[ 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

[the_effect_she_has]

Katniss kept frowning, looking off into the darkness. She trusted Sam well enough - it was Sam but ... "Just be careful around Anders, all right? It seems all he does is drag his friends into one bad situation after another. Especially if he has you tangling with demons."

[universal_charm]

He cocked his head at her. "The demons weren't his fault. The ritual went wrong. Accidents happen, after all, and we knew going in that something bad could happen with this. He explained to me that this sort of thing has never been done before, so I understood what I was doing."

Admittedly demons had not been a part of it, but he hardly blamed Anders or anyone else for it. Accidents happened, and placing blame was a waste of energy.

"Besides, if we're talking about dragging people into trouble, I don't have a lot of room to talk."

[the_effect_she_has]

"Should he have been doing a ritual like that in the first place? I thought he wasn't allowed to do that kind of magic in Skyhold." She paused, then snorted, "Well, you got me there."

[universal_charm]

"He wasn't doing it alone. There were others there. He wants to be free of this spirit that is with me, and says the spirit wants to go too. I don't think that's a matter of being allowed or not - a person has the right to pursue his own freedom. But we were far off enough not to trouble anyone here, yes." Clearly, since they hadn't caused a panic right off.

[the_effect_she_has]

She frowned once more, but now it was with confusion, "He's trying to cure himself from being an abomination? Is that ...even possible?"

[universal_charm]

Now it was his turn to frown at her. "Abomination? That seems a bit strong, doesn't it?"

[the_effect_she_has]

She was now going to stare at him for a moment, before she asked. "Jim, do you know what an abomination is?"

Because, well, he was a Rifter. He might not be up on the parlance of the creature, as opposed to the insult.

[universal_charm]

"No, but I suppose you're going to enlighten me," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

He didn't like the word, just like he didn't like the name "Inquisition". It had negative connotations where he came from, and to often it was connected to church propaganda. He wasn't seeing much evidence to change his mind on that so far.

[the_effect_she_has]

Well, she didn't have the Chantry's endless similes or scripture memorized - so she put it the only way she knew how. Bluntly.

"An abomination is a demon trying to come through into our world using a human body as the gateway."

[universal_charm]

"Okay," he said simply, realizing that demons weren't good - he had just helped kill over a dozen of them and they hadn't been particularly pleasant in the Fade.

"And that's what? Supposed to make me dislike him? Fear him? Hate him?"

[the_effect_she_has]

She shook her head, "You will make your own opinions of him. I'm not telling you to like him or hate him - just be wary in trusting him. None of us know whether or not it is the demon inside of him that made him start the mage rebellion, to light the match, or his own heart."

[universal_charm]

"Hmm, I already have my opinions on that," he said simply. "But I thank you for your concern." It at least meant she cared, though he disliked the place it was coming from.

[the_effect_she_has]

She nodded her head once, faintly uncomfortable, before she folded her arms over her chest and started to walk away. "I'll see you later."

[universal_charm]

"Right..." he said slowly, watching her. "Oh, before you go - do you have any news on Servis?"

[the_effect_she_has]

She stopped, looking over her shoulder, before her lips pressed together. "No, I haven't heard anything from the Nightingale yet. She'll let us know when he's done ...stewing."

[universal_charm]

"You think he hasn't given anything up yet?" he asked, frowning in concern. He wasn't sure what methods Nightingale was using, but he had an idea he might not approve of them. He wasn't in charge though, and if he was perfectly honest? He didn't feel the least bit sorry for Servis.

[the_effect_she_has]

She turned fully towards him, her arms folded over her chest. "I think he may have given up quite a bit -- but I am not high enough on the Nightingale's concerns to warrant a conversation about the prisoner I brought in, much less the information he brought us."

[universal_charm]

The words served as a little slap. He wasn't sure they were meant to be, but it felt like it all the same. A reminder he was not at home and not in control and wielded as much influence as wet paper. It was still something he was adjusting to, though it didn't make him less curious as to what Servis might have said.

"Right, of course," he nodded, shifting against the gravel. "When you hear anything will you let me know?" He gave a wry little grin. "I'm pretty sure Nightingale will tell you something long before she tells me. I'm not sure my first impression went over so well with her."

[the_effect_she_has]

Honestly, it was more of a reminder to herself. Outside, never inside -- had she known she was sharing the same feelings as Kirk. At his questions, she turns to face the man completely. One corner of her mouth twisted.

"Yes, well. I think the only advisor who really likes me openly is Lady Montilyet. And she seems to like everyone."

[universal_charm]

"Well, that's not a bad thing for an advisor," he laughed softly and then gave Katniss a wry look. "You couldn't have introduced me to her first instead of the Nightingale?" he clucked his tongue in mock reproach. "Would have saved me a change of shorts."

[the_effect_she_has]

"I would have, but Lady Montilyet doesn't travel that much out of Skyhold. She's busy making this place the center of Thedas." Her mouth twisted at the corner, "Besides, I warned you."

[universal_charm]

He laughed softly. "Yeah, that you did, and I should have known you're not one to over exaggerate." He looked around them at the gardens, though he was trying to see beyond to all of Skyhold. "This place as the center of Thedas, huh...?"

[the_effect_she_has]

"Not really my style." Katniss lifted her shoulders up in a faint shrug, before she looked around herself. "She can do it. I've seen her move mountains just using words."

[universal_charm]

"I have to admit, I would like to see it happen," he rubbed at the shard in his hand out of habit. "Though I don't know if that's saying much. The most I've seen of Thedas is Skyhold and the desert. And the Fade, but I don't like to count that particular excursion."

[the_effect_she_has]

"Well, you should come out with us on a mission that does not level on death." She stated wryly. "I am not sure when we would actually take this trip when everything is going to the Maker's Balls ..."