[Open] My Hearth Is Yours

[judgemewhole]

WHO: James Norrington and You
WHAT: Dining with the Commander
WHEN: Throughout Wintermarch
WHERE: The Great Hall
NOTES: Nothing but 'seriously dude, you're hiding something aren't you?'

Even Templars need to eat.

And drink.

Sometimes they have to do a lot of drinking, honestly, but Norrington kept his portions of wine to a reasonable amount when he had it with his supper. He always dined in the main hall, few times with his men, but often times he came in in alone with papers and letters in which he worked upon while he broke meat and bread off and slipped it into his mouth without thinking. His pen never seemed to stop, as he scripted pages and pages of writing -- before tossing some of them aside and grumpily burning others.

Once and awhile, you could catch him with no papers at all, but a book, his head propped up on his hand and his green eyes distant as he read the words on the page and sipped from his glass of wine.

Comments

[onlyhymns]

Cade would join Norrington and his men in the dining hall sometimes, rarely saying a word but clearly seeking comfort in the camaraderie of fellow Templars. With his Kirkwall brethren scattered to the winds, and Norrington's invitation open, he would hang near them and almost seem to prefer that they consider him ornamental. When the meal was over, he would ghost away.

He hadn't appeared at the table since his sparring incident, but on this particular evening he made his way down, expression shadowed and eyes worried as he scanned the table's occupants. He stood there for a moment, debating whether to sit with them or not, and thankfully none of the men paid him much notice. He was strange, and always a bit of a labor to talk to.

[judgemewhole]

Norrington glanced up to see Cade there, before he tilted his chin to the chair beside him as he carefully cut up his chicken. Giselle and Anamaria were discussing the quickest way to kill a red templar, while Gilette was correcting Murtogg and Mullroy on the court etiquette of where Templars fell in royal society.

Bush was the only one who brightened at the sight of Cade, and gave him a little wave at the end of the table. Norrington glanced over at Burns, arching an eyebrow. Cade didn't want attention - he just wanted to fit in, poor man. Drawing attention to him would only draw him away.

[onlyhymns]

Cade glanced between Bush and Norrington, lowering his head slightly as he went to sit in the indicated chair. Once he'd situated himself, he gave a furtive nod of greeting to Norrington before beginning to eat, his nobleman's table manners evident even after all these years.

[judgemewhole]

They were all quiet for a moment, watching Cade eat as if he was at a banquet in Orlais instead of a long table at Skyhold, before Norrington cleared his throat and spoke to the others, drawing attention away from Cade.

"So I was thinking we would start training how to kill demons and abominations, over the next few weeks. Best strategies, that sort of thing. It might behoove us to have someone write this all down as well, so we have a record of all that we have learned to pass on to the next squad training."

[onlyhymns]

If the surveillance had gone on for even a moment longer, Cade would have fled. As it was, his heart was pounding in his ears, and he could barely taste the food for the intensity of his regret in coming down here. The topic change was a blessing, and he glanced at Norrington with a silent nod of agreement.

[judgemewhole]

There were murmurs of agreements, a few ideas bandied about the best ways to take out a rage demon -- ice was of course the most popular answer. Norrington nodded back at Cade, before he put is attention back on Gilette across from him. "I think we ought to look to starting the blood mage training soon as well. Put up a flyer on the main board to see who is still truly interested."

He gestured with his fork towards Cade, then around the hall, "I know even our own brothers and sisters would like to learn something of disposing of maelificarium."

[onlyhymns]

Cade blinked in surprise when Norrington gestured to him, but then followed his gaze around the rest of the table. "It is... one of the more important skills to know," he agreed quietly, though he couldn't help feeling his stomach turn at the mention of maleficarum, of ever dealing with them again.

[judgemewhole]

The other Templars nodded with agreement, and Gilette pointed a fork gently in Cade's direction, his Orlesian accent thick. "I concur. It will help us a great deal if we have others searching for the same clues we have learned. Especially with trying to find the Venatori."