OPEN - Then the mountain rose before me

[pinprick]

WHO: Nathaniel Howe and YOU
WHAT: Nathaniel settles into Skyhold
WHEN: Current
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Will update with any warnings that come up.

Courtyard

A dark-haired man in his late thirties or early forties is sitting on a camp stool and shaving, hair damp from a recent wash. He has a couple of inches of black beard he's mostly getting rid of, leaving only a soul patch under his lip. He works the brush while flinching at the cold and peering into a small mirror. The cold is not his friend when the razor comes out, either, but it's too dark inside for shaving. He manages the shave without cutting himself from shivering, at least. Come bother him.

Great Hall

Later, he's inside on a chair by the fire in the great hall, warming up. His feet are propped up on another chair. He's enjoying a lazy session of people-watching, smoking from a pipe and listening to a nearby psaltery player. If you catch his eyes on you, he will give a courteous nod and politely direct his gaze elsewhere. His posture is fairly open, so if you want to approach, he'll speak with you.

Tavern

It's after dark that he goes into the tavern and enjoys the smells and sounds, and occasional polite conversation. But it isn't terribly long before, lulled by warmth and safety, he cocoons himself in his cloak, rests his head against the wall, and falls soundly asleep. Until something wakes him up.

WILDCARD

Comments

courtyard

[motherfucking_ghost]

"Uh, you're not keeping that, are you?" That's Church, making a motion to his bearded chin (and it's been growing, and maybe he should take care of that--scruff is hot, fluff is not). "Like, you're cutting the rest off, right? Not like...keeping the bit under your lip...right...?"

[pinprick]

"Something the matter?" Nathaniel carefully shaves around the little patch before touching up one cheek. "Or do you commonly critique how a stranger shaves himself?"

[motherfucking_ghost]

"Uh, I critique if someone's gonna let themselves walk around with a dumbass soul patch on their lip. Maybe that's hip in the, what, 1300's, or, whatever year this is, but fashion's kind of come a long way in my time." Or so he thinks.

[pinprick]

"Someday you'll have to tell me how you did it." Nathaniel barely even sounds like he's listening, as he keeps shaving.

[motherfucking_ghost]

"...Oh, a wise-guy, huh." Speak for yourself, Church. "If I could invent the electric razor, I would totally let every guy take a crack at it. ...Fuck it, the ladies, too. I'm sure they got parts to take care of."

[pinprick]

"I am grateful that you would hypothetically do this."

[motherfucking_ghost]

"You look like a douchebag is what I'm saying." Do...do they even have douches yet in order for the term douchebag to mean anything? "An asshole. I mean."

[pinprick]

"Better to look like one than to act like one." Punctuated with a pointed glare.

[motherfucking_ghost]

"Or looking and acting like one."

[pinprick]

"As you say, it could be worse."