faderift | (Closed) Discovering things about the King

Entry tags:

(Closed) Discovering things about the King

WHO: Iskandar and Waver
WHAT: Waver has been unaware of the fact that Iskandar has adopted a tiny kitten. Guess it's time for him to find out!
WHEN: Guardian 2
WHERE: The tent that Iskandar and Waver have started to share
NOTES: It's going to be cute and possibly stupid. Prepare yourselves.

Now, one should be aware that Iskandar had not been hiding his kitten from Waver. It had simply been the fact that the tiny creature was very shy around new people until he became familiar with the scent of that person. So of course the tiny thing had been hiding in the stables with Bucephalus or in Iskandar's large fur collars. When he wasn't there he was just hiding in the tent in general, taking advantage of the fact that the large King had made sure that it would be able to fit two full grown men and allow for things like sitting as well as sleeping. Perhaps it wasn't the lap of luxury but it was still nice enough for a start until the man could figure out a better housing situation.

No, he hadn't been keeping the kitten a secret at all. The topic simply hadn't come up.

On this day though, Waver would find that the kitten had become used to him and the kitten was chilly during Waver's nap in the tent. Since Iskandar was too far away (right outside the tent was just too far a way to walk for a sleepy baby), he decided he would take advantage of the familiar person nearby. So he wiggled his way out of the clothes he'd been hiding in and went over to the mage...

...and climbed up then curled on top of his face. With a yawn he went to try going back to sleep.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Waver had been asleep.

Had.

He had come back from another ride an hour ago, and Waver was still struggling to balance how long he could ride for versus how up for physical exertion he was - so, naps were a near constant. A good hour and a half seemed to be the ideal resting time though, and he was always able to work that timing into his schedule.

He woke up coughing though, and for a moment, Waver thought his eyes weren't open. He blinked once, then again, and realized that it was a face full of fur he was dealing with.

Barely awake, he sat up, managing a sleepy yet outraged, "What the hell?"

Iskandar had thought there was an actual emergency when he opened the flap to move into the tent. That cry had certainly sounded like it. However that wasn't what he found before him.

This was a very disgruntled and sleepy Waver trying to understand the world and an equally disgruntled and sleepy Hephaestion Alexander on his lap. The kitten mewled in grumpy protest to having been tossed onto the lap when he'd been just fine where he was. So rude to toss him like that.

It was at this point that Iskandar started laughing as he slipped the rest of the way inside to gather the kitten into his hand and off of Waver.

"I see you found the courage to meet the boy, little one."

"When," Waver intoned, trying to sound serious, but a yawn made that all but impossible. "Did you get a cat?"

He then looked to the kitten in question, the feline laughably small in Iskandar's giant hand. Thedas, land of contrasts, and Iskandar the king thereof.

"Since about a month before you arrived here actually." He said it so matter-of-factly that it was like it should be obvious. He then smiled at him again and went to sit closer so that way he could see the little one. Even at several months old now the kitten was still remarkably small, something that continued to endear Iskandar to him.

"This is Hephaestion Alexander. He is usually rather shy but it seems he has decided you are safe!"

"You named him after yourself and your other self."

That was typical at least. Waver reached back to try and straighten out some of his fly-away hairs, but the attempt only created more frizziness. He needed to wash his hair, really.

With a tired sigh, Waver reached a hand out to the kitten, mostly so that the cat could give him a sniff. "Does he try and sleep on your face as well, or am I just a special pillow?"

"Hermione named him after my good friend actually. However, I did add Alexander!"

He was shameless about that part at least. Which mean all was normal as the kitten sniffed the offered hand then proceeded to get up and flop onto the blankets with Waver again. It wasn't long before he was curled up on his lap trying to sleep once more. Apparently he was just determined to sleep with the sleepy person.

"I think he was cold and you are warm right now actually."

"Hephaestion was a perfectly fine name without your additional ego," he shot back with an eyeroll.

Waver paused, watching the kitten curl up and get comfortable again. A lap was far, far better than his face, but Waver had a feeling that if he laid back down, he'd have a face full of cat again.

"He really should have his own little nest of blankets then if he's going to sleep in here. I refuse to be smothered by cat."

"He's been sleeping in my clothes lately. Maybe he just wanted company."

He considered things a bit as he studied their pillows then gently lifted the kitten up who squeaked in protest. Before long he had the tiny thing settled on the pillow next to where Waver's head would be. That should allow for cuddling and keep the man from being smothered again.

"We can see if that would suffice?"

Of course Hephaestion Alexander would have none of that and promptly walked his way back to Waver's lap. He wanted to sleep here. This brought laughter to the large man's lips then. "You see? He needed a grand name and that is why he has two!"

"Maybe we should just put an old piece of something you don't wear anymore between the pillows."

Not that it would work, Waver expected. Cats were cats, you couldn't train them, not really.

"Then again, he might just ignore it and decide to sleep on someone's feet one night. I--" Waver watched as the little thing plopped back down in his lap, and gave a shrug. "Cats. Can I ask why you never mentioned him before?"

"I suppose I forgot!"

He was laughing again as he at least had it in him to look bashful. Sort of. It wasn't the easiest look for someone without regret or shame to pull off. So maybe he only deserved partial credit for the look in the long run.

"He seems to have warmed up to you nicely though."

"You forgot an entire cat?"

Waver shook his head, looking down at the kitten in his lap.

"Can you believe him? He asks me all about what he missed in my life and barely catches me up with important details like you."

Hephaestion Alexander's response was to start purring loudly. It wasn't like he cared what the big man did as long as he kept being warm and big and with lots of food.

"I didn't mean to forget!"

And now Iskandar was pouting.

"He agrees with me, you were a jerk."

Waver was awake enough to be a smug jerk, he definitely wasn't getting back to sleep now.

"I apologize for forgetting, boy."

Yes, he was still pouting. He looked very much like a giant scolded puppy right then. Did he regret his actions? No, not at all. But at least he knew he should have remembered this little detail since it was rather important. To say the least.

"But do you like him?"

Priorities.

"I'd like him more if my introduction wasn't his ass in my face."

It wasn't a pleasant introduction. Waver flopped backwards, his head landing on the pillow with a soft fwoomp. "But I guess he'll be a confidant. A quieter one compared to certain people."

At least the approval got the pouting to stop. The smile was back and he went to stretch out on his side next to him. Waver didn't seem like he was going to sleep yet so he could at least spend some time with him. Besides, the man looked rather cute all disgruntled with a tiny kitten sleeping on him.

"It is good that he has warmed up to you. He is quite the shy one and friends will do him good."

"A trait he doesn't get from you, clearly."

Waver debated for a moment about the wisdom of pulling the blanket back over himself, but then stopped when he realized that the kitten would get covered too and he might not appreciate it. With a little huff, he inched over towards Iskandar, deciding that he was a perfectly acceptable radiator in lieu of a blanket.

It took him a second to realize what was happening here. Once he did though, he easily scooted closer so that way Waver could be pressed against him for warmth since he was currently without his blanket and the kitten had taken up ownership of his lap/stomach. Being the affectionate man that he was in general, he hardly minded the cuddling.

"I like how bold he gets when he warms up to situations and people though."

"Who else is he friendly with, besides you and apparently now me?"

That was far better. Waver shifted just a little, angling against Iskandar but keeping himself at a gentle angle so that no kittens went rolling onto the floor.

"Hermione, Felix, and Jim have all met him currently. He tends to spend a lot of time hiding in my collars or in my clothes or in the hay with Bucephalus. Those two are quite taken with each other, it seems!" He was very pleased with that. The horse was so massive and the kitten so small that he was thrilled the larger of the two liked the little one enough to take care of him whenever he was in his stall.

Wrapping his arm around Waver to offer extra warmth, he lifted his head enough to see how the kitten was doing before resting his head on his hand.

"Maybe he'll be big enough to act as one of your collars one day." Waver looked down, trying to observe the size of Hephaestion Alexander's paws. If he was anything like his owner, he'd probably be a massive feline as the years went on.

It was hard not to lean into Iskandar more with the arm around him. Hell, Waver figured he'd probably go back to sleep if he closed his eyes.

"Ah and I took him to the wedding yesterday. Anders quite adored him."

The kitten's paws didn't appear to be large at all. Either this cat would mysteriously grow to be large or they would always have a tiny one on their hands. But at least it would be one with a lot of personality behind that tiny size. Once he was warmed up to people anyway.

"Mm. Even if he is always small, I think he will handle the world well."

"Anders strikes me as a cat person anyway."

Rider was actually more of a dog person, if Waver had to guess. Aside from being a horse person, which history attested to and Waver witnessed first hand more than enough times. He lazily put his hand over Rider's, skinny fingers lining up against Rider's massive ones.

"If he's always small he'll at least be easy to carry about."

"He is. I see that you have met him as well too."

Good. That was one of the mages he'd wanted Waver to interact with. It was good that he'd run into him. Those talks could prove to be very interesting in the future.

"And his personality will mean that he should be able to handle things when I get myself one of those mabari."

Shifting his hand a little bit to have their fingers thread instead, he gently held onto those slender ones with his own.

"We've had some interesting discussions, yes."

And horrifying. Waver hadn't quite gotten over how Thedas treats the magi within it, but better to learn it sooner rather than later. It had done Waver some good, and now he was simply braced for the world beyond Skyhold.

"Jeez, how many animals are you going to have?"

This entire scene, save for the tent, was starting to feel almost dreamlike. Not because Waver was falling asleep, but because he had imagined such scenes in his more stressful moments.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject