[ Open ] Always Something New In Town

[universal_charm]

WHO: Jim Kirk & You
WHAT: Kirk's hanging out around Kirkwall. Join him?
WHEN: Through the month
WHERE: Various spots around Kirkwall
NOTES: Flirtatiousness, sauciness, possible cursing, shenanigans -
the usual Kirk stuff

Library
<sub>[ Teaching was a more laborious task than he had thought it might be, even to a minor wealthy home. He had been good enough at it at the Academy, for sure, but there had been structured there and quite a few more eyes on him - the gap of numbers. At least he had that when he taught the poorer children, which he rather liked more than his solitary gig.

No matter the case, it meant he was spending quite a bit of time in the library, pulling down children's books to copy their pages to help with reading, or even just looking up ways for him to explain scientific concepts he was trying to pass on.

The copying took up most of his time though, so it was most likely to find him hunched over a stack of children's books, laboriously copying down their contents to new sheets, fingers already stained with ink, with a stack of much thicker books set to the side. Quite an odd sight, no? ]</sub>

Training Grounds
<sub>[ To say he had some built up tension and frustrations lately would have been an understatement. Emotionally, he was in turmoil, and he had always worked that sort of thing out one way - physical activity. It had been his safe haven since the incident nearly four years ago. Or was it five? God he was losing track of time.

He grunted sharply as he fought against the dummy, striking blows with arms and legs in his self-defense style. His staff lay to the side, ready for a different workout when this was done. Already he was stripped to the waist and sweating, his skin tingling as he felt the bruises forming on shins and elbows. He whirled, a sharp crack sounding as shin met wood. He dropped back, wincing and rubbing his legs, leaning over and panting hard. ]</sub>

Damn it, don't tell me I'm losing my edge...

Tavern
<sub>[ Quite often Kirk could be found at one of the lower end taverns, sitting in the back with a mug of something at least left a warmth in his belly if not a good taste in his mouth. He watched the crowd, sometimes listening to the bards that came in. Now and then he might be drawn into a game of tales, his own usually winning because of their sheer outlandishness (even though they were entirely true, but who is actually going to believe that someone can truly sail among the stars?).

His main point of fun seems to be teaching the people in the bar the fine art of poker. He held court at a singular table, grinning at the men and women around him with cards in hand and a pile of coin on the table. ]</sub>

All right boys, time to show your hands.

Sleepless Nights
<sub>[ Meditation. He needed meditation and to clear his mind. Spock would have told him so - hell, Spock wouldn't have let him get this bad, able to read his moods and it seemed even his thoughts better than Kirk himself. Which had always been infuriating, given Spock's nature, but he supposed someone so logical could more easily assess the illogical too.

His way to meditate, though, had never involved sitting down and crossing one's legs to achieve peace. He had always found it in physical activity - in this case, running. It soothed him, let his mind float. So in the wee hours he slipped out of his home and began to run along the outskirts of town.

Which was totally not suspicious at all, right? ]</sub>

Wildcard
Make your own adventure!

Comments

Tavern

[kartereo]

[Waver rarely went out drinking. It wasn't a dislike of drink itself, it was just because he didn't feel like heading out and paying extra for wine or beer, when he could have even more for the same price in the comfort of his own space.

But well, he had wanted a bit of entertainment, and bards telling more traditional stories hit the spot. That was why he was out, and it was also why he was planning to head out for the night. The evening's entertainment was done.

The crowd was thin, which meant no wading or weaving through elbows and arms. As Waver went by the table though, he noticed Kirk and paused. He waited until the hand passed, then gave a greeting by way of holding up a hand.]

Looks like you're doing pretty well.

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ Kirk could understand wanting to drink in your own home. Now that he had one of his own, it was quite appealing. Back when he had just had the loft above the armory or in the Gallows, the tavern had been the much sweeter option most nights. Tonight was only because he didn't want to be quite so alone with his thoughts and he needed a distraction.

Blue eyes found Waver before he came up, but returning quickly to the other hands lest he miss something. He wouldn't put any of those at the table above cheating, though that was at least harder to do with a game none of them could be called experts at just yet. He smiled when he'd collected his winnings for the hand and waved a card at Waver as a hello. ]</sub>

Oh, not to shabby. Enough to maybe buy something shiny with another good hand or two.

What brings you out tonight?

[kartereo]

[Waver pauses, looking around for a place to sit. There's an empty table right behind Kirk, so he goes there, steals a chair, and settles in. Easier for him to have a conversation, and possible to keep playing even if Kirk sits out a hand or two.]

Entertainment, mostly, but that's just ended. I was going to head back, then I saw-- [Waver takes another beat, then lets out a soft little hah] An excellent example of sharing culture.

[universal_charm]

_{[ Kirk waits for Waver to take his seat, giving a look to someone who looks like they might protest. It seemed Kirk had a bit of sway, or perhaps no one was quite drunk enough yet to bother fighting. ]}

I like to think so. It keeps the gameplay fresh.

_{[ He grinned. ]}

You want to buy in, or just enjoy the show?

[kartereo]

[Waver shakes his head no and holds up a single hand in order to politely decline.]

I'll just watch for now. Card games aren't my particular domain, and Thedas has yet to invent the video game.

[He's a nerd.]

Whenever you're done though, I'm up to buying you a drink and telling you an owed explanation of Iskandar and myself.

[universal_charm]

Video games huh? What were you? Role player? First person shooter?

_{[ It's cool, he likes nerd. He's one too, just a different type. ]}

Oh, great. Just another hand then. Iskandar explained a little bit of it, but it would be nice to get someone else's view of the whole thing.

_{[ He turned back to the men and laid out another round. ]}

This is my last one fellas, but feel free to keep on by yourselves.

[kartereo]

Strategy, actually. Iskandar got me started playing them when we first met, then I stuck with it.

[It also helps relieve stress and boy. Boy oh boy. Do Waver's students cause that.]

Take your time. I'll get the next round of drinks in the mean time. Anything you'd like?

[universal_charm]

You know, that doesn't surprise me at this point. Strategy games are exactly the sort I see him getting into. Did he beat them all?

_{[ Playing against a mechanical opponent was different from a human one, after all. ]}

Uh - just a beer, I think. I'll be along shortly.

_{[ He smiled at him and turned back to his hand, and as promised he finished quickly. By the time Waver had the drinks in hand, Kirk had finished and scooped up his winnings, leaving the cards with the men to continue playing and moving to a new table with Waver. ]}

[kartereo]

Never quite got around to finishing.

[Waver had gotten the beers without any trouble, and the table he had found was far enough out of the way to have a conversation but not in a dark and dingy corner either. That was probably a reserved seat in the house.

Once Kirk sat down, Waver drew in a quite breath. This wasn't easy stuff to talk about. Never was. But he at least had a little bit of a buffer since Iskandar had apparently shared some information.]

So I guess the best way to start is to ask what Iskandar's already told you, that way I'm not duplicating information.

[universal_charm]

_{[ Kirk took his drink with a grateful nod and took a small sip of appreciation. ]}

Hmm, well, he told me that he's a spirit - which I knew from the beginning, but I never really thought about to much until now. Anyways, that he's a spirit and he was summoned to fight in a war for the Holy Grail.

_{[ He didn't sound like he disbelieved Iskandar, more like he couldn't believe the things coming out of his mouth. But truth was often stranger than fiction, as they said. ]}

"He told me that when he goes home, that'll be the end. The battle he's in, he won't make it out of, which means he doesn't get his wish."

_{[ He took another sip of his beer, a slightly longer one this time. ]}

He didn't precisely bring your name up, but given what you had told me before and that you're a mage, and what he's said, I have a guess that either you summoned him or you're some other participant in this war that has had to spend significant time with him.

[kartereo]

Mmm. Then I suppose the best place to begin is an overview.

[Waver's hands wrapped around his glass, but he did not move to drink. Instead, he took a moment to close his eyes, exhale, and then he began.]

The Holy Grail War is a mage ritual meant to summon the Holy Grail, which in this instance is both an omnipotent wish granting device and supposed to open a way to explore what magi call the Third Magic, which relates to the immortality of the soul. The Grail selects seven magi to call seven Heroic Spirits - like Iskandar - into the world via the use of relics. I used a scrap of his cloak. Once summoned, these are Master-Servant pairs, with the Master, that's the mage, providing magical energy support while the Servant does the fighting. The energy from these spirits powers the Grail. That's the ritual. Oh, and usually the spirits go by their class name in the war, rather than given name, for more complicated reasons. If you ever hear me call Iskadar Rider, that's what his class title was.

As for me. [This was the part Waver hated.] I was nineteen and an absolute idiot who thought that entering this thing, which is also a fight to the death for the Masters as well, was a good idea.

[universal_charm]

_{[ Kirk sips his beer and listens. His initial reaction is to scoff, because Holy Grail? Magic? Really? But look at the world he found himself in, and it wasn't like Waver had a reason to lie. Just like Kirk had no reason to lie about his own home world, though he was sure plenty of people thought he was loonier than drunk dog when he told his stories. Like with Iskandar, he took it at face value. ]}

Well I did a lot of stupid things that probably should have killed me too when I was nineteen, so no judgement there.

[kartereo]

Did I mention the part where I summoned Iskandar by stealing something meant to go to a professor? Said professor had humiliated me in front of the class earlier, so I thought that this was a wise act of revenge.

[The way Waver speaks of his younger self suggests there's no fondness for him at all. If anything, that young self was the stupidest person ever.]

It was not.

[universal_charm]

Well, also no judgement because I created a computer bug that I inserted into a simulation test called the Kobayashi Maru, that would allow me to beat the unbeatable test.

_{[ He sipped his beer. ]}

I was nearly kicked out of the Academy for it, which meant out of the Fleet. If there was a god he'd strike me down for daring to do so on that count because it's the height of hypocrisy.

[kartereo]

[That total lack of judgement was...it wasn't a surprise, but it was something Waver had struggled with on his own, trying to process what had happened. How stupid it all seemed in retrospect.

It was needed. And it caused a very thin smile to flick across his face before continuing.]

I got a threat of murder from that professor. He....died, in the end, possibly because I had summoned Iskandar instead of him. [That had always hung heavy on Waver. It wasn't something he'd shake off in this lifetime.]

There were sundry fights and events, and I was a brat towards Iskandar until I wasn't. Then the idiot up and died in battle, while I had to watch him do so.

[universal_charm]

_{[ Kirk frowned softly then for the first time, putting his beer down to consider Waver. ]}

Waver, it's not your fault that professor died. If he was in the war, he managed to summon another besides Iskandar. He chose to participate, knowing the potential consequences, knowing he wouldn't have Iskander as his warrior. His death is no one's fault but his own.

And you're doing yourself a disservice carrying that weight around.

[kartereo]

[That...hadn't quite been where Waver was going with the discussion. In truth, he had rather hoped to gloss over everything with Kayneth's death, mostly because it was incidental in this version of the Grail War story.]

Doubtlessly.

[Waver very much hoped that one word acknowledgement of what were, in fact, some of the kindest words on the matter were enough to communicate that it was just something not to prod at further.]

But anyway. After Iskandar's death I ended up teaching, and waiting for the next opportunity to see him again. Ten years later, I end up in Thedas, only to find him here.

[universal_charm]

_{[ Kirk can take the hint, though it worries him that Waver would carry that sort of burden. He had to wonder why no one had ever told him differently. ]}

And did he remember you? He told me that, at the end of each war, his memories are wiped. He doesn't remember anything about the others.

[kartereo]

[Waver's response would have related to a sense of debt to the family, which was pretty nearly destroyed, but in truth no one needed to get into Waver's Mixed Up Feelings on Kayneth Archibald. Least of all Waver himself. Easier to focus on Iskandar.]

He did, actually. And what he told you is also correct, and so my assumption is the transportation mechanism grabbed him very literally at the last moment before death, or else it's magic and we're not going to explain shit.

[universal_charm]

_{[ He laughed at that last part, shaking his head. ]}

Honestly, I've felt like that for most of my time here, so I am very okay with saying "it's magic" and moving on. Even the science around the sort of thing is enough to make my own eyes cross.

_{[ He shook his head like he had just swallowed something bitter. ]}

Maybe good fortune just isn't one of those things we should go about trying to explain, eh?

[kartereo]

I think those words are a fine toast as well.

[To which, Waver could only offer up his glass.]

Science-magic and magic itself is also it's own special type of hell that's both great fun to dissect and if you do it too long, so long as no one's building societies around it. That's when problems start.

[universal_charm]

_{[ He raised a brow. ]}

Is that a criticism of your own world or this one?

_{[ He clinked his mug to Waver's and sipped his beer, glad the general noise of the bar covered their conversation, otherwise they would probably be getting some edgy looks right about now. ]}

[kartereo]

Yes.

[Thedas wins for it being genuinely worse than home, there's no mistaking it. The Mage Association and all of the attendant nonsense is just terrible and stupid and far easier to fix than literally any part of Thedas.]

[universal_charm]

_{[ Kirk gwaffed into his drink, nearly snorting a bit of it up his nose. Ale up your nose hurts. Worse than soda even. ]}

Okay, next drink is on me. Or maybe the next two.

[kartereo]

I'll take that, and then I've got the one after that to make up for any damage to your nasal cavity.

[But Waver is admittedly a bit proud of getting that good a laugh.]