Taashath (
quietblade) wrote in
faderift2017-05-25 06:19 pm
Entry tags:
Post-Battle Blues
WHO: Taas + Open
WHAT: Taas deals with Stuff™ and Things©
WHEN: Backdated to after the dragon fight.
WHERE: Outside the Gallows, the docks, etc.
NOTES: Very mild gore vaguely described.
WHAT: Taas deals with Stuff™ and Things©
WHEN: Backdated to after the dragon fight.
WHERE: Outside the Gallows, the docks, etc.
NOTES: Very mild gore vaguely described.
He was lopsided. That was what bothered him the most, really. It made his neck ache after a while and Taas knew he should make a decision wether he should cut the other horn as well or find a cap to balance it out. He wasn't sure why he was stalling, really. The other wounds were fine and had been looked over and healed, bruises and cuts a memory and his split ear neatly trimmed so it didn't wiggle like a badly cut piece of meat when he walked.
All in all, it didn't bother him. So why was he so hesitant about it?
The warrior sighs, rubbing his sore neck a bit as he heads for the training grounds haphazardly put up outside the Gallows, mace at his shoulder and a thoughtful look on his face. He should be resting, he knows. They just got back. He shouldn't be pushing himself in case something tore open or his horn core started bleeding again. Taas usually listened. He was a good soldier.
...right now he was just too damn antsy to rest.
(Maybe, just maybe it had something to do with the dragon's tooth in his pack.)

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But the Korrin who stalks across the training grounds isn't here to socialize. It doesn't take a Ben-Hassrath to note that grim expression or the tension in her jaw, or the knuckles that are practically white. Jokes and storytelling will have to wait.
"Taas, I need to speak with you somewhere private."
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"What's wrong, kadan? You look grim."
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"Yeah...no shit. I'm sorry, I hate to throw this on you when this crap is probably the last stuff you'd ever want to think about. Me, too. But I don't know who else to talk to about this." She signs as she speaks, getting better about multitasking and even as shaken as she is, it's important that Taas understand her now more than ever. "I need to know everything you can tell me about Qunari brainwashing."
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"Korrin, what?" Now it's his turn to look around, eyes narrowing a bit as if he's looking for assassins behind every corner.
"Are you talking about the viddathari? The priestesses read to them, teach them the Qun. Some might be forced to take qamek if they don't submit. That's about as much as I know."
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"I don't know much, okay? I rarely had anything to do with the Ariqun after I left my tama as a boy." Taas sighs, shaking his head. "There were people on Seheron, though. People so deep under cover that they didn't even know they were Qunari."
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His answer provokes a flinch, for all that she'd tried to steel herself to hear it. "I...was hoping you wouldn't say that. They would even do that to children, wouldn't they. Someone young, make him think he had a whole other life and then...activate him?"
She swallows and looks down for a moment, before remembering he needs to at least lip-read. Meeting his gaze is difficult for once, but...he needs to hear this, and she needs to know what to do.
"I didn't think anything of it, at first. We moved here and we were all so busy, you know? Who has time to socialize when statues are literally coming to life around us? But things weren't adding up; friendships and 'girl stuff' fell to the wayside and he lied about it, saying one thing happened while another person brought to me a clearly different tale. I try to figure out what the hell's going on, I get brushed off. Annoying, but I try to be patient.
But then... you know Cole, right? Scrawny kid, big hat, says a lot of weird shit because he sees things others don't? Well, he saw something I didn't. 'But he's not there. Their sacrificial Bull is gone, so the lamb will have to take its place and see for them. He's not there, only their words are.'
Iron Bull isn't with us anymore, not in Kirkwall. But there's one other horned person aside from us, Taas." Maker, she can't even say his name right now. Just thinking about it has her on the verge of tears.
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One spy might not have been enough.
"Korrin," he says sternly, looking at her. "If this is even the slightest bit true, you're in serious danger if you try to meddle in this. Spies like that will do anything to keep their cover. He could kill you without a second thought."
Then the warrior's face softens a bit, and he sighs. "...and if it isn't true, you're going to hurt him really badly. He's the kid with the family that was killed by Ben-Hassrath, right?" Being accused of being one of them would break the kid, he's pretty certain of that.
"I addition to this, if it's true, the Inquisition's alliance with the qunari could be damaged. The only reason Bull's in is because he was honest with the Herald about his allegiances." Spying while not being undercover. Interesting tactics, honestly. "If the leaders of the Inquisition knows there's a spy this much undercover, things are going to get bad and they might throw Bull out as well. We need the status quo with the Qun. A Qunari invasion to 'fix' things here is not a pleasant idea."
Then, finally; "Is there anyone else that can confirm this?" He doesn't want to sound like he doesn't believe her, but the words of a spirit isn't the most trustworthy source in Taas' opinion.
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"I...don't know. If Bull was here, maybe, but I wouldn't trust him for this anyway." He's still part of the Qun, what reason would he have to help them? How could they trust anything he'd say? "Another mage, maybe. Sam was helping Kas with his headaches, those moments where he'd black out and lose time...Maker, could that have been a sign that we just didn't see?"
Probably. Just one more seemingly random thing until it fell into place with everything else. "I want to be wrong, Taas. Andraste's ass, do I ever. But I wouldn't be here if I didn't think there was something to it, you know that. And if I'm right, I can't ignore this. If he's still in there -at all- I have to help him. If he's not...."
Then 'Dust' needs to be stopped. It'd kill her to do it, but better that than him doing untold damage to their cause.
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'You know, you're supposed to be resting.'
Considering he had been one of the healers on the trip and having to patch Taas up, he knew the extent of his wounds and where he had gotten them from.
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Well, maybe he could complain about one thing. Stopping to face her, he shakes his head slightly. "I bet you have a lovely voice, but I can't hear you. You have to look at me when you speak." Taas says softly, his big fingers signing gracefully as he does.
"I read lips really well."
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'I know.' he signs with a sigh. 'I just... I'm going to start climbing on the walls if I keep this up.' Taas still had adrenaline in his blood from the fight, but most of it was nervousness. What if Cyril or Zevran didn't accept the tokens? What if the missing half of his horn bothered them?
Taas only knew two ways to deal with stress.
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"Sam has been treating him? I think Anders has a well." The warrior shifts a bit. Nobody 'made out' while standing still, after all. "Is there anyone else he's close to?"
He doesn't know how to fix this... and he doesn't have the heart to tell her that if it all is true, then Kas never existed at all.
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She echoes the sigh, holding back from biting her lip until it bleeds. "...he's family, Taas. I can't just leave him to whatever the hell this is, if there's even a damn chance. Besides, think of the damage he could do. That's not something we can just ignore."
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Natasha doesn't apologize, but she does nod her understanding. "I said, those look fresh." Her own hands move through the words as she speaks, though her sign language is far from perfect. She uses it to communicate silently over distance, not to speak face to face. For her it's shorthand, a sort of code. So instead of fresh, she signs new. Then she sweeps her hand away from her head, moving in a curve that mimics his horn, her palm jutting down sharply where it now ends abruptly. She's not foolish enough to reach for his.
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"I know. We fought a high dragon and she decided to slap me." He reaches up gingerly to touch the horn. "It takes a bit getting used to... so I wanted to do some training." Partly true, really. Still, he was a mess and he should rest.
"I'm Taashath. You can call me Taas." He shows her his name sign.
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"I know you won't leave this alone, but my advice is that you treat this like gaatlok. Push too hard and it will kill you. Leave it alone and it will kill someone else." He leans down to press his forehead gently against hers.
"I'll do some digging," the warrior continues. "Now slap me and call me a pervert, then leave."
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That last part prompts a noise that can almost be termed a laugh, for all that she's too upset for true mirth. "Thanks, Taas. You be careful, too." She'll even thrown in a kiss on the cheek before that slap, just to even things out.
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He used the training grounds to hone his skill. Usually he worked with Sam, but with the other still tired from his battle, he had come down alone, and he needed to work off energy that a certain conversation had made bubble up. He spun, finishing a combo and spied Taas coming up. Well, Taas minus part of a horn.
"You know, I think you are allowed a day of rest after having come back from fighting a dragon."
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"My-- words are limited." She has no idea what the gesture for vocabulary is. "It's not often necessary." She also leaves out or hesitates over some of the smaller and less essential words. Using this method of communication for full sentences is not reflexive for her. For instance, though she says it's out loud, she hasn't signed it once.
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For everyone's sake.
He takes the slap in stride and throws his arms up in mock frustration before moving in the other direction. He's no actor, but at least he managed to make it look somewhat realistic.
Now to see what he could find out without putting anyone in danger.
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Her hesitation of the signs makes his features soften a bit, and he hsakes his head. "It's alright. I read lips very well," he says with another small smile. "You do not have to force yourself."
Still, it was rare to meet people that signed, even if with a limited vocabulary. Sign language was more about describing things rather than outright translation, anyway. "I do teach sign language, mostly to scouts but to anyone interested as well. If you ever want to expand your knowledge."
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Both horn-wise and mind-wise.
"Your form is really good," the big qunari then says with an impressed look, nodding to the staff. "Maybe you'll get the next dragon."
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Kirk nodded, understanding that. The adrenaline still buzzed, your body on high alert because it couldn't quite let itself come down from the fight or flight state. He could remember the days after intense battles, fighting for the lives of his crew and the people who needed their help. He could remember laying awake at night and his entire body still twitching and his mind racing and it felt like he wouldn't be able to sleep for a week.
"Still needs work," he said aloud, half-signing with one hand as he rested his staff across his shoulders. "Wouldn't mind a partner for a bit, if you're interested."
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He thinks the training grounds are a good place to look for Taas. He might still have some energy built up after such a fight. That doesn't prepare him for the sight of one of his lovers with part of their body missing.
"Taas??" he asks, before he remembers that Taas can't hear him while he's behind him. He's usually really good at that, but seeing him with half a horn gone tossed reason out the window.
He comes closer and then waves to catch Taas's attention. What happened to your horn? he signs the second Taas is looking at him.
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Cyril liked to hold on to those, after all.
"Hey, kadan," he says softly, and the affection coming with that word sweeps everything else away for a moment. The warrior smiles, leaning down so that he can kiss the elf. There might be adrenaline in his blood, but damn if his heart isn't beating faster because of something else.
"I got slapped by a dragon," Taas finally answers with a somewhat awkward shrug that mixes pride and pain. "It took most of the damage, otherwise I would have broken my neck from that force."
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He smiled a bit, showing he was happy that Taas had returned. "That's going to be one heck of a story to tell too," he points out. Now that he knows that Taas is alive and okay he smirks a bit, clearly thinking that Taas being able to tell stories about fighting dragons is pretty hot.
"Does it hurt at all?"
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Sam sighs likewise as he watches Taas sign, lips thinning a bit, already showing signs of caving. 'Let me give your wounds a once over and make sure nothing is going to open up while you swing a weapon around.'
He knows he cannot stop Taas, but at least he can make sure it wasn't going to get worse. 'What's giving you an... itch?' He frowns lightly as he finishes, knowing that isn't quite right, but the closest he can get to questioning what's agitating Taas - he's still learning.
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Cyril grounds him, and it feels like peace. Calm. Taashath.
He doesn't remove his hand until the elf speaks again, and he grins in return as he sees the smirk. "Damn right it will! How many can say they lost a horn to a dragon?"
Still smiling, he reaches up again to touch the stump. It wasn't too short, snapped at the bend of the curl where the horn tips started to reach forward, and essentially cutting it in half. "It doesn't hurt, but it throbs sometimes. There's a bone core in there, and it bled like you wouldn't believe."
He had looked horrifying, but it hadn't been life-threatening.
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Rolling his massive shoulders, the qunari looks down at Kirk with a smile. "Is that what did you fight with back home?" The question is easy, just a little chat as he loosens up a bit.
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Cyril winces a bit at the thought but shrugs it off pretty quickly. "The fact that you got it from fighting a dragon is pretty sexy," he teases a bit. "You'll have to tell me all about the fight."
He flexed his fingers a bit, just enjoying how it felt to be against Taas's chest and hand. It was comforting, and a good reminder that he was really there.
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Taas is curious, really. With the words she was using and her looks, she had to be one of the Nightingale's.
"Alright, that sounds good." He nods towards the ring. "Blades or wood?"
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He steps back slightly so that he could rummage through the pack at his belt, his large fingers feeling unusually clumsy. When he finally manages to find what he was looking for, he holds up a thin but sturdy silver chain holding a small piece of what looked like a big fang - or at least the tip of one.
Dragon teeth were huge, and Taas wanted to make sure Cyril could hide it under his clothes if he wanted to. No need for it to get caught in bows and arrows.
"We talked, before... about tokens and kadan, and Korrin...and I finally had my chance to get one..."
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"It's the fight," he says out loud. "...most of it. I also got something for Cy and Zevran and it's giving me these weird feelings that I don't understand. Fighting something might ground me a bit more."
His muscles are still tired and while the cuts and other damage is healed, the horn is still fragile and could start bleeding again if he was not careful.
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"I hope that's mine," he teases a bit, not wanting to get choked up or stupid just because the moment was an emotional one.
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"Kadan," he says softly, voice full of both affection and desire. "Wherever we are and whatever we do, we'll always be together."
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His fingers reach out and touch the tooth, as if double checking that it's there. "I guess you're stuck with me then," he adds. Then, after a moment, "Thank you, Taas."
"I love you." Those words still feel odd to say, but the truth of them are clear all over his face.
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Finally letting go, he's reaching into his pack again. The warrior takes out a bigger tooth piece - although proportionally the same size as Cyril's - and puts that around his own thick neck. It's on a leather cord, twisted with black and red.
With his chest almost always bare, there was no way anyone could miss it.
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"We used special weapons that could shot out beams of light, like my shard," he explained, stepping a few paces back and assuming a ready stance. "Or we used hand-to-hand combat. The staff I took up here." He is content to wait until Taas is ready, stretching his own legs in the warrior stance.
"Is the mace your preferred?" he asked, even though Taas had set it aside.
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"The fight with the dragon still got you going?" He understood an adrenaline rush, but that had been a few days or so back. Was it a berserker thing or something? Sam's quiet for a few moments after that, taking care in looking him over to make sure the worst of the wounds were indeed healed up. The horn certainly worried him though; that was a piece of anatomy that he was not completely familiar with. He'll get to that in a moment though.
"You got something?" He doesn't remember Taas going anywhere during the mission to get anything. "What kind of weird feelings?" Maybe if he talked about them he'd be able to figure it out better.
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Glancing down at the wooden mace he now held, the qunari chuckles slightly. "I used to favor the axe before I got here, but Korrin got me a mace with a dragon claw on it, and I loved it." He grins, hefting the mace up into a defensive position.
"...plus I like the crunch."
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Pausing, he looks at his pack again before carefully reaching inside to pick out the small piece of dragon tooth attached to a slim silver chain. "It's for Cyril. We talked about... things. What connections mean under the Qun. I want him to have this."
The big qunari rubs his temples and then laughs slightly. "Vashedan, I think I'm nervous, Sam."
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At Taas's pause, Sam paused as well, watching curiously when he started fishing around in the pack. The tooth he recognizes immediately considering despite injuries Taas had made a point to harvest some. So he had put them on a chain-? The explanation that goes follows has the mage making a slight 'ah' sound of understanding under his breath.
"You'll run head long into a dragon, but giving a gift to Cyril makes you nervous." He finds that a bit amusing, but does understand the feeling. "I take it the tooth is more then a gift?"
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"Not in the way you're thinking of it, no," Kirk shook his head. He would sign, but with the weapons in hand it was difficult, so he merely made sure he enunciated clearly so Taas could properly read his lips. "But once upon a time, in my world, it would have been called magic."
The last part made him chuckle, giving a short waggle of his brows. "You're kinkier than I gave you credit for," he teased, idly swinging his weapon in slow circles to keep his arms warm and limber.
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It feels more like the silver ring that Sam made him. A connection, a way to remember that someone cared for him and that he cared for them back.
He grins and then reached up to touch Taas's tooth. "I didn't think you could look any more sexy and then you went and added an accessory and a cool broken horn."
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He chuckles again, leaning his head down a bit so that the elf can touch his horn. It's still a little tender at the base and the part that has snapped is fairly jagged. "What do you think I should do? Put a cap on this or take them both down?
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"Oh. If you cap it we could design something really shiny and pretty couldn't we?"