faderift | OPEN: And you can shake the mountains with a whisper

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OPEN: And you can shake the mountains with a whisper

WHO: Hermione Granger and YOU!
WHAT: Hermione ventures out of the library. Sometimes. But she's also in the library most of the time, because she's Hermione.
WHEN: Late Justinian, creeping into early Solace if need be.
WHERE: Throughout Skyhold, just outside of Skyhold, pick a place far away from Skyhold and find a reason to drag her there.
NOTES: If you'd like a particular starter and/or would like to hash out some minor assumed CR that can lead into this, feel free to let me know either via PM or plurk (

StarryOblivion). Otherwise, feel free to have them randomly bump into one another!

The Herald's Rest.

Hermione doesn't often come in here, not since receiving an odd look when she'd first asked for just some water (really, given how young everyone here seems to think she is, she'd been surprised that the surly bartender had thought she'd wanted something harder). But sometimes it's a nice change of pace, sitting among the mostly quiet chattering of the other patrons and enjoying the fire as she reads or looks over her notes. Presuming, of course, that no one is foolish enough to have too much to drink and try to bother her. Talking is a distraction she'll accept with no fuss, but Merlin help anyone who's had enough alcohol to think she's open to anything friendlier than that.

Stables.

When she'd first arrived at Skyhold, the stables had seemed relatively empty and were a fine place for practicing her magic without risking hurting anyone. She'd thought she could do the same now, only to find that there are considerably more horses - and, er, other creatures - residing there. Magic might only frighten them, she decides, but they're so pretty that she can't help visiting with them for a bit, getting as close to them as she dares. It's been years since she's ridden a horse, but she's entirely certain that these mounts aren't exactly the type that would trot gently along a given course for an inexperienced rider, so she isn't even going to ask after something so silly, even if the interest is clearly there in her eyes.

Courtyard, not too far from the healing tents.

When the stables prove not to be the best place to practice with her magic, Hermione decides that it might be best to find a little corner close to the healing tents instead. At least then there would be other mages around, and so it was less likely that anyone who stumbled across her would look at her disdainfully. And if anyone gets hurt, a healer wouldn't be too far away. Of course, she highly doubts that anyone would get hurt just because she was unsuccessfully attempting to transfigure leaves and pebbles and whatever else happens to be in the vicinity. Transfiguration doesn't seem to be an aspect of her magic that's carried over into Thedas, or at least Hermione can't manage it without more practice, given that she's growing more and more frustrated as she continuously taps rocks and other objects with what looks like a stick, muttering to herself in exasperation.

Library. Because of course.

If you've been to the library, you've seen her. Whether you know her and enjoy talking to her about rifter politics or think it's entertaining to scandalize her or have never bothered to approach her, Hermione can more often than not be found in the same little niche in the library, nose in a book or a quill hastily scribbling down notes. Or even, occasionally, dozing off, since she hasn't exactly claimed any sort of sleeping space for her own and more often than not loses track of the time when she doesn't explicitly have somewhere to be.

Wildcard!

Hermione wanders, and while she tries to be careful, sometimes it takes her places she just shouldn't go. If it doesn't look like a private room or setting, it's safe to assume that the young witch has made her way there, likely looking for a quiet place to read or do magic or just to get a few moments of silence. And while she doesn't often journey outside of Skyhold, she can definitely be tempted beyond its walls if she has the right incentive, or the right company.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Oh?" Hermione asks, frowning a little as she looks at the dracolisk again. "Well, it's a little intimidating-looking, sort of like a dragon - which, I gather, is where it got the name dracolisk. But it can clearly be very sweet, if a bit unruly."

She wants to step forward, fingers practically itching to reach out and touch it, but she knows better than to try and poke and prod at unfamiliar animals. "Would it be dangerous to try and touch it? I tend to stay away from most of the unfamiliar wildlife here, unless they're specifically domesticated. Or kittens, but who can stay away from kittens?"

"Just a little?" A wry smile tugs the corner of Bruce's lips at that, a hint of amusement bleeding through. "I can't imagine what 'a lot' means for you then."

The dracolisk shifts as Bruce speaks, using the time to get into position and this time set its head on Bruce's shoulder. Bruce gives it a fairly unimpressed look, but lets out a sigh and nods to Hermione. "It should be fine as long as I'm around. Feel free."

"I've seen actual dragons," Hermione explains, smirking a little. "Up close and angry. Not much else can really rival that when it comes to intimidation."

She still maintains that the dracolisk seems rather sweet, and she smiles when she sees the way it interacts with Bruce, even if she can tell that he isn't exactly enthused by the whole thing. Stepping a little closer, she gingerly reaches a hand out, letting her fingers stretch out to lightly brush her fingertips against its snout. "Are you not an animal person, or do dracolisks simply not interest you?"

There's another wry smile at that. "Hard to argue with that." There really weren't a whole lot of things that could be more more terrifying than coming to face with a dragon directly.

He watches as she touches its snout, blinking at the blast of hot air he gets in return from the dracolisk as it lets out a loud snort and shifts its head a little. At the question he sort of manages a half shrug. "I just don't think I should have that kind of... responsibility." He had many other things to do as it is; having this would only hinder him more than anything else. Not to mention that it probably deserved somebody who'd have more of a use for it anyway.

At the snort from the dracolisk, Hermione pulls her hand back, trying to figure out if that had been a negative gesture. It doesn't look as though it's particularly anxious to attack her or any such thing, so she carefully takes another step forward, hand brushing along its neck instead.

"You didn't strike me as the sort of man who shirks responsibility," Hermione tells Bruce, surprised by his answer. Glancing up at him, she adds, "I wouldn't think keeping a dracolisk in the stables would be the same as having a pet, after all. Isn't there a groom or stable boy of sorts here to watch over them most of the time?"

There's another snort from the dracolisk, but other than that it seems content to let itself be touched some more, tail flicking again from behind.

"It's not..." Bruce starts with a bit of a wince, trailing off as he tries to find a way to best phrase his response. "You saw it yourself earlier - when I'm not around, it becomes unruly and refuses to listen to anybody. It's already broken out from the pen a few times since it came here with me." And hence why he was even hanging around here in the first place - he had more than a few fences to fix in return for all the damage it had caused.

She tries not to chuckle, but she can't help it; a quiet, short laugh manages to escape as she gently pats the dracolisk on the neck and tells Bruce, "That's because it's attached to you. I wouldn't be surprised if it was afraid that you wouldn't come back at all, and that's why it acts out. How does it behave when you let it let it out of the pen? If it's relatively quiet, it might not hurt to let it trail behind you until it realizes that you don't mean to abandon it."

Shrugging, Hermione slips her hands into her pockets and adds, "Unless you do, of course. That's not really any of my business, and I don't claim to know about the bonding habits of Sharp-Tails."

A perplexed look crosses Bruce's face at the explanation - its easy enough to see that he hadn't thought of that reason at all judging by just how perplexed he actually looks from all this.

"I can't claim to know them either," he returns, giving the dracolisk a wary glance now before looking back at Granger. "And I don't really think... is that what you really think is going on?" It was just a bit too hard for him to digest, the fact that a dracolisk of all things wanted to be attached to him.

She's a little surprised by the look of bewilderment on his face, tilting her head and wondering just how much experience he's had with animals. Or maybe the animals in Thedas are different from the ones she'd grown up with; cats and dogs, at least, both seemed to be the same

"It's something domesticated animals are often known for doing," she points out. "And very young children, too. They fear losing whoever it is they've imprinted on and need to be gradually weaned from their presence." Chuckling a little as she glances back at the dracolisk, she peers at it curiously as she remarks, "I could be entirely wrong, but if its behavior is becoming really troubling, then it's certainly a road you could try taking."

Bruce frowns at the explanation, arms crossing over his chest as he leans away to look at the dracolisk hovering next to him with a critical eye.

"Dracolisks and domesticated aren't really two words you tend to hear together in the same sentence," he says after a pause, and then grudgingly adds. "But it does look kind of young." At the very least it was smaller than most other dracolisks he had seen, so maybe she did have a point there. Though it was hard to say if that was a good thing or not, however.

Hermione can only shrug, remarking, "Like I said, I could be wrong. I'm certainly no expert on the subject, whether we're talking about dracolisks specifically or animals in general. Or children, even. But a fear of abandonment sounds like a universal sort of concern, especially if the creature in question is very young and not among others of its kind."

Thinking of it as a child now, Hermione has less trepidation as she reaches for the dracolisk again, avoiding those sharp teeth and reaching up to gently stroke it between its... horns? The spines on its head? It's so hard to tell, really. "It is sort of cute, when it's not tearing up the place."

"I don't think its that young." Though Bruce supposes that really isn't the point, anyway. He watches Granger reach out and touch the dracolisk again, who seemed a lot more pleased now with the petting if the way its tail wagged was of any indication. "...or cute, for that matter."

But again: not really the point, and he knew that.

He watches them for a few more moments before he speaks again. "If you want you could probably learn how to ride it. The horsemaster can show you the ropes." And a dracolisk would be harder to master, no doubt, but the skills gained would be useful - that much Bruce can admit.

She glances at Bruce skeptically when he claims the dracolisk isn't that young, and even more skeptically when he claims it isn't cute. "It's a matter of perception," she says simply, choosing to leave it at that.

It's nice that the dracolisk seems to be more comfortable with her now, but Hermione's friendly petting pauses at Bruce's suggestion, her calm smile fading away to something just shy of trepidation. "Ride it? Oh, no, I've never been particularly good at riding- ... well, much of anything, really. Granted, the last few things I've ridden were - ... well, between a broom and a dragon, I'm not sure which I'd consider worse. Besides, I'm sure you're probably already better at riding it than I ever would be."

Bruce almost raises an eyebrow at her response, because, really--broom and dragon? That sounded pretty crazy, and Bruce knew crazy for the most part. Still, he wasn't going to pry further unless necessary.

"I've had to pick up the skill out of necessity," he replies, quick to wave off the words. "But it's not too hard. If you've survived a broom and a dragon, a horse or a dracolisk isn't much of a challenge."

She waves off that incredulous look he gives her, because yes, Hermione is entirely aware of just how incredible it seems for someone like her to ride either a broom or a dragon. "Those had been out of necessity. And I don't much care to repeat anything as unpredictable as riding a dragon."

Looking back to the dracolisk again, she offers it a small smile as she gently pats its neck. "From the looks of your friend here, I'd say there wouldn't be anything predictable about that sort of ride at all."

"Lots of people have done it. Can't see why you shouldn't be able to do the same."

The comment is what it is - a comment, a statement of fact, nothing more than that. Not to mention that the dracolisk seemed pretty taken with her presence now, which is better than how it tended to be majority of the time.

Bruce gives a small shrug. "Doesn't hurt to try, I think, at any rate."

Hermione does notice that to dracolisk seems much more amiable now than it had when she'd first arrived, but still credits it to Bruce's presence. So it stands to reason that she'd offer the man a sideways glance, smiling just a little as she asks, "Would you be able to show me the ropes? After all, we've already concluded that it doesn't seem to trust very many people, so keeping it with someone familiar would help for now."

Especially if Bruce intended to wean the dracolisk away from his constant presence. It would do more harm than good for him to simply disappear as soon as the poor animal seemed distracted with someone else.

Its not as if Bruce hadn't expected a question like that, but it does still catch him a little off guard. He gets over it quickly enough, scratching his neck as he debates within himself for a few seconds. Granger had point in her words, but at the same time he didn't want to--well. Maybe this could work. Slowly.

"...alright," he agrees with a nod. "I should be able to help you with the basics, at least, but if you want anything more advanced after that you'll be best off asking somebody else with actual experience."

She notes that hesitation, and Hermione can't help but wonder over it, hoping she hadn't crossed some sort of line. Maybe he's just the antisocial sort, if he doesn't like the idea of having animals or people around him. Or maybe he just doesn't think he'd be able to relate to someone so young. People think of her as a child, after all.

Or maybe it's the fact that she isn't exactly a local that makes him uneasy.

"Life experience counts, doesn't it?" she asks dryly. "Of course, if you really don't want to spend time with either the dracolisk or with me, I can understand that. I wouldn't want to push you past your comfort zones."

"Oh, no--no." Bruce waves off that concern first and foremost, not wanting to send any wrong signals to Granger. "No, you're perfectly fine. I'm just not really good with people in general." A failing of his, he knows, but its not like his own Circle life was really equipping him with any sort of social skills. "It's not like I haven't been here long enough to not get used to all you Rifters anyway." For the most part they were confusing at times, sure, but they all did seem like good people. More or less.

He runs a hand through his hair and takes a moment to recollect himself with a deep breath. "But I suppose you're right." He quirks a wry smile at her. "I'll help you however I can, then."

"Is anyone really good with people?" Hermione asks rhetorically. "I thought most of us were lucky to find one or two that we got on with better than we did the rest." But if nothing else, at least he's not claiming that he isn't good with animals, so that means that he and the dracolisk has some hope. Hermione finds herself heartened by that fact.

"You don't have to go too far out of your way," she tells him. "Besides, in the end, it's still going to be your dracolisk. You're just helping it get a little more comfortable around others when you're not around."

"I suppose," he returns again, this time with a small shrug. Not that it quite mattered to him anymore - he had more or less single-handedly burned the few good bridges that he actually had. Which was something he had always expected, but its probably the first time he had to stick around to deal with the aftermath of it.

Not that it mattered right now. Bruce just shakes his head and gives her a reassuring smile this time. "I wouldn't call it 'mine' by any means, but I don't mind helping. Its good to have something else to do beyond my usual routine." It'd help him to not dwell on things he didn't want to think about, at the very least.

She feels more comfortable seeing him smile, since at least Hermione can be reasonably sure that he isn't simply tolerating her company until she'd wander off and leave him alone. Granted, he could still be just barely tolerating her, but so long as she isn't actively being a thorn in his side, she isn't going to be overly concerned about the matter.

"Well, I don't think it would like to believe it belongs to anyone at all," Hermione remarks, glancing at the dracolisk again. "But you're its friend, or the closest it really has to thinking of someone like that. And if this whole thing helps you branch out a bit beyond your usual, all the better."

Bruce follows her gaze over to the dracolisk, who had decided to finally stop bothering people in general and was currently chomping down on some food from its food bin within its pen, most of said food being raw chicken meat. At least there wasn't much of a smell to it.

"I guess we have an agreement then." He looks back to Granger, the smile still on his face. Normally he wasn't one for these things but... what the heck, its not like he's got any reason to refuse. And she did seem like decent company, which is something he had to reluctantly admit that he needed after the disaster with Adelaide. Maybe this would help him too, somehow.

Thankfully, Hermione is quite used to the way hippogriffs in her world feed, or else the sight of the dracolisk eating like that might have made her a little sick. As it is, she isn't exactly all that interested in staring, and so she meets Bruce's gaze with a small smile on her face.

"It seems that way," she agrees. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of any plans you had for today, so we can always start up whenever it's most convenient for you. Maybe by then, you'll even think of a name for your dracolisk, so you won't have to keep saying 'it'."

OPEN: And you can shake the mountains with a whisper

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if you want we can wrap up this thread and start another in my new open log /o/

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