After Joining Partay - VK

"Ah. I was not sure of the exact rules. By all means then." She waited and did not even flinch as he punched her in the ear.

Pendra grinned even though her ear was ringing, "Nice."

She drank down her next mug then punched for his stomach at moderate strength which was quite good for even a male dwarf.

Varen gently nudged her hand into Takara's hand. Her fur was soft but short. At least Takara got to see her in her more tolerable bear form. When Varen was shape shifted as a bereskarn, it wasn't pretty. It was seriously just a rotting bear. Powerful as it was, it smelled terrible.

The black bear rubbed her head into Takara's hand, encouraging Takara to pet her.

Takara tentatively put her hand on Varen's head and was slightly suprised to discover she felt just like a real animal. Her eyes went wide and she giggled as Varen rubbed her head against Takara's hand. "You're so soft. It m... must be so nice to b... be able to t... turn into something scary. W... wouldn't have to worry about p... people hurting you and using you." Takara mummbled, half to Varen, half her herself as she scratched the bear behind the ear.

Suddenly Takara burst into a fit of giggles. The ale was obiously going straight to her head. "We m... must look quite th... the sight." She stammered between giggles.

If bears could smile, Varen would have right there. While waiting for the light show to start, the bear turned and gently put her paws on Takara's shoulders. Trying to cheer her up and make her new friend laugh, Varen licked the other girl's face. Yep, the ale was certainly getting to her then. She had once been told that because of her height, that alcohol would affect her more than taller people. Varen guessed they were right.

The bear chuckled. It sounded kind of like a cough, but breathier. Varen clambered off of Takara, giving her some space.

Takara gasped as the bear put its paws on her shoulders. Again Takara felt that she should maybe be afraid, what with a giant bear on her and all, but she didn't. She giggled as the bear licked her face, it's tongue feeling kind of like that of a giant cat.

Was Varen trying to laugh? Takara had never heard a bear laugh before, infact she had ever actually seen a real bear before, but it sure sounded like it. "Th... that tickles you know!" She said with a giggle as she used the sleeve of her robe to wipe her face.

Takara was feeling slightly dizzy from too much ale and too much laughing and leaned against Varen for support. "I.. I don't th.. think ale is good for me."

Varen nodded and place her head on Takara's. Maybe it was just the alcohol thinking for her, but the elf realized something. She had never had this much contact with someone since the Circle. It felt good to hear someone laugh, and to at least have a little bit of a friend. Even if Takara didn't think they were friends, Varen was glad for the companionship of another living being.

The bear sighed, staring at where the ice had exploded moments before. For the first time in a long time, Varen felt safe.

Wolfram closed his eyes and composed himself. His timing would need to be impeccable if he planned on not getting hurt or passing out. He targeted the ground underneath a red and purple ice block that were placed next to each other. The rock shot upwards, sending the ice slightly apart. With his staff and free hand, he fired two arcane bolts shattering the two ice chunks. He quickly fired off another chain lightning at the rock between them, which again arced into the ice shards. Scattered red and purple lights shone in the sky above him.

Wolfram barely acknowledged as some shards crashed into the rock armor protecting him as he repeated the process with a blue and purple that were next to each other. All he had left were two red blocks, a blue block, and a purple block. He drank the lyrium potion to replenish his mana as he fired a sole red block into the sky. The mana he was expending was vast. These weren't first tier elemental spells. This was very exhausting and was the first time he ever tried such a huge size.

He looked at the three blocks, a red positioned ten feet away from a purple, a blue, as ten feet away from the purple, then the purple underneath. It would be very taxing, but he could try it. He forced the ground under the red and blue to throw them up at an angle that would bring them over the purple. He followed up with the purple and collided the three into each other. He then targeted a rock that was under the purple shards and did one more chain lightning. It spread quickly between the purple, red, and blue shards and illuminated the sky with the colored light. He looked up and watched his work as the shards fell before him. "Thank you everyone, that was all I can safely manage to perform for you tonight."

Takara snuggled up to the bear next to her, for support and because she was nice and warm and the temperature was dropping now that the sun had gone down. Normally she couldn't stand physical contact but this seemed okay. Maybe because Varen was in bear form, or maybe just because she was another mage? Takara wasn't really sure and was enjoying herself too much to really give it much thought.

The young mage watched in awe as Wolfram began his 'light show'. It was really something quite amazing to behold. She couldn't imagine the amount of energy it must be costing him to use so much magic. Takara was no expert on such things, but she could feel the magic swirling in the air like a soft wind.

"I... I hope he's okay." Takara commented as the show came to an end. "M... maybe we should go ch... check?" Takara get slightly unsteadily to her feet, using Varen for support. "Do... do you want to c.. come?" She asked as she set off in Wolfram's direction.

Varen watched the light show through enhanced eyes. What seemed to others to be just colors, she could see the crystals as they shattered, and saw tiny rainbows of color branching off of the shards. She was mesmerized.

The bear lifted its ginormous paws and clapped at the end of the show. She stood when Takara did and followed her over to the mage that had done the show. Not thinking of the consequences, she went up behind him and butted her head on the small of his back to get his attention.

"Jeez~, I can't dance at all."

With a little effort Jez moved her head slightly so she could sneak a peak from the side of her eyes up at Ianto's face. It was not one of the best angles to look at someone from but to anyone looking it would seem ultimately sweet and get cavities.

"It's not too hard." She started, taking his hands and putting them around her waist. She moved back and forth, closing her eyes as she heard some pretty music, not realizing that it was Leliana and not just music in her head. Jezarine did not move enough to dislodge Ianto's chin from her head but when she heard Wolfram mention a light show she stopped and gasped.

"Ianto! He's doing a light show. Let's oooh so pretty." Her eyes got wide and her mouth opened in awe while the man showed off his expertise, "Oh wonderful! Can we go see how he did that? Maybe he has some alchemical ideas that would augment my herbology." She turned her head to look up at Ianto, bright and excited about the prospect of more knowledge that could possibly help them. Or just more knowledge.

Wolfram just stood there, looking upwards at the sky, his work already faded away. He began to realize that his timing was off and all of his strength was going into keeping him upright. He knew he didn't have any more lyrium potions on his person and the one he had he drank entirely.

He began to feel his body shift forwards, and he didn't have the strength to maintain his upright position, even with his staff in hand. He managed to shift it forward far enough to keep him from falling face first. He just felt down to his knees and rested back on his lower legs, still looking up. He could maintain this for now, at least he didn't fall face first into the rocks and remaining ice shards. He dispelled his rock armor, which granted some of his mana back. Had he forgot that, he'd be on the ground right now.

There was a moment of calm then a feeling of someone losing their energy and Jezarine knew even before Wolfram fell who it was, "Ianto!" She gasped and started off to the mage's help knowing that Ianto would be with her as she went.

When she got to Wolfram she put a hand on his back and one on his chest sending waves of energy into him, slowly but steadily to not surprise and damage him. She concentrated on this for a few moments then took out a lyrium potion from her pouch that she always had with her, "Here. You need some of this. You are a silly silly mage you know? Why didn't you get some lyrium before doing this?" She huffed with a frown but didn't look any more frightening than a bunny wiping it's paws over it's ears, "I should be putting you to bed and making you stay there for a week misbehaving like that."

"I did have some. You know hard taxing cast eleven tier one, seven tier two, and five tier four spells can be? I used up a decent sized bottle of lyrium for the last leg of that, on top of the mana I expended for the first half. At least this time wasn't my blood being used up. I'd probably be a shriveled up husk if I did. This was my first try with nine blocks. Mana usage wasn't a concern because I only did maybe one or two to celebrate the end of a research project. Wolfram said as he continued looking up into the sky.

He couldn't help but laugh. He was celebrating for completing some stupid, yet reckless and potentially life-threatening project that he choose to do, while here the people were celebrating the complete survival of a Joining Ritual, a ritual that has probably claimed more lives than it has made Wardens. "Oh Jezarine, as good as that idea sounds, I'd probably just use seniority to override your orders the moment I go stir crazy."

"Ok then I will lay off of giving you trouble in return for you teaching me how you do all this. It is amazing chemistry. I have never been able to get anything close to the brilliance of colour with herbology, not in lights anyway." She sat down in front of him, watching Wolfram to make sure he was going to stay ok and put out her hand for Ianto to take and sit with her, "I know a fair amount about chemistry as well but it is in a different direction than this. Oh! What research is that? I so love research!"

Jez smirked, "You may have seniority but as head healer I can claim you lost your mind and tie you up."

"I don't know what inspired me, or why it reacts the way it does. Essentially, I froze a container of water mixed with fruit juice, which I sent into the sky with Stonefist, which I then broke with a arcane bolt from my staff. When I used Chain lightning on a piece of rock, with large amount of shards near by, it scattered off to hit the shards. Somehow the lightning created a lighting effect through the colored ice like what you saw."

Wolfram rubbed the back of his head when she mentioned his research. Not a very pleasant subject, but it was something he could explain. "You see, I never wanted to be a be blood mage. I just wanted to protect my sister. It's why I left the circle. However, in order to save my sister from assassins, my hand had been forced and I turned to blood magic. I felt that I needed to do something to atone. Much of my research has to do with the Fade and demons. I wanted to help Templars, like Ianto, have a better understanding when it came to fighting demons. Other times I did some research for the Wardens that they needed done. Now that I'm here, however, I feel my research is going to be moving more towards darkspawn, archdemon blood...and perhaps methods of avoiding the Calling."

Wolfram smiled, still looking upwards. "Who said I haven't already? Didn't you hear that I tried to stop a fully berserk berserker with magic?"

"Good evening Sinjan. Where have you been hiding yourself all day? You've not been getting into trouble I hope."

"Of course I have not been getting into trouble today." He smirked, "There are no nobles to chase me here and I have not been around you all day."

He rolled his shoulders to get rid of the aches, "It was a good day for the wardens since no one died in the joining. This should be a good ..."

"Everyone! May I have your attention?! Wolfram's light show is about to begin!"

"What the ..." Sinjan turned a bit to watch the light show and was amazed at the display. This was great! He clapped when it was done and was about to run over to help Wolfram when Jezarine got there first with Ianto, "It's too bad mage's lose so much energy in spells. So what have you been up to today? Pick anyone to flirt with?" He smirked.

"I don't know what inspired me, or why it reacts the way it does. Essentially, I froze a container of water mixed with fruit juice, which I sent into the sky with Stonefist, which I then broke with a arcane bolt from my staff. When I used Chain lightning on a piece of rock, with large amount of shards near by, it scattered off to hit the shards. Somehow the lightning created a lighting effect through the colored ice like what you saw."

Jezarine took out her little bodice knife and tapped the sheath against her lips as she thought of the effects Wolfram was discussing. Her mind was going a mile a minute and her eyes were moving back and forth as if she was quickly reading a book. She tapped her bottom lip one more time and looked at the mage, "It could be something to do with the glucose and how it combines in that order. I think I can figure it out. I just need to get the right books from the library when it is all set up at Vigil's Keep then we can test the theories."

It was a curious action for Wolfram to rub the back of his head when his research was brought up. Jezarine understood research and wondered if he had some kind of accident or something to make him nervous about it.

"You see, I never wanted to be a be blood mage. I just wanted to protect my sister. It's why I left the circle. However, in order to save my sister from assassins, my hand had been forced and I turned to blood magic. I felt that I needed to do something to atone. Much of my research has to do with the Fade and demons. I wanted to help Templars, like Ianto, have a better understanding when it came to fighting demons. Other times I did some research for the Wardens that they needed done. Now that I'm here, however, I feel my research is going to be moving more towards darkspawn, archdemon blood...and perhaps methods of avoiding the Calling."

"That's what I was starting on! I want to find a way to lessen the effects of the blood on wardens at least to the extent to stop the nightmares and sick feelings and make it so the Calling does not claim anyone. Looking at the Fade and demons is a good idea as well but the wardens come first in my books. There are some who have a really rough time with it and I really want to make sure Nygozy can see her child grow up. That would be really good."

color=#355e3b]"Who said I haven't already? Didn't you hear that I tried to stop a fully berserk berserker with magic?"[/color]

"True enough but we've all done somewhat crazy things." She chuckled and leaned back against Ianto.

Leliana sat and drank her ale and watched the party go on around her. There were so many people here and so much going on. It was quite different than the old days on the road with Nygozy, but it seemed to be going well.

The bard watched the light shows and clapped along with the others as it ended. "Nygozy seems to have picked up a fair number of talented mages. And they sure do like to show off." She commented to Sinjan afterward.

"Oh I kept busy today. Went out with a foraging party, looking for food. Wardens eat a lot you know. I was so glad to hear the joining went well when I returned. I hear Nygozy is under the weather though. That girl needs to learn to take it easy." She said with a small frown and a shake of her head.

"And you know I would never flirt, good ser." She said with a mischevious little grin. "You must be losing your touch if the girls didn't chase you here from Denerim. It's so quiet here. Secluded. One would think you would be easy prey."

Varen sighed a heavy bear sigh and nudged Takara's hand in a gentle way. She bowed as best she could, dipping her head and kneeling on one of her front legs. The bear stumbled away to a tent near the forest, barely awake. Varen morphed back into her human self before entering the tent.

The elf silently took out the feathers in her hair and changed into normal clothes. The night was growing old, but maybe she could get some sleep. The mage lied down on a thin mattress and covered herself with her cloak. Varen slipped into sleep, only to be disturbed by a familiar sloth demon. She slept fitfully but quietly, caught in a world where demons taught the living in exchange for life.