[ 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

[el_tybs]

More than likely. Probably not for tonight though.

"Spock?" That was an interesting name, as was what he was called. A Vulcan? Someone who has ears like an elf, but they're not elves. "So they'll continue the mission even without you there?" Wouldn't they try looking for Kirk first? At least for a little bit?

[universal_charm]

"I'm sure they would look for me. I know they would. But it's been months. At some point... at some point they might not have the option of searching for me anymore," he admitted, a note of resignation in his voice. "I've probably been declared MIA at the least - missing in action. But I like to think that every new planet they find, maybe they're looking for me, or that the science division and Scotty are working on a way to find me via the thing I fell through."

[el_tybs]

At the mention of how much time has passed, Sam looks at Kirk a bit sadly. Had it already been that long already? As much as he enjoys Kirk being here, with him, he can imagine that being away from home, or at least what Kirk was used to, was hard. That he can relate to, though it had only been a stone wall, not a rift.

"And we have people here trying to learn how you came through. See if it would allow you to get back."

[universal_charm]

It wasn't all that bad, really. He did miss home, sure, but he was making good friends here. When the time came, when they found the path home, he knew he would go, but it would be with a heavier heart than he had first imagined. Leaving, he thought, was going to be difficult.

"I know. One day I'll get home. Probably not tomorrow, but someday," he tipped one of his pieces back and forth and looked up at Sam, smiling softly. "In the meantime, I have this pretty awesome roommate, which is making things much easier."

[el_tybs]

"Someday," he agrees, his own fingers playing with a piece on his side of the board. He knew the Rifters would go, this wasn't their home after all, but it would be sad to see some of them go. Until then though they desperately needed their help with the rifts.

Pretty awesome? The compliment has the mage smiling a bit to himself before looking up from the board. "Oh? What makes this roommate so great?"

[universal_charm]

"Well, for one, he gave me a bed when I really needed it," he smiled at him. "And he has this really great smile. And he's really good in a forge. Oh, and at getting zippers down." He tossed a wink at Sam from over the top of his tankard.

[el_tybs]

He's already smiling, but at the compliments - especially on his smile - he looks down at the board and tries not to smile any wider than he's already doing. And failing at doing so.

"Zippers, huh? I hear those are easy to undo."

[universal_charm]

"Yeah, but this roommate - he has a certain flair to it I appreciate," he shifted his chair to sit close to him around the table.

[el_tybs]

"Oh? You're going to have to elaborate on this flair you talk about. Exactly what does he do?" No longer playing footsie, huh, Kirk?

[universal_charm]

"It's kind of hard to describe," he bit his lip around a smile. "It's the sort of thing you have to experience - the way he pushes them down, making them purr almost."

[el_tybs]

That damn lip bite. "Sounds interesting. Guess I'll never get to experience it though. After all I don't have anything with a zipper."

[universal_charm]

"Well, I mean, you could take a go on mine, if you wanted to," he continued to bite his lip, holding back his laughter over the conversation, leaning to butt their shoulders together.

[el_tybs]

Sam grins at the way Kirk's face scrunches a bit at trying not to laugh, brows raising at the suggestion. "Well that doesn't quite help with me experiencing that, unless you mean I borrow your pants."

[universal_charm]

He glanced at the other up and down, thinking about the firm body beneath. He knew it by wrote now, had an excellent understanding of its dimensions. "I think you could fit - the pants anyways," he smirked.

[el_tybs]

"Mean the pants you're wearing right now?" Well so much for the chess game. Who needed complex strategy games anyways?

[universal_charm]

"Well yeah," he looked down. "I think your thighs are bigger than mine, but you should still be able to fit in these. They have some give." Especially since he had lost a bit of weight since being here. But that was beside the point.

"Help my gather the pieces," he said, reaching to clear his side of the board and store the pieces in the satchel he had bought for them.

[el_tybs]

Sam follows Kirk's gaze and tilts his head curiously. "You think so? I thought we were about the same size." He could be wrong - it wasn't as if he paid much attention to his own thighs.

Losing weight Kirk? Eating properly?

"Hm?" Looking back up he notices the other clearing the board before he reaches over to help. Shortest game of chess he's ever played.

[universal_charm]

"Well yeah, around the waist. You'll fit fine," he waved his hand idly before returning to storing the pieces and wrapping the board in a bit of cloth to protect it. Eager as he was to go enjoy their new game, he didn't want his new one to get hurt either. Priorities, after all.

"Hopefully you can figure out how to get the zipper up, not just down," he teased him.

[el_tybs]

"Well you're such an expert at it, I should just have you show me how to do just that," he teases right back, dropping the last of the pieces into the bag. It was certainly a nice set, he could see why Kirk would want to keep it in pristine condition as long as possible.

Just don't let the cats get to it.

[universal_charm]

Kirk secured the bags and stood from his chair, looking to Sam to join him as he made for the doors.

"Well, I had thought to make that lesson number two, but we kept getting... distracted," he said around a grin, biting his lower lip again, brushing his hand against Sam's as they walked.

[el_tybs]

Taking the last gulp of his drink, Sam moves to follow Kirk, tossing a couple coins on the table for tip.

"Lesson one is down, and lesson two is up? Zippers sound more complicated then how you made them," he teases, flexing his fingers so that they brushed more fully against Kirk when his slid by. "I can't help if you're easily distracted."

[universal_charm]

"Well, once you've learned those two lessons, they're quite simple really," he chuckled, enjoying the brush of his hands, warm and slightly rough. "You have proven yourself a quick learner." He cast him a side-long glance, eyes sparking with humor.

[el_tybs]

"Something I pride myself greatly on." Not really. Kind of. He doesn't flaunt it really. "So. What's after lesson two?" he asks, catching Kirk's gaze when he turns to look at the other man.

[universal_charm]

"Why, the most important and final lesson," he looked up at Sam and licking his lips slowly, seductively. "How to do lessons one and two with your mouth."

[el_tybs]

He's rather thankful that they don't live far from the tavern, because damnit, Kirk. Least he's got words and conversation to focus on. "Is there a point in doing that with lesson number two?"