In the summer, I remember

[rowancrowned]

WHO: Thranduil, Legolas, anyone good with a bow or who enjoys the wine on offer.
WHAT: ROOTY TOOTY POINT N SHOOTY ARCHERY CONTEST
WHEN: 8th of Bloomingtide, midmorning until sunset.
WHERE: Valley
NOTES: log for a friendly wager! 

The eighth of Bloomingtide began as a chilly morning; not quite cold enough to leave frost on the budding flowers and fresh-sprouted plants in the heights of Skyhold, but nearly, nearly.

By the time the sun was been in the sky for a few hours, most of the early-morning chill had burned off, leaving a day that promised to be nearly too-hot for those who would be stuck in full-plate and in direct sunlight. Thranduil wasn’t expecting any to come clanking down to his little fete, but had none the less secured a spot in the shade. Varric had apparently found him while he was still working on organizing—the target launchers are set neatly in line with everything else. Along the clay pigeon launchers were the standard, stock targets, blindfolds—and on a table off to the side was a few bottles of sweet wine beside loaves of brown bread and hard cheeses.

The contest did not pretend to be anything other than what it was; a chance to meet, and mingle, and possibly show off archery skills. The purses wrested next to the wine and cheese and Thranduil himself. He had found a chair to rest in while waiting for the contestants to arrive, dressed plainer than he had so far allowed himself to be seen. On his fingers, four rings glittered—but his confidence in Legolas was so absolute, he doubted he would lose even one before the days was out.

Comments

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin strolls up to him with a glass of wine in one hand and bread rolled around a piece of cheese in the other. She could have been seen competing, but her stint at archery didn't last very long, not with the talent all around her. At any rate, she seems relaxed and unbothered. This isn't a competition she's invested in, other than as a means to gather.

"Hello again, Obi-Wan. Enjoying yourself so far, I hope?"

[obi_wanmanshow]

"Good afternoon, Miss Ataash," he replies, offering her the seat beside his spot with a gentle flourish, "Very much, thank you. It's not the kind of marksmanship I usually see."

Blaster-bolts and breakneck combat. Well, even a droid could hit a target, when properly armed. There was a reason blasters had overcome other types of projectile weaponry, after all.

"And yourself?"

[gatheringstorm]

Such manners. Korrin grins as she takes the seat with a polite nod. After all that standing around, she's glad to be off her feet for a while. "Better, now that I'm out of the running. It was fun, but I'd rather sit in the shade and watch those of far better skill. You have something like this back home, right? If not bows and arrows, then whatever."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"Oh, blasters are..." He hesitates a moment, his own smile twisting wry, "Not to be compared, I think. For one thing, there's a great deal less skill involved in using one."

He covers the derision gracefully, with a sip of wine and the whoop of the crowd as the latest volleys find their respective marks, or otherwise.

"It's an impressive gathering. Skill is worth respecting, regardless of the source."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin sets down her refreshments momentarily, clapping at the display of skill. She'll get more excited and whoop when it's friends competing, on the lookout for a few particular faces. "Definitely. It reminds me of another gathering not too long ago, pretty much an event where people could challenge others to duels or whatever. Well, except for magic. I was disappointed at that last part, it would've been fun to match my skill with a spirit blade against an opponent with a physical one."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you about that. It's very interesting, your blade."

He remembered her spirit blade, a shining thing seemingly made of pure energy. But that was magic, really, and who knew how it worked? The part of him that might have been a corps engineer wondered too, how it'd do against a Jedi weapon.

"I have a... somewhat similar weapon of my own," The part of him that might have been a corps engineer wondered too, how it'd do against a Jedi weapon, "We could try a few rounds by ourselves, of course. If you're up for it."

[gatheringstorm]

Mention of her spirit blade perks her up, as she's always happy to discuss that subject. A small grin forms and she readily nods, responding after another sip. "Oh, absolutely. I'm always interested in comparing weapons and battle forms. At some point, we'll probably be assigned together and I've learned it's best to hash such things out ahead of time rather than on the battlefield."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"I've had a difficult time finding a suitable sparring partner," he admits, ruefully, turning away from the archery to offer a nod for her enthusiasm, "If it works out, perhaps we can make it a standing date."

After all, Korrin had strength and reach on him; Obi-Wan liked a challenge. How else can we learn and grow?

"When are you next free?"

[gatheringstorm]

"How about tomorrow? Any time that isn't the crack of dawn is usually fine with me. If the standard training area is too crowded, there are plenty of other places to choose from. It's not as though we have to stick to Skyhold proper, either; there's a grove just outside and sometimes it aren't even a couple being obnoxious at each other."

She glances back at a cheer from the crowd, taking note of who provoked their response, then flashes a smile back at him. "I wouldn't mind a standing date at all, if we're compatible. There aren't many Knight-Enchanters to spar with in Skyhold and I know that's not what you are, exactly, but still...close enough."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"I think the more reclusive location wouldn't be a bad idea. Lightsabers attract attention, and we have enough to worry about without..." Skyhold's population could be broken down in any number of statistically interesting ways, but the venn diagram describing the coincidence of nosy parkers and residents of Skyhold, was a circle, "...a convenient audience."

He's in enough trouble with Cassandra and the rest, without that to add to it.

[gatheringstorm]

Smirking briefly, Korrin nods to that. "Very true. Between magic and rift powers/technology, we'd get quite the audience. And while I've gotten used to displaying my magic around Skyhold, I'm not about to tell a rifter that they shouldn't do what makes them most comfortable."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"That's very generous of you, Korrin," He replies, and while he means it, it's not without an appreciation for what the sentiment throws into relief.

Most wouldn't care what anyone wanted, let alone a Rifter. Many would care less about what he wanted, specifically because of his origin. It isn't that he's ungrateful, it's only... It's complicated. Isn't it always?

"Do you have a favorite? For the competition."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin shrugs, glancing back to the competitors. "I'm not betting on anyone, if that's what you mean. I have to cheer for Kas and Katniss, friends of mine, but if I had to guess, Legolas will wipe the floor with them. I saw him at the archery range earlier, he was pretty damn incredible."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"Of course, Jedi are forbidden from engaging in wagers for personal gain," his tone implies that it happens regardless, but of course he, the wise and virtuous Obi-Wan would never break the rules, "But if I were-- I agree with you. I doubt his father would stake anything on a bet he had the potential to lose."

[gatheringstorm]

Knowing the difference between what's forbidden and what actually happens, Korrin just grins in response. She has no moral objection to betting, even if she held back this time. "Exactly. That kind of bling isn't something anyone would part with easily. Even if I hadn't seen Legolas at work, I'd have known he was full of shit from that alone."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"Precisely. Gold can be replaced from any number of sources; those rings likely came with him, from his homeland," Whether or not Thranduil values them as highly as Obi-Wan prizes even the broken remnants of the technology he had brought with him upon arrival, it is still true:

"They cannot be replaced. No, he'll keep those. Regardless, one might say that the purpose of this gathering is not, after all, archery."

[gatheringstorm]

"No Thedosian elf has anything like them, that's for sure." They barely get by, most of the time, let alone have that kind of wealth. Any elf being caught with it would be assumed to have stolen it from human nobles and arrested, at the very least. "If the worst that happens is people gathering to enjoy wine and company, I can live with that. Legolas can have his victory if we can have a better recent memory than that stupid plague."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"Hear here," Obi-Wan agrees, with a tip of the glass and a drink to seal it. From Korrin's lips to the ear of fate, surely, "You're native to Thedas, Korrin. Since Thranduil and his family are so unusual compared to your experience, can you tell me what you make of them?"

[gatheringstorm]

"They're arrogant...not always a bad thing, but in a land where elves are treated like shit, it's bound to get them in trouble. I doubt they've fully grasped what it means to be an elf here, though maybe with time that'll change." Then she scowls, remembering one particular family member. "I thought Galadriel worth talking to before, but after she brought negative attention to the rifters and threatened Araceli, I'm better off keeping my distance. My temper would get the better of me, otherwise."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"Arrogant?" He said, bemused, but then she continued and Obi-Wan had to settle for a little shake of the head, "Well, you still speak to me, and I've certainly brought some....less than excellent attention to the Rifters, such as we are."

It was deliberate, the way he used we The Rifters were a loose group, hardly a group at all, lumped together by outside forces more than any internal organization. Indeed, it was hard to think of them as a group at all-- sheep can be called a herd, if you put them all together in one place, but the Rifters were more like cats.

"The way I hear it, they're Monarchs. The rulers of nations. I doubt they're going to submit to anyone just because they've been told to do so. But that's only my opinion-- how is your Araceli?"

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin nods with a sympathetic smile at Obi-Wan's use of the term. "The Rifters are really only a group in as much as everyone else labels them such, aren't they? It happens to apostate mages, too, nevermind that they could be wildly different." And don't even get her started about the term itself, which she finds Chantry-centric.

"As for monarchs, well, that status doesn't apply to Thedas at all. They don't rule anything here. Hell, even the idea of elven rulers will get you laughed at in a lot of places. Which is stupid, since they once ruled a continent-spanning empire, but still. Long time ago."

Turning her thoughts to Araceli, her expression softens and she smiles. "She's doing well, just returned from Antiva recently and I got to introduce her to my Valo-Kas sisters, which I've been wanting to do forever now."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"And here I am going around introducing myself as Master Kenobi, of an Order of Jedi that doesn't exist here. I'm as foreign to the rules of Thedas as anyone-- I find the whole business with your elves to be completely baffling," And that much was the truth. You didn't have to look far to find discriminatory behavior, if you knew where to look, but somehow the xenophobia of Mandalor or the insular nature of Wookie politics seemed downright reasonable by comparison, even if only in the falliable halls of memory. Obi-Wan offered Korrin a shrug, one-handed, "I'm only saying; try to keep an open mind."

Ah, now, look at that smile. When you see a smile like that, you can't help but mirror it; even a Jedi likes to see someone happy. And Obi-Wan Kenobi isn't immune to the joy one knows, when a friend is in love.

"I'm glad to hear that. A little joy in these dire times, it's more precious than gold."

[gatheringstorm]

"I couldn't agree more." Korrin reaches up to touch her dragon tooth necklace, a rather recent acquisition. "She now wears a matching one, an old custom among some of my kind. You split a dragon tooth and each wears half. Then, no matter how far apart life takes you, you're always together. Maybe I should have waited, but I'm never good at patience. Besides, with the world as fucked up as it is and getting more so, a lot could happen. I'd rather take what I can, while I can."

She falls silent, turning the dragon tooth in her hand for a moment longer as she's lost in thought. "To be honest, it's baffling to me how little race matters to some rifters, and the worlds they come from. In a good way, mind you. Here, it's always been a major issue, what defines a good part of your life. My kind don't have it as badly as the elves, but we're still outsiders, often mistrusted or kept on the fringes because they think we're little better than beasts or that we'll attempt to convert them. Nevermind that many of us have nothing to do with the Qun."

[obi_wanmanshow]

"Congratulations are in order, then."

Obi-Wan tipped his cup in her direction, a drink to health and long life.

"Well, I can't speak for all Rifters, but in my world, you'd be considered very nearly human, in appearance at least," He grinned, because the word for that category was just that, near-human, and likely related by some distant shared ancestry to the ordinary human stock, "I don't pretend that we have no bigotry at all, but with hundreds of races and thousands of different cultures all working under the same government, we don't usually have the kind of... widespread nonsense that I've seen here."

People will always leave communities, when they feel unwelcome, but where Obi-Wan is from, they will leave the very planet, when they do so. And they'll take their credits with them. The end result is that multiplicity prospers and the insular must remain humble by necessity. But Obi-Wan doesn't explain that, he only sips at his wine and watches the assembles archers draw, hold for a breath, and fire, to the general susurration of the crowd.

"I don't blame her, though. If I were in Galadriel's position, I might be much more aggressive than she has been."

[gatheringstorm]

"Thank you." Flashing a smile, Korrin raises her own glass in response, taking a sip afterward. "And 'very nearly human' in appearance? Seriously? I have to wonder what other people exist that I would be considered so similar. Here, we're the opposite."

Mention of Galadriel has Korrin narrowing her eyes, lips forming a thin line. "She was aggressive enough. She dared to threaten Araceli, leaving her very shaken afterward. The way to get my sympathy is not to threaten my beloved." And she won't soon forget it, from her tone. While the Vashoth woman is usually willing to hear people out as long as her own right to freedom is respected, she has no more sympathy to spare in that particular case.