backscene: exchanges Who: Yonca Ghanem, Thren Canondais Where: Somewhere deep in the Hinterlands. When: 9:37 Late Fall Summary: A twelve-year old Yonca tries to keep to herself while camping in the Hinterlands on her first visit to Ferelden. Rating: G [books and cuteness]
A small fire crackled. Yonca gazed at the flickering flames. She stretched her legs out, so that her feet warmed. Her wet boots were set beside the fire, slowly beginning to dry. Mud was caked over the shoes as well as the violet dress she wore. Rain sprinkled down through the treetops. The dirt was squishy causing footsteps to sink deep. Ferelden forests seemed to be almost swamp like compared to the forests they had traveled through in Orlais. Then again, she had traveled through the Orlesian forests during summer time. She wondered if those forests also became wet and misty during near winter time. She shifted on the log she was sitting upon. Yonca tried to avoid the wet moss that was growing over the wood, but it was almost impossible as the green moss covered most of it.
She brought her gaze away from the fire, glancing over at the group of adults talking in the distance. The girl couldn’t hear what they were saying, but from what she could make out from Papa’s expression it was something serious. They were walking away though and would soon be out of sight through the thick trees. She looked back to the makeshift fire. The girl had started it on her own. She could have gone to the main camp that these Ferelden Woods People had set up for the night, but she didn’t feel comfortable doing so. Her caretaker had wandered off to discuss matters with another mage and so she was left on her own for the night until both men completed their conversations.
Yonca felt nervous amongst the group even though she had been reassured it was safe in the woods. The last weeks of traveling through Ferelden had been filled with tension. She was less scared as she had been when traveling through Orlais, but she still had an unreasonable expectation that templars would swoop down from the trees. She tried to push away the thought. The girl trusted that Papa and her caretaker knew what they were doing and would never put her in danger, especially on her first journey away from Tevinter.
Taking a deep breath, Yonca looked down to her lap where a thick book lay open. She flipped a page. The girl had read the book numerous times. They had picked it up once arriving in the Ferelden. She had already read it numerous times, but continued to reread it simply because it was the only book she had at the moment.
There was nothing else for her to do but read or practice magic while the others went about other business. Yonca didn’t feel comfortable practicing magic with strangers around even if they were supposedly mages that lived outside Chantry rule. She flipped another page of the text, murmuring out loud to herself quietly, “The occupation was a dark blot on Ferelden's history... from time im.. Immem.. immemorial valued their freedom over all else, were forced to bow to Orlesian rule…” Yonca paused, tapping a finger along the line of text.