Cause I'm with you to the end of the line.

[issala]

WHO: Issala + OPEN
WHAT: Kas no longer exists. Issala has to keep up appearances.
WHEN: Kirkwall move and forward
WHERE: The Gallows + Kirkwall
NOTES: Warning for brainwashing and weirdness.

The letter was still in his hand when the snap in his brain sent a shiver of pain down his spine, almost as if draining something away. Blinking a few times, Issala rolled his shoulders a little bit to reorient himself within his own body.

So it was time. No more brief glimpses of control while the boy almost got himself killed, but now he was in charge of his own mind again. While it felt a bit strange to not be Kas any more, with all the things that had been going on - he had a duty to the Qun. He had trained for this ever since he was placed in the Ariqun at age 12.

Unfolding the letter again, Issala read the words once more to make sure he had not missed anything and to let it all sink in completely.

"Hey kiddo! It's been a while since we talked. We really hear a lot about your Inquisition back in Rivain. Mostly good stuff.

You better stay safe out there, you hear? Everyone's still in one piece here - well, mostly. Notas lost a few fingers in a brawl. At least he can't flip anyone off, right?

Anyway, No-Name wants your opinion on the names they've been interested in. They can't quite choose, so they wanted someone that's been outside the kith to help out. I think they still look up to you.

The names they were interested in are: Issala, Saam, Maraas, Katari.

We know you'll do your duty.

/Athlok + the rest"

It was a pretty sly way to implant his control words in what seemed like any other nice letter from the kith that didn't exist. With the Iron Bull in Skyhold, they needed extra eyes in Kirkwall, so here he was.

Ready.

Putting the letter in his back pocket, Issala left the room that severed as the barracks to fulfill the demands of the Qun.

A

Not much really changed. He continued his day-to-day duties while scouting and delivering messages, keeping up appearances as Kas. It meant, however, that he was withdrawing a bit more from 'his' friends, claiming being busy as the excuse.

There was no point in risking his cover unnecessarily.

Honestly it wasn't that easy to pretend to be Kas all the time, because things that would have excited the idiot boy didn't affect Issala as much. The struggle to be useful and the quest to date a girl was all muted or ignored.

Instead he set his mind into working hard. Bas teens were moody things, weren't they? He had good excuses.

...friends do not let friends act depressed, however.

B

'Kas' spent a lot of time down by the docks, talking to people. Many of the Viddathari there were excellent in providing information about the situations in the city and taking notes to send back to Par Vollen with his own gathered intel.

Issala brought some back with him as his work of 'scouting', although there was some misinformation in there as well. Little things to steer away from the Ben-Hassrath in the city, little things to direct the Inquisition to issues that needed to be tended to.

He doesn't really want company. Maybe you should come along anyway.

C

Training was still a thing that needed to be done, even if Issala had much more experience than Kas ever did. He still had Kas' muscle memory, however, so he had to learn how to combine the two in order to take full advantage of what the boy had learned from Zevran. That way he would be outright deadly in his knifework and archery.

First came his slight of hand, and the training locks he had gotten from the elf were all opened in his pack without the traps sprung, ready to be handed in.

The few training dummies that had been put up in the docks were good targets for his arrows, and Issala took his time to make pincushions out of them as he polished his form.

Join him?

D

Wildcard!

Comments

[issala]

"I know what I did wrong. I tried to kiss her goodnight." It had ended rather well for Kas, but Issala needed to nip that in the bud. He would not be able to keep his cover with yet another person too close to him.

"She didn't like that and said she just wanted to be friends."

[justice_is_blond]

"Moving too fast can be an issue," he agrees quietly. "But it's good you're aware of it. It means better things for the next time."

There's something a little odd here. Anders can't say he's ever been at a loss for how to continue a conversation with the teen, and he wonders if there's something Kas isn't telling him because it really hadn't gone well at all. Or maybe Kirkwall and its history with the qunari is weighing in on the boy.

"...Do you have time for a meal? This city can get weighty." Best to imply it's Anders feeling the weight, especially when it's not untrue.

[issala]

"I know, I blew it." Issala says with a sigh. These were stupid dramatics that he didn't have time for, especially not explaining himself to the boy's little hero crush.

"...and no, I don't. I have to work." It's a bit abrupt, but he weaves a little hurt in there, as if that explains it. The man was another mage, after all, and connected with spirits. He didn't feel like messing with that needlessly.

[justice_is_blond]

"I... Oh." That's not an answer he'd expected. Kas has been sweet, even admiring, and Anders is at a loss for a second time.

"Do you, is there a usual day you're likely to have off? We could eat together then." He doesn't have so many friends that he's fine letting surprise and a little hurt keep him from trying. "I can make my schedule work. It's not entirely predictable, when I'll be needed to heal, but it's flexible enough."

[issala]

Too abrupt. Damage control.

Issala tires a sheepish face and a slight rub on the back of his own neck. "Sorry, I... I'll see if I can find some time over for a meal. It's just been really weird here and I've..." He sighs and shakes his head.

"As soon as I have a moment, I'll let you know?"

[justice_is_blond]

He knows he's oversensitive sometimes, and Anders' sheepish expression mirrors Kas'.

"Of course. Of course. I'll let you go now. I hope things ease up quickly for you." Anders jerks his head to the side and takes a step back. "Until then. Or until I run into you again. Kirkwall is larger than Skyhold by far, but a base is a base." And then, unless stopped, Anders is heading off.