Closed prompts but also open!

[otiosity]

Who: Hawke, Adrien, that jerk Tony Stark, that jerk Nathan Drake, maybe some other jerks, maybe you!
When: The early part of the month
Where: The med bay, the site on the ship formerly known as the bar, the observation deck, and around.
What: Reuniting with people after cryo, that horrible slaving experience, and dealing with lyrium overdosing and mana exhaustion. FUN STUFF.
Warnings: Mentions of slavery, nudity, medical stuff, general hawkewardness.



For the first time since she's arrived on the Moira. Hawke dreams in the Fade. Perhaps it's a side effect of all of those lyrium potions she took. Or just pure luck that it happens while she's recovering in the hospital. But either way, it's a return to the comforting familiar. Or as familiar as a twisted green raw metaphysical realm can be.

It's darker than she remembers. And she moves slowly and clumsily as though moving through flowing water up to her chest. It's the same strange distance that she feels when she tries to cast spells as she wakes. Everything seems to be off in the eternal distance with the Black City. She sees Kirkwall, standing tall on the horizon, it's port unchained waiting for her. She hears whispers, voices. Some familiar, the ones she always hears: her father, Bethany, Carver, mother... and sometimes Varric and Isabela and Aveline.

"Come home sister." Bethany's voice says off in the distance, coming from behind instead of from Kirkwall before her. As she turns, she can see her childhood home out of the corner of her eye only briefly than it vanishes.

"Have you abandoned your city, Champion?" Knight-Commander Meredith's voice asks coldly in the distance echoing from the towers of the vision of Kirkwall before her. The tone in her voice is clear. 'Of course you did, a mage would never stand and protect the people of this city'. Another failure on the list.

"What about us?" Before her Kirkwall warps, the former slave city turning into the port she barely just escaped from. From one city of chains into another. The voices of the slaves, the people she saw in the prison, the dark haired girl like Bethany, ask her why she left. Why did she leave without helping them.

Hawke pauses. Unsure whether or not to move forward. What if by going there she only makes things worse. The landscape is suddenly barren. There's no Kirkwall. No slave city. No childhood hope. Everything is empty except for the Black City where it looms always.

"Marian," Her father's voice whispers in her ear. "Where are you going? You're going to get lost if you wander too far from home." No one has called her by her first name in so long. It gives her pause.

And then she wakes up.

((ooc; I just wanted to write some weird Fade bullshit to start off before prompts because WHY NOT. If you want a prompt or anything please PM me or send me a plurk ping or PP at bowtie))

Comments

Adrien

[otiosity]

[The room is dark but not tinted and twisted with green like the fade. There's the sound of beeping and machinery. She's suddenly acutely aware of the pain in her shoulder and her stomach. Oh, yeah. She got shot didn't she? Typical. Her head aches and her nose itches from the breathing machine shoved down her nostrils.

This. This sucks. And it sparks a funny sort of anxiety within her. Which is bad because anxiety and wild emotions aren't something that Hawke really does well with.]

Fuck.

[Suddenly her adrenaline is spiking through her and there's a machine that's starting to beep wildly somewhere behind her as she struggles to pull off everything that's attached to her from stickers on her chest to whatever they've got shoved in her nose. It hurts like hell to pull at her wounds but that is not her priority right now. Wounds can heal. And when you've practically been ripped open and sewn back together, small holes made by bullets seem rather minor.

Maker help her when she notices that they've gone and stuck a needle in her.]

[prorenataa]

[ You know, this is getting to be something of a habit with this crew.

Adrien had responded quickly to the alarm from the machines, but even as quick as he could move, by the time he reached her, Hawke appeared to be divesting herself of much of the equipment. He didn't move to stop her, because there was a high likelihood she'd do more damage to herself trying to fight his resistance.

However, in the realm of classic situation comedy, he started to call out about the IV, about the time her hand reached it. ]

I wouldn't ya ... [ let's see if he could finish the word yank before she actually yanked. ]

[otiosity]

[Hawke registers that someone is shouting in her vicinity but what they're saying or if it's even at her (she assumes it is, people tend to like to yell at her) and so it doesn't do much to deter her from trying to yank out the IV.

Keyword being try because when she moves to pull it out it hits her. She's trying to yank a needle out of her hand. She hates needles. Like really... really hates them. So all attempts at violent removal are abandoned when she starts to gag. Vomiting on herself would really just be the shit icing on this whole shit cake and Hawke is tired of eating shit. So she's just gonna try to breathe and not do anything.

For at least the next five seconds. Hawke is really the definition of stupidly determined.]

[prorenataa]

[ Was she going to be sick?

Seriously, it was becoming a habit around here. Elena, Daisy, now Hawke?

Adrien hung back a moment and waited to see if she managed to keep it down, he really was not so heroic as to take getting puked on, unless there was blood gushing. When she appeared to be keeping it down, he walked over to her. ]

Keep your head averted.

[ He hadn't finished the last word and the needle was deftly removed. There, gone. No more needle. ]

I think I'm going to suggest we invest in contact less monitors, this entire crew comes out of unconsciousness swinging. Keep breathing.

[ The last bit of advice came as he disposed of the sharp and reached to pour her a small glass of rationed water. ]

Here, sip ... don't gulp.

[otiosity]

You don't have to even ask on that one.

[Once she's spared the cruel wrath of the needle upon her phobia and had time to feel vaguely happy that no one she knows was there to see it and use it as ammunition like Varric and Isabela already did, she glances around. It's the Moira but a part that she's never been to. But it's filled with things that beep, buzz, and making soft humming noises. The smell is odd and sterile.

When he offers her the glass of water, Hawke finally registers Adrien as the doctor that she, Nathan, and Dorian rescued from the slaver outpost. He made it back. She's only able to take a few sips before setting the cup down.]

I feel like I ran up two mountains and single handedly fought off a dragon and maybe a few demons on the way down. Though I think have done that and felt better than this.

...Still. Not with the slavers anymore. Either of us. Chalk that up as a win.

[For the members of the Moira crew anyway.]

[prorenataa]

[ Listening to her, Adrien reached and began to gather up the wires. They couldn't afford to have them damaged at this point. He arched an eyebrow and in a wry tone confirmed. ]

That about sums up how you look. [ Wait, that wasn't something you were supposed to say to a lady right? Particularly a lady who had helped liberate your ass from slavers. Sometimes Adrien didn't get these memos. ] I promise, no more needles but you need to lay back and let me run a scan.

If everything comes out better than you feel or look, I won't insist on putting any of this mess back on, hmm?

[ As for neither of them being with slavers anymore; he'd circle back to that once she had relaxed a little. ]

Was that what you were dreaming about, just now? The Outpost?

[otiosity]

Well, I could have vomit down my front so I won't be complaining about how I look because I avoided that massive embarrassment.

And I can appreciate a good deal. Even in this state.

[Don't worry, Hawke isn't really used to being treated like a lady and would just tease him if he'd done so. She'll lean back and let him scan her. Honestly, leaning back is kind of a nice relief to her aching muscles and the holes in her body.

Whatever that means. It shouldn't show she's in too bad of shape. Her blood pressure and blood sugar are little low. The bullet holes on her stomach and shoulder are healing nicely. Most of the worst of her injuries are old. She a mess of scars and she's had both her appendix and her spleen removed.]

A bit. I was... I was in the Fade. Back home it's where we go when we dream. It's what allows me to use magic. But I haven't been able to reach it since I've been here.

[She shrugs, imagining that to him, like everyone else, it would just sound a little crazy. And then she winces because shrugging her shoulders hurts.]

[prorenataa]

[ Not as insane as she might think and she might just catch a hint of something in his eyes. Because, at one time, he'd worked closely with a man named Anders.

But this is something he's likely to keep to himself, at least for now, as he focuses instead on the scan. ]

Normally, I'd be ordering you a few good meals and more rest, but I'm afraid with rations I'm going to have to steer you towards the crap tasting but highly nutritious alternatives. [ The ones packed with all the vital nutrients but that tasted like cardboard. ]

Otherwise, we can dispense with the wires and alarms. [ His tone was dry but there was a sense that he was just as happy to do away with alarms and wires. ]

Any chance you could magic yourself up a steak?

[otiosity]

[Well at least for now in her timeline, she and Anders are still on good terms. But the concept also might add a headache to the messy state that she's already in so it's for the best that he keeps it quiet.]

My hero. Saving me from wires and alarms. We'll call it even in that sense.

[But the joke fades as she makes a face at the thought of eating.]

No. Doesn't work like that. Besides, being in a... medical bay ... healing ward. Sort of kills your appetite. Too many funny smells and drugs.

Tony "that jerk" Stark

[otiosity]

[Hawke is late for drinks at the Hanged Man. Varric is going to put a penalty on her in Wicked Grace and she already owes him five Sovereigns. Not that she's hurting for the cash but it's about her ego and maintaining her honor. She turns the corner and dodges a merchant trying to sell something out of a rotting trunk and... the Hanged Man isn't there. There's nothing but an empty space and no sign that there's ever been anything there.

She didn't make a wrong turn, did she? No, she's certain of it. Hawke backtracks around the block near the markets and then down the alleyway to the back entrance of the bar. Having your best friend own the opulent suite helps you learn secret ways to bust into said suite. She makes a left and there's... nothing.

She may have hit her head too many times and addled her brain but she knows where the Hanged Man is. She could make it there in her slee-

Hawke jerks to find herself not in Lowtown or even in the city of Kirkwall but on the Moira in the now empty space that used to house the bar. Kitty whines at her feet and she looks down only to notice that she still has part of the IV in her hand and is still dressed in her hospital gown but with the slaver coat she stole over it. But she has no memory of getting dressed or even leaving the Med Bay.

She knows what's up. Mages can enter the Fade while conscious and Lyrium potions will make it happen when you don't want it too if you take too many. And since she was trying to wreck some slavers, she took what she would scientifically measure as "a shit ton". She quickly stops looking at the IV because the last thing she needs right now is to vomit and or pass out and just runs a hand down her face.]

And the bar isn't even here to comfort me.

that's jerk #1 to you

[arcreact]

[ Tony seems to keep running into people in this room, despite it being depressingly empty and devoid of anything anyone would want to see, save for maybe some nice stained glass. Still doesn't hold a candle to booze.

All of said people are also generally depressed. Seems fitting.

He doesn't say a word at first, just silently meanders his way into the empty room, taking in the cascade of colored light the new windows are throwing. It would almost be nice, if it were anywhere else, and the circumstances were entirely different. ]

Guess you'll have to resort to some alternatives.

[ He probably forgot to inform her he's no longer a Starkcicle. Oh well. 'Sup. ]

If you earn it.

[otiosity]

[Ever on high alert these Hawke whips around to face the speaker and stumbles a little on legs that are still unsteady. Thankfully she manages to use her staff to keep herself standing and not face plant in front of her favorite asshole who would never ever let her live that down.

Tony's back. She doesn't know why that surprises her. Perhaps at this point once people disappear from her life, they never come back. So there's not much point in hoping.

Not that she'd ever tell him she's glad to see him alive. So instead she gives a one shouldered shrug (the other is in a sling) and looks around.]

If you have any ideas, let me know. I've already done the potions thing and it's definitely not as fun as booze.

shouldn't be a problem

[arcreact]

[ One eyebrow ticks upward. That stumble didn't go unnoticed, and neither has her manner of dress, but he also recognizes the witty banter evasion tactic when he sees it. That's his evasion tactic. If you asked, he'd probably tell you he invented it. ]

Oh, I see, you've got 'potions' covered already. [ What even the hell is that. ] And doing time in medbay getting stabbed with things, presumably? So I guess my only remaining suggestion is getting laid.

Re: shouldn't be a problem

[otiosity]

Yeah? You know someone cute who does no strings attached? Send me their talky thing number.

[She makes sure to straighten up even if it makes her stomach feel like it has a hole drilled through it. And it sort of does. So that's legit right? But then she makes a face.]

Let's not talk about being stabbed with things unless you want to have protein bars all over your nice shoes.

[arcreact]

Okay, no stabbing. I'd say we can talk about who looks the most bangable, but I'm not supposed to be noticing that kind of thing.

[ And he's done a decent job of it so far, he thinks. Maybe. ]

Experience tells me getting plastered and posting to the network tends to get people's attention, so I guess you could put out a bootycall that way. Gonna have to be sober for it, though.

i fucked up the subject line i'm scum

[otiosity]

No, no. The entire point is that you do it drunk so you don't remember all of the embarrassing feelings that you confessed and the shame of desperation the next morning. Start it drunk, do it drunk, finish drunk the next morning.

[Is that a weird bit of honesty that she didn't mean to confess? Kind of. But there's a little bit of intoxication to the state she's in even if it's not from booze. So she's just gonna drop onto the floor, set her staff across her lap, and look up at him expectantly.]

So who's the most bangable? Is that where we're starting? The slavers thought I was pretty bangable. [Yikes Hawke.]

[IS THAT THE OUT YOU WANNA GIVE HER. REALLY? NOW? SOBER? It's your life man.]

[arcreact]

Yikes.

[ Holy shit, Hawke. His gaze sharpens on her for a moment in what might be concern, but he's a good and gracious person who isn't gonna pin her to a velvet wall over it. Yet. ]

I was gonna say "the other me, for sure", but now that feels kind of awkward.

Nathan "that other jerk" Drake

[otiosity]

[So despite any "non-hostile takeovers" and lack of light and warm water, things are improving for Hawke. She only spends half the day sleeping instead of all of the day and she managed to find someone to help her get some clothes. Though she's really not entirely understanding of the importance of so called "bras" and why her trousers need to be so tight and yet stretch. She'll go to bat for "t-shirts" though.

So she decides to check up on her buddy Nathan Drake. Last time she saw him, she was murdering slavers and he seemed to be a little like "could you be a little quieter and murder a little less" before they'd rescued the doctor and ended up separated. Plus his wife woke up from cryo so hopefully the past few days had been busy for him.

They decide to hang out in the observation deck. It's a little lighter than most of the ship now thanks to the windows. Hawke is sharing her rations because when she goes into her whole self-loathing spirals she doesn't like doing the eating thing and she figures Nate probably would. So. Everyone wins.

She's seated on the floor, one arm in a sling, the other holding a small back of crackers provided with her rations, and Kitty lying next to her eying her food hopefully. She keeps moving to itch at her stomach and check where she's got healing wounds and new clothing.]

So I have two bullet wounds and new clothes that are tight and a bit itchy. What's new with you? What do you think about the new regime? How's the weather? The economy? I feel like I've missed everything.

[sketchycharacter]

[Nate likes the observation deck and he likes food, so that's a win-win. The poorly-named dog is also cool, so he made sure to give it a few scritches behind the ears before settling down to watch the stars and probably sling bullshit at each other.]

In order—you wouldn't believe me if I told you, I'm skeptical but not in a position to do anything about it, there's no weather in space and also no money. Jeez, Hawke, with all the questions you might have been a journalist in a former life. [He scratches his chin.] Or a police interrogator, maybe.

[otiosity]

I don't know what either of those things are! Well, my friend Aveline is in the guard back home and she interrogates people and sometimes I get to punch them. It's a good deal.

[She pulls up her shirt to scratch at one of her healing wounds not caring if it would make things awkward. Adrien wouldn't like it but he's not here so nyeh.]

[sketchycharacter]

Really? That's nice of her to share the work. Aveline sounds cool.

[He's assuming she only interrogates/hits people deserving of getting interrogated/hit. Otherwise that's not cool.]

So I spent some time talking to myself earlier.

[otiosity]

Aveline is. Bossy. And she's always cross with me. And tells me that I drink too much and don't eat enough. But she does let me run around the streets and doesn't toss me into the circle for being mage so I suppose I have to like her a little.

[She likes Aveline a lot. In the way one adores an overprotective older sister. Hawke stretches thoughtfully a little.]

The little you?

[sketchycharacter]

[That sounds not so cool but with allowances for the punching and the running around being a mage (apparently that's bad?) he'd still like to meet her.]

Oh so you know about him!

[The laugh that follows is on the border of hysteria, but only being on the borderline is pretty good, considering the circumstances.]

How about that, huh?

[otiosity]

This place is getting weirder by the day. I wonder when another me is going to show up and run amuck. I hope she's at least attractive.

[Okay is currently trying to unhook this stupid bra from the back but she can't do it because when you first wore a bra you were terrible at this shit too okay.]

At least no one will confuse you. And he knows magic.

[sketchycharacter]

[Consider the implications of Hawke making out with herself.]

That's the weird thing. Can you imagine me learning magic? And yet as far as I can tell, up to the point at which he got yanked to magic-teaching merc school, we had exactly the same life.

[What the heck is she doing—oh, right.]

You want some help with that?