faderift | [open] exploration, study, and practice

Entry tags:

[open] exploration, study, and practice

WHO: Waver + Open
WHAT: Mucking about
WHEN: Month of Drakonis, contemporary timeline
WHERE: In and around Skyhold
NOTES: None

i. Woods around Skyhold
Months ago, Iskandar had talked to Waver about wanting to build a small place for himself in the area. While Waver had had concerns, like the shards, he also wasn't going to argue with having a little bit more private space. And so with melting snows and the promise of spring that came with longer days, he set out into the forests.

He was methodical as he went, relying on horseback to get to whatever area he wanted to focus on on a given day, and then spending hours on foot making notes on natural clearings, where snow naturally drifted, and where it seemed as if there were heavier animal tracks for the sake of hunting.

Waver didn't enjoy the wind and the cold, but he enjoyed the quiet around him, the challenge before him, and the fact that he was actually working outdoors without wheezing and panting like he might have been a few months ago. For better or for worse, Thedas forced him towards the physical, whereas his life in London had only been academic. Or else it was Iskandar making him do the same.

His work and his thoughts are coupled with keen ears that listen for anyone who might be approaching. Animals, he expects, and hopefully none of them predators.

ii. Library
With Merrill having approved of his general approach of creating course schedules for the Skyhold classrooms, Waver was now tweaking what he had come up with. He wanted to build in a break week at the end of every cycle, both for courses to catch up or for people to take missions, and besides, some complimentary course timings were an issue.

So he sat at a long table in the library, parchment cut into squares in one pile and a drawn up calendar in front of him. As he worked, each class was placed on the calendar, and the squares arranged then rearranged as he tried to find something that would be as close to ideal as possible.

There were mutterings of fuck every so often that snaked down the shelves, coupled with that won't work or else ugh.

But it kept him busy, and he loved the puzzle of it all. And as he worked, there was a pleased smile on his face, one that wouldn't go away even if interrupted.

iii. Training
In asking Iskandar what might be the best weapon for him to learn given that magic might not always be available to him, Waver had been told that knives would be an excellent option. And while most of that learning was done away from prying eyes, there was always the need to practice.

Today, Waver did that in a corner of one of the grounds within the fortress, taking advantage ofa dummy left aside by someone else who forgot to put the thing into proper equipment storage. The daylight was fading, and the area looked as if it would see no traffic.

His movements were faster than they were when he and Iskandar had started out. But with the two little practice knives Waver had, he did nothing but miss mark after mark. The issue he knew was that he was now working with a skinny little dummy, rather than a man who was as big as a house.

He gave it several more attempts before muttering, "Goddamnit."

That one knife also went flying from his hand escaped Waver's notice for a moment. When he realized his left hand had nothing in it, he then immediately let out another swear before starting a search. "Where did that thing go--"

iv. Wildcard
For anything not covered above

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"That sounds like so many Circle mages I've met, the ones who never saw the outside until the war happened. All those brains won't do them any good if they get themselves killed before they can use them." Korrin shakes her head, thinking it a waste. She had common sense drilled into her practically from day one. On the road, everything could be a practical lesson with real, visible, consequences. If she had been separated from that, Korrin imagines she'd be much like the Circle mages who when suddenly freed, needed so much help at first just to navigate life outside.

She grins fondly at mention of Iskandar, measuring and placing the ingredients as she talks. "He's a one-man morale boost, isn't he? I don't think I've seen anyone remain lonely or upset with him around. The good mood is practically contagious. Still trying to name things after himself, I assume?

And what are you missing? I can't promise anything, but we might be able to get some things from Orzammar. They're a pretty inventive bunch, and as long as we're not surface dwarves chances are they'll even speak to us."

"For some of them I'd agree with that. One of them though," Waver shook his head, remembering everything Flat had gotten into over the years. The boy was a powerhouse, he had managed to destroy an entire floating casino by accident, but the concept of self preservation never entered his mind. "I still can't find the words to articulate what's going on with him most days. I refuse to let him graduate for his own safety though."

A regret most days, truth be told. But it was better to keep an eye on Flat than let him roam wild.

"He is, because that's his M.O. Not that I ever appreciated his morale boost when we first met." Nineteen year old Waver was, in short, a dick.

"I'm trying to think of a way to explain video games, but I'm failing at it. The card games have proven interesting enough though, despite the fact I'm shit at them."

Mention of video games has her raising an eyebrow, not sure what that means, but card games have her attention of course. "Eh, you'll get the hang of it. Just don't bet anything you're not prepared to lose, until you do. If you want lessons of that sort I'd be happy to help. We always need people for game night, since missions often send people out for a while."

The binding agent is added as she speaks, practiced at talking and working at the same time. Now it's just the fuses that are needed. "You sound like a good teacher yourself, looking out for your students...however frustrating they can be. You do all you can to give them what they need to make it on their own...and hopefully they get it. If they don't, at least you did what you could."

"Believe me, I've been mostly sticking to games when there's no coin involved, or the bets are almost laughably low." Waver didn't really have a set time that he was around for games anyway. "What I'm used to can be either an independent or group pursuit, but I've mostly done the former."

Waver watches as the binding agent is added, then places the gathered fuses down on the table. "Some of them really make it hard. If it isn't the student I just mentioned, it's family rivalries coming into the classroom, or some other pile of nonsense." But they all did well, he supposed. Every student in Waver's classroom had gone on to high ranks and high regard, which all reflected back on him.

Not that he was always happy about it, but no matter.

"Family rivalries? Is this like that stupid Game they have in Orlais? Ugh, you have my sympathy. I'd rather claw off my own skin than deal with more politics; the Mage Council is more than enough." Though she's barely paid attention to it, these days. Given that things have been running smoothly, Korrin's really only there when a vote is needed.

As she finishes up with the fuses, the Vashoth woman glances over at him. "A lot of times, we just play to see who will buy the next round or something, nothing that'll break anyone. The idiots who bet their clothes? ...well, they get them back. Eventually."

"Oh, that thing? Yeah, I'd say that's pretty close," Waver confirmed. He had only read a little about what the Game was, but it was far, far too familiar. Reines would love playing it, if he was honest. Waver, however, tended to want to claw his face off when it came to politics. "Although I now feel compelled to ask how bad the Mage Council gets."

At least there was good work being done. "I've watched the clothing losses. And it is never who you want to see get undressed that bets them either."

Korrin snorts at that, nodding. "Isn't that the truth. One time, there was this extremely fat dwarf and...nevermind, no one needs that image.

As for the council, let me put it this way; we used to have wine meetings directly after just to blow off some steam. Nowadays, it's a little less contentious and my favorite wine-and-grouse people are working elsewhere. So, it's more stable but not nearly as much fun afterward."

"No, no one does not," Waver groaned, covering his eyes with one hand and shaking his head as if that alone would remove the mental image from his head.

"Hm. Sounds like a good bunch of company when all are assembled."

That groan just makes Korrin grin in response, then she straightens. "Yeah, they can be. I just like to keep an eye on them to make sure that doesn't change. But anyway, I think these are done. Give me a moment to get some satchels so we can keep them separate. The last thing we need is to mix them up."

This is why normally Korrin advocates not bringing more than one type of grenade on the field at a time...but this is for experimentation, so they need more leeway.

"Hm. In the future, we should make a custom experiment crate with individual compartments." Waver's mind was thinking of a wooden egg carton, but there was no time to explain. Instead, he began to look for packing materials that could be use to pad the satchels out.

He went right back to the recently unpacked containers, and began to scoop the hay out of them. "Throw 'em over here when you have one. I'll line what I can."

"Excellent idea. I'd be all for future experiments, just for the hell of it." Curiosity, boredom, a need to release pent-up issues by releasing a grenade at the same time...it's all good with her, as long as precautions are taken. At least she doesn't have to worry that all being on her shoulders with Waver, as he's sensible enough.

Having brought one of her own, she takes a moment to search and see what else can be made useful. A satchel filled with empty healing potions rests in one corner, and she carefully takes them out. They'll be back soon enough, so she's not worried about borrowing it for a little while. "Alright, got 'em! Here you go."

Waver immediately began to shovel the hay into the satchel, padding it out so it would be open to it's fullest dimensions. He tried his best to make little compartment areas as well, although they were less thick walls and more thin hills that would probably rattle about regardless.

"Progress only happens with experimentation," he agreed, trying to smooth a few areas down for the sake of putting the grenades in. "Place them in and then I'll add in more padding."

Nodding, Korrin places them in the padded satchel will care. She does her best to fit them within those compartment areas, hoping to make them rattle as little as possible. After placing the last one, she steps back to let him continue.

"Go ahead, it'll be study enough for that now. I'll see about getting something for this set up ahead of time, so we can get straight to the best part."

Waver stood up slowly once he was satisfied with the compartments, and he had added additional padding. The only risk here was that he might smell for a month if any of these went off in transit. It was a fair enough risk.

"Sounds like a good plan for the future. I guess I should take up woodworking to try and be able to manufacture customized cases when we need them."

"Hm...I won't volunteer anyone by proxy, but I know someone who might be able to help with that. Her name's Nahariel and she's one of the Dalish elves. I've seen her woodwork before. Maybe she would accept some grenades as payment, once we've worked out the kinks." Or if there was something else she wanted, Korrin would see to it. Anything for her good friend, and Sina's clanmate.

"I'll look into it, or else have some trial and error adventures with wood working tools."

Waver liked the idea of the second more. It seemed a practical skill to have, and he needed to gain more of those.

"But for now, explosions."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[open] exploration, study, and practice

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