faderift | [open] where I go

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[open] where I go

WHO: Knight-Lieutenant Cade Harimann and you
WHAT: A jumpy templar is out of the dungeon and getting his bearings on Skyhold. What horrors will he face? (by horrors I mean other people)
WHEN: Early Haring
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES:If your character met him during speed dating, feel free to assume that conversation happened IC (except Nerva) and that they're already acquainted.

Finally unleashed upon his new home, and wearing his traveling leathers with the unmistakeable flaming Templar sword emblazoned on the chest, Cade made his way around Skyhold with the intention of finding a purpose for himself.

1. The battlements. Cade was unnerved by crowds and limited sightlines, so he had taken to spending a good chunk of time up in the battlements. It gave him an opportunity to watch, listen, and grow accustomed to life below, which was so very different than how he'd come to understand the world.

2. The training grounds. Although he had first been seen in his heavy Templar plate, wielding a sword, left to his own devices Cade was more likely to use the archery range. He was an exceptionally good shot, and spent hours shooting targets with the single-minded concentration of one who was trying not to think about anything at all.

3. The chapel. He could often be found alone in the small chamber just off the cloistered garden, on his knees and with his head bowed to the altar of Andraste.

4. Anywhere! Give me a place and I'll find a reason that he'd be there.

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The view from up here certainly gave one a broader picture of the Inquisition as it stood. Elves, dwarves, qunari, mage and templar alike...it was all a great deal stranger than anything she'd seen in their little village growing up in the Hinterlands, or even their equally quaint home in South Reach.

That was what happened when you went out into the world, she supposed.

A gust of wind had Mia pulling her fur a little more tightly around her shoulders, but a stronger burst took her by surprise. The basket she'd held balanced under her arm as she walked suddenly blew out from under her, rolling along the battlement stones and spilling its contents as it went.

Looked as though the hounds were the only ones to enjoy those cookies now.

"Maker," she swore softly, before giving the basket chase.

Hounds or mysterious strangers wearing Templar insignia, but what was the difference really?
Cade was rounding the corner when the basket fell, and he hurried forward unthinkingly to help collect its contents. Having quickly caught the basket itself, he went about placing things back in it as he continued towards Mia. He straightened and held it out to her with a deferent nod of his head. "Ma'am," he greeted.

"Ah."

She let out a breath of relief as the basket was swept up, giving the kind young man who'd rescued it a grateful smile. "It's probably too late for them now, but thank you," she returned with a similar bow of her head. The basket was taken and firmly tucked under her arm once more. "I wasn't expecting it to be quite so brisk up here, though Maker knows why I didn't."

Her eyes flickered over the templar insignia briefly, but didn't linger long. Templars were present all over the keep, after all.

Cade gave a small, polite smile in return. "Forgive me, I should have been faster," he replied, knitting his brow. "Is there somewhere you're trying to go?" He didn't see many women with cookies walking the battlements.

"No, not at all. My inability to carry a basket a few feet in a breeze is hardly your failing." She waved his apology off almost immediately, clearly used to doing so.

"I was walking just there, to the Commander's office..." And she lifted one hand to gesture in that general direction, past a few more doorways. "I realize I could have walked the other way across the bailey, but I do so enjoy the view."

And Mia gave a quiet little sigh, smiling somewhat self-deprecatingly.

Cade followed her gesture, then nodded back to her. "I can walk you there, if you'd like," he said, and in other men it might have been a flirtation, but when Cade said the words they were laced with duty and respect.

"That's very kind of you, Ser...?"

Had they been a flirtation, she might have refused. But it was sweet of him to offer. Mia chuckled quietly and nodded, stepping up to take the lead without hesitation. "Do you know the Commander?" she inquired after a moment, not waiting for silence to lapse.

"Harimann," Cade replied, offering his arm. "The Commander and I served together in Kirkwall, though I don't know him well," he explained, and left his question unasked: how did she know him?

"Does anyone? He's a private man," she replied with a light shrug, as though she had nothing further to contribute to the subject. That coyness might have been on purpose, or she might have been prodding him in her own way. Who could tell?

"But it's a pleasure to meet you, Ser Harimann. My name is Mia."

Cade couldn't argue with that. He gave a small smile in return and nodded in a conceding way-- point for Mia, apparently.

"And you," he replied, "I... hope some of the cookies be salvaged." Although he didn't smile, he got quieter and blushed a little, apparently his indicator that he was making a joke.

What a dear heart he had. Almost reminiscent of her brother, though perhaps a bit more timid in appearance. "Well, more can always be made. I understand he's got one of those birds for sending messages. Perhaps they like cookies as well."

One hand fluttered in a dismissive wave. "Well. It was a foolish notion, perhaps. So many things to be done around the keep, and here I am baking cookies like someone's grandmother."

Cade smiled and shook his head-- he assumed the birds would like cookies, and by the looks of things they'd be getting a lot of them if they weren't fit for human consumption.

"Maintaining morale is a job in itself," he reminded her quietly, "and a respectable one, at that."

"I suppose you have a point, there. Perhaps I should have made more then, mm?"

She chuckled, as if they'd just shared some fine joke. But the moment passed with a sigh, a slightly wistful look crossing her face. "It just seems there's never enough done by day's end. I suppose that must be the way of things, with an organization this large and such a task before them. We all must feel that way at times."

"It's... not an uncommon feeling," Cade confirmed, feeling a pang of aggravation in his chest from how idle he'd been the last couple days. "..it's... an adjustment. For everyone."

"You too?"

Cade was given a sympathetic look at that, though Mia's head tilted curiously. "You're a templar, yes? The past few years must have been very difficult for you," she murmured, her brow furrowing faintly.

Cade hesitated, glancing furtively back at her, and nodded. "..yes, ma'am," he confirmed, without elaborating.

She regarded him quietly for a moment. Rather than press for explanation -- because how well had that ever worked on Cullen? -- she tipped her head to catch his eyes, expression earnest.

"You've a great deal of strength, to have come through that chaos intact. Never doubt that."

And with that the issue was promptly dropped, left aside for another time, and Mia brightened as she rustled about in the basket. "Hm. There might be some that didn't tumble out. Caught in the corners. Well, it won't all be a waste, then."

The look Cade gave her was one of surprise and near disagreement, though he didn't speak up, he simply inhaled as though he were about to argue and then breathed it out. "...thank you, ma'am," he said softly, looking forward again abashedly. He didn't shift his gaze until Mia began to rummage through the cookies again, and then he couldn't resist peering over at what she was doing.

"Aha. Here. It's still warm."

The stray cookie was promptly fished out and offered to the young man, with a look that brooked no argument. "Go on. I'll have to turn the rest out anyway. Someone may as well enjoy them."

Cade blinked in surprise, but wasn't about to turn down a free cookie. He took it carefully with a bashful smile. "...thank you," he said again, and took a bite. Well, everything would be fine now. The day looked a lot brighter now that there were cookies involved.

That had rather been the point of them. It was good they weren't going to waste, and that shy little smile on the templar's face did its part to make her feel a little better.

As long as there was some good she was still going around the keep.

"Hopefully there will be more, at day's end. You might come and see me about some more. I daresay you could use a little more to eat," she tutted gently, an eyebrow lifting.

Cade gave a soft, awkward laugh, and didn't answer. He probably could stand to eat more, on the practical level, but his pious lifestyle meant there wasn't much room for indulgence. He would eat the meals he was allotted, enjoy them as much as was reasonable, and otherwise think nothing of it.

They had arrived at the Commander's tower, and he leaned forward to give a soft knock before stepping back and bowing politely to the lady. "I hope the rest of your day is more fortunate," he said softly, with total sincerity.

Mia gave a nod of her head in turn, smiling serenely at the young knight. "I thank you, ser, for your kindness. It is good to know the Commander has such men beneath him," she replied, giving him a gentle wave off. "But don't let me keep you."

He seems younger than his years, she couldn't help but think, turning away to let herself into the Commander's office and letting the door close behind her. How had such a timid soul become a templar in the first place?

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[open] where I go

battlements

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