just prayed to a god that i don't believe in;

[chainlightning]

FORM: Sending Crystal
SENDER: Merrill
RECIPIENT: EVERYONE
WHAT: An attempt at distracting everyone from shouting about religion turns into Merrill being sad at everyone.
WHEN: After this
WHERE: Emprise du Lion
NOTES: x

Well. Let's talk about something else, shall we?

The rocks here are very nice. Dawnstone is a lovely color, especially!

And the untouched snow, just at sunrise; it's beautiful! Like a painting, like it was placed there just to be beautiful, to make even a place like this look peaceful.

[ A thoughtful hum- ]

The birds that are still here are quite lively, too! The wild ones and the Inquisition ravens, all moving between their perches and searching for food.

Or... or the children in the village, when they're outside, playing their games! Not that they're outside much, it's cold and very dangerous, but that's why we're here...

[ There's a soft, almost hiccup of a breath. ]

We don't need to fight among ourselves, do we? We have enough enemies, as the Inquisition and as people. We don't have an Inquisitor or a Keeper or someone who can keep everyone together despite our differences.

[ They don't have Hawke, who Merrill misses desperately right now. Even if Hawke couldn't fix this, there would at least be some sort of quip that would make her think everything would be okay. ]

Everything out there -- it doesn't have to do anything if we keep fighting like this, if we destroy ourselves from inside. But we're all here, aren't we? We want to help the world, to fix what's wrong.

So- don't make it harder. Please?

Comments

[hugeinorlais]

[Varric's exhausted, angry, and stumbled headlong into depression. Hearing Merrill's cheery accent does perk him up a bit, but it's a mixed blessing. Merrill inevitably reminds him about Hawke, after all, and he just doesn't have the energy to confront all of his grievances in one go.]

Leave it to you to notice the birds, Daisy.

[He sounds almost painfully fond, right now, and he tries to rein it in with only partial success.]

You know, I hear that Nightingale named one of the Ravens after me? Varric Fethras. Let me know if you spot it--it'll be the most handsome one.

[chainlightning]

[ Missing Hawke, dead Herald, dead Keeper and clan -- this has somehow brought so much pain to the surface of so many people that even Merrill can't quite keep her cheer up, her attempt at distraction having fallen into pleading. But hearing Varric's voice does lift her spirits slightly, his return distraction meeting hers. ]

Birds are rather hard to ignore when they try to steal your food. Though I'm sure Ser Fethras would never do such a thing.

[ There's a little giggle there; Varric Fethras is a delightful name, and the idea of a raven perched on Varric's shoulder is a wonderful one. ]

Maybe we should get him a necklace like yours.

[glandival]

Fighting's not so bad, little Dalish.

[ --and Sabine hadn't even waded into the fight that came before, save for listening to it while picking her teeth boredly. Everyone involved sounded ridiculous, to her.

But she opts to chime in, when she hears Merrill's familiarish accent. Her own Orlesian is just as distinct, if a lot huskier, less like a little Dalish flute. ]

The opposite of fighting is surrender. You know, swallowing what you're given.

[chainlightning]

Fighting when it matters, [ she agrees, brightened even if only briefly by the sound of a familiar voice. ]

But if someone is just swinging their sword around saying that swords are the best and they have the swordiest sword and everyone should use swords, why should an archer try to prove them wrong by firing arrows at them? What does that get anyone other than hurt?

[twelvelabours]

People love to get into an argument, when they can. I reckon they think it's good for the lungs, giving them a proper work out. They'll cool it, once they'd had a go.

( tiny dalish, don't be sad. )

Personally, I think everything's a lot more fun to work out if you do it with a snowball fight. Nobody can stay mad when you get to lug a blood great piece of snow at someone.

/threadjack

[pinprick]

Hunh. Do you think that'd be a good exercise for morale? The Inquisition stages a snowball tourney?

[He's dead serious.]

[chainlightning]

I hope so. Sometimes people hold grudges.

[ "Sometimes". All the time... ]

Oh, a snowball fight would be fun! We can always say it's good training, but it would definitely help people work out frustrations and enjoy themselves.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

[Oh Merrill ... ]

I think the important thing to remember here, is that we do have one another, Merrill. That ... despite everything, when push comes to shove, I would gladly stand at the back of anyone here. I'm not a member of the Inquisition -- but I believe what it stands for. Unity. Brother and Sisterhood.

[Her voice is soft.]

I believe in you, my friend, and all the beautiful things that you see, I believe in Varric's stories, no matter how ridiculous. I believe in Isabela's laugh, Fenris's little smile, Nathaniel's eyes brightening after a good shot. I believe in Carver's laugh.

[A pause, and a firm.] I believe Marian is alive.

[another pause.] Let's watch the dawn together, hm? I want to hear about the birds.

[chainlightning]

But would everyone else? Or would they turn against each other?

[ She knows Bethany. She trusts Bethany, loves Bethany. But there are others who are not so kind. ]

I believe in those things, too. [ Especially the last. Creators, especially the last. ]

We'll see them, if we're watching the sun rise. They love it.

[wickedchase]

Sometimes fighting is the start of meeting an area of understanding. People need to exhaust themselves first.

But hopefully people will be inspired to look at things from your perspective. You're very sincere.

[Which is a rare trait to him.]

[chainlightning]

We can hope, I suppose. Right now it mostly seems to be hurting.

[ There's a little shrug, even if he can't see it. ]

I'm not good enough at people to be good at lying.

[ It sounds at least halfway like a joke, the way she says it. ]

[pinprick]

It looks to me like everyone is united in opinion, for once. It's unfortunate that it has to be against one of our own.

[chainlightning]

Everyone is so angry and hurt., though. And we can't all be so united that we drive someone else away.

[qunari]

[ Yeah, he's staying out of this religious bullshit. Nothing but trouble to be gained there. So. How about them rocks? ]

You find more dawnstone? Was thinking of having a new sword made.

[chainlightning]

[ They are very lovely rocks. ]

Oh, yes! I can show you where, if you'd like?

[aceso]

[ Christine wouldn't touch that religion argument with a fifteen foot pike. She and religion have a complicated relationship, but her faith has hardly been shaken because of one idiot spouting nonsense. Or even because of all the heathens he's claimed to be surrounded by. ]

The snow is beautiful, though I wish I was viewing it from behind a window in a room with a good fireplace. This cold is terrible.

[ And because she won't dismiss the rest... ]

Well said. He may have had good intentions, but was blind to how harsh his words were. I think from the response he received, that the Inquisition will not tear itself apart from within. If anything, many have bonded over disagreeing with him.

[chainlightning]

Enough blankets and it's a bit cozy, sitting with something hot and watching the snow! But, well, other people have to use the blankets.

[ Which is unfortunate, because they'd all likely enjoy extra blankets. ]

But he is still a part of it, isn't he? I may not agree with him either -- I'm Dalish, for starters -- but even driving one person away could hurt.

Though it's good that there aren't larger sides fighting each other about it.

[el_tybs]

[There's more than that at Emprise du Lion, but listening about the good things... and not yelling about religion is very much preferred.

Merrill was it? He had wholly agree that there didn't need to be anymore infighting within the Inquisition.]

There is a large lake that's frozen over. We didn't get to test much of it when we scouted, but it seemed solid. Perhaps some skating could lift some spirits.

[chainlightning]

Oh, that would be wonderful! Someone else suggested a snowball fight, too.

[ The Inquisition Winter Olympics, go. ]

I'm quite fond of making snow butterflies, myself.

what if i just tag here instead

[harthad_uluithiad]

[ oh no sam has no idea who this person is but he could listen to her talk forever ]

I never thought of no rocks as anything but just rocks, but the way you talk there are rocks as lovely as trees and flowers! What is this dawnstone anyhow? I hope it's not too rare, nor too hard to find.

screams and doesn't stop

[chainlightning]

[ Well Sam, if you insist. ]

Oh, but there are! There are rocks in all sorts of colors, sometimes naturally shiny and sometimes even shinier when it's polished. Dawnstone is fairly common here, it seems; it's pink, but more than that. Like all the pink parts of a sunrise.

[hlif]

Fighting is what some of us were born to do, keeping it all in is what makes heads explode. 'Sides, Andrastians have to pick on everyone else, if they don't then they might actually look at themselves.

[And well, imagine how well that would go though all of them drowning in denial might fix matters once and for all.]

[chainlightning]

Could you maybe fight the people who aren't trying to help us, though? Please?

[ PUPPY EYES not that anyone can see them... ]

They're not all bad, though some certainly do like to ignore that there are other stories that are not their own. I don't have a problem in being stern when that happens, but all this shouting.

[arlathvhen]

I think you're right. About everything.

[ Bless you Merrill. ]

I bet if you get enough dawnstone, you could sweet talk Harritt into making something for you with it. The silverite is pretty, too, though.

[chainlightning]

Oh! Well. [ sldkhg fluster ] Thank you.

I don't know what I'd have him make. Someone else wants a sword made out of dawnstone; perhaps I'll just contribute mine to that. The silverite reminds me a bit of the ice, actually.

[liberalum]

I'll have a go, although I'll be working only from recent memory. Let me see.

[ Because that always bodes well. ]

The sunlight glinting off the ice-dusted ruins of once impressive buildings, and the blackened remains of the homes of innocent families. The massive, jutting spikes of corruptive red lyrium reflecting a brilliant scarlet on the melt-water.

[chainlightning]

[ er

just gonna be AGGRESSIVELY POSITIVE ]

Ruins are nice, sometimes. The old ones that we couldn't have done anything about, the ones that hold history.