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

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

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.

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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.

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.

"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.

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...

Sam winces slightly when he sees Kirk go to the ground, watching quietly as he rolls to get back onto his feet. Breathing hard and covered in dirt is a good look for Jim, a bit rugged, but it looks like the other is in a bit of discomfort, which has Sam holding his tongue.

"Perhaps we should take that break...?" he asks slowly, keeping his staff up just in case Kirk's answer is an attack. Fighting while mana drained is something that happens, but also a bit dangerous if you don't know how, or when to call it quits.

He hadn't felt this tired in a long time. It felt like every part of him was heavy, weighed down in factor 2 gravity. In that kind of pressure it made hard to even draw breaths, lungs laboring to inflate against the force pulling them down. He pushed up, bringing his staff to bear - and his knee went. He stumbled down with a grunt, letting the other give and sitting back on his calves, shaking.

"Okay... okay a break," he agreed, sweat dripping off him.

As soon as he sees Kirk start to collapse, Sam drops his guard and crosses the short gap between them quickly, staff dropping to the ground as he brings his hands up to help steady the man. There's a small frown on his face as he notices just how labored Kirk's breathing was, and how much sweat there is on his face despite them being in cooler weather.

He should have insisted on that break.

"Yeah, alright... let's get you situated so that you're sitting," he says softly, helping with getting Kirk's legs from under him so that he could sit properly. As soon as Kirk is better situated, Sam places a hand on Kirk's shoulder and chest before they start to glow slightly, casting a Rejuvenation spell to help with regening Kirk's mana.

"Just focus on breathing. You're okay."

Honestly, the last time he had felt this tired had been when he had been suffering from the radiation poisoning. It was a scary feeling, making him shiver, but there wasn't the panic from that time, or the deep seated fear. He let Sam move him, still in enough control that he wasn't dead weight. He leaned against him as Sam place his hands on him, that weird green glow appearing that meant Sam was using his magic.

"This magic thing is a lot harder than I thought," he pouted at Sam tiredly.

Even with gaining his mana back, Kirk probably was going to be tired for a bit, especially since this was the first time he was feeling the effects. At least he wasn't looking as pale and seemed to be breathing a little bit easier. It would take some time to gain all his energy back.

"We make it look easy right?" Chuckling softly, Sam continues the spell for a moment before letting the glow fade away. The spell would still be in effect for a bit longer so there was no need to keep casting it. "Yeah, there's a lot more to it then just wiggling your fingers. This is mana fatigue. Sorry, I should have been a better instructor and insisted you take a break before a spar. Guess we know where your limit is though." For now unless Kirk wanted to work on increasing it.

He felt like he had run ten miles in three times Earth gravity, which was enough to make his muscles and bones feel like jelly. Walking might not be a thing for a few minutes at the least.

His limit, was it? Yes, he supposed it was. It felt to short to him, and to short wasn't a good thing in this world - though it did give him a reason not to use it or rely on it overmuch. Not that he wanted to in the first place, but he did think his limit needed to be extended, regardless of his feelings on magic.

"No, it's all right, I insisted on continuing," he shook his head, touching Sam's hand in way of assurance. "Just give me a minute and we can head back. I could use a dip in the baths."

Sam hums at that, patting Kirk's hand in return before getting to his feet and walking over to his pack. "Take however long you need," he says, rummaging through his pack for a moment then coming back with a waterskin. "Here."

With a sigh, Sam takes his seat again, watching Kirk with interest so he knew if the other was pushing himself. "Never a fun feeling, but it does get easier over time. You learn to feel for when you're getting too close, and not get so tired if you do go over."

Kirk took it gratefully, sucking down a healthy few gulps (despite knowing that drinking to cold water to quickly could give him a tummy ache, but damn he was thirsty).

"It's a strange feeling, being a novice again," he wiped at his mouth. "I'll need to learn that fast, I think. I have a bad habit of pushing myself." Or so Bones told him, and he was inclined to believe the doctor even if he chose to ignore that particular criticism.

"You're always a novice in something," Sam offers with a grin. It didn't seem all that strange to him, but then again he continued to learn new things all the time.

"Hm. Yeah, you do have a bad habit of that," he agrees, nodding slightly though the grin on his face only got bigger. "Though it's also an attractive trait at times."

"Heh, ain't that the truth? A good day is when you learn something new," he grunted, taking slower sips of water, nursing the flask.

He glanced at Sam at that, catching the smile on his face and warming beneath it. God, he loved the other's smile. "And which times might those be, Samouel?"

Sam snorts lightly at the question, having fully expected Kirk to ask just that. "Well for someone who still thinks magic is 'weird' he certainly put a lot of effort learning how to use it." Granted it was because of a particular accident that sparked it, and safety concerns, but Kirk had thrown himself into practice full-heartedly.

"Course there are those times in the loft..." he adds as if it were an after thought, though the wink at the end certainly showed that it wasn't.

He glanced down at his hand again, at the little gem that was causing him so much trouble. "I may find if weird, but it's a part of me and it clearly has some function. I don't want what happened the first time to happen again, so regardless of my feelings, I need to learn to control it."

A last glance at the gem before he let his hand fall, turning his attention back to Sam.

"Oh, those made an impression, did they?"

And his bum appreciated the effort, Kirk. Now he could look back on it and laugh, even tease Kirk about it, but it had not been a fun experience, especially since he had been resting so nicely.

"More then one sleepless night." None of which he'll complain about, though he certainly needed a bit more sleep in the morningings.

"I hope you don't mind the lost sleep. You won't be gaining it back anytime soon," he teased, grateful for the lightness of the subject. This was much easier than dealing with his more complicated feelings of his sudden power as well as his guilt over harming Sam, accident or no.

"Is that a fact or a promise?" Kirk must be feeling a bit better if he was easily holding this kind of conversation. "Course that might be what you want to do right now. Or at least rest and get off your feet for a bit. I believe that's enough practice for the day."

Feeling better, yes, though he would have done this anyways. Flirting and joking was the way he hid his own pain, it was how he dealt with the difficult things in life so he didn't have to face them right away. Cowardly, perhaps, but it was the only way he knew how to cope.

"I agree," he sighed, glancing skyward and back at Sam. "Grab a bit to eat and go back to the loft then?"

If Sam had nothing else to do that day, he wouldn't mind taking an afternoon nap with the other.

"Food would be good; I believe they'll be putting out lunch by the time we get back. As for the loft, sounds good but I do need to do some work in the armory later on." So whatever Kirk had planned for up there couldn't be very long, or strenuous at that matter.

"Guess we're going to have to make sure you carry a mana potion with you now, just in case."

Honestly, he just wanted to lay on the bed and sleep. Sam being there would simply help him do that quicker and more comfortably. He always slept better with Sam or someone else beside him, but he had also come to find comfort in the steady sounds of Sam working below as well.

"I think I more need your help getting back than anything," he grunted, pushing himself to his feet and pausing to keep his balance. "Whatever you say, professor."

Seeing Kirk trying to keep balance, he walks closer and offers a shoulder for him to lean against. "I suspect scaling the stairs as well?" He tries to say it in a teasing way, but it's obvious that he's more concerned about Kirk's safety after hearing that. "Should I give you a ride over?"

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

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