You drink the wise blood [Open]

[unbrokenoath]

WHO: Kaisa and whoever wants to hang out
WHAT: Kaisa's back from her mission and getting used to Kirkwall and also being Senior Warden
WHEN: Nowish
WHERE: Around Kirkwall
NOTES: n/a for now

Hanged Man

It's always been in Kaisa's experience that the first place you go in a new town is the tavern. That is where you're going to get a feel for the pulse of the town, what the people are like, what the gossip is. And how Wardens are going to be generally accepted, because that's been up in the air lately. So, after being gone for what felt like ages, it's only natural the first place she shows up is the Hanged Man. She's in her casual clothes, just in case, but there's no denying that it's a warrior that strolls into the bar like it's her own house, an easy grin on her face.

She doesn't look particularly worse for wear, at least. A little leaner, a little more tired, a brand new scar crossing her collarbone. But her grin is just as energized as it always is, her presence just as loud and apparent, even when she doesn't say anything.

And she doesn't say anything, just yet. Instead, she spends a few moments glancing from bench to beer-soaked bench, and then swaggers on over to the bar, plopping down. It's only after she places her order that she turns back to the tavern.

"Sooo. Who wants to hear a story that is at least 50% true, and 100% awesome?"

Chapel

The chapel in the biggest tower is nice, certainly. Bigger and prettier. But there's a quiet stillness to the smaller chapels that Kaisa likes. She may be loud the vast majority of the time, but when it comes to her religion, she appreciates a chance for quiet peace. It's rarely the same time of day, each trip she makes, but always at odd hours. Too late, too early, right smack in the middle of the day.

And once in a while, she shows up with some kind of decor for the chapel. Nothing fancy or particularly expensive, just things like a string of dried rose heads, or replacing candles nearly burnt up with new ones. It's the little things, really.

After she's finished adding whatever trinket she'd managed to get a hold of, she kneels in front of the altar for a minute or two, before stepping back to the benches. There, she sits silently for some time, staring contemplatively into the distance.

Teren

There's one thing weighing on her chest, after her conversation with Nathaniel. A worry nagging at the back of her mind. Eventually, it's decided that there's only one thing to do, which is exactly what Kaisa usually does in uncertain situations--stand tall and face it head on, with all the poise and delicacy as a druffalo in a pottery store.

So, a few days after her arrival in Kirkwall, she tracks down wherever Teren might be, and throws her arms in the air.

"Teren! I'm baaack! Did you miss me? Did you cry?"

Wildcard!

Throw something totally different at me! Or talk to me and we can come up with something.

Comments

meee

[doneisdone]

"You were gone?" Teren snorts, turning to look at Kaisa as she approaches. Of course, this is a ruse, Teren knew she was gone. But admitting that would imply she has feelings and cares about people, which is, obviously, out of the question.

[unbrokenoath]

"I'm going to take that as a 'Yes Kaisa, it was terrible, the milk soured, crops withered, babies were born redheaded, etc etc.' And I apologize for putting you through that horrible tragedy." Apparently completely nonplussed at the denial of missing her, Kaisa chooses to plop down on a nearby crate. The crate in question might have been intended for other uses besides her butt, but those uses were not nearly as dire (or attractive).

For a few moments, Kaisa falls into an uncharacteristic silence, expression sober as she studies her feet. Phrasing things diplomatically had never been one of her strengths, and after running through several versions of attempted conversations in her head, Kaisa finally looks up and says, as blunt as a hammer to the head, "Nathaniel talked to me when I got back. I've been promoted. I'm a Senior Warden, now."

[doneisdone]

"Apology accepted," Teren grumbles, still intent on pretending indifference. ...but she can't help but smirk a little, because Kaisa is Kaisa. "Oh did he," she intones, awaiting the shitstorm, but hesitates when it doesn't come.
"Ah." Of course. "...well? Do you feel more senior?"

[unbrokenoath]

Kaisa appears to take this question under serious consideration, examining her hands, as though expecting them to have changed, somehow. The hands are still the same, and it's the same Kaisa that looks back up at Teren. "Well, not really, but I mean--I haven't really been doing Senior Warden things yet? I dunno what we're even supposed to do, right now. But I mean--"

She clears her throat, straightens her back. To business! "--I just. I don't know. I don't want to do what you were doing." Pause. "--Not that you were bad at it! But. I mean." There's nervous shifting, antsiness at being out of her comfort zone. "I don't want to try t' be you, and I don't want people t' think that I can be." There, that seemed as good of a way to put it as any.

"I can't be anyone but me, you know? And I don't want to, anyhow."

[doneisdone]

Teren's smirk becomes a thin line. Is that part of what Nathaniel told Kaisa? She should've known.
"You won't have to be," she assures the girl, "because my duties are still mine, I was never a Senior Warden, and the title's hardly but a load of rot with a tendency to swell a person's head." In hindsight she might realize that saying so is an insult to Kaisa, but despite her airs, Teren isn't always so excellent at filtering her commentary.
"Nothing has changed aside from Howe deciding that you're at least nominally his equal, a high honor indeed."

[unbrokenoath]

It's hard to decide exactly how to feel with those words--Despite the worry, she'd been proud to become a Senior Warden. The mixed feelings dance across her face, and after a few moments consideration, she settles for frowning at her hands, lips pulled in a twist. After some deep contemplation, she finally settles for a careless shrug.

"Nathaniel's never treated me like someone lesser than him, I think." Not that she can remember, at least. Standoffish, maybe, but that's just him being weird and distant and Nathaniel.

"Besides, when I have ever let anything swell my head?" There's a weak smile there, an attempt at a joke. "I don't mind being a Senior Warden, I just don't want you to feel like...I'm better than you, I guess? I know I'm not."

[doneisdone]

The smirk becomes grimmer still. "I'd hardly concern yourself with that," she mutters, bristling at the idea that a title could make her think someone superior. That it would even enter a person's mind, let alone Kaisa's.
"Well done you, then, for earning his lofty esteem. Is there anything else?" Though characteristically short with people, she seems especially intent on finishing this conversation.