Try something new, they said...

[aggregiopavali]

WHO: Fenris and you
WHAT: Someone wants to better himself. Or something.
WHEN: Early Cloudreach
WHERE: Around Skyhold. Isolated corners. The tavern (there's a surprise)
NOTES: Probably a warning from swearing in Tevene. It's Fenris.

He tried looking at it every which way he could, but it made no sense. Well. It made sense to someone, he was sure, but not him. The book that was in front of him was being studiously ignored to make way for something more useful - alcohol.

He was feeling the lack of being able to read. He knew that as many could read as couldn't, but all of his friends round about could - and when he was out in the field, it would be useful to be able to read slaver's ledgers to be able to find out just where they had been - and where they were going next. But how did you even go about that.

Preposterous. He shouldn't even have thought of it. With a sigh he finished his drink and stood up, looking around, and thought about leaving the book behind, but tucking it under his arm. Maybe he would ask Zevran to help him.

Still. He was mellow as he walked through Skyhold at least. Alcohol had a tendency to do that to you.

Comments

[arsebiscuit]

Someone was planning on raiding the alcohol. Or, specifically, the wine cellar Josie had picked to store away some of the better stuff for when the hold had special guests. Shite that. Saving certain juice for certain noble asses that didn't even know the difference. So as part of this plan she'd taken it upon herself to buy no less than a barrel of the cheapest wine the tavern offered and was, much to the concern of the bar maid, trying to figure how to roll it out the door.

"Just need a few more hands- ha!"

He was an elf. Shoeless, at that. Not promising. But looked muscley in a way she just wasn't. So she'd make due with what she had.

"Hey, shiney. Got a few for a girl in need?"

[aggregiopavali]

He'd seen a lot in this tavern. Love, life, everything in between. Someone rolling a barrel of wine out of the tavern was a step further than he'd seen before, and he stood watching her for a long moment, entirely bemused at her. Also somewhat jealous he hadn't thought of it himself. Maybe it would be better than just buying bottles, after all. More convenient.

"What are you doing?" he blurted out. He couldn't not ask the question, after all. It wasn't a no, though.

[arsebiscuit]

Sera leaned her elbows against the barrel, resting half bent over the thing as she gave a giggle and grinned up at him.

"No spoiling it. You've got to be in first. S'how it works. But you'll get a prize at the end."

[justice_is_blond]

He'd seen Fenris before, always with enough time to dodge around the nearest corner and avoid the elf, but none of those times had the Elf been holding a book. That's the sight that has him stop for too long, and Anders is still standing near when the Elf closes the book and stands.

There's really only one route to take, and it's that of having his defenses in place before the opening salvo is launched by Fenris. Anders folds his arms, tilts his head back, and raises an eyebrow at the elf. Nothing that can be said can hurt him, he tells himself and knows it's a lie, which is why he's already running through old comebacks and old attacks, mentally trying the pieces on for fit.

[aggregiopavali]

The opening salvo is launched quickly - well, opening salvo being Fenris launching himself at Anders without even thinking. He knows the Inquisition has gone along with the Wardens for this, but if he can drag him to a cell, just maybe he can get things changed. At least, that is what is going through his mind at that moment.

At least it isn't 'kill'. Yet.

[justice_is_blond]

Of course the elf attacks physically, without thought. Anders isn't surprised he takes the low road; when has he ever done otherwise? He throws up a barrier and calls on Justice's abilities, attempting to toss down a paralysis glyph at the elf's feet, anything to buy him time to get away because if the elf gets in reach Anders is dead.

He really should have just set Fenris on fire at first sight. As it is, he's dropping the temperature deliberately. Bare feet can't be good on ice.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany had been allowed into Skyhold - the soldiers seemed to be a little bit nicer to her, or it could have just been her impression - so she felt safer coming in to head towards the library for her studying materials. She herself was carrying several books up to the main hall, when Fenris came out of the tavern.

Smelling of good wine, and something in his hand. Well, she promised herself she wouldn't avoid him, so she put herself right in his path to speak.

"All right, I'm here, let me have it -- you have a book." That startled her right out of settling her expression of calm acceptance to one of shocked surprise. "Have you - have you learned how to read?"

[aggregiopavali]

He was angry at Bethany. Oh yes. That was obvious by the sulking that was going on round about her.

He took a moment to look up at her, his anger at her showing. "Yes it is a book. Is it so surprising?" He hadn't learned to read yet, just a vague feeling that he probably should so he didn't miss any important notices about criminals that he hated roaming lose in Skyhold again.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"Frankly ... " She thought about it before she looks bemused, "No, actually."

She knew that he didn't read - but she always thought someone who was so in tune with how deep he was. Of course, it was hard to think of his philosophical sense when he was Angry, and it was at her.

She exhaled, setting her shoulders because she was used to friends being angry at her at this point. "There's not an apology I can make that I can make that you would accept - but I am going to make it anyways. I'm sorry I lied to you, to protect Anders. I knew you would kill him if you knew he was here."

[make_my_mark]

Mellow. Mellow was good.

Because suddenly there was a strange device - a climbing axe - plummeting toward the ground, along with several small chunks of brick, and a voice calling out to Fenris.

"Look out!"

And there was Lara, perched precariously on a small ledge high above. She winced as she leaned and looked down.

"Sorry. The stone was loose, I slipped... are you alright?"

[aggregiopavali]

Fenris was hyper aware of any trouble round about him, so he was able to move out of the way as soon as he heard the shout, skittering to the side before the stone could hit him. He glanced up afterwards, trying to locate the source of the shout. A woman, hanging from a ledge.

Different.

"I am fine. What are you doing up there?" A reasonable question. No one really climbed up walls like that, after all.

[make_my_mark]

"Oh, thank God," she murmured lowly, exhaling a hard breath.

Things were bad enough about the castle at it was, the last thing anyone needed was her, a rifter, causing an incident by maiming someone - even accidentally.

She looked away, fingers sliding up the grip of her other axe, the sharpened teeth of the blade biting into the stone face. Her toes inched along the ledge, off into the nothing beyond... and she let herself drop, axe slowing her fall to a slide, knees bending on impact to catch her weight gracefully.

"Climbing." She told him as she turned back, retracting her axe. "Or trying to."

Returning one axe to the belt at her waist, she went for the one she'd lost.

"This stone has seen a lot of time; it doesn't always hold the way I'd hoped it might."

[kallian_endris]

Kallian had heard mostly just rumors about Fenris, and what little Detlef had told her of him. The distinctive markings and general surliness made him intimidating to the shy little healer, but today, he seemed fairly mellow. A little more approachable.

"Um, excuse me," she said demurely as she came near. Her posture was still anxious. "You're... you're Fenris, right? Um, I don't mean to bother you, but I was wondering if I might ask you a few questions...?"

[aggregiopavali]

Relatively mellow. A drink or two helped with that, but he was in a good mood. A stranger coming up to him had him wary though, but, it seemed, not as wary as this woman.

"Why?" he asked bluntly. "Most people tend to keep away from me." He didn't actively encourage that, but he certainly didn't mind the effect he seemed to have on a lot of people.

[kallian_endris]

"I... hear you're from Tevinter. Um. A former slave?" She wasn't pointedly not looking at his markings, her gaze somewhere near her feet.

"My mother was taken away by Tevinter slavers during the Blight. I haven't seen her since. I just... I don't know. I thought there might be a chance you'd know... something. Where she'd likely be, or what it... might be like for her..."

She blushed.

"...I'm sorry. I don't mean to be intrusive..."

[ombranera]

Asking Zevran would end well- at this time of day he was found easily enough sunning himself in the courtyard. It only takes a moment or so of observation to prove that yes, Fenris was mellow (therefore had something to drink) and yes, that was a book under his arm. Aware of Tevinter practices as he was- (a decade of freedom would be time enough to learn, he supposed), Zevran found himself curious enough to call out. "Good reading, my friend?"

[aggregiopavali]

Fenris looked at Zevran for a moment before heading over to his friend to sit down beside him. He seemed almost pensive as he sat there, trying to work out the best way to approach what he wanted to ask. "I don't know," he admitted eventually, his eyes skittering every where but at Zevran.

[ombranera]

"...ah." Zevran carefully- as such things needed to be done with great care- rested his arm across Fenris' shoulders to tug him in if he so wished. "Would you like to?"

Reading had been something of a requirement for the Crows; how better to manage their own contracts than read with their own eyes?

[wontforgetyou]

Having been in a similar boat to Fenris not all that long ago, Jamie knew the signs of someone who wasn't necessarily the best when it came to reading - well, at least the particular sign that was turning the book around and around while trying to make heads or tales out of what was in it. When the book was set aside, he couldn't say he was all that surprised. Replacing it with a drink, on the other hand, was actually a pretty good idea, and he wished that he'd thought of that when he was trying to figure things out. It might not have helped him read, but it would've made things considerably less frustrating, and he nodded towards the drink as he settled onto the next stool over and lifted a hand to get the bartender's attention.

"Wish I'd thought of that when I was trying to sort out how to get one of those things. Any luck so far?"

[aggregiopavali]

Fenris had seen him around, of course, talked to him a little - the person who said he didn't belong here but with the strongest Starkhaven accent. As a person, he was inoffensive - something that was rare here, so Fenris didn't mind the company at all.

But here he was, admitting in a round about way that he had struggled as well. Interesting. "Drinking is the best way to cope." Oh yes. "No." It was a grudging admission.

[wontforgetyou]

"Won't get any arguments from me there."

As the dwarf behind the counter came over, Jamie leaned in and murmured something to him, nodding towards Fenris for a second or two before settling back. It wasn't long before the bartender set down two drinks, one in front of him and one in front of Jamie, who gaves Fenris an aimable shrug.

"Hope that's alright. I told him to get you another around of whatever you were having. Figured you'd rather have one of those then my offering you advice about reading. Don't really think I'm qualified enough to do that as it is. I've only just figured out how to do that here myself."

[dragondowner]

Hiccup was bored.

This was a very risky state of affairs (not just for Hiccup but for everyone in his immediate vicinity as well) because when Hiccup got bored he got chatty. Why chatty? Even Hiccup wasn't entirely certain about that; he was terrible at conversation, even (especially) with people he already knew. And yet, for some reason, that was his first go-to when he was trying to entertain himself.

It was the Inquisition's fault that he was bored (sort of). They wouldn't let him join the army and they kept shooing him out of the forge, so he was left entirely to his own devices. The lowlander bartender wouldn't even serve him mead--of all the things to refuse him! He was an Avvar, of course he was old enough to drink! So, there he was, in the bar, nursing what appeared to be a stein of apple juice, while he listlessly stared at everything around him.

He stared at the soldiers--they wouldn't chat with him when they were on duty, he doubted they'd changed their minds since then. He stared at the bartender--who glared back. Rude. He even stared at the mercenaries--and no thank you, he knew exactly how well he got on with loud huge people who could lift druffalo. That was basically every family reunion for him. Pass.

Finally, in a move that was largely consistent with his perpetually terrible luck, he ended up staring at the elf with the silver tattoos.

Hiccup knew very little about elves. They were small (Bigger than him, but what wasn't?), they had tattoos, and they generally disliked Orlesians and templars about as much as the Avvar did. That wasn't a great starting point for conversation but, considering how the guy was glowering at the closed book in front of him and then taking a pull of wine, Hiccup felt they might have something in common.

Hiccup was also frequently disgusted by literature.

"Yeah, books," Hiccup said as he swaggered (in an awkward way that was vaguely reminiscent of a fawn attempting to portray a bear) to Fenris's table and, without invitation, dropped himself into the seat across from him. Fenris was just a touch taller than him but a little more than two of him in density. Hiccup took a manly gulp of his non-alcoholic beverage and cast an equally disparaging look at the...unmarked black book.

Right, so no analytical conversations about content then.

"Terrible."

His eloquent review was somewhat less impactful than he'd hoped. He cleared his throat and then, in a last ditch attempt to start up conversation, said:

"I mean, hey, why read books when you can just kill the things books tell you about?"

[aggregiopavali]

Fenris had been ignoring the book for a while, so he'd been watching the comings and goings in the tavern, and watching the antics of the boy. It seemed that the tavern had their eye on him too, as they passed him juice rather than alcohol. It almost brought a smile to Fenris.

At least until he lurched over to him. Fenris glanced around desperately, seeing if there was someone close by that he missed that the boy was here to see. No. It was him.

Maker save them all. "You often kill things that books tell you about?" he asked, an eyebrow raised as he tried to work out his best route of escape.

[shieldwalls]

Aveline had yet to set foot in the tavern for more than a few moments. Too loud and busy for her tastes, when it came to unwinding - but as she stood from her seat and moved for the door, she got a look at a familiar flash of hair as she walked by. Scowling face, bottle in front of him.

She'd found Fenris.

Without announcing herself, or waiting for permission she slid into a seat across from him. "Not a good read, I take it?"

[aggregiopavali]

To be fair, Fenris wasn't all that difficult to find in the tavern. He spent enough time there that he was well known in those parts, with all the bar staff being aware of his tastes in drink.

"Aveline!" Surprised, shock. She'd left Kirkwall and was here? Fenris was convinced that she would never leave what had become her home, especially after Sebastian's little failed expedition. And yet there was the proof that apparently the world was coming to an end, because here was Aveline. "What... when?" He would make sense soon.