faderift | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

WHO: Cullen, Puppy, a ~~four~~ three year old prince, and you
WHAT: commandering
WHEN: whole month
NOTES: So, yeah, Cullen is just basically collecting small cute things. Newest one is a prince from the Anderfels.

It's a little unsettling how much overlap there is between caring for a small child and caring for a dog. Unsettling, but it works for Cullen. He has vague memories of being this age. he knows what he wanted, and while the circumstances were very different from Baldewin's upbringing, he figures at the heart of things, all children are probably the same.

He lets the boy play with Puppy. They two are contented to spend massive amounts of time together. While the boy is less thrilled to be stuck in Cullen's office all day, he understands that this is where he needs to be. Of course, big sad eyes and repeated pictures drawn for the man of the three of them playing in grass and surrounded by trees and rocks and other people does tend to wear him down. Some work is portable. Cullen can be seen in courtyards quite often, a small box of work at his feet, and Baldewin and Puppy playing within his line of vision. You don't have to come spend time with all of them, but if you're around for long enough in any capacity, chances are the tiny prince will draw you a picture.

Young boys also get dirty. Very dirty. Very often. Even exiled princes, it seems. Perhaps especially exiled princes, free from the shackles of the title and able to enjoy their childhood for the first time. There's freedom that comes in shedding the mantle of royalty. If you see Cullen at the hot springs during the day, he will most likely be sitting near the a shallow area in some cloth trousers bathing the day's dirt off of the little boy. Puppy will try to help. Puppy will not actually be much help.

He still goes to the hot springs late at night for himself, though now these trips no longer involve Puppy. Whenever Cullen is not with them, Puppy has been tasked with watching after the prince, and is taking his new role as royal guard dog very seriously. ANyone attempting to approach the sleeping child is going to get a chunk taken out of them by a mabari. Not figuratively.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Cullen laughs. It's a snorty awkward sound, because he's surprised, and the combination of that and the look of the little dog covered in gunk has Baldewin giggling, too. He leans away from the dog he can't pet, and wraps his arms around Puppy's neck. "The world can be scary," he agrees. "I'm from a long way away. I came here in a wagon. It was bumpy and it smelled funny. The people here are nice. They'll take care of you, Ponce."

Looking between Christine, Baldewin, and the tiny filthy dog, Cullen sighs, and slips into the water. He's wearing cloth trousers because he expected to be splashed, and he didn't want to be uncomfortable if he got wet. So technically, this probably falls under that umbrella. "Give him here," he says to Christine, holding out his hands for the little dog. "I don't mind if he bites me. You watch the boy, all right?"

"Oh?" It does seem that way from the little boy's accent. "I do hope that he comes to learn that in time." It would make life less of a pain for her, especially the constant shushing she has to do. The corners of her lips lift in a smile at the Commander's silly laugh, but the smile soon fades as he hops in the water.

"What? Oh, I could not ask-- but you are already in the water." She sighs and hands the dog over before giving Baldewin a smile.

"Would that be all right with you?"

Meanwhile, Ponce does not like this. Who is this fiend? Unhand him immediately! All ten pounds of dog starts kicking his legs in an effort to flee.

"Ponce, no," she groans out, reaching for a paw to gently squeeze in the hopes of calming him.

Tiny and deranged or not, a dog is a dog. Cullen shifts his grip, so that the flailing feet are catching his arms, not his chest. He holds Ponce in front of his face, far enough away that the small animal can't reach him there, either, but close enough to make serious eye contact. "Hush, little one." He breathes out through his nose, letting the air first rumble through his chest. It's a soft growling sound. Not menacing. Soothing. Well, perhaps only soothing if you're a dog. He bends his knees, bringing those tiny kicking feet down slowly to make contact with the water. As soon as they do, they stop flailing, and their movements become much more synchronized. He's swimming. Not fully submerged, no, but slowly doggy paddling through the air. "That's a good boy. It's all right."

Were Ponce not her responsibility, Christine would probably laugh at the dog lord making dog noises to the actual dog here. But she can't let anything happen to Ponce or her mother would be devastated. The woman already lost her husband and Christine isn't going to let anything else upset her if she can help it. And so here she is just relieved that someone knows what to do with troublesome canines.

She stares in awe as Ponce actually starts moving his legs in anticipation of going into the water. He doesn't look half so terrified now.

"He never listens to me," she murmurs, a little bit jealous.

"Commander is the best with dogs. That's why Puppy is such a good boy." Baldewin has very serious thoughts on this, and Puppy whuffs happily at the praise as the prince gives him one last tight hug before climbing into Christine's lap, taking the place so recently vacated by Ponce. He's filthy, but mud means almost nothing to a young boy. He doesn't know that his grime might not be wanted. Cullen doesn't mind when he wants a cuddle and he's just rolled in a puddle.

Cullen glances over at the pair of them, one corner of his mouth turning up. "Dogs need to feel safe, just like the rest of us. He's had a lot happen to him. He just needs to know he's not alone. Give him time to get used to you, Christine." Cullen waits until the heartbeat under his palms isn't quite so frantic, and then he continues to sink down into the water slowly until Ponce is mostly submerged, and his little legs are moving much quicker, churning up the water around him. Cullen lets go, waiting to see just how much the mortar caking his fur will weigh him down, ready to pull his head back above water should it look like he's about to sink.

Right. A good boy. She wisely does not refute that but then again, she's really only seen Puppy when Cullen has allowed him to run off. She doesn't know how well trained he actually is.

"Uh?" she starts as Baldewin makes himself comfortable. She sadly doesn't have a lot of experience with children beyond the refugees down in the valley, but that doesn't mean she doesn't like them. She does very much; she just hopes her natural instincts guide her here and she watches him well.

She doesn't enjoy the mud, but she already smells of wet dog. It can't get any worse, right?

"He is never alone," she mutters, but then she watches what Cullen is doing to hopefully pick up some tips. When he lets go, her heart leaps into her throat because she's worried that Ponce will drown just to spite her. She wouldn't put it past him. But little Ponce seems to understand what to do and starts moving through the water. It takes a moment, but she releases a breath of relief and looks down at Baldewin.

"And just how did you end up so muddy, young man?" She lifts her eyebrows, but merely sounds curious. It's not like she wore a good outfit today. It can't be risked when dealing with bleeding patients. Or ones that release other fluids on her.

Baldewin is fairly easy to see to. He's a spirited little boy, and brave. He does want to be close to people, but after what happened to his family, it's only natural. So he doesn't want much from Christine, just to be able to wrap his little arms around her and feel safe. "I made a town in the mud. 'S like clay only you don't haffta be as careful cause it's-- cause there's lots of it and it-- you can just make more cause all you need is water and then it dries out like clay but you can still play with it cause it's not hard cause it's not clay it's mud."

Cullen seems satisfied that she's doing just fine with the little prince. He's moving through the water with Ponce, letting the dog's own churning limbs loosen the mortar, and running his hands through the long fur to shake it away completely. It's easier than trying to hold the little beast still. This way, he's only doing half the work. "Soap?" he asks, holding up a hand.

A smile stays easily affixed to her face at his words. He's so sweet and it's good to see those who are still innocent in this world turned upside down. He reminds her of her desire to one day have children of her own, but she doesn't know if that can become a reality. She's a mage, and no one in power wants mages to have children.

This will have to do for now. She loops her arms around him and nods seriously. "Did you name your town? And put people in it?"

Meanwhile Ponce is in an odd state of wanting to be afraid, but not totally being able to pull it off because his animal instincts are telling him to kick and he is. He's doing what he's meant to do and the man's hands are right there anyway so things must be preceding as normal. His mistress is close by, though he hopes that little human isn't trying to replace him by climbing in her lap!

At the request, Christine tightens her hold on Baldewin and does an exaggerated lean towards the soap, complete with straining noises as she reaches for it; all to amuse the boy. But then she takes the soap in hand and straightens, offering it to Cullen.

"Soap."

Baldewin responds as expected, laughing and leaning with her and warning her not to fall in a sing-song voice. "I didn't get to make people because Puppy found a nug and we chased it but we didn't hurt it because Puppy isn't allowed to hurt things and-- except if someone tries to hurt me, because then he gets to protect me because we're-- he's my friend and that means he looks out for me. But we chased the nug and he went through the mud and so Puppy went through and he splashed me and then it-- he came back and I fell in but it's ok because I'm allowed to get my play clothes dirty."

Cullen snags the bar from Christine, lathering up his hands and working some of the more stubbourn chunks of mortar from Ponce's fur while directing the dog further into the warm water every time he looks like he's heading for the edge. Eventually he does get tired, but he's mostly clean at that point, and Cullen cradles him against his chest with one arm, working soapy fingers through the fur on his face and ears while the dog offers up token protest. He attempts a nip once or twice, but Cullen responds with quick decisive flicks of his fingernail to the animal's nose, which cause him to sneeze and startle him out of his aggression, his nose assaulted by the overwhelming floral scent of the soap.

Christine stays attentive, absolutely charmed by Baldewin's way of speaking. He seems rather close to Puppy, and she has to assume he's close to the Commander as well. A nephew, perhaps? But it's clear from his accent that Baldewin is from far away. Either a nephew he rarely sees or something else entirely.

"It sounds like Puppy is a good playmate. Are you visiting Skyhold or have you come to stay?" Her gaze strays to Cullen and Ponce, and she furrows her brow as he flicks the dog's nose. Her mother would have a conniption.

"What does that accomplish, besides making him sneeze?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only