#lookingforloststars

[bushelofmuses]

@looking-for-lost-stars Cont.

She was almost skipping.

For a woman her age, she was acting like a child who'd been gifted the greatest gift possible. Myrna hated the stuffiness of Skyhold and how clean everything was. She was not messy or dirty, but she loved exploration and didn't mind a little dirt.

She did feel just a touch guilty for everyone else, though.

Gredal looked miserable. A wet rat from the waist down...or maybe head-to-toe. It was raining earlier.

"Should we find someplace to make camp? I don't know if we'll find a dry spot but we can try."

[bushelofmuses]

"The bears will get you if you go to the Hinterlands," he warned with a tiny smile. "Bodies in the Mire, Crestwood and Exalted Plains; more bears in the Emerald Graves. Maybe live with the Avvar in the Basin?"

Free of possessed bodies, although there were other creatures to worry about. Still, he doubted they'd turn down someone who was skilled as a healer.

"I know." Gredal sounded defeated, and tired. "Maybe I'll run off and like in a hut in the middle of nowhere... No that's unrealistic, I don't have the necessary skills for that." Gredal says with a laugh trying to once again lighten his own mood.

[bushelofmuses]

“Don’t tell me to calm down!”- Gredal for Ameridan @looking-for-lost-stars

Confrontational Meme

Ameridan blinked. Gredal snapping at anyone was rare. Snapping at him? That had never happened.

His expression softened a little and he nodded. "I'm sorry."

Gredal was under a lot of stress with his job of caring for the injured, and Ameridan had no right to give him instructions or advice without Gredal asking for it. He'd crossed a line.

"What do you need for this?" he tried instead.

[bushelofmuses]

@looking-for-lost-stars From Here

"I wanted to surprise Gredal with something. No particular reason. We went shopping a few weeks ago to get him new clothes but um, I just...wanted to do something nice for the lad."

He worked his ass off and was likely stressed, and Ameridan wanted him to feel appreciated beyond just his duties and position as Inquisitor. He deserved a little something to lift his spirits.

"It was this or more clothes for his wardrobe. I thought something homemade would be better...I may have had a lapse in judgement." A very big, very bad, no good lapse in judgement, and an unhealthy dose of confidence in his ability to "wing it".

[bushelofmuses]

@looking-for-lost-stars asked: ∗ o5﹕ sender  comforts  receiver  in  the  aftermath  of  a  nightmare . + Reverse from Gredal for Ameridan

Non-Verbal Prompts || Accepting

Ameridan woke to someone stirring in the tent next to his. Panicked movements, heavy breathing. His groggy mind needed a moment to process which side it was coming from before he bolted upright and scurried out of his tent.

Gredal.

He didn't know if there was a struggle or if something else was happening, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

He briefly made eye contact with Cole, who was standing outside of Ameridan's tent and reaching out to open the flap and wake him.

"Nightmare," he murmured.

That eased Ameridan's worries a little and he knew he didn't have to rush now; Gredal didn't need saving. Sort of.

He quietly approached Gredal's tent and reached out for the flap just as Gredal came scrambling out. "Gredal?"

[bushelofmuses]

40. for  a  desperate  starter . Gredal and Ameridan @looking-for-lost-stars

Starters Meme

Ameridan was trying not to panic. Minnel came back from a mission limp and almost lifeless. They'd done what they could in the field, but he was a mess and at Death's door right now.

Focus. Gredal needs to be able to focus so he can tend to him. Gredal can't if Ameridan is fretting about. He took a slow breath and scurried to the stretcher just outside.

Calmly, he spoke quietly as he lifted Minnel from the stretcher they'd put him on at the gate and quickly carried him back inside to the bed. "Tell me what you need Gredal and I'll do it."

They'd need to hurry though. The man looked pale and frail like this, and Maker this wouldn't be easy on Gredal if something happened to him.

Ameridan prayed.

[bushelofmuses]

@looking-for-lost-stars Here

Ameridan laughed. "I would actually pay to see that. Bastard doesn't know what a gem of a lad he has...had."

Gredal was his now and he'd fight Gredal's real dad over him. With fists. Fuck using his magic; the man didn't deserve it.

"But I am genuinely proud of him."

[bushelofmuses]

There was a soft knock at Ameridan's door. Two voices outside of it one familiar one not. Inquisitor Gredal and Minnel for Ameridan @looking-for-lost-stars

Ameridan wasn't expecting company, and Maker, he hoped it wasn't some...never mind. That was rude. He shouldn't think like that. Everyone here meant well enough.

Opening the door led to a pleasant surprise though. Hearing Gredal had excited him, and he picked up the pace to reach the door quickly. His companion was a surprise.

"Good evening...would you like to come in?" He was sure he could scrounge up an extra chair somewhere.

Maybe.

He might have to go down the hall and swipe one from elsewhere.

[bushelofmuses]

@looking-for-lost-stars Cont

Shit shit shit shit shit fuck dammit fucking shit balls—

Maker help him, he was talking to Wisdom. Out loud. About Solas. He didn't think anyone would be up this late, let alone coming to his room and listening to him ramble on to Wisdom about what he thought Solas might do next.

He should really keep these conversations silent and in his head only. You'd think he'd have learned that after several millennia.

And it wasn't Gredal's fault; he had to remember that.

Ameridan took a slow breath and motioned for him to come in and shut the door. He plopped down on the foot of his bed and rubbed at his face. Maker...

"How much did you hear?" He sounded tired and resigned. Fuck, he hoped Gredal didn't catch anything important. Like who/what he was, like Wisdom being in his head, like Solas being...fucking hell.

Wisdom would be the easiest to explain. The other two...not so much.

[bushelofmuses]

@looking-for-lost-stars Cont

No, he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure if they should teleport—probably a terrible idea with how he was feeling—and he didn't know if he was okay or not.

"I don't...I don't know if I could for very long..." He needed to avoid a fight with the state he was in right now. Cole would go down if someone so much as sneezed on him. "Healing won't help."

Rest would be the only thing that would fix the problem he was facing. Resting somewhere quiet where nothing exciting happened in the past.

"Teleport. I'll just...teleport us." And hope for the best.

[bushelofmuses]

From Here @looking-for-lost-stars

Myrna snorted. Minnel had a point; trouble found Gredal too easily. It dogged his steps, threatening to drag him down with it. It was worrying just as much as it was amusing.

"You're behind half the trouble he gets into," she teased. "Which is very much needed. That kid needs a good time every once in a while; he's too wound up."

The stress would be the death of him.

[bushelofmuses]

❛  it’s not your fault, so stop hating yourself.  ❜ - Gredal for Cole @looking-for-lost-stars

Misc Prompts

That didn't make it any easier.

Cole clutched at his hat, eyes clamped shut as he tried to block out the voice in his head that blamed him for the soldier's death. He didn't get here soon enough, he didn't give him a healing potion quickly enough. He'd failed. He'd failed—

No. Breathe. Breathe.

He knew he couldn't save everyone, but like Varric had once told him: he had to try...trying came with the chance of failure, he was discovering.

He didn't like learning this new thing about life.

"I-I wasn't fast enough," he mumbled. Cole didn't hate himself for it...or maybe he did and he just didn't recognize the feeling. Was this self hatred? He didn't much care for it.

[bushelofmuses]

“ can i stop fighting, now? “ -Gredal for Ameridan @looking-for-lost-stars

Writing Starters

"No, no you can't yet. This will be over soon and you won't have to fight them, but for now, you have to keep pushing forward, keep going into skirmishes, keep killing those who would hurt you and yours."

"It's a terrible burden, but you don't have the luxury to quit yet."

[bushelofmuses]

“For my hands only? I doubt that.” Minnel for Myrna @looking-for-lost-stars

Skyrim Starters | Accepting

"Are you sure?" She wiggled the bag before tossing it onto the table.

"Looks like something Gredal might enjoy...can't imagine why you'd have something like this."

[bushelofmuses]

"i can be myself with you." - Gredal for Ameridan @looking-for-lost-stars

Feeling Safe Meme

He wrapped an arm around Gredal's shoulders and smiled slightly.

Gredal had the weight of the world on his shoulders and Maker, he didn't envy the young man. He'd been there once before and he wouldn't wish the responsibility on anyone. It was stressful and exhausting; the whole damn reason his hair went gray was from the stress of the position.

"You're always accepted as you are with me, Gredal. No mask needed." Unlike Gredal's parents, Ameridan loved the young man as is; he didn't need to change or pretend for him.

[bushelofmuses]

@looking-for-lost-stars Cont.

She should probably find Ameridan or Minnel; Myrna was not qualified to babysit a drunk Inquisitor.

A quick glance at the room around them showed no signs of either of them and she grimaced. She would have to be qualified, it seemed. All she saw was a room full of nobles and like hell could she let any of them near Gredal while he was like this.

Sighing, she linked her arm in his. "How about we get you outside for some fresh air?"