[ as their conversation continues, hawke keeps finding cole more and more interesting. he's not a mage, or he is a mage? but if he's a mage, he should have said. or... not have said. "not afraid of what i am" he says and hawke's curiosity burns. it's a bit frustrating actually but if varric can call this guy a friend, whatever he is must not be that much of a concern? to... varric, who is a pretty open-minded guy. for now, hawke pays attention to what cole says and what cole does and tries to piece it together with what she knows. that's kind of all she can do right now. ]
I've found that if a person needs help, they'll end up asking for it one way or another. If you want to help with... whatever it is that you are able to do, you'll be able to. It usually works out that way.
[ she reaches out then to squeeze cole's shoulder lightly, feeling she should at least reassure him about that. he seems so desperate in his wish that it makes her feel a little bad. she wonders what he does back home, with varric. ]
Mages aren't very well-known here, are they? I suppose people wouldn't have much need to be afraid then. Ah, either way, I can't let any harm happen upon one of Varric's friends so let me know if anyone gives you any trouble.
[ she'll punch them in the face! it'll be great. ]
[ The squeeze of his shoulder gets him to flinch lightly, though with the way he looks at her, he's surprised and even looks touched by the gesture. But the eye contact seems to make him uncomfortable, however brief, so he looks down again shyly. He's certainly an odd young man, and it shows the most with how friendly gestures seem to be something he so deeply values. ]
...Yes. I will.
[ Not that he actually feels that he would need to, but he would at least tell Hawke because she asked. ]
But you're right. There are people like mages here. But they're not. Not in the same way.
[ she's a bit worried she hurt him for a minute there but at his expression, she relaxes. she doesn't keep her hand there for long, still kind of baffled by the mystery that is cole but she thinks she's doing things right here, so she'll keep doing them.
for now, she smiles reassuringly. an eyebrow raise at his comment about mages and... still no assurance if he is a mage or not. no, no. he must be. he really must be. ]
No Fade, Templars and face first stumbles into blood magic? [ ah, wait would that be insulting to cole? she's still not sure. ] I mean, that seems a bit exclusive to our world.
[ The mention of blood magic gets Cole to frown a bit more, since of course, out of the three, this is the one he finds most objectionable. It's a bit more frightening to him than to most, though, since blood magic could bind and enslave him, corrupting him into something he's not. It's... frightening. It's not as often that the Inquisition runs into blood mages, but when they do, Cole is always more hesitant in his fighting.
Though at the very least, it's also something that the people he fights alongside have noticed. He doesn't have to explain, since there's always at least one person willing to focus their efforts there on behalf of Cole. The Iron Bull especially, but Cole knows that it's because he's afraid too. Not in the same way, but fear is fear. ]
...No. I don't think so, at least.
[ He thinks about it for a moment, about the people he had seen doing things like magic, then he adds: ]
They're not afraid of their magic. They don't have to worry about spirits. About demons.
It seems as if these mages caught a lucky break then. No Circles either, I imagine? What must they do with all their free time?
[ but if hawke was pressed, she feels a bit envious of that. all the times she had to move around, avoid the templars, worry after her father and sister... even now, in this place if she thinks of bethany for more than a moment her chest locks up in panic and she wants to cry. that isn't a very hawke thing to do, she thinks and she will just pray to the maker that her sister is safe. she must be safe, she must be.
at the very least, she has this other mage to worry about. it wouldn't be her life if she wasn't concerned about the safety of someone magical, would it? she looks at cole and thinks a little. ]
Have you met many of these different mages? It must be nice to not worry here about that sort of thing.
[ He watches them, mostly, because he knows mages fear him the most. Even if they're different, Cole doesn't want to cause any extra hurt. He's more careful with them because of it, but he's also just shy, preferring not to reveal himself unless there's a reason to. He fidgets like he wants to say something, then he nods. ]
But there are people who aren't. They're different, not human or dwarf or anything else. People that think they're monsters, or people with ears like nugs.
[ she tries to imagine it and oh. what an odd thing, how does one hear like that? it has to be pretty ugly too with all that extra skin.
but anyway, she thinks of what cole's saying -- people who aren't human, but not bad, she's assuming. not abominations is the key, just not a dwarf or an elf or a human. hawke doesn't think she'd have much problem with them if they're nice. she's met people who weren't abominations, just plain old human and yet were nastier than any beast she's slayed. it matters who you are in the end, not what. ]
A refuge for those who can't live as they are, hm? Even if it wasn't the intention of this place, being able to walk the streets without scorn would be a relief for anyone.
[ she thinks of bethany again, always really and thinks bethany would like this place. not needing to hide being a mage and getting to experience all these new things. hawke's barely scratched the surface but she is pretty excited for it -- if only to distract herself from not being able to actually be with her family at the moment. ]
Well. If anyone gives them trouble too, let me know and I'll do my best to help. [ she shrugs ] Might as well, otherwise I might go mad with the lack of things to do.
[ she's flippant at the end but really, she does sincerely mean that. that's hawke's whole problem back home. she doesn't care either way for mages and templars, but she does care when people get hurt and if what cole's saying is true -- if there are people here who are hurt because of what they are, well. there's a reason hawke's got a sword. ]
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kirkwalled) wrote2015-06-01 12:10 pm
i could butcher a cole quote but all his quotes make me cry
[ as their conversation continues, hawke keeps finding cole more and more interesting. he's not a mage, or he is a mage? but if he's a mage, he should have said. or... not have said. "not afraid of what i am" he says and hawke's curiosity burns. it's a bit frustrating actually but if varric can call this guy a friend, whatever he is must not be that much of a concern? to... varric, who is a pretty open-minded guy. for now, hawke pays attention to what cole says and what cole does and tries to piece it together with what she knows. that's kind of all she can do right now. ]
I've found that if a person needs help, they'll end up asking for it one way or another. If you want to help with... whatever it is that you are able to do, you'll be able to. It usually works out that way.
[ she reaches out then to squeeze cole's shoulder lightly, feeling she should at least reassure him about that. he seems so desperate in his wish that it makes her feel a little bad. she wonders what he does back home, with varric. ]
Mages aren't very well-known here, are they? I suppose people wouldn't have much need to be afraid then. Ah, either way, I can't let any harm happen upon one of Varric's friends so let me know if anyone gives you any trouble.
[ she'll punch them in the face! it'll be great. ]
tfw cole
...Yes. I will.
[ Not that he actually feels that he would need to, but he would at least tell Hawke because she asked. ]
But you're right. There are people like mages here. But they're not. Not in the same way.
too true
for now, she smiles reassuringly. an eyebrow raise at his comment about mages and... still no assurance if he is a mage or not. no, no. he must be. he really must be. ]
No Fade, Templars and face first stumbles into blood magic? [ ah, wait would that be insulting to cole? she's still not sure. ] I mean, that seems a bit exclusive to our world.
no subject
Though at the very least, it's also something that the people he fights alongside have noticed. He doesn't have to explain, since there's always at least one person willing to focus their efforts there on behalf of Cole. The Iron Bull especially, but Cole knows that it's because he's afraid too. Not in the same way, but fear is fear. ]
...No. I don't think so, at least.
[ He thinks about it for a moment, about the people he had seen doing things like magic, then he adds: ]
They're not afraid of their magic. They don't have to worry about spirits. About demons.
no subject
[ but if hawke was pressed, she feels a bit envious of that. all the times she had to move around, avoid the templars, worry after her father and sister... even now, in this place if she thinks of bethany for more than a moment her chest locks up in panic and she wants to cry. that isn't a very hawke thing to do, she thinks and she will just pray to the maker that her sister is safe. she must be safe, she must be.
at the very least, she has this other mage to worry about. it wouldn't be her life if she wasn't concerned about the safety of someone magical, would it? she looks at cole and thinks a little. ]
Have you met many of these different mages? It must be nice to not worry here about that sort of thing.
no subject
[ He watches them, mostly, because he knows mages fear him the most. Even if they're different, Cole doesn't want to cause any extra hurt. He's more careful with them because of it, but he's also just shy, preferring not to reveal himself unless there's a reason to. He fidgets like he wants to say something, then he nods. ]
But there are people who aren't. They're different, not human or dwarf or anything else. People that think they're monsters, or people with ears like nugs.
[ The people he lives with, as it would happen. ]
It's nice for them here.
no subject
[ she tries to imagine it and oh. what an odd thing, how does one hear like that? it has to be pretty ugly too with all that extra skin.
but anyway, she thinks of what cole's saying -- people who aren't human, but not bad, she's assuming. not abominations is the key, just not a dwarf or an elf or a human. hawke doesn't think she'd have much problem with them if they're nice. she's met people who weren't abominations, just plain old human and yet were nastier than any beast she's slayed. it matters who you are in the end, not what. ]
A refuge for those who can't live as they are, hm? Even if it wasn't the intention of this place, being able to walk the streets without scorn would be a relief for anyone.
[ she thinks of bethany again, always really and thinks bethany would like this place. not needing to hide being a mage and getting to experience all these new things. hawke's barely scratched the surface but she is pretty excited for it -- if only to distract herself from not being able to actually be with her family at the moment. ]
Well. If anyone gives them trouble too, let me know and I'll do my best to help. [ she shrugs ] Might as well, otherwise I might go mad with the lack of things to do.
[ she's flippant at the end but really, she does sincerely mean that. that's hawke's whole problem back home. she doesn't care either way for mages and templars, but she does care when people get hurt and if what cole's saying is true -- if there are people here who are hurt because of what they are, well. there's a reason hawke's got a sword. ]