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WHO: Kain and YOU
WHAT: Open post for the month! Dracolisk bonding, dumb parrot bonding, shard… curiosity, cute Warden creatures
WHEN: Earlier part of Firstfall
WHERE: All around Skyhold… stables, training grounds, tavern, wherever the griffons are
NOTES: N/A

[Stables]

[Kain has been hanging around the stables lately, watching people come and go with their mounts. He’d lost his own not too long ago, sadly, so he’s been on the lookout for a new one. There are of course the nuggalopes now, and he doesn’t count that option out. It might be really nice to have a large war-beast of sorts.]

[But first, he makes his way toward a lovely looking hunter shade dracolisk. One who he’s been visiting a lot lately. At the moment, she has no official owner. She’s in excellent shape, her previous owner supposedly did great caring for her, and she’s been looked after very well since too.]

[He holds an apple out toward her.]

Hello, girl… how are you today?

[Training Grounds]

[Kain is going all out with his training as always, giving it his all. He pauses eventually for a short break, stretching and catching his breath. He even takes his Grey Warden helmet off for a moment, shaking out his long golden hair. As he’s doing this, something swoops down from above to land right in the middle of that hair... It's a bird, a bright blue parrot with yellow spots near its eyes and mouth. It screeches a greeting.]

”Andraste’s perky tits!!!”

[All Kain does is simply shift his gaze upward. Maybe this needs an explanation? Maybe it doesn’t. He simply sighs heavily.]

Oh. It’s you.

[Tavern: pick an option!]

[Kain is mostly keeping to himself, drinking and brooding. There's a lot on his mind, even though he's supposedly in here to relax a little. He isn’t the best at ‘relaxation’, but he’s giving it his best attempt. When someone approaches, he’ll react slightly differently based on whether he notices a shard or not (he won’t ask if he can’t see it, after all, he hides his own under gloves).]

[Tavern A. Shardbearer]

[Watching curiously, Kain doesn’t say anything at first. But that distinct green glow is hard to miss.]

Was it hard to get used to? That shard...

[Tavern B. No Shard]

[Kain gives a nod in greeting as the other person approaches. He's perhaps had a few drinks by now, as is evident by the random question.]

If we close the rifts, do you think those shards will disappear from people's hands?

[Wherever they keep the Griffons!]

[Yet again, he can’t sleep.]

[That’s a regular occurrence after the recurring nightmares, which have been worse over the past year or so. This time, Kain gets up and heads off toward where the griffons are kept. He’s quiet as he enters the area, so as not to disturb them. He really enjoys seeing them, finding it especially comforting to see such an important symbol of the Wardens alive and thriving here...]

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Kieran hadn't begged to see them. Had wheedled, had huffed, had come very dangerously close to a pout she first saw on the face of the man who gave him his nose ten years ago and in the end, Morrigan relents. She takes him carefully by the hand to the griffons; after their long absence, after the darkness that almost seemed to swallow her in Kirkwall she's willing (more than willing) to indulge him.

Kain will hear the child's voice first, hushed but excited as he tries not to disturb the beasts too much, half a question carrying. "--all coming back?"

"Perhaps." Morrigan's voice is warm and indulgent in a way it only ever is with Kieran. "You recall Merrill? She is very fond of these griffons, perhaps we might find her if you wish to recount tales of these griffons later."

The griffons are truly adorable, all nestled together, and Kain is hoping that enough time here will ease his mind. He glances over when he hears a young voice. Voices, he realizes, before he sees them come into view. A mother and son, he's almost certain of it, the boy reminding him of himself at that age. So he genuinely doesn't mind having others around. It may even help take his mind off things all the more.

"The tales of griffons are among some of my favorites," Kain says as they approach. Next to dragons, of course. But the griffons hold such importance to the Wardens in particular. "But of course... nothing can compare to the real thing."

If Kieran puffs out his chest, it's because Alistair's been teaching him about swords and stances, and it's nothing at all to do with the griffin emblem in dark metal that happens to be carefully sewn to the front of them. Morrigan inclines her head in greeting, a hand on his shoulder with the same amount of trepidation she would feel around any Warden when Kieran is present that she hasn't known personally in her life.

"I trust we are not disturbing you, Warden? Kieran wished to see the griffons for himself. Are you well acquainted with them?"

Kain can see from the boy's stance, he has the makings of being a fine warrior one day. Starting young with that sort of thing is essential, in Kain's mind... even just showing proper decorum goes a long way. Looking over toward the tiny griffons for a moment, Kain shakes his head. The more people come to visit the griffons, the better, he thinks. The Wardens need associations with good things, right now.

"You're not disturbing me at all. I've only been with the Inquisition a little over a month, so I'm still getting to know them. I never thought I'd see griffons with my own eyes..."

At least this time none of them are trying to eat any part of her boots as they had when she had last come to visit, and none are the size of a dracolisk, thus leaving them unable to start nibbling at Kieran's hair. Far easier for a griffon to take off part or even a whole ear if they tried, even at a young age.

"Truly? There is...something familiar about you, though perhaps that comes from seeing so many Wardens now." After all, outside of their strongholds, when did so many Wardens ever gather together they way they do in their camp in Skyhold? "I would wager many never thought they would see an ancient magister rise again yet here we stand. Of old forgotten things returning, this at least brings more joy."

Kain is definitely cautious around the griffons... small as they are, they're not defenseless. He respects their strength, admiring them and thinking about what they'll be like when they're grown one day.

"I get that a lot, for some reason." More so here at Skyhold, than anywhere else he's ever been. It can get pretty weird at times, though he's gotten more or less used to it. "My name is Kain, by the way... Warden Kain Ventfort." He looks at the griffons thoughtfully. "We do seem to be living in strange times... the return of the dragons could also be added to that list." He could do without the evil magister part, but the rest of it is fine by him.

"Morrigan. Arcane advisor to Empress Celene and to the Inquisition." Perhaps the latter is rather less formalised than the first but she is the only one with the sort of knowledge she has, and a title is a title. "And this is my son, Kieran."

Kieran, of course, immediately has to ask, "Do you know Alistair?" Just a little excited, though hushed because he's crouched down to stroke one of the griffons carefully as it closes both eyes in rapture. Everyone knows Alistair, at least in Kieran's mind. Morrigan is rather more concerned with wondering where exactly the sword training takes place because she never wishes to pry or creep in on their time together. Plus it's a distraction from how the name goes through her. That name, that name and dragons--

"What would you call it, if you had to choose between two - fate, or chance?" She asks it lightly enough, head tipped to the side to say humour me.

"It's good to meet you both." Kain has heard of Morrigan, of course, given her position and involvement, though he's never had a chance to meet her or her son in person yet.

As for Kieran's question, Kain shakes his head, watching the tiny griffon closely. "I'm afraid I don't know Alistair personally, though that's mostly because we've served in different countries until now. I'm sure we'll get to know one another while here." Wardens stick together among their own and all. "I've heard many great things about him, of course. It's an honor to be serving here with him." Kain has great respect for him, given how well he's upheld the true purpose of the Wardens.

It takes him a moment to ponder over what Morrigan asks, a curious expression on his face as he considers. "I would prefer fate. Chance seems as if it would be far too... chaotic and unpredictable. But fate implies there's at least some greater purpose behind what happens. Why do you ask?"

What a sign of growth - in her, in her relationship (such as it is) with Alistair - that she doesn't ask this Warden if he knows enough to judge his dancing of the remigold. But then again, some things you don't mention in front of your child either. Wouldn't do to scar the lad too early when that's surely to come.

"Have you killed any ogres like he has? Or dragons?" Do you know that they totally re-enact those battles with toy soldiers and that Alistair doesn't ever just let Kieran win them? Kieran's even got a proper toy dragon now to make that part of the battle more realistic, officially the coolest kid in Skyhold.

Taking note of the answer, a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth that's far kinder than the expression that would creep across her mother's which would be something far hungrier, she is sure. "There are few I believe who would truly know the difference in the moment. I ask only when we live in such times, where great change has come upon the world. What might the world say of all this when it is at an end? How any of it came to be. I suppose a Warden would not be so troubled by something unseen moving their lives." The taint, such as it is.

That earns a bit of a prideful look from Kain. “I’ve brought down a few ogres in my time, and more genlocks and hurlocks than I can count. Ogres are brutish and tough, it’s a victory well earned when you manage to make the finishing blow.” He gets an even more eager look when thinking about dragons though. He'd become a reaver for many reasons, among them to feel the power of dragons inside of him. Battling them is the ultimate challenge. “I've long been fascinated by dragons. I’ve yet to encounter any of the high dragons, due to their rarity, but that’s my ultimate goal. I’ve fought plenty of others, though, and even their young can be a handful. And although they’re only somewhat related to the dragons, I participated in and won some wyvern hunts back home as well.” Even kept the venom, who knows when it might come in handy.

He nods, thoughtfully. He sees a difference, though it’s subtle. Chance is chaos, fate is order. “It really has been a tumultuous time, hasn’t it? I would hope that all of this brings the world to a better place, one where they look favorably on so much change…” At least, he thinks it can only be for the better, in the end. So much of their world has always been so resistant to change. He nods wearily at the comment about Wardens, knowing what she’s getting at. “We Wardens take on a cursed blessing of a sort… or a blessed curse. Either way, we accept it and use its powers even as we know what fate awaits us.”

Well his eyes are wide as saucers now before he furrows his brow to think about the business of doing the finishing bit. "How do you do it? Mother says some spells work well, but you aren't a mage. I would know. Your blood burns too hot to belong to a mage."

The movement is subtle but her hand drifts closer to her son, fingers settling over his shoulder protectively. The smile has a hint of teeth, of challenge. Morrigan is never fond of when her son speaks of blood and Wardens within the same breath, not knowing when one might take insult or ponder upon it too long; so many are researching, so many have studied the false Calling, abominations, and more work away at understanding Corypheus. What will they think of her child if they ever come too close, when there are Weisshaupt Wardens here in numbers enough that she could clench her jaw until it breaks?

Steering the conversation away from that and to beasts again, she rolls her eyes and wishes it felt so easy as it looks but she is good at performing when she must though that was a trick she learned long before the court at times. "It does rather say something, I think, about some men and what they must conquer though had you come some months back there were three dragons in Emprise du Lion that were slain, two of ice, one of flame. I have had my fill for the moment. I believe that after the Blight, I am allowed that."

After my mother, she thinks and it's not so much savage as it is a little tired, I am allowed that.

"The world does not that so well. Perhaps you might look to the elves. Who else has weathered more change than them since the days of Arlathan and what as it brought them? The wonders we can only dream of while they are what they are now. Mages taught fear by the Chantry with so many who would lock themselves and all the rest away." She could go on. Thedas with the long and bloody history, the deep rut in the world they dig deeper and deeper as they step on the bones and churn the earth full of blood from those they step on to climb higher or to keep down. And sometimes a Blight comes to knock everything back or to sow true chaos amongst them entirely.

Kain's expression is curious as the boy mentions his blood. Quite an odd thing to say. There may indeed be more too him than Kain might have guessed... is he a mage, then...? He'd been practicing with the sword but it doesn't mean he couldn't just be trying to ensure he can defend himself in more than one way. Who knows? He's heard quite a few strange things about Morrigan herself, though not much about her son. As for Kain, he has drank the blood of the darkspawn and dragons both so... he certainly has some oddity to his blood.

"Finishing any enemy means knowing their most vital areas to stab. It doesn't have to involve magic, just good strategy." Though he at least has the sense not to react to the blood comment, glancing back at Morrigan. "A shame I missed the opportunity to face those dragons, but I'm sure there will be more. For now, though... that may be very true. The elves have endured so much... Perhaps it may be time for us to learn from them." Their world really is a difficult one, and has faced its share of hardships... and there is undoubtedly worse to come. At least unless they get rid of Corypheus and any followers soon.

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griffons; because she should meet this kain too

yes most definitely!!

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