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WHO: Cullen, Puppy, a ~~four~~ three year old prince, and you
WHAT: commandering
WHEN: whole month
NOTES: So, yeah, Cullen is just basically collecting small cute things. Newest one is a prince from the Anderfels.

It's a little unsettling how much overlap there is between caring for a small child and caring for a dog. Unsettling, but it works for Cullen. He has vague memories of being this age. he knows what he wanted, and while the circumstances were very different from Baldewin's upbringing, he figures at the heart of things, all children are probably the same.

He lets the boy play with Puppy. They two are contented to spend massive amounts of time together. While the boy is less thrilled to be stuck in Cullen's office all day, he understands that this is where he needs to be. Of course, big sad eyes and repeated pictures drawn for the man of the three of them playing in grass and surrounded by trees and rocks and other people does tend to wear him down. Some work is portable. Cullen can be seen in courtyards quite often, a small box of work at his feet, and Baldewin and Puppy playing within his line of vision. You don't have to come spend time with all of them, but if you're around for long enough in any capacity, chances are the tiny prince will draw you a picture.

Young boys also get dirty. Very dirty. Very often. Even exiled princes, it seems. Perhaps especially exiled princes, free from the shackles of the title and able to enjoy their childhood for the first time. There's freedom that comes in shedding the mantle of royalty. If you see Cullen at the hot springs during the day, he will most likely be sitting near the a shallow area in some cloth trousers bathing the day's dirt off of the little boy. Puppy will try to help. Puppy will not actually be much help.

He still goes to the hot springs late at night for himself, though now these trips no longer involve Puppy. Whenever Cullen is not with them, Puppy has been tasked with watching after the prince, and is taking his new role as royal guard dog very seriously. ANyone attempting to approach the sleeping child is going to get a chunk taken out of them by a mabari. Not figuratively.

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Returning from her long morning ride with Kelpie, Ciri is thoroughly exhausted. There hasn't been much time to train with her horse given the nature of missions so far but she will not let her mounted combat skills wane despite the lack of charging into battle recently. Her arm, mangled by the Wolf in the rescue mission a month prior, is still wrapped up but finally beginning to feel better after the horrid events from that mission.

Still, she cannot help itching at the bandages like a child and frowning. It'll be good when she can finally take this thing off and get the stitches removed before sailed into 'taking things into her own hands' territory. The familiar sounds of a certain child's laughter catches her attention, slowing her walk with Kelpie to glance around and grin upon spying a familiar little prince.

He's safer here. That had been her thoughts since taking him from that fortress in the Anderfels and it was good to see, for once, there was truth to that. She never wanted to see the sad boy she had briefly glimpsed on that long ride back to Skyhold as he talked about his parents and the aftermath of the Warden takeover. Mostly though, she is just happy to see him. He's one of the few reasons she can smile after such a harsh month.

It's why she cannot help waving happily with her good hand in Baldewin's direction.

Edited 2016-10-18 04:09 (UTC)

"Ciri!" The young prince recognizes the woman as someone who came to save him, who was kind to him, who brought him to this place where he gets to play with dogs all day and draw pictures and where everyone is nice to him and the big quiet man is always close by to make sure he's safe. He jumps up from his pile of blocks and his careful building of a tower and rushes to greet her, Puppy close on his heels.

Cullen just glances up from his work, sees who is it, and gives her a brief nod of his head. "Baldewin. Stay close to Puppy."

"Hello again, Commander!" The grin Ciri offers Cullen is pleasant, far more pleasant than she appears most of the time outside of what time she spends with Avery and Inessa.

She'd have said more but she noticeably distracted by a toddler coming her way who she bends down to meet, scooping him up into a hug and spinning around with a laugh. It was honestly amazing how someone so small could have such a big effect on her with everything else piling on top of them. Carefully, she sets him back down and gives him a happy grin.

"I see you have a handsome companion that looks just like Garahel, he's clearly a good protector." She says, glancing to Puppy before her focus returns to Baldewin. "Have you been doing well and listening to the Commander?"

Cullen inclines his head at Ciri. "Warden." His face is probably different to her, too. More open, more joyful, even if he does look even more exhausted than usual. Becoming the child's protector may not have been his intention, but he can't say he regrets it. This is the life a young boy should have. This is the joy every child should be allowed to experience.

Baldewin wraps his little arms around Ciri's neck and holds on even for a few moments after she's set him on his feet. He's missed her. "Yes and I'm helping because I can answer the door and I can stack files and I can take Puppy on walks when he needs to go and I watch him and make sure he doesn't get lost." Which is sort of true. He does watch the mabari, though Puppy is the one tasked with seeing that the young prince doesn't get lost. Still, no reason to tell the child that. He likes helping. He likes being useful. He likes being a part of something. Cullen gets the distinct impression that he wasn't much more than ornamentation for the first three years of his life.

Ciri happy to hug him close again for those few more moments before planting a small kiss atop his head. Kneeling, she listens intently and continues smiling widely. It is good that he's doing well here despite some of her fears. It had been a risk to take him away but she knew, they all knew, they could not leave him in that place a moment longer.

Here, he could grow and without greedy hands trying to fight over him due to his position to the now empty throne in the Anderfels.

"My, my. You certainly are growing fast and I imagine the Commander is very grateful for all the help you've offered." She grins at Cullen just a bit, grateful herself. "Did you know I decorated my and Nessa's space with your drawings? They add just the splash of color we needed."

The fact that Baldewin is eager to help is more of a relief to Cullen than the actual help. He's not beaten by what's happened to him. Sad, sometimes, and often confused, but not beaten. He's a brave boy, and resilient.

"Do you need more?" he asks, face lighting up. "Cullen gave me my own desk and it's-- I have a corner, and the desk is only little for me--" He holds his arms out about two feet apart. "But I get a shelf too for all my things and my chalks and paints and I have-- I get to use all the leftover papers and -- and some of them are long cause they come all rolled up and I drew the-- the all the Anderfels and Commander Cullen hung it up behind his desk cause he said it's so good."

"I would love more of your work. After all, I have lots more space that is in dire need of some great artwork."

She listens carefully, smile remaining and feeling glad for him. They were not able to bring much of his things when leaving the Anderfels and had bought replacements for things as they traveled back to Skyhold as they could. It was good that he was making his own little space here to call his own.

"Is that so? You must have done a really incredible job then and one day, I will most definitely have to come and see when it isn't any trouble for the Commander. Though that reminds me, I have something for you." Ciri stands, moving to where Kelpie is grazing nearby to open a saddlebag and remove a small item wrapped in cloth. When she returns to the young prince's side, she kneels and opens it to reveal a small painted figurine of Andraste.

The Chantry had never been an important part of her life but she knew how much it meant to the people of the Anderfels. What it probably meant for the small child that had lost so much already.

"I found this when I was in Denerim recently and thought of you. I want you to have it and I want you to always remember that we'll be here for you, okay?"

"It's a truly fantastic depiction of an important natural landmark. I especially love the curly one with all the dragons." It makes the boy happy. He's had to give up so much - his family, his home, his very identity. He can keep this. He can keep the little things that used to make him happy, and if Cullen can fill enough of every day with them, then maybe in time he'll forget that he's hurting, he'll learn to make a new life. "A few more big rolls are just about ready for you, young man. Perhaps you could do the Frostbacks next. I'm sure Ciri would like that."

Baldewin picks up the little painted figure carefully. It's with a reverence he doesn't show for much around Skyhold. Cullen has surrounded him with things he can keep as his own, things that can survive a small child. The figurine is probably fairly solid and difficult to break, but his fingers are so gentle as they trace over the painted face. "Thank you, Ciri." he says, a tremble in his little voice when he throws his arms around her neck again. "I pray for you," he whispers, as though it's a secret.

"The Commander is right, I would very much like that. I might be busy sometimes or away on missions but you can be sure that I will drop by whenever possible."

Ciri wishes she could stay here more with him but she knows, more than anything else, that she wants to give him his country back. She'll tear the First Warden out from the palace herself if she has to do it. He's young but he's smart, she'll know he'll go on to make many, many more people happy in the future. One day, he'll be a good king.

Watching quietly as he takes the painted figure, she smiles and is glad to have found the wooden figure as it was. It wasn't that she didn't trust him but rather she just for him to have something that would last. The thanks causes her smile to grow but there is surprise when she reaches out to hug her and whispers low to her. She doesn't say anything but pulls him up into her arms once more, hugging him tightly and nodding.

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