Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Varric]

"Alright," Varric says. "Let's... let's head home."

[Tethras Clan]

Beth is... placid about Carver slinking into the house, only murmuring an absent, 'oh, I'd thought you'd run' when she sees him. Despite the passive aggressive cut, she doesn't protest him being around. Doesn't do much of anything, rather worryingly. The rest of that afternoon is... painfully quiet, especially when Varric and Helene leave for the temple with a warning that they'll likely be here overnight. Just in case, Seli come over to make sure all four people still there eat and generally take care of themselves. 

It's early morning when they all return- with Merrill being carried in by Varric. Wynne and Elder Marethari start settling the sleeping (?) elf into Beth's room, while Helene and Varric gather up the twins in the office- though the dwarf nods at Garret to invite him along as well.

[Carver Amell]

The wolf -- for he's remained in this form, except to sleep, since the day before -- pads into the office alongside Beth. When she takes a seat, he lays on the floor beside it, head on his paws, silent and small as he can make his large form.

[Marian Hawke]

Garrett, for his part, hovers near the door, ready to bolt if things go badly, keeping a cautious eye on the others. The twins, some part of him notes, and there's a small, distant sense of relief and joy at seeing Bethany grown into a woman. That part is nervous about Carver's form, about the look on Beth's face, but they are alive and healthy, and he has to believe they are well cared for without him.

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene takes a seat, folding their hands in their lap, silent. This won't be good, they suspect. This is likely to be very painful. But they will be here, and they will help as they can.

[Varric]

Varric take a seat, right next to Helene for once. "So. Good first. Merrill's going to survive. Full physical recovery. Mentally... less good. Elder Marethari's ritual was able to recover Merrill's... concentration. The active will of her mind. She's going to be unconcious for a bit more, at least a few days, while thing heal up. But... there was some damage. It was... fortunate, in a way, that she did the same thing as before. She did it first when she was young and her mind and soul still... elastic enough to heal from the breaks and warping. This time, she's older, obviously, but she's also... her soul and mind remember and were able to... roll with the hit, so to speak."

[Bethany]

"How bad?" Bethany asks dully, hand reaching down to grip Carver's fur painfully.

[Varric]

"We're... not entirely sure yet. Parts of her mind were... damaged. Helene has been doing a lot of research and talking with the Doctor about mental trauma and disorders and they're pretty far along on a process called Delving that might... be able to help patch things up and recover things, but for now..." Varric rubs his forehead. "Parts- small parts, thank the gods- of her mind are either cut off from the rest or... erased. Damaged beyond use. Could be memories, could be skills or abilities. Motor function- the ability to move her body properly. We're not sure. Won't know until she wakes up."

[Carver Amell]

The giant canine shudders, then is still. 

[Marian Hawke]

Garrett bows his head, his hands twisting around each other. He doesn't know this person, this Merrill, but that sort of damage.. he has seen that sort of damage before.

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene, on the other hand, is thinking of struggling for words, of finding the word but not in the right language, of drawing when the words get blocked. Helene swallows, taking a deep breath.

[Varric]

Not looking at them, Varric gently takes Helene's hand lightly. "So. That's... what we know for now, in broad strokes. Do... does anyone have any questions?"

[Marian Hawke]

"This... delving... what does it entail? Is it dangerous?" asks Garrett softly.

[Varric]

Ah. Yeah, this is... relevant to you as well. "It... It's a rather unorthodox form of therapy that could only come from Nyra really. A small group of healers and adventurers undergo a ritual that allows them to enter the mindscape of the patient. A mindscape is... like a small world that is in the Plane of Dreams, with each mortal having their own mindscape that forms and dissolves everytime they sleep and wake. But while it's a projection of the person's mind, the link goes both ways. Which means... Okay, the clearest example the Doctor explained is a case where someone had a massive fear of spiders. In the dreamscape, this was represented by having actual giant spiders living in a cave that had tunnels everywhere- because the person feared spiders could appear at any time and were much, much more dangerous than they are. So the group that went in had to clear the cave out, killing the spiders and take the avatar- the representation of the person's conscious, their waking mind, into the cave to prove it. It didn't remove the fear of spiders, but it made it manageable."

[Marian Hawke]

It... eases fears? Makes someone less... more functional? "It sounds like an interesting technique," he says, tilting his head slightly as though only vaguely interested.