[open] exploration, study, and practice

[kartereo]

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

Comments

IV

[gatheringstorm]

Sometime mid-morning, Korrin can be found re-stocking the alchemy supplies in the Undercroft. It's one of her off-days, so she isn't teaching a formal class, but that doesn't mean she can't talk and work at the same time. Crafting grenades is habit by now, and doesn't demand as much concentration as she's told her students to use. (They're new to it, so they need to pay attention.)

Unpacking more ingredients, the Vashoth woman recoils and wrinkles her nose, wafting away the scent and muttering. "Andraste's ass, who the hell thought that mixing blood lotus with the deep mushroom was a great idea? There goes my appetite...."

iii

[killedwithlove]

Someone in need of help and learning to fight with knives is something that Cole can't resist, even if he was inclined to. He drifts over, staying out of sight for a while and then picking up the knife and stepping out of the shadows, offering it out handle first, long fingers handling the blade with practice ease.

"I can help. I fight with knives. But you need to be intimate, immediate. Maybe you should learn to fight with a staff. Mages use staves."

II

[conqueredhearts]

As big a man as he was, he could be terribly sneaky sometimes. Like right now. Mainly because he'd been practicing his invisibility factor to see how he could move around since he was now solid in that form. It was strange but he was getting used to it. At least enough to be quiet as he materialized behind Waver, leaning over his shoulder to have a look at what he was doing.

"What is it you do there, boy?" Mage stuff maybe? If so then he definitely was interested! Then again he tended to be in general when it came to matters of Waver Velvet, his former Master.

iii.

[extramural]

The knife is, as a matter of fact, currently floating in mid-air. The Outsider is about a foot away, one eyebrow slightly raised; once he's made sure that Waver's noticed, there's a little wave of his hand and the knife drops- only to twist in mid-air and come to the Outsider's hand. Once pale fingers have closed around the hilt, he takes several steps forward and offers the blade back to Waver.

"I imagine you did not mean to do that," he says, something faintly amused littering his voice. This close, even in the dark Waver should be able to tell that his eyes are all black. "Or, at least, not to throw in that particular direction."

ii;

[foxsays]

At a nearby table, Araceli has several maps spread out and weighted down to stop them curling up on themselves or rolling down onto the floor as she reads from various accounts of voyages that aren't the usual dull and dry affairs. Few though they may be. All very dull to the fox flopped at her feet watching Waver's bits of parchment with great interest as he inches away from his mistress, low to the floor.

Lux goes still. Pricks his ears forward. Wiggles. Then pounces at the table.

"Ladrón!" Lunging out of her chair, she makes a grab for the fox because she knows his track record when it comes to him staying with her when she works up here. All his bad habits, after all, are learned from her. "Forgive him, he has the manners of a crab three days baked in the hot sun."

i

[sulena]

The sounds that are made is not of someone approaching. In fact, these sounds are coming from something much closer and noticeably further above of his head. Which is absolutely weird, right? Even weirder is probably the sight of the small elf climbing high above in the tree branches to carefully gather mistletoe (or what seems to be mistletoe) into her arms.

Of course, if that doesn't give Saoirse away then her singing certainly might as she hums an assortment of pleasant melodies.

With plant in hand, she starts to make her way down but pauses in her acrobatic motions once she spies the unfamiliar face along the ground.

"This is the first time I've met anyone this far out from the fortress."