[01] Public Video (+Private Action w/ purramedic)

[laughingstawke]

[An intense-looking woman stares through the pokegear, looking at... something. As intimidating as she tried to come off, her brows were knitted together not in aggression, but in confusion. Anders had done what he could to instruct her, but when it came down to it, he didn't know much more than she did.]

[More magic, she figured. Just like the long-distance mirrors she'd seen in "her" house.]

This is a... "broadcast," I suppose? [She lifted a hand to perform air-quotes.] Anders told me he had seen a significant number of these. I figured it best for the public to become familiar with my face. It is only a matter of time until I have to be a hero.

... again.

So... fear not, dear public, your champion has arrived.



[Anders and Hawke wasted little time in setting out the only discernible path. For the most part, their trip was passed in, if not silence (Hawke certainly loved the sound of her own voice), but in a distant manner. Eager as Hawke was to run her mouth, she wasn't willing to run it at her companion.

There were too many unresolved threads of emotion, too many questions with the potential to disrupt the very core of their relationship.

But eventually, even her conversations subsided, and the silence was the only thing left between them.]

Comments

[laughingstawke]

[Hawke knew she should have held her tongue. There was no way that what she had to say would make things right between them. But being the impulsive creature she was, she couldn't help herself.]

Horrid?. Need I remind you that you were going to be burned at a bloody stake in Kirkwall? And that's begging the question that they would be merciful. This place is paradise compared to home.

[She did feel guilty. There were many things she missed — magic being the most prevalent. But to hear him gripe about it, when it had been his escape from certain death, likely by her hands, though she would never admit it...]

[It was infuriating]

[purramedic]

[Well, that's unexpected. The shock of it is just enough to stir some residual spark of anger in his heart and evoke a bit more incivility in his voice than is probably wise.]

If I cared for freedom outside of magic, I'd have been the first volunteer in line for the Rite of Tranquility. At least if I'd burned at the stake, I'd have died a mage -- not that the Templars would dare give me the same holy death as their precious Andraste.

[Again, his being worked up is enough to disturb Pinsy, who is visibly frustrated at feeling like she needs to leap down. Now she simply walks along in the general direction they were continuing, willing to lead the way if it means staying a good distance from the bickering.]

[laughingstawke]

[The fact that he rose to her jibes only serves to invoke Hawke's own fury. She glowered at him for a moment, none too aware of the skitty, nor the fact that D.T. opted to join her.]

[For a moment, her tongue was still, and for the first time in ages, she considered her words carefully.]

No, you'd rather leave your fellow mages to suffer that fate. As if destroying the chantry is going to give them a fighting chance. For all we know, Kirkwall's circle has been razed by this point.

[And for all the thought she had given her speech, the next words spilled out, half-formed and bitter.]

You would not have made it to their pyre. I would have put a knife in your heart first. Better that they know that not every mage supports your extremism.

[Hawke shook her head rapidly. Sickened by her thoughts, she followed the two pokemon, unable to look him in the eyes after her admission.]

[purramedic]

[Some part of him wants to argue, wants to defend himself, but when it comes down to it, that part feels less real and more like a ghost. He doesn't want to think about what happened when they left Kirkwall, or what is happening now as a result; Hawke strikes that nerve with cold precision.

Somehow, he isn't so bothered by her latter statements. Of course, it hurts, enough that he can practically feel that knife, but on some level... He knows that at one point or another, he would have begged her to do it.

Things are different here, however. Much as he hates it, there is no longer anything he can do to fix things or help the mages of Kirkwall's Circle, and Hawke knows it just as well as he. Finally fallen silent, he trails after her and their Pokemon as long as she doesn't cast him away.]