[OPEN] and anyway, I told the truth

[mactears]

WHO: Loghain Mac Tir, Alistair Theirin + OPEN
WHAT: Loghain settles into life in Kirkwall.
WHEN: Throughout early September, and right after Loghain and Alistair's sending crystal conversation.
WHERE: The stables; the Gallows library at night, the dining hall.
NOTES: The thread between Loghain and Alistair is open to everyone! Feel free to witness and contribute to what goes down. Aside from the first prompt, you can assume that the others happen on multiple different occasions throughout the month.

I. THE STABLES (ALISTAIR)


He reaches the stables towards the end of the day, with the last of the sun's warmth beginning to wane and some slight cloud cover rolling in from the west. It's cold, but his reception from Alistair is guaranteed to be downright frosty.

Loghain steps into the stables, and checks the impulse to detour past Sooty's stall. Best not to put this off. "Alistair?"



II. THE LIBRARY


Through trial and error, Loghain has determined that the best time to make use of the Inquisitions' research facilities is in the dead of night, for what normal person would choose to sit at a desk and squint at centuries' old books by candlelight? Doing this means it's a bit slower going for him to track down what he needs, but it at least also means that there are no scowling faces nearby to draw his focus away from his work.

There are, regretfully, few resources at his disposal here for research into red lyrium or Corypheus's history, but what few books and papers he has been able to dig up are currently spread out before him on a library table. Rather than sitting at a chair to work, Loghain instead paces slowly behind it, alternating between sipping from a cooling mug of black tea, leaning over to make pencil notations on a map, and flipping through pages of notes, searching for connections.

It's possible he's been at this for a few hours.



III. THE DINING HALL


In general, he prefers to take his meals in private, but suspects that over the long run, this will only make his situation in Kirkwall more difficult, and make the untenable aspects of it persist for even longer. So while he continues his routine of having breakfast alone, he makes it a point to join the rest of the Inquisition's personnel in one of the dining halls each day for both lunch and dinner. So far, most people have left him alone.

He's seated at one of those long tables now, idly stirring a spoon in a bowl of stew until it cools. The other hand holds open the pages of a book, which he reads from in silence.



IV. THE STABLES--ON A DIFFERENT DAY


The stables undoubtedly have grooms and stablehands to see to this sort of work, but Loghain has spent the last several months trekking across Thedas with only his horse for company. It still seems odd to leave her care in the hands of strangers.

Dressed in clothes he doesn't mind getting a bit dirty, he is at work in Sooty's stall brushing her coat down after an invigorating run through the surrounding, stark hills. He talks to her quietly under his breath as he does so, smiling, and feeds her bits of vegetable out of a pouch on his belt every so often.

Comments

III

[unbrokenoath]

There's a loud thump as Kaisa flops into the chair across from him--at least there's plenty of space available--and a softer thump as she sets her drink down on the table. For a few moments, silence follows--no cheerful introduction, or even erupting into immediate chatter, both of which are far more usual for her.

Instead, she just stares contemplatively at Loghain, sharp yellow eyes scanning him for...something. It's unclear what she's looking for, or if she's found it, once she breaks off to take a sip from her mug.

"So, you're Loghain." It's not condemnation, just observational. Then, after another pause: "I thought you were supposed to be, like. Old as dirt."

I

[byblow]

Alistair hears him, but there are a good ten seconds of silence. Relative silence, anyway: there are animal sounds, hooves occasionally knocked against wood, snorts and heavy breathing, and beyond that the sounds of the dock workers, distant wind and water. That's why Alistair is out here in the first place. It's soothing. They're all the sounds he used to hear falling asleep in Redcliffe Castle's stables. His mood is about five percent better than it would be if he were somewhere else, which is why it's only ten seconds of silence instead of twenty.

"Here," he says finally, grudgingly, while he releases the hoof he'd been trimming. He pats the horse on the shoulder—she's not his, he doesn't know whose she is, but her hooves needed work so here he is—and leans out over the stall door to look for Loghain. His face might as well have been carved out of stone. Angry stone.

e v e r y w h e r e

[doneisdone]

Loghain has a shadow, though he may not realize it. He probably assumes so on some level just being who he is, but Teren is pro at being shady, and it's been a while since she got to stretch these muscles.
It's easy enough to be near enough to hear and see him when they're both doing Warden things, and though she always keeps one ear open, Teren's real priority is anytime Loghain is interacting with the others, Alistair in particular.

One can hear a lot while sewing. Or brushing Boots. Or just, you know, existing in someone's general vicinity. Subtly.

IV

[justice_is_blond]

He's here because the cats come here. It's warm with straw and plenty of mice, and there are a few chubby cats that he likes to visit. The muttering he hears from one of the stalls doesn't seem threatening, so Anders pets the five cats that swarm him for bits of fish and finds the stress of the day fading away bit by bit.

Until one of the cats dashes into a stall.

"Serah Purrah!" It's a startled exclamation as he darts after it; there are a few people who hate the fact that cats gather here and he doesn't want the large pile of orange fluff to get hurt."

II

[circleprodigy]

Sleep is often an elusive thing for a Grey Warden, and Inessa can never seem to stay away from the library for long. So it seems inevitable that one night she enters when Loghain is also present. It's certainly not intentional, of course. Garahel, yawning at her side, perks up when the pacing reaches his ears. Realizing they aren't alone, Inessa allows him to go ahead, summoning a wisp for some light.

"Hermione, is that--" And the she some to an abrupt halt, stiffening as she spots him. The mabari recognizes Loghain as well, of course, but that doesn't stop him from padding over and wagging his tail at the man. Hi, friend!

II

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany Hawke Darton wasn't usually one for rudeness - in fact she went out of her way to be as kind as she could to every single living thing. She was kind, she was thoughtful, and above all she could learn to forgive and forget with the best of them.

In the case of Warden Loghain Mac Tir, she was ... running into a bit of a personal crisis. This was the man who had allowed Fereldan to become overrun by the Blight, who killed good King Callian, whose rule had destroyed their family farm. If Marian hadn't gone to get Carver -- it could have meant the death of her twin at Ostagar, not to mention Aveline as well.

Still -- still. As she and Anders had spoken about in their own silent way -- she had given Anders a chance after what he had done to Kirkwall.

So when she saw him in the Library, she stopped. Dead. Golden-brown eyes uncertain, and wary, before she pressed her lips together and put down her stack of books, turning abruptly on one heel and leaving the library proper.

She returned about ten minutes later with a small sack, put it down on the table she was using, then disappeared again. Another ten minutes gone by, and she returned with a laden tea tray, which she carried over to the table that Loghain was pacing behind, and put it down. Two cups, one pot of tea, and fresh baked muffins waited as Bethany turned around one more time to fetch her books and the burlap sack, which she put in front of Loghain.

Then she sucked in a deep breath, and held out her hand. "Warden Mac Tir, I am Warden Bethany Hawke-Darton. I've ... come to make peace."