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WHO: Rydia and YOU
WHAT: Rydia wasting time in Skyhold
WHEN: End of Justinian
WHERE: Library, Courtyard, stables
NOTES: Feel free to tag in, I'd like to build some CR with her. oh, and feel free to poke me on plurk

feymarchian in case you prefere a different starter!

Library

The somehow reclusive green haired lady has been a daily visitor of Skyhold's library, literally spending most of her time learning about Thedas's culture and everything she could about the new world? Going outside and learning between people? Hush, when she was in the Feymarch she was prepared to return between humans with the books of that world's library. And, let's admit it, what interested her the most has been dwarven culture, there's a pile of books about them sitting beside her (From great literature pieces about the life of a surface dwarf, to memories of Orzammar... to less than discreet novels that probably don't belong to the library but she found anyway.), but there are only so many around the fortress she managed to meet.

Anyway, she's still having a great time, searching here and there (and totally neglecting her magic trainings).

"Now, where did I leave that manual?"

Stables

Now this is a place Rydia seems to like! Sometimes she trots in, when she's tired to read in the library, just to study the various mounts used in Thedas. Wrapped in a not-so-discreet green dress she's sitting on a wooden crate with a small pile of paper in her hands and some pieces of... coal at her side. She's trying to make some rough sketches of those weird creatures -horses they call them- with terrible results.

Courtyard

"You know... it's kind of hard for me to imagine how people can worship a godlike creature that never shows himself."

Rydia never really studied the faith of people on the Blue Planet, she didn't even know if they had some kind of divinity but this 'Maker' made little to no sense to her. Summons worship Bahamuth, she was raised by them, the lunar dragon had always been a real presence in her life as soon as she reached the moon and even before the other creatures of the land below guaranteed they met him more than once.

"I met my divinity more or less a week before being trapped here. We played cards together and my daughter braided his hair, he's such a nice dragon... That seems definitely more real that and entity that never shows himself."

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Korrin doesn't visit the stables regularly, neither repulsed by nor excessively fond of horses and riding. Still, there are times when she's restless and one place is as good as another, so she finds herself there at some point. The Vashoth woman pauses by the stable of Kain's dracolisk, Zephur, sneaking something over to the creature. "Here, you can have the rest. I'm not really hungry right now, anyway." Dracolisks are like mabari, right? Put food in front of them, any food, and it will disappear.

As it snorts and nudges her, she pats it in response, then glances over and finally takes notice of the green woman on the crate. "Rydia, right? It's hard to forget hair like that." She smiles, meaning it as a light jest rather than mocking. "What are you up to over there?"

Edited 2016-06-28 23:59 (UTC)

Oh, it's the woman Rydia met when she first arrived in Thedas! The summoner lifts her head and smiles widely in her direction, it's always nice to see a somehow familiar face in Skyhold, even if they haven't interacted in a while.

"Why hello! Korrin, wasn't it?" She grins, patting the messy bush of curls on her head "Oh, everyone seems to notice my hair in this world..." How peculiar in a world that seems to embrace diversity so well (for what she's seen), but green hair are a rarity even in her own world and some of the scholars in the library even joked about how poor her career as a spy would be with her, once. At least people in Skyhold are learning to ignore it after so long? Considering how little she cares they can keep staring as long as they want, thought. "And... I was just studying your mounts. I've had no occasions to study the local fauna, yet, but horses are so... fascinating to me. The only one I've ever seen in my world is the royal supernatural mount of an immortal being, here they seem... common, almost?" She pauses, adding two messy lines to her sketch "But enough about me, what are you doing here?"

The Vashoth mage would have a few things to say about diversity and how well it's actually embraced in Thedas at large, but it's probably best not to get her on that tangent. It will involve plenty of ranting, after all. So it's best to keep her focused on lighter things. "Oh, that's right. Kain said you rode giant birds or something, I think? It sounds as odd to me as horses do to you, but I'd love to see one." But unless the rift suddenly spits one out, that doesn't seem likely to happen. Oh, well. "Have you seen the Bog Unicorn, over in the last stall? It's...technically a horse, but an undead one. Creepiest thing, but it seems tame enough."

Leaning against the stable frame, Korrin shrugs. "Just restless and wandering, mostly. Though if I remain here longer, it wouldn't take much to get me to visit the mabari litter. Adelaide's family brought them over to bond with people, so playing with them until they're old enough for that helps with their socializing." She smiles fondly, still not jumping to claim one for herself but that won't stop her from being a mabari 'aunt'.

Oh, just give her enough time to travel and see the reality of the world and Rydia will probably turn into an activist of equal rights... but for now she still has a positive view of the whole thing. "Mh?" So she knows Kain, mh? Good to know "We do ride chocobos, they're quite the fast and noble steed in our world, but they're no barely mounts: they have their forests, their healers and even their king." Then again, she knows little to nothing about stabled birds. Anyway, Rydia changes page and sketches the most accurate representation of a chocobo ever for Korrin to see. "You sit on their shoulders, legs protected by their wings, and they can ride you almost everywhere. And... Bog unicorn?" She blinks, showing sudden interest in the topic. An undead mount? Who'd ever choose such uncommon beast? "I will definitely visit its stall, later."

"I see..." Ah, Mabaris, she's admired them from afar more than once: loyal and strong creatures that offer themselves completely to the person they choose, it's a fascinating thing. "A litter? Here? Well... if you decide to visit the puppies would you mind if I tag along?"

"Chocobo...that sounds like something you'd eat, not ride on." At least to her. She leans in and peers at the quick sketch done for her benefit. "Can they hold as much as a horse or dracolisk? I'd ask if their legs are really spindly, but--well, dracolisks have that deal and they're actually pretty damn sturdy." Appearance isn't always the greatest indicator, as she's seen.

A quick smile forms as she nods to the puppy question. "Absolutely. I'm sure they'd love having someone new to play with. Who knows, you might be the first rifter to have one imprint on you...but they're still a bit young for that, so I wouldn't worry if that's not what you want."

"Oh, you can certainly eat them too, they just have a terrible taste. Like seagulls." There's a short pause and she jumps on her feet while offering the other woman a nervous smile "Please, if you're friend with him, don't mention this to Kain. I'm not sure how his people considers chocobo meat. Anyway, I'm not entirely sure how strong your animals are but one of our birds can easily carry two people and some extra weight."

But- more important than chocobos! Puppies! Rydia throws her stuff in a small backpack, getting ready to follow Korrin "Oh, that would be lovely but- I don't know if that would be appropriate or not. We rifters may return home someday and it'd be cruel to break the strong bond mabaris are said to have with their companions." That being said, she'd love to adopt an animal, it just... doesn't seem like the best idea right now. "Do you work often with Mabaris?"

"I won't say a thing to Kain, promise. And trust me, he doesn't have any room to criticize. Not with wearing plaidweave on purpose...." Korrin rolls her eyes at the grave affront committed by the dragoon. Damn Kain for making her care about fashion by wearing something eye-searingly awaful.

When her smile returns, it fades a bit at mention of rifters returning home, and one hand automatically goes to the dragon tooth handing from the cord around her neck. But she's not about to derail the discussion with something personal, wanting to keep the mood light. She'll starte them off as soon as Rydia's ready. "Point taken, though perhaps they could come with. And no, I just play with them. My role isn't that of caretaker. Hell, I'm not even Fereldan. That's probably a requirement, given much they love their hounds."

A resigned laugh escapes her lips while she rolls her eys "If you're complaining about plaidweave you haven't seen his worst armor yet." Probably Kain hasn't either, it seems he really is from another time period... as absurd as it may seem. Maybe she could ask Korrin if it's... normal or not. "It's hard to take your eyes off him when he wears that but not for good reasons." Oh, boy, she sounds like an old lady now.

And- at least she doesn't seem to notice the momentary pause and keeps talking about mabaris. It's not like she's not thinking about home but unlike others Rydia doesn't have much to return to so... they may go away but the summoner wouldn't care if it's not the case. "Oh, wouldn't that be wonderful? But wouldn't it better for them to stay with others of their kind? Not that it matters at the moment..." She raises an eyebrow "Hounds, really? I heard all Fereldan cared about is cheese. Which I start to believe since it's been a massive part of my diet since I arrived here."

"Cheese? Eh, that's more an Orlesian thing. Granted, their food is awesome but that doesn't nearly make up for their snooty attitudes and everything else. There's a lot wrong with the Empire, but I'll refrain from ranting all day about that. Odds are good we'll be going there so you'll see for yourself soon enough."

Emprise du Lion and the Western Approach are technically of Orlais, but it's not nearly the same as being in the heart of the empire itself. If only it was; Korrin would much rather face opponents she could fight with spells and blades, not words.

"Wait, his worst armor? You have to tell me all about that."

"Never been in Orlesi... there, of course, but I've heard they're quite the colorful people, it would be interesting to visit. Is it true they use living animals to decorate their hair? I read some books about them but you never know who wrote certain things."

Being so onest and open Rydia will probably dislike the Empire, she's so easy to read...

"Pale blue, white, with little dragon wings on his shoulders, pieces of metal carefully placed to look like scales, pretty winged blue circlet on the head... Beautiful. I'm the last person who ca comment other people's choices but that armor... it's almost like a dragon tried to melt on him and failed miserably. But then again everyone has strange taste on clothes on the surgace, ony of our common friend has a glorious collection of trousers decorated with smiley faces..."

That's something she shouldn't share but, seriously, how ridicolous was that armour?

Edited 2016-07-02 19:45 (UTC)

Mention of a pretty winged circlet produces an amused snort from Korrin, who's not at all surprised by the dragon motif. "That's depressing. I thought he could at least be trusted with armor, if not civilian clothing, but clearly that can be lacking, too. Tell Vivienne, she acts as fashion police for him." Well, everyone, but Kain truly needs it.

"And yeah, the animal thing is true or at least I saw it once. A woman using live birds for hair decoration. They pooped all over it, too, it was really gross. But fashion above common sense, for some people." Rolling her eyes, Korrin clears the way as her imposing figure usually does without trying. Tiny yips can be heard ahead, prompting a small grin from her. "Oh good, they're awake."

The summoner shrugs, it's not her business what the dragoon decides to wear but... "I don't think it's completely his fault, that armor was specifically created for him to reflect his spirit... or something and he found himself into it. Still, quite the poor armor to wear, at least in my opinion. And... Bless Lady Vivienne?"

"Sweet Leviathan, that sounds unnecessarily heavy, complicated and dirty. I do not envy her poor birds." And Rydia follows, as small as she is it's nice to walk right behind someone who so easily opens the path for her as well.

"Ah How lovely, I've never seen a mabari pup before, only the painted ones ready to train."

"They're awesome, too, you won't hear me saying otherwise. But they're a little big to try and pick up, even for me. Their little ones, on the other hand, are far easier." As she speaks, their high-pitched yipping can be heard as she makes her way to their area of the bard. Five wiggly puppies all wobble-run forward, tails wagging enthusiastically.

"And there they are. Look at that bundle of fuzzy nonsense. Hey, you guys...." She bends down and immediately a couple of them paw at her, wanting petting right then.

Rydia chuckles, shaking her head "I can only imagine. I shouldn't even try to lift any... I am not exactly the bulkiest and strongest mage in Skyhold." the summoner crosses her arms, following Korring and smiling in direction of the puppies.

"Ah... they look so inoffensive right now." Still taking her distance she kneels down, looking at the mabaris and the other mage "It's so hard to imagine them as proud and strong warriors, now."

Korrin smiles widely at the leaping bundles of friendliness. They're so excited that it's hard for them to remain still, but that's part of their charm, at least for the the Vashoth. She crouches down to give them all the petting they allow her.

"Give them time, first they have to learn to run without falling over. Right, guys? Fereldans are the best at training them, so I bet they'll start when they've grown a little more. All that energy will serve them well." She chuckles as they yip as though in response. "They're very intelligent, you know, able to follow complex commands without a problem. I've seen it before, it's pretty amazing."

"You sort of have to accept there were a lot of people who came before you, and saw things you didn't." Pel shrugs while winding yarn around her niddy-noddy. "We call it faith, when you believe without seeing. Or delusion. Sort of a fine line."

"You do have a point and I can see why you say that but I've never had to have... faith, it was something real for me and it's still a concept a bit hard to grasp." The summoner crosses her arms, looking at the merchants passing not too far from them "I am not trying to say that it's a negative thing, mind you, it's just... different? And fascinating, somehow, considering how many people are devoting their life to something that may not exist."

"So long as it leads you to do good, there's not much difference." Pel isn't arguing. Contemplating. Discussing. Her bluntness is merely part of her. "I don't mind the thought so much if that's where it leads me."

"Ah, how can I say no to that?" The summoner smiles in her direction, not really bothered by Pel's bluntness. She actually likes direct people! "In the end it's still you doing good things, if this faith is the needed motivation then it's probably welcome."

"I think it is. You can have faith in people, too. Believe they can do well even if you haven't seen them do well. Sometimes having faith in them is all it takes for them to pull through."

"What manual?" His voice is quiet, and he's probably been easy to miss as he sits in the corner paging through a book. "From here I can see a manual on barrel crafting, and one on... Fereldan cuisine? That has to be a fake book."

Anders leans forward and plucks it off the shelf, looking up at the woman who had been speaking. "But from where you've been wandering, it may be a shelf over."

What manual? It no longer matters because her attention already moved to the Fereldan Cuisine book. Do they really have personal recipes? Because so far the food has been... meh. The summoner slowly raises an eyebrow reading the index and checking the first pages, that's not exactly what she was expecting...

"Quite the misleading title, Sir, or a poor poor joke. This is no more than a collection of Mabari treats recipes, the author even signed himself as Barf-holomew and apparently he's the creator of things like Flea'roy's Liver Special Extraordinaire and Furbulous's Magical Bone." At least she sounds amused, now?

"Poor, poor joke," he agrees. "The library lacks so many books but has two copies of this?" Why, Skyhold? It makes no sense. "Fereldans. This is why no one likes their country. They're obsessed."

He gives her a small smile. "I say this, hoping you're not Fereldan. They're... quite the group." Pay no attention to how Fereldan his accent is; at least he doesn't look Fereldan with his blond hair and golden eyes.

"What can I say, not everyone should be allowed to write books but this never stopped anyone. And, sir, you'd be surprised by the number of books that barely suit a library that I found in this place. I love it." Ever heard of the Swords and Shields series? Rydia laughed for days. "And there are worse things to be obsessed with than dogs. Even if this recipe guide lacks variety, all the recipes seem to be some kind of variation of 'mix minced meat and flour', I am midly disappointed."

She smiles back "Definitely not. Still, I try not to judge people for their habits." Do you really think she's able to recognize a Fereldan? As far as she knows everyone could be one.

"Personally, I think there are plenty of things that can be judged for." He's still amused as he puts up his copy of the book. "Like taste. And lack of variety. And an overabundance of affection for their dogs."

A beat and then he shrugs. "Anyway. What manual were you looking for?"

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Courtyard

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