[open] With a weary heart...

[foodsofmypeople]

WHO: Kaidan Alenko and you
WHAT: Kaidan is feeling old. Or weary. Or something
WHEN: The day after this takes place
WHERE: All over Skyhold
NOTES: Grumpy Wardens...

A

The view from the battlements was incredible, but did nothing to ease the turmoil in his mind. Frankly Kaidan just felt old. Fifteen years as a Warden, he knew there wouldn't be all that many more, but he was fine with that - or it would be if the incessant singing would stop. Felix's Joining had affected him more than he thought it would. Were they truly so desperate that they would take someone so close to death from the Blight? Apparently so. He just needed to do something. Find out what was going on with his brothers and sisters. Stop them from doing something so ridiculous that it would get them all killed. But instead, he was stuck here, finding out just what the Inquisition was about. They were doing good things, yes, but would it help in the long run?

Who knew?

B

He knew he shouldn't push it, but the occasional fireball that was thrown towards the training dummy? He couldn't help it. Sometimes hitting things just wasn't enough, and he just needed to blow off steam, ignoring the inevitable headache that would most likely cripple him for the rest of the day. And if the training dummy exploded... whoops?

C

Later, he was to be found in the tavern. At least for a little while, the noise and company could drown out the singing, and he could feel human again. Or as human as a Warden ever was going to. He might not be the best company, sat in a corner as he was, but there was the occasional smile there at least, and he wasn't going to turn any company away.

D

Wildcard! Whatever starter you like.

Comments

B

[amygdalae]

[Bruce passes by the training grounds often - not too surprising, because the training ground is in the courtyard and Bruce travels to almost every part of it during his rounds.

He's making one such round now, passing by the training ground and paying little attention to what's going on--and that is of course what does him, because suddenly there's a dummy exploding and part of it flies off to hit Bruce right on the head.

He jerks and stumbles to the side from the force, although he manages to not fall down. A very good thing, considering that he's carrying more than a few delicate items inside his bag currently.]

[foodsofmypeople]

[He didn't mean to make the dummy explode - it was actually rare he managed to get enough power behind his spells to make that much of a dent, but in retrospect, he supposed that it was just one fireball too many.

Like so many things in life. He watched the explosion with a dismayed glanced, then spotted just where the debris went.]

Oh, Andraste's tits, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that to happen. Are you hurt? [NOt that he could see, but you never knew.]

[amygdalae]

[It takes a moment for Bruce to register the question, mostly because he was still recovering from the blow, but once he hears it he turns towards the person who had asked him, shaking his head for the other to see.]

I--I'm alright. [Sort of, anyway. He probably has to sit down later just so the world won't keep spinning if he doesn't focus.]

[foodsofmypeople]

[Kaidan muttered under his breath. The one time a fireball actually does what it is supposed to...]

Come on, you should sit down for a moment, get your head back into place. [Shaking his head was possibly the worst thing to do.] Do you want me to get you a healer?

[Maker, this would happen to him...]

[amygdalae]

[Bruce almost shakes his head again, but this time it does sink that doing so wouldn't really help and so just raises a hand and waves it in a gesture that clearly says 'no'.]

I'm fine. Really. [Not exactly the first time he's been hit in the head.] I just need a moment.

[Or maybe several moments.]

[foodsofmypeople]

[Maybe he should just ignore him, and get him a healer anyway. But he seemed responsive enough, just where Kaidan nearly knocked him out.

Kaidan sat down beside him, pulling the water canteen he always carried off his belt and handing it to Bruce.]

Maybe try drinking some water? It might help.

[amygdalae]

[As much as Bruce kind of wants to turn down the offer, he supposes this one isn't so bad, and he doesn't want to cause any more worry with the other party.

He nods slightly and takes the canteen, opening it up and taking a mouthful of water. It helps a little, although he still probably has to sit down somewhere later just to be safe.]

[foodsofmypeople]

[Kaidan looked at him, watched him take the water, then nodded a little.]

Come on, sit down over here. [Where there was a nice wall behind them.] Are you sure you aren't injured?

[amygdalae]

[Bruce makes sure to take a good drink of water so that he doesn't worry the other person, then returns the canteen to him.]

Ah--sure. [Usually he rather wouldn't, but given circumstances and all that he can't exactly say no. Bruce goes over to settle down where the other has gestured, giving him a smile in hopeful reassurance.]

I'm alright, really. It wasn't a terrible hit.

[foodsofmypeople]

[Kaidan can act like a protective mother hen at times, and when it comes to people he hurts accidentally? Yeah, he takes it quite personally. He hates being responsible for hurting people.]

Yeah, normally my fireballs aren't that effective...

[amygdalae]

I suppose I must be pretty lucky, then.

[He doesn't mean to sound malicious, but he hopes the light joke can help ease the burden somewhat. This was all an accident and no lasting damages were done - that's the important thing.]

[foodsofmypeople]

[Luckily, Kaidan took it in the spirit that it was meant.]

Well, something like that. You didn't drop anything, did you?

[amygdalae]

I don;t think so.

[He'll check later, though, just in case.]

B

[middle_of_calibrating]

He had already been heading over to the area to get a bit of practice in, a good way to stay warm in the cooler temperature of Skyhold, and to make sure his aim always stayed sharp. It's the smell of smoke and flashes of light in the area that he's heading towards that has him walking faster though.

The sight of flaming dummies - they seemed to be one short now - has him sighing and narrowing his eyes a bit. Not so much because he was unhappy with someone using magic, but for the fact that there wasn't much to shoot at now.

"You know you could leave some for the rest of us."

Typical Garrus... =)

[foodsofmypeople]

Really, he wasn't trying to blow the dummy up. Apparently one fireball too many was all that did it. Whereas he was pleased he could actually cast a fireball or two without getting a crippling migraine, maybe doing so in a less destructive fashion might have been a wise move.

He just hated dealing with people who would accept that Grey Wardens kept the secrets they did because they had to. There was a reason he'd resisted being granted the rank of Warden Commander, and put in charge of a nation's forces. He knew the politics only too well, understood them. Didn't mean he had to like them.

He gave the newcomer a sheepish look. "It, uh, wasn't exactly intentional," he pointed out, bending down to pick up a piece of dummy that had flown off to the side. "They keep plenty of spares. Apparently we all keep using them up." Odd that.

Calibrations man.

[middle_of_calibrating]

"Funny how a ball of fire kind of does that." He raises an amused brow, eyeing what was left of the dummies and then back to the man who had done it all. "Well if everyone keeps blowing them up or hacking them to bits, I'm not surprised they have spares."

Any excuse! Are we going with them having met before?

[foodsofmypeople]

"Normally, no." Kaidan's fireballs really weren't that powerful. "I guess I had more steam to blow off than I thought." The last couple of days had gotten to him. Joinings tended to do that, especially when accompanied by people who really didn't take no for an answer when you went 'Warden secrets'.

"Though I probably should go an haul another dummy out if you want to train."

Think that was the plan.

[middle_of_calibrating]

"If you know where they're at I could help with doing that. Though... probably should put out the fire on those dummies first," Garris offers, one corner of his lips turning upward in a small smile.

"It's been a while, Alenko. Now is it you who followed me south or the other way around?"

[foodsofmypeople]

Kaidan glanced at the dummy, one eyebrow quirked up. "Maybe. Though it probably won't burn for much longer." He hoped, anyway.

He glanced over at the other man, and now that the chaos had calmed down he saw just who it was. The joys of travelling all over Thedas - you run into people you'd met before. "Well, it would seem I followed you," he chuckled. "I only arrive from the north a few weeks ago."

[middle_of_calibrating]

"Hm. Few weeks you say? Well guess it was me who followed. I only trotted in maybe about two weeks ago." It was a surprise to see Kaidan again especially here since Wardens didn't seem to busy themselves with other issues, but it was still pleasant all the same.

"Here on you own, or did you brings others with you?"

[foodsofmypeople]

Kaidan gave a chuckle in response. "What brought you here? I suppose there is plenty of work for a mercenary here."

He shook his head. "Arrived on my own, met up with some of my brothers and sisters here." There were far more Wardens here than expected, and he suspected more would turn up. "Where were you here before here?" he asked. Maybe he could find out more information.

[middle_of_calibrating]

"From what I've been hearing there is plenty of things going on for a mercenary to keep themselves busy. Course I'm not the only merc here... we all have to work together right? Not like it is out on the field."

He wasn't all that surprised to hear that Kaidan had been on his own, after all that's how they had met, but hearing that there were other Wardens around does have him raising his brows. "I was still up in the Free Marches before coming here. Course with everything going sky high - pun intended - it seemed like actually doing something that mattered was a good idea. What about you? I suspect it's "Warden business" as usual."

[foodsofmypeople]

"Yeah, from what I've seen, they don't take kindly to stabbing your own kind in the back to take their contract," Kaidan deadpanned back to Garris.

Kaidan had been wandering around the Marches, hunting for information when he ran into Garris, who had proved a useful contact. "Isn't it always?" he joked in return. "Yeah, it is Warden business as usual." Meaning he wouldn't necessarily speak of it, although... "You haven't run into any Wardens outside Skyhold lately, have you?" Other than himself, of course.

[middle_of_calibrating]

"I take it that no one takes kindly to that sort of thing. Course saying 'own kind' to mercs is... a bit more complicated than that. The name is the only thing that we all share, doesn't meant we're the same."

He's not surprised in the least that Kaidan is here on 'business', nor that he isn't going to share, but honestly Garris wasn't expecting that he would. Just knowing he was right was enough. At the mention of other Wardens, Garris gives a soft hum and rubs his chin. "Can't say that I have. Not like I ran into many even before Skyhold, save for you. Bit of an elusive bunch you all are."

[foodsofmypeople]

"Well, yeah. There are mercs and... there are mercs." Kaidan was lucky. Garris had seemed an honorable merc, if there were such a thing. Which meant that when it came to recommending mercs for missions, well, Garris was high up the list.

"Hmmmm," Kaidan hummed thoughtfully. Not running into any probably meant that Clarel wasn't looking in this direction. "A friendly warning from me to you. Stay well away from Wardens out there for a while," he said quietly, not wanting to be overheard. "At least, unknown ones. The ones here are decent people." So were all of Clarel's cronies, they were just terrified.

Garris could read into that what he liked, but he didn't want potential allies being hurt in the rush to find blood sacrifices. At the moment they were only looking at Wardens, but who knew when that would spread?