faderift | [OPEN] Welcome Back! Now Take a Bath.

WHO: Blackwall and you!
WHAT: Blackwall returns to Skyhold after being away for a few months
WHEN: Current?
WHERE: Around Skyhold, mostly the stables and the tavern
NOTES: none that I can think of... his intro is over here. prose or brackets are fine

i. Just arrived
It's midday when Blackwall and the small group of scouts and soldiers who'd been with him in the Storm Coast are spotted by one of Skyhold's lookouts making their way back up the mountain road. They're definitely not in a rush, but getting inside of the fortress' high walls and out of the whipping mountain winds is a relief. After weeks in the constant drizzle of the Storm Coast, dry clothing felt like an unattainable fantasy.

Muddy, damp, and worn out, Blackwall was looking even more unkempt and wild than when he'd first arrived in Haven. The Storm Coast seemed to have that affect on people; the others with him didn't look like they'd fared much better. He's a little surprised at how glad he is to be back, but why wouldn't he be? A change of clothes into something that isn't already soaked through with rain and a proper place to enjoy a drink, what's not to love?

ii. Sparring/Beating up practice dummies close to the stables
It doesn't take Blackwall long at all to fall back into a routine, which means getting some time in with a dull sword and a stuffed potato sack on a stick meant to look like a person. It's unusual for him to be in anything less than his full armor, which includes the puffy gambeson he always wears, but it's still hung up to dry by the fire in the stables, so this morning he's settled for a loose tunic and trousers.

Unlike some of the others whacking away at the dummies, his movements are calm and devoid of emotion, simply going through training exercises and focusing on form and technique. Training exercises are all well and good, but if someone actually offered to spar he'd be hard pressed to turn them down, especially after fighting nothing but bears and spiders in the mud for the past few weeks.

iii. Tavern
"Oh, pardon me," Blackwall offers, managing to sound completely genuine while fighting back a chuckle. It's late evening and the tavern is apparently the place to be. It's surprisingly easy to misjudge how close you are to someone after a few drinks and Blackwall misses the mark as he leans over the counter to signal for another pint, bumping a few people.

"Ale, like the last one," He tells the barkeep when he gets their attention before offering a slightly intoxicated smile while waiting.

iv. or choose your own adventure!
[Walking around Skyhold or find him in the stables... demand he come tour the Warden encampment and watch him squirm, or comment about how much he needs a haircut. I'm down for all the things :3]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Exiled?!" He searches her expression for more of an explanation than that, but doesn't come up with much. He's due to report in to Leliana soon, hopefully he'll get a few more answers then.

"... Understood. I'll move what I have. Are you assigning spaces? I don't have a tent of my own," He didn't really have much of anything. Even the carving tools weren't his. They'd simply been in the stables when they'd arrived in Skyhold. "Are we not to enter the keep at all then?" It seemed extreme; the tavern, the gardens, mages tower... the stables. If they were all off limits that would certainly put a damper on things.

"No, nothing assigned," Teren replies, "there's space in mine if you need a place to sleep until you've found your own." Strangely, no one has exactly leapt at the chance to room with her. "Keep it tidy and we shan't have any problems."
At his question, she blinks a few times, then shakes her head. "No, it's business as usual otherwise. They just don't want us congregating and keeping our bloody Warden secrets where people can get hurt, I reckon."

"I... are you sure I wouldn't imposing?" Keeping what few belongings he had tidy definitely wasn't a concern. He'd been in the military long enough to have it ingrained in him to keep everything neat, organized and properly taken care of. Snoring -his, not her's- and seeing one another in their small clothes... that was definitely more of a worry.

"Right, because congregating and keeping our Warden secrets just outside the gates is going to make a huge difference?" He sighs but is already chiding himself. The Wardens had probably been let off easy, this 'exile' in place for formalities sake. Some kind of punishment was better than nothing at all. "What exactly happened?" Surely, 'Warden secrets' wasn't cause for exile.

Teren gives him a vaguely indignant look, as though to admonish him for questioning what she has already decided. "I'm sure," she says nonetheless, narrowing her eyes in mild confusion. Don't be like that.
She's also quite adept at maintaining her privacy even in a campful of Wardens, so Blackwall may find in very little time that he has no cause for worry.

"Oh, just Anders." She waves her hand dismissively. "The business in Kirkwall. You know how it goes."

"Uh... well... alright then," He was stuck. There really didn't seem like a good way to decline without either offending her or sounding ridiculous, which meant they were now apparently sharing a tent.

"I'll move what I have in a bit then..." He quickly goes through a mental checklist of what he has, and obviously he'll need to let Sera know he's moving, so whoever does move into the loft in the stables doesn't suffer her 'pranks' needlessly.

"Anders? I had no idea he was a Grey Warden. I've been a little out of touch... with everything... for about the past five years," He admits, rubbing the back of his neck.

Why tell her? This way he'll be free of pranks until she figures out where he lives again. It's the perfect crime.

"Oh, yes, it's news to many," Teren agrees, offering Blackwall an odd look. Out of touch? He seems it. "...well, I imagine it won't take long for you to get in with the others. They're a...." Foolish, noisy, tragic? "...rowdy bunch."

Free of pranks, but also free of getting badgered by the elf, which would be a pity. He'd also feel stupidly guilty for allowing some hapless stranger to be the butt of Sera's pranks.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you disapproved," He observes with a soft chuckle. Her apparent seriousness is easier to focus on than Anders at least. "Well, you've nothing to worry about from me." His 'rowdiness' was reserved for the tavern.

Teren snorts. "Disapproval is... meaningless, here. Though I do wish there were one head's worth of sense between the lot of them, what we have is what we have. I'm fond of them." She almost smiles.

"Glad to hear it. Now, I'll be off unless you have other questions? I shall make room in the tent for you, it's the last one on the left in the second row." She gestures to it.

"At least they've got spirit. Better than stuffy and overly serious any day, in my opinion.

But, uh, nothing comes to mind, Skraedder... And if I do think of anything, it's not as if I don't know where to find you," He says with a respectful nod before she departs.

[OPEN] Welcome Back! Now Take a Bath.

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