faderift | In the summer, I remember

WHO: Thranduil, Legolas, anyone good with a bow or who enjoys the wine on offer.
WHAT: ROOTY TOOTY POINT N SHOOTY ARCHERY CONTEST
WHEN: 8th of Bloomingtide, midmorning until sunset.
WHERE: Valley
NOTES: log for a friendly wager!

The eighth of Bloomingtide began as a chilly morning; not quite cold enough to leave frost on the budding flowers and fresh-sprouted plants in the heights of Skyhold, but nearly, nearly.

By the time the sun was been in the sky for a few hours, most of the early-morning chill had burned off, leaving a day that promised to be nearly too-hot for those who would be stuck in full-plate and in direct sunlight. Thranduil wasn’t expecting any to come clanking down to his little fete, but had none the less secured a spot in the shade. Varric had apparently found him while he was still working on organizing—the target launchers are set neatly in line with everything else. Along the clay pigeon launchers were the standard, stock targets, blindfolds—and on a table off to the side was a few bottles of sweet wine beside loaves of brown bread and hard cheeses.

The contest did not pretend to be anything other than what it was; a chance to meet, and mingle, and possibly show off archery skills. The purses wrested next to the wine and cheese and Thranduil himself. He had found a chair to rest in while waiting for the contestants to arrive, dressed plainer than he had so far allowed himself to be seen. On his fingers, four rings glittered—but his confidence in Legolas was so absolute, he doubted he would lose even one before the days was out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hey, the vertical part will happen sooner or later. For now, Korrin's just glad to see Kas growing into himself in another fashion. "An ice rune or a demon-slaying rune, for those moments of rift fuckery. And hell yes, that offer still stands. I don't say what I don't mean, Kas. Besides, once Lena and Taaranda get to know you, it won't just be me doing the vouching."

Lena takes time, but she has no doubt Taaranda is on board with her plan already.

He looks happy at that, almost beaming as he puts his bow away with his quiver and walks over to grab some water. "I bet I'd be a good mercenary." Kas says, almost talking to himself. "I'd be part of a kith again. Like back home."

Not that the Inquisition wasn't family, of course... but it wouldn't last forever.

"You... um... got any girls my age in the Valo-Kas?"

That innocently-asked question gets a chuckle out of Korrin, who grins and tries to restrain herself from teasing too much. She can't blame Kas for having that on his mind, after being surrounded by nothing but herself and a bunch of burly guys, race-wise. "Well, Taaranda's only a couple of years older. She's a real sweetie, too. At least off the battlefield. On it, it's a completely different story."

"Taarandra?" He looks a little confused at that. "She's huge. Only a couple of years?" That was pretty amazing, really. Kas isn't sure what to think of the fact that he's tiny and wiry in comparison, though.

His poor male ego.

"...you guys should spar some time. It'd be cool to see a mage, a rogue and a warrior together. Kicking ass Vashoth-style!"

Korrin simply nods about Taaranda, certain of the silent comparison but obviously not someone who has a problem with significant height differences. If she was, she'd be in serious trouble.

"We definitely have, but I'll make sure you're around sometime for it, alright? We worked often and well together at least partly because of the combo, and I can't wait to see that happen on a mission again. But we're lacking a ranged attacker now." Knight-Enchanter training allows her to be much closer than before, so they'll have to get used to that.

Pardon him, he's still imagining three kickass ladies fighting together. It's awesome.

...then he pays attention again when she mentions the next part. "Hey, I'm ranged! I can help!" Genius, really.

It absolutely is genius, and her grin encourages that. "Exactly. Come with us sometime and show them what you can do with that bow. Especially that one; Valo-Kas design isn't something they'll overlook."

It's quite possible that he's going to explode from pride, the way he grins and puffs out his small chest. Valo-kas archer. He would continue to have the worth he desired so badly even after the threat was over.

It's such a relief to him, really. Sometimes he fears having to go back on the streets after Corypheus was defeated, but Korrin had changed that.

He'd still be someone.

"I'm glad I did pretty well, then. Gave them a show and all."

Don't explode, Kas, that would be messy. But she grins back, proud of how far he's come and happy to take him in as one of her own, officially. He's been unofficially one of hers for a while now.

"You definitely did that, lasted longer than me. But I'd expect that given how hard you train. For me, it'll never be a serious thing and I know it."

"Well, it's good that you can fight without magic. In case... something happens." Not that he worries or anything.

"I'm gonna get some food, do you wanna watch the rest of the shots after that? I was gonna bet on Metaari but that Rifter elf guy seemed way too smug about his son."

"Yeah, don't take any bets against him. That's just asking for trouble." Not that Metaari isn't good, but if they face off against each other? Korrin has a pretty good guess of who will win.

"Go get your food, I'll keep this spot for us."

There's another big grin from the boy, and the disappears in the crowd to hun for some food. When he returns a while later, he has enough meat skewers to feed a small army, as well as two cups of ale. How he's managing to balance that is anyone's guess, but he's offering some to Korrin once he's back in place.

"The ram ones are great! Try them... and the fish ones, they have the best sauce."

Her appetite, forgotten in all the excitement while cheering on participants, resurfaces with a vengeance upon seeing those mouth-watering meat skewers. With a broad smile, she snags a ram one first, and an ale cup. "Thanks, Kas. These look delicious. It reminds me of those that Tama used to make. If we go back north sometime, she'd give us enough to feed an even larger army than this."

That grin only goes wider as she grabs some food, and he digs in on one of his own as soon as she relieves him of one ale cup. "They're grilled just right and tastes like perfect street food. We used to fight about stuff like these like rabid dogs..."

Kas takes a drink to swallow down the food. "I'd like that. To see your Tama, I mean." He pauses a bit, thoughtful as he bites off anoter piece of ram. "Between going there and visiting Gorse's family... it will be nice to see some qunari families. Not just... what we had." He's realizing more and more that Nehraa Anaan wasn't as good as he thought it was while growing up.

"I'm sure we can make that happen, Kas. Hell, it'd be just like her to charge down south just to see everything for herself. She may have a lot of years on her, but you'd never know it the way she tears about." Korrin can only hope to match that standard, assuming she gets to reach that age. "Hey, we have a little time before we're to head out west. We could go surprise Gorse and his family with a visit. It might be a while before we have that kind of time again."

He laughs a little at that, but there's a little happy smile still resting there even afterwards. Awesome women were his jam, okay? The thought of little old ladies with war axes just made his day.

"...yeah. I'd like that. I really miss him, and it sounded like his family was amazing." There's a small shrug, and he takes another bite off his skewer. "It shouldn't take too long, right?"

In the summer, I remember

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject