faderift | [ OPEN ] Do you believe in magic?

Entry tags:

[ OPEN ] Do you believe in magic?

WHO: Jim Kirk & Anyone
WHAT: Catchall through Harvestmere (October)
WHEN: Timing (backdated, covering a span, etc.)
WHERE: Location
NOTES: Content warnings, OOC notes, links to other relevant posts, etc.

A - The Magic Man's Come and He's Here to Stay
The morning that changed it all had not begun like he'd expected, obviously. It had been rather embarrassing actually (not that he would be recounting that particular part of the story, especially when he would be apologizing for it for the rest of the month most likely). But ever since the change had happened, he began to make regular trips outside of the walls of Skyhold and out into the forests, away from the immediate eyes and ears of the general masses.

After all, he didn't need everyone looking in on him as he pointed his shard-embedded hand at a tree, waiting for something to happen. He felt terribly foolish, but he knew he had shot a beam from his shard - several times, in fact. Whatever was happening, it wasn't a fluke, and he had better learn to control it less it get away from him in a critical moment.

"On!" Pause. "Fire!" Another pause. "Damn it, do something!"

Pew!

"Please don't let that be my trigger phrase...."

B - Listen Up, I Never Say Anything Twice (Classes)
Currently, Kirk run three classes, all at varying times. It made for an interesting schedule, but it kept him busy, and he enjoyed it. All three classes were open to anyone who wished to join, which meant his classes often had mixed skill levels.

Mathematics had Kirk walking between the students, grouping them according to kill level and doing mini-sessions. With the smallest ones or those with no knowledge he focused on the basics, patiently pointing out how to handle the equations. The groups went up from there, and after a bit Kirk clapped his hands to get their attention.

"All right, who wants to play a game?"

--

Once math was over, he moved on to the sciences. His focus for right now was an understanding of the human body (he was not comfortable enough in the physiology of the other races to teach it), and overall health, along with natural science such as how weather worked. Really it varied, and every lesson could get easily derailed as students asked questions and he expanded.

"All right, all right - anything else before I move on?"

--

And of course there was self defense classes, focusing on hand-to-hand combat. Like his other classes, he paired skill level with skill level. Unlike his other two, he was far more strict here, walking between partners, critiquing and demonstrating.

"Come on, go at it for real!" he called. "This is practice for a real life situation, so better treat it like one!"

C - The Man About Town
When not practicing with his shard or teaching his classes, Kirk was running errands around Skyhold, acting as a sort of courier for businesses. It wasn't the best pay, but it saw him through the days. It meant he ran between businesses in the market and even around the medical tents.

He spent time at the stables as well, working on his horsemanship, or visiting with Boggie. He could often be seen talking to him and petting the bog unicorn, sometimes with his cats, Leonard and Nikita, in tow.

Of course he would make appearances at the tavern, happy to sit and enjoy an evening of music and song with drink in hand. Some nights he could convinced to sing of his strange, other-worldly songs too.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Macedonia! I am Alexander the Great!" He grinned at him with such pride. He was so thrilled that someone had thought to add Great to his name. It really showed that his accomplishments were not lost to time.

"My time was before that Rome."

For a long, long moment, Kirk stared at the other man. There is that brief moment where he wants to protest, to claim that the other could not possibly be Alexander the Great, but then - why couldn't he be? Why couldn't he exist in another world with different rules? Oh sure, he was still having a bit of trouble with the age part, but if he could accept half the shit going on in this world, then why not what Alexander was saying?

Plus, if he really was Alexander the Great... god, the things he must know, must have seen and done, the sheer knowledge lost to the ages. His mouth actually gapes for a full minute before -

"Holy shit."

Throwing his head back, he let out the loudest of belly laughs. That was such a glorious reaction! Iskandar loved it and reached over from his horse to clap Jim on the shoulder. Obviously the young man had heard of him so there was no need to cover that aspect. Now it was just time to move onto appreciating the moment together. After all, this was a man who adored when people had heard of him and knew of his history.

"Indeed! It is I! Always an honor to meet one who is familiar with me!"

Another clap and then he had his hand moving to pat his horse on the neck. "And this is Bucephalus, the same horse that I rode on in many a battle."

The great booming laugh shook him out of his shock - or maybe it was the slap to his shoulder. He rocked on his horse, the cats watching the proceedings with great interest that swiftly turned to boredom when they realized nothing unpleasant was going to happen to their owner.

"Familiar, yeah," he laughed, having some good grace to blush for being so star struck. "I've ready a lot of books about you - at least, your incarnation in my world, especially ones on your military tactic. And yes, all of them are sure to mention Bucephalus. He's almost as famous as you."

"I should hope so. He was a valuable asset and dear friend." He gave his horse another pat on the neck. They'd been through so much together and he'd been saddened when his friend had died. To know that he would move through the afterlife to join him after Iskandar had died as well was moving. Companions even after death...

"Are you an admirer of mine and my tactics then, my friend?" Iskandar looked rather thrilled with that. Someone familiar with his name but also a fan of his? How could he not be pleased by that?

Edited 2016-10-19 07:22 (UTC)

Suddenly Kirk found himself blushing for one of the few times in his life. Not got embarassment, but for the sudden rush of meeting someone so, well, legendary. He practically vibrated with enthusiasm, bursting with questions. Even if he did harbor a few doubts about the other being the real Alexander, why not simply enjoy the fact he just might be? More impossible things had happened, and he was familiar enough with time travel to know it wasn't quite impossible (minus the age business).

"Yes, very much," he nodded. "I've always been intrigued by how you bucked traditional military methods and adapted to your situation, no matter your enemy. And the way you governed those places you conquered I thought was quite forward thinking, in leaving local governments in place for the most part."

He had thoughts about the whole conquering thing, but it was a past issue that neither of them could do much about, and didn't take away from Iskandar's accomplishments.

"True conquest is when you obtain victory without destroying and conquer without humiliation. Those people had the rights to their lands even as I made them my own. Besides, I liked to see their cultures."

He laughed then and pointed to himself. "That is why I am Iskandar now. This is the last name I took on after my last conquest. I wanted to build a kingdom where the people could look toward their ruler as someone who embodied their hearts and who walked among them even as he stood above them. For a King must be one to exemplify all that is good and evil so that they might be inspired to achieve greater things."

There was a pride in his voice that spoke volumes. Yes it was true he was proud of himself. However, that pride was something he extended to his people as well. He was proud to have fought with them, to have led them, to have talked with them and laughed with them and cried with them.

"As for my methods, I see no reason why one should do things traditionally or perfectly. Is it not more satisfying when great results are achieved using poor methods?"

It felt truly surreal, speaking to such a monumental figure as Alexander the Great about his achievements in the Roman era. Even if he wasn't quite whom he said he was, for the moment he was to star struck to really care. Why not believe in something just that amazing for a few minutes? Plus it was hard not to get drawn in to the others apparent pride, familiar with the feeling any time he spoke of his own ship, of the accomplishments of himself and his crew. Thousands of years removed, and he could find common ground with this man.

"Well, I wouldn't use poor methods, per say," he chuckled. "Just because you think outside the box from the standard doesn't make it a poor method, just untried. But that's the problem with standard, you know? There are so few situations that one can consider truly "standard". Better to adjust to the situation than stick to a losing method just because that's what done, right?"

"Exactly! Besides, the thing that no standard strategy will ever recall is that there are people involved. Individuals on both sides."

Iskandar knew that a single person could change the course of a battle. One wouldn't believe it to be so but that was where they were wrong. That was the beauty of a person in his eyes. They could seem so small an insignificant in the midst of chaos but they could turn a tide the way no one else could.

"I prefer to be unexpected. To adjust to the flow of a the scene before me. If something will not work then there is little point in continuing to try it when another method could succeed in that moment."

"Exactly!" Kirk grinned widely. "There's something to be said for classic tactics, but I've always felt that those building blocks, fundamentals of the fight, not the battle plan itself. Star Fleet isn't a military operation, but we do have to defend the Federation and there are hostile encounters, so anyone in charge of a ship shouldn't be so rigid. It just costs lives."

He shook his head, clearly having had this discussion before. And it had come up. Both in his Academy days and later during gatherings or reports. Relying on past methods to meet something new was dangerous. After all, what in the universe made anyone think that just because something worked this one time in this situation against a known quantity would work against an unknown? Ridiculous.

"I've gotten into more than a little trouble for, ah, skirting the edges of some policy or another before," he chuckled as one of the kittens stalked forward and curled up at the space between saddle and the horse's mane.

"I would say that shows the world you have the makings of a very capable leader. It is easy to follow the ways set before us but a leader steps forward to create new paths for the people to walk."

He really knew nothing about what Jim did with his life. Iskandar didn't understand Star Fleet at all. In fact the ships he was picturing floating through the stars could easily be ones found on the sea instead. Military was one thing but it was another to fully comprehend how battles in space worked when both times he'd existed in didn't have such things in them.

"Handsome and with a mind set to be a leader. I liked you before but my opinion of you grows the more we speak, my friend!"

"I'm already a captain back home. The youngest ever in Star Fleet's history," he said, and there was an undertone of pride in his voice. And why shouldn't he be proud? He had earned that spot, though the way he had first taken the chair still made him cringe. Not one of his prouder moments, if a necessary one. "I got assigned the big mission - the five year one to explore the unknown."

He should feel ridiculous, bragging to someone who claimed to be Alexander the Great, but actually had no proof of it. He should be more suspicious, more willing to brush off his claims. But he just... couldn't. The nerdy, history loving part of him wanted it to be real. He wanted to be having this conversation, with this legend. And more than that, he wanted his approval.

"Speaking of, there's something I find curious. There's no historical record of what you looked like officially, but most have theorized you were blonde or dark haired - not a red head," he looked up towards him (even on horses the other was quite a bit taller than himself). "I didn't think red would have run in any bloodlines in the area you were born."

"I'm not quite sure what that rank is in your Star Fleet but based on your pride I shall congratulate you! For it must be an extraordinary accomplishment!" Iskandar might not understand it all but he could read between the lines. Enough to understand where the pride was coming from and how this was likely a very impressive thing to do. Which really just made the young man more attractive to him.

Ah but Jim was noting something.

"Mm. I am not sure about that sort of thing honestly. I do know that the books also say I was much shorter than I am. I imagine they were also unaware of how tall Darius actually was too. In truth I think they wished me to look like a pretty boy for that would somehow make my charm more impressive. Or endearing. There is a fondness for golden hair to display innocence though."

He considered that carefully a moment or so then gave a shrug. "Humanity enjoys filling in the blanks as they wish and then present it as fact. Then no one questions it further! This is what I have learned. It is the mentality of masses."

Kirk ran a hand through his own fluffy gold hair, freshly shorn a few days ago as it had been growing long. He arched a brow at Iskandar and flashed him a bright grin with a spark of charm at the corner of his lips and in the flush of his cheeks.

"I don't know if I've ever been accused of being innocent. I think that stopped when I was around twelve," he chortled. "And honestly I like that you have red hair. It's definitely unexpected. Bucephalus, though, matches his legendary descriptions quite yell - though he seems a bit more friendly than texts would have us believe."

"Ah but you have not tried to ride him or care for him." Nor seen him in battle honestly. Iskandar leaned forward so he could run a hand along that powerful neck, the touch obviously so very fond. He still recalled the day his horse had died and the memorial he'd created in his honor. It was good to see his old friend again and to ride him once more.

"He has quite the different personality when I am around."

"No, I haven't," he agreed, watching the way the other interacted with the animal and feeling a touch jealous. It was something else to see someone be so connected with another living thing, and in ways it made him think of the Enterprise, his beloved silver lady. He felt a pang for her, for his home and his family, but shoved it back quickly. It didn't help him here.

"I will take your word for it - and be careful when you are not," he promised.

He grunted when the other kitten decided it did not like being in back with a sibling in front and leapt to his shoulder. He huffed at the creature, reaching up to scratch at Nikita's chest.

"You have the same personality no matter what though, the both of you," he accepted a head butt from the kitten.

"Bold and stubborn with a desire for companionship and a good time?"

He burst out laughing at his own words about himself. Then he was looking over at the kittens. They were brave souls, willing to ride along with them. Not only that but they were willing to climb all over the place while riding. It was impressive to say the least.

"When did you get your friends?"

"Are you describing your mount or me?" he laughed.

Kirk glanced at the kittens, his face taking on the sort of expression of one who is somewhat peeved with circumstances, but not precisely displeased with the results either.

"A few months ago, though they were more foisted upon me than they were gotten," he huffed. "Anders decided to give Sam two kittens, and Sam simply couldn't say no." He shook his head, but his affection towards the animals was clear enough.

"Ah! I like that man. Anders, I mean. Is this Sam still here then?"

The kittens were with Jim instead so he was assuming perhaps Sam was no longer here. That or they were more fond of Jim than they were of this Sam. Without knowing the other he really had no way of knowing. Still, he could see the creatures were terribly fond of this young man here and that said a lot.

"As for who I was describing I suppose it is up to you to decide."

And he winked at him.

"Samouel? Yes, he's here. I room with him and the kittens, actually."

The kittens were merely out with him because they tolerated himself and Sam equally, and he liked to give them something to look at more often besides the four walls of their little loft above the smithy.

To the wink he smirked, one corner curling higher than the other, teeth tugging at the very inner portion of his lip for a breath.

"I think you would use very different words for me, Iskandar."

"Oh I could use a great many words to talk about you, my friend. All of them good and some might even be what one would call dirty."

He gave him another wink then reached out to offer his finger for the kitten higher up to sniff. So that way it could get to know him since they were on this ride together. Might as well, right? At least that was his thinking currently. Iskandar had already decided they'd probably spend more time together in the future, himself and Jim, so that meant more time with the felines.

"Oh really? And what words might those be? I would hate for you to be inaccurate."

He winked back, letting the kittens decide what to do about the offered digit. He had his own ideas, but kept them to himself for the moment. Nikita sniffled, little nose twitching, and finally butted her head against it. Leonard, for his part, seemed unconcerned and was happy to snooze in his spot against the horse's flank, absorbing its warmth.

The air was filled only with their sound of their conversation and the crunch of the horses' hooves now, with the occasional creak of leather. They had passed through the gates and were edging towards the forests, and Kirk was glad he had remembered to bring a cloak. One could tend to forget within Skyhold and its strange, unseasonal warmth.

"Oh I would be anything but inaccurate."

Iskandar stroked the kitten, letting the kitten have the attention she so obviously deserved. She was clearly ready for it. Asking for it even. Well, not asking for it. More like demanding it as was her right as a member of the feline race. He liked that about cats actually.

"Though with how open you are to hearing them I would say you would enjoy them a great deal. And then things beyond words as well."

Demanding was right. All things. All ways. Kirk had gotten used to it, though thankfully the kittens had gained tact and wisdom with their age, as well as patience. To an extent. At least he and Sam were no longer being interrupted during intimate moments by some immediate concern or other that could very well have waited til morning.

"As I said, I would hate for you to be inaccurate. And the only way to ensure you are accurate is to have you experience it for yourself, right?"

"You know, before I press forward to show my intent to kiss you or bed you, I should ask you if you have others who would not wish to share you. After all, you might be aware of my history for loving many but I am aware not all are able to share quite as freely as myself."

Though he had loved many in his time and would love many more, not all could open their hearts so freely. So before he started anything he made sure that the one he desired could give themselves to him. Without causing heartbreak to others who were innocent in this.

It was the right thing to do.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject