faderift | Yup, what's goodie

Entry tags:

Yup, what's goodie

WHO: Erik Stevens & Y'ALL
WHAT: Checking things out, buying some stuff, reading books, &c
WHEN: ooc: December | ic: Cassus
WHERE: Exploring Kirkwall and the Gallows, &c
NOTES: Erik curses but that's probably gonna be it

→ I got all the sounds, got plenty; open

[ Here are a few places one can find Erik within the Gallows on a regular basis:

The Library: Reading a little bit of everything, actually but focusing on recent history reports, whatever passes for science fiction, books about the Fade, and books about religion. Oh and a book or two on elven culture. Shh.

He's here at all sorts of hours but mostly between 11pm and 5am, apparently not sleeping very well otherwise. Why else be in a library at prime sleeping time?

The Smithy: Erik is fascinated by this area and mostly writes notes about whatever process he's allowed to observe here. Leave his little engineering heart alone about it! (Or don't, actually. Bothering him is preferable to the narration.)

The Herb Garden: Because he's curious if he recognizes any plants from home. Spoilers: he doesn't, but he keeps coming back anyway, usually in the early afternoon.

Training Area: Sparring with swords and spears, because there's no excuse not to stay in shape. Also there's a war on? So. Come gawk at the man. It'll be fun.

Anywhere else: He explores the entire Gallows during his quarantine and then does it again afterward, so consider this an open invitation to wildcard me.
]

→ You should ask around, my city; open

[ Erik discovers the market district in Lowtown and spends an inordinate amount of time there, mostly browsing, but occasionally buying small items. A scarf at one point. Close to the middle of the month he is clearly looking for something specific - jewelry, it would seem. He picks up bracelets, necklaces, earrings, but doesn't seem to settle on anything for a while.

You can also find him in the occasional tavern. He hates drinking alone; join him? ]

→ You should get to work, get busy; closed to athessa & vanadi

[ Erik left a note at Athessa's. Now he just has to wait for them to show up. So he's chilling in the herb garden, again, this time at sunset. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Pffft you're more likely to get bitten by me than this lady, [ Athessa, self fulfilling prophecy, laughs softly and pats the horse on the neck affectionately.
]

But first thing you wanna do is introduce yourself and let her smell your breath.

[ Yes, actually, she does know how weird that sounds. ]

I...what?

[ A blink, but clearly she's not joking so he's going to just... swallow, give him a second, before walking towards the horse's face. ]

A'ight. I'm Erik. Most days. Today. [ Clearing his throat. ] I gotta, like, breathe on her?

Pretty much, yeah. Right into her nose, like this —

[ Athessa scritches the horse's chin and the mare, in turn, lifts her head to snuffle at the elf's face and hair. When she does, Athessa breathes out like haa into the horse's nostril. ]

It's like a handshake, kinda. My dad used to do it with halla, too, as a way for them to get familiar with him.

[ She glances sidelong at Erik, tilting her head slightly. ]

Only most days?

Oh, I've read about halla.

[ In the like, one of five books he could find on Dalish living. There was more information on the animal than the people, which is weird. ]

My mom named me Erik. My father gave me a different name.

[ He repeats what he'd just seen Athessa do. A scratch on the chin, being sure not to startle when that large mouth with strong teeth ended up near his face. Breathing out into the mare's nostril with a soft haa sound.

Easy. He can do this. He can learn to ride a horse, go native, be, at least, not the worst person he knows. He can do this. ]

N'Jadaka. [ He scratches behind the horse's ear. ]

[ It's almost guaranteed that none of those five books are actually written by Dalish elves. ]

N'Jadaka, [ She echoes, testing it out and making sure she's pronouncing it right. ] Does it mean something? My name is a combination of the Dalish words for humility and arrow, but that says more about my parents than it does about me, I think.

[ He appreciates that she practices it; it makes it mean something other than a weapon and a fairytale. N'Jadaka could be someone real.

It's nice to hear that name on someone else's lips. It's nice to hear it in her voice. ]

Yeah, you got it.

[ "We are writing these books about a rare people" was definitely the vibe Erik got from reading; he wasn't impressed by the anthropological standpoint or lack of first-person stories or interviews. ]

It's uh...Daka is 'intelligence' or 'cleverness', and the beginning, the N'Ja, is for 'prince'.

Clever prince, huh?

[ There's no sudden recognition or change in her attitude at this revelation. It hardly seems like a revelation at all, really. Assuming he's a prince just because his name's etymology references the title doesn't mean much, unless Athessa happens to actually be an arrow in disguise.

So her reaction is just to nod appreciatively. ]

That's cool. Do you prefer being called one name over the other?

[ She asks the question over her shoulder as she steps away momentarily to gather some tack for riding. Blankets, saddle, bit and bridle. The blankets are handed off to him first. ]

Here — put these on her back. Right up to about here on her shoulder so there's space for them to slide back when you put the saddle on.

It's been years since anyone has called me that. But... I like it. [ It means more, and it has possibility. Plus he likes the way it sounds when she says it. ] So N'Jadaka, if that's cool. I haven't told anyone else yet tho, and I'll probably stay Erik with strangers and on paper and shit.

[ Letting out some tension he hadn't realized he was holding, Erik takes the blankets and arranges them as flat as possible on the mare's back. ] Does the saddle go on top of these? [ It makes sense to him; it's not like a horse is armored in any way. Also he feels like it's interesting that he's about to learn a skill that hasn't been accessible to him for most of his life, but that people in this world take for granted. ]

[ She nods, resolute. ] I'll remember that.

[ It won't be much different from Deimos being the name she used and Sten being what he was to everyone else. Another similarity that gives her pause, a distant warning sign she acknowledges and files away with a smile. ]

Yep. Gives her a bit of padding, and keeps the leather from rubbing her raw. Here — [ Athessa hefts the saddle with one hand under the pommel and the other at the cantle. ] — you'll wanna drape the far stirrup over the seat so it doesn't get trapped under the saddle when you put it on, and so you can fasten the cinch beneath it.

[ She hands the saddle off to him and then flips up the stirrup the way she described. Sure, she could show him how to do all this, have him watch her do it first, but she reckons even if he's never ridden horses, he's seen horses, he's got eyes. Maybe one of those movie things he mentioned was about horses.

So instead she employs her father's tactic of letting him do every step on his own with guidance. She mimes how most people swing the saddle up, and indicates where the pommel should rest. ]

Don't people ride horses where you're from?

Thanks.

[ He's got eyes and he's attentive, so when she starts to tell him how to best deal with the saddle and cinch he's not too lost. He couldn't name most of the parts of this saddle if his life depended on it, but he can figure out 'stirrup' and 'cinch' easily enough; movies and television shows have got at the very least that much covered. He follows her direction in swinging the saddle onto the mare's back and tries to fasten the cinch without it being so tight that it'll harm the horse beneath the saddle. ]

Nah. Like where I grew up? Only rich people had access to horses. Elsewhere there's more of them but usually where there's less of things like cars, which are machines that move on roads with a combustible engine. Horses are kinda... they're like an old-timey thing, back home. Not as many of them around. [ He's not sure he'd even know where to find a horse in Oakland. Maybe near Skyline, rich people lived up there. ]

[ While he talks and sees to the cinch Athessa ducks under the horse's neck to stand on the opposite side of her from Er—from N'Jadaka—but the mention of machines that move on roads and have combustible engines warrants a blank stare and a few enthusiastically confused blinks. The image her mind conjures is something like the Qunari dreadnoughts on wheels, and it's so bizarre that it knocks her back to a different step of the tacking process. ]

The cinch has to be tighter than that, [ But she doesn't correct it for him; she's debating whether or not to let him get into the saddle first so he can learn first-hand what happens when the cinch is too loose. ]

It doesn't seem like it because she's puffing out her ribs. Horses are kinda like dogs in the way that sometimes they're too clever for their own good.

[ He sees her look and mentally shrugs a bit. What could he even compare a combustion engine to in this world? He could draw her a schematic but he doesn't know how much good that would do either of them, really. ]

She doesn't want it tight because it's uncomfortable or because it'll knock me on my ass if it's too loose? [ He moves to tighten it anyway, hand at the mare's ribs so he can try and make sure not to hurt her. ] Did you grow up with a lot of animals?

She's just being ornery, [ She steps up to the horse's side and gives her a nudge with her elbow, just hard enough for the mare to exhale so N'Jadaka can fasten the cinch properly. ] But yeah if you ride out with a loose cinch the saddle will slip sideways and you'll land on your head before too long.

[ The horse tosses her head and nickers, but otherwise doesn't seem too put out that her attempt to foil their tacking efforts is thwarted. Athessa fetches up the bit and bridle next. ]

My clan had a couple horses, halla, chickens, and one of the hunters had a falcon, but I never really learned to handle birds.

[ Ain't trying to die again so soon, he chastizes the horse, but he smiles his thanks at Athessa. ]

I tried to do some reading in the library about, [ he makes a gesture, here, in Athessa's direction, ] elves who don't live in alienages, so I wouldn't have to ask you a question every five minutes about your folks and your life before, but I gotta say the books sound like bullshit.

One of these goes in her mouth, right? [ Pointing at the bit and bridle. ]

[ She has to laugh about that. Reading about the Dalish in the library. Anything he's bound to find in there would be bullshit. ]

Yeah, it'll put a bit of pressure on her gums to make her easier to steer. Not all the horses we've got need 'em, actually, but this one— [ She gives the horse an affectionate scratch down her blaze, and shrugs to N'Jadaka like well. You know.

She offers him the headstall and points out what part goes over the mare's ears and where it fastens. ]

You're not likely to find any books about Dalish elves that aren't written by humans. It's partly because it's tradition for clan Keepers and Hahrens to pass down the knowledge we've worked to preserve, and because...hm. [ She has to choose, here, whether she wants to say they or we. How Dalish do you feel today, Athessa? ] Historically, our relations with humans haven't been great, so most Dalish prefer not to be known.

A troublemaker, huh?

[ He's careful about the placement of the headstall, mostly being aware of teeth and his fingers and the closeness of one to the other.

He listens to her explanation of the situation with the books he'd read, nodding along. It makes sense. Humans are nosy fuckers, but also just fuckers in general. ]

What's a Hahren?

[ Now there's a word that's been used to describe both the horse and the elf. Troublemaker. ]

It's a really important old person.

Ah. [ More words for the word learner. ] Do you miss your folks a lot? Your family, I mean, your clan?

[ He presumes most of them are related to one another, or at least close enough that it doesn't matter.

He can't imagine it isn't hard. ]

I do, yeah. [ It's the kind of admission she wouldn't have made a year prior, when she was caught up in ignoring that she had a past at all. ] Even though at this point I've been without 'em longer than I had 'em.

[ All that's left to do after fitting the headstall on the horse is to clip on the reins and go riding. Athessa drapes the reins back over the pommel of the saddle once they're in place, and pats the mare's neck. ]

A Hahren is like an elder. And a teacher. Keepers are spiritual leaders and mages, with a responsibility to train any of us who show magical skill.

That sucks.

When my father died I spent almost ten years in foster homes. I dunno if they do that here, but they're these places where people raise kids who are wards of the state because they've got no family or their family was seen as unfit to care for them. It's bullshit. I got emancipated as soon as my ass could, which was sixteen.

[ And, hey. He's successfully prepared a horse for riding, with Athessa's more than necessary help; now he just has to actually get up on the creature. Easier said than done, he's sure. ]

Hand here, foot there, swing up and over?

Yep, you should be plenty tall enough that you won't need a leg up.

[ Rather than tack up Stief the great red elk, her usual steed, Athessa makes short work of getting one of the other horses ready to ride so that she can hop into the saddle without stepping into the stirrup first. It's a bit like climbing out of a pool without a ladder. ]

Around here, if you're orphaned and have no other family, you're more likely to end up on the streets or in a workhouse somewhere. Between those two options I figure the chance of dying is about the same. [ With a click of her tongue she guides her horse over to stand in the aisle between the rows of stalls, waiting to make sure N'Jadaka is able to get the mare to walk on his own. ] I know the word emancipation, but what does it mean that you got emancipated?

[ He manages to get in the saddle just fine and takes a moment to a) settle in this strange position atop another living creature and b) watch Athessa get on her horse through sheer (what he presumes to be) leg and core strength. It's impressive. ]

Some places are still like that, with workhouses. [ He thinks he knows how to do this; dig his heels into the side of the horse (but not too hard) and making a clicking sound with his tongue, right?

It gets the mare going which is startling all on its own, despite knowing he'd have to move with the animal eventually. ] It meant that I was seen as a legal adult at sixteen. Could make my own decisions and whatever, live on my own. I went to a military school almost as soon as the ink was dry, though.

[ She's listening as actively as she can while still watching his form to see where he needs direction and where instinct has him covered, nodding understanding of the information given, but still focused enough to instruct: ]

Try not to grip the reins too tight; you don't gotta pull very hard to get her to go where you want. If you feel unsteady, best to hold on here — [ Athessa pats the pommel of her own saddle. It sits up off the horse's shoulder just far enough to get a hand in between hide and leather. ]

Would asking you what military school is like be a boring question for you to answer? [ There, back to listening and participating in two conversations at once.

She has to wonder what it was like for N'Jadaka to escape from familiar circumstances, and the urge is there to share her own past — orphaned at thirteen, deposited drugged and bleeding on a brothel's doorstep at sixteen, on a ship to Rivain at seventeen — but telling him feels far different than telling Vanadi or Bastien. ]

I left Kirkwall to go to Rivain when I was sixteen. I don't think I would've survived this long if I hadn't.

[ He adjusts his grip and lets the reins settle in one hand while the other rests against the pommel. There's still something unsettling about moving while riding another animal, but he's pretty sure the first people to ride in an automobile probably felt the same way. It's all a matter of what you're used to, he guesses.

The new normal. ]

It was hell. I was small. I was younger than most of the other boys, I had a chip on my shoulder. I wasn't from a military family, I was singled out a lot. But I had something to prove, too. I wanted to do well. I didn't think I had any other options.

[ He considers what he knows about Rivain. It isn't much. Still: ]

That's a long boat ride.

Mm. [ A nod in the affirmative, and when Athessa"s horse starts walking toward the stable doors, N'Jadaka's mare follows. One of the stable hands opens the doors and shuts them behind the pair, leaving them to blaze their trail. ] Long time to spend seasick, that's for damn sure.

But I also didn't think I had any options. Would you do anything different, if you had the chance?

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