I thought that I've been hurt before.

[quietblade]

WHO: Taas + Open
WHAT: Catch-all for February
WHEN: After his return from the Crow event and the rest of the month.
WHERE: Mostly Skyhold, Herald's Rest
NOTES: CR for new and old characters alike!

Tavern

It was usually early in the evening when Taashath lumbered towards the tavern. He usually had an ale or two, maybe something to eat and chatting with friends and newcomers alike. After the rescue of Zevran in Antiva, however, he was drinking more, eating less and rarely talking to people.

He had lost control, forgotten his name, tried to kill a member of the Inquisition, no matter how loaded the issue of a Ben-Hassrath was. He wasn't safe when his rage took over like that... and the possibility of hurting someone he cared about was eating him up inside.

Was he squandering everything Yshae taught him by trying to be a hero?

It was easier to just drink and forget.

Courtyard

Taas was a common sight in the courtyard, talking with people, maintaining his weapons somewhere in the rare sunlight or even chopping a training dummy to pieces now and then. He had stopped offering to spar with people, however, just smiling and shaking his head each time someone asked for a hand or when he saw someone struggling with their guard.

Instead he spent a lot of time going over breathing techniques and different means of relaxing, loosening himself from all the madness etched into his bones. He was Taashath.

It became like a mantra to him. He could push through this.

Wildcard

Hit me!

Comments

[qunari]

For whatever it was worth, he believed him. There was real regret there, even if he'd only struck out against Bull. There might come a day when it would be someone else, someone he cared about. The kid didn't want that on his conscience.

Bull grunts once, quietly, to himself. "How bad you want this fixed?"

[quietblade]

"Badly" Taas growls, low and determined. "...but I don't know anything other than fighting." Without it, he'd feel like a Viddath-Bas. Broken, soulless. Maybe even worse, because he would have no purpose whatsoever.

[qunari]

"Bad enough to take instruction from a Ben-Hassrath?"

Because he doesn't plan on pushing his help, but of all the people here in Skyhold? He is without a doubt the best equipped to deal with this bullshit. He knows what that madness is, what it feeds on, and more than one trick for keeping it at bay.

He also knows what it feels like to have that tether slip free. A feeling he hopes to never endure again.

[quietblade]

That has the warrior pausing, and he eyes Bull with a hint of suspicion. Taas doesn't quite know what to think of this, to be honest. Part of him really wants the help, but at the same time he doesn't trust Bull the slightest.

It would be an odd combination... but even he understands that if anyone could get into his head it would be a Ben-Hassrath, who knew how Tal-Vashoth worked. Making it a big burly guy was just adding to that, meaning Bull could take him if he broke apart again.

Maybe if he knew that Bull had lost control himself, it would be even more appealing to him... but as it was, he could still piece the offer together well enough to agree.

"...alright. Yes."

[qunari]

"We'll meet at the end of the day. Exhaustion's an easier point to work with, believe me."

And then, well. They'd see what happened. Where his limits were, his triggers. What incited the rage and what calmed him again. If he had words, they could determine how to make them more useful, instill them deeply. Couldn't exactly risk them not taking again, out in the field.

Bull's arms lower, uncrossing. "This is for the Inquisition. For the safety of the people we work with. Whatever issues you have with the Qun or with me, I'm not interested in. Just so there's no misunderstanding here."

[quietblade]

Taas watches Bull for a moment, and then nods.

Okay. He could do this. "For the Inquisition," the warrior agrees with a nod. Everything else could fade into the background for now, no matter how the man brushed him the wrong way with his presence alone.

He could do this for the Inquisition - and for the friends that counted on him.

[qunari]

That willingness to commit for the cause speaks well for him, at least. He's seen how dedicated he is during their journey to Antiva. That's not nothing in his books.

Finally he gives a quick nod, of his own, stepping back. "Then we're good here. I'll let you get back to it." And his eyes travel back to the training dummy. "Don't let me stop you."

Working out that aggression on something else wasn't the worst way to go about it.

[quietblade]

The warrior isn't sure what to make of the Bull's suggestion, but he still moves back to grasp his axe again and lift it. Rolling his shoulders slightly, he can't help but feel a little tensed about all this.

He just made a deal with a Ben-Hassrath. It was... a strange feeling.

It's easier to just focus on hacking the dummy into little pieces. Taking a breath, he swings again and loops the head off in one strike. Focused. Easy. Dummies didn't make him angry.