entranceway | video

[Hello Wonderland. You may have noticed a black cat wandering the grounds and within the mansion. Maybe staring at you, but running off if you turned your attention toward it. Whether or not you saw this cat, it is now human, and it is not pleased with what it's found.

The feed comes on to a young dark haired woman with piercing eyes. It switches off, switches to text, switches back to video and she stands back, apparently unsatisfied with what she has discovered of the device.]

I was under the impression this infernal contraption has the ability to send messages, but I do not see how. What magic it employs is beyond me, like much of the magic of this place. [Which is frustrating, to not know something she's meant to, something she's supposedly an expert in.

She takes a closer, disapproving look at the device. It's certainly no Eluvian.] 'Tis meant to speak to me now, yes? Rather, the voices of those it reaches. Or am I speaking plainly to a little box and looking the fool for it? ... [She'd growl if she were the sort to growl. But she's clearly exasperated. When she speaks again, her tone makes it clear she is on her last bit of patience.]

Tell me now, residents of this place, of where I am and, also, what sort of place leaves rooms strewn about its grounds, books among the leaves as they are. I am no architect, but it seems a poor choice of design.

...Well? Speak now!

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[ Brennan hesitates, taking a moment to decide how best to answer that question. Maybe starting simple? ]

He's a good lad. Polite, well-behaved. Loves asking questions about everything. [ He chuckles with fondness, his smile warming at the topic. ] He stays with you most of the time, in Skyhold. Uh, that's where we all... that's where you've come to stay while we sort this mess. We don't have a lot of other children there, but he seems to amuse himself well enough in the gardens most days. You're pretty strict about his studies, but when he's not occupied with that, I slip out to play with him sometimes. I've been teaching him to spar with some wooden practice swords a Grey Warden friend of mine carved. [ Blackwall's woodcarving craft had come in useful. ]

He sounds... [Happy. In a way she never was, with her mother. Able to be a child, able to have a normal upbringing, despite who she is.

She never felt particularly maternal. When the ritual was carried out, it was only a means to an end, and the child produced would be a novelty. But he deserves more than that, and she understood that the more she thought about it. He deserves more than she had.

And so more he shall receive.]

He sounds like someone I would like to meet. 'Twill take some time, for me, until I do, but I am... [She swallows her pride, the gratitude she feels for the information genuine and she cannot overlook such a kindness entirely.] I am grateful to hear of him. And, as well, to hear that he has someone willing to teach him such things.

Anything you'd like to hear about him, I don't mind telling you. [ Brennan's voice remains fond as he watches her reactions on the tiny screen. In some ways, it is so familiar and other ways, he's seeing an entirely different side of her. Not that much, though. He sees the hints of who she will become already. Which means she must have been impressive, when she was cutting a swath across Ferelden and the Blight with the Warden. ]

You've done well with him. Anyone who sees you two together can see how close you both are. [ And that was even before he'd learned the rest of it. ]

[She does have more questions. Has he met his father, has he met his grandmother, but if she has her way the answer to both would be no. She worries about what she would do if the answer to either were yes. Is fate set in stone, or can she change her future? If she is destined to meet her mother again, can she in some way ward off the fulfilment of that destiny?

No, she believes if she is to meet Flemeth again, then there would be nothing she can do to prevent that. It is not pessimism; it is merely acknowledging Flemeth's power. She believes many things to be true about her mother, and underestimating her is not something she ever plans to do.

Meeting Flemeth again is an eventuality. One she can delay, but more importantly should prepare for. It's a matter of family business, and she would not drag others into it more than she already has, even years from now. (The Warden was... different. She was an important friend. She was someone she could trust.)]

You are not simply telling me what I wish to hear, are you? [But she doesn't truly suspect it, so she's not serious.] I confess I do not know much of being a mother. I did not have much of an example. Perhaps an example of what not to do. Perhaps it was enough.

...What is his name?

Do I look suicidal to you? I know better than to even try and pull that off. If you don't believe me, I've a companion here from the same time and place as I am. He'd tell you the same. Probably. [ Brennan actually has no idea what Dorian thinks of the kid, other than being aware of his existence. The only time he's seen Dorian in the gardens is for the occasional chess match with Cullen. ]

Besides, I'm pretty sure no one knows what they're doing when it comes to parenting until they're dropped right in the middle of it. Doesn't everyone learn as they go?

Ahh. Right. Your mother. I can see... how that would have been complicated for you.

Your son? Kieran. [ Brennan's expression turns fond again. ] You name him Kieran.

[She's instantly distracted from the fact that Brennan apparently knows of her mother, as well, by the mention of her son's name.]

Kieran. A fine name. [One picked by herself, so good job Morrigan on that one.

So when she returns to her automatic suspicion, one triggered by a knowledge of her she's uncomfortable with, it's more subdued than it could be. Brennan has proven trustworthy, and she appreciates the majority of his words. It's just that she can hardly help being guarded, especially when it comes to certain subjects. Even with Brennan's trustworthiness, he is still a stranger to her. A stranger from her future, who she will eventually apparently confide in, but a stranger nonetheless.]

My mother is of no concern. [Despite the fact that Morrigan... is the one who brought her up in the first place.] What concerns me is that you know of her. Then do you know if I ever found a way to escape her? To be free from her truly, and to protect my son... to protect Kieran from her. [Despite her pride, she has to admit that Kieran was entirely Flemeth's idea from the start. It stands that Flemeth would want something from him.]

[ Brennan opens his mouth before hesitating an closing it again. Yeah, he probably shouldn't have brought up Flemeth. ]

That's, uh. Well. It's a bit more complicated than that. You, uh. You succeeded for quite some time before she turned up again. And I think it's safe to say that Kieran is completely safe from her. But I don't think... I'm not sure any of us have seen the last of her, to be honest. And you're not going to believe me when I say this, but I think you might actually be okay with that. Eventually.

[What.] ...You are right, I do not believe you. You obviously do not know my mother if you think I could ever be content to see her again. The inevitability of her return does not surprise me -- death could never contain her -- but the idea that I could ever be okay with it is utterly laughable. Truly, I could laugh!

[Except she's not laughing, and her smile just looks angry.]

Tell me of my future, yes, but do not claim to know what I may feel about it.

I'm just repeating what you told me. Or what you'll tell me. Maker, this is confusing. And I'm not sure 'content' would be the right word here. I think you used 'unsettling', but you didn't seem upset about it. Maybe you were in shock. I don't know.

Look, the point is - was - Kieran's safe. That's what's important, right?

[She looks about ready to snap at him again, the subject of her mother being a sore one, but she just sighs.] ...Yes. Kieran is safe. I am glad for that.

We will talk more of my mother another time. [Maybe when she's more likely to actually listen and not yell at him.] For now, we can simply agree you do not know of what you speak.

[ He opens his mouth and then abruptly decides that her suggestion is probably the wisest course of action for right now.

So he just gives her a benign grin instead, because he's not about to argue with the scary witch about it. ]

As you like.

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