draconi

Jaqueline heard the words and her initial instinct was to do just the opposite:  fight the old-fashioned way.  The safer way.

But she was right, Jaq had more resources at her disposal.  It was stupid not to use them at this point.  

So she did. 

She focused her will and concentrated...envisioning the light bending all around her as she moved out of the shadows and toward the witch.  It wasn't actually bending...but for those under her spell it might as well have been.  

To everyone else in the clearing, the darkspawn rushing toward Morrigan from behind fell out of nowhere.  One moment he was there, his weapon raised and carried with the momentum of the charge, and the next his feet were out from under him as he fell face down to the ground.  

But then Jaq seemed to ripple into existence, the glamour she had conjured being dismissed away.  

She looked around, noting the numerous bodies that the witch had felled without much effort.  She also reached out with her senses, searching for signs that more danger lurked unseen.  The only danger she felt, though, seemed to come from the witch.  

So...they were alone again.  

[color=#7CD98A]"I..."[/color]

Jaq let the thought trail off; she didn't know what to say.  She'd never just revealed her magic like that.  Not to anyone...and certainly not to a stranger while using her real name.  She would have chastised herself...but again, that feeling in the pit of her stomach made her feel like this was the only course of action that would take her forward.  

While she steeled her resolve, she pulled a dagger from one of the bodies and tucked it back into its sheath, exerting the smallest amount of will to make it wink out of visibility again.  Finally, she was ready to ask the question.  

[color=#7CD98A]"What do you mean you could sense it?"[/color]  She'd only used the tiniest amount...so small, in fact, that only one person had ever been able to detect it - and he had known what to look for.

Morrigan's lips pulled into a dangerous smile, Magic is something I know well, child. I grew up breathing in magic to clear my lungs of cough, with a mother who trained me as she trained every other daughter before me. And this was perhaps why Morrigan was so disappointed in her daughter. She did not live up to the expectations of a witch of the wilds.

Morrigan still had not told the stranger her name, had not introduced herself. And as she stepped over the body of a darkspawn, she held out a hand. My name is Morrigan. She paused, waiting to see if there was recognition of her name.

She was famous for her aid in the fifth Blight, she was famous in Orlais for being the first mage advisor with power over the court. She'd shown back up to aid the Inquisition, when it had finally become relevant to her.

Witch of the Kocari Wilds. That, at the very least would earn recognition. The Witches of the Wilds were fairy tale and legend, and truth at times. Flemeth had been real, after all. She wondered what fairy tales the Antivan's told their children.

Jaq was careful not to react when she heard the name.  Of course she recognized it...she'd heard countless stories whispered with a reverence that spoke to fear and awe.  Being this close and having seen her fight, Jaq understood that such admiration was wholly inadequate for the truth of the witch.

Jaqueline smiled and shook her hand while her mind raced through all the different ways she could react to this new information.  Morrigan was a legend.  It would be easy to fawn over her, to fangirl with such sickening sweetness that anyone in their right mind would want nothing more than to escape.  That wasn't Jaq, though.  

So, she did the only thing that seemed natural to fit - she was honest.

[color=#7CD98A]"Meeting you is an honor of which I am not worthy."[/color]  Thank you for taking the time to help me and for humoring me by letting me feel like I was helping against the fight a few minutes ago.  [color=#7CD98A]"My name is Jaqueline Mesonero.  I'm a friend of Fran's." [/color] Jaq assumed her name would be of little consequence to the woman, but giving it only seemed polite.  

She just hoped that her last name wouldn't cause them to circle back to the accusations of being a crow.  After all, it is really hard to prove a negative, even if you have truth on your side.

Morrigan raised her eyebrows, Correct. The child's name is filed away for further use. I see. Mesonero. Crow-born? The question is idle, as Morrigan resumed walking, hands in her pockets.

I've always admired the stories of the Crows. But a Talon always falls, and so will each of the Crow families. After all, she paused, glancing over her shoulder to the girl. Every organization has to end sometime.

She seemed unconcerned about leading a known Crow (or relative thereof) into the royal families home. And so, she walked. Led the way as she went, unconcerned with much more than where she might step.

Tell me about yourself. She ordered.

Jaqueline nodded.  [color=#7CD98A]"Organizations are no different than anything else - evolution or extinction."  [/color]The world was changing - if the crows, or the talons for that matter, didn't learn how to change in order to face new threats, they'd fall just like everything before them.  [color=#7CD98A]"Adapt or die."[/color]  

Her father was a crow - but that didn't mean she was with him.  To her, it spoke volumes that he wouldn't allow her to join.  If it was too dangerous for his daughter, how could he allow other children to join?  How could he make peace with that incongruity?

But now the witch wanted to know about her.  The interest was terrifying and dangerous, and Jaq considered how to be honest without being...too honest.  

[color=#7CD98A]"I'd say there isn't much to tell, but that tastes like a lie on my lips.  Not that my life is particularly grand or full of intrigue, especially to someone who has done as much as you, but everyone has their own little novel being written in their head."[/color]  She shrugged, unsure where to go from there.  [color=#7CD98A]"Though I imagine my story is probably more common than I'd like to admit.  Middle child, only daughter.  Groomed to manage the buisnesses - the rest was dropped in the laps of my brother.  It all seems so banal when said out loud."[/color]

She didn't expect the witch to miss the fact that being groomed to manage the businesses and killing darkspawn while using even a meager amount of magic were at odds.  But there was nothing Jaq could do at this point...she was in uncharted territory.  

Adapt or die.

Unfortunate. Does your father not trust that a girl could take on his legacy? She'd never had a father; and if she did, he'd never cared enough to be around. At least, that's the story she'd decided for herself.

She knew she was adopted, Chasind. That was her story, everything else had come later, much later. Loghain. Lana. Cullen. All of her friends and family...

Adapt or die is a pretty harsh reality to live in, kid. Reminds me of my Mother. She paused in her step, turning to grin at the girl. Maybe, I teach you a magic known only to my kind. That way, instead of adapting, you can evolve.

Jaq didn't wince at the question about her father - it was one that had crossed her mind more than once.  In the end, she'd just decided that there are some truths even great and powerful talons are afraid to face - and the idea of having a daughter that grew into a deadly opponent was one of them.

She also didn't react to the mention of mothers.  As a kid, she'd often imagined her mother to be the counterbalance to her father, supportive and able to see things that she was too scared to show.  It was a construction based solely on wistful longing and loneliness.  It was probably not at all what she would have been like - reality never seemed to measure up to dreams like that.

But then the offer came and Jaq...missed a step.  Did Morrigan really just offer to teach her magic?  For a fraction of a second, Jaq's breath seemed to stick in her throat. Then, her mind seemed to get traction and begin spinning away.

[color=#7CD98A]"That...seems like an offer that should not be missed."[/color]  But things like that weren't offered freely and Jaq would be a fool to agree  without knowing the cost.  [color=#7CD98A]"It also seems expensive - and I suspect not monetarily so.  So...what compensation would you need for giving such lessons?"[/color]