text;

[closerift]

[ She won't show her face, won't use her voice. Not when she's having a difficult enough time keeping her emotions in check. Cecily badly wants to keep this event from lending more power to Hadriel's gods, but Rage and Sorrow are getting a lot of power from the Inquisitor today, despite that. ]

Cullen Rutherford has disappeared. His mabari hasn't been able to find him in days. I can only assume he has gone home, at least for the time being. I also vanished and returned, so he may do the same.

[ Not that she can bring herself to have much hope along that vein. ]

If anyone has heard from or seen him, I beg you to correct me. Additionally, if there is anyone who has the ability to nullify magical abilities, I will need your help, since Cullen has gone.

[ There isn't much else to say, not in the public sphere. Not when his wedding band that she'd obtained from Delight is burning in her hand, pressed tight against the skin of her palm. ]

Finally, if anyone saw his last message and was wondering: the dog is well again.

Sincerely,

Inquisitor Trevelyan

Comments

text.

[bheidh]

( Leliana had noted the disappearance when Cecily had, searched the place and the caves with the woman, and separately to try and find the man. Their Commander. He was different things to them both, and though his memories differed to Leliana's own he was still her friend.

That's why it was saddening when she had fond no trace of the man, or had heard no whispers of him. He had gone, and yet it should not be so. Cecily had said that others had disappeared before but they knew nothing on it, and supposedly the gods had no control over it. Who did, then? Leliana would like that answer, along with the answer as to where Cullen had gone.

But that was not an answer that she would get here, nor now. Not when there was something else she needed to do too. Cecily needed her, and though Leliana was not the friend that this Inquisitor knew she was still somewhat of a friend. Leliana's mistrust of the woman had lessened - their shared experiences helping, and the sharing of events that had differed. Leliana had learned of Cecily, and she could trust her decisions here - trust her, even, and that was something. She'd become a friend, despite how they had started.

It's why, despite her dislike of these devices - the lack of privacy that they offer, Leliana returns Cecily's message with text. She doesn't want to talk, Leliana can guess that much, but there are still things that Leliana can tell her. Needs to tell her )

Cullen is not a man that will be forgotten. He has left a mark upon us all.
I will be there if you require anything.
And I am continuing my own search.

- L

( Just in case. Also she may be considering looking for the strongest drink she can find )

text.

[closerift]

[ Cecily has had a very long week (month, year, life since the Inquisition). Things had seemed better, getting her hand back from Hope, getting elfroot from Sorrow, getting a wedding band for Cullen from Delight.

Until. Until the morning she woke up to find him gone, to find him... nowhere. ]

Thank you.
I am still searching, too. I may not come home tonight.

[ She'll likely be in the bar until the morning, honestly. ]

Pup is still here. He is with me.

text.

[bheidh]

( She'll come find you later )

He is not lost to us, even though he is not here.
And you do have Pup.

text.

[closerift]

[ Cecily will argue that point - that he may be lost to them - but not now. Not over the device. ]

He misses his master.

[ She misses her husband. ]

text.

[bheidh]

As do we all.

action.

[closerift]

[ Late, late that night, the Inquisitor can be found in the bar. Pup paces the floor, whining softly, then sits down with his head on his paws, only to repeat the cycle every so often. Cecily mirrors his appearance when he lies down, her arms stretched out across the counter, chin resting atop one.

There is no evidence of what she may or may not have consumed, but the scent and expression are telling enough of her state of being. ]

[rebelarchivist]

[Dorian had noticed as well, but had chalked it up to all of the confusion that was running amok, steadfastly ignoring how distressed the dog was, even as he tried to help locate the missing commander. He'd spent much of the last week lost because of it.]

[But now that they know for sure... well there are other things to take care of.]

Where are you now?

[First stop, the bar. Second stop, wherever Cecily is. Dorian knows this sort of heartache. And sometimes, you just need to stop thinking about anything for awhile.]

[closerift]

[ Later, she realizes that there is no one left who remembers her from Thedas. The first Dorian - her Dorian - vanished. Then Blackwall. Then Cullen. Now, those left, though they're counted among her friends, have no memory of her.

It's an isolating feeling. ]

Searching. [ If she's somewhere unsafe, he'll promptly inform her that she's being stupid, and if she's somewhere else, he'll provide company. She isn't completely sure that she can keep herself together in front of them just yet. ]

I've got two hands again. I'll be just fine.

[ Physically. ]

[rebelarchivist]

I'm not fetching you home like a child, Cecily.

[There's a long pause between the messages. He doesn't like talking about it, but he will]

I've been through this before.

I have wine, an ear and a shoulder, and a supply of handkerchiefs.

[And if any of those things will help, he will gladly lend them all.]

[closerift]

[ They'll all say the same, she knows. Her friends. They'll reach out and won't stop until she gives in.

Today, she's too tired to be stubborn. ]

All right.

Can we meet in the library?

[rebelarchivist]

[That's what friends are for, hate to break it to you, Cecily]

I'll meet you there.

[And he will, right inside the entrance so he can make sure he sees her when she gets there. Make sure she's not alone for any longer than he can. He has a sack over his shoulder that makes the distinctive sort of clink of glass bottles full of liquid. He didn't bother with glasses, he doubts they'll need them.]

[He knows they haven't know each other long, they've talked yes, but there are things he's holding back and he's sure things that she's holding back. But he wants to help. He knows how much this hurts, and she shouldn't have to face it alone.]

[He offers her his arm when she steps inside, drawing her into a hug if she seems accepting of it. If not, he's more than fine to let it drop]

Let's find a quiet corner, shall we?

[Audio]

[fadeling]

[He's not very good at the whole...text, thing. But at least he can tell when something is wrong. And when he can't find Cullen, then it's obvious.

But really, what can he say? Nothing will make it better.]

I'm sorry.

[Audio]

[closerift]

[ It's true, nothing will make it better, but that doesn't mean she doesn't appreciate the gesture. ]

You've nothing to be sorry for.

[Audio]

[fadeling]

I can't fix it. [That's enough to be sorry for.]

[Audio]

[closerift]

It isn't your responsibility to keep him here, Cole, or to bring him back.

Re: [Audio]

[fadeling]

I should help.

audio

[unitas]

[ The moment Cecily's post appears on the network, Sharon checks her contact list; she scrolls through it again, and again, and again, but each time she scrolls through, she does not see Cullen's name. Her eyes burn against her will, and she swallows back those feelings of sorrow and regret. The only thing that matters now is Cecily; Cullen disappearing will leave her friend with two problems: a broken heart, and an anchor that threatens her life.

Sharon does not bother with text, going straight for audio. ]

Where are you. I'll come help. [ This is not a question. If she has to, she'll hunt her friend down—trek through all of this wretched city to find her. She won't let her go through any of this alone. ]

audio

[closerift]

[ Where she might have otherwise argued, there seems to be a bit less of a fight in the Inquisitor today. Cecily lets the silence hang between them, mind fuzzy with angst, and then sighs softly. ]

By the river, just past Delight's temple.

[ Sharon will come. Neither of them will have much to say. ]

action

[unitas]

[ There's no reply, Sharon doesn't bother. She just grabs her knapsack, and the steel pipe she adopted during the zombie event, and heads out. It doesn't take long to locate Cecily, and she pauses before she approaches; she never thought she could hurt so much for another person. As she gets close, she announces her presence with a soft: ]

How long has he...? [ How long has he been gone? And how long have you been looking? ]

action

[closerift]

[ Cecily doesn't look up, instead staring dully at the ground with her arms draped over her knees. ]

Since... five or six days ago. I've lost track.

[ Time has become a long, ugly thing, stretched out forever between the night she fell asleep beside her husband and the morning she woke and he was gone. ]

action

[unitas]

[ Her heart pinches in her chest. Cecily looks like a woman distraught, a woman lost, and there's not a single word Sharon can say to fix it, to help. She crosses the distance between them in several quick, long strides, kneeling down beside her friend. ]

And you've been looking since. [ Because what else could she do? Stay, and wait for her husband to return? No. When you care about someone, you can never give up, even when it seems like all is lost, even when all is lost. ] I wish you'd called me, I would have been out here with you.

[enchangement]

sorry for your loss.

[closerift]

Thank you.

His being gone is a loss for everyone, really.

action

[whichend]

[ When Arya sees the post, she doesn't quite know what to say. But she knows exactly how Cecily feels. She knows what it's like to lose the most important person in your life -- your home, your rock.

She has to do something to help. It takes Arya a day to work out the logistics of the thing, but soon enough, Arya works out how to make a pizza. Hers is a little charred, and the cheese is more rubbery than gooey, but it's a pizza made of love. She cuts it into slice, piles the slices on a plate, and sets off for Cecily's house.

Fifteen minutes later, there's a knock on the door. ]

action

[closerift]

[ Luckily, Cecily is there. She's been in and out all day, full of restless energy, a dull-eyed shell of herself after being forced to face the truth that Cullen had left. When she answers the door, there's a delay in between seeing Arya and responding to the situation. ]

... Arya? [ She eyes the pizza; not much changes, yet, on her expression. ] ... Is everything all right?

[ For her, of course. The girl, at least, should be... happy, and safe. ]