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[OPEN] It's thunder and it's lightning
WHO: Bruce Not-Banner and anybody else
WHAT: Somehow its business as usual. And also a dracolisk who continues to makes his life interesting in all the best ways.
WHEN: Across all of August, 9:42 Dragon
WHERE: Orlais or Skyhold. Timey wimey ball in effect.
NOTES: Catch all and stuff for this month. Like before I'm starting in brackets, but feel free to switch around to prose and I'll follow. If you want to plot stuff or request individual starters, feel free to either PM me, get me on Plurk @![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
knightblazer or Discord @ knightblazer#8835.
WHAT: Somehow its business as usual. And also a dracolisk who continues to makes his life interesting in all the best ways.
WHEN: Across all of August, 9:42 Dragon
WHERE: Orlais or Skyhold. Timey wimey ball in effect.
NOTES: Catch all and stuff for this month. Like before I'm starting in brackets, but feel free to switch around to prose and I'll follow. If you want to plot stuff or request individual starters, feel free to either PM me, get me on Plurk @
one. fancy roads and fancier people (orlais)
[Orlais is, and will most likely never be, Bruce's cup of tea - to put it mildly. The people here felt too... fake, hiding behind their masks and whispering as if nobody could hear them, could see the way they were so clearly scheming. Things they could all so easily less do of and focus on more important things, like helping the countless people living in constant poverty. Not that he was expecting anything like that anytime soon.
The nerve of these people sometimes.
Though he is but one person Bruce does whatever he can to help still. He goes around lower districts and out into the countryside where the sick, the old and the poor need help the most, and can be easily found giving consultations for those who come to seek for it and medications to those who do need it using his own coin that he gets from working in the Inquisition.
In fact, if you're lucky (or unlucky) enough, you can chance him up in the high quarters, where he grudgingly goes up there in order to shop for all those needed herbs and medicines, some of which only can be found here in the heart of Orlais. Not that knowledge helps him sometimes, because some of these shopkeepers really want to suck people dry and Bruce finds himself having to bargain one too many times. It can get kind of draining after a while.
And yes, while he's here, he's still stuck in the armor set that the Inquisition loaned him.]
two. no more fancy streets for me (skyhold)
[Bruce never thought he'd be thinking it, but it was good to be back in Skyhold. If only because that meant he wasn't in Orlais. For now, anyway.
Either way, its good to be out of that armor.
It's easy enough to settle back into his usual routine once he's settled back down. Bruce can be found in his usual places for the most part during the day - the healing tents where he tends to most of the patients under his care, around the courtyard when he makes his daily rounds to attend to those who can't quite come to him, the gardens where he works however he can to ensure that the herbs and plants continue to flourish and for those who want to seek him out during the night - the battlements, where he dwells up there more often than not and uses those restless nights to experiment with some potion making.
On some nights though instead of the battlements he's instead in the library, perusing through numerous texts and jotting down notes in his worn leather journal. If there's at least one good thing that came out of his mage status being revealed, its at least the fact that he no longer has to sneak around just to read a magical tome or two. Not that it makes him feel any better, but it does help that the rumors around him aren't as strong as they used to be, now that the people have other things to be occupied with.
And finally, he can be sometimes found at the stables, reluctantly tending to the dracolisk he's more or less stuck with at this point. And maybe sometimes taking it out to try and train it. And speaking of that...]
three. you sir are not a dog (skyhold, stables)
--no, I said, stay.
[It's definitely a bit of a sight should one chance upon it - Bruce with a hand raised, making the universal gesture of stop towards the dracolisk that's apparently determined to follow him around. Or at least, as evidenced by Bruce dropping his hand, taking a few steps backward... and sighing when he sees the dracolisk following him still.]
I said, stay. [Bruce runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head.] You can't follow me all around Skyhold.
[He steps forward now, closer to the dracolisk, and it only backs away a little when Bruce comes it too closely for it to really be able to take a good look at its human. It snorts and flicks its tail when they both stop moving, and Bruce is left to stare at it for a good moment.]
Alright, let's try this again. [He raises his hand once more.] Stay.
[He clicks his tongue after that, slowly lowering his hand... and then the dracolisk leans back on its hindlegs, eventually assuming--well, like this.
A few moments pass as Bruce stares at what had just happened. Then he lowers his hand.
--he supposes its close enough.]
wildcard.
[Feel free to throw in your own prompt or PM/contact me to plot out stuff!]
WILDCARD DATE B)
The place, should he arrive at the time, was a little clearing surrounded on three sides by trees, and a steep drop off on the fourth, giving a fantastic view of...mountains. And more mountains. A very similar view to Skyhold, in fact. Mountains were mountains.
Kaisa had laid out a blanket in the grass, with a basket full of bread, cheese, and smoked meat, because that's the kind of food Kaisa finds particularly fetching. She's very Fereldan. And to the side of the basket, a bunch of bottles, some of ale, some of cider (in case he didn't drink), and one of (cheap) wine. She really had no idea what he drank, and if they didn't drink it, she could always have it later.
Kaisa herself was hanging out on the blanket, her dog absent for now. Instead, she was working on an attempt at wood carving, what appeared to be a very basic attempt at the flames of Andraste. Yay Andraste! ]
this couldn't possibly go wrong
But--well. It's not as if she's a bad person by any means, and he did say 'yes' when he could have easily said 'no'. (Probably.) The least he can do is to try and see this through somehow. He knows eventually he'll have to tell her the facts and lay it clearly. Maybe after this... dinner.
He revises the 'maybe' to 'probably' when he gets to the location that Kaisa asked him to go. Of course, he comes on time before he's not a guy to be late for appointments in order to be polite to the other party. The sight that greets him is certainly... something, to put it mildly, and Bruce kind of has to pause and stare a little. The laid out blanket, the food (very Ferelden, he notices), the scenery--its all quite, uh, picturesque.]
no subject
When she hears the crunch in the grass of someone approaching, she glances up, resting her knife at her side. Seeing that it was, indeed, Bruce, and not some nosy busybody, or a darkspawn, or Corypheus, she flashes him a dazzling smile, quickly sweeping her wood shavings off the blanket, tossing the half-finished Andrastian symbol next to the knife. ]
Hey! I hope the food's okay. I can't...really...cook that well, but! I figured everyone likes cheese and meat, right? Even Orlesians, except they have this fancy cheese that aged in a sacred cave and meat from virgin royal nugs or whatever.
[ That probably isn't good date conversation. Damn, she should've gotten Nate to school her on that, too. ]
Aaaanyway, how're you?
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He really hopes she keeps that knife away safely.
There's a moment in between Kaisa's words and Bruce actually registering them, but once that passes he blinks again and actually opens his mouth to respond.]
The food's-- [Um. Ferelden?] --fine. It's very-- [Ferelden.] --quaint.
[Pause.]
And I'm fine.
[Another pause. Bruce probably figures its best to actually not stand around like an idiot so he goes to the mat and settles down on a spot that 1) doesn't have remains of wood shavings on them 2) isn't occupied by the food and 3) isn't too near where Kaisa is sitting. That at least doesn't take too long, but once he sits Bruce has to stop himself from fidgeting.
He really is kind of over his head here, he thinks. Maybe saying no had been the better idea.]
no subject
[ He isn't much of a talker, is he? Luckily, Kaisa can talk enough for both of them, and another person, besides. She grabs the food, and then the knife, wiping it on her pants to make sure all the pieces of wood are gone before cutting up the food, putting some on a napkin near her, and some on a napkin that gets slid to Bruce. The worrisome knife is then slipped into her boot. That may be an improvement. It might not. ]
I got beer, an' cider, an' wine. Wasn't sure what type of person you were, so I covered my bases.
[ She pauses, tapping her fingers. ]
...How's your dracolisk doing?
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you know what
nevermind.]
--cider's good enough for me. [No alcohol for him, thank you very much. He glances at the piece of meat and the cheese that's been passed over to him and thinks yet again how very Ferelden it all is before he pauses at her next question.]
It's, uh, fine. [Pause.] And its not mine.
[He doesn't own it or anything okay he feels like he needs to clear that up.]
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You're the one taking care of it. And fixing all the shit that it breaks, from what I've heard.
[ If the dracolisk isn't his, then it sounds like he belongs to the dracolisk. ]
You should see if it'll let you ride it. Might as well get some use outta the thing if you've got to spend all that time on it, yeah?
[ Kaisa's a practical person. Dogs have uses, horses have uses. There's a reason people keep them around. Cats are a mystery, but they're cute, at least. ]
...Ya should at least name it. So people know who you're talking about.
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I've done it. [Riding it, he means. And also a pause.] A--A few times. Four, maybe.
[The first time being in the Fade because... yeah, and the few trips to (and around) Orlais that he had to go with the Inquisition's forces since their formal dispatch there. Mostly because it had just been the practical solution since it wouldn't leave him alone and Bruce didn't trust it to not cause some sort of chaos while he wasn't around.
Seriously, of all the dracolisks to be stuck with--it had to be a needy one.
And then he makes a face at the part about naming it.]
I'm not going to do that. It's not a pet. [And as he said earlier, its not even his. So it doesn't even really apply.]
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[ She waves her hand in a 'so on and so forth' kind of gesture. ]
Hey, people name things that aren't pets. People name ships, and castles, and uh. Animals in general. And it sounds like you're going to be around it for a while. It couldn't hurt to call it something besides 'that dracolisk that follows me around'.
[ She drums her fingers on her thigh a moment. ]
If you don't want to, I can name it. But I named my dog 'Puppy', so. Bare that in mind.
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Still, he's done it enough times to sort of have an idea.]
It's about... the same? [The frown deepens, and Bruce sort of shrugs.] Bumpier, I guess, since they're thinner than horses for the most part. It's been a while since I've... rode any kind of animal.
[Nor does he really intend to make it a thing, either. Bruce is fine enough staying in Skyhold to do what he initially came here to do, even if things have changed since then.
He finally drinks a bit of the cider and sets it down.]
I... I'll think about it. [Bruce just feels weird about the whole naming thing since it just has unspoken implications he'd rather not think about. He has enough going on in his life right now.]
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[ She leans close to Bruce, flashing him a grin that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame. If, you know, it existed in Thedas. ]
I happen to be an expert in all kinds of...ah. Recreational riding.
[ Obnoxious eyelash fluttering here. ]
If you ever want, I can give you a demonstration. Just the two of us. Show you how you have to move your body to stay on, when there's all this bucking under you. It's all in the hips, really. And the thighs.
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As it is, all he can really feel is a rapidly rising flush rising up, and his face turns warm as he pretty much kind of just... stares at Kaisa as if she had just grown a second head or something equally shocking.]
I... uh-- [Why is this happening to him.] --um, appreciate the offer, but--I think I'll be fine without such a demonstration.
[Perfectly, utterly fine.]
But I, um. Appreciate the offer.
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Well, let me know if you change your mind. In the meantime...
How do you feel about music?
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Though at least it seems like she isn't going to press that further (for now), something that Bruce is at least thankful for right now. Instead there is a question so he focuses on that instead.
...not that he has much of an answer for that.]
Music?
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[ She hums a few bars of Andraste's Mabari. Just in case Bruce is unaware of what music is, precisely. Who knows! Apostates are weird. ]
Music. Do you like it?
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...it's fine? [Kind of--shrugs.] I don't have any real opinions about it.
[Mostly because he hasn't really. Heard much of it.]