[open] exploration, study, and practice

[kartereo]

WHO: Waver + Open
WHAT: Mucking about
WHEN: Month of Drakonis, contemporary timeline
WHERE: In and around Skyhold
NOTES: None

i. Woods around Skyhold
Months ago, Iskandar had talked to Waver about wanting to build a small place for himself in the area. While Waver had had concerns, like the shards, he also wasn't going to argue with having a little bit more private space. And so with melting snows and the promise of spring that came with longer days, he set out into the forests.

He was methodical as he went, relying on horseback to get to whatever area he wanted to focus on on a given day, and then spending hours on foot making notes on natural clearings, where snow naturally drifted, and where it seemed as if there were heavier animal tracks for the sake of hunting.

Waver didn't enjoy the wind and the cold, but he enjoyed the quiet around him, the challenge before him, and the fact that he was actually working outdoors without wheezing and panting like he might have been a few months ago. For better or for worse, Thedas forced him towards the physical, whereas his life in London had only been academic. Or else it was Iskandar making him do the same.

His work and his thoughts are coupled with keen ears that listen for anyone who might be approaching. Animals, he expects, and hopefully none of them predators.

ii. Library
With Merrill having approved of his general approach of creating course schedules for the Skyhold classrooms, Waver was now tweaking what he had come up with. He wanted to build in a break week at the end of every cycle, both for courses to catch up or for people to take missions, and besides, some complimentary course timings were an issue.

So he sat at a long table in the library, parchment cut into squares in one pile and a drawn up calendar in front of him. As he worked, each class was placed on the calendar, and the squares arranged then rearranged as he tried to find something that would be as close to ideal as possible.

There were mutterings of fuck every so often that snaked down the shelves, coupled with that won't work or else ugh.

But it kept him busy, and he loved the puzzle of it all. And as he worked, there was a pleased smile on his face, one that wouldn't go away even if interrupted.

iii. Training
In asking Iskandar what might be the best weapon for him to learn given that magic might not always be available to him, Waver had been told that knives would be an excellent option. And while most of that learning was done away from prying eyes, there was always the need to practice.

Today, Waver did that in a corner of one of the grounds within the fortress, taking advantage ofa dummy left aside by someone else who forgot to put the thing into proper equipment storage. The daylight was fading, and the area looked as if it would see no traffic.

His movements were faster than they were when he and Iskandar had started out. But with the two little practice knives Waver had, he did nothing but miss mark after mark. The issue he knew was that he was now working with a skinny little dummy, rather than a man who was as big as a house.

He gave it several more attempts before muttering, "Goddamnit."

That one knife also went flying from his hand escaped Waver's notice for a moment. When he realized his left hand had nothing in it, he then immediately let out another swear before starting a search. "Where did that thing go--"

iv. Wildcard
For anything not covered above

Comments

IV

[gatheringstorm]

Sometime mid-morning, Korrin can be found re-stocking the alchemy supplies in the Undercroft. It's one of her off-days, so she isn't teaching a formal class, but that doesn't mean she can't talk and work at the same time. Crafting grenades is habit by now, and doesn't demand as much concentration as she's told her students to use. (They're new to it, so they need to pay attention.)

Unpacking more ingredients, the Vashoth woman recoils and wrinkles her nose, wafting away the scent and muttering. "Andraste's ass, who the hell thought that mixing blood lotus with the deep mushroom was a great idea? There goes my appetite...."

[kartereo]

"Oh sweet fuck."

It isn't the most elegant way to let someone else know that they're here, but for now, it'll have to do as Waver walks in. He immediately tugs his scarf up to cover his nose, and fights the urge to gag on the air.

"Please tell me that's either an error or else a new weapon of war designed to get the enemy to throw up while we attack."

[gatheringstorm]

Glancing over her shoulder, Korrin doesn't blame him in the slightest for gagging, though his comment gives her pause. Her expression shifts from disgusted to curious.

"That's...not a bad idea for a new grenade recipe. Throw it far enough and you can avoid the effects while the enemy's doubling over. Maybe after I'm done restocking, we can test that out?"

[kartereo]

"Also factor the wind in," he added, voice slightly muffled through the scarf. Part of Waver had to wonder if no one in Thedas had really not invented the stink bomb yet, but the rest of him was too busy focusing on the smell. What he wouldn't give for a good HVAC system right now.

"I'm not against testing it, but hopefully we can do it outside. Do you want a hand with the restocks?"

[gatheringstorm]

"Sure. Take care of the elfroot and spindleweed? At least that doesn't smell like a druffalo's fart when packed together." Korrin sets aside some of it for later us, but the rest will get quickly separated to spare Waver and herself, before she gives her hands a good hard scrub. Even with that, she's suspecting the scent will linger in some portion for a while.

"And yeah, it'll be outside. I'm not fucking over the one decent crafting spot in Skyhold. If we were forced to leave this place behind, I'd thrown around stink bombs galore just to spite enemy forces...but let's not burn bridges if we don't need to."

iii

[killedwithlove]

Someone in need of help and learning to fight with knives is something that Cole can't resist, even if he was inclined to. He drifts over, staying out of sight for a while and then picking up the knife and stepping out of the shadows, offering it out handle first, long fingers handling the blade with practice ease.

"I can help. I fight with knives. But you need to be intimate, immediate. Maybe you should learn to fight with a staff. Mages use staves."

[kartereo]

Waver looks utterly beside himself with embarrassment when Cole manages to find the knife before he does. Still, he takes it, ignoring the red in his own cheeks and the fact that goddamnit, he'd rather not be seen by anyone while practicing until he's at least competent.

"I'm going off the advice of a friend as to weapons to learn," he murmured. Waver knew about mages and staffs here in Thedas, but learning with something else was the point. He needed something that wasn't magic.

"But I'll take help. The same friend who has been assisting could be mistaken for a qunari in terms of size."

[killedwithlove]

"Iskandar." The image is vivid, the flush of embarrassment tying back to the large man, knife in hand, offering out...

"Knives are good, but you need to not be scared of being hurt." He steps in, far too close, too comfortable with it. "You need to be close, cautious, competent and confident. You can use a staff without magic. Or magic without a staff."

[kartereo]

"Yeah, him. Hard to miss a man like that."

Waver paused, taking in all of Cole and trying to piece together what kind of person he was dealing with, exactly. Beyond the forwardness with personal space, there were the words being said.

He did what was natural - shrug off anything that spoke to what made him feel vulnerable.

"I'll bother with a big stick after I'm competent enough that I'm not worn ragged after a brief amount of physical activity." That part was mercifully not bullshit. When Waver first arrived, he could barely run without wheezing moments later. "Competence requires growing skills over time, after all."

II

[conqueredhearts]

As big a man as he was, he could be terribly sneaky sometimes. Like right now. Mainly because he'd been practicing his invisibility factor to see how he could move around since he was now solid in that form. It was strange but he was getting used to it. At least enough to be quiet as he materialized behind Waver, leaning over his shoulder to have a look at what he was doing.

"What is it you do there, boy?" Mage stuff maybe? If so then he definitely was interested! Then again he tended to be in general when it came to matters of Waver Velvet, his former Master.

[kartereo]

"How," Waver intoned, after jumping a mile out of his own skin. "Did you just sneak up on me when you're louder than a lorry?"

He had snapped around for emphasis too, his face as sour and unimpressed as ever. The papers were unimportant in comparison, and Waver's scowl made it clear that there'd be no answer until he got his.

[conqueredhearts]

"Well, I was invisible. I have been practicing being quiet when I am like that."

Not because he planned to use that a lot since he obviously preferred to be loud and proud. All out there for all the world to behold. Still, it could be a useful skill to perfect since it was one of his. Better to know how to properly use it than to simply let it go to waste.

[kartereo]

"Ah, so going against your nature," Waver said with a little smile. It was a bad joke, but worth making.

"And to answer your question, I'm making some schedule adjustments for the school."

iii.

[extramural]

The knife is, as a matter of fact, currently floating in mid-air. The Outsider is about a foot away, one eyebrow slightly raised; once he's made sure that Waver's noticed, there's a little wave of his hand and the knife drops- only to twist in mid-air and come to the Outsider's hand. Once pale fingers have closed around the hilt, he takes several steps forward and offers the blade back to Waver.

"I imagine you did not mean to do that," he says, something faintly amused littering his voice. This close, even in the dark Waver should be able to tell that his eyes are all black. "Or, at least, not to throw in that particular direction."

[kartereo]

"No," Waver says flatly. "I did not."

There's zero his body language, which is more exasperated than embarrassed. He's visibly drooped, and only the heat in his cheeks suggest that this is a mortifying matter.

"Although how you managed to see that when your sunglasses are on inside your eyeballs is a bit of a surprise."

[extramural]

"Practice," the Outsider responds, all sarcasm. With the knife returned, he crosses his arms, though he doesn't actually move away. "Or magic. Or a number of other things, depending on who you ask, what rumors they've listened to, and their preconceived notions on the nature of either magic, spirits, or rifters."

The other hand turns palm up, shard glinting in the dark. Ta-da.

[kartereo]

Waver smiled thinly at the sarcasm. Good to know what he was dealing with, or at least to know that it was someone with a good head for dry comebacks.

"Or all of the above, I guess," Waver said as he pocketed the knife. "But that level of obfuscation is to one's advantage from time to time, isn't it?"

ii;

[foxsays]

At a nearby table, Araceli has several maps spread out and weighted down to stop them curling up on themselves or rolling down onto the floor as she reads from various accounts of voyages that aren't the usual dull and dry affairs. Few though they may be. All very dull to the fox flopped at her feet watching Waver's bits of parchment with great interest as he inches away from his mistress, low to the floor.

Lux goes still. Pricks his ears forward. Wiggles. Then pounces at the table.

"Ladrón!" Lunging out of her chair, she makes a grab for the fox because she knows his track record when it comes to him staying with her when she works up here. All his bad habits, after all, are learned from her. "Forgive him, he has the manners of a crab three days baked in the hot sun."

[kartereo]

Waver jumps at the interruption, not because he has registered an incoming fox pounce, but because his concentration has been broken. Now attentive, he turns in his seat just in time to see Araceli grab at the fox, and frankly, it is one of the stranger things he's seen in a few days.

"He didn't actually get at anything, so there's nothing to apologize for," he replies, one arm resting on the back of his chair, the other still on the table.

"Although color me floored by how fast your reflexes are."

[foxsays]

"Scraps of paper are his favourite thing that isn't food. I think that he thinks I'll somehow stop my work or studies if he can eat enough of them." Who knows what sort of logic a fox is capable of, she wouldn't entirely put it past him as she gives him a nudge.

(And it's come in handy, having a furry friend that can steal a document off a merchant's table when they're preoccupied elsewhere if needed.)

"Gracias, jump from roof to roof and you have to be, no? It's a painful lesson to learn, one you learn only the once."

[kartereo]

"And he hasn't figured out that that doesn't work and that parchment tastes disgusting?" Waver asked, raising an eyebrow slowly. His words were bone dry, but the thin hint of a smile on his lips made it clear that it was all just his typical manner.

At the mention of roof jumping, Waver can only nod. He's not the kind of person capable of such feats, but he can appreciate those with the skill for it.

"I can imagine. It seems you're well matched in the reflex department."

i

[sulena]

The sounds that are made is not of someone approaching. In fact, these sounds are coming from something much closer and noticeably further above of his head. Which is absolutely weird, right? Even weirder is probably the sight of the small elf climbing high above in the tree branches to carefully gather mistletoe (or what seems to be mistletoe) into her arms.

Of course, if that doesn't give Saoirse away then her singing certainly might as she hums an assortment of pleasant melodies.

With plant in hand, she starts to make her way down but pauses in her acrobatic motions once she spies the unfamiliar face along the ground.

"This is the first time I've met anyone this far out from the fortress."

[kartereo]

Waver takes a moment to place where the voice is coming from. He doesn't whip around wildly like a madman, but the fact it takes him a few seconds of baffled about is still comedic.

When he finally does look up, he folds his arms across his chest and tries to project his voice upwards so he can be heard.

"And this is the first time I've met anyone that far up, so I think we're even!"

[sulena]

"Truly? That is quite the shame then since there is much to find up here!"

With another smile, she settles into a crouched stance and drops from the branch. Although she lands with some noted grace, Saoirse is grateful for the snow to further cushion her drop into the ground.

"The view of the surrounding area from up top certainly isn't too bad either."

[kartereo]

"Perhaps many people do not think to look up for others."

It was a logical enough conclusion. Waver watched as Saoirse stuck the landing, and he nods to show that he finds the movement quite impressive. The fact he'd probably break something in attempting the same goes unsaid.

"All the trees in the area must be bare then, if you can get a good view of the surroundings."