pullmeoutalive | /mashes things together that should not go together

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/mashes things together that should not go together

[ It was a dark and stormy night.

What? It was.

Anyway, the rain was coming down in sheets when a cloaked figure collapsed outside of the gates of Castle Dunbroch. He wasn't injured, at least nothing serious beyond a few scrapes and bruises. Cold, sick, and exhausted? Most certainly. He was brought inside, and it quickly became apparent, thought the insignia on his armor and the papers he carried with him, that he was a Grey Warden. There were only stories about the Wardens this far out, and everyone had to wonder what one was doing so far from his home. Hopefully nothing having to do with the creatures the Wardens were famous for fighting.

But far be it from the king and queen to deny a Grey Warden shelter. He was kept secluded, mostly. Only a few members of the castle staff kept an eye on him, and no matter how much the triplets tried to get a glimpse, they never managed. The castle was buzzing with gossip for over a week, as the exhausted Warden in the tower room rested and healed.

And then, on a relatively quiet day, once the weather had warmed, the Warden emerged. No one was quite sure how he got from his room to the castle's training yard without being noticed. He was just... suddenly there, loosing arrows at a target with deadly accuracy. Obviously, a visit to the king and queen had been first on his list, but since they were both away on some business or other, he contented himself with some exercise.

He feels like he's been in that Andraste-be-damned bed for way too long. ]

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[ ... oh.

Oh.

Wait, she probably shouldn't get angry over hearing that when she's the one who didn't listen, but-- ]

Just... just like that? Are you saying there's no hope?

[ He fixes her with a glare usually reserved for shutting up young Warden recruits when they decide it would be funny to start making "Howe" puns. (Usually it's Oghren's fault.)

His expression softens quickly, though. He can't blame her for being upset. And there is an option, one he would prefer not to have to take, but it's the only chance of saving her life. ]

I could make you a Warden. The Joining might as soon kill you as save you, but at least with would be a quick death.

[ it's really no different from the look her mother gives her when she's caught neglecting her princessly duties, though maybe she'd feel a little more chastened if she wasn't so focused on dying.

How ironic, she'd think, if she was the type to enjoy irony, that after all that insistence about wanting to be a Warden, he was offering her the chance only when it was the only way to maybe possibly save her life. ]

If I'm to die either way, I'd rather do it on my feet, fighting. I'll do it.

I'm still going to have to bandage you up. There won't be any fighting if you bleed out. [ And he starts to do so, wrapping bandages around the wound. ]

We will also have to return to the castle. I have to talk to your parents about what this will mean for you.

... [ she's not looking forward to that part, judging from the way she goes silent and worries her lower lip. Her mother would have been angry either way, but Merida joining the Wardens' ranks because she'd die otherwise...

oh, this won't be pleasant. ]

I'm not looking forward to it any more than you are, believe me.

Now come on. [ he offers her a hand ] Let's get you back on your horse and to the castle.

[ she accepts, rising to her feet with kind of a piteous stumble and a wince that she tries to disguise with a grim, determined expression. Something like the one her father wore during a fight, except that was Fergus, and this was Merida, and she didn't have the king's countenance to pull it off correctly.

Not today, anyway.

Angus is already waiting, shifting anxiously, but he holds still to let Merida ease herself gingerly onto his back-- likely with some help. ]

[ He does help her onto her horse, and then takes a moment to retrieve his fallen weapons. He gingerly guides the horse back towards the castle.

That Taint is not a quick death. It's as slow as it is painful, but even so, something about this walk feels like a funeral procession.

As they approach the castle gates, Nathaniel steels himself for what is probably the hardest conversation he will ever have to have. ]

[ it'll be hard on both of them, and Merida would have willingly put herself through dragging herself back into the castle without letting on that she carried grave news as heavily as she bore a wound--

Well, she would have done that ten times over, because the look on Elinor's face when she sees the pair of them is enough to make Merida's blood freeze in her veins. She feels like a little girl again. ]

[ For what it's worth, Nathaniel decides to take charge of the situation. He sweeps into a polite bow, and tells them that their daughter is injured, and requires medical attention.

When both parents surge forward, Nathaniel stops them with a raised arm and a grave expression. ]

There is more to it, than that, I am afraid. I must speak to the two of you privately.

[ As Merida is taken away, the Grey Warden heads with the king and queen to a separate location. He's going to try and put this as gingerly as possible, but there's no escaping the fact. Merida has been Tainted. There is no cure, apart from participating in the Joining, and even that can be just as deadly. Merida has been informed, and she has requested to be made a Warden, or die trying.

He is so, so sorry. This was never supposed to happen. They gave him so much, and he never wished to take away their only daughter. ]

[ Merida's got the easy part, somewhat. She's got three strangely silent little brothers hovering on the edge of her bed and gaping at her slowly darkening wound and Maudie on the verge of tears.

But she doesn't have to deal with the way Elinor's face grows pale, and how her husband has to hold her back when she suddenly starts forward, voice accusatory and hurt and demanding that Nathaniel fix this. But then it turns pleading, please, no, not her baby, not her only little girl, she's far too young for this, it's too cruel.

Marriage was one thing.

A death either way?

She doesn't cry, at least. Not in front of him, and not while Fergus is weeping into his beard.

They have to accept it, to potentially save their daughter's life. But it's painful. If nothing else, Elinor demands a promise. That, should Merida survive this Joining (and she will, she knows her daughter), Nathaniel will look after her and protect her to the best of his ability. ]

[ He promises readily- he feels like he's gotten her into this mess anyway. He knows when to claim responsibility. They have his word, as a Howe and as a Warden. He will keep their daughter safe for as long as he can.

That seems to be the end of it for now. He has preparations to make, and the next time he sees Merida, it is in private- the Joining is Warden only business, and must be kept as such- a goblet in one hand, and a grim expression on his face.

Her family is waiting in a another room, but right now it's just the two of them. ]

Are you ready, Merida?

[ yes. No. She's brave, but she's scared, but at the same time...

No, either way, she'd already decided to go through with it, so she gives him a resolute nod. ]

I'm ready.

Very well.

[ A deep breath. ]

Join us, sister. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that can not be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten. And that one day we shall join you.

[ It's not a pretty ceremony, but being a Warden isn't a pretty job. He hands her the goblet. ]

[ well, it's not a pretty job, and this isn't the best-tasting stuff ever, but she downs it.

And then there's a whole lot of general unpleasantness and everything goes dark, but there's something like a dragon, and if this is dying, it's pretty dramatic.

~~and then she passes the fuck out.~~

She'll wake up a Warden. ]

[ He breathes a sigh of relief when he checks her pulse.

Then it's off to tell her family that yes, she will survive. Now all that's left is to wait.

Enjoy those nightmares while you're down, Merida. ]

[ she sure will.

And she'll eventually wake up, groggy and... alive. ]

What...

[ Nathaniel is seated by her bed, reading a book. He glances at her ]

Welcome back.

Was that... supposed to happen?

The passing out and the nightmares? Yes, it was. That was really only a taste of what you're in for.

... But I'm alive.

That you are. Welcome to the Wardens.

Funny, no one ever mentioned the whole 'fainting' thing... does that lower recruits?

You either faint or you die, Merida. I would say the latter lowers recruits.

Can't say it does much for your popularity.

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