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[justice_is_blond]

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[universal_charm]

_{[ A pause. A thinking one. ]}

What "nap"?

[justice_is_blond]

[...Oops. Answer a question with a question, that's the way to distract, right?]

You didn't notice that we didn't return right away?

[universal_charm]

From what? And don't side step.

[justice_is_blond]

[Sam why.]

He, and a few others, attempted to assist me with a project that turned out to be exhausting. Where did you think I gave him the cats? In Skyhold itself? He probably would have wound up with five, then.

[universal_charm]

_{[ There's a low growl on his end. ]}

How "exhausting" exactly?

[justice_is_blond]

Exhausting enough that we needed to rest after, there.

[This is why partners need to communicate, for Maker's sake.]

[universal_charm]

_{[ Yeah, not buying it. ]}

He had a long enoug nap that you had to give the kittens back "after" he woke up from it? As in you took them back - probably to care for them? Sounds like one hell of a nap.

_{[ AKA - I don't believe you. ]}

[justice_is_blond]

I put them on him because they'd climbed off, as kittens do. I didn't have to take care of them.

[universal_charm]

You're not telling me the whole story.

[justice_is_blond]

The day dawned, as days often do here, in a chilly fashion. Very chilly. I'm not a fan of seeing my breath, but the day and I didn't see eye-to-eye on that so I had to start packing up the tent we were to use with fingers that were already threatening to go numb. Thankfully there was a fire nearby that I could use to take short breaks at for thawing. Of course, once I was warmer, I realized I should eat breakfast and at the same moment realized I didn't have time to, because someone was already approaching to help out. I knew Adelaide would likely scold me if she found out later, but there was nothing for it, I needed to continue working. We packed up the tent, and others came by to help with the other things we'd need: pillows to sit on, wood for another fire, various things in case of other things. All told, it was nearly lunchtime before we were done and my stomach was betraying my lack of earlier meal. Loudly.

...Shall I continue?

[universal_charm]

Yes, to the part about where Sam took a "nap" for what sounded like an abnormally long time.

_{[ You can practically see the air quotes in his tone, Anders. He will either get the story from you or Sam, but he's currently irritated at you, so you're the easy target for his frustrations. Sorry. Don't hold it against him when he comes to help you out on the fourth try. ]}

[justice_is_blond]

That is most definitely not telling you the whole story. You're going to need to make up your mind.

[universal_charm]

_{[ Fine. He's a hard worker. He can do this. He sighs audibly. You're a jerk, Anders. He should slap you with a cat. ]}

Then please, do continue, by all means.

[justice_is_blond]

[...dammit. You weren't supposed to call his bluff, Kirk. A game of outlast this shall be, then.]

So lunch was an acceptable affair, once we dealt with the fact that one of the cooks who resents me because of a missing dog in a city where dogs were often eaten was on shift. She didn't want to provide lunch to the whole group, but then it was pointed out that really, that would just be shorting someone else. I believe we had... bread, cheese, and pears. I think it was pears. I'm not certain on that detail. Whatever it was, it was simple but tasty. Then we needed to get going.

We gathered everyone up, got the wagon moving, and started walking. It wasn't a bad walk. Half an hour, or roundabouts. Decent terrain. For snow-covered mountains. Really cold snow-covered mountains. I'm glad I'm a mage, I could help warm myself and others, but I don't know how non-mages manage down here most of the time. It's cold, and some days it's the sort of cold that sinks into your bones.

As we're getting close, I start to hear little noises. Meows. I peek into the wagon, and sure enough, there's a mother cat and her kittens tucked away in there. She must have moved them in while we were eating lunch. They're all adorable, but then again, cats are adorable by definition.

Are you still with me?

[universal_charm]

_{[ Game on. ]}

You pissed off a cook probably because you stole her dog, ate some pears, walked through some snow, and you picked a wagon that came with kittens. So, yeah, still with you.

_{[ Your move, Anders. ]}

[justice_is_blond]

[...sidetrack time as he sounds a little surprised.]

Do you... Are you a rifter?

[universal_charm]

Yes. Is that a problem?

[justice_is_blond]

No. It's not a problem. I'm simply unused to people not knowing the root cause of why someone would have an issue with me.

[There's another pause as he gets his mind back on track.]

Mm. Right. We were at... Oh, whatever. It didn't work right. The ritual had a side-effect we didn't see coming and several of us were out for a time.

[universal_charm]

_{[ He will come back to that tidbit later. Kittens first. There is a silence on his end for a second as he digests those words. ]}

You mean knocked out or in something like a coma?

[justice_is_blond]

Closer to the latter. A deep sleep, without clear indicators as to why we were out. I woke up before most and couldn't see what was wrong. Even when they woke I still didn't know why we'd been out for longer than we should have been.

[universal_charm]

_{[ There is a tense silence, though it's not really aimed at Anders. Sam had been in a coma and he hadn't known, hadn't been there to help his friend. It was scary, thinking Sam might not have woken up. ]}

What were you all even trying to accomplish?

[justice_is_blond]

[He exhales.]

I'm possessed by a spirit of Justice. We're trying to get him back home, to the Fade. It's not been done before.

[universal_charm]

_{[ Spirits. Magic. None of it made a lot of sense to him, but he couldn't deny something was going on. ]}

And clearly easier said than done.

[justice_is_blond]

Very much so.

[A beat.]

I'm trying to think of a way to explain it, but I know nothing of your world so I've no idea how much of ours seems intuitive and how much is unfamiliar. In short, though, after 11 years of sharing my body there's been some... merging. And no one knows how to evict a spirit or demon even right after it's happened, so what we're trying are all theoretical applications of magic that seemed the most realistic out of a stack of ridiculous, impractical, and/or impossible options.

[universal_charm]

_{[ He wasn't one for magic, but got the gist of it. Anders and some other... person, thing, were sharing the same body and Anders wanted his own had space back again. Except they were having trouble doing that. Lots of it. He felt bad for Anders - it had to be hard, he thought, knowing you are never literally alone, perhaps even inside your own. ]}

No, I get wanting to have your own room to speak after 11 years. I'm sorry this time didn't work out, but if you try again, let me know. I'm not sure what help I can actually be, but I'll do what I can.