TEST DRIVE MEME!

[faderifting]

What if there is no tomorrow?

Only more Hinterlands

Maybe the Inquisition sent you, maybe you came seeking the Inquisition. Maybe you fell out of a rift into this world last week and are still just trying to find your feet. However it happened, the first days of the new year find you in the Hinterlands. Tucked between Ferelden's massive Lake Calenhad and the icy Frostback Mountains, the Hinterlands are a hilly region covered in patchy forests and small farms trying to eke out a living between the boulders. Though somewhat remote, the area is rich with game and minerals and home to Redcliffe, a bustling town on a busy trade route.

Lately the Hinterlands have also been full of mages and templars and rifts, all threatening to turn once-peaceful countryside into a dangerous warzone. The Inquisition has set up several camps and sent personnel to try to restore order to the region, unwilling to let it slip into chaos. There's a lot to be done, some of it straightforward killing bad things, some of it weird and nebulous morale-building.

STILL WITH ADDED SNOW AND NOW ALSO ADDED KINDNESS TO ANIMALS (MOSTLY).

1. IF I GET SCARED, YOU'RE ALWAYS AROUND

You have turned the wrong corner in the snow, forded the wrong stream in the snow, crested the wrong hill in the snow, entered the wrong cave in the snow. Maybe you are far from camp, in the snow. Maybe you are in camp, which is also snowy. Whatever has happened, wherever you are: you are being chased through the snow by bears. Did you throw a snowball at the bears? Are they huge and snow-dusted? Babies burrowing through the snow drifts and coming for your ankles? Fade-touched in addition to snow-touched? Controlled by cold mages who are hiding in the snow? Popping up out of the snow like a game of whack-a-mole? What are they chasing you away from in all of this snow? What are they chasing you into, other than more snow? What warm things do you plan to make out of their hide if you kill them in the snow? What do you think they'll craft out of your hide if they kill you in the snow? P.S. It's still snowy.

2. THEY SAY WE'RE YOUNG AND WE DON'T KNOW

The Inquisition has, possibly, been a little too good at dealing with the Hinterlands' bear problem, and a group of concerned citizens--including young burgeoning naturalists, farmers concerned about the effect an unchecked population of rams may have on their crops come spring, and at least one woman who claims to be directly descended from bears--has taken issue. Maybe they're blocking your character's attempt to enter a bear-infested area. Maybe they've doused your character in bear blood. Maybe the bears they have been working so hard to save have cornered them in the wilderness and they're changing their tunes.

3. WITH YOU I CAN'T GO WRONG

The Inquisition's (cough Leliana's) habit of communicating by raven works out fine, usually, but this particular raven has gone a little rogue. It's not the raven's fault! She's young, she's trying. But she has very important information tied to her leg, and instead of delivering it, she's joined a flock of identical wild ravens to hunt for food in the snow. Recover her, somehow, without hurting her and making any spymistresses angry.

4. BEFORE IT'S EARNED, OUR MONEY'S ALL BEEN SPENT

The tavern at Redcliffe remains as busy as ever, filled with locals, travelers, and Inquisition members. But this month in addition to the usual free-flowing ale and rowdy conversation there is also a contest going on. Bakers have come from across the Hinterlands bearing their very best in an effort to win a coveted ribbon and the title of Best Cake. They pack the tavern and spill out into the surrounding courtyard when the weather allows, cakes sold off tables, out of packs, small chunks given away to whoever is passing and not paying enough attention to refuse. The votes are carefully guarded by several serious looking fellows in the back corner of the tavern. In addition to traffic issues, the cake madness has also caused an infestation of large local rodents, who have appeared out of their holes to devour the many crumbs. Legend has it that if they can be humanely eradicated from the tavern before the final vote is cast, spring will come early. No one in living memory has succeeded, but you are strongly encouraged to try anyway.

5. AIN'T NO HILL OR MOUNTAIN WE CAN'T CLIMB

Hunt game so you can rescue it before other hunters get there, kill demons or maybe just try to hug it out?, dig under the snow for herbs or plant some of your own to replace what others have taken, track bandits through the snow and see if they need a hand, deal with someone charging extortionist coat prices now that it's snowing and convince them to do the right thing, fall off a deceptively tall rock into the snow and admit it was your own fault, get lost circling the same hill ten times trying to find a way up to the weird glowing skull on a stick you can see is up there in the snow so that you can give it a decent burial, climb trees or abandoned towers covered in snow and be careful not to knock them down, rummage around in empty homes to get out of the snow but leave a nice apology note, run from a dragon in the snow and promise not to trespass on its territory again, definitely don't kill any fennec foxes, set up camp and chat around the fire about your feelings because it's snowy and cold, give yourself a pat on the back (figuratively, or even literally if that's more your speed)-- the Hinterlands are your playground.

Comments

*sighs* <3

[middle_of_calibrating]

"Do you give advice to everything that's cute?" If she does that with a 'cute' rat, he's pretty sure she's likely to do it for something else. Probably a nug. People thought those were cute, right?

And of course she'd ask about how many rats are in his bag. At that Garris' lips thin out and he gives Jane a look, knowing exactly why she asks, his competitive nature suddenly kicking in. "Four..." he mutters reluctantly.

[whathumansdo]

She almost opens her mouth to say something about how she'd happily give advice to cute mercenaries if he was feeling left out, but thought better of it at the last moment.

"Four's pretty impressive, but Mr. Cute was my fifth..." she trails off as if she was thinking that over when really she's watching him to see the way that he reacts.

[middle_of_calibrating]

Five. Just one more than him. "You know there are still more rats left..." he trails off as well, watching her in return. A challenge if ever there was one - 'I can still catch more than you'.

A pause then a raised brow. "Did you just name it Mr. Cute?"

[whathumansdo]

"Maybe," she says, but she doesn't seem to care as much about that any more. One isn't that great of a lead. Clearly she needs to find Mr. Cute more friends.

She focuses instead on finding more of the rats. They're big, but they still manage to hide now that they know they're being hunted.

[middle_of_calibrating]

Well now that there is clearly a race going on, Garris seems a bit more energetic about the whole rat catching business. Course that means he's also putting a lot more thought into how to go about it. Such as possibly grabbing one of the loaves of bread on the table and using the crumbs as bait - if anyone argued about it, he was simply sacrificing one for the good of the many (loaves of bread).

It's not too long that Garris catches another, pointedly making a show of putting it in the bag and giving Jane a smug grin. "That's five, Shepard."

[whathumansdo]

"Six," Shepard responds as she finds one more for herself. Her voice is almost sing-songy as she says it. She really doesn't care about winning this so much watching him actually care about what they're doing. She enjoys the way his face looks when he starts formulating plans how how best to trick the rats out or the focus in his eyes and he gets more determined to beat her.

She isn't really trying to win but that doesn't mean she gives up completely. It's not as fun if he thinks he's already won.

[middle_of_calibrating]

Not so smug anymore after hearing Jane's return response, grin dropping a bit, but not gone. Garris always likes to be ahead, but it seemed no matter what he did, Shepard was always foot step ahead of him. It was infuriating, but also-

Garris jumps when the side of his bag bumps into his leg with a squeak, and quickly steps away from it while still holding it shut. It was enough to snap him out of starting to stare at Jane, clearly having been taken in by the sing-song way she was flaunting her lead at him.

Clearing his throat he turns back to his bait, foot quickly moving out to step on a tail of one rat before it could run off when it notices him looking at it. Well that was six. "How do you move that fast anyways?"

[whathumansdo]

She doesn't want to frustrate him too much so instead of trying to find any more rats she just sort of slides up next to him to answer the question. "Maybe I'm slinky?" she suggests, but given the thick build of her body it's not as if that's entirely accurate.

Almost to prove it that' not the case, she tries for another rat but it gets away and ends up running straight towards Garris. "Drat!" She might have done that on purpose, or she might have gotten honestly distracted by him. Either way, it's an easy way for him to get one up on her.

[middle_of_calibrating]

He's a bit busy trying to grab the rat he's caught with his foot, having a bit of difficulty since it keeps squeaking and trying to go for his hand. He has gloves on, but even so he doesn't want to get bit. It takes a few more swipes before he manages to grab it by the back of his neck, tossing it into the bag quickly after. It's only then when he turns around that Garris notices just how close Shepard has gotten to him during the time, his back stiffening in surprise shock.

Even if it isn't accurate, the word and the way she says it has Garris' eyes widening a bit, his gaze focusing on her as she comes close then moves away. Enough so that when she shouts it surprises him and he completely misses the rat coming his way.

At realizing that he swears slightly before giving a sigh. She was very distracting. "Next time. No rats."

[whathumansdo]

She is honestly surprised he didn't get that one looks up at him. After a moment, she grins a bit. The expression is really directed at this entire situation than anything he's done. "Sounds good to me,' she agrees. Then she straightens up a bit. "Why don't we call it a tie and take these ones out to a field somewhere? We caught a nice amount and scared the rest away. I'm sure the bakers can deal with the left overs."

[middle_of_calibrating]

For a moment Garris eyes her, contemplating if Jane is actually calling a truce, but after a bit he gives a nod. "That sounds better then good to me." The bakers never said they had to catch all of them for the cake, which is what Shepard had been after in the first place. He might consider burning his gloves after this encounter, because gross.

"Well since you started all this I'm going to let you lead the way." He gives a small bow at that, gesturing comically with his arm for Jane to lead on.

[whathumansdo]

Jane takes the moment when he bows to enjoy the lines of his body and then turns to lead him out of the tavern.

Shepard is from Redcliffe. She was 22 when the Fifth Blight started and Redcliffe became victim to a child's possession. Garris is probably one of the few people who actually know that about her. She tends to keep things vague when she talks about where she's from, not wanting to answer any questions about the Arl, Connor, or the Hero of Ferelden. With Garris, though, she can have a moment of nostalgia without fear that that person will use it against her.

"There's a field a bit up the hill where we used to pick flowers. I don't think they've built anything over there and if I remember correctly there were some rocks to help the rats hide from predators." After all, she's not about to release the creatures without giving them a fair chance, no matter how gross they are. "It's far enough that getting back down here would be a chore. Let's start there."

[middle_of_calibrating]

"Flowers? Somehow I didn't peg you for that, thinking that even at a young age you were beating people with your fists and a sword. Wooden obviously." There's a grin on his face as he says that, all jokes and teasing. He can clearly imagine a young Shepard being carefree, another girl who enjoyed picking flowers. It's more to keep things light, already a bit aware of being here in Redcliffe is just a tiny bit overwhelming for her, even if she's trying to pretend that it doesn't.

There's been plenty of shit in his life that he isn't going to judge her for what she does and doesn't tell him about her personal life. He was more vocal about his, and she wasn't. That was fine.

[whathumansdo]

She chuckles a bit at that. "Oh, I did that too," she readily admitted. "But my mom liked to pretend I'd eventually settle down and marry a farmboy." It was strange to talk about her family, but with Garris it was safe. He was safe.

[middle_of_calibrating]

"I take it that no farm-boys gained your notice or simply couldn't keep up with you?" It wasn't often that Shepard brought up her personal life from back when, and while there were questions, it was better to let her give the details she wanted rather than being pressed. So it's easier to ask and joke about farm-boys than it was to ask about her family.

[whathumansdo]

She laughs a bit at that. "Could you imagine?" she asks. She really can't picture how her life would have been like that. "I like a man with a little more edge to him. Someone with a practiced hand and better aim. A mercenary, perhaps."

It's the most obvious she's been with her flirting, but then she tries to pretend she's not by adding, "That or I'd rather be with a woman."

[middle_of_calibrating]

That certainly grabs Garris' attention and for a moment the mercenary stops, brows raising up as he watches Shepard walk past. He lets that float in his head for a moment, but before he could consider commenting on it, Jane is saying she would rather be with a woman.

Giving a sigh, Garris hefts up his bag and starts marching again, one side of his nose wrinkled up as he tries to wrap his head around things. As soon as he thinks he's got her figured, Shepard always went another direction.

"Just... a woman? No specifics?"

[whathumansdo]

"Well, have you seen women?" Jane suggested, raising her brow a bit. "We're pretty wonderful."

[middle_of_calibrating]

"Yes, I have." He's looking right at her, expression serious. For a moment at least before closes his eyes and gives a bit of a shrug of his shoulders, a bit of a grin on his face. "And they can be plenty scary as well."