faderift | Open | Hanging out with a King

Entry tags:

Open | Hanging out with a King

WHO: Iskandar and anyone who runs across him
WHAT: Iskandar is just spending some time doing various things and enjoying old and new friends along the way
WHEN: Last half of Firstfall
WHERE: Around Skyhold
NOTES: Probably nothing but will add as needed

Stables

One place that people could be sure to find Iskandar was at the stables. He was here a great deal since this was where his horse was and where he'd really been sleeping. When people weren't interested in sharing their beds with him anyway. That was something that certainly happened plenty since he was very large and warm. But for today he was currently seated near a wall, singing softly in a language many natives wouldn't recognize. Perhaps many Rifters wouldn't either. After all, it was his native tongue and there weren't going to be many familiar with Ancient Macedonian.

In his hands was a saddle which he had over one knee while he rubbed the leather down with an oil to keep it looking beautiful. Perhaps most Kings would find someone else to do this but this was something Iskandar had always preferred to do himself. There was just something so relaxing about it. Of course, this didn't stop him from noticing company when it arrived and he smiled at the new arrival, still singing as he did.

Library

It likely wasn't common to see a giant man enjoying so many books but there he was on the floor of the library with a nice pile of them around him. The subjects varied but it was clear he really was reading through them. In his hands right now was what looked like something about the histories of some land and he was scratching his chin as he read through it. Now and then he made a small hum in thought before he finally closed the book and went to stretch, pausing only a moment to smile.

"Ah did you want to read this one?"

Tavern

One of Iskandar's favorite places to be was the tavern. It was here he learned many of the songs of these lands and where he watched people just live. It was fascinating to say the least but it did have him developing a burning desire of sorts. One that was like an itch he couldn't quite reach. He was really going to have to take care of that soon. Which was why he went to sit near the first person that he saw that had a seat available.

At least the first thing he gave was a smile.

"Would you happen to know where one could obtain a harp or lyre?" Yes, he really was going to need one soon.

[ooc: This is an example of what Iskandar's voice would sound like. For obvious reasons this is not what he's singing. This is just to give you an idea of what the tone and such would be!]

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Waver let himself be swept into the hug, his arms struggling to return the grip. Iskandar was hard to hug, thanks to his size.

"Devotion, yeah," Waver repeated into Iskandar's chest, muffled. The tone had a hint of wistfulness to it, contrasting against Iskandar's disposition. "Glad it's finally been noticed."

"Finally? Boy, what do you take me for? I am not blind to such things." He gave him a gentle bonk to the top of his head as he lifted a brow in his direction. It was such a gentle scolding really though. It wasn't like he was actually irritated with him.

"You are not exactly that hard to read after all. You wear your heart rather openly even now."

"Someone who doesn't comment on things that other people think're important," Waver muttered, swatting uselessly at the hand that tapped the op of his head. Sure, it briefly disturbed the hug, but it was an uncalled for gesture as far as Waver was concerned.

"And only for you. Clock Tower still can't figure me out."

Well, a few did. Reines in particular, but Reines was the kind of person who could look at someone and know their entire life history. Gray was starting to catch up, but they had only known each other for about six months.

"They cannot?"

Letting him go, he planted his hands on his hips and tilted his head to the side. It seemed rather odd that they would be unable to figure Waver out when he was really so very obvious to him. Painfully so. Unless he was only like that with him? It was possible but he really had no way of being able to tell just yet.

"What do they think of you then?"

"A lot of things."

Waver shrugged easily. What Clock Tower thought had stopped mattering a long time ago, when he pledged his loyalty to Iskandar. But while opinions were easy to ignore, they still factored into Waver's life.

"That I'm grumpy and ill tempered. That I'd rather be anywhere but the Clock Tower. That I got lucky by taking over the El-Melloi classroom. That one day I'm going to fail in running my department. I suppose there's elements of viewing me as an opportunist as well, all things and past behavior considered. Only a few of those things are really true."

"Hmmm. I would say some of that is rather accurate but I wouldn't call it unflattering," he decided after listening to that. Waver could be quite grumpy and ill tempered but he knew plenty of that came from impatience. At least it had when the man was a boy. However, he could see him as getting lucky and being an opportunist. However, neither of these were truly that terrible. He himself got lucky many times and was one of the biggest opportunists around.

"Though I do not think you will fail and that you have not earned what you have. You are better than that."

"In a way, I've already failed. I didn't summon you into the next Grail War," Waver said. His voice wasn't cheerful with those words, but there was a level of dark amusement in his tone. "What ended up happening was far weirder and more unpredictable."

As for earning what he had, well. Waver had heard enough opinions on that to last several life times. There was only one opinion that actually mattered on that topic, and it wasn't even Rider's. "What I have is, in fact, hung up on one very, very intense successor to Kayneth."

Iskandar listened to all of this and found it all...rather baffling. Well not the part where he'd tried to summon him again. That was quite flattering if unnecessary and too much. No it was the rest of it.

"We are at camp now. When we get off the horse I'm going to fetch us drinks and then you can share more of these tales with me. I think I should hear them."

"Reines is," Waver paused, looking for the right words. How to describe the little tyrant was the eternal question, wasn't it?

"She's a handful. I suspect you'd actually like her."

"You will certainly have to tell me more about her then!" Iskandar was greatly looking forward to that tale already. But for now he just go them to the camp then off the horse then to where they could have food and drink while they were resting by the fire.

"Now, begin. I want to hear about her first."

"After Kayneth passed in the Grail War, his house was thrown into chaos. Up comes this young woman, I think she was maybe six or seven at the time, and she takes over as head of the family. Ruthless, merciless, and yet three years after it all, she grants me the El-Melloi title after I prove myself to be a halfway competent teacher, as I kind of took over Kayneth's classroom and started lecturing. Anyway," Waver continued, brushing over his own deeds.

"She essentially grants me the title until she's old enough to take it, so long as I lick her boots the entire time. Moreover, she teases relentlessly like I'm an older brother, although half the time it isn't funny, it's mostly downright cruel."

Well, there had been one or two good insults. "And the rest of it is shock value to make me squawk like a chicken."

He blinked at the explanation then tilted his head to the side. So he was only wearing the title for now? She was the actual El-Melloi? He supposed it made sense but only somewhat honestly.

"What becomes of you when she takes the title back?"

Would he just be nothing then? It hardly seemed fair.

"I don't know," Waver admitted, pausing to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear. "It hasn't come up."

Either because Reines had plans or neither of them wanted to consider it. The title wasn't the only thing that bound the two together, but it was one of the biggest and one of the most important.

"I suppose I go back to teaching or find something new to occupy my time with."

"Would they let you remain at that school when you have no title?"

He knew so little about the school that it only made sense to him to ask these questions. They were perfectly logical if one were to present them to him anyway. Though perhaps they weren't things Waver wished to dwell on? Honestly that seemed unlikely to Iskandar who was so used to seeing Waver overthinking most anything around him. Why not this as well?

"I started teaching without a title," Waver said. "And zero qualifications, honestly, I'm amazed no one stopped me sooner."

The reason why still eluded Waver, truth be told. Pure luck, he supposed, pure and simple.

"I would not say you have zero qualifications. Perhaps you are not gifted with the bloodline to achieve greatness as others but you were gifted with a clever mind and a determination that leads to towards it instead."

One could probably tell Iskandar otherwise but he refused to see it any other way. It was not blood that brought a man to greatness. Rather it was the heart and mind that did so. Those could carry a man much further than just the blood that flowed in his body. Much like blood did not make a King great. It was what his heart and mind led him to accomplish.

"Oh, I was referring to having any knowledge of teaching theories and approaches," Waver said quickly. Damnit, was he blushing? He thought he stopped doing that ten years ago. "But I guess the point still holds."

It was strange, having what felt like unconditional respect for skills that were there that didn't come with twenty layers of snark like they did with Reines. Waver had missed it, but it still felt strange to have again. Part of him wasn't sure if he ought to get used to it. What if one of them disappeared again?

Waver now had to deal with the fact that Iskandar had seen the blush. Leaning down, he blinked a couple of times before laughing a bit. Not out of cruelty though, he simply wasn't that kind of a person. Rather he was thrilled by this discovery for another reason entirely.

"You still flush so nicely! It seems that some things about you will never change with the years passing! I am pleased to see this for it means you are still my boy!"

Waver's desire for that damn blush to stop only caused it to deepen, and soon enough he had his face in both of his hands, trying to will it all away.

"Goddamnit," he muttered. "You're the only person in the world who can even make me act like this!"

He laughed then and clapped his hand to his shoulder. Really he would always enjoy being the one who could bring out this sort of reaction from his former Master.

"Then I am honored to have such a power for this look is very cute on you!"

"Rider!" Waver managed, his tone somewhere between a whine and a snap. It didn't know where to go, and neither did Waver.

"Can we at least get back to the topic at hand?"

He laughed again and tilted his head to the side. It was a cute look really. Were it not for the overly pleased look on his face that said that he still thought Waver was precious.

"Certainly. What were we discussing again?"

"Not sleeping in the sodding stables," Waver said, the hint of despair in his voice. "And then ten wandering topics from there. My God I thought my students were masters of that."

He blinked at the tone before giving what could pass for a sheepish grin. Could were it not for the fact that this was Iskandar. "We did wander a lot didn't we."

Waver responded by offering a flat, unimpressed stare. That particular look hadn't changed at all since he was 19, that was for certain.

"Either way, we're resolved now."

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