IC INBOX for FADE RIFT

[slipshot]

 

Gavin has a little box stuffed full of notes. Feel free to stuff one in there, if you like, or come say hi.

 

The notes may just be all doodles. 

just saying.

 

Comments

[arlathvhen]

[ It was tricky to find Gavin at night, but luckily, Beleth had developed a similar taste for hanging out in the random secluded bits of Skyhold. After a bit of searching, she tracked him down, and without any greeting or precursor, flopped down next to him, cuddling up against the taller elf. For a moment she doesn't say anything--she knows she doesn't have to, that Gavin wouldn't make her explain. So instead of an explanation, she asks a question. ]

I'm pretty, right?

[ It's not really a fair question to ask. She's pretty sure that Gavin won't be so rude, not when she's arrived like that. But she doesn't care. For now, she just wants to hear someone tell her nice things. ]

[slipshot]

[He hadn't been asleep. He had been tapping his foot aimlessly, staring up through the hole in the ceiling that let him see the stars. Thinking, maybe, if anyone believed he even did that. When Beleth appeared his eyebrows raised - but there was absolutely no question as she snuggled in against him. He slipped an arm around her, gently hugging her against his side. A bead of worry, in the back of his mind, but he didn't voice it. She hadn't come for his worry.

She asks her question, the quiet misery a little too obvious, and he squeezes her again, tilting his head until his ear is resting against her hair.]

Ma vhenan, you are beautiful. [It isn't a lie, and he says it with an incredible depth of fondness.] Pretty doesn't cover it.

[the_effect_she_has]

[Katniss doesn't write a note - Sylaise knows she doesn't know how to draw a tree. However, she knows what a certain one looks like, and it is even more obvious in the dark, with all the fireflies dancing around the branches. She lets out a sigh of wonder, reaching out to touch the bark, then up to touch the fireflies themselves.

She might have completely forgotten she is here to meet anyone, because it's been awhile since she's seen anything that fills her heart with beauty. Skyhold had all kinds of surprises, and every single kind of wonder. Perhaps there was something here ... ]

[slipshot]

[The voice came from up in the tree, where an elf was sitting, leaning back against the trunk and his legs dangling off either side of the largest branch.]

They've been here every night for the last two weeks, but I don't know for how much longer.

It feels like swimming in the sky.

[arlathvhen]

[ The night after she gets back, Beleth goes to find Gavin again. It's still a little odd, just...having him there when she needed him. Odd, but nice. As soon as she locates where he's holed up for the night, she once more flops down and curls up next to him, pressing her face to his chest. After a few moments, she speaks. ]

I'm back. We're all back. Zevran is back.

...

I'd like a hug. Maybe several.

[slipshot]

[He had been fully asleep, and the weight on his side had immediately made him think that Maxwell had come to join him after all, and he had woke with a smile -- Only to hear a very different voice from the one he had been expecting. However, the words themselves were so exactly what he needed to hear that instead of questioning her arrival, he just turned fully toward her and dragged her into a fierce hug.]

Thank the creators.

WHENEVER Sending Crystal

[ombranera]

Gavin- I have a question.


Actually I have a few.

Re: WHENEVER Sending Crystal

[slipshot]

[There is, inevitably, the sound of fumbling - dropping the crystal - picking it back up again and clearing his throat.]

Questions? What's on your mind.

backdated, what are dates idk, action

[byblow]

[ After being thrown out (or throwing himself out? it's fuzzy) and crying for a while--not handsomely, there was snot involved, but fortunately no witnesses--it's still too early and dark for him to find someone to watch Doghren and hightail it out of Skyhold. But he isn't looking for Gavin, wherever he happens to be, and wouldn't wake him up if he were.

Doghren is not so polite. Enjoy waking up to a face full of licky, ugly puppy. Alistair is quick to collect her off of Gavin's face, but that involves getting on his knees, and getting up afterwards seems very hard, so he drops his bag next to him and lies down to use it as a pillow, Doghren trapped in the crook of one arm.

His greeting is a garbled noise that's kind of like an apology for the dog. ]

Re: backdated, what are dates idk, action

[slipshot]

[Gavin splutters awake, startled at first but then laughing when he recognizes the dog's tongue for what it is. Once he is saved, he props himself up on an elbow to scrub the drool off his face and get a good look at his - attacker? Molester? No - Alistair.]

Good morning to you too. [Said with a wry, bemused smile, but a good look around gives him-] Or night. Apparently.

A Letter, arriving from afar~

[writteninblood]

[the letter comes in a thick packet, one of several, the longest of which is obviously addressed to Beleth. But one of them begins...]

Dear Gavin,

I know you can't read, so I assume you've gotten Beleth or someone to read this for you. Unless you can read now, in which case how about you write me once in a while, you're a horrible friend and i hate you.

Bel's been writing me letters about things that've happened, but she stopped sending them a while ago and I worry, so now I'm writing to all of you instead of just telling her to give you my love, since she's unreliable, aparantly. Don't deny it, Beleth, I know you're reading this.

(She is reading this, don't lie to me, Gav)

Okay, first thing, the clan news: All the halla dropped their babies safely, no casualties. We're trading half the new herd off to another clan soon as they're weaned, if they'll go-- something about some crazy bandits west of here, you know how it is. So our numbers will probably stay the same. The hunters all take rotations now an complain about it, so thanks for that, but they seem alright, so don't worry about us otherwise. We're still in the northeast of the Free Marches for now, but I think the Keeper's moving us more south towards the sea once the roads firm up. Something about rumors of fewer rifts that way. Oh! Its been raining for almost a week straight. I'm so fucking sick of rain, I think I'll never be dry again.

I heard from Beleth that you were with some shem? What's it like, then? She doesn't tell me anything good anymore, I need something to liven up my life aside from rain. Write back soon, okay? I'll tell you all about the new Hearthmistress. (It's Lessehl! She never lets me win at anything, it's cruel)

I miss all of you, every day. Some days I feel like I'm the oldest of us, with all of you gone and only a few of the littlest da'len around anymore. But the rest of the time, when everyone's treating me like a child, I don't have time to feel anything but unprepared. Being the First is weird. I bet not weirder than whatever else you Inquitisioners get up to. Tell me everything!

Your friend,
Sorrelean Ashara

[The bottom margin has a charcoal sketch of a baby Halla, carved horns entwined with flowers. It's pretty good!]

[dreadinquisitor]

He'd wallowed for a while; he wasn't too big to admit that. But he knew he had to Gavin, even before Sam had reminded him so firmly. He'd spoken to his Galadriel, and to Cassandra, and there was something Gavin needed to know before he did - whatever it was he'd come to him hoping to do before it had all gone so badly.

He also knew Gavin wasn't likely to listen, regardless, anymore, but he had to try. Whatever else, he still cared - he wanted Gavin to be safe....

Not that elf made it easy. It had been difficult sometimes to find him even before they'd argued, now, it was next to impossible. But he kept at it, determined, and finally he spotted a familiar mop of red hair and jogged toward it before it could slip away.

"Gavin."

[slipshot]

The ears drooped almost immediately, but he didn't run. He had been meaning to speak to Maxwell, too - had promised Sam that he would - he just... hadn't really worked up the courage yet. So he kind of wilted as the man spotted him first, jogging over, and the very familiar flutter of panicked flight took to his chest - but he didn't run.

"Maxwell." It wasn't a hard word, but a soft one, a hesitant one.

Action.

[justice_is_blond]

[He's not supposed to get involved. Getting worked up, getting Justice worked up, making some sort of statement, it wouldn't help. It would only cause more issues for the Wardens as well as everyone dealing with this.

But that doesn't mean Anders can ignore it completely. Not when rumor gets around that one of the Elves is being kept alone without contact and it brings back some of his heaviest memories. It also brings to mind something he actually can do, and with a fair bit of eavesdropping and watching, Anders determines which window is Gavin's.

Purrelden wasn't chosen for this mission, simply because she's far more likely to try to climb on Gavin's face than thread between his legs and purr. There's a cat who has been lingering around the healing tents of late, though, who happened to be perfect - slender enough to slip between the bars and already purring as soon as she was on the ledge inside.]

Re: Action.

[slipshot]

[He didn't notice at first. Curled up into a ball he was so far into his own thoughts that he didn't hear the soft patter of feet across the floor. It wasn't until he heard a low purr and suddenly there was warm fur pressing up against his hands that he froze.

It was stupid, really, and he felt stupid, but as soon as he recognized the cat for what it was, tears sprung to his eyes. He reached out, carefully, and touched the cat's head, giving it a gentle pet.]

... How did you get here... [He wondered in a voice so quiet it was barely a breath.]

Action, Skyhold's Dungeon

[colecomfort]

Getting past the guards was easy. Cole had done it with a little more caution than he might have in the past — more people, it seemed, were able to see and remember him these days — but they hadn't so much as once glanced his way.

The sun was hovering on the horizon, not yet past it. Cole had not wanted to come too late, in case Gavin might be asleep. The last thing he wanted to do was startle him into making too much noise.

He made his way gradually along the line of cells, giving a glance between the bars of each one before he found Gavin's.

Re: Action, Skyhold's Dungeon

[slipshot]

Gavin was curled up in the corner of his cell, knees tucked in against his chest, arms held tightly around him. He didn't seem to register anyone approaching, not even looking up when Cole came to a stop in front of his cell.

He had long since given up on seeing anyone, save the guards who refused to speak to him.

action!! a day or so after he's out of prison

[arsebiscuit]

The little elf that tried to break the lady free. It was kinda like the stupid poetry books Cassandra kept around her room she thought no one knew about. Mainly in the stupid bit. But it'd been something strong against what she'd chatted with Lady Seeker Bits about, so it got Sera curious.

It only took a chat with a kitchen girl then a stable boy to find the rebel boy. Sera crept up, all sneaky quite like without any fire or bees at all, then crouched on a pile of hay only a few inches from the sleeping Gavin. Slowly, so slowly, she leaned in so their faces were barely an inch apart.

"Hey."

Re: action!! a day or so after he's out of prison

[slipshot]

It had been one of the first real nights of sleep he'd had in weeks. The weeks in the dungeon had not offered much more than restless, cold and terrified napping - never quite managing to fall asleep for more than two hours at a time, and nothing as comfortable as the pile of hay he was sleeping on then.

So he didn't startle so much as groggily blink, and then frown, trying to make sense of the swimming face in front of his.

".... Hey?" He asked stupidly, blinking again, before pulling his head back so that he could actually see who had decided to basically dart in for a kiss, only to see---

No one he recognized. Wait. Maybe he did?

"Wait - aren't you-- weren't you one of the Herald's friends--" Because clearly that's the most important part.

Action, post prison, post illz

[ombranera]

Sweet talking the guards to leaving Gavin in his care for a few minutes wasn't as hard as it probably should have been, but Zevran manages it without complaint. He slips into Gavin's room with a steaming mug of Antivan Drinking Chocolate in hand and a few cookies.

Bribery for a friend he has missed.

"How have you been?"

[slipshot]

The fact that he even had a room was something in itself - but it was hard to convince a guard to let him sleep in a tree. So he had a room, and he was sitting in it, carefully working on a new string for his bow by spreading wax over it.

He looked up when the door opened, flinching a little as he snapped his head up. Fearful, at first - or, wary, perhaps, was the closer word - but when he saw that it was Zevran, he relaxed.

"I'm - fine." It was a lie, but he smiled anyway. It was a lie he wanted to be true. "Ah - come in, sit down."

crystal!!

[byblow]

I heard they set you loose.

Re: crystal!!

[slipshot]

Hi Alistair. [His voice sounds tired, but there's a smile behind the words.]

Yes. Though I - ah - have someone looking after me, for a while, and I'm not allowed to - well. Do much.

Are you okay?

A Letter

[dreadinquisitor]

[All the way from the Western Approach, it appears a few weeks after Maxwell has set off. Toward the end of Bloomingtide.

It's not a letter in the traditional sense, as there is actually very little to be read. The parchment is mostly taken up by a drawing: sweeping dunes, heavily shadowed by a sinking sun. Griffon Wing Keep sits to one side, Inquisition banners flying above its battlements. Dark, uncertain, four-legged beasts slip off the page on the opposite side, leaving tracks behind them that stretch across the sand. In the sky, off to one corner is a particular star.

The only text is in Maxwell's easy, handsome script.]

Wish you were here.

Re: A Letter

[slipshot]

[The letter that comes in reply is three pages in length - and no words. The first page has the same star at the top, in a carefully articulated hand. The rest of the images are sketchy, but goes as follows:

Gavin, cleaning up the stables, with a horse that looks like it is farting at him, tail up, and he with a very sad face.

Dax, waving his arms and yelling.

A little bird sitting on the battlements that has been sketched out far more throroughly that the rest,

and Gavin, sitting on the battlements, with a hazy shadow of Maxwell's figure sitting beside him, but not actually there.

I miss you, it says, without a word.]

crystal

[mythalenaste]

Gavin? It's Pel. Can I talk to you?

[She sounds thoughtful and subdued. This isn't a confrontation.]

Re: crystal

[slipshot]

Pel?

[It's a couple seconds delayed, as he had to find the crystal in the first place.]

What is it? Are you alright?

crystal, hi.

[byblow]

Gavin.

[slipshot]

[There is a bunch of rustling, a muted dalish curse somewhere in the background, some thumping, a PING and then:]

Hello? Alistair? Is that you?

Do You Want Build a Birthday Cake? Action.

[dreadinquisitor]

His birthday had been on his mind - increasingly, as it approached - as Maxwell had passed through the kitchens at the end of his rounds. Unsurprisingly the sights and smells of freshly baked goods had turned his thoughts around to cakes in particular.

A cake. A birthday cake. His cake.

It had been a chocolate-rummed affair the year previous, which should have been more delicious than it actually was... but perhaps that had been the company, souring the thing. This year that would be different, and so should the cake, he thought.

Summarily, when he arrived at back at his room and found Gavin he asked, without preamble, "What are your thoughts on cake?"

Re: Do You Want Build a Birthday Cake? Action.

[slipshot]

Gavin was lying on the mattress, half dressed, kicking his feet as he scribbled a drawing on a scrap piece of parchment. He looked up as Maxwell entered and smiled.

"Delicious and tasty," he answered immediately. "Did you bring some?"