[OPEN]

[noble_son]

Who: Nathaniel Howe & OPEN
Where: Various locations
When: July
Rating: PG
Summary: Open log for July
The Story:

Indoors; Roof

[Maybe it's strange - how often he's up here. He found it once by accident, and after missing the door a few times after that, thinks he might just have it pinned down by now. Doubtless the place will eventually find a way to prove him wrong, but Nathaniel finds himself wandering up to the open space offered by the roof more often than he thought it might be able to tempt him.

When the weather is good (which it often is), he sits with his back against the straight edge of the roof and reads a book, or perches on the very edge of the flat section with his feet hanging down over the dizzying height. They call it a mansion, but he has never seen any building of such a size that would be given such a name. Yet, a castle would not suit it either.

He pays little attention to the comings and goings - which are rare enough. Nathaniel has never been what you would call a 'people person' and time spent in the forced company of several dozen people has not changed that any more than his time with the Wardens did.

Indoors; Kitchen

[The third time he walks into the kitchen that month, Nathaniel's sigh is very much audible. There is something about a kitchen that shifts layout every time you walk into it that, while novel the first few times, becomes incredibly tiring when you just want to make a mug of tea.

He opens a few cupboards first, before looking over his shoulder to address the person closest to him.]

Would you happen to know where the tea is?

[He swears, he has been here for long enough to be able to find the tea. Maybe he's asked that person once before, this month. The tone of his voice says he might be aware of the fact.]

Outdoors; Lake

[Several of the more pleasant days - and even the more overcast ones - put Nathaniel by the newly formed lake. There is something about it that is far more calming than the ocean, something more familiar, and he even considers fishing... though not for quite long enough that the idea sticks.

He walks the entire circumference of the lake more than once, using the peace and quiet as an opportunity that most other places around the mansion and its grounds do not give him. For a place that's so big, it can often seem so crowded, and in the time he has been here he has begun to value his own space in a way that he wasn't able to in the close quarters often afforded by the Grey Wardens.

The walks seem to cheer him, in any case. Now and then, he even has a cat tucked inside his jacket, who peeks out and mews at anyone he passes.

Comments

[heroica]

[ The person closest to him is Robyn, who raises her eyebrows with surprise before cracking a warm smile. ]

I think it's wherever you want it to be. [ She replies, and it might be enigmatic if it weren't so literal. ] You only need to imagine it and it appears, don't you?

[ To prove her point, she opens a cabinet for herself and withdraws a box of tea... though, it's peppermint, in bags, and is entirely foreign. ]

What kind of tea do you like?

[noble_son]

Ah, of course it is.

[Maybe he's just tired. Or simply frustrated. He could pin his lack of awareness down to any number of things, but resists the near-painful urge to snap and simply exhales a long, quiet breath through his nose before replying.]

Anything black, and strong.

[He's going to have to stave off this headache if he's going to do anything for the rest of the day.]

[heroica]

[ She nods mutely, returning the peppermint tea. In its place comes out just what he's requested, though again in tea bags. ]

I've never seen tea like this. [ Robyn confesses, blinking, before handing the box over to him. ] Have you?

[noble_son]

Not before arriving here.

[He takes one of the bags out of the box, flipping it absently between his thumb and forefinger. It doesn't look like anything he's ever seen in Thedas.]

It changes the taste. Have you noticed?

[heroica]

The closets? [ The Warden glances from the teabag in his hands back to the kitchen's cabinets. ] Well, it would make sense that Wonderland's magic might change some of its... composition, I suppose...

[noble_son]

No, no, these.

[He emphatically wiggles the bag of tea at her.] This... gauze pocket.

[He's found that adding milk takes away the bitterness it causes, but it's a peculiar way to store tea.]

[heroica]

Ah. [ She laughs a little, at her own misunderstanding, and nods. ] No - I mean, yes, I've found the same. It reduces the strength, somehow.

[ Why put such a small amount in tiny bags? Why limit it? ]

This must be common, somehow, to have it be the default way of providing us with tea.

[noble_son]

[While she speaks, he examines the small bag in his hand. Why put so small amount in such a thing, indeed... He hasn't had a satisfactory cup of tea since he arrived, and that is certainly saying something when his life with the wardens had made him accustomed to sub-par rations.

With a quiet sigh, he drops the bag into his mug.]

It must be. Should we start being more specific?

[heroica]

We must be able to get actual tea. [ She insists, frowning. ] If you try imagining loose leaf, then maybe...?

[ Go on, Nathaniel! Give it a try!! ]

lake

[bloodmagics]

[A mission brings Hawke to the lake that day, as June turns to July. He'd been a few times before, to check it out after its sudden appearance, but never for long. Now, he wants to find the perfect place for a date with Cullen -- Even if he intends for it be after the sun has set, he still wants to find somewhere that will give them privacy.

As he walks the lake, he sees Nathaniel a few times across the water, unsure of who it is. Until they inevitably cross paths.]

Nathaniel! [A sudden meow startles him, his eyes going wide before he gives a laugh.] I see it's a good thing I left Dog with Cullen.

[noble_son]

Afternoon, Hawke.

[The animal tucked in his jacket takes the opportunity to poke her head out and mewl loudly, and begins wriggling against his chest. He plucks her out to hold her in both hands, showing off her stunted legs that cause the grass to brush her belly when he puts her down by his feet.]

I thought we could both use the fresh air.

[He won't let her roam the halls, but does like to bring her outside.]

Dog might find more of a challenge in her than he would expect.

[bloodmagics]

It does get stuffy in there, doesn't it?

[He spends a lot of his time outside with the dogs and/or Cullen, for exactly this reason.

Hawke crouches down to get a better look at the kitten, glancing up at Nathaniel with a grin.]

I think you might be right. She looks like a fighter.

[noble_son]

[Nathaniel chuckles, very gently.]

She is.

[As Hawke crouches, the cat's attention turns to him, and the makes a pouncing movement towards his hands. With her shorter legs, the movement falls short of reaching, and she attempts to recover with an expression that clearly says 'I meant to do that'.]

I never did choose a name for her. Anders kept suggesting ridiculous ones.

[The mage likes puns too much.]

[bloodmagics]

[Hawke gives a laugh at the kitten's antics, clearly caught in her spell. Tentatively, he reaches out with one hand to close the distance between them.]

Ah, yes. I heard about... What was it, Ser Pounce-a-Lot?

[noble_son]

[She's a friendly little creature, and doesn't hesitate in responding to the outstretched hand, rubbing her body against Hawke's fingers and purring noisily. Nathaniel smirks slightly, shaking his head.]

Exactly. He adored that cat, but no one could take him seriously when they found out what he called it.

[bloodmagics]

[Hawke murmurs a hello to the kitten, slowly stroking her fur as she rubs against him.]

I can't exactly blame them.

[He glances up with a wry smile.]

How you've been doing since the last event?

[noble_son]

[The cat is loving the attention, and Nathaniel smiles faintly to himself, turning his attention out over the lake.]

I've been as well as can be expected. I lost a bit of height over the duration.

[But, all things considered, it could have been worse.]

Some of these 'events' make so little sense.

roof;

[like247]

[It wasn't that Wendy was seeking Nathaniel out. It was that she was seeking Nathaniel out. She missed her brothers, not that she would admit it, but he'd reminded her of how she thought her brothers might grow up. Strong, Fighting for a cause. Barely avoiding her dropping out of trees on him.

So when she manages to find him on the roof, she's grinning, hands behind her back.]

Hey, did you know you could get snowballs from the closet?

[Even as she asks, she hits the roof by him with one, smirking.]

[noble_son]

I did not.

[He doesn't turn around to look at her at first, and barely flinches when the snow hits the roof by his knee. At that, he lifts both eyebrows slightly and glances back, a shadow of amusement hovering over his lips.

He hadn't forgotten what they'd talked about, but the time immediately following an event (or two) was not the best for pulling that kind of thing together.]

Were you looking for me?

[like247]

Also icicles, a tiny replica of an iceberg, and a snow cone machine. The last one slowed me down because then I had to make a snow cone. Do you have snow cones?

[There's no hesitation, dropping down to sit with Nathaniel as if she was invited.]

Kinda sorta maybe. I figured I needed to stop being in my room, and I figure I can't get a warrior type like you killed.

[noble_son]

[He makes an amused sound.]

We have snow cones. Of a sort. [Real snow, flavoured with different kinds of thin syrups made by the cooks in the middle of winter. His sister would always try to steal his.

She sits, and he doesn't question it, which is as good an invite as anything else.]

Do you often worry about getting people killed?

[like247]

See, I like hearing about the different worlds and what is the same and not. I never thought about it in Gravity Falls. I just kind of chilled on a roof, or at the Mystery Shack pretending to work, you know?

This place makes you think, I guess.

[Which is kind of answering his question.]

Nope, not really. My family is like really hardy stock, and my friends kind of just do really amazing things and they seem to take on anything.

But then, you know after we met when I tried to land on you? I got caught in the storm and... yeah.

[She shrugs, trying to pretend like it doesn't matter.]

Should've listened to what everyone says about this place.

[noble_son]

You got... [Caught in the storm? Does she mean...

He studies her face for a moment, and decides that it might be best not to ask. Her expression - trying not to care - and what she says answer any questions that he might have had.

What he does, instead, is gently pat the back of her shoulder.]

I was out there, too. I'm sorry I didn't find you.

[like247]

[She hadn't realized something like that, comfort, is what she's kind of seeking until she receives it. Then Wendy sort of slumps, making a snorting sound.]

Don't be sorry for that. Wasn't for you to do, right? I should've come in when the sky was getting darker.

Has Wonderland gotten you? I mean, you know, killed you?

[Everyone says they died, but isn't that what it is? Wonderland killing them?]

[noble_son]

No.

[He doesn't say 'not yet', but he won't discount the possibility. People stronger and more wily than he have fallen to the challenges of this place, and it's only by luck that he hasn't tripped into his own death as of yet.]

I imagine myself hard to kill, but.. that's within the confines of my own world. [Where his skills and abilities are not so easily compromised by the whim of whatever thing causes the 'events' that fall upon this place.]

It has.. claimed people that I know.