the long way to skyhold [OPEN]

[rivernamed]

WHO: Hudson, Sideswipe, and OPEN!
WHAT: A Tal-Vashoth with a mabari arrives with a skinny human mercenary. It sounds like the start of a joke, but there's no real punchline.
WHEN: 21st of Haring
WHERE: Skyhold.
NOTES: Feel free to tag either specifically to Sideswipe, Hudson, or both. Both. Both is good.

TAVERN WITH SIDESWIPE, OPEN.

Leaving Manahata had been an enormous decision for him, something he is not always convinced was right, but he is determined to ensure that this Red Templar and Tevinter business is done away with. They have enough to worry about without further complications of holes in the sky and whatnot. The rebellion was bad enough, now there's this, and Hudson knew he'd do what it took to make sure everyone else was safe.

On the way to Skyhold, he'd found this boy, a potential recruit. Mostly skin and bones, long and lanky and young, but determined to make something of himself. He certainly wasn't going to do it by freezing to death on the way to Skyhold, so Hudson has been ensuring that the boy is hauled up the mountain to the Inquisition's fortress.

"C'mon, lad." Practically carrying the redhead, Hudson immediately makes his way to the tavern, knowing that sitting by a fire with something hot in his stomach will help him. "Sideswipe you said was what you were goin' by?"

Kind of a silly nickname, but then again, his companions named him after a river, so there's that.

Hudson puts Sideswipe in a chair, closest to the fire. "Bronx, stay," he orders the mabari, who obeys while wagging his stub of a tail. The giant warrior makes his way to the bar, working on ordering something warm for the boy.


STABLES, OPEN.

It's been a few hours since settling in and making sure that Sideswipe wasn't going to freeze. Ridiculous young warrior hardly wore anything to keep himself warm from the cold. Bit of a show off, but he's young; he'll learn, and he knows it.

For now, Hudson is by the stables. He's already established himself as a recruit for the Inquisition. Simple enough process, really, but for now it leaves him to his own devices.

He's sitting inside the stables, not minding the nearby mounts. The Tal-Vashoth is working on a letter, and at his feet is Bronx, dozing away comfortably.

"Already makin' yourself at home, boy?" he says with a snort, nudging the hound with a foot. The mabari just grunts, hardly offended. "Don't get too cozy. He said you needed exercise."

Comments

yes good

[redshitlord]

"Wha--"

The new voice gets his attention away from the mabari pretty quick. He looks up, expecting to see some other soldier, and is fully prepared to be defensive about his appearance. Because how was he supposed to know the cloak wasn't actually magical? Just conveniently ignoring the fact he probably should have, thanks Chantry.

And then he looks up.

Those bright blue eyes get wider, the freckles on pale cheeks standing out darker.

"... Whoa. More Qunari..."

He blinks, as if belatedly realizing yes, he said that out loud. "I mean uh--! Well! It's really cold out there! Who wouldn't look terrible, right?"

[rivernamed]

When Taashath approaches, the mabari lifts his head and looks up at him curiously with a quiet grunt, but doesn't seem to be antagonized. The hound simply looks curious, but his stubby tail wags when Hudson returns.

The older Tal-Vashoth glances over at Taashath with a hint of curiosity before he's addressing Sideswipe. "Drink this in sips, lad," Hudson instructs, handing off a mug of tea. "I've a bowl of stew for you when you can eat it."

He considers correcting the boy, but lets it go. It's a common mistake, but not enough for him to care about right now. "Aye, seems to be more than a handful here," he muses, thoughtful.

"We'd just arrived," Hudson finally speaks to Taashath, nodding to him. "The cold's not much to me, but harsher for some." He won't quite tease Sideswipe yet about his lack of appropriate clothing for the cold. Not right now; wouldn't appreciate the prodding, he thinks.

oh look, back from holidays!

[quietblade]

He snorts at the human's reaction, but gives him a disarming smile. "Yeah, I get you. Surprised you got all your fingers."

Taas gives a polite nod back to the older qunari, letting the guy care for the lost little sheep of a man first. Most of it isn't understood, anyway, since they're not facing him and he could only read a word here and there.

When the old man turns to him again, though, Taas smiles a bit and nods. "Welcome to Skyhold, then. It's a big place, but the tavern's nice and warm." Understatement of the Age, but still.

He watches Hudson, rubbing his somewhat unshaven chin a bit. That scar looked nasty, and the older man easily looked like a warrior. With Korrin a mage, Gorse a civilian and the little kid a scout, it was nice to see someone who could swing a weapon.

"I'm Taashath. Formerly Karasaad."

[redshitlord]

The cup feels so hot he wonders if his hands are going to burn. And he fumbles it for a second, before managing to settle it on the table with his hands loosely wrapped around it. Honestly, he means to drink it, but the fact he's suddenly surrounded by giant horned men is...

... well it's way more awesome than anything in a cup. He could sit here look back and forth between them for hours and not get bored. But the prospect of food once he drinks the tea actually gets through his head and he's sipping at the hot drink in short order.

"'Course I do!" he answers, finally. Of course he still has all his fingers. "I'm a mercenary and all. We've got to be used to the cold!"

There's no way anyone here is going to believe any of that statement, but he had to try.

"And I'm Sideswipe!" he says, brightly, beaming at both of them. He lifts a hand to gesture at the minuscule scar along his hairline. Nowhere near as bad as his rescuer's. But something he's proud of, all the same. It's how he picked his new pseudonym after all. "See? Fits huh?"

[rivernamed]

"Hudson. Formerly Kithshok, though that feels like a lifetime ago by now." A hand is offered to Taashath. "An interesting name you chose, one that I'm sure much of the Qun would disagree with."

Then again, his companions named him after a river, so as far as interesting goes...

And then there's the boy, bragging, as boys do who are eager to impress. Hudson smiles wryly at him and pulls up a chair. "Impressive, of course," he says, not one to downsize any accomplishment Sideswipe sees fit to speak about. "Taashath, care to join us?"

[quietblade]

Mercenary. The kid looked like he could be a lost Chantry boy more than he would a mercenary... but he's not about to mess with a young man's pride. Instead he just smiles, arching his brows a bit at the show of the scar.

He'd had worse while his horns came out back when he was a kid, but hey. Sideswipe. Cute. "Sounds like a damn good name, if any," he starts, and then adds an explanation for the human's sake. "Mine means 'calm'. It's a good reminder."

Taas takes the older qunari's hand, mentally checking himself to remember that he wasn't technically outranked here any more and definitely didn't need to straighten up as much as he did. "I would like that. It isn't every day we have new qunari - and mercenaries - visiting."

[redshitlord]

Hudson. Taashath. Wow... maybe he should have picked a better name. Even if the latter just means 'calm', it sounds awesome. Maybe he'll find a better one down the road. After all, he got here, didn't he? It's got to be exciting.

He just beams at them both, at the compliments, the expression just a touch smug. Okay, that makes him feel better. So does the drink -- maybe he can pretend it's not just tea. That'll look better.

"Yeah, but there's more Qunari around?" he asks, sitting up straighter. "Like you guys? I mean, I heard there were elves and dwarves and stuff up here too, but..."

He trails off in an awkward gesture. He meant it to be complimentary, but the more he kept on talking, the less it sounded like one. Oops.