[Closed]

[theladyofhighever]

Who: Mariane Cousland and The Dog
What: Two Hadrielites meet up for a talk
Where: The Range
When: Current
Warnings: None



[there were still very few people Mariane felt close to. she'd always had a difficult time letting people in due to her melancholy. the time of the Blight was different, being forced in such close quarters with others.

this place was different. it was possible to hide herself away with only Chance for company. deep down, she knew she shouldn't do that, that she should be trying to reach out to others more. but taking that first step was difficult.

so she went out with Chance to the range. she'd heard that the Dog frequented it and she'd genuinely enjoyed their earlier conversation. she was hoping to run into him there and hoping that their conversation would go as well as their earlier one had]

Comments

[standformyself]

[And look, a lick.]

See? So saying hello to strangers should be a simple task. Hello, and if they respond back, then there you go. They can't be more scary than this Blight of yours.

[theladyofhighever]

[awww! she smiles sweetly]

I suppose. Though, I must admit, I didn't have the time to be afraid during the Blight. Not until the very end when it was time for face the Archdemon.

[standformyself]

Because you didn't have the time to think about it, to get in your own head. We tend to be our own worst enemies.

(cw: mental illness)

[theladyofhighever]

True. My--my mind doesn't always work properly. It never has. It's always been . . . too easy to get sad and too difficult to break that.

[standformyself]

My mistress... She was raised among those who gained the sight of the future, the Clayr, who did not quite understand one who didn't. It was all that she wanted, but it simply wasn't meant to be. Too long did she mourn that with each passing birthday, it never came.

[theladyofhighever]

Did something else come in its place?

[standformyself]

Indeed. She is half Clayr, but her father was also an Abhorsen- a hereditary bloodline whose duty is maintaining the border between life and death.

[theladyofhighever]

That sounds. . . like a lot of weight to carry. How does she manage it?

[after a pause]

Actually, I may have met her. Pale skin, dark hair, rather pretty?

[standformyself]

One step at a time, and a little nip now and then...

[Because the Dog would only put up with so much from her mistress. She had great things lined up for her.

Her ears give a little perk.]

Aye, that sounds like her. Although her half sister is here, not that she knows. Shorter hair.

[theladyofhighever]

I suppose that's all which can be done?

[it sounds as though many people have great things ahead of them.

her eyebrow arches slightly at the news of the half-sister]

I see. Is there a reason they're being kept separate?

[standformyself]

Only the sheer fact that they were not aware of each other until recently. Lirael didn't know her father, you see.

[And Sabriel did not know that her father had had another daughter.]

[theladyofhighever]

That sounds like a tragedy. Family is important. It might be the most important thing there is. [she says, having lost all of hers except for her elder brother and cleaving to Alistair as his future wife]

[standformyself]

Family is, but family is not always blood, but those who you make it to be.

[Although the Dog knows that her mistress will be in good hands. Sabriel, Touchstone, their children... They aren't Clayr, and she will carve her own legend in time.]

[theladyofhighever]

I--yes, that can be true. [and she takes a moment to miss her companions from the Blight] Which do you prefer?

[standformyself]

I can't really say. I don't exactly have blood family.

[She can only speak through experiences that she has had.]

[theladyofhighever]

Oh. [a pause] I've had both. Blood family and a--a made family. I lost all but one of my blood family and all but one of my made family. [she looks down and begins to knot her hands together.

then realizes what she's doing and forces her hands apart] I--I'm sorry.

[standformyself]

You've done nothing to apologize for.

[As the Dog has no regrets with the choices that she has made in her life.]

I try to live each day as fully as I can.

[theladyofhighever]

Oh. [she bites back the urge to apologize for apologizing. everything was so much more simple during the Blight. she had a job to do and she was able to focus her attention on doing it.

she has many regrets, but there's little she can do about them]

How do you do that here?

[standformyself]

Oh. Well, I like to talk to people. I've a cushion at the range, and Pratt lets me fetch things. I enjoy sniffing around, although it's mostly creatures that I find.

[She does enjoy digging, and herding, and chasing...]

Try new foods. Roll around in the grass. Explore.

[theladyofhighever]

A cushion out in the open? Would it--would it not be nicer to have a place indoors?

[this weather is too cold for her and reminds her uncomfortably of her return to Ostagar after the slaughter]

I would . . . like to do two of those things. [a pause] Would you want a companion?

[standformyself]

[Welcome to the Dog, a walking and talking puzzle wrapped in an enigma, with a shell, and never a straight forward answer.]

But then I would need to open doors to get out to do my job if anything was happening.

[Not to mention that the Dog doesn't feel the cold like others do. It doesn't bother her, and she will happily bark and run around in snow or water or the heat, although she would pant with the latter.]

Companions, certainly. I can show you all the best places to roll.

(cw: mental illness)

[theladyofhighever]

[and welcome to Mariane, a desperately shy, terribly insecure sixteen year old girl plagued with melancholy who was forced into the leadership position of the Hero of Ferelden]

I would open them for you?

[she doesn't know how to make friends, how to be a friend. the Blight companions largely invited themselves along and insinuated themselves into her life. this place is. terrifying]

I would. . .prefer companions?

[standformyself]

[Her tongue lolls playfully to one side at that, as the Dog really has no qualms about doors or windows or anything like that. She can open them. It just takes a little effort and some change in her paw structure.

The Dog does dip her nose towards Mariane's companion.]

I would assume Chase would be coming as well?

[theladyofhighever]

[she always fears she's asking too much from those she would call friends. she asked her Blight companions to risk their lives for her goal, after all. she asked Alistair, Zevran, and Morrigan to accompany her on her mission of vengeance against Howe, the man who slaughtered her parents and she asked them to keep out of their fight, not intervening until Alistair pulled her off of Howe's corpse where she'd been stabbing him over and over again until there was nothing left but a bloody mess where his face and chest had been. she asks too much of people]

Of course Chase would be coming.

[standformyself]

See. So plural.

[As the Dog does enjoy the company of both of them.]