[ OPEN ] I'm Floating in a Most Peculiar Way

[universal_charm]

WHO: Jim Kirk & Anyone
WHAT: Catch-all for the month
WHEN: June/Justinian (after the Justice Ritual #4)
WHERE: Around Skyhold
NOTES: Possible language, probably kittens, wounds, probably demon-talk, shenanigans, maybe some other heavy subjects, possibly some amorous action, everything goes here

[ Class Is In Session - Math + Self-Defense ]
Hearing of a school going up, Kirk naturally offered himself up as a teacher - not least because it gave him something to do here other than be a pretty helper to Sam's forge and a jack-of-all trades laborer.

He taught all levels of math, and any new students who came to the class would be asked to complete an exam that had problems ranging from simple addition and subtraction all the way up to the higher maths such as Calculus to gauge their skill. From that, he did his best to improve upon their skills and further their understanding. A little hard with a range of people, but he did his best, and he was more than willing to answer questions both related to math and to other subjects as well.

When he was not teaching maths, he taught Self-Defense with hand-to-hand combat - or at least he started to once he was physically well enough given that the Ritual had done a number on him. He took to the training area for this class though, and new students were told to fight him as their practical exam. It's not meant to be a hard fight, more like just a quick assessment of their current skill. He welcomed everyone from children to adults, but as a fair notice - expect to walk away with some bruises.

[ Stables ]
If the Western Approach and going after Servis had taught him anything, it was that he really needed to learn to ride something. Being able to hike and run was all well and good, but travel would be much, much easier if he could ride astride something with a longer stride and a touch faster than himself. Motorcycles were a long way off in this world.

So Kirk was being taught to ride, mostly by Sam and on a horse used with permission, though if someone else offered correction to his form as he practiced he would accept it. At this point, everyone was more the expert than himself. At least, so far, he'd avoided falling - for which his ribs were grateful.

Sometimes, though, he could be found around there just enjoying some time with the animals, petting and murmuring to them (and maybe sneaking a carrot to a tiny pony named Bill).

[ The Tavern ]
Most nights Kirk can be found here - work is done, and where else is there to hang out at night in Skyhold (that doesn't make you look incredibly suspicious)? But he liked the crowds and the warmth and the music and the laughter. He could usually be found with a pint of beer in front of him, slowly acclimating to the stuff, and sometimes he would hang out at a table with a chess set in front of him, waiting for a challenger. Other times he had a deck of cards, willing to play Wicked Grace or teach the good folk of Thedas some poker.

And maybe, just maybe, if he'd had enough to drink and laughed enough - he could be convinced to sing a song from a far away land or tell a tale of the same.

[ The Gardens - Specifically at Night/Very Early Morning ]
Even having found a steady place to sleep and steady companion, Kirk's nights were not always quiet and dreamless. He tried his best not to bother Sam on those nights, when sleep would not come, or more accurately he did not wish to close his eyes and see what his mind might twist together when he was not paying attention.

So on those particular nights he would slip out of bed and head to the gardens, sometimes late and sometimes in the early gray before dawn. He walked the paths, breathing in the scent of flowers and the earth. Sometimes he would find a space to sit and fold his legs and rest the back of his hands atop his knees, attempt to meditate in the ways Spock had initially taught him - though more often than not he simply created a numbing tingle in his legs and frustration.

Company, no matter the hour, was always welcome.

[ Around Skyhold - Usually Morning + The Hot Springs ]
Part of Kirk's daily routine was to run and run a lot. He could easily be seen jogging around the perimeter of Skyhold, sometimes with a shirt and sometimes without. Afterwards he usually went to the hot springs to rinse himself off, and in the early days after the Fourth Ritual to clean his wounds as well.

[ The Library ]
Kirk could be found here on and off, mostly coming to return books he had taken for comfortable reading back in the loft with Sam, but now and then he could be seen sitting at a table, taking notes on papers or in a journal he had secured. He was taking more or less everything he read in historical accounts with a grain of salt, but it was still important, he thought, to read such accounts even as he asked others about them.

[ Wild card me! ]
Because there's probably tons of stuff I didn't cover.

Comments

[serannas]

"Okay." She looks things over before moving out a pawn. "How have you settled in? The last we spoke, you were hoping to find work that suited you."

[universal_charm]

"I've offered to teach math and self defense at the school," he explained. "I still work for Sam and do odd jobs for coin, but it's... starting to feel better," he admitted, making his own move with a pawn.

[serannas]

Her face lights up on hearing that. He said last time they spoke that he was good at mathematics, and that had caught her attention since it's Felix's favorite subject.

"Maybe Felix will come for lessons. I'll be sure to tell him about it." She moves another piece without much thought, since it's still early in the game. "Sam's great, isn't he? So nice and fun to be around."

[universal_charm]

"Everyone's welcome," he grinned. "He'll have to take an exam I've put together though - just so I can see what level he's at. I don't want to bore students with stuff they already know, after all."

"Heh, I would say so, considering I'm rooming with him now." And a lot more, but he doesn't go crowing that around town.

[serannas]

Ellana will be sure to tell Felix that part too, but for now she simply gives Jim a nod to show she's listening as she awaits his next move. She does give a smile on hearing Jim is rooming with Sam. It doesn't surprise her at all. Sam's generous that way, and she doubts he'd turn away a good looking guy either.

"I've been up to his room once," she says. "Only he wasn't there. He told me to go on up and get the birthday present he'd left me." She extends her left hand, where she wears a silverite ring with tiny halla decorating the surface. "Isn't it beautiful? He made it himself."

[universal_charm]

Kirk blinked and reached out to cup her hand so he could inspect the ring. It was a lovely piece of work, beautiful and delicate and speaking of true craftsmanship.

"Wow, it really is," he agreed and chuckled softly. "You must mean a lot to him, if he made you a gift like that."

[serannas]

"Well, I would hope so. I count him as one of my closest friends." No one could replace Atisha back in the clan, but Ellana and her best friend want different things. Ellana wants to see the world and all it has to offer, while Atisha is satisfied with what the clan gives her.

"It was very thoughtful of him. I've met such kind people here. If only my clan knew that there were humans like him here." They certainly wouldn't approve. And they'd tell Ellana to never bother coming back if they knew about Felix. Which is something Ellana has made peace with. She isn't planning on going back anyway, though it would be nice if she was allowed to visit.

[universal_charm]

"Insular, are they? Your clan, that is," he inquired, leaning back and moving his piece for his turn, another pawn. He wasn't playing to aggressively this round - it was for fun, after all, and he was feeling Ellana out for her level of mastery of the game. Unlike some others, he didn't like trouncing people for the fun of it - he preferred challenges.

[serannas]

"Most Dalish clans are. It's to protect ourselves and our culture from humans who would destroy everything, but being isolated has caused plenty of problems too." She contemplates her next move, looking carefully between pieces as she continues speaking.

"Since we stay far away from humans, they've come up with rumors about us, like that we sacrifice human children and other lies. There are also stories about Dalish clans capturing humans who stray too far into the woods, and then they torture them. The sad thing is, that part might be true. The clans don't all act the same. I've heard that some are practically wild, but whether that's accurate or just more lies is hard to say."

Ellana finally makes a move that doesn't put her in the path of Jim's pawns.

[universal_charm]

He would argue that humans are not that bad, though history of his own planet would suggest otherwise. After all, humans had spent plenty of time simply destroying each other's cultures rather than being accepting, and it had taken far, far to many lives for them to figure it out.

"I wish I could say humans wouldn't do such a thing, but I'm not quite the optimistic," he shook his head. Not about the ones in Thedas anyways. "But maybe you and some of the other Dalish that have come out into the world can help change that, don't you think?"

[serannas]

"I hope things are already changing. I knew all humans couldn't be bad, despite what I've been taught, and it turns out I was right. The world is a harsh place, but the Inquisition seems a little bit brighter in the darkness, doesn't it?" She looks down at the board and smiles.

"I like getting to see things outside the clan, and I'm happy to explain Dalish culture to anyone who is willing to learn."

[universal_charm]

"Big changes take time," he assured her. "But the fact that any of your people are coming out into the world, coming to learn about other cultures and teach about yours - it's a small change, a big step, and it will pay off someday. I've seen it in the history of my world. It takes a lot of courage, and it pays off."

He smiled at her, touching her hand briefly before withdrawing.

"And any time you are willing to teach me, I am ready to be a student."

[serannas]

"Some more than others," Ellana corrects gently. "Some Dalish are just here to see that the humans don't ruin everything. But I wouldn't pay them much mind. They're stubborn, and don't want to branch out at all."

She looks down at the board, contemplating her next move. "Well, in that case, I should see what you already know so far, shouldn't I?"

[universal_charm]

"I can't exactly blame that point of view," he admitted. "But I still think it's good, even if there are stubborn ones out there, I believe one day the more open-minded ones will outnumber them."

He sips from his beer slowly, watching the board, calculating his own potential moves with a hum.

"Well, that's easy - I know nothing," he admitted. "Just that the Chantry didn't like the Dalish, so I've more or less ignored everything any texts on them say."

[serannas]

"That's very wise of you. Andrastians aren't a good source on what elves are really like. Deep down, we're just people; the same as anyone else. But we worship our own gods. We call them the Evanuris, or the Creators. Long ago, before the coming of humans, we were immortal and we lived in a vast empire here in the south of Thedas. But it's said that with the coming of humans, we lost our immortality, and they conquered our empire, making us slaves in Tevinter."

The history of the elves is full of sadness and loss. They cherish what they've managed to preserve, and revel in their triumphs, few as they are. Ellana has always looked at things a little differently from most Dalish elves. She's saddened by all they've lost, but she doesn't let it weigh her down. Other wear their anger and sadness at what was lost like a mantle across their shoulders, and as time passes, they burrow deeper and deeper in. Ellana recognizes their past, but looks forward too, hoping for a brighter future. The more the Dalish isolate themselves, the more their bitterness will drag them down.

"We lost nearly everything then. Our history, stories, language, culture -- all of it was ripped away by the Tevinter Imperium. All we know today comes from those brave elves who continued to pass it all down through word of mouth, knowing they would be punished if it was discovered. Today we know words and phrases in elven, but not the complete language. There is very little of the written language we know either."

[universal_charm]

Gods, again. Fights over religion. Over being different. It was a sad state of affairs, but he felt that far to often did worlds they come across have such histories. His own was rife with it, and it took millennia for them to stop, to realize that it was all pointless and foolish. He wished he could make people see that here, but as in most worlds, they would have to learn through their own mistakes.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, shifting another piece. "It's a very sad thing, when a culture begins to die, when you lose part of what your people are. I wish I could make it better, that the people here would hear the history of my world and not make the mistakes we did. I suppose the most I can do is hope that you uncover artifacts or older manuscripts, that more of your people comes to the light somehow."

[serannas]

"That would be wonderful, if it could happen." Her smile is faint, and her eyes are drawn down to the chessboard once again. "I really can't say if uncovering more will make my people happier, or more angry that it was lost in the first place. Dalish elves hold grudges like no other."

With no choice, she sacrifices one of her pieces to him and plans out her next move. Maybe she'd do better if she was concentrating more.

[universal_charm]

"Sounds like maybe have kind of a reason too," he snorted, taking her piece with his move as expected. "But it can happen. My world went through it. I'm sure yours will find itself to the other side of all this somehow too."

A forever optimist, this one. Some might say he had far to much faith in people, but he would disagree. For all the wrong and ugly in the world, there were always people trying to fix it. And so long as there was that, he would have faith.

[serannas]

It's nice to meet a fellow optimist! She's always hoped for a brighter future full of happiness instead of loss and despair. Being in the Inquisition has opened her eyes a lot, but there is a certainly innocence (or naivety, some might say) to her that hasn't dimmed.

Now she thinks over how to get back into the game and save her pieces, and after a thoughtful hum, moves one forward.

"That's good of you to say. It's what I'm hoping for myself."

[universal_charm]

He would be sad to see that stripped from here. Worlds needed people like her, with the will to look forward and believe in a better future.

Once again he moves quickly, playing with instinct more than anything else right now.

"I like to believe in the better outcomes, when I can."

[serannas]

"I hope being here doesn't dim that," she says. "Not only is there a war, but people always seem to be at odds with each other over something. I just try to surround myself with good people and avoid the bad." Unless she has to fight them, of course.

"Your home sounds very enlightened. Do most think the way you do?"

[universal_charm]

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but just because my planet might not be at war doesn't mean we all always agree," he chuckled. "People are people, wherever you go in the universe. Which means that no, not everyone thinks as I do. There's always going to be one group or another that's xenophobic, wants Earth for Earthlings, that sort of thing. But I would say that most believe something like I do. It's a big universe, and we are definitely not alone out there."

[serannas]

"It's amazing to think about," she says, putting forward another piece into a vulnerable position, only this time she doesn't realize it. "Before the Breach and the rifts, we didn't think there could be other worlds beyond our own."

[universal_charm]

Kirk does though, sweeping in to claim the piece and now a real advantage.

"My world didn't either. Not for a long time. But then we began to look at the sky and dream...." he smiled at the thought, waiting for her next move.

[serannas]

Already she's made a pretty big tactical error, and in just a few moves, he can win. Yet she tries her best, moving a piece forward to take his.

"I thought the sky was just vast emptiness beyond the sun, stars, and moon. It's incredible that there is more."