[ OPEN ] Are You Lost In the World Like Me?

[universal_charm]

WHO: Kirk + YOU
WHAT: Catch-all for the rest of Firstfall - open prompts + a few closed
WHEN: From Firstfall 20 onwards
WHERE: Around Skyhold
NOTES: Sheningans, flirting, cursing, sexiness, silly things,

A - Library
It had been some time since he had had the time to really explore the library, what with parties, earning coin, going out on a few missions, and learning to control the power in his shard. The library had simply felt out of reach, or at the least been on the bottom of places for him to be at.

But now he was making some effort to be there, and more often than not he could be seen with a mixture of books about history and about magical theory. He's even found a notebook to take notes in. That does not stop him from letting out frustrated breaths from time to time though. Or perhaps a lot, especially when working with the magic books.

B - The Stables
Over the course of the past six months or so, Kirk has come to enjoy the stables. There was something relaxing about being around the animals and practicing his horsemanship. He could canter with little issue now and sit nicely, though he was not going to call himself an expert (and to be fair he had been riding one of the more mild-mannered horses).

Of course he tended to spend quite a bit of time with Boggy, stroking and talking with the bog unicorn. He would even sit beside his paddock and read to him, as if the creature could understand, but if nothing else he thought it was nice for the other to hear the cadence of a friendly voice. He had even bought some tinctures to rub into the skin around his face to help protect him from the sun and keep from getting dried out. He had no idea if that was a real concern or not for the bog unicorn, but no taking chances, right?

C - The Battlements: Late Night
Some nights Kirk didn't want to sleep, or perhaps couldn't. Either way, it tended to lead him towards the battlements. He liked to go up and walk on them, to find a quiet place on the wall to wrap a blanket around himself and look up at the sky when it wasn't overcast. He smiled as his eyes traced his made-up constellations, recited their made up stories in his head. Sometimes his arm raised up to trace a new path, or maybe it was to send a prayer out into the endless dark sea.

Comments

FOR SAM

[universal_charm]

Kirk slumped down onto a nearby boulder, huffing and flexing his fingers. His hand felt tingly from practicing with the shard's ability, but even though he felt somewhat drained he was proud to. It was a sense of accomplishment, really, having been able to get off more than a few shots on purpose. It was slow progress, but it was something, and it made him feel a bit more in control of the entire situation.

"Right, think it's time for a change of pace," Kirk looked over to Sam, who had accompanied him out for his practice. He twisted to pick up his staff, laying it across his lap and giving a crooked smile up at his lover. "No magic in this round."

[el_tybs]

"What, I don't even get one shot in?" he teases, leaning against his own practice staff - it hardly seemed fair to bring his bladed one or his magic sword. It's been long enough that they both should be fine with joking about that 'laser-to-rear' incident.

"You sure you don't want to take a longer rest?" Sam raises a brow as he eyes Kirk upon his boulder. He could control his shard rather well now, but judging by the way he was panting it was clear that he wasn't quite used to the draining effects of magic yet. Understandably so considering he didn't even have magic in his realm.

[universal_charm]

"An eye for an eye isn't really the best way to go about things," Kirk retorted, but smiled at the teasing before taking a large swig of his water, sloppily wiping at his mouth. Damn, this magic thing really took a lot out of a guy.

He nodded and stood from the boulder, grabbing his staff and giving a few practice swings and twirls as Sam had taught him. There hadn't been as much time for sessions of late, but his training so far had not yet soured from that lack. He gave Sam a confident smirk.

"I wouldn't want to claim an unfair advantage on you anyways."

[el_tybs]

"Well I wouldn't be going for an eye..." he starts out, but lets it hang there, letting the teasing just die off. He knew exactly what Kirk meant.

"I'm not the one affected by mana drain," he points out, staff hanging loosely by his side. If anyone was at an advantage, it was him, much more used to casting spells - being a mage and all.

"Start when you're ready then."

[universal_charm]

"Don't go easy on me," he reminded Sam, testing his staff once more before lunging into the first series of strikes.

He thought he had come to be quite good with the weapon in the months since his arrival, swinging and twirling and smashing with confidence and quite a bit of skill. He needed more practice, of course, but he was a far way from the novice he had begun has when he'd first met Sam. His strikes were more deliberate and precise, countering properly and not getting his knuckles wrapped.

[el_tybs]

Kirk had indeed gotten better over the months, but so far the practice had been him versus an opponent with a similar weapon. They would have to change that up since anyone really using a staff was most likely a mage, and melee combat would not be their first choice.

"Good," he breaths out, blocking one of Kirk's attack. He allows the other man to strike a few more times before he presses his own attack, striking swiftly, but going for Kirk's legs mostly. Not being able to regain your footwork would cost you in a fight.

[universal_charm]

It wasn't as if the missions he had gone out on had pitted him against others with staffs. He had gone against swords and maces and even other mages. But it was true he would need more routine practice against those types of weapons if he hoped to advance.

Kirk saw exactly what Sam was doing, and for a minute he was purely on the defensive to stop it. He found his ground though and if not quite fought back then stopped the immediate advance.

"Do I get a kiss for that?" he asked him with a panting smirk, suddenly swinging and following it immediately with punch up with his knee.

[el_tybs]

"You told me not to go easy on you," he responds back with a grin, looking to be having an easier time with his breathing - perhaps an exercise he should start teaching Kirk to use with their practices.

The swing is easy enough to block, countering the staff with his own. The knee he can see coming, but without magic there isn't much he can do about it except brace for the hit. All that practice and work in the ring was certainly helping here. There's a bit of a grunt at the impact, but Sam follows up with bringing an arm down to hook under Kirk's leg.

[universal_charm]

It wouldn't go amiss, especially when he was in a more exhausted state after using the magic of his shard. If he ended up like this in a real fight, it could mean a lot worse than a smack to his fingers or his thigh.

Kirk doesn't move fast enough to avoid the hook. He wasn't sure he could have, but he was worn out enough that his speed just couldn't keep up anyways. He gritted his teeth and let himself go down, rolling with the impact and pushing himself back up. He got his staff up quickly and braced, dirt smudged across his face and shoulders now, his breathing harder.

Damn, maybe the magic took more out of him than he thought...

FOR KORRIN

[universal_charm]

Nuggalopes.

Kirk had helped catch the things, and he still wasn't sure how he felt about them. They were certainly magnificent in their way, majestic even, but his mind was having something of a hard time making all the parts of them fit together. Maybe it was the... hooves? Paws? He wasn't sure what to call them, really.

He leaned against one of the paddock railings, watching the creatures with his chin resting on his cross arms. One seemed to recognize him from the capture, probably because he had brought an offering of food - as he did now, though it had originally been meant for his horse. Still, he wasn't one to disappoint an animal if he could help it (except when they tried to eat him, that was always the exception).

Hopefully no one was to picky about their diets, or minded someone else giving them some spoiling.

[gatheringstorm]

Not really one to visit the stables daily beforehand, Korrin is definitely a regular visitor now. She has her own offerings of food, tucked away in a basket with some horn balm. Spoiling her mount was never really a thing with her in the past, but she'll happily make an exception for her nuggalope.

Asher, poking his head out of his stable, grunts at Kirk hopefully when food is given to another. But he also perks up as Korrin approaches and bows his head so she can scratch behind his ears. "Hello, Asher. Behaving yourself? Just remember, Kirk's hair is no more edible than mine." She flashes a grin at her human friend, definitely in a good mood with nuggalopes about. "Bottomless pits, aren't they? Give them something and they keep expecting more. But at least they put it to good use."

[universal_charm]

Ah, so that was what she had named hers. It was a fitting name, Kirk thought. A good tribute to her friend. He was sure Asher would find some amusement in it, wherever his spirit might be.

"I thought that was most animals - and men," Kirk chuckled, ceding attention to Korrin. He knew he had no chance with the nuggalope when Korrin was around, and that was fine by him.

[gatheringstorm]

"You're not wrong there. Hell, after a good workout I'll devour whatever's in sight. But I'm pretty sure Asher and the others here would have us beat in an eating contest." Rubbing Asher's muzzle, she gets a content grunt out of him before reaching into her basket to produce an apple. As he contentedly munches away, Korrin gestures for Kirk to head over. Once he's eaten, the nuggalope will be more at ease with others.

"Sam claimed one, didn't he? Do you know if it has a name yet?"

[universal_charm]

"I think most people will," he laughed. "But then I will happily eat one of those jam-tart things any time of day, so I am not sure if I'm a good example for that." He moves closer to her, holding out his hand to the nuggalope for it to get a good whiff of, though he was sure that they all had scented the group that caught them more than enough on the trek back.

"Yes, he did," he nodded. "And I'm not sure as of yet. But I'm sure it'll be fitting. I'm trying to think of a good name for my own horse now."

[gatheringstorm]

Asher turns his head toward the open hand, munching away for a moment more before approaching to sniff at it. From what Korrin can tell, he doesn't seem to find anything offensive about said hand, not like when Nahariel had previously pet that bog unicorn.

"Something badass, right? If you're up for it, we can take them for a ride. It'd be good to stretch their legs and get them out of the stable for a while."

[universal_charm]

Thankfully, Kirk had not yet gone to spend time with Boggy. He did that after his other activities here, having realized awhile ago that his smell freaked out the other animals. It was understandable, though it made Kirk feel sorry for Boggy and that he could not go in the normal pens with the other animals.

"Maybe I'll get some inspiration while we're out riding. Let me go get him saddled up," he nodded and trotted back into the barn to fetch his rather large horse that looked like it would be at home in a field harness as it would beneath a saddle.

[gatheringstorm]

"Hear that, Asher? We'll have company today. C'mon, let's get you ready." The nuggalope is largely patient as Korrin gets the saddle and straps set, though he'll recoil and make his displeasure clear with loud grunts if she tightens them too much. Still learning about what's best for nuggalopes, Korrin is learning more day by day. Once he's all set, she leads her mount out of the stables and waits for Kirk.

[bloodredcrow]

Natasha finds Kirk while he's rubbing one of those special lotions into the animal's face, and while part of her wants to walk right past, another part of her just can't. "Does that actually do anything for..." She bends slightly at the waist, giving the creature a perfunctory once over. "Him?"

[universal_charm]

Him. Her. Did the dead really care? Well, maybe they did, but Kirk had always gone with "him" so far, and Boggy had never shown discomfort at the pronoun, so "him" it was.

"I'm not really sure. I'm not exactly sure he can feel pain at all," he shrugged. "Maybe he just likes all the petting, but either way I don't see how it can do any harm."

[bloodredcrow]

In all fairness, Natasha did not look that closely during her once over. But she was pretty sure she saw-- well, she's also going to be thinking of the horse corpse as a boy, to put it politely. "No, I suppose not." This was just one of those things, wasn't it? That desperate need for meaningful attachment that had people looking for it everywhere like it held some key to a deeper understanding of life itself instead of recognizing it for the burden it was.

Still, she wasn't supposed to think that way now that she was part of a team, and it wouldn't do her any good here. So she just managed a small smile, like she found the whole thing charming. "What's his name?" Because if Kirk was rubbing cream into the thing's face, he'd definitely named it.

[universal_charm]

Attachment? Maybe that was it. Honestly, he just felt sad for the poor thing. He couldn't say, again, if the creature had feelings such as loneliness or had the need to be in a herd like the horse it had once been. It was impossible to tell, and yet he thought Boggy was, on some level. The only one of his kind here (and yes, Kirk knew there were other Rifters, but none from his particular world). So, yes he had attached himself to to the bog unicorn out of some strange sense of empathy.

"Boggy," Kirk declared, working the cream up behind his jaw, the bog unicorn grunting and stretching it's neck, clearly enjoying the impromptu massage.

[bloodredcrow]

"Boggy," Natasha repeated slowly. The desire to roll her eye was so strong, that denying it almost hurt. Almost. She just smiled even brighter. "That's... cute." Cute was appropriate, right? Sure. She took a few more steps into the stables, out of the direct sunlight and into the cooler shadows. "How long have you had him?"

[universal_charm]

"I didn't come up with the name," he said, leaning his weight against his outdoor pen to reach as far as he could down the bog unicorn's neck.

He glanced back at her as he stepped back to scoop up a bit more of the ointment.

"And he's not mine, not really. He was here before I came. Samouel Gareth said the creature took a liking to him out in the bogs and followed him home, and he's been here ever since. I just took a liking to him and give him a bit of company," he moved back up and the bog unicorn shifted so he was more parallel to the fence and Kirk could rub along the flank of his neck.

[bloodredcrow]

"Samouel. I don't know him. Friend of yours, I take it. And he named him?" She comes a little closer, since neither Kirk nor the ex-horse seem to mind. Animals tend to be surprisingly calm around her. Not all, but most. Perhaps something about the inner calm. Not the same as peace, but if she can't always tell the difference, then maybe they can't, either.

[universal_charm]

"Friend would be right. He's a mage," he supplied, if that could help her place him at all, but it was equally possible she might not. It was a big Inquisition after all. Boggy, for his part, did not seem to mind either, but his reactions weren't the best judge of animal character given his status. After all, what did he have to fear with a rusted sort running through his skull (hence his status as a bog unicorn).

"Boggy doesn't seem to mind it, and I don't think something rougher would suit him," Kirk smiled, patting his neck gently.

He pushed off from the fence and smacked his hands to clear them of the last of the cream, grabbing a towel to finish the job. "Name's Jim Kirk, by the way," he nodded to the red haired woman with an easy smile.