[OPEN] we're building it up to break it back down

[amygdalae]

WHO: Bruce Not-Banner + You, possibly
WHAT: Much chill, very relax, wow. (aka catchall for Feb 2017/Guardian 9:43 Dragon)
WHEN: Feb 2017/Guardian, 9:43 Dragon
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Prose/brackets both cool, just post and I'll follow. Let me know through PM or at knightblazer if you want private starters and whatnot.

one. what's in a name? (stables)

[Well, its not like he had been expecting anything at all by putting up that notice in the first place. In fact he hasn't so much as brought himself to look at it just yet - especially when he's not too sure what he should prepare himself to see. Either a lot of things, judging by previous incidents, or nothing at all.

But whatever the results are, its not something for him to think about at the moment. What's more important right now is to try and get the dracolisk to stop doing that thing where it decides to sit down like a mabari for some unknown reason.]

No, don't sit down. [He says for what is probably the thousandth time while he attempts to urge it to get back up. It does so, and stays standing as Bruce rounds back to face it from the front. He gives it a look before slowly raising a hand in the universal gesture of stop.]

Now, stay.

[...and the dracolisk sits down again.

Yeah, its going to be that kind of day.]

two. a moment of silence (gardens)

[Working in the gardens is never old. Everyday manages to bring something different for him, sometimes familiar comforts and at other times interesting challenges. Ones on an acceptable level, that is. He never did do well with surprises.

He's busy working on one of the plots today, working on the soil now that the harvest here is done. From tilling to irrigation, Bruce is making sure to pay careful attention to every aspect so that the next batch of herbs that grow have a better chance of making it through and coming out good at the same time.

Through the day one can see him getting down and dirty in the soil, sleeves and pants rolled up so that he doesn't dirty his clothes too horribly. As long as one doesn't mind the dirt, they're welcome to talk to him.]

three. wandering in the darkness (battlements)

[The late nights continue. Keeping busy has helped, but when its quiet and he can hear nothing else but the thoughts in his head they more often than not get too much to handle. So out of his tent Bruce goes and up to the battlements, where by now he's a pretty familiar sight by the night patrol, and some of them even greet him as they pass by.

On some nights he's simply walking around and watching the stars, but on others he might be sitting in a corner somewhere and brewing his potions. It's a weird habit, he knows, but it helps to keep him calm and focused, and that's what he needs right now.]

wildcard.

[Feel free to throw in your own prompt or PM/contact me to plot out stuff!]

Comments

tent

[mythalenaste]

[Pel always tried to keep her possessions to a minimum. That's sort of how it is to be Dalish--anything you own, you have to transport and store in a tiny aravel. Since coming to the Inquisition, she has acquired a lot of crap, mainly gifts. People insist on giving her fabric. Not that she is complaining at all, but there's still quite a bit of it to cart about and figure out how to store. Crates and boxes that slide under a cot are the best things, and she is an experienced packer. Moving all that stuff, though, takes multiple trips with a wheelbarrow.

Once everything is in, though, the only awkward thing that stands out is her spinning wheel. Everything else takes up exactly her portion of the tent without sacrificing a single book or item of baby clothing. She sits on her cot with a puff.]

Well. I'm here. Thank you.

[amygdalae]

[Bruce does his best to help where Pel lets him. Her boxes are stacked neatly in the corner, her cot is placed in a good location where hopefully it won't get too stuffy, and he's even managed to squeeze in the spinning wheel somehow. It definitely stands out a little especially when compared to the sparseness of Bruce's side of the tent, but its not like its a dealbreaker or anything.

It takes a bit but eventually they get everything settled, and Bruce looks quite assured as he gives Pel's items one final glance before looking back at her.]

I'm just glad you don't mind. [He replies, cracking a wry smile in the process, then glances over to the tea he had prepared earlier at his table.] Would you like some tea?

[mythalenaste]

I would love tea. [She looks wistfully at the tea, out of reach, and grieves because it is all the way over there but she hauls herself up and moves to the table.]

[amygdalae]

[...note to self, devise a way for Pel to get to her tea more easily later.

Bruce waits for her to settle down before going over himself, passing one of the cups over to her when they're both settled.] It might be a bit lukewarm, but I hope you like it anyway.

[He might have prepared it a little too early in advance.]

gardens

[meds4sale]

[After a few hours studying up on Thedosian herb lore, the Medicine Seller heads down to the gardens to go see the new plants up close and personal.

It would seem, however, that part of the garden is being tilled to make way for new crops.

Interesting.

He watches for a while from the bench like an idler and a layabout. It isn't that dirt bothers him, but there's no sense in getting dirty when someone else is proving to be much more adept at it.

Eventually, he meanders over to examine the seeds.]

Which kind is which, may I ask?

Re: gardens

[amygdalae]

[Bruce pauses in what he's doing to look at the person who's talked to him. He... they?... certainly don't look like they're from around here. Another Rifter? They do seem to keep on appearing and - well - disappearing.

Briefly, he wonders how Lucas is doing now. He doesn't know the nature of the Rifter's disappearing, but hopefully it means something good...

No point worrying about that now, though.]

Ah--this is Crystal Grace [He gestures to one bag of seeds, and to the other--] And this is Dragonthorn.

Re: gardens

[meds4sale]

[He mouths the names, recalling the medicinal uses he studied in the library.]

The first is for some manner of protection tonic, if I recall.

The second...

[There was a long pause as he scoured his thoughts.]

...My goodness. I seem to have forgotten.

[amygdalae]

[They've certainly studied up well. Bruce nods at the words, and smiles patiently at the latter bit.]

It's a stabilizing agent, mostly. By itself it usually can't do much. [Tiny shrug.] It always takes a while to remember these things, so don't worry about it.

[meds4sale]

Ah - that was it. Thank you. There are many new things to learn.

[There was, for a moment, a muffled rattling from the top compartment of the wooden medicine pack he always carried. And then, ever so faintly, the chime of a tiny bell.]

[The Medicine Seller seemed to not hear this. Or it was nothing out of the ordinary for him. Either way, his expression remained impassive.]

Is all of this garden your own work?

[amygdalae]

[Bruce almost nods to his initial response, but then pauses at the sudden sounds. His expression remains the same, but it definitely caught his attention. It's certainly strange, but then again 'strange' was generally what one would use to describe the Rifters.

There doesn't seem to be any forthcoming danger at least, so he doesn't pay too much attention to it for now. Instead he answers the question that was asked.]

No, I just help out when I can. [A small shake of his head while he says that.] The gardens are too big for one person alone; its always been a collaborative effort between the people who are able to contribute.

stables

[in_death_sacrifice]

[Kain is riding upon a certain hunter shade dracolisk who he'd ended up with due to some strangeness about her former owner. He knows the full story by now, of course, and he's just glad he could be here to care for the magnificent creature. As they're coming back toward the stables after a nice long ride... they come across the other right as it stubbornly sits down.]

[Kain watches for only a moment, before coming closer and dismounting, bidding his own to stay in place.]

Having some trouble with your dracolisk?

[amygdalae]

[As much as Bruce wants to respond with 'its not mine', its kind of a baseless argument at this point. As far as everyone else is concerned it pretty much belongs to him... so the best he can do is live with that. Worse things could happen. He could have been stuck with a nug.

Not that there's anything wrong with nugs.]

It's just being stubborn. [It's done its proper share of standing when out of Skyhold. Bruce doesn't know why it likes to do this so much while back inside here.]

[in_death_sacrifice]

[Kain watches the stubborn creature closely, then approaches, just a little bit closer.]

They're known for it, but if you afford them enough respect, they'll come around eventually. It takes a lot of patience sometimes. What's her... his... name?

[He hasn't yet connected him to the one asking about names, but give it a moment.]

[amygdalae]

[Bruce isn't too sure if the dracolisk thinks its been shown enough respect, but he has generally allowed it to do its own thing as long as it wasn't disruptive. And in the months since it followed him back from the Western Approach it has helped him several times. Honestly, it wasn't bad or anything, but... tiring. Sometimes.]

[Anyway.]

It doesn't have a name. [Unless you count Bruce just calling it 'the dracolisk', but that's hardly a name at all.]

[in_death_sacrifice]

[Ah, yes, that would explain it. Kain eyes the dracolisk closely, watching for signs of agitation. He raises a hand tentatively out toward it, but is especially cautious, just letting it sniff him for now.]

Were you the one looking for dracolisk names? It's a good idea, you know... you'll find that your connection will become all the better if you give him a name. Perhaps something with meaning to you? He looks to be a fine example of his kind...

gardens

[eolasemah]

Sina, as always, appreciates Bruce's presence in the garden. She works silently beside him, digging, sharing tools, battling the winter's effects on the leaves, the roots, the soil itself. If they didn't have so many charges more used to dry and warm climates, they could relax a little, but perhaps relaxing is the opposite of what they want to do. Keeping busy is the key to happiness.

Around midday she stops for a break, standing weakly to pad off to the kitchens, from whence she returns with enough food for both of them. She sits back down on the blanket she's been using and passes Bruce some bread and cheese with a smile.

[amygdalae]

Sina is more than welcome in Bruce's books. The silence between them is pleasant and almost fruitful in a way as they both work together to keep the garden in shape. He's learned a lot from her since they've started to work together here, and he's always thankful for the fact that he's had a chance to know her as well as all the other Dalish. While he's met a fair number of them in his travels, the Inqusition had really been the place for him to understand their People and culture better.

The both of them keep up a steady pace of work, and Bruce continues to work while Sina heads of to the kitchens. He looks at her back worriedly for a moment at the weakness of her gait, though he does his best to not show it by the time she returns. He takes a second to get the worst of the dirt off him before settling down beside her, accepting the offered food with a smile of his own.

"Thanks," he murmurs before breaking the bread into more edible chunks for him to eat, and does the same for the cheese as well.

[eolasemah]

With a smile and a nod in answer, Sina proceeds to work at her own portion, sitting quietly with Bruce and allowing the silence to be filled by the singing of the winter birds and the little sounds of sparring and work and chatter that echo throughout the Keep. There's no reason to mar it with idle chatter, no reason for either of them to disturb the present stillness they've found. It's nice, in its way, being alone in someone's company.

[amygdalae]

The silence is definitely nice, and Bruce quietly relishes in it as he eats his own share of food. It's always good to be able to take the time to have some peace and quiet - especially with recent events. Peace and quiet seemed to come so rarely now, these days.

Some birds flutter down towards them at the sight of food out in the open, and Bruce tears out a few small bits from his bread and tosses it out for the birds to eat. They chirp loudly for a couple of seconds before landing around the scattered crumbs and starts to feast on them happily.

[eolasemah]

It's a pity that the only birds around are the winter birds, but they're nice to watch all the same. Sina smiles as Bruce feeds them, watching them hop around and posture for space, their tiny fragile bodies containing such powerful wills.
"I'm glad they find us up here," she says after a moment, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, "seems like all the other animals had to be brought up by people." Except goats maybe. Everyone loves goats.

battlements

[bloodredcrow]

Natasha is unsettling. She knows she's unsettling. It's why she's been treating everyone in Skyhold so carefully, keeping the things about her that throw others off balance carefully covered up. That doesn't work with everyone, though. A small group of people were there, in Orlais. They know what she did, they have an idea of who she is, they understand that she's not harmless.

Especially Bruce.

Which is why she doesn't even bother trying to find a pretense, explain it all away, convince him that he's mistaken about her. It's difficult to convince someone you didn't kidnap them, hold them hostage, threaten their life and almost follow through on that threat. She just follows him silently for a while, drops out of the darkness into his path, forcing him to acknowledge her or run into her.

Given the way his face is turned skyward, she thinks the latter might be entirely possible.

[amygdalae]

Bruce has pretty much made it a point to avoid Natasha since their, ah, initial meeting back in Orlais. It's not like they have much reason to talk with one another, after all, and try as one might it is hard to really get over the whole 'got kidnapped and threatened with death' shtick. Not that Bruce held it against her, really, but it's just--well. Some things kind of tend to stick.

Which is why meeting her again was not something he had entirely prepared himself for.

He notices her presence before he could do something stupid like walk right into her; he pauses in his steps and glances back down from the sky to her in front of his path. He's a little surprised, but mostly all he feels is weary exasperation.

"Maybe you should ease off on the sneaking around," he remarks, as casually as he can.

[bloodredcrow]

"Now where's the fun in that? Maybe you should work on being more aware of your surroundings. You made it very easy, you know." Because there's really no point in pretending they don't both know what they're talking about.

It's an awkward thing, trying to figure out how to deal with approaching someone you were certain you'd never have to see again. "You're out late."

[amygdalae]

Way to poke at that nerve, Natasha. Bruce at least takes it in stride, letting out a small sigh and glances away. Honestly, now really wasn't the best time for this - though its hard to say if there was ever a best time for this kind of situation at all in the first place.

He lets out a quiet sound at the remark. "I hope this isn't a prelude to a round two," he replies, voice as dry as the sands of the Approach.

[bloodredcrow]

"Of course not." Like she wouldn't dream of taking him hostage again. Like the idea is just ridiculous and possibly offensive. Then, after a beat of silence, she smirks at him. "Nowhere reliable to keep you locked up. Yet." She folds her hands over one another behind her back, rocking forward onto the balls of her feet before dropping down again.