{ CLOSED }

[aceso]

WHO: Christine, Cullen, (Baldewin?) and their dogs
WHAT: Puppy play date because the dark future is terrible and the present should be filled with cute stuff.
WHEN: late Guardian
WHERE: Skyhold

Though Christine would deny it (if only to keep up appearances), her mother's dog has grown on her over these last few months, and she doesn't see him as quite the burden she once had. Training him out of bad habits hasn't been easy, but with Fereldans coming out of the stonework here, she has been given plenty of tips on how to make little Ponce behave. And now the papillion fancies himself to be as big as a mabari, standing guard of his mistress and growling at any who his mistress hasn't given her approval of yet. Mostly it amuses passersby, and he's often called a yapper or ankle biter.

Today he runs ahead of Christine without a leash, but he listens if she tells him to heel. She watches carefully as Ponce catches Puppy's scent and rushes ahead to barrel into the giant, play growling and nipping at him. Christine follows, nodding hello to the Commander.

"I do believe Ponce is ready to burn off all this excess energy."

Comments

[lionheartedman]

"I do believe that your little hound will never burn away half of the energy he's given each day. The Maker only knows how his hide contains him." Still, Cullen is smiling as Puppy flops onto his side in order to reach Ponce for a gentle wrestle. Just because the little thing believes himself to be Puppy's size, that doesn't mean he would fare well against the mabari's full strength. "Has he been improving? I'm sorry I haven't had as much time to help with him as I thought I would." A vague hand gesture that more or less translates to 'life is busy and funny and cares little about my own plans.'

[aceso]

She releases a gentle laugh at that assessment and has to agree with it, nodding along. Even when Ponce runs himself ragged, he still always has a tail wag ready to unleash.

"You need not apologize. Skyhold is full of Fereldans wishing to give me advice, once they determine Ponce is not, in fact, a rat." The little dog happily leaps on Puppy, worrying his teeth lightly over the bigger dog's hide. He lets out a playful growl before fully leaping over Puppy to attack his other side.

"On the whole, I do see improvement. He listens better now, and when I am cross with him and approach, he rolls onto his back, paws curled in the air. One of the soldiers told me that means he is being submissive, became he knows I am in charge." Which is a long way from when he ignored her or thought her scolding was just a game and growled back at her before attacking her feet.

[lionheartedman]

The comment about the rat earns her a chuckle. Ponce is a dog, with all the tendencies and personality quirks and instincts, but Cullen still thinks the little creature looks rather ridiculous.

So he changes the subject, while Puppy rolls around in absolute bliss and Ponce leaps back and forth over him. The little dog yaps excitedly, avoiding the large paws that come after him, slow and lazy through the air. It's clearly just a game to Puppy, but he still takes it seriously.

"Your problem could be that he's too intelligent. I know that might sound odd. Dogs need mental stimulation. The smarter they are, the more they need. Many breeds get destructive when they're bored. The more you work with him, the more you'll redirect his energy."

[aceso]

Maybe on some level, Ponce knows that Puppy could crush him in an instant, even if Ponce thinks himself a big dog too. The fact that Puppy doesn't just makes him more fun to play with.

Of course, it's something a Fereldan would say, isn't it? A dog being too intelligent. But she cannot deny that mabari are well trained and battle-savvy. The fact that such a statement applies to other breeds as well never crossed her mind.

"I will have more time for him soon," she replies, watching him go with no signs of slowing down. "I had many projects demand my attention over the autumn months, but that will all be slowing down soon." Part of it was after the loss of her friend Asher over the summer and finding out her father was dead at the end of summer that she needed to throw herself into things to deal with the ache. Red lyrium research, horseback riding lessons, Knight-Enchanter training, and more all had her busy and away from Ponce. Meanwhile back home he was trapped in a house with a housebound woman who could always throw his toys to him.

"He must feel a little neglected. I am grateful he has had Puppy to play with when I haven't been as attentive as I should have been."

[lionheartedman]

"Yes. I've heard all about your projects." He hears all about all projects, eventually, but he cares about hers. Her red lyrium research, in particular, because it put her so close to a dangerous element from his past. It's a ridiculous thing. It still worries him, though. He keeps on trying to see glimpses of the man he once knew behind the bloodshot eyes and cynical barbs. It's difficult to reconcile the two images in his mind. "You take on a lot."

[aceso]

"There is a lot to do." Christine gives a delicate shrug. It is what it is. "But we have had a breakthrough, thanks to Samson's armor. After numerous tests, we have discovered the recipe for a rune that can damage red lyrium more than mere weapons alone. It is what I have been hoping for since I began my research." They still don't know what red lyrium is but this is a vital step in the right direction. And now they can all step back for awhile and let the runes do their job. Christine knows how important it is to spend time away from the dangerous substance, and now is a good time for it.

[lionheartedman]

That piques Cullen's interest. That could be incredibly useful. Might be the first good thing to come from Samson being back in his life. It does nothing for him personally, makes no impact on the emotional carnage this renewed presence is leaving in its wake, but it's progress. It might help them to save lives. Lives they really can't spare. "That's fantastic. Why haven't I heard about this yet?" He's not blaming her, just curious. Is this a brand new breakthrough? Does she mean they discovered it today? Is it not ready yet?

[aceso]

"Oh," she begins, surprised, yet pleased at his reaction. "I did not wish to add another report to your desk until everything was finalized. But if you would like the details, I can write something for you later today." She assumes the Commander must have hundreds of reports to go through, and she didn't want to add hers in every time her team did a test. But now that it's ready to go, it does seem to be the proper time to write down something official.

"I am very glad to be able to tell you this in person. It has been a long journey to reach this point."

[lionheartedman]

"Of course I'm interested." In part because it's hers, but mostly because it sounds like the first piece of good news they've had on the red lyrium front through this entire struggle. "This is what we've been hoping for, isn't it? Something useful. Something to give us an edge." Maker knows they need the win.

[aceso]

Christine inclines her head. "Then you will receive a full report." It will be easy to fill up parchment because she has so much to say about what she and her team have done.

"I do look forward to seeing these runes used out in the world." Outside of their controlled studies. The Red Templars have been such a tough opponent, but now they've evened things out.

[lionheartedman]

He smiles, then reaches out to shift Christine out of the way as their dogs come tumbling into the space she just occupied. They don't even seem to notice their owners having their own conversation. Ponce is more or less riding Puppy's head as the mabari rolls and wiggles his way across the stones. They're cute. Weird, but cute.

"We might actually be able to make some headway here. Tell me what you need." There's probably an unflattering comment to be made about the fact that the only thing to get him excited about their prospects in months is a new way to kill things, but he is who he is.

[aceso]

Christine makes a slight noise at the sudden appearance of dogs, but otherwise seems charmed by them. It's a far cry from how she would have acted around dogs half a year ago, but somehow Ponce has snuggled into her heart the way he snuggles up against her back every night in bed to stay warm. Or keep her warm. She's still not sure which it is.

"What is the phrase? Thick as thieves?" she asks, watching them roll on by as Puppy wears Ponce for a hat. These two are certainly entertaining.

But she tears herself away from watching to look up at Cullen with a grateful smile. She isn't going to be the one to make an unflattering comment, because she's pleased that he's taking her accomplishments seriously.

"Plenty of runestones, to start. We have a fair few, but more are always welcome." She then rattles off several ingredients that go into making her special cleansing rune, all of which are things she was planning on ordering through the quartermaster anyway. But if the Commander can put the request through faster, all the better.

[lionheartedman]

He has some pull, and he intends to use it, writing her list on the back of a message that he won't need past tomorrow. This is a priority. "This is all you need? And you have enough help? Enough space?" He's excited. Maker help him, he's excited, and he'll take any bit of that feeling that he can get. It's rare these days.

When the dogs go tumbling past again, Cullen clicks his tongue. "Puppy. Come." Because of course they're going right now. He sweeps a hand for Christine to walk ahead of him, or at least by his side, if she'd like to join them.

[aceso]

His enthusiasm is infectious and she gives a soft laugh before her face settles into a pleased expression.

"Yes, that should do it. And I have a good amount of help. If you would like to rotate in new people, however, I will not turn them away." They both know how the lyrium sings, and how it's contributed to how long her research has taken her. Having only a short time a week to study it or run tests and then the remainder of the week off leaves plenty of wasted time, but it's necessary so no one latches on to that singing and grows obsessed with it.

She moves beside him, patting her thigh to get Ponce to follow. However, it's quite clear that the little papillion is following Puppy, and not her. C'est le vie.

"You are putting in the order now? I am very grateful to you."

[lionheartedman]

"I'm sure that can be arranged. The quicker we get this done, the better." He absolutely understands the seductive pull of the lyrium, and how difficult it is to resist. Damn near impossible, really. "Seems that counts for the order, as well. The sooner we get it in, the sooner you'll get your supplies, the sooner you can take the next step."

As far as Cullen is concerned, he's the one who should be grateful. She's found a way to take the worst thing they deal with on a daily basis, and put it to good use. It's more than he's been able to do, and he knows what an uphill battle it's been for her.

[aceso]

It does pay to have someone incredibly interested in seeing her work bear fruit. Even more so when it's someone at the top who can get things done faster than one can blink. And when one adds on the fact that Cullen has helped Christine settle into being a dog owner, it can't be denied that this is a friendship she's glad to have.

"Sooner is good. Very good. And once I have everything I need, I can work on modifying the runes for placement on stonework. We can make sure that places like Emprise du Lion never sees the red lyrium grow back again."