#orderofunorder

Her tension could be spotted from a mile away, it was expected given the nature of Thedas’ climate and the weight placed upon her head, he only wished there was something he could do to make her feel better, make her feel like she wasn’t alone in all of this, but that was the thing she wasn’t. They were all in this together, a pain shared was a pain halved. He slowly walks up behind her, as she clawed the table, emotion holding her captive.   “Ma biche,” he says softly, hands kneading the knots in her shoulders, slowly massaging away the constriction held deeply in her aching muscles. “Tomorrow is another day, leave this.”  

      ❧;;    “She would neither bend nor would she break--Ellana internalized all that she could, though there was only so much that she could physically bear. Isolated and confined with her frustrations, the warrior paced before careening forward over a wooden structure, muscles in her back stretching as those within her arms strained. Head hung, jaw clenched, she closed her eyes and focused only upon her own breathing; oblivious to the figure that padded into the room like a thief in the night.

              Her head lifted immediately, eyes snapping open the moment he spoke. Tension within white knuckles lessened as her palms drew back across the grain, though her attempt to turn and face him fell short once hands were felt upon her shoulders. A heavy sigh inflated and was released from her chest before eyes slid closed again, and her shoulders sank as if in defeat. 

   ❧;;   Dainty, albeit strong fingers curled around the other’s offered grip and she moved smoothly across the marble floor. Even without the mask, Ellana had lived a life of maintaining a calm and neutral facade, though such tight-lipped seriousness was not necessarily what the court found most appealing. It was all quite literally a game--one in which the warrior had no desire playing--and yet she found herself here out of necessity, much to her great dismay.

               With careful steps lead by the experienced player at her side, Ellana moved along with his guidance; bright eyes flittering across the throngs of masked faces as they paraded through the threshold into the main hall. It was not nervousness that breached her bones, but rather an immense feeling of discomfort. This was not her battlefield--she was out of her element. The land upon which she currently walked should have belonged to her people, but instead of the warmth of familiar earth, she padded through cold, marble halls that were erected after Orlais had succeeded in its conquest. The thought of that much alone made her jaw clench and her stomach turn, but Ellana kept her chin high and her eyes forward; far more dependent on Walter in such a situation than she might have realized.

    ❧;;  It was all so awkward–the event, the dress. All of it. She couldn’t stand how the darkened silk clung to every curve or her body, or how the lace itched her skin; she would have preferred the natural materials she was accustomed to an a full suit of armour, and were it appropriate to wear such things to a formal gathering, she would have done it in a heartbeat. She didn’t like how vulnerable she felt, or how restricted her movement was. The quicker the peace talks at Halamshiral went, the quicker she’d be able to shed the clingy garments that she cursed inwardly over and carry on with more pressing issues.

               From atop the stairs, Walter’s gaze went unnoticed. At first she smoothed the wrinkling layers by her hips; sliding rough hands over the material, body swaying, head tilting and locks of bottled sunlight tumbling over her shoulder. Her line of sight shifted however, and Ellana righted her posture before clearing her throat–apparently oblivious to it all. Her mind was elsewhere however, focused on more important things. Strong shoulders were pushed back proudly then, and she began to descend the shallow set of stairs with a certain precision. 

 ❧;;   The parcel was not noticed immediately, for by the time Ellana made her way into the suite the sun was just beginning to rise. It was dark and she was exhausted in every sense of the word, but yet she laboured on–only pulling herself away from tedious work when she’d been all but forced to by the hand of an equally persistent companion. So alas she retired into chambers she never felt all that comfortable within, and meandered her way through the dark. 

"Well." He starts, looking at her surprised and a little flushed, "didn't think you actually would."

Nedra chuckled. “Sorry about that.I blame the game.”She smiled at him. Nedra didn’t know him, he was new in this tavern. The others that she had played with weren’t her friends either but just travelers having fun, few drinks and a game.

(What a way to say hello Haahahahaha!)

   ❧;;    “This is ridiculous,” she hissed as her nose wrinkled                   in apparent irritation,