weep little lion man

[lionheartedman]

WHO: Cullen and you
WHAT: jumping in head first! (by which I mean generic open log so that I can get all up in your inboxes)
WHEN: WHOLE MONTH OF JUNE - the afternoon of the 11th to the late morning of the 14th, he will be away from Skyhold.
WHERE: predominantly his office and the battlements around it, with a healthy helping of training his soldiers on the grounds, and the potential for a few other places if someone wants a custom starter
NOTE: When you tag, please tell me what day so I can figure out in what order it all happens. If you don't pick a day, I will pick it for you.

IMPORTANT!!! If you have not already left me links here and had me respond, but you plan to keep any past CR with Cullen, please do not tag this. I will be assuming that anyone who tags here and has not already had their past CR hashed out with me wishes to begin with a fresh slate. Don't worry, he will have another open post soon. I just don't want to wait too long to start playing, and since there are plenty of new characters and plenty of characters who've already been to my OOC post, I figure it's a safe bet that I can get some play now.

OFFICE
One thing that remains constant, that has not and probably will not ever change, is the endless stream of paperwork that crosses his desk. Cullen stands, hands braced and shoulders slumped, reading over a stack of intersecting and conflicting messenger's reports and trying desperately to figure out how to spread their forces when they simply do not have the resources to meet all needs as things currently stand. He sighs deeply, and raises one hand to rub at the knot of tension at the base of his skull. It's not going anywhere. The same can be said for the impressive model of the Frostbacks that messengers have created with scrolls and sheaves of paper and leather pouches along the short edge of his desk.

BATTLEMENTS
Some people say that Cullen has no aptitude when it comes to taking care of himself. Those people are, on the balance, entirely correct. He will argue that he pushes himself too far out of necessity, but that doesn't mean he's half as responsible as he should be when it comes to sleeping or feeding himself. It takes its toll. Usually, he can chase the fatigue away with a brisk walk and a little fresh air. A trip along the battlements to clear his head and gather his scattered thoughts is his go to solution. One he employs quite often.

TRAINING
Cullen does not always survey his troops with a mind toward picking apart their performances and needling them to do a better job. Often, but not always. Sometimes, he just watches. He takes note of particular skill, of someone ill at ease with the weight and balance of their weapon, of someone distracted. Their numbers are not so great that they can afford anything less than 100% from each person under him. Of course, the unfortunate extension of that is that their numbers are not so great that he can afford to turn away willing help. Particularly in light of the disturbingly large contingent of people within Skyhold who push back against the structure of authority whose protection they enjoy. It makes his job, this part of it as well as the less hands on ones, infinitely more difficult. At least the training remains direct and straightforward. Here in the courtyard, it is his job to foster the skills and determination of his volunteers to make them all that they are capable of becoming. It is their job to then give all they have in the service of the Inquisition. He knows he asks for more than is fair. He also knows that he has no choice. He is grateful for every person with the compassion and foresight to give it, anyway.

NEW OPTIONS - PUPPY!
PUPPY OFFICE
As of Thursday the 16th, there is a new addition to Cullen's life, in the form of a blue and white mabari puppy, and his daily routine just got a whole lot more interesting. The dog doesn't have a proper name, and is mostly being referred to as Puppy. Whatever Cullen thought dog ownership would be, it wasn't this. He seems to spend half his day in constant frantic motion, and the other half sleeping and eating. During the quiet times, Puppy can be found sleeping underneath the desk, or occasionally in the crook of Cullen's arm. He can also be found chewing on scrap leather or lengths of knotted rope as he tumbles about the office, though he won't wander too far from the desk and/or Cullen.

PUPPY COURTYARD
He also needs to be walked, and socialized, so a few times a day, Cullen finds himself in quieter areas of the courtyard. He brings treats and teaches Puppy simple tricks, sending him running along the wall to tire himself out, assuring anyone who wanders into the area that the dog is loud, but friendly.

PUPPY WALKWAYS/STAIRCASES/WHEREVER
Puppy might be smart and well behaved, but he is still a puppy, and occasionally one might be treated to the sight of the Commander of the Inquisition running along a battlement, trying to catch a tiny blur of fur with a roll of parchment clamped in his mouth. This is his life now. This is what his life has become.

[[OOC note about Puppy! While he will definitely be energetic and boisterous and do things that people might not like, he will not be outright bad. Please don't write about him breaking things, hurting people or other animals, or antagonizing someone who seems afraid of him. He is a Mabari, well trained for his young age, and very smart. He wants to play, and will absolutely steal things from people, tug on their clothing, and bark for attention, but Puppy will not be destructive or violent. Thanks.]]

11th (full)
visiting puppies
meeting Henry
talking with Bethany
leaving for recon/rescue mission

12th (away from Skyhold)
traveling
rescuing Meoni

13th (away from Skyhold)
traveling

14th
Mia brings him tea
Sera brings him dinner

15th
properly meeting Christine
Cassandra comes to clear the air
Gwen brings her latest publication

16th
Adelaide brings Cullen a puppy

20th
Josephine helps catch Puppy

Comments

battlements { justinian 15th }

[aceso]

Christine is not often found on the battlements. She has a routine, and she enjoys sticking to it. And while that makes her predictable, it also makes her easy to find, so even though she's traveled up to the battlements, she doesn't plan to stay away from one of her usual haunts for long.

She has to admit, the view is splendid. Coming to and from Skyhold, she could see the different camps and huts that have been built in the valley below the stronghold, but standing from up here affords more of a sweeping vista of the whole area, including the settlements. People are no more than tiny ants, and their tents aren't much bigger. And yet every person down there has endured much in this war. She sees a group of those refugees that look the size of ants rushing around each other. Children playing tag, she suspects. It's good the Inquisition is here to offer them a place where they can find time and space to play.

It would be too easy to stand here for hours, watching the people below, and she tells herself there is more work to be done. She steps backwards away from the outer wall of the battlements, and straight into the Commander's path.

[lionheartedman]

"Steady," he cautions, more prepared for the collision that Christine, with a hand at her back to keep her from crashing into him or tripping and falling to the stones. His small smile is indulgent. It is a beautiful view, and under better circumstances, he thinks that even he might be able to use it to clear all thought from his mind. The problem, his problem, is that there is just so much thought there. "Are you all right?" He doesn't want to withdraw the support of his hand until he's sure she is. These days, not everyone recovers from being startled as quickly as they used to.

Battlements

[justice_is_blond]

"Maker's ass." He'd just wanted to stand on the battlements and see as far as he could, and instead he has to see this sight instead. The rumor mill had put Cullen as on a trip for at least a few days, but this wouldn't be the first time it had been wrong.

Though now he has a choice to make. He could turn around and walk away and spare himself a headache, or he could stand in the vicinity of the Templar who'd twice tried to be a part of murdering whole Circles and still got off blameless.

He's bad at doing the smart thing.

Anders glares at Cullen and steps past to lean against the wall and look off into the distance, braced subtly so a single shove wouldn't, in theory, knock him over. He doesn't trust the man as far as he can throw the Iron Bull.

"Weren't you supposed to be gone for even a short time?"

[lionheartedman]

Cullen's jaw twitches at the comment. He is not a man who will force his faith on others, but that doesn't mean it strikes him as anything but crass and witless to curse that faith. "I'm where I am needed." Short, clipped tones. There is no one person so essential to the functionality of this place that it would not survive without them, but some are more needed than others. The two men on the walkway occupy very different tiers on that list.

Cullen crosses his arms and picks a gap in the stone, as he always does, to stand to the side of and look out past. Anders is positioned so that he can't currently be seen, which suits Cullen just fine, but so that he will enter Cullen's peripheral vision if he attempts to move any closer.

FOR MIA on the 12th

[lionheartedman]

Continuation of our test drive meme thread.

[lettersfromhome]

Happiness is not a difficult concept. She can remember being happy, easily, when she was younger. It was much less complicated, of course. These things are when you're young and the world seems full of possibilities.

Now those moments can't be taken for granted, can they? They're allowed so few.

Her eyes lift from her teacup at the question, hesitating but for a moment before her smile tugs wider on her face. It's gentle, warm, but utterly honest. "I am, yes."

Office

[arsebiscuit]

Some weeks ago Cass had gone and giving her ideas about Cullen's office. Or, more, how much fuzzy-neck liked to have everything in order. Clearly, she had things to do. For morale and all.

But she wasn't totally stupid, no matter what people thought. To do this own her own she'd need some proper scoping first. So she earns some favors with the serving staff and offers to bring Commander Grump-butt his dinner herself this evening. Naturally, she doesn't knock, just breezes in, half of Cullen's dessert already eaten.

"Oi."

[ ooc: no cr outside of canon ]

[lionheartedman]

When Cullen looks up, it's with no small amount of suspicion. Sera, making an attempt to be helpful. Not only helpful, but helpful in a domestic sense. There is something incredibly unnatural about seeing her carrying a tray. "Hello," he offers cautiously, brow furrowed as he lowers his quill and places the cover on his inkwell. Just in case. "Do you need something?"

/BURSTS IN ALA LET IT GO STYLE also know as training on the 11th

[truestheart]

Henry had been watching the drills from his window like usual. He hadn't gone back down for a few days not since some people found him fooling around with a left over sword. Had he gotten in trouble? Not really. But, he didn't really want to have a repeat and then get completely confined to his quarters.

Today, however, he decides it best to go down while there's actual people training. At least to get a good look. He's not wearing his mage robes today, now he's got a spiffy new set of clothes. Something a bit more practical than mage robes. He stays on the outskirts of what could be the training circle, walking around watching the blades clash together. He's still so enamoured by it all he's not even paying attention to where he's going.

It's then he bumps into the man clearly instructing the soldiers. He backs up rather quickly and somewhat dazed and offers a "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

[lionheartedman]

This just keeps on happening to him. At least this time, he has more options for where to grab, and his hand lands heavily on Henry's shoulder to keep him from falling over. It's not that he thinks the boy is particularly clumsy, but a stray rock concealed in grass is a quick way to turn an unsuspecting ankle.

"This is a bad place to be preoccupied. Not all these blades are dull." There is a small ring of land marked off where soldiers are learning to handle the weight of the sword they will be taking out into the field, to move with it and compensate for it until it's like an extension of themselves. Henry isn't too close to it, but this is still a bad place to be wandering around if you're not paying attention to where you're going. "Still, no harm done. Steady?" He's asking if Henry is steady on his feet, if Cullen can let go.

Office

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Right. She could do this. She had faced down Aveline and Fenris, held her own against the vicious whispers that had followed the Wardens until the Western Approach. She knew that she would have to stand strong, here and now, because honestly for as much as Cullen was not a templar and she was not an apostate?

She ... felt ashamed, from keeping this from a man who for years had willfully 'ignored' Marian and herself. Who had stood by Marian when it counted, when it came down to picking a side. Who helped clean up the mess that Anders, her friend, had left behind.

That they had all left behind, if she was honest.

She sucked in a breath, winced a little as her newly knitted up wounds pulled a bit, knocked on the door, and waited for a response before entering.

"Commander Cullen -- I believe you and I were due a conversation?" She said, as she closed the door behind her, giving him a level look.

[lionheartedman]

Due a conversation? For a moment, Cullen had no idea what Bethany was talking about. Then he remembered. He'd gone to see her, a little while after Anders had been exposed, been interrupted almost immediately and had to leave. Right. Of course, today would be the day she'd pick to come see him. One day after Anders had used Cullen to take out all his many grievances with the world. Well, at least he'd had a tiny bright spot this morning. He owed Adelaide a proper thank you for that. Later.

He could see a touch of Marian in Bethany's face, around the eyes and nose. Something in her current expression made it even more obvious right now. "Miss Hawke." He should probably look into getting somewhere for visitors to sit. Of course, that would encourage people to linger... so maybe not. Thought for later. He should run it by someone. He made a quick note in the margin of an old report.

Training - 14th

[ombranera]

"They have greatly improved in the past few months." Mostly due to those that were not so good either giving up or dying in the field but- Zevran is not going to be the one to make mention of that. But, still! Encouragement is good. And. He should spend some time around Mia's brother as they are to be...something? Sentiment and relationships are complicated enough without adding family to the mix but she would wish them to get along.

Or at least be civil.

And here he is, attempting to get along. To that end, even though it leaves him tense to do so, he stands with Cullen in his blind spot, keeping the man to his right. "You've done quite well, considering the volunteers we've been getting."

[lionheartedman]

Cullen does not notice the gesture at first, his eyes locked on his troops, a line of the more experienced paired off with a line of the new and eager, running through positions. "They come with a willingness to fight for something they believe in. You can't teach that." He glances over at Zevran, then does a quick double take. He understands what Zevran is doing, but he doesn't know why. "I don't often see you down here." That doesn't mean Zevran doesn't train, of course, just that he doesn't come to watch or participate in the sessions that Cullen runs.

office ; current ?

[elegiaque]

Gwenaëlle is a remarkably common sight upon the battlements, for all that she would like as not protest any description of her involving the word 'common'; she keeps out of the way of those that are actually there to do work, but can be found often enough slipping into out of the way spaces or leaning against the stone to watch the distance. For what, she supposes it doesn't matter - the air is cool and the company is quiet and it gives her a place to work that doesn't make her stir crazy and restless.

It was kind of her father to go to the great lengths that he did to try to make her stay here a comfortable one, but her quarters - admittedly generous, in deference to said fussy father - are smaller than the space her things came from, and she finds it sometimes less of an Orlesian oasis than simply overstuffed and oppressive.

This evening finds her sweeping past her usual hidey-holes, however, opening Cullen's office door without knocking (with, instead, the casual presumption of the young, wealthy and attractive; 'no' or even 'not right now' are not words with which she is very familiar), a sheaf of paper tucked under her arm and her skirts held off the stone with her free hand.

"Commander," she says, pleasantly. "I thought I would deliver the published edition personally."

[lionheartedman]

[[Wednesday the 15th for time to bounce back from his big Red Templar fight, and also time to return to Skyhold]]

In contrast, the Commander's office is marked by the absence of extraneous, of even required, furnishings. Oh, what she would think to see the pitiful disrepair of his bedroom. Though, in all fairness, he spends hardly any time there. His hours are claimed by his desk, and the demands that spread across it. Cullen is more than used to having his brief moments of peace and quiet interrupted. There is a reason he doesn't employ the locks on his doors. Often, they aren't even closed. In this case, it's simply that the last messenger out shut it before she left. Probably without even thinking. She'd been dead on her feet, and in desperate need of the meal and bath Cullen had sent her to find for herself.

Perhaps he's a bit surprised to hear and then see full skirts bustling through his door, but it doesn't last long. "Lady Vauquellin." There is a hint of a question on the tail end of her name, but he feels fairly confident that it must be her. "Very kind of you. I apologize I can't offer you somewhere to sit." He reaches his hand across the desk for the papers in her hand.

Battlements

[onlyhymns]

Although Cade has been stripped of all but his Templar status, he still knows and walks the battlements, patrolling merely for the sake of the quiet and the opportunity to keep his feet busy.
He's become something of a shadow around Skyhold over the past months, likely to the point where his disappearance to the Western Approach was not even noticed by most. Gradually, he has stopped eating with, keeping company with, and even looking at the other Templars, too afraid of their judgment, of the lack and the embarrassment he represents by existing near them.

So it's with great trepidation that he notices the Commander looking out at the Frostbacks and decides to pass behind him anyway, seeming to slink more than walk. In general, the less attention he calls to himself, the happier it makes everyone else.

[lionheartedman]

Cullen might not have all of his attention focused on the walkway around him, but the attempt to go unnoticed is still fruitless. "Please tell me that isn't your idea of stealth." There is humour in the words - the kind of weary humour that comes from having a very long day that, even at this late hour, is nowhere near over. "Even if I don't see you, that doesn't mean I've forgotten about you."

Office, Justinian 14 or 15?

[stabsbooks]

She has not seen him for some time, not more than just in passing, and though that could be easily explained - they have both been busy, they have hardly had a chance to catch their breaths for months...well, when has there been a time that they have not been busy? And yet even during their meetings in the War Room, all the times their work naturally brings them together, Cullen has seemed strangely distant - polite, always, but never warm.

He could just be tired, of course. In any case, his return to Skyhold seems as good an excuse as any to visit. Cassandra knocks on the door and slips inside at his call, closing the door behind her. No need to make it easy for them to be interrupted, not when there are always so many eager for both her time and his.

"Commander Cullen." She takes a moment to survey his desk, precariously stacked with paperwork. It reminds her uncannily of her own. "I see that you have returned safely from the Storm Coast."

[lionheartedman]

Cassandra is not the visitor he was expecting, and his surprise shows on his face for a moment before it is drawn back down to the mountains of paperwork. "Do you suppose I will ever see the bottom of these piles?" he asks, sweeping his hand over his desk. Light conversation, polite, nonspecific. He straightens, walking around so that there is not a desk between them, giving her the courtesy of his full attention. Her position deserves no less, he feels.

Justinian 16, Office, PUPPY

[fleurdesel]

It doesn't matter if he's made notes on where the pups ought to be best sent, it doesn't matter that he's likely kept himself off that list. Early one afternoon at the usual time, Adelaide arrives at Cullen's office with the usual binder of letters and notes, ledgers and concerns that truly do need his attention-

And a wicker basket- which is not terribly unusual in so much that she often brings tea when she can. What is unusual is how she plunks it on his desk without unpacking and without further commentary, least of all explaining why there is snuffling coming from the inside. "I've handed off the management of the poultice and potion workshop- Eiryls Ancarrow will be keeping the books on the resulting stores and usage of herbs once she has settled in. When I've a gist of the numbers I'll include them in my reports."

Straight to business, not pausing for a moment as she flicks through her notes on what needs discussing for the day.

[lionheartedman]

"That is-- Yes--" Cullen frowns at the basket, pokes it, and hears a yip from inside. "Oh, Adelaide, you didn't."

He flips back the largest corner of the fabric, draped over the top of the contents of the basket, and the blue and white mabari Adelaide called Leon pokes his fat happy little head up to bark at Cullen.

"You did."

Puppy

[el_tybs]

He's far more used to seeing the Commander either training the troops or stationed in his tower, so actually seeing the man wandering around the courtyard that wasn't because of work was quite something. The reason for him walking around even more so, but a pleasant one, smiling at the energetic pup at Cullen's feet.

Nikita and Leonard were not quite as pleased however, immediately pulling on their leashes and making a beeline up his pants and shirt until they could comfortably stare down from his shoulder down at the loud creature. Sam sighs at the two kittens, but doesn't let it stop him from approaching closer.

"Commander," he greets with a small smile. "Getting your exercise for the day?"

[lionheartedman]

"I suppose we both are." He nods at the puppy, who is racing around the trunks of several small trees, tearing through flowers and whisking the petals into the air, then snapping at them when they begin fluttering back to the ground. "And you are--" At first, he is looking for a name, but after a moment, finishes his own sentence in an entirely different direction. "Walking cats... on leads?"

It was the puppy, in the courtyard, with the wand.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione is very smart, and she's usually very careful, but sometimes even she can be a little shortsighted. To her credit, it doesn't take overly long to tie her shoe, and it's best to get that sort of thing taken care of before an unnecessary accident occurs. So she hadn't thought anything about setting her wand down on the ground as she gets that taken care of, blissfully unaware that someone had been watching her.

That someone sees this as the moment to make his move, and Hermione starts when what looks like a gray blur darts past and around her, quickly racing off. She turns to follow it with her eyes, smiling a little when she realizes that it seems to be a small dog with some sort of stick in its mouth... that is, until she reaches down, hand groping around in the grass, and realizes that that's no "stick".

With a sharp gasp, Hermione barely takes a second to look to make sure that her wand actually is missing before darting to her feet, taking off in a sprint. "Wait! No, stop, heel!"

And this is why she's more of a cat person.

[lionheartedman]

This stick is a good fine stick. This stick has been carefully carried by this person for a long time. This stick is important, and if it's important, and this person likes it, then his person will like it. Puppy holds it very carefully in his teeth, so he doesn't damage it, and races along the stones, his fat little body weaving through the mixed obstacles of supplies and legs and areas of disrepair. A good fine stick for a good fine person. Yes.

It's not that he doesn't hear Hermione, or that he doesn't understand, in that special way mabari have of understanding. It's just that she's not the one he wants to listen to. She's not the one he wants to make happy, to impress. No. She doesn't belong to him.

Puppy has raced up one staircase, along a section of walkway, and down another staircase leading to a different courtyard, all without a moment's hesitation or pause. Cullen has only recently realized that his hound is gone, glancing down at the completion of his game of chess to find empty grass and abandoned toys. He's made his quick circuit of the small area, and is about to venture further, when the familiar whuffing noises reach him. Puppy's happy barking, muffled by something in his mouth. He sees the little blur, and smiles to feel those huge paws scratching as his boots, his head bobbling from side to side to highlight his latest and greatest acquisition, until Cullen crouches down and takes it from his mouth. "What did you find, boy?"

Training

[laurenande]

Galadriel, whether consciously or unconsciously, was a creature of habit--routines came easily and, once she had established them, she carried them out without thought. She had made a habit of walking through the fortress, of watching the weather, or the people who flowed through the gates. She spent long hours wandering and longer hours, still, standing in silent study of the grounds. It was an unnerving habit and, unfortunately, one her absent guards had not managed to break her of.

She had some interest in the forces of the Inquisition, in what they were truly capable of, to a man, but she rarely lingered to watch them train. Her curiosity regarding their training had not been considerable before her jailing but it seemed imperative now. Suffering the constant company of templars was increasingly tedious and basic knowledge of their skills, however banal, was worth the risk involved in watching them.

She stood on the stairs that led up to the battlements, caught in the shadows thrown by the walls, and was, by and large, ignored by those who traveled around her, up and down the staircases from the courtyard and the bailey. The grey cloak across her shoulders hung loosely but was not drawn tight. In the courtyard below, the ranks ran their courses. The clatter of steel fluttered through the air, bounced off of the walls and back, until it was caught in the wind and torn away.

They were effective, if somewhat inelegant.

[lionheartedman]

He's not sure what he's seeing at first. Just a flash, an uneasy feeling, and then a certainty in the back of his mind that something is wrong. He scans the courtyard for the threat quickly, finds nothing, and begins looking in the places someone might hide. The weeds, the trees, the shadows along the-- wait. There, on the steps, being skirted by so many.

He's almost afraid to glance away from her, but he spares the time to grab one of his Lieutenants, gesturing to the recruits he's been working with. "Take over here. That woman is--" He shakes his head. "I need to check on something. I'll be back before this round switches off."

With that, he's off, the man now in charge looking after him, bemusement written all over his face. Beyond his Commander, in the shadows he's heading straight for, he thinks that he might see a beautiful face for just a moment. Only a face, flash of pale hair, cold expression. He recognizes the features, but can't place them. Then a clash of metal behind him, a cry of pain, and his focus shifts. Cullen's remains steady.

puppy staircase (Justinian 20th)

[theproperglove]

Josephine is returning from checking on some of the more notable visiting dignatories when she is greeted with a most unexpected sight: the Inquisition's esteemed commander, tearing along in pursuit of a mabari puppy. She picks up her pace as she approaches the pair, noticing that the pup appears to have something in its mouth.

"Commander!" she calls out, waving a hand to attract his attention. "What is going on?"

[lionheartedman]

He's not out of breath, luckily. The puppy has greater maneuverability than him, small body and the advantage of choosing the obstacles he places in his master's path, but Cullen isn't winded by the chase. "Puppy has the latest scout reports. Don't let him down the stairs! I'll be hours finding him if he makes the courtyard." The middle statement is directed at Josephine, and anyone else in the area. Anyone who can stop him. Anyone the mabari might not see coming.