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WHO: Fenris and OPEN
WHAT: Catch-all post! Reading, drinking, stalking slavers, shopping unsuccessfully
WHEN: July/Solace
WHERE: Around Kirkwall
NOTES: No warnings

Reading Practice: Library

It’s at least nice and quiet at the library. Though he’s still not exactly the most comfortable in this place, it has that going for it. Fenris paces around uneasily, until he finds a good spot to settle. Once there, he opens the book he has with him, sighing heavily as he gets back to the page where he’d left off.

Slowly, he traces a finger along the page, mouthing each word one by one. It’s a laborious process for someone who’s still getting down the basics. He’d gone over this section together with Bethany, and while it had seemed fine at the time, it’s always a little more challenging on his own. But at least he's made some progress.

He also has a piece of paper and quill and ink with him. Every so often he - just as deliberately- copies down a word he finds interesting, to work on those writing skills as well. Some of it makes sense. Some words are also just outright baffling, not at all how one would assume them to look. So far, the paper reads, in very scribbly handwriting:

foul

mine

drink

sla ug hte r (??)

evade

open

distress

an d ras t a e andraste Andraste (?)

"Who invented this?" he murmurs grumpily. It's as if they wanted to make it as deliberately inconsistent as possible.

Hanged Man

Fenris quietly sips drink after drink, hanging back for a while as people come and go. Finally, he turns to whoever’s near him at the bar, cards in hand.

“Why don’t we have an exchange? I’ll teach you a game I know, if you’ll do likewise for me.”

He’s never thought to find out what sort of card games rifters play, or possibly games from lands here that he knows little about. With a few drinks in him, he’s certainly interested in finding out. It’s a question he’ll have to pose to more people, later, he thinks.

Slaver Hunting: Kirkwall Alley, Night

Taking down slavers is still something Fenris does on the side… he just can’t help it, when he catches wind of something going on, he needs to do something about it. Such as right now. It’s late and dark, as he makes his way quietly from the docks, slowly stalking the one who he’s been keeping track of lately. But as he creeps along, he’s getting the distinct feeling of being followed or watched…

Soon enough, he heads down an alley, turning to confront whoever else is out there. With his blade drawn, he steadily advances on the person.

“What brings you out here?” And why are you interrupting his important business, damn it!

Armor Shopping: Lowtown

The merchants in Lowtown tend to have the best deals, so that’s where Fenris is now, strolling through the area, eyeing what’s for sale. He’s considering picking up something new, potentially, if he can find something that’ll suit his preferences.

“Is it true? Do you really cast a spell that can rip out a man’s heart?”

Oh, no, here it goes. Fenris turns to the merchant who’d spoken and glares. “Do I look like a mage to you?”

The merchant looks uneasy, but soon enough, they’re interrupted by a woman selling flowers. She comes along, and upon seeing Fenris, promptly places a crown of pretty pink flowers on his head, quicker than he can react. The woman giggles. “It suits you! Consider it a token of appreciation. You’re that friend of the Champion’s, aren’t you?”

“And he magicked the heart clean out of the Arishok, I heard it, it’s true,” the merchant chimes in.

“I heard it was the whole Qunari compound that he fought, single-handedly!” another flower girl emerges out of nowhere, and suddenly there’s a pretty yellow and blue flower both being added to his hair.

The last thing he wants is a scene, not here among the merchants. Sigh. He's just going to start backing away, now, ok. It's clear he won't be able to talk sense into any of these people. The pretty flowers in his hair are largely forgotten as he works to step away.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Bethany had been looking for a new staff blade for her staff - and yes, she got attention from the merchants for being Bethany Hawke, but most of them were used to seeing her over by the book merchants and toys. They were used to her, so she was, of course, assuming the rest of the merchants would be the same when she saw poor Fenris getting bombarded from all sides.

She slipped up to his side, and wrapped her arm through his, smiling brightly, "There you are! Oh, what lovely flowers."

She put her Best Charming Dimples out for the growing crowd, "So what's all this then? More tall tales of Varric's? You know we were all happy to help, but we're a modest crew." She tips her head, thinking, "Well, mostly. No fighting off the Arishok single-handedly for any of us, sad to say."

Fenris is just moments away from doing something regrettable, but he pauses in his anger when Bethany appears. She's one of the few who could manage such closeness so readily without him snapping. Even so, despite that, he instinctively tenses up, needing a moment or so to relax. He's already wound up thanks to these flower sellers and the other merchant...

They clearly will have to get used to his presence in this city fast, sigh.

"She's right. You have the stories all wrong. Well. Mostly wrong." Sure, they might have a couple of the right details here and there, but not the specifics. He glances over to Bethany. "And you'll have to excuse us, we were just leaving."

She can see the merchants looking a little disappointed, and she offers them a gentle smile. "Just remember, whatever the stories are, my sister loves this city. As do I, as does Fenris. We're here to help, no matter what." She waited for Fenris's body to relax slightly, before she tugged on his arm, meeting his gaze.

"Yes, please do excuse us? Fenris is helping me find a staff blade, and ... armor yes? We'll just move along, we may return later." She smiles warmly, waves, and gently turns Fenris away and towards the open air.

Ah, good, this is very good. When something happens like this to make him angry enough, well, his ability to remain tactful goes right out the window. It's for the best that Bethany came to diffuse the situation.

He follows Bethany away, moving hastily to get away from the area, and get lost in the crowd. Fortunately, it's a time of day when everything is busy, with plenty of people milling around and shopping. At least more of the tension is leaving him, the further they move away.

"I'll owe you for that, Bethany. Thank you."

She makes sure to keep her hand on his arm, just to remind him that he's not alone and she has his back. A wry little smile crossed her lips as she looked up at him, giving his arm a squeeze.

"Marian was the same way - she never liked the fame." Her lips curved up at the corners. "Of course I am fairly certain she wouldn't rip out anyone's heart ... but who knows?"

Even he needs that reassurance... or maybe even, especially needs the assurance, although it's not something he'd ever readily admit. He nods agreement.

"There were times where I saw her reactions, especially once she'd earned the title of Champion. She never seemed fully comfortable with it." He can't help but laugh a little to that last part. "Maybe it's for the best that she doesn't have any heart-ripping capabilities."

"She never would be. She's just not the sort of person who wanted to be the center of everyone's attention. But it's a job that's hard, and she never turned away from a hard job."

She gave him a warm smile, and squeezed his arm gently. "And I think she would have knocked in a few more hearts out considering ... "

“I can think of a few times she would have enjoyed having such a power. And it would have been very justified in all of them.” They’d faced some nasty people and demons over those years that they’d all lived here and fought together.

He sighs, though, thinking about the fact that none of them had really asked to become well known like this. “Maybe that’s part of why she’s stayed away… she’d had enough of the constant recognition.” Though he also figures she must be up to something important enough, something that would keep her away and out of touch like this for so long.

"Yes .... but you know she would have beaten herself up about it afterwards." It was Marian's way - go through with an action, and self-recriminate afterwards. Gracious, they all did that. Some, more than others.

"She would have... probably after making some joke to attempt brushing it off." It had been hard to pick up on, initially, but all of the jesting was really just one of Hawke's ways to... avoid dealing with all of those feelings. Then she'd go off and keep on beating herself up.

"Whatever she's doing, wherever she is... I'm sure she feels it's for a good reason. She wouldn't make this sort of decision lightly."

"Well ... she never did get the handle on loving herself. Good thing she had us to love her instead, eh?" Bethany said quietly, giving his arm a squeeze. She exhaled slowly, her eyes closing.

"Maker. I hope so. I really hope she's just hiding trying to find answers and ... she'll just come back. Marian-style."

"A very good thing. In our own ways... we all came to appreciate her over time. She may not have asked for it, but she became a leader of a sort." A leader of a group that was quite diverse and couldn't always agree on things... but she somehow made them all want to support her, just by being herself. He suspects that sort of person is rare.

"She will. I'm sure of it. If there's anyone who knows how to make a grand re-entrance, it'll be her."

"We did - even her own family. No matter her mistakes ... she was still our Marian." She sighed, thinking about how tense it had been between the three of them after the Deep Roads, and how they came together again once more.

She glanced over at Fenris, a little smile appearing on her face. "Then just saying that she was caught up with something small."

"She carried on better from those mistakes than certain other people I know of." Anders, specifically, and often Merrill. He's sure Bethany doesn't have to guess all that much at who he means, given... it's him. At least certain mages have proven themselves able to learn from the past.

"I would expect nothing else out of Marian. I'm almost looking forward to it, just this once."

She does not, and she gives her friend a wry look. "Some people have to learn from their mistakes multiple times, and some people shouldn't still be judging those who have learned."

Then she laughed. "You know something? So am I."

"Have they learned, though? I see no evidence of that so far." He sighs, knowing this debate could go on and on. He's not inclined to move from his opinion very much, at the moment, especially regarding Anders.

He can agree about Marian though. "Then let's hope she's only delayed because she's figuring out the best possible dramatic entrance."

"They've learned. Some people might realize that if they spent time talking to them and not arguing. On both sides, come to think of it." Bethany sighed, because honestly the problems between Fenris and Anders were both Fenris and Anders.

That smile cracked through again, the sun from the clouds. "I hope there are griffons. It would be just like her to find more griffons."

Nor were the problems likely to resolve anytime soon, at least not as far as Fenris is concerned. He'd have been glad to stay far away from Anders for good, but with this Inquisition... that's not meant to be, at this time. At least he knows when pressing the argument is going too far, at the moment.

"When I see it proven, perhaps then I'll consider allowing them a second chance. Not before then." He shrugs. "But if it comes to it, I'll still fight alongside them as I did before." He just... doesn't want to be expected to befriend them beyond that, any. Especially Anders, after what he'd done.

"If Marian Hawke comes riding in to Kirkwall on a griffon... they'll have to find an even better title than Champion to add to her name."

After all this time, Bethany would be happy if they just didn't kill one another on sight. That at least would be a step up.

"...Thank you, Fenris. I know how hard it is for you." And she left it at that, with a quiet smile and an arm squeeze.

"At that point, I'm going to visit the Advisors and put her in for Inquisitor, honestly." She snorts softly. "If we need a figurehead, that is about as Figure-Heady as you can get."

Fenris nods stiffly in reply. It's definitely not a topic he enjoys, even if he'll put up with what he must. The time he'd spent away from Anders hadn't changed much about his opinion of him, though. But... there are times when all of that has to be set aside for the good of the team.

"I'll await that day. Inquisitor Hawke... it has a certain ring to it. And if anyone could handle that role... she could." He'd wondered about that, whether or not the organization needs someone to assume that role. Maybe Marian could.

She chortled softly at the very thought of it - Inquisitor Hawke. Cullen would have a permanent headache, and Cassandra would never stop being starry eyed. Still, all her friends would agree, if anyone could handle it?

It would be Marian.

"I have no idea what she'll do with an army of her own -- but I can tell you - Corphyeus would be running scared."

"That may in fact give us the edge over Corypheus that we need. Marian does have a talent for making her enemies tremble in fear..." Fenris already likes the sound of it, himself. He'd gotten used to Marian as a leader, too, and wouldn't mind dealing with it again. She's respectable in a way few leaders tend to be. Not that it's so bad among the Inquisition... but Hawke had proven herself to him.

"I would rather like to see that giant darkspawn tremble in his dress ..." Bethany sighed softly, her brown eyes narrowing with keen satisfaction.

"There's nothing like the reminder of how ridiculously he dresses for making him seem less intimidating..." They need that sort of thing, undoubtedly. He always seems like a near unbeatable enemy, so it's worth being able to mock him.

"He looks like he is going for dramatic and instead ends up looking like an old grandmother from Orlais." She made a face, even though she did appreciate not fearing him with just the image.

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Armor Shopping - because come on.

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