them to it and closed her eyes as she turned, reaching out with her magic, searching for ripples in the fabric of the Veil that would indicate the heavy magical nature of the Eluvian.

“This way.” She turned abruptly, cutting down an alleyway and trying the door at the end.

Locked.

“It’s in here, I think, or something similarly magical is. Pretty sure it’s an Eluvian, though, feels like it should be.” She commented, stepping in front of Candy to cover her for picking the lock, leaning against the doorway and scanning the alleyway for oncoming guard. She could hear the faint hum of the active mirror behind the doorway now, this close, and frowned. If that’s where Solas had gone, which... she wouldn’t argue at all, then he was going to regret ditching them the way he had.

She’d grown to look up to him, and he’d helped her finer craft her grasp on magic. She’d even studied a bit of Rift magic under him. She’d learned to extend her senses, to try and walk the Fade in her dreams, all to varying levels of success, and was looking forward to more dedicated tutoring once the whole deal with Corephyus had been dealt with. Then... he’d just vanished. One of her dearest friends in Candy’s inner circle.... gone.

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t upset. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t angry. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t understanding and sympathetic-- this world viewed them both the same-- elven apostate hedge mages-- even if there were more to her circumstance than his. If he had to leave, he could have told her, could have told them both, rather than just... vanishing into thin air.

Though if he was using the Eluvians, that made sense. No wonder Lelianna couldn’t find him.

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;thelock #[Has now played Tresspasser and can reply to this accurately instead of kind of vaguely]

seeliestar

Loadeddeck//Templarvowed- Respite

seeliestar

loadeddeck‌:

It was rare that he heard her name, Bull said variations of it. Candy Cane, Candy-coated, etc. But most people called her Trevelyan or Inquisitor that hearing it out right left a trail of confusion that was often followed by understanding at a delayed rate. There was something off about the lot of them, the two girls brought in and the way Candy didn’t hesitate to appoint them into their council. He hadn’t asked about it yet, no one had. It was the fastest Candy had decided on anything. She had consulted them on literally every move she made except this one.

“Cullen.” he returned the bow, lowering his head and torso. “It’s an honor to meet one of the Inquisitor’s confidants.” he lifted himself back to a rigid upright position before they began their walk toward the tavern. “I’ve never seen her that angry, you know. That the two of you were brought in as prisoners.” he pried, seeing if any information would fall through the cracks. “She’s a passionate woman, but… something was different about your arrival.”

★ “It’s a pleasure, Ser Cullen.” Stary returned breezily, pleased that he wasn’t really... objecting to her gentle egging. He continued on towards the tavern, and Stary’s easy smile fell somewhat as he brought up her arrival to Skyhold with their other friend.

Ah.

She had to think on her feet and hopefully, Maker willing, not undo everything that Candy had laid out.She hadn’t had the time to consult her on what their official story was, how they knew each other... and so...

She had to lie and hope he bought it.

To her knowledge, no one here knew about them. Not yet, anyway.

“Oh, we’re old friends. I met her on my travels.” She shrugged with nonchalance, “She was probably angry because we were treated with such mistrust. Not that I blame the soldiers who brought me in, I am, after all, a very scary mage.” She wiggled her fingers with a somewhat wry grin before continuing.

“But, all joking aside, she was also probably angry because we were in chains. Iron and I don’t... get along so well.” Her wrists still itched from the bindings, but she had made a point to not complain, to go along quietly so they got to Skyhold without incident. “Honestly, if I were in her position, seeing two of my friends dragged before me in chains, I’d be extremely upset too, and from I’ve known of her... she has a pretty spectacular temper if it gets ignited. What you saw was tame compared to what I’ve seen. She was holding back so that she didn’t shoot the messenger. Her soldiers were only doing their job.” She fully expected the questions to continue, as she’d fed him enough to allow avenues for more lines of inquiry. She just had to hope that stories lined up, or else answer vaguely enough that one, the other, or both could lie well enough to connect the stories eventually. Fortunately, she’d gleaned enough information about this world from the books she’d all but absorbed in her short stay to be able to bullshit herself a story. The pointed ears weren’t working in her favor at all, and she cursed inwardly at her fae blood translating to elven.

She was at a massive disadvantage, but being in Candy’s Inquisition helped her status immensely.

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;templarvowed

seeliestar

Loadeddeck//Templarvowed- Respite

seeliestar

loadeddeck‌:

Fair point, honestly. The mountains were freezing, part of him was thankful. The armor could get rather warm with all the fur, but at least in the chilling air, it didn’t seem to be as boiling. His arms remained folded behind his back, moving closer to take in her frame of view. He inhaled,

“Fair point, the view is rather breathtaking.” he mused, taking a moment to let his shoulders slump, “No place like it in the world, truly.” he exhaled with tired seeping out of his very posture. He gave an almost bitter laugh, “Up for a while requires there to be a point in which I laid down.” he reached up rubbing the back of his neck. “We’re just getting our footing, we lost a lot in Haven. Getting it back has proved quite the task. So I won’t be resting just yet… The Inquisitor needs more help than she asks for, I assure you.” he muttered, bitterly offering a smile. He didn’t know that she knew exactly what he was talking about.

“I suppose eating something would be best,” he muttered, scratching at his neck as he looked down toward the tavern smack dab in the middle of everything. “Maker I hope it’s not porridge.”

★ She watched him with a somewhat critical eye as he moved to see things from her vantage. The mountains, painted in the soft purple and pink of dawn, were beginning to warm to gold and the faded blue of the peaks farther off in the distance.

He spoke of Haven, and she nodded solemnly. She’d heard about the attack. She’d heard that they’d been holed up in a church- Chantry, rather- and that by some stroke of luck, they’d managed to escape with only some losses.

Losses that hit hard, but could have been decidedly worse.

However, he hadn’t quite been taking care of himself, and looked exhausted. She couldn’t blame the man, Candy did need all the help she could get, but working himself to the bone...

“Well,” She stood from her perch, scooting the chair closer to the rampart so that no one would trip over it accidentally, “If you haven’t eaten, you should. Whatever work you have to attend to can wait for that long, I’m sure.You’re no use to anyone if you fall over, and I know Candy won’t be happy with that.” She smiled gently at him, unsure of exactly how much mother-henning she could get away with.

“... Inquisitor, not Candy. It’s a conscious effort to remind myself, sorry.” She spoke after a beat, smoothing part of her hair back in a similarly nervous gesture, beginning to head towards the tavern, but making sure to keep pace with the former Templar, “But speaking of that, kind of, you and I haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Stary.” She gave a slightly bow as she walked, folding her right arm over her waist and the left behind her back.

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;templarvowed

loadeddeck‌:

She didn’t know how you could salvage the mind-rattling pain she was in. The momentary thought of just cut it off crossed her mind, but the rouge would have liked to avoid that option and honestly, the team probably wouldn’t approve of her self mutilation. The blonde was sweating, keeping her teeth gritted until the pain muddled down and she was functional again.

“Honestly just take it off, I’ve never lost a hand before.”

She walked through the storage area where the servants seemed to be going through when a loud cough and clearing of the throat caused her to freeze.

Where you heading, Inquisitor?

“Blackwall…” she never stopped calling him that, because HONESTLY Thomas just didn’t suit that beard. She looked nervously around, “We, were…” she found herself falling short of a lie. She should have moved faster, she knew she only had a short time before they were caught.

★ Of course.

Maker knew they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere without someone catching them.

Neither of them were any sort of subtle.

Stary grimaced and turned to face the man, preparing to pick up where Candy was failing. She put on her best easy face and offered a short laugh.

“Not to speak over the Inquisitor,” She gestured vaguely, “But we were out here looking for something that got misplaced.” It wasn’t a lie, anyway, but not the exact truth. If they could get away with not dragging more people than strictly necessary into this, that was the best that she could ask for, honestly. If Candy could have gotten away with not taking her, she would have. Stary was the first to have caught her sneaking out.

“It’s fine, right?”

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;thelock #[God dammit Blackwall]

seeliestar

Loadeddeck//Templarvowed- Respite

seeliestar

loadeddeck‌:

He had never seen her like that before. He had seen several moods of the Inquisitor before, but something in her seemed more wrathful at the sight of the two newcomers brought in with iron handcuffs. The men got the brunt of it, but Cullen managed to calm them and the Inquisitor down after the fact. She was quick to anger with people she cared about, he knew that he’d seen it multiple times already as she wracked her brain over the war table trying to put the casualties to a minimum. Being very careful to put the right people in the right places. Of course, with his and the other advisor’s help. But that didn’t make the decision ultimately hers.

He was coming back from their morning debriefing. There was no rest for scouts, his nor Leliana, so keeping odd hours was not uncommon for the Ex-Templar or the Spymaster. Often times he would bring her tea, or vice versa. He was surprised on his way to his office and room to see the prisoner that caused such a ruckus sitting admiring the view of Skyhold. Candy never seemed to express much into the mages, he had made his case for the Templars and was thankful that Candy heard is pleading. But his hesitance still existed, getting better but, it did make him stop in his forward movement.

What was he afraid of?

He cleared his throat as he walked closer,

“Interesting place to enjoy breakfast, aren’t you cold?”

★ She looked up as he cleared his throat. He was... one of Candy’s closer advisers, she supposed. the man in charge of the troops and their patterns, patrols.... Cullen. They hadn’t been properly introduced, but she knew his name, and she was fairly certain he knew hers. He always seemed so distant to her, so to see him approaching of his own free will was enough cause for her to mark her book and give him her undivided attention, offering a gentle smile.

“Everywhere up here is cold. It’s not so bad behind the walls, and the sun will warm things up a little more in time.” She responded, “Besides, it lets me keep an eye on things while still getting to enjoy the positively majestic scenery.” She glanced around, admiring the distant mountains that circled the fort.

“Aptly named, this place is. The only way anyone’d be able to lay siege here is by air, and even so, the mountains would probably cause a decent enough disruption in air currents that anything, even a dragon, would have a rough time of it. It’s a good, sturdy citadel. I like it here.” She turned her attention back to the commander, lifting her cup to her lips.

“You’ve been up for a while, huh? Have you eaten?”

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;templarvowed

loadeddeck‌:

There were a few things that caused Candy to cringe but the anchor had definitely been a match for her. She was sweating, brought to her knees when the mark decided it was feeling unstable. She looked wearily at Stary, as the mark died down. She knew that Solas’ head was on the top of several priorities list. But it wasn’t currently on the mind of the council. Too busy with politics of the Inquisition, something Josie and Cullen could handle while she and Stary were gone. They had real work to do.

“The Eluvians are the key, he’s there somewhere I can feel it.” her gut feeling, something that hadn’t failed her just yet. She smoothed out the red formal outfit and wipe sweat from her brow, “I thought this would be over…but we’re still here.” she caught her breath. “There’s one in this castle we can find it but we have to hurry before someone notices you and more likely, I, am missing.” she nodded her head toward the vined courtyard that they could scale.

“I really liked it here…” she muttered, “A lot, I really…really liked it here.”

★ “Well, they are like gateways. Easy to-and-from.” Stary hummed thoughtfully at her Inquisitor, “If he knew about them, of course he’d use them. Shit, I’d use them. For, like, mundane stuff too. If I had to make myself scarce fast, that’d be the first thing I’d use. There’d be no way for anyone else to find me unless they knew how to track me. Fortunately, I don’t have a phylactery, and no one can use that against me. Not that they would, with me being an agent of the Inquisition and all, but... well, you know.” She was actually getting somewhere with her rambling, but her mouth ran to try and fill the space, to try and distract Candy from the incessant mark on her hand. While gifted with healing magic, Stary’s spells could only do so much to help combat the ache.

“I worked with him a fair bit. Everyone’s got... a different way of using magic. I can’t... exactly track him by it, but if I can catch the feel of magic in the air, I might be able to make a guess at if it’s his or someone else’s? Maybe? It’s better than looking for someone who leaves no traces and no footprints where he treads. Stupid elf.” Her brow furrowed in frustration. She’d noted it a few times; when he stepped across snow and ice, he didn’t leave so much as an indent. Now? They had nothing to track but hunches and rare elven magic to use.

She fell silent as they crossed the courtyard, folding her arms.

“For all the trouble it’s caused me as a mage, I rather like it here too. It’s... well, it’s nice to be a lesser target for once. Sorry, that makes you the greater one. Still... we’ve been in worse situations.Maybe we can still salvage this one.”

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;thelock

Loadeddeck//Templarvowed- Respite

★ She had initially balked at the idea of the Inquisition. Any large group of people here usually meant trouble for her. She, with nothing but a staff and magic to her name.

Dangerous. An Apostate, they’d called her. She’d stood down when given the chance and calmly answered questions, eventually consenting to accompany the troupe from the Inquisition back to where their camp had been set up. Along the way, someone had mentioned an Inquisitor– a fiery young woman with fiery hair to match. It struck her as odd, but she’d eventually questioned enough to find out the name of the leader of their illustrious organization, and gone along with them eagerly from then on out.

Her dear friend was at the head of this Inquisition. For the first time since she’d arrived in that world, she’d felt safe.

Since swearing herself to her dear friend’s forces, she set about expending every readable resource on magic she could find, drinking it all in like a woman parched. She’d crossed paths with a few other mages and spoke intensely with the elf mage Solas on the subject.

And found more out about mages than she’d really wanted to. A mage in this world could have their magic taken away– along with their emotions– a prospect that terrified her to no end. For as long as she could remember, magic had been a part of her. To have it taken or sealed away in this manner… potentially to never be reversed, even out-of-world? It had given her nightmares to think about, and she shuddered in the presence of every Tranquil she crossed paths with. They were… pleasant enough people. but robotic and cold in a way that made her quake to the core.

Presently, she was enjoying early morning tea, watching the sunrise over distant peaks, and reading a book, her boots propped up on the stone in front of her. She blew the steam off the top before taking a sip and sighing contentedly.

Things… could be worse. They were fighting for the fate of the world, but things could be much, much worse, she supposed.

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;templarvowed

loadeddeck‌:

She knew Solas, or at least she thought she had known Solas, but frankly the more she was thinking about it and the more her hand burned the less she really knew. They had talked hours and hours about the Fade as Candy tried to grasp some understanding. If the Fade was like the gates, could she pick where her next location was. Could she go home or something more familiar? Could she return to someone she loved? She had been so wrapped up in the fantasy that Solas provided maybe she had been blind to what he was.

The Elluvians were a whole other question, more and more confusion rattling the pain riddled brain as Stary pressed issues that she knew, deep down, were in good faith but were just a needle in her brain right now. They had to leave before Bull, Varric, Cullen – okay honestly before anyone realized they had left. Because if they went and didn’t take back up, she’d be getting an earful.

The mark surged and Candy put her fist in a fancy Orlesian wall to stready herself.

“This is getting worse.” She flexed the anchored hand, “And if I don’t find him and get it fixed, I don’t know what happens next. We have to go before Varric sees and opens his mouth and I get a lecture.” She gestured to the mirror, “Let’s go.”

★ “Mn.” She nodded and adjusted the straps on her gauntlets. With Solas having abandoned his post at Skyhold with nary a word, the foreign mage had found herself... surprisingly well outfit. Then again, her friend was at the head of an alarmingly large force, and army with soldiers, and the fortress to support it. She felt confident that they would succeed-- after all, the alternative was not an option.

And, truthfully, she felt a bit stung as well. Candy was hurting--both physically and mentally-- and Stary’s ego and feelings had taken a blow. She’d spoken to Solas similarly, engrossed by his knowledge and thirsty for more each time he spoke. She looked up to him as a source of wisdom and as a font of knowledge-- if she couldn’t find something in a book, she asked the elven mage, and often got a much more detailed reply than she’d initially expected. She’d learned so much from him, considered him a friend and confidant.

Straightening herself and shaking the sentiment from her shoulders like water,she lifted her head.

“Quickly, then. The more time we waste, the less likely we are to find the bald bastard.” Without further ceremony, she stepped into the rippling, swirling surface of the mirror.

#;the dawn will come {DA:I}#;thelock

@loadeddeck//thelock from here

★ “Alright, alright, I yield.” The russet haired mage lifted her palms in a gesture of appeasement, offering a weak smile at her friend. The sensitive healer knew the sound of pain in her voice, and allowed her to lash out.

Not only because they were old and dear friends, no. Not only that, not just that this time.

But because Candy had taken the lead this time. Half the time when they were out and about together in some sundry world or another, Stary took the position of leader, easily commanded with charisma and made executive decisions with the support of the blond and their third, bespectacled comrade.

Now, it was Candy’s turn to command. She was with Candy’s Inquisition. She was Candy’s open right palm, burning with magic, rather than the other way around.

It was she who stood at her left shoulder while she gave orders. Stary recognized her best friend’s ability to lead and followed her direction without question.

Well.

Without serious question.

She had not directly defied her Inquisitor, simply gently prodded the validity of her decision.