Confrontations, Revelations, and the Wrong Way to Eavesdrop Who: Deidre "Dee" Aisli, Alderic Thearre, Aurin Demarc (Later) Where: The Local Chantry, Amaranthine When: Dawn, 14 Molioris, 9:45, after The Joining Rating: PG-13 just in case Status: In-Progress Summary: Deidre confronts Alderic about his decision to become a Grey Warden, but certainly not for the reasons most expect. What promises to be an argument dies in favor of something infinitely more serious.
(OOC: This is Thread 1 in a series of Post-Joining threads where Dee checks on certain people)
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Denerim A year ago
The tree that shielded her from the ruby-golden blaze of the sunset was one that she remembered sitting in the chantry's courtyard forever, a mainstay on the grounds even after so many renovations and improved landscaping. She had memories of climbing it once, only to overestimate her ability in scaling down from it, or hiding behind it during a game of hide-and-seek -- reading while cradled in its roots when she grew a little older. It was an aged thing with large protruding branches; for all she knew it had been there since the complex was built. However, it still managed to look fresh, green...its viridian vitality greeting everyone that passed it in every Spring and Summer, copper and bronze showers falling from it during the Autumn.
Deidre lost track as to how long she had been sitting there dressed in the robes she wore but rarely -- traveling extensively all over Thedas gave her the convenient excuse to keep from wearing it as much as possible. Today, however, it was a necessary ensemble. With her hair plaited carefully and coiled behind her head, she looked the very picture of a well-behaved initiate, arranged where she was quietly with her eyes gazing on her lap as if in careful meditation. The only sign that she was in mourning was the pair of black ribbons wound about her upper arm, with the faint trace of the oakwood smoke from the funeral pyre clinging to the fabric of her clothes. To her credit, her face held no trace of tears, keeping her promise to a dead man even as present circumstances did their damndest to force her to break it.
A moving shadow crisscrossed over hers on the earthen floor underneath her feet. She looked up to a pair of dark and concerned eyes. In many ways she should have expected his presence, but seeing him now had not yet failed to amaze her. By all rights, he should have remained in the Tower -- with the Brotherhood still recovering from the massacre of most of its veterans fourteen years prior, he was needed now more than ever. And yet he managed to spare a few days to return to Denerim's chantry, pulled there by the shortest letter she had ever written him...not even half a page, and one that in no way whatsoever insisted that he be there. It had been composed to deliver sorrowful news of a mutual acquaintance's passing and nothing more.
Somehow, she found the capacity within her to smile, albeit faintly. "Hey, stranger," she greeted casually. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Deidre." Alderic's tone was serious. Most of the time he was, but he never used her full first name unless he meant to express just how much.
She lowered her eyes at that, leaning forward to wrap her arms around her knees. When it was made clear that she didn't intend to say anything else, she heard him shift and sensed him take up the space next to her.
It was the longest they have ever been in the same place without speaking, but at the time, the complete and utter silence meant everything.
* * *
Dawn was breaking over the horizon.
The initial rays of the sleepy sunrise worked lethargically to tear through the heavy indigo that blanketed Amaranthine's meager skyline, a visual reminder that it had been a couple of hours since she had arrived. The dark-haired archaeologist remained leaning against one of the endmost pillars of the local chantry's foyer, her arms crossed over her chest and waiting patiently. In the solemn quiet, she sensed and felt everything; the coolness of the stone permeating through her shirt, how the occasional briny gust blowing in from the sea rippled through her hair. The sound of a bird chirping found her ears and despite the fading evening, crickets were still calling out to one another. She wondered just how long he was going to remain -- she had managed to keep herself from intruding the interior of the building, and while she was still mad at him, she respected his faith enough not to go claiming his time with his god.
She would be lying if she ever said she wasn't tempted. Images of herself throwing the double doors open and stalking towards her oldest friend armed with her personal brand of bluster and reckless abandon dominated her mind in the past hour. Even without rehearsing the words in her head, she knew exactly what to say. While others often spluttered through their speech when riled over something important, she never had that handicap -- in fact, anger and worry only served to heighten her eloquence at the heat of the moment. She never failed to say anything, and say it clearly, when she deemed the reason worthy enough for something to be said. All through her life, she was never a languid creature when it came to people or causes that meant something to her -- passivity was something she deeply abhorred in those moments. She would rather do something than nothing.
And nothing was something Deidre was forced to do at the moment by the virtue of waiting. It only increased her frustrations, her restlessness. The urge to pace was overwhelming and it was only sheer force of will that kept her rooted on the spot, partially hidden by the gradually disappearing darkness that bathed the local area in bluish silhouettes.
Part of her was curious as to what happened in the chamber where the Joining was held, but there was plenty of time to ask about that later.
What caused most of her inner turmoil were the whys, though she already knew most of the answers. The fact that she did know them certainly didn't make it any easier. She knew him well enough to know why he would volunteer, why he would put himself on the line for a cause greater than his life -- she knew the heights in which he held his faith, and the fact that the mission the Griffons dedicated their lives to was a destiny that lined up perfectly with his beliefs. Any templar worth his salt would jump at the chance to battle against the second-worst of mankind's greatest sins.
She knew all of that. She knew it. She understood it.
What she had trouble comprehending was why he wouldn't tell her about it.
He didn't want you to worry all the way here, Aurin's voice echoed from her memories of the night before.
So much for that attempt, she countered silently.
Was it because he thought she was going to try and stop him? Or convince him otherwise? Certainly she would have chastised him into thinking about what he was doing carefully -- what he was getting into. The Order was rife with secrets, anyone with a brain knew that some of the Wardens' methods over the centuries were questionable. They accepted anyone who was willing to risk death in the tainted ones' hands...they could be demon-worshippers or blood mages and they would still be able to find a place among them. They were actions that she knew Alderic would have trouble accepting and supporting, and she wondered if he was truly ready to have several holes punched into his deity-fearing soul by taking up a Warden's mantle. She would have told him all of that. She would have asked him if he was really prepared.
But she would never have dreamed of stopping him if he had his heart set on it. The idea was laughable, that she could make him not do something he considered an important undertaking. She may as well have declared herself the new Queen of Antiva if that were the case, because if it was, then anything was most definitely possible.
Deep down, that was the reason she actually dreaded. Did he really think that? That she would've tried to stop him if he had told her? Had he misjudged her that terribly? She knew better than anyone that on her worst days, she could be a ridiculous prat, but come on!
"I hope you didn't become that big of an idiot while I was gone," she muttered under her breath.
Somewhere in the distance, a rooster crowed in an attempt to rouse reluctant citizens out of bed.
It was the only response she would receive for a while yet.