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

[lionheartedman]

"What is it?" He's not throwing it, or breaking it, but he's also not relinquishing it just yet. It must be something important, for her to be so worked up over it. Cullen has a hard trained survival instinct to be wary of things that he doesn't understand. More often than not, things you don't understand, or things you underestimate, end up killing you. Complicated is rarely a good word these days.

Still, she looks scared. Desperate. So he holds it very carefully, loosely and gently in his gloved hand, like something breakable and valuable, even though he has no idea what it is. It's important to her, clearly. He's not going to be careless with it. Still, it's that importance that keeps him from immediately handing it over.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione can't help huffing a little bit in desperation when he doesn't immediately give it back, and she glances around, making sure that the little troublemaker that had started all of this isn't on its way back and thinks this is all jut a game. But when she looks back at the man before her, she's surprised to see that he's actually offering her the wand, and it takes all she has not to just snatch it out of his hand. Instead, she reaches out and takes it from him slowly, clearly grateful even as she observes it for any teeth marks or splinters.

"It's a wand," she explains finally, most of her tension easing away now that it's back in her possession. It's not completely gone, though, given that so many people here have had varying reactions to what she says next. "It's sort of my world's equivalent to a staff. It's already a bit superficially damaged, but if it actually breaks, I'm not sure that I'd be able to adequately repair or replace it."

[lionheartedman]

"You're a mage." Smallest stave he's ever seen, and he's not sure if the portability is an improvement, or if it just makes them more dangerous. Still, if she is here, she's at least trying to help. In theory. Reality, sadly, tends to get murky on that point. "How was it damaged?" Dangerous or not, if someone here is causing trouble, he needs to know about it. Rifters' trust isn't going to be gained if a little can't be extended their way, as well.

[bookish_lioness]

"A witch," she corrects automatically. "I'm a witch. Though for all intents and purposes, if anyone who can do magic is called a mage here, then I'll go by either term."

She clearly has no problem being forthright, especially since this man hasn't tried getting aggressive upon finding out she can do magic. After all, Hermione reckons she's likely safer the more open she is, given how wary many people here are of people like her.

"I landed on it when I fell from the rift, most likely. It hasn't responded properly since I tried defending myself against a Red Templar, so I don't know if it's to do with the slight fraying the tip has sustained, or with the Fade causing some sort of interference. Either way, I'd much prefer not having to find out what to do should it break or get lost unless I absolutely have to and am at least a little better prepared for it."

[lionheartedman]

"A witch is... something else here. It might make people uncomfortable." Which is not to say that she can't keep on calling herself one, if she so chooses, but if no one has told her yet, she should know. "Not that being a mage will make everyone comfortable, but being a witch adds another layer to that. One you might not want."

Puppy comes tearing back with the stick, jumping up at Cullen and growling around it. During one of the leaps, Cullen manages to grab the stick, and Puppy immediately lets go of it so that he won't break it. He pauses in his conversation with this nameless young woman to turn and throw the stick again, clearing nearly the entire courtyard.

[bookish_lioness]

"It means something else where I'm from, too. Or, at least, it can mean something else, outside of the magical community." Normally she shrugs that sort of thing off; words are just words, and they can only hurt as much as you let them. But this is a matter of other people potentially hurting her over using the wrong word, so it's not exactly wise to behave so nonchalantly about it.

Seeing the small puppy come back, Hermione automatically brings her wand in close, as though shielding it from being snatched up again. It is sort of cute, she supposes, for a trouble-making dog, and she cracks a small smile as she watches his brief interaction with his owner. "Is that a mabari? I've only ever seen them full-grown; I suppose they'd have to have been puppies at some point, but it never quite sinks in when you see how big they are."

[lionheartedman]

He's not trying to tell her what she should or shouldn't call herself, just make sure she has all the information she needs to make the choice herself. If she wants to be a witch, she can be a witch. Morrigan survives it fine. Then again, this woman is clearly not Morrigan, and thank the Maker for that.

Cullen has always had a very full understanding of the cycle of life and death. Comes from growing up in farm country. He smiles at the puppy's retreating rump. "He is. Of particularly fine stock. He'll be a big one when he's grown. Bigger than normal." It's pretty clear that he already loves the furry little terror.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione has yet to meet Morrigan in person. If she knew what sort of image she was conjuring at the mention of the word witch, she might have adopted "mage" much more easily than she actually is. Not that there's anything wrong with Morrigan, but there's clearly something more ominous to her appearance than there is to Hermione's.

"Bigger than normal?" Hermione asks, vaguely aghast. She does like mabari and their almost human sense of loyalty, but the ones she knows are big enough to snap her in two during a particularly aggressive play session. "I can ride the ones I know! Most dogs I've seen back home don't get to be nearly so big! How big do they get to be before that puppy energy peters out?" Because if she has to wrestle her wand out of the mouth of something bigger than Jayne or Garahel, she might just consider it a loss and look into attempting to fashion a new one.

[lionheartedman]

"Quite a bit bigger." The puppy comes racing back with the stick in his mouth, and Cullen stops him with an out-turned palm. "Sit." Rump meets grass immediately. Cullen raises both of his hands a little. "Lift." With the stick still in his mouth, the puppy leans back and balances on his haunches until he can lift both front legs up into the air. "Freeze." They're still working on that one, and when Cullen reaches for those paws, the puppy is already wiggling with glee, and drops the stick to try and lick his hands.

He dodges the tongue and grabs one paw, showing it to Hermione. "They grow into their paws." His are roughly the size of salad plates.

[bookish_lioness]

Oh. The little troublemaker is actually sort of cute when it listens to orders. Hermione can feel an unfortunate smile tugging on her lips, but she manages to stifle that with a hand to her mouth as Cullen makes his point about the paws.

"He's going to be exhausting," she predicts. "If he isn't already, going around and stealing anything remotely stick-like he sees. Keep him away from the practice swords or the soldiers will never get any training done."

[lionheartedman]

"Oh, he loves the training. He goes through nipping ankles and providing convenient hurdles for men to trip over. He's the changing terrain. Puppy, this is your new friend, and you're not to jump on her or take her stick again. It's an important stick. It's not for playing with." Puppy barks happily, wagging his little stump of a tail and pawing at the air like he understands.

Cullen drops his paw, and Puppy picks up the stick from the ground again, showing it to Hermione. This is his toy, and that one is hers. He gets it. "And I'm Cullen."

[bookish_lioness]

Puppy. The puppy's name is Puppy. Hermione can't tell if that's very cute or frighteningly unimaginative. Though she supposes it's better than Ginny naming an owl Pig.

Slowly, as though afraid that he's going to pounce on her if she makes any sudden movements despite their new understanding, Hermione crouches down and tentatively reaches a hand out for Puppy, giving him the chance to back away or sniff at her before she makes any attempt to touch him. "Hello there, Puppy. I'm Hermione. I'll forgive you if you have trouble saying it." She glances up at the man (whom she'd half-expected to be called Man, but clearly he hadn't named himself), and smiles dryly, "I might be a little harder on you, but I'll give you some leeway. It's nice to meet you, Cullen."

[lionheartedman]

The puppy being named Puppy was not intentional, if that counts for anything at all. The stick is happily dropped in favour of licking Hermione's hand.

Cullen just smiles down at the pair of them. That's more like it. "Hermione," he repeats. "I'll try not to forget it." He's not that great with names, always been better with faces, but things stick when he makes an effort. "I'm certain he won't forget you."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione clearly isn't expecting to be licked rather than sniffed, and she jumps a little and looks down at him, though it's easy to relax when the creature licking her is so unfairly cute. Besides, as far as she knows, dogs don't really have many other ways to show their affection.

Reaching out with her free hand to gingerly pet Puppy, she glances back up at Cullen and smiles uncertainly. "I'm sure I'm just one more person whose property he's tried to destroy before quickly distracting them with how how sweet he is."

[lionheartedman]

"Your property is essentially a stick." He's a puppy. Only so much can be done. "Would you like me to see if someone can take a look at it? We've had some new craftsman arrive recently." If she's really that worried about it, it might be best to have it looked at. Especially since Puppy isn't the only dog running around the Hold who'd love to play fetch with the wand.

[bookish_lioness]

"My property is essentially a compact, powerful staff," Hermione replies, just a touch haughtily. She isn't really about to argue the matter, though; just because Cullen has never seen her magic at work doesn't mean she has anything to prove.

His offer does give her pause, though, and she hesitates for a few moments before commenting, "I'm not sure how good of an idea that might be. Wand-making is a very delicate craft, you see, and without an experienced wandmaker here, I'm a bit wary about letting someone else handle it. It could use some surface repairs, and it might even help, but... the wand is serviceable enough at the moment, so there's no sense taking unnecessary risks. Thank you, though. I do appreciate it."