Sataari

[quietblade]

WHO: Taashath + OPEN
WHAT: Catch-all for Wintermarch
WHEN: All through the month
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Come get giant qunari CR!

I. SKYHOLD

Most days were good days for the warrior. He laughed, he smiled and he spent his time among friends and peers. Training, teaching, working for something.

Other days were not as good, when memories came to him and he swore he could almost hear again; the low thunder of the aftermath of an explosion. Those days Taas withdrew from the rest of the soldiers and spent his time on the battlements, looking at the mountains. It reminded him of freedom, to see the high rise of the snowy peaks - yet there was the the drop from the wall and deep into the chasm that settled his stomach even more.

Nothing came without danger, did it?

"Meraad astaarit, meraad itwasit, aban aqun," he says softly. There was nothing to struggle against, even when all he could see were the faces of his antaam.

Taas keeps his back free, his weapon in the barracks and his thoughts stubbornly on the future, but he could probably use a distraction.

II. TAVERN

Some nights Taashath spent in the tavern, having a few drinks and talking to people. He does his best to not get too drunk, but sometimes it was nice to let go and be the guy who had to sleep it off on the floor.

...few people could move him once he was down, after all.

Other nights he enjoys less alcohol and more games, and he's still trying to master Wicked Grace. Diamondback is more his thing, as well as Dead Man's Tricks. It would be nice to get some Qunari games in the tavern, but he doubted any of them were easily found in the south.

Join him for drinking or games?

III. TRAINING RING

The swing of his dragon-tooth mace crushed the target dummy under him, and he makes sure to follow up the weight of the weapon by bracing himself with his legs. Swinging the thing was different from his usual axe, but the destruction was obvious. Standing back, he looks at the broken piece of straw and wood, rolling his shoulders a bit.

He still preferred the axe, but Korrin's present was damn amazing.

"So who wants to spar? I need to work on my speed, and I'm sure I'll be decent training for facing any Red Templar behemoths." Taas grins, leaning a bit on the mace and looking at the people gathered.

IV. SIGN LANGUAGE CLASS

Taashath's sign language class was still going, although it was mostly teaching non-verbal commands to the scouts. The people who came back for more were always welcome, and it was really a blessing for the deaf warrior to have more people around that were able to sign. It meant he didn't always have to guess half the words people said to him, and the most important conversations couldn't be misunderstood.

(...silent ways of flirting was another thing that he was asked a lot, so Taas has to try not to laugh any time he sees it used outside his 'classroom'.)

The door to the semi-broken tower that the soldiers used as a place to nap between shifts during the night was always open when Taas was teaching, and by now he had dragged some old benches and blankets there to make it a little more comfortable.

Comments

SKYHOLD

[samahl]

Cyril probably wouldn't admit it without being prompted, but when he realized that Taas wasn't among the light and warmth of the tavern he was driven to look for him. It was one of those days he closed his shop early and not finding Taas among the crowd made him worry a bit - as far as he knew Taas wasn't on an assignment.

When he finds Taas among the battlements he carefully came up close to him and lightly touched him, just as a gentle way to make sure Taas knew he was there.

[quietblade]

Taas slowly looks down at the elf, still lost in thought. The small, lithe paleness even takes a moment to actually sink in as familiar. Not qunari, not Ashaad.

Kadan.

The warrior sighs, trying to shake the memories away and focus on Cyril instead. "Hello. I'm sorry, I'm not up to any fun right now."

[samahl]

Cyril can see that in Taas's face and the way he's carrying himself and instead of being discouraged he shrugged. He had admitted his feelings, and part of loving someone meant being there even when things weren't fun. That had been something he had learned with Merrick a long time ago.

"I don't mind, Taashath," he said. "We don't have to have fun to spend time together. I am here for you. If you need to talk or need company, I'm here. I'm also willing to leave if you need space."

Skyhold, during those less awesome days.

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin visits the battlements often; she tends toward restlessness when the Inquisition's forces aren't immediately needed, and all the pacing helps her think. Plus, the view isn't anything to sneeze at, either. Seeing all those majestic mountain peaks, she can almost pretend that the suffering below doesn't exist. Almost.

The muttered Qunlat gets her attention, and though Korrin isn't trying to be stealthy, she increases the strength of her tread so Taas will know he's not alone. When she reaches his side, the Vashoth woman gives him a gentle nudge, turning her face up to his so he can read her lips. "Copper for your thoughts?"

[quietblade]

The slight vibrations in the stone makes him take his eyes off the mountains and glance over at the person approaching. The points of Korrin's horns are easy to recognize, but somehow that just makes it worse. Qunari.

(They looked a bit like his superior's. He had never really thought of that before.)

She touches him and he tenses a bit, taking a deep breath before he looks down at her. His smile is tired and a little guarded. "Hey, kadan. I don't know what good my thoughts are right now."

ii tavern (not sure if you want to keep cr from previous meme, fine with either choice!)

[kartereo]

Wintermarch seemed like the time for a lull, in a way. The world was cold and everything was at rest. Waver imagined that there was no better time to finally settle into a routine than during such a quiet stretch of time, when the illusion of quiet was all around. Not that he had found Skyhold or the surrounding areas to be quiet. It was just the weather.

He filled his days with whatever courses were on offer via the school at Skyhold, resting only one day a week. When there weren't courses, there was an effort to get better at riding, and then there was bi-weekly trip to the tavern to spend a few hours decompressing and planning for the next two weeks.

There were a few things that Waver saw there that he liked observing. How people grouped together, the languages, but more interesting to him were the games being played. He always sat at the bar, observing quietly with both of his hands wrapped around his tankard, trying to divine the rules of the given game. Not that he ever did, staring only got one so far, but it was entertaining enough to try and piece things together.

So it was for the current evening. There were familiar faces, but Waver remained distant, happy at his seat.

(December happened and I don't even remember it, I'm so sorry)

[quietblade]

Getting up from his seat, Taas gently touches the observing man's shoulder as a warning that he's coming in to stand at the bar. He was a big guy, after all, and some people were too exhausted or too drunk to not take offense when someone took up as much space as he did.

"Sorry about that, man," he says to Waver before he flags down the bartender with a shiny sovereign "Calbot, another ale!"

Waiting until he has his new tankard, the large qunari takes a moment to check the foam before he drinks. Old habits die hard, after all. Taas was pleasantly buzzed and on a roll with the winnings from the game tonight, so he was in a very good mood.

"Are you looking to join?"

iv!

[limier]

At first, she's only searching for a specific soldier on his break (things to do, people to harass). But it's becoming quickly apparent that he's not among the little crowd — and the class begins before she can wait the man out.

Begins with one of the largest qunari she's ever seen. Maker.

On the bright side, giant hands mean that it's easy to spot the signs. A useful trick in the field. It'll be a long time before she manages to make it stick, but some gestures translate easily enough. Wren waves, then waits a polite distance back, for the others to shuffle out.

"May I ask you something," Her hands fold neatly behind her back, she makes her slow way forward, to put her face closer into view. Speaking to dwarves from such a height must be a trial. "Monsieur Taashath?"

[quietblade]

Big hands really did help, especially when the class was pretty full and Taas still towered over everyone. It was always interesting to see new faces in the gathered crowd, and he's a little curious why she was there. Everyone had their own reason to learn, even if most of it these days were for the scouts.

Once the class was over, Taas notices the wave and waits while the tower is cleared out so she can come to speak with him. The light was pretty good inside to make sure everyone could see, so he looks down at the woman's lips to read the words there.

"Oh? What can I do for you, ma'am?

ii;

[inagutterson]

Being back in Skyhold again is strange after spending most of the winter up in the hold. Skyhold means Yngvi needs to have a routine instead of getting to be a guest, no sleeping in for hours and hours because he can, because there's a fire wherever he's chosen to sleep. Still, he can drink as much in Skyhold as he can at Honey Badger Hold so that's one good thing it has going for it at least.

The tavern is loud, louder still when the nugs follow him in, squeaking at his feet but it's common enough that no one bothers to complain unless they happen to be particularly new.

Grease is streaked up one side of Yngvi's nose tonight when he comes to peer at the table. Or rather at the occupant because he generally feels like he's allowed to stare at the world, at things and people in it. Especially big grey things like that.

"You one of the boring proper Qunari ones or one of the fun ones?" He asks because he's nosy with the manners the Stone gave a bronto. And so is the nug peering out of his pocket.

[quietblade]

Taas looks up from his ale as he notices the strange vibration of nug feet. (More nug feet than was proper in a tavern, as most of them were pickled and didn't trot over the floor.) Then he watches the dwarf and his pink friends come to stare at him, and Taas isn't sure just how drunk he is right now. At least the staring is mutual, because damn.

Nugs.

Reading Yngvi's lips, the massive warrior laughs and shakes his head. "If you ask me, a proper qunari should be a fun one!"

iii;

[foxsays]

There aren't that many people Araceli would trust that are so much bigger than her for sparring with, but Taashath is a friend of Korrin's so she feels more reassured as she watches from outside the ring before loosening her rapiers, hopping over the fence. Not that he'd hurt her on purpose but she's been careful in getting back on her feet after the Venatori; the healers are in no great rush to see her again soon, she's sure.

But she wants the practice. Needs it. And so with a smile she dips into a bow before she speaks.

"Small and fast isn't a problem, I hope?"

[quietblade]

"Small and fast is what I need to work on," Taas replies with a grin, easing his stance a bit to look at her. Small, fast and with double blades. All things really effective against someone big and slow with a massive weapon.

He had spent a long, long time as a young man learning to accommodate for that, but rogues still got away from him at times - and his scars told those stories. The warrior would not pass up a chance to work on his defense.

"Since I can't hear you, if you need to stop and I'm not looking at your mouth, stomp three times quickly on the ground. Hard."

III

[aceso]

Christine pales a little at the question, especially after seeing what he just did to that training dummy. In one hand she holds her staff, and in the other a sword hilt, though there is no blade attached. She's come down here to practice her sword skills as a relatively new Knight-Enchanter, but so far she hasn't faced off against anyone. She really can't practice against anyone either, because in order to raise her barrier and keep it constant, she needs to alternate between using spells to charge her spirit blade and dispelling the charge when striking a victim. She can't just use spells on him.

"I am afraid I would not make a good partner," she says, eyeing his mace with concern. "Though that weapon does remind me of the way behemoths swing their arms." Still, here she is in the training ring and she does want to be of use if she can.

"Is there any way I can help that doesn't require me to lock weapons with you?"

[quietblade]

He smiles at her, trying to gentle his stance a bit so she wouldn't be intimidated. Taas remembers her as one of the healers, but the bladeless hilt was new and he's curious. Knight-Enchanter, now?

"At least I'm better looking than a behemoth!" He says with a laugh, slowly swinging the mace down to his feet. "...and a better conversationalist." Winking at her, he moves a bit closer to take a look at her staff.

"Well, would you mind showing me a little how you fight? The only mage I train with regularly is Korrin, and she's quite different. I'd need to know how to work with others." Taas is still a little wary around other mages, but if he was going to be of any help in this mess he would have to learn.

TAVERN (before leaving on the Sulevin Blade Mission)

[universal_charm]

A hard day's work deserved a reward, didn't it? He had taken a few bruisings from his students that day, which pleased him more than anything. It meant they were improving, and he really couldn't ask for more than that. The other bruises probably came from his own clumsiness - Skyhold had a way of adding them to his body without his noticing, tricky thing.

Glancing around, he looked for a familiar face, in one of those moods were solitude didn't sit well with him. His eyes landed on Taas and he smiled wide, making his way over to the other, making sure to put himself with Taas' line of immediate sight and be acknowledged before he took a seat beside him.

"Is now a good time to learn those rude greetings you promised me?" he both asked aloud and signed (his fingers a touch halting, but fairly confident, if choppy).

[quietblade]

Taas grins broadly when he sees Kirk and raises his tankard in greeting. Taking a swig, he then watches the other man sign with a smile. It might be choppy and halting, but it made the warrior feel pride in a way he hadn't quite expected.

"Oh, definitely. Match it with a smile like that and it's rude endearments, isn't it?" He speaks and signs at back, and then wiggles his brow slightly. Taas is a little drunk, but just enough to make him relaxed and happy while he speaks.

"Join me for a game?"

IV.

[not_the_question]

The Doctor had been here a few days and was already dreadfully bored. Well, no. Not bored. Feeling trapped. This place wasn't his universe and as near as he could tell there was no way back to his universe. And this place was primitive. There didn't seem to be a way to fix his sonic, though to be fair, he hadn't tried that hard yet.

When he learned there was a sign language class, he decided to show up. After all, he had deleted it for semaphore at some point. It shouldn't be too hard to pick up again. And deaf people paid more attention to things because they had to. He might be able to get some information this way.

But he was a beginner again. Looking around the room, it seemed most of these people had done it before. Still he stayed and waited until everyone else in the room departed. Then he approached the tall man. "Thank you for that. It was interesting. But, I'm afraid a little beyond me."

[quietblade]

There were always some stragglers left after his lessons, and it was commonly friends or newbies. This time it was a new person, and Taas smiles at the man as he comes over to speak. Reading the Doctor's lips, he chuckles softly and nods.

"It can be a bit difficult to get in to. It took me five years to get to this proficiency, but I'm no master." He signs while he speaks, slower than normal since he's used to doing so while in class.

"You're welcome to come back again to learn more, if you wish. I can give you some notes. Otherwise it was nice to have you here to try it out."

Training Ring

[in_death_sacrifice]

"I'm always up for a spar."

Kain is in his Grey Warden armor with his two-handed sword in hand. He's only just finished warming up, and at the moment could definitely do with a challenge. He approaches the Qunari, glancing at his own weapon approvingly.

"That's a well-crafted mace. Dragon-tooth, is it?"

[quietblade]

Taas brightens up in a wide grin as he sees the two-handed sword and nods after reading the man's lips. "It is! I got it from a good friend who killed one of those dragons." He hefts the maul up and does a bit of a practice swing with it to show it off to the other warrior.

"I'm more used to axes so it's a bit of a learning curve... but it's damn effective!" He grins again, looking back at the squished training dummy.

"Heavy, though, so it would be nice with a spar. Do you want sharp weapons or wood?"

III TRAINING RING

[el_tybs]

There are a large number of men who pale and just shake their head 'nope' before slowly turning and walking away from the training ring. With the crowd thinned it was easy to see Sam hanging on the fence in a lazy matter clearly watching Taas destroy training dummies.

'You know, showing that you can crush a man in one swing is probably not helping you get a sparring partner,' he signs with a nervous chuckle.

[quietblade]

Taas laughs as he sees those signs and shakes his head. "They should get the training in while they can. Those behemoths are not gonna pull their punches." Walking over to Sam, he leans a bit to the fence as well so that they could chat.

"I still remember thinking you wanted to fight me the first time we met," he says with a little smile. "How are you doing?"

Skyhold

[conqueredhearts]

He'd seen him from a distance but he remembered this man from that trip awhile ago. Smiling, he went over to join him, making sure that he saw him. Then he was looking down and admiring the drop, obviously not at all frightened of what he saw there. Why should he be? He was quite certain he could easily survive dropping down. All he'd have to do was teleport at the end to make sure his stop was an easy one on the ground rather than splattered against the surface.

Turning to him, he made it easily to see his face. He'd figured out that the man was lip reading the last time so he felt it was better to make that easier for him than to challenge him by looking away.

"A fine day, isn't it? Would you care for company, my friend?"

[quietblade]

It wasn't hard to miss the massive 'human', and Taas turns slightly so that he can see if Iskandar was speaking with him. The look on the qunari's face was not negative, but he wasn't smiling or happily greeting him as he would normally do.

His features were thoughtful and a bit pained, old ghosts going through his head. Still, Taas manages a little nod. "Iskandar," he says, the pronunciation still rather off but not too confusing. "I'm not sure if I am good company right now."

The warrior subconsciously touches one of the scars on his chest, rubbing it slightly.