RP: Hawke (Ground Zero)

[lavellanfadewalk]

Aria carried herself around Skyhold with a feeling similar to the first time she entered the sturdy fortress; curiosity, awe and a little bit of fear. But unlike her first time in Skyhold, when that little fear was about the unknown, Aria's fear had a solid identity: the Envy Demon. Her hands gripped thigh to her mage staff, her knuckles white. The sky was clouded and save for the lights coming from the tavern, everything was emerged in darkness.

Thank the Creators elfs could see in the dark.

Careful to not be noticed, she inspected the fortress, making mental notes about their visitors; Varric shared the same reality with her (which was a goddamn thing to celebrate) and apparently Sera too, though she hadn't met the archer yet. A Hero of Ferelden was present too, two Dorians (none of them from her own reality), an Anders (the Anders!), another Herald of Andraste (that was really confusing, to state the most obvious), two Cullens (guess someone in the elven pantheon is felling quite amused with this joke) and a pretty weird bunch with a pretty weird metal ship and pretty weird manners and clothing (too weird to think about them now, better skip it). Dagna had contacted Aria through her journal (and now the Eluvian is fixed! I didn't even now it was broken, to begin with!) and it was always good to have the Arcanist around.

She was in the lower courtyard, near the stabled, when a sound caught up her attention: something falling, something like a body falling. Aria rushed, running to find the location, mouth agape with what her eyes saw: Marian Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall, last seem in the Fade running to certain death. The Inquisitor scrambled her potions after a healing one, dropping her staff imediately and turning Hawke to lay on her back. Careful, she supported her head in one hand and with the other she gave her the potion; the woman was still breathing, good start, now to the injuries. Aria planted her hands over her shoulders, barely touching, and concentrated to cast a healing spell.

C'mon... c'mon, c'mon, c'mon... don't die under my watch again Hawke, not now...

Comments

[lavellanfadewalk]

"Not that I know much piles of steaming dragon shit, but that would make Hawke... smoking hot, perhaps?"

Aria chuckled at her own bad joke while heading to the stairs to the upper courtyard.

[hawke_groundzero_fadewalk]

Hawke groaned, maybe pained, maybe at the pun... probably both. She had to take the steps slow and about halfway up she missed a riser and went halfway to her knees. "Shit. Could you just dump me under a bush maybe? I don't want to walk up any more."

[lavellanfadewalk]

(ooc: Should we wait for Varric to come back or you'd like to keep going without him?)

[varricmod]

"Tried that before when you had too many at the Hanged Man. It wasn't pretty then, either."

But Varric passed the water--and Bianca, of all things--to Aria. "Here," he said. "I've got her." He was short, sure, but he was also strong. Strong enough to lift Hawke and carry her up the rest of the steps.

[lavellanfadewalk]

"I promisse to take care of Bianca with my own life."

Aria said in a false solemn voice, taking the crossbow with care. She already knew Hawke was precious to Varric, but that gesture added a whole new meaning to it.

"Where to? The infirmary or a guest room?"

[hawke_groundzero_fadewalk]

Hawke watched Aria take Bianca as if she didn't really understand what that meant until Varric lifted her. She let out a tiny, disgruntled noise. "When did I get downgraded to damsel of the piece?" she muttered even as she let her head rest on Varric's shoulder for a moment.

[varricmod]

"The damsel said as she fought another swoon," Varric muttered, sotto. "Let's go to a guest room. Infirmaries are for sick people and Blondie." He tipped his head to indicate the way, hefted Hawke (carefully) closer, and headed toward his own room.

Well, he was going to have to look after her, wasn't he?

"You know, Inquisitor, you would have fit right in back at Kirkwall."

[lavellanfadewalk]

"Well, I don't know if you remember, but Lavellan clan is always around the Free Marches. Can't say I miss the bloodbath it must have been the fight against Knight-Commander Meredith and her Templars after the infamous explosion of the Chantry, but I would like to have met you guys when everything was simpler."

Aria walked towards the direction indicated by Varric, her heart meaning every word she said.

"Being the Second to the Keeper can be quite the lonely life, after all."

[hawke_groundzero_fadewalk]

Hawke really was fighting another swoon. Her head bobbed and then jerked up, eyes flashing wide in alarm. She grunted when she focused on the side of Varric's head and relaxed slowly again as Aria spoke.

"Remind me: when was it simpler?" She rubbed her cheek against the lapel of Varric's jacket. "I don't remember that part of the story."

[varricmod]

"You hit your head often enough," he mused, "you forget even some of my stories. I'll read that book to you again, jog your memories."

There had been a simpler time, though it'd been bookended by times twisty enough to defy logic. Being with the Inquisitor hadn't changed that much.

[lavellanfadewalk]

"I only read the Tale of the Champion once, but I bet exploring the Deep Roads seems easy than being strayed in the Fade, in retrospect." Aria pondered ahead of them, opening the door wide so Varric could fit with Hawke without problems.

"To think that, for me, surviving the explosion in the Temple of the Sacred Ashes was the easiest part... well, this must tell us something."

[hawke_groundzero_fadewalk]

"Deep Roads had my three closest friends. The Fade I only had myself to talk to." Hawke grimaced underneath all the dirt and grime. "It turns out I am not very funny or interesting."

She snorted softly, and shook her head. She was arguing with no one again. "It is too true. After a week of nothing but knock-knock jokes, you just have to admit certain things about yourself."

[varricmod]

"Thank you," he said to Aria, moving into the room and gently hoisting Hawke onto the bed. "And you--good thing you have interesting companions to make you seem more sparkling than you are."

[lavellanfadewalk]

Aria frowned at Hawke's words, but all she did was to put Bianca away, over the table, and approach the fireplace, lighting it. The warm flames soon started to send the cold away from the room. She grabbed the bucket and a bow she could find, spilling water to it and warming it with a wiggle of her fingers, all her motion natural as she had already done such several times.

Finally, Aria grabbed a piece of cloth and sat by Hawke's side, gently cleaning her face from all the gore, mud and demon goo.

[hawke_groundzero_fadewalk]

"Fairly sure I've never once sparkled." Hawke let out a soft noise of complaint when Varric set her on the bed, and her fingers curled around the cuff of his coat sleeve for a moment, knuckles gripping white, before sliding off. "Bled a lot. Been on fire?"

She grimaced at Aria's face-washing, falling silent as the filth was cleaned off. When the Inquisitor moved to rinse out the cloth she added, "Fire sort of sparkles, I guess." She rubbed at her cheek with the back of a filthy hand. "Tired."

[varricmod]

"Then go to sleep," he said with fond exasperation, looking up to meet Aria's eyes. "I'll be here when you wake up."

[lavellanfadewalk]

"Yes Hawke. You need to rest."

Aria finished cleaning her arms and hands and decided that was enough. The Champion was definitely exhausted and the Inquisitor didn't want to be the one standing between her and her first good night of sleep in months.

She glanced at Varric, then to the door and back to him, as she used to do to avoid saying out loud she wanted to speak to him later.

[hawke_groundzero_fadewalk]

The way her face squinched when she was admonished to sleep made her look years younger, but her eyes still held all the shadows and haunted shapes of the last ten years. Hawke's hands balled into fists on the bed beside her for a moment, looking between Aria and Varric and back. "Flurries of glancing. Very significant," she muttered and curled up onto her side, blue eyes blinking slow. "Please be real," she breathed into her arm, and she was out almost before the last word was out of her mouth.