Open

[unshadowing]

WHO: Carver and whoever wants to bug him
WHAT: Junior's back in Kirkwall
WHEN: Today through the rest of the month
WHERE: Various locations through the city
NOTES: He's got an old mabari in tow

[Kirkwall never really became home for Carver. Not in the way it had for his oldest sibling, who made her name here. Rather, it was a brief phase of his life before fate took him elsewhere, far away from the city that he had only visited a handful of times since then.

Still, despite his outward scowl, there's a part of him that's relieved to still see the city standing and, apparently, recovering well enough. A long mission near the Anderfels kept him completely out of the loop for months. Coming back to the surface, and to reality, left him feeling adrift briefly until he finally decided to say "screw you" to Weisshaupt and do what the cool Wardens are doing and up and went to join the Inquisition in some sort of capacity. Imagine his surprise when he learned the Inquisition moved to Kirkwall.

Of course, coming back here was for more than just to join up. He hadn't spoken to either of his sisters for months, and when he heard the oldest was still missing, he knew he needed to find Bethany and see what needed to be done. (And yes, he's worried about big sis. A lot. Where does she get off on disappearing without a word anyway?) So, despite his checkered history with Kirkwall, he knew he'd be coming back to stay for awhile.

When he arrives, he's not sure where to start. Inquisition people pointed him to the Gallows, but the thought made his skin crawl. He can't imagine Beth - or any of the others - staying there anyway, not after what happened. So, he takes off into the city, in search of those he knows.

In Hightown, he sticks out like a sore thumb, in his very dirty Warden armor and equally dirty mabari. Dog's older now, gray around the muzzle and slower than he used to be, but he keeps up well enough as Carver looks around. They stop outside the old Amell estate. Locked and boarded up, as they discover. There's something close to regret in the way Carver looks up at it.

In Lowtown, he feels strangely more comfortable. Still out of place but at least not so inconspicuous. Here he's more prone to browse the stalls, taking in the sights he's more familiar with, though they seem a distant memory now. In fact, one might even be lucky enough to find him in the Hanged Man, getting a drink for old times' sake.

And he can be found nearly anywhere else save the Gallows and Darktown. He might even visit that new magic tree that's sprung up oh so mysteriously, although it'll be mostly to side-eye the hell out of it.]

Comments

Hightown

[iceblade]

Someone else is eyeing the vibrant garden area that was once the rubble of the Chantry, a tall woman in leathers and furs, and a blade made of ice. To say she's conspicuous in elegant Hightown is an understatement, and yet she doesn't seem in a hurry to leave. Any stares are ignored in favor of staring up at the sudden (she was told) growth, curious.

"Quite a sight, eh? They say it sprang up overnight, no warning at all. One morning it was just...there, all as it is now." She picks up a fallen fruit to inspect it, as fresh and ripe as the rest, growing anywhere it can in the area.

[unshadowing]

The woman's hard to miss, and admittedly, Carver's a bit curious, but it's overshadowed by the feeling of unease at the information she offers. While it sounds like ludicrous gossip, it does seem very strange for this much foliage and growth to have overtaken the place in just a few short years. Those trees couldn't be this tall by now, even if they had started growing immediately after the explosion, which he doubts. So.

"That's magic at work, then. And a lot of it." Blood magic? If so, then he's definitely leery of the place. If they used it to make these plants grow, what else did they do while they were at it?

[iceblade]

"Aye, some kind of lowlander magic. I've not seen any that can create a forest, not in the Frostbacks." She speaks of such with curiosity and interest, not wariness, and takes a bit out of the fruit, shrugging after a moment of chewing it. "Seems normal enough, though. Whatever created it, it's just a bountiful forest now."

[unshadowing]

"Lowla - right. You're Avvar." That explains a few things. It's been a long time since Carver last set foot in Ferelden, but he remembers the stories about the clans in the mountains. "You're a long way from home."

She might be willing to trust it, but he certainly is not. His nose scrunches slightly. "But for what purpose? I wouldn't scarf down that food much."

[iceblade]

"Maybe you could, but I hear it's been feeding Kirkwall's underclass. They seem happy enough not to be starving...those that will give it a try, anyway."

While finishing off that bite, she raises a hand to reveal the faint green glow in her palm. "It wasn't my plan, but I was struck by a rift. The Inquisition seems the best shot at figuring out how to use it or get rid of it, so."

[unshadowing]

"The poor and desperate make easy targets. If this truly is innocent, then fine, but that's not how a lot of people operate in Kirkwall, last I checked."

He hopes he's wrong. He really does.

"So that's a shard. I heard a bit about them. Thought that mostly happened to those people who fall out of the rifts. The ones who say they're from a different world." Which sounds like a pile of bullshit, but then, he hasn't really met any and he's not so brash anymore as to bank on that assumption just yet.

[iceblade]

"I've met those, but there are plenty of us who are native, too. We just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." Skadi's smile grows rueful. It's not something she ever asked to have, and still can't really see it as more than a nuisance.

"Aye? Are you a Kirkwall native, then? I'd hear of your experience, if you're willing to share it." Kirkwall is still new and very strange to her, so it only makes sense to seek out the viewpoint of someone with more insight.

Taking him home

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"All right - so - we're going to our new house in Hightown -- " She made a definite face - before she sighed. Better than the Gallows, even if it wasn't the Hawke family esstate. "It couldn't be helped, honestly. Viscount Bran and I have been at logger-heads since I got back, and it was only threatening his milk-soap supply that let him let us at least get a house in Hightown."

Bethany babbled to Carver, all the way up to Hightown proper, not letting go of his arm for a moment. Which was just as well, because they were being gaped at by most of the population of Kirkwall anyways. Thanks to Varric, they were infamous.

She breathed in the 'rarified air' "Anyways, Fenris has gotten his mansion back, and Anders is staying with his husband Nathaniel. Merrill went off on a mission, as did Isabella and Varric, so who knows when they'll pop up again? But they usually do. Aveline's neck deep with the guard right now so we won't see much of her ..."

She stops in front of the Hawke mansion, as she always does herself, staring at the boarded off doors as if Marian is going to pop out any moment. She sucks in a deep breath and smiles at her twin. "I'm so glad you're here - and Dog too."

She paused, then blinked. "Oh, we should probably wait here for Dog - ah!"

Well apparently she didn't have to wait for long, as Dog emerged from the doorway and nearly bowled her over with licks. He was an old fellow, but he still knew his people. "Oh, you adorable fuzzball you! I missed you too! I'm glad you took care of Carver."

Dog barked in the affirmative, then gave Carver a dignified old man sniff. Clearly, it had not been easy.

[unshadowing]

Thank the Maker Dog shows up when he did, because Carver wasn't sure if he could handle any more information that just got thrown at his face by his rambling sister. He takes the brief pause that Dog's affectionate greeting for Bethany allows to absorb everything he's heard. While he's not pleased that their sister's home is shut from them, he's not surprised. He'll let Beth keep duking it out with Bran if she wants, but if squatters start taking up residence, then Carver plans on getting involved. Forcefully.

But back to the approximately 800000 things she just loaded him with.

"So Fenris is back to squatting in that dilapidated place? Figures." Elf got his freedom years ago, but of course he just roosts in the place he's familiar with, even if it's falling apart. "And - wait, Anders got married? To - don't tell me you mean Nathaniel Howe."

He sounds like a gossip, to his chagrin, but he knows he needs to get caught up on what he's missed.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

She breathed out a laugh as she finally managed to get away from Dog's licking, to pet his sides. "All right you ... you are going to get fed as many steaks as you can eat."

She stood up, looking up at Carver, "Actually ... he's gotten the place cleaned up quite nicely. And yes, the one and the same."

[unshadowing]

Happy bark!!! His retirement days have arrived!

Carver, meanwhile, is no where near as happy as Dog. In fact, he almost looks queasy. "Ugh. I thought Nathaniel had better taste than that." Wow Carver, way to be happy for them. What is it with people and them liking Anders? Perhaps the mage has laid off on the MAGE PLIGHT!!! diatribe in recent years. That's the only explanation he can think of. "So I take it Anders decided to rejoin the Wardens? Sewer life no longer suits him?"

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Yes they have, whole heartedly.

She gives Carver a reproving look, as she straightens up, her tone wry as she speaks. "You know, a lot of people could say that about you being interested in a blood mage - " Hint hint Merrill " but there you have it."

She sighed, giving him another look. "Yes, and beyond that ... he got rid of Justice as well."

[unshadowing]

Carver sniffs. "Not sure what you're getting at, sister." Look he's still in semi-denial about Merrill, okay. And even so, she's not here so it totally doesn't count. Nope. Nada.

Whatever more he had to say about Anders goes out the window at the news about Justice. There's a strong mix of relief and anger, and he's not sure which to let out first. "Wait, he got rid of him? I thought that wasn't possible. Has he been able to this entire time and just wouldn't?" He's gonna punch Anders if that's the case. That mage said they were inseparable and a part of each other over and over. Maker help him if he actually lied about that.

hanged man

[unbrokenoath]

Kaisa doesn't know Carver's face, but she's heard the rumors--possibly rumors supplied by Bethany--and it's not like there are a lot of random Wardens wandering around Kirkwall. It's still entirely possible that Kaisa is jumping to conclusions, of course, but that hasn't ever stopped her before, and she has no intention of letting it stop her now.

She fetches two mugs of beer, and sashays on over to Carver's table, plopping them down right along with herself, one of them being slid to Carver as she begins talking. "Andraste's frilly bloomers, you're Carver Hawke, right?" She doesn't actually stop to confirm this, continuing right on chattering, a cheery grin on her face. "I was beginning to think that Bethany had warned you to keep your distance, lest anyone try t' make good on the deals she's made with ya. But here you are!" Here, she gestures to Carver. Yes, that's him. Good job, Kaisa.

"So, how d'ya feel about autumn weddings? I can wait for winter if you wanna get better acquainted, of course, or I can just tell you my life story right here'n now."

It should be noted she also has a dog--not a full-blooded mabari, but there's still some in there--that seems entirely used to his mistress' excited chatter. He gives Carver's general direction a sniff or two, then flops bonelessly on the floor with a yawn, drifting into a light doze.

[unshadowing]

At first, he's not really surprised when someone joins his table without invitation and recognizes him. It happens a lot, especially now that he's back in Kirkwall, at the heart of where his "fame" originates. He sighs, and prepares to rebuke the person.

Then they go off in a direction that he totally did not anticipate. Like, at all.

He catches the bit about Bethany and "deals", but honestly his brain kind of shuts down when she says "wedding". And he really, really hopes she's kidding and this is some kind of joke, but... What even. Kaisa gets a blank stare for her efforts as his brain tries to reboot. It takes a moment.

"Usually people at least try to ply me with more than a beer before trying to marry me." He says, as if this has actually happened before. "What's this about Bethany making deals? And who even are you?"

[unbrokenoath]

There's some temptation to try to keep a straight face, but Kaisa's never been much good at that, and at the look of utter bafflement on Carver's face, she breaks into a fit of giggles. It takes a few seconds for her to calm down long enough to stop, though a grin still dances across her lips.

"Well, you know Fenris, of course. I thought he was pretty cute, so I asked Bethany to introduce us. But Bethany was like 'Oh nooo Kaisa you can't hit on Fenris' and I was like 'Oh come on, I'm perfectly nice and sweet and also really pretty' and she's like 'Nooo, but you can have Carver instead.'" Once she gets to the part where Carver comes in, she glances over to the man in question, to make sure he's following along with all of this.

"So, that's how that all worked out. I was kinda afraid that Bethany was so willing to foist you off on me because you were actually butt-ugly or something, but." She gives him another charming smile. "I can see that's not an issue." Then, she remembers something else she forgot to explain, and holds out her hand. "I'm Senior Warden Kaisa Daesun, by the way. Weddings and silly stuff aside, it's nice t' see more Wardens around here."

[unshadowing]

Oh boy is Bethany going to get an earful when he sees her next. Carver's not truly angry, oh no, but well, she's his sister and he sure as hell is not going to let her off the hook for bloody arranging marriages for him - jokingly or not.

"How the blazes did she think I was a better idea? Like Fenris can't hold his own." Why did the elf need protecting from flirtatious females anyway? Maybe it would help lighten him up, too.

He relaxes a little when Kaisa introduces herself. Somehow, it's not quite so bad coming from another Warden. He shakes her hand. "I heard there were a fair number of us around. Even good-looking ones, as it were." Is that confirming what she said about him, or he complimenting her? That's for Kaisa to decide.

[unbrokenoath]

Kaisa spreads her hands out and shrugs, though she looks too amused to totally pull off the innocent and unknowing bystander look. "You'll have to ask her for her motivation. Maybe she thought Fenris and I wouldn't get along. Maybe she thought you just needed a hug or two." Or maybe more than a hug.

"You're right about the Wardens, though. There's a decent number of us, and we're all good looking." A grin and an eyebrow waggle are inserted here. Kaisa's decided on both compliment and confirmation. "It's truly incredible. You're just lucky that you came here, instead of when they had us stashed in some half-assed camp half an hour away from Skyhold. There were some perks--I guess the Dalish liked the idea of being away from everyone, so there were a ton of cute elf girls hanging out. But man, it was damned cold."

[unshadowing]

He squints his eyes a bit at her. He's not buying that act for a minute, even if she could pull it off without looking like she's about to bust out laughing. "Well, he's bitterness wrapped up into an elf, so that's a good an explanation as any." Though he's not entirely unconvinced Bethany didn't do it just to needle him.

"I wouldn't say all. I know of one or two I think I'd rather gag myself than call attractive." Sorry Anders. "But wait, they shoved a bunch of us into a camp, away from the main fort?" Well that's just several levels of shitty. "Don't suppose it has something to do with what happened with Weisshaupt, or with Clarel?" He says that as if he doesn't already strongly suspect the answer.

At home/Mid-morning

[lifeofendurance]

[So far, so good with having an addition to the household. Though to be fair, this is the first in his adult life that Aleron's had a place to genuinely call home, much less develop a household.

He's a man of routine. Early to rise, he attends to morning prayers in the small closet that's been turned into a mini-chapel/shrine to Andraste. Breakfast with the family. Time spent addressing interminable piles of correspondence. Off to the Gallows to research. Home for lunch and a walk with his wife. Back to the Gallows for working and time spent in the training yard. Home again for dinner, then an evening hauled up in their library reading. Only ever one drink. An hour spent praying before bed. The takeaway? Bethany has married a boring stick-in-the-mud.

Although on this particular morning, he has delayed leaving for the Gallows to see to the business of unpacking a box of books onto the newest bookshelf. The binding of each is examined and they are carefully shelved in alphabetized categories. All neat and tidy to no one's surprise. Although every so often, he allows himself the indulgence of flipping one opening and scanning the contents before it's consigned to the shelf.]

[unshadowing]

[Carver's still not sure if he likes just how damn orderly and tidy Aleron is. He appreciates an organized man, but he's just so... meticulous. It makes his eyes want to cross. And a childish part of him wants to just switch two of those books around when he's not looking, just to see what happens.

But he won't. He's not THAT much of a tit anymore.

Mild neurotic tendencies aside, he seems a decent enough man. Nevertheless, he and Carver need to have a chat.]

A pair of bookworms. I'm not the least bit surprised.

[lifeofendurance]

[Aleron turns to the sound of Carver's voice and nods once by way of greeting. Does he ever smile? Sometimes, a hint of one will appear when he's caught out watching Bethany and her sweet dimples. But really, the man is a bulwark of stoicism that never seems to break in earnest.]

A shared commonality, yes.

[Is this situation awkward? Perhaps. This is not the first time he's been weighed by a brother to assess suitability for a beloved sister. Mirielle had four of her own. But he's also comfortable in the knowledge that Bethany is his wife, and not merely his intended, and they did everything right and proper prior to their nuptials.]

You're welcome to make use of the library as you like.

[unshadowing]

Not a commonality we share, though. You two will make better use of it than I would.

[Carver is no bibliophile. But that's not what he's here about, anyway.]

Right. I'm not going to beat around the bush. You and I need to talk.

[lifeofendurance]

[The book is neatly shelved, in the proper place with almost no effort at all. Then Carver holds all of Aleron's attention.]

Of course. What would you like to know?

[unshadowing]

[A lot of questions spring to mind. Carver... didn't plan this too carefully. He thought he had a plan in mind, but it seems to crumble a bit in face of Aleron. Ugh, no. He refuses to look like a fool in front of this man. He draws himself up tall.]

How did you two meet?

[...it's a place to start, right?]