[open] now my head's splitting at the seams

[onlyhymns]

WHO: Cade the Disgraced and you!
WHAT: Cade is free (to a point) and around and about Skyhold again. He always has a buddy with him, whether it's Nerva, a Tranquil, or a scout who's been saddled with babysitting duty.
WHEN: Drakonis
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Warning for probable violence and possible other dark shit, depending on how things go.

Cade is miserable, but at least he is not in a cell. Most of the time he is at the whims of whomever is in charge of supervising him, which means a lot of labor, assisting Nerva or Tranquil or scouts, and generally being little more than a manservant or a leashed dog.

He keeps his head low and his tongue still for the most part, but anyone is still free to approach and engage him.

Comments

The night after his hearing

[keeperofmagi]

When she's told that she is to continue supervising Cade, she doesn't argue. Even though some might think it is a burden on her, she knows better - she doesn't trust anyone else fully with this task. At least now she knows his supervision will be seen to properly. So she comes to pick him up with a hard, stony expression, and a bedroll tucked under her arm.

"You will be staying with me for the foreseeable future," She said, bluntly. "Come."

[onlyhymns]

Cade's knees hadn't stopped shaking despite the comparatively merciful result of his hearing. He stepped out looking lost and tired and nervous, a deeper desolation
overtaking him when he realized he was still being paired with Nerva.

It wasn't that he didn't like Nerva. Or at least, hadn't. But at the moment, being at her side was nothing but a symbol of his failure, of which he knew everyone would be reminded every time they were seen together.
Nonetheless, he stepped forward with a sigh.

[keeperofmagi]

"I am not fully aware of your previous habits, Cade, but you will be sticking to a strict regimen for the foreseeable future. No less than 8 hours of sleep, in 24. That means, if you have nightmares, you are to inform me, and we will make up the time. Three full meals a day, and one hour of prayer in the chantry in the morning, and one in the evening. The rest of the day you will be fulfilling your duties as your superiors lay them out for you. Understood?"

[onlyhymns]

This wasn't the worst he was expecting to hear. Anything that could put him in a military mindset was desirable, and having a superior tell him what to do was the ideal scenario. Especially now, when he was so frazzled he probably couldn't even brush his own hair without instructions.
He nodded mildly, keeping his eyes lowered.

[keeperofmagi]

"Good." She turned to walk, making sure he was in step before silently leading them back to her room. Her room was - well - small. very small. It was about the length of the bed, in one direction, and not much wider in the other. The only furniture was the bed itself, and a small table, with a candle, and the few odd pieces that she owned. A couple of books. Carving tools, some ink and paper. It was all very efficiently organized, and spartan. She set the bed roll down on the floor next to her bed.

"You will be staying here until I can arrange proper overnight supervision for you."

[onlyhymns]

Cade followed like a well-trained dog, wishing he could at least will his hands to stop quivering. He folded them up under his arms, his mind everywhere but the present as they made their way toward Nerva's room.
This wasn't a big surprise; they'd shared a tent, after all, and he understood the system they'd likely follow. He nodded his comprehension, looking over the bedroll. He'd had worse.

After a moment, he cleared his throat timidly. "...may I, um... get my things, Ma'am," he asked, head still lowered.

[keeperofmagi]

She nodded. "I will accompany you to fetch them," She agreed solemnly. "You may store them here, until such time as proper supervision is found to allow you back into your rooms on a more permanent basis."

She stepped back, gesturing to the door, that he should lead on.

[embracelight]

Belinda is often in a chipper mood, and today she walks around the stronghold, seeing where she might be of help. It seems one of the stable boys fell and sprained his wrist, but there is already a replacement: a blond man who looks like he doesn't want to be bothered. But that has never stopped Belinda from trying to be friendly, so she comes over to where he's working.

"Would you like some help? I'm in want of something to do." Her bright, Starkhaven accent is far too happy for this early in the morning.

[onlyhymns]

Chipper is the exact opposite of what Cade feels or wants to be around, but there she is anyway. He looks up at Belinda, initially a bit alarmed that she's approached him so openly and with such friendliness.

"...um," he says, briefly at a loss for words, "..no... no, I've got it." He glances over at the Tranquil overseeing him. She doesn't seem to care in the slightest, though perhaps that's just a Tranquil thing.

[embracelight]

At first, Belinda thought the Tranquil was just there on her own to observe, but with the way Cade looks over at her, she can't help but wonder if they're here in the stables together.

"Hello," she greets the Tranquil politely, and gets a monotone "Greetings," in response. Looking back at Cade, she says, "If you're sure. But would it be all right if I spend a little time in here?"

[onlyhymns]

Cade shovels a massive mound of soiled straw into the barrow, then pauses to wipe his brow with his forearm. If there's one thing he hates, it's being dirty; yet here he is, with disgusting smudges all over his face, his arms, the undershirt he's wearing to avoid destroying any clothes he cares about.
All things considered, it's a pretty decent punishment.

"...of course," he says, a bit confusedly, looking around for anyone who might disagree. "I'm... that's not up to me."

[embracelight]

"Why not?" she inquires, moving over to a rectangular hay bale and seating herself on it. She may be from a noble family, but she's never minded being dirty. Templars sweat plenty in their armor, after all.

[onlyhymns]

Incidentally, so is he; perhaps that explains his aversion to dirt. Perhaps not.

"...because I'm not in charge of the stables," he explains, glancing around furtively as if expecting someone to jump out and admonish him. He turns back to shovel another pile, just in case.

[embracelight]

"But it's you I might be bothering by sitting here," she reasons. "Some people say I talk too much and that I'm bothering them, so I wanted to make sure you wouldn't be bothered." She already knows the Tranquil won't be bothered. Tranquil are never bothered by anything, poor dears.

[lifeofendurance]

So. Aleron has somehow acquired a secretary that he is not accustomed to having. He suspects once his mother finds out, she'll be thrilled. And Ravonild is almost certain to have thoughts about how overdue it is to have a personal manservant. The women can't get it through their heads that his life doesn't allow for what they consider everyday necessities. but he has taken on the task out of a sense of responsibility. Though logically it could be helpful to have someone to pass on more tedious bureaucratic tasks.

Truth be told, having to deal with the tedious bits is a good punishment for Cade's lapse of self-control.

The Seeker is set up at one of the tables in the library with a stack of books for research, not pleasure, at hand. But those are not what he's engrossed in currently. It's a rather substantial stack of letters he's already received that he's only just getting around to going through before starting for the day.

[onlyhymns]

Cade has proven himself an obedient servant, if not an especially competent one. He's a bundle of nerves each day, constantly afraid of doing something to upset the Seeker: spelling something wrong, stacking things in the wrong order, speaking out of turn, and so forth.

He arrives in the library to find Aleron, at which point his escort leaves him. Cade looks behind him to watch them go, then inclines his head and presses his fist to his heart in a typical military bow of greeting.

[lifeofendurance]

Cade's nervousness hasn't gone entirely unnoticed by Aleron, though he does nothing to alleviate it. Simply put, the Seeker is accustomed to making Templars nervous or testy, usually a combination of both. Something he chooses to ignore as their discomfort doesn't impact his job, beyond willfully using it to ferret out answers when necessary.

Still, it's not as if Cade's done anything wrong or out of step as regards the work itself. Even if he had, Aleron's not the sort to lose his temper or lash out over a clerical error. If anything, he'll find it's hard to get any sort of reaction from the Seeker beyond serious lineface. That's something that will have to sort itself out in time.

There's a crisp nod of greeting and then Aleron's attention goes right back to the stack of letters in front of him. He holds out one for the taking, unopened, still sealed with green wax stamped with a ram's head. "Burn this one, if you will."

[onlyhymns]

To be fair, Cade is an endless font of anxiety with or without a Seeker present. He's always glad to have something to do, however, and he relays the letter to the fire without a second thought. It only strikes him after he's completed the task that that's a strange way to deal with correspondence, but he doesn't remark on it, instead coming back to seat himself on the opposite side of the table, where he begins to carefully sort through the remaining letters and scrolls, putting them in neat little piles according to urgency.

[apostasia]

"Cade Harimann, isn't it."

When he interrupts Cade's task, Martel's voice is - pleasant. It has a depth to it that suits him; he speaks like someone who was taught to do so in a particular way, to turn one more part of his not inconsiderably handsome charms to best effect. In another life, he sang for the knights' choir, and his voice has the smooth richness of a well-tuned and skillfully played instrument.

There is no obvious threat in him, calmly affable enough, but he doesn't go out of his way to downplay height and breadth of himself; he doesn't go out of his way to make it easier to be comfortable in his company, his dark eyes glittering above the faint smile in a way that it doesn't touch.

[onlyhymns]

Cade has been sweeping out one of the broken towers, part of the Inquisition's extensive effort to get at least most of Skyhold up and functioning again. He's been moving things around all day, tossing out broken furniture, and is quite tired and filthy by the time Martel reaches him.

Initially, his back is turned, and he doesn't hear footsteps over the sound of his sweeping. But then someone says his name, and he turns around, blinking up at a man he's... never seen before. Or perhaps he has, but they've never met. Glancing this way and that, then up at Martel, he nods in the affirmative.

Over to one side, a Tranquil idly supervises.

[apostasia]

The Tranquil make Martel deeply, profoundly uncomfortable- but it isn't about them, really, and he spares this one a sparse smile he doubts means anything and is nevertheless a good deal kinder than the one he bestowed on Cade.

He isn't so unsubtle as to rest his hand on his sword-hilt, but something of the sentiment remains in the air of relaxed predator about him, studying the discards. (The furniture, not Cade.)

"I don't mean to insert myself where my opinions are unnecessary," he says, pleasantly, "but I have a question or two you might entertain."

It sounds like he's giving him a choice about it.

[onlyhymns]

The Tranquil stares blankly back at Martel, gives a disinterested wave, then goes back to her book.

Cade notices the shift when the man looks back to him, and although something twists in his stomach, he remains still. "..ah... certainly," he says, ever-polite even if he's uneasy. To be fair, he's often uneasy.

[apostasia]

"I have every faith in the judgment that has been passed down to you," he says, which may or may not be true. "It is, however, an unfortunate quality of the world in which we live that I've observed a certain casual attitude towards matters regarding our elven friends."

His elven friends. His gaze sharpens, and his head tilts very slightly.

"I understand you to have had an unfortunate lapse of judgment and willpower. And that's all, isn't it?"

It's not that he dislikes elves, particularly, or thinks himself entitled to commit acts of violence on their persons? Is it? Martel would be terribly disappointed.

[onlyhymns]

Ah, so hear it is. Cade has come to expect conversations of this nature, and his heart sinks the moment he hears the word 'elves'. Of course it's about elves. Everyone in Skyhold wants him to be in worse shape than he is, and every single one of them is more than happy to tell him so.

"...yes," he says, his unease growing.

[apostasia]

This one will be brief.

After all, Martel is still smiling; he claps Cade on the shoulder and there's no pointed use of unnecessary force. It's almost a friendly gesture, except for the cold, serpentine undercurrent of this entire interaction and the fact that he doesn't need to be pointed about anything for Cade to get a very accurate impression of the strength behind his hands (and all the rest of him).

"Magnificent. You understand, old boy, given the nature of the situation one might feel the need to be assured of that for oneself." What with a remarkable tendency of the Thedosian powers that be to overlook certain things in their world. "But I'm happy to take you at your word."

This time.

Just this one time.