Meet Me in the Pit, Korrin edition

[gatheringstorm]

FORM: Sending crystal
SENDER: Korrin Ataash
RECIPIENT: Everyone/Also, private message for Adalia. 
WHAT: Looking for sparring partners.
WHEN: Now
WHERE: Gallows training area.
NOTES: Not doing a separate log, any action can happen in individual threads here. 

[Her tone is brisk, though not unfriendly. She's just eager to get down to business.]

Korrin here. I always love sparring with anyone interested, but now it's for more than just the hell of it. If you're not part of the Forces division and don't mind going toe-to-toe with a giant horned mage, hit me up. I swear I'm less intense than I look. 

Not that it should need to be said, but rifters are more than welcome. I'm always curious about what you can do. If you can pull a surprise out of your ass that'll knock me on mine, I'll buy you a drink. 




[Private to Adalia]

I have something different to ask of you. You're a storm mage, right? You have the same affinity with lightning that I do? 

Comments

[gatheringstorm]

Joking aside, Korrin's concern doesn't fade and she gives her a gentle squeeze. "Your clan's been through a lot, I guess I can see why they'd react the way they did. Still, you've been through a lot, too. I hope they keep that in mind, because you damn well deserve some consideration, too."

...wait. "Used to be--" She blinks, then her eyebrows raise as she glances down. "Do you mean Cade?"

[nadasharillen]

Belatedly, Nari realizes that there aren’t too many other erstwhile Templars (any?), so she oughtn’t be surprised Korrin guessed. Even so, she goes a bit pink in the time honored tradition of having someone ambush you with the name of someone you’ve been thinking of.

“Yes?” she responds in a cautious drawn out way that doesn’t quite end in a squeak.

Good going, Nari. You broke her.

[gatheringstorm]

For a moment, Korrin just stares blankly. It's not often she's reduced to speechlessness, but she's barely spared a thought for Cade other than to roll her eyes at his uptightness or seethe at the way he'd treated Beleth. That he would manage any sort of involvement with anyone (a copy of the Chant and his own hand didn't count), let alone a dalish elf, let alone Nahariel...well, it's a lot to take in at once.

I actually spat out my tea :’D

[nadasharillen]

“I’ve... had my revenge?” ventures Nari, as Korrin adopts a look much like someone unexpectedly put on their arse might. She’s not sure it’s lovely though; that kind of stare usually means there’s something the starer’s trying to work through, and she’s pretty sure it’s not the part where he’s human.

...The incredulous way she’d said his name makes Nari think it’s not the religious part or the Templar part either.

[gatheringstorm]

That prompts a burst of laughter that snaps Korrin out of her shock, those broad shoulders shaking with the force of it. She tries to stop and explain herself, but it takes a few tries before she can calm herself enough for coherency. "You definitely did! Andraste's shapely ass, I did not see that coming.

...did you know we were tent-mates, in Emprise du Lion? He walked in on me changing and I pretty much never saw him after that. My boobs were that powerful."

[nadasharillen]

Korrin's arm wrapped around her shoulders as it is the laughter shakes Nari as well, prompting the return of her grin and a chuckle at the story. "I'm not surprised in the slightest," she says. After all, she fuzzily recalls pulling off her frozen tunic under a blanket at Kit's at the Medicine Seller's instruction and catching a glimpse of the man facing a corner with his ears fit to catch fire. It makes her grin a little wider.

"I can't say I understand," she says, "we didn't care much about it back home, especially not for reasons like changing after work or hunt, or finding a particularly nice stream on a hot day, but... I think it's kind of sweet."

...and made her blush to have it mean something.

"That and you do have a powerful bosom," she adds cheekily, "Araceli's a strong woman."

[gatheringstorm]

She trails off into an amused snort, shaking her head. "Not that strong, she was on her way in just as he was on his way out."

Then her smile fades as she gazes at Nari, thoughtful yet wary. "The last I heard about him, he...wasn't that stable. Has he changed? Is he good to you?" She knows Nahariel can take care of herself, really, but she can't help herself.

good question, korrin 8)

[nadasharillen]

She’s touched, actually, enough that she reaches a hand to take Korrin’s and squeeze briefly. It’s one thing to have people worried for you when something was immediately wrong— you’re sick, or injured, or freezing, or weeping, or some such else— that made sense. But something like this, worrying about how she’s treated? It’s a kind of caretaking she’s not used to. It’s... nice.

“I don’t know about changed,” Nari replies, “but good to me?” She trails off, flicking back through memory. The two of them standing awkwardly in the street as she asked about help placing the statue; his help in cutting the massive trunk, hauling it to the grove. He'd read her the Chant-- all of it-- had been there for every hour of the statue's forming. There'd been his long and frozen carry of her from Hightown all the way to Darktown, lacking a cloak that wrapped her instead. Sunrise upon sunrise of shared silence, the raw closeness of the hunting trip and what came after, the effort and trust it must have taken to come and see her, to let her see him that way. The brief departure from his intense self-consciousness as he'd tilted his head unthinking to lay a small kiss by her knee.

And she realizes, slowly, that she knows what Korrin meant earlier with the dragon's tooth necklace dangling from her fingers.

Oh.

Blinking quickly, her voice a bit rougher than before, she finishes the thought: "Never else."

[gatheringstorm]

"He'd better be. You know him better than I do, so I'll listen to you on that. But if he's dumb enough to treat you any other way and I'm around to see it, I can't promise he'll walk away without a large imprint of my boot on his ass."

Contrary to popular belief, Korrin is just fine with ignoring people she has reason to dislike or distrust. Otherwise, she'd be doing nothing but picking fights on the crystals all day. It's when they misbehave in front of her and force her to interact with them to squash that behavior, that she becomes cranky.

[nadasharillen]

That earns another chuckle, although she shakes her head slightly. She finds it difficult to imagine that particular situation, at least as long as she walked soft and wary and didn't trip a trap someone had laid in him. That felt separate somehow, though. Not him.

"You're a good friend, Korrin." Nari says, angling her head up to look at her. Had she ever said that? "The best I have here, and I'm glad of it. I'd never wish you trouble, but if it comes, I'll be here for it."

[gatheringstorm]

"Thanks, Nahariel. You're a good friend, too." She bends in enough to kiss the top of her head. "I've needled you enough; ready to spar a little and show me what you got?"

[nadasharillen]

"More than." Nari replies, gently headbutting Korrin in response and then scooting forward enough that she won't kick her friend when she rolls to her feet. She heads for the dulled practice blades to toss a few of them back and forth to check the weight, and then waves once she'd found two that'll suit, calling back across the yard.

"I still kind of want to see if I can dodge lightning." A thoughtful pause. "Can one even dodge lightning?"

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin frowns uncertainly, not sure if she should encourage this. "It can be done, if you're careful and paying attention. But if we're going to do that, I'd feel more comfortable if you took one of those lightning tonics first. I have some healing potions, too, but let's try to keep it from getting that intense."

It's supposed to be just sparring, and she's not about to see Nari put in the healing tents because of her.

[nadasharillen]

Seeing the other woman's hesitance Nari offers a reassuring smile, "I'm certainly not going to force the issue if you're worried," she says, "I just thought since we're trying to figure out what I can do, dodging spells seems useful, and I've been working hard on improving my reactions since coming back from the Sunless Lands..." (And getting a rib cracked by a Red Templar for not being in peak form)

She trails off and flips her grip on her main hand back and forth, adding a wide 'draw your own conclusions' shrug.

[gatheringstorm]

Not wanting to be responsible for Nahariel undergoing worse if she fails to get the training she needs, Korrin sighs and rests her hands on her hips. "No, that's fair. If you want to focus on improving your reactions, that's what we'll do. Give me a minute in the alchemy room, and I'll be good to go, alright?"

Given that it's been freshly restocked, Korrin knows she'll have all the needed ingredients for a few potions. And if it gets Nari in the habit of using them, all the better.

[nadasharillen]

With a quick waved salute, Nari bounces on her toes and sets to waiting. Was this a great idea? Probably not. Would any mages she faced in the field hold off on their casting because she hadn't at least given it a try? Definitely not.

Besides, if she could dodge a spell, she could dodge an arrow. A blade. A fist. Anything that gave her an edge the Inquisition could use to destroy the thing that had shattered Dahlasanor's future.

[gatheringstorm]

A short time later and Korrin returns with said potions -fully upgraded- which she promptly hands over. "Take one, and I'm ready when you are. But if it's too much, I want you to tell me. Okay? No bullshit."

[nadasharillen]

“I will,” replies Nari with some gravity, freeing a hand to take the offered vial and making sure to meet Korrin’s eyes when she says so. “No bullshit.”

“Will it be a waste of resources if I ask you to throw a couple near me first?” she asks, walking to the water table so as to have somewhere to place the bottle when she’s done with the contents, “I want to see if there’re any tells that it’s coming.”

[gatheringstorm]

"Near you? Sure." Korrin relaxes a little at, figuring it's a good start. Assuming the correct stance, she concentrates and unleashes an arc of lightning that flares and quickly dissipates when it's not close enough to strike anything. Then it's time to summon a bolt of lightning to the same effect, as well as launching a salvo of elemental blasts from her staff to home in on empty air. Each attack carries the same element, but all are of a different style and it's more easily seen when they're not in the middle of combat.

[nadasharillen]

It's difficult to look right at the spells, the flashes of energy making Nari squint slightly, but it's not really the magic she's looking at. Rather, she's watching what Korrin does that precedes each different strike. The first seems simultaneous with her whirled staff's strike on the ground, the second with her hands coming together... the third makes Nari's eyebrows consider a new home at her hairline; that many disparate bolts at the same time seems less than possible to avoid, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

She quaffs the potion Korrin had given her-- not the worst of the alchemical concoctions she's drunk-- and sets the glass down on the table, moving back out to the middle of the yard.

"Right!" she calls, twice as confidently as she feels, readying to spring, "Try that first one!"

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin nods, more serious as she now has to focus on her friend. Silently reassuring herself that she has plenty of healing potions on hand just in case Nahariel's dodging abilities fail her. Taking a deep breath, she whirls her staff overhead and slams it into the ground, unleashing the spell.

just say yes to good rolls!

[nadasharillen]

The prospect of getting shocked is fairly daunting, now that Nari's staring down the shaft of it. Especially because Korrin is a damn fine mage. But also a fine alchemist so there's that.

You're too tense. Loosen up.

She manages to heed her own command by the time the staff is whirling. When it's halfway to the ground she bunches and springs, diving to the side. She can hear the spell go off, grits her teeth, doesn't feel anything-- maybe the tonic had absorbed it? It's not perfect; her shoulder strikes the stones a little hard, but she still rolls to her feet a good two yards away from where she'd been standing before the cast and whips her head around to look at Korrin for confirmation.

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin, looking rather relieved that Nari is unharmed, nods to her friend as she lowers her staff. "Just in time. Try to be a little faster, if you can help it."

She'll repeat her efforts, just to see how well Nari anticipates it after being on the receiving end of it once already. Besides, that tonic doesn't last forever, so they might as well get use out of it.

[nadasharillen]

Nari ruffles her hair thoughtfully and calls "But won't you have time to aim the spell again to compensate if I--" but Korrin's already begun the cast, and she quickly springs backwards more instinctively than purposefully. Her practice pays off, but rather than being faster as Korrin had suggested, she's starting the leap a mere moment before the Vashoth's staff hits the ground. Although the epicenter of the bolt misses her, a secondary tendril from the flare catches her leg with a jolt that's enough to make her fumble the landing. She rolls just fine, but comes to a stop on the ground instead of coming back to her feet.

The elf waves to signal that she's fine, although she shakes the leg-- it's full of tingles-- and amusingly her hair, being as fine as it is, has risen slightly from the travel of the charge.

"Ah-- I might not be ready for surprises yet!"

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin halts abruptly as she realizes Nari's unprepared, too late to stop her magic as it's unleashed. Wincing, she lowers her staff and looks her friend over for anything beyond risen hair.

"Sorry! I thought you--it doesn't matter, I'll always call it out first beforehand. Do you need anything?"