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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.

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At some point, it's inevitable that Inessa will arrive. She makes a near-daily habit of researching something or other when in Kirkwall, either for the official projects or something on the side. Garahel accompanies her, rather mellow after a vigorous game of fetch and looking forward to a nap. Knowing not to make a lot of noise in the library, he pads over to Fenris as quietly as he can, giving him an affectionate bump by way of greeting.

About to tell Garahel not to interrupt, Inessa gets close enough in time to read a word or two from his list and hear that question. Her lips quirk in a faint smile. "It is rather full of quirks, isn't it? I can only say that repetition makes it easier."

“Ah… hello, boy.” Fenris keeps his voice low as he greets the mabari, giving him immediate behind-the-ear-scratches. He looks up, expecting Inessa to be following, as usual. He’s pleased to see her as she approaches.

He gives a sigh when she makes mention of the ‘quirks’ that the written word entails. “You’re not kidding. For every rule Bethany has mentioned, there seems to be an exception. Wouldn’t it have been more practical to streamline it for ease of use?”

He taps the pen on where he’d written “Andraste”, right near that “e” on the end. It ought to be an “a”, or, he supposes, thinking to their lessons, an “ay”, but instead, no, it can’t be so simple.

Satisfied, Garahel plops down on the floor by Fenris, rightly assuming that Inessa will be there for a time.

Inessa nods at his assertion, a rueful smile on her lips. "It would, yes, but the Trade tongue is a mish-mash of words and rules from all over Thedas, even as it began as a dwarven invention. I didn't learn how to read until I was taken to the Circle. What I remember is that reading as often as I could helped cement the rules and helped navigate the contradictions. Nothing helps as effectively as learning through example." Hence the start of her love for books, persisting to the present day.

There's another point in favor of Circles, though he knows Inessa isn't anyone who needs convincing. She'd had, as far as she's mentioned, one of the better experiences. How it ought to be. She'd come out of it appropriately disciplined as a result.

"You were fortunate to be taken in," he remarks, nodding. "How many others like you may never have learned such things without the Circles? Anyway..." He sighs, looking at the list of words, and the page that's opened nearby. "It figures that this is more complicated than it might seem. The more I pursue with it, the more I realize just how daunting this will really be." Especially to get to a point where he's fluent with it. At the moment, he tends to need to see the words to copy them down and such. It's not intuitive at all.

There were more reasons than that to be fortunate, though the introduction of literacy was a definite boon and Inessa won't deny it. She selects a seat opposite him, crossing he arms on the table and leaning on them a little.

"I won't deny how intimidating it can be, at first, but the rewards are well-worth it. No longer must you rely on others to share written information, but review it yourself with your own eyes. That and it has use for pleasure as well as business. There are some tales in this library that I suspect will interest you. I can't say that'll make for easier lessons, but perhaps more entertaining ones?"

"I can see where it would have its advantages." Sure, he's gotten by fine enough all of this time, somehow, but there's been the odd occasion here and there where it may have helped, being able to decode a written message he'd come across.

He glances around, definitely a bit intimidated by all of the choices in the stacks, but not quite willing to admit it. He's still at a stage where he has to really think about it and sound out even the titles, after all. "Which ones would you recommend in particular? I've enjoyed Bethany's selection on Andraste so far." Not that he's about to run and join the Chantry or something, but he just finds it fascinating to find out things he hadn't known about her.

"Then I'm certain you will find accompanying tales of Shartan rather interesting. The Chantry may have declared those verses to be dissonant, but that doesn't prevent copies from existing, or from gaining insight from them. There's much to be gained from the tales of Garahel's namesake and his deeds during the Fourth Blight." Garahel looks up and wags his tail, pleased to be named after such a heroic figure. "Brother Genitivi's work is very insightful as well, and not just to mages. Of course, if The Randy Dowager Quarterly is more your speed, I won't judge." Reading is reading, and Fenris needs the practice after all.

"Though if there are other subjects that interest you more, I might have recommendations there as well."

"Any of those sound as if they'd be worth pursuing." Really, there's a lot about Thedas itself that he ultimately doesn't know, for all that he's picked up a great deal despite no access to a standard education. He'd be interested to fill in those gaps, though. And yes, he is well aware what the Randy Dowager Quarterly is about. Maybe it could be worth finally getting to see what all the fuss is about, though? "Yes, any of them."

"I don't know much about Garahel..." He looks to the mabari, petting him fondly. "The original, that is. He was a Warden, correct?" Warden history is far from his speciality, that's for sure. "And you know me... anything involving the liberation of slaves would make for a fascinating tale. I'm less interested in elven history in itself, but most anything else..." Yeah please no Dalish stuff, that's all he really asks.

"Yes, he was. Garahel was the Grey Warden who ultimately brought an end to the Fourth Blight, sacrificing himself to slay the archdemon Andoral. His sister, Isseya, was rather heroic herself. She was a talented mage and it's due to her ingenuity that Wycome was evacuated so quickly; she held a train of improvised aravels aloft by magic and pulled by the Wardens' griffons. Imagine what we could do with that today." A fond smile comes to her lips, fascinated by a new twist on ancient magic.

But she snaps back to the present and nods, standing as she glances around to the nearby stacks. Since she knows where everything is, she might as well save Fenris the trouble.

“He sounds like an admirable person, I can see why the mabari earned the name. Both of them sound fascinating, really… yes, even Isseya, for a mage. Though you’d never see me boarding one of those contraptions.” Not just because it’s a Dalish thing, but something magically aloft in the air?! Yeah, no, nope, no thanks, never. Relying on magic in such a life or death position is an instant turn-off. As is experimenting for its own sake, though he trusts Inessa enough by now not to do something terrible. “Is that your own personal favorite tale, or do you have another?”

"I have not heard of such a magical feat being duplicated, so I suspect you're quite safe." Inessa nods solemnly, never one to push such magic on another, anyway. "I also found that their evacuation of Antiva City made for some exciting reading. The king and queen had refused to evacuate and that lead to an armed insurrection. Garahel joined the Wardens in fighting the rebel royal guards.

That was also around the time he bonded with his griffon. It had originally been named Thunder, but he renamed it Crookytail. Why, I don't know. He would probably approve of Maja's silly griffon names."

“I’m sure that would be worth the read, in that case. The more exciting, the better.” He’s already gotten the sense that some texts are completely engrossing and others are… kind of dry. Picking the right things to read will be important. So this is one to add to his list to try out.

He’s heard some about the griffons and their silly names, even if they’ve not really been anything of special interest to him. “You would think a strong name like Thunder would be the preferred one. How are they faring here, anyway? Weren’t you learning to ride one?”

"Yes, indeed." Inessa smiles, then sighs. "That would be Potato, who I've tried again and again to rename but she only responds to the one Maja had bestowed on her when she was but a hatchling. She's a very capable flyer, even as she doesn't realize she's now too big to be a lap-griffon. Every time we meet, I must take care not to be smothered."

There's something very endearing about that description. Fenris doesn't have much affinity for giant beasts who can fly and bite your hand off, but... maybe seen in this light, he can understand why she's so fond of her feathered friend.

"She sounds like a worthy addition to the Wardens' forces, no matter what she's called. It sounds like you've bonded very well, though she must be a handful. Like an oversized mabari with feathers." He looks toward Garahel for a moment. Yes, they're probably just as clever too. "The Wardens... are you training these griffons for battle?" He's curious, given what's common knowledge about their history and all.

"The training is more centered on flight and bonding with a rider than battle, at least for myself. Given that their current numbers are scarcely more than a dozen, I'm reluctant to put Potato in undue danger. If we threw them heedlessly into combat, the griffons would soon be extinct once more." Inessa shakes her head, naturally taking no pleasure in that thought. She won't have that be their legacy, mishandling the fate of such magnificent creatures brought back from the brink of extinction.

"I can hardly blame you, given their rarity. Nor would anyone expect them to be thrown into a senseless battle... but I'm sure the decision on what fighting they'll do is up to the Wardens as a whole?" He assumes anyway... The griffons seem are basically the Wardens' responsibility, a fact which isn't at all surprising.

"It's true, I'm probably the Warden with the least seniority now that Felix has left, so it's not in my hands. Ultimately, though, it's up to the griffons. I doubt anyone, even a senior Warden, could make them fight if they decided against combat...or keep them from the battlefield if they desired it." Which is just as worrying, either way. Inessa likes to think that Potato would listen to her, but she's a large feathered ball of stubbornness. Their bond hasn't been truly tested, to that end.

"They really do have strong minds of their own, from the sound of it... an intelligence on par with mabaris." At least, that's the closest comparison he can think of, at the moment. An animal who's above the rest, and able to understand plenty more than most would probably even realize. "Then it's best to leave that sort of decision up to them. I'm sure it wouldn't be one made lightly."

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