blink once if you need help

Finwe narrowed her gaze. If I don't know?! Offense exuded off them as she stared at this woman. Seriously? Accusing them of not knowing what they'd been working with? She let out a huff, crossing arms over their chest.

Uncrossing her arms again, in a fit of childish annoyance, stooped down and nabbed a pebble. And winged it at the offending party. Somewhere in the back or chestular region. It wasn't as if Fin could aim for shit. There was a reason no one let them near weapons. Ever.

Fucking rude, she followed up with the weak yeet. I happen to know exactly what I'm dealing with. It's not my fault your eyes only kind of work.

Then, in a flash as if her little outburst hadn't occurred, Finwe was bubbly and excited again. Yes! This way! Without even pausing to see if the new company would follow them or not, she took off along the path at a good clip. Only a short distance away into the foliage, a small site would appear that was once a shrine of some sort. Fin'd not determined to whomst as of yet before having been sidetracked.

Jaq didn't flinch at the pebble that flew through the air - it was a fucking pebble.  Besides, it was so poorly thrown the only injury likely was a blow to the elf's pride.  

Not that it seemed to matter that the pebble had been thrown at all.  It was as if the whole incident hadn't happened.  

The behavior reminded her of the tiny handful of times Enzo had been so deep into his cups that his ability to filter had dissolved completely, leaving a mess of impulses and emotions that seemed shockingly out of character. Of course, the elf didn't appear to be drunk.  To Jaq's eyes, it just looked like they gave zero fucks.  For half a moment, Jaq wondered what it would be like to live like that.  

But that was a waste of time - it wasn't her lot and it never would be. 

She dismissed the idea as she fell into step behind the elf, short legs taking surprisingly quick steps as they hurried to the excavation site ahead. 

After a bit, she saw it, though she wasn't sure what it actually was. She glanced back toward Magnus, who seemed to be delighted by her lack of progress with the elf - whose name she still didn't know.  That man was infuriating sometimes.

[color=#7CD98A]"My education is woefully inadequate in the area, as I'm sure is not a surprise.  Can you tell me more about what this is?" [/color] At this point, she didn't think she'd get a useful response but figured she'd try one last time anyway.

A huff. Finwe looked back over at the woman. Yes, well, woefully inadequate is the perfect description for shems. The memories of all the tremendous assholes who'd denied her access to an education all because they were an elf. Knife-ear had come out way too often before she'd finally given up. If not for her own stubbornness and the few friendly faces they'd met, she'd be gutter trash. Or a sewer rat.

At least out here, they were a dirt rat. Fin could live with that; dirt was more fun.

A shrine, she finally answered, having nearly forgotten there was a question after the statement. Maybe a temple if it's more than these few broken statues. Fin gestured around themselves at the broken carvings. The damage made it difficult to see who the deity had been. All she did know was that it was not the Dread Wolf. Fen'Harel monuments were easy to spot. This was not that.

Brushing away some dirt from one of the larger pieces, she frowned at it. It only looked like a lump from here. You see a head anywhere? They'd not found it yet, not before the darkspawn had ambushed them and sent her fleeing.

Jaq felt like rolling her eyes but refrained.  She'd received much more biting insults before, so if the comment was meant to offend it fell far short.  

She looked at the lump that apparently was a statue.  It didn't look like much...but Jaq wasn't really an expert. What she was good at, though, was figuring things out.  

She took a step back to take in the scene, noting the way the terrain seemed to channel the path past that spot and the way the ground sloped to the east.  She imagined two scenarios: the head being knocked off by some force traveling along the path and time and weather weakening a neck until it naturally fell.  She pictured the way the head would move for each, the force of the trigger affecting the momentum of the head's attempt to escape.  

She walked downhill to the place she imagined the head stopping if it had naturally fallen and looked around, moving the overgrowth and pushing a few rocks with the toes of her boots.  Nothing.  

She moved on, repeating the process at a spot down and to the left.  This one seemed more promising. 

She nudged a rock mostly buried in the dirt, but it didn't move.  Crouching, she gently dug around it, trying to look for signs it was more than just a stone.  She was rewarded with a mostly-eroded shape of an ear.  

Jaq pulled her hands away and looked toward Finwe. [color=#7CD98A] "Maybe this?"  [/color]She didn't want to unearth it more for fear of damaging it, but she felt confident it could be the missing head in question.

Question asked, then Fin had lost track of their company. Focusing in, instead, on the bits and pieces around to see if they could identify the deity.

They'd found a slab that seemed to have writing on it. And about to direct one of the two to grab her notebook and coal. Fin was going to take a rubbing of it to study the runes, to see if any of the elvhen could be translated personally, or if she'd need to find a Dalish clan.

But Jam... Jem? Was talking. Looking up and around, it took a minute before Fin pinpointed the source of the voice. Standing, they brushed their hands off on their trousers and made her way over.

Tipping her head, Fin looked down, then crouched and began to brush away more dirt. Shockingly, it might be. Pointing behind themselves, Fin gestured in the direction of supplies. Grab some brushes.

Focused on the broken statue, Fin brushed more away with their hands. Who are you? she asked while awaiting Jim to get the supplies. As if her rescuers were suddenly her dig assistants. It never occurred to Fin to ask if either of them wished to stay or help. They'd just assumed. They were still here, after all. What else could that mean? So - to Fin - of course they wanted to help.

Jaq stood from where she had been crouching and backtracked to the supplies, grabbing a few brushes of varying size and stiffness.  She didn't mind playing assistant - that was one of the best ways to learn.  Be quiet, watch and listen, and remember everything.

For a moment, her mind flashed to the way Julian would handle this situation - all impatience and ego.    Julian was the most powerful person she'd ever encountered, but man...sometimes he needed to shut up and just listen.  She glanced at Magnus and found his soft eyes watching her.  He nodded in a silent agreement and Jaq suddenly wondered if he had been listening to her thoughts or if he just knew her well enough to read them.  Either way, she'd have to be more careful.

He nodded again, and Jaq gave him a look that clearly told him to stop being so perceptive.  That was the one problem with their arrangement - it meant that they each knew the other far better than they had any right to.

She returned to the small elf and crouched aside them, offering the brushes.  She didn't speak, just watched and waited for further instructions.

Things were quiet, too quiet. Finwe paused and looked up and around to see that their company had done exactly as asked. Blinking, she realized in the back of her mind she'd expected a shem to laugh or ignore her request. But this one was different. Huh. Well fuck, what was her name again??

Is Broody just going to stand there picking his ass? Fin couldn't help ask when... fuck... Jab? Came back with the brushes.

Taking one of the brushes, they pointed to the other side of what she could see of the stonework. These are just more gentle for removing the dirt, they followed up to explain. Then, carefully, began to push more dirt away and dig around the more prominent features.

Jaq nodded and watched the way the elf brushed away the dirt, memorizing the way their wrist rotated slightly with each stroke and the subtle way the bristles bent under the light pressure being applied. 
 
She glanced again toward Magnus, who was clearly dividing his attention between the two people he could see and the forest around them.  

[color=#7CD98A]"He's keeping watch in case we're disturbed again.  No sense in letting anything interrupt your work if it can be avoided."[/color]  She offered a reassuring smile.  [color=#7CD98A]"I'd like to know your name, if you're willing to share it.  If not...is there something you'd prefer I call you?  Perhaps....uh...  ghi'len?  I'm so sorry if I said that wrong." [/color] She didn't speak Dalish but made an effort to remember some of the words she'd heard during her various travels - there was power in understanding things that you weren't meant to know.

Ahhh, you can say it. Pretty boy don't wanna get his hands dirty. Finwe smirked to themselves as she worked.

Finwe paused, blinking and looking up at the other. You what? A few more blinks before she shook her head. Don't know what that is.

With a shrug, she went back to work with the brush. Fin, I guess. Names take too much effort. They added, shrugging again while continuing to work.

Jaq smiled at the comment about Magnus's hands.  They were beautiful hands - though she'd never once seen him hesitate to get them dirty.  She didn't know much about his history, but she strongly suspected he had the sort of hands that never truly could be washed clean of the past. 

To the name comment, she nodded.  [color=#7CD98A]"Yeah, I get that.  But sometimes using them is more efficient than not - people get confused easily." [/color] She'd seen too many things go awry because of ambiguous directions - being direct was just prudent.  

She watched the way Fin gently brushed the dirt away from the relic, memorizing the movements in case she needed to do them herself. There was a practiced familiarity about the motion that spoke to years of experience.  [color=#7CD98A]"Where'd you learn to do all this?"[/color] she wondered aloud.

Finwe let out a snort of a laugh. Sure don't get confused about my people. Knife ear is a favorite. She stuck her tongue out in disgust, then gave a light head shake. The number of times they'd heard that insult over the years. Like. Okay. They get it, prettier pointy ears. One would think the shems could get new material.

Cutting a glance at the woman, Finwe shrugged. Taught myself. Getting rejected over and over from University means you gotta do shit yourself. Every single rejection letter was a spit in her face, a stain on memories of their still eagerness to learn. But that eagerness had to be directed elsewhere, and so they did things themselves. Alone, usually.