Calum Vael (![]() ![]() @ 2019-08-09 19:06:00 |
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Current mood: | ![]() |
Who: Tony Stark, Calum Vael
When: Current
Where: Craigcrook Castle, Edinburgh
What: Tony offered to get something warm in plaid, and Calum wants to talk about what that means.
Rating/Warnings:
Status: Complete
Tony's expecting it to be hot, and kind of dreading a sudden flood of good sandwiches and cake, but - well - he's trying to do this well. So he's got a nice linen shirt on, and some jeans that are probably too heavy for summer, but he couldn't find something better. Admittedly, he was dressed up because he went down to meet Steve when he was getting out of something at the hospital with some of the sick kids.
He's guessing they might get Iomhar, or some of the other people around the place popping up, but that's okay, really. If Aedan ends up hearing this, maybe it'd help him feel better? That people care?
Calum’s been fairly careful about organizing things right now. Sebastian’s at work and Iomhar’s...somewhere with Jacob and Emmett and Aedan, actually. They’d had a few tickets to Alton Towers, so they’re out doing theme park things. So far, pretty good, right?
He’s got a few drink options and some light sandwiches in deference to the heat, along with some cloudy lemonade to offer, and some mostly fruit based sweet options. Going with something heavier in the middle of summer didn’t feel like a great idea.
He’s wearing a sash with the Vael green and gold over his shirt and khakis, since they’re going to be talking about it, and he’s waiting to invite Tony in and to one of the castle’s cooler rooms. It’s nice that the same draftiness in winter can work to their advantage a little in the summer.
"Calum. It's nice to see you." Tony beams at him when he sees the sandwiches. "I really should try to do tea for you all sometime. I'm still not used to people just cooking for me. Thank you." It's probably weird in some circles, but seriously, Tony had eaten enough good and bad catering in his day. This is - novel. Nice. Also it seems like a lot of work to him, so - thank people?
Calum smiles and waves him in. “It’s fine, Tony, trust me. I was going to need to have lunch at some point anyway, so doing it as a tea is better for everyone, really. I put a few things out for everyone else too, and bits of this and Aedan and Iomhar are out with Emmett and Jacob, so we didn’t need to worry about anything in that regard. Emmett had tickets to a theme park and all of his friends were on holidays or busy, so it worked out nicely for a distraction. And Aedan and Iomhar need to spend more time together as it is. He tends to get Ellie in these uncle splits most often,” he adds, smiling. “Please, come on in. I’ve got a table set up where it should be cooler.”
"I can imagine the stone walls here help for that." Tony's following him in. "We've been having little rain showers where I am that promptly clear off at sunset."
“Aye, they do at that.” Calum smiles. ‘It’s been delightfully cool here compared to other places, I can assure you.” He grins. “I hear it’s been brutal elsewhere. And ah small showers and long dry nights? Not my idea of enjoyable.”
He waves Tony on to a table he’s set up.
“I’ve got sandwiches and some other savories. Those are cucumber, and those are chicken salad with fruits and there’s some chopped vegetables as well. And then Noah has this really amazing looking tart, and Sebastian has these lemon biscuits. Apparently they’re popular in that game of thrones show with the lady everyone says our Ellie resembles. Whose last name happens to be Stark.” he laughs. “Not that I pay much attention to the show or books, I heard there was a lot of gendered violence so I prefer steering clear of that in my fantasy escape entertainment.”
"I heard it was pretty grim, and a lot of prisoners or death, but that sounds like two sides of the same coin." Tony smiles at him as he approaches the table. "That tart does look amazing." There's a clear layer on top, holding in fruit, and then a reddish layer that looks like it might be made of raspberries. "I was just looking up recipes for cold noodle salads. There's this Japanese summertime soup I was trying to see if Steve would like."
“That too.” Calum nods. “It seemed like, not the best choice for us personally, considering how we got here and I think Thedas is a bit more open and accepting that people, regardless of gender can fill almost any roles. About the only thing a man could not do is become the Divine or rise to some power positions in the chantry, or bear children, and for women, it would be that way in Tevinter, where the teachings run nearly directly opposite our views of Andrastianism...that is, we follow the words of the prophet Andraste and our religion is based upon her. She’s the statue that you might have seen in the little alcove off the Hall. Sebastian was a priest of hers, once.”
He doesn’t need to give more of an overview than that. Tony can ask Sebastian if he’s really interested, after all. “Other than those roles, at least for humans, it’s not so different at home. Well, it’s still easier to marry off a daughter than a son, but that’s not set in stone, and only a birth trend of the last several decades at work and...anyway, I’ll not bore you with those details but a world where such things are not the case and one gender is highly persecuted over the other…” he shakes his head. “I do not like it.”
Noah’s tart IS beautiful and Calum tilts his head at the mention of the noodle salads.
“Those do sound really nice. Sebastian might be interested in swapping sometime. Noah is the baker, but Sebastian likes to COOK. Noah seems to enjoy it too, but Sebastian’s pleasure is definitely more aimed toward meals than breads or cakes or pastry. He says he hasn’t got the patience for them. But cold salads...Aedan probably could be persuaded to try eating those. “
Anything that works and is interesting, after all.
"I can dig up a couple of versions of the recipe? I know there's some where you dip the noodles in sauce, and some where you toss them in something. I think there's even a soup with ice cubes in it to cool it down." Tony's sitting down and eyeing the tart. "I almost hate to ask to try some."
Calum laughs a bit. “I ken what you mean. But I think Noah’d be more dismayed if we didn’t if that helps any.” He moves to find something to slice a little. “And those sound interesting. Also, what can I put on for you to drink? I’ve got the box of hot teas, or a black one that’s iced for the cold, and some of the cloudy lemonade Hans got the office drinking a lot of. I THINK the only reason it’s cloudy is that it’s a bit fizzy. Different from American.”
"I'm up for tea or lemonade. Shall I pour two glasses of this cloudy stuff? I've never tried it." Tony's leaning to help. "It looks like that was a lot of work. I guess he's got really steady hands." He takes a breath. "I grew up - honestly without that much religion. I learned a bit about Jewish religious traditions from my butler, and my mother talked a bit about Catholicism, but - I never really found anything I liked."
“That would be fantastic.” Calum smiles. “And aye, Noah has. He does a lot of the detail work at the bakery, some of which is intense, depending. They have a client obsessed with petit fours among other things. And ah…” he nods slowly.
“In Thedas, well, there tend to be mostly religions as a matter of culture, though Andraste would take anyone and so would the Qun, which is a practice that...I hesitate to say cult like because I do not understand why the elements of being controlled by a hierarchy are so important to them, but it does seem very dictatorial. Sebastian has a few friends here, of different faiths. One of his early projects was in trying to make this world welcome for those from places with alternate faiths, and how best to incorporate those ideas into this world. Father Francis came on board to help there and he...mentions Andrastism seems similar to Catholicism with a woman at the head, who seems to resemble one of their saints.”
He slices the tart carefully, trying to make it look nice, and slips it onto plates. “THERE we are.”
Tony tries a bite of the top layer and makes a pleased noise. "That is nice. Reminds me of some Japanese sweets I've had before. And I can imagine that. I would've gone to sort of present day Wicca stuff if you asked me for sort of a woman centric religion, but I'm no religious scholar by a long shot."
“There’s a trend of that here, if you know the right places to look in paganism.” Calum notes. “Celtic sorts of things, and goddesses have different names across traditions but the ideas seem BROADLY similar if that makes sense.”
And he takes a forkful of the tart too, and smiles. “Oh I like this.”
"I feel guilty for just showing up and eating all your food." Tony's smiling at him. "But you wanted to talk."
“I did, aye, more about plaids and how they work and what they mean.” Calum smiles. “I suppose you’ve seen SOME of the popular mythology about kilts in Scotland or seen that William Wallace film, or something like that.” Outlander, he thinks, but doesn’t confess to watching. He’s fairly sure that’s mostly a show for women, even if the people who watch it here are all men.
"Kind of? But I doubt it's that accurate. Plus - you guys are probably a little different, maybe? I just don't know." Tony tilts his head. "There's some Scottish stuff in the tv stuff, isn't there? Newer stuff."
“Aye, there is.” Calum grins. “I ask because a lot of that is weird and not always the truth and burried in some odd misconceptions as it turns out anyway. But, in our case, the general idea of them is much the same. They symbolize a link to the family you belong to, or are representing and each clan of sorts has their own. It’s not a word we often use in Starkhaven, or in Thedas. That’s more for the elves and we don’t like to have confusion there, but there ARE some older clans outside the city proper who are linked with us and part of the tradition.”
“For us,” He adds, “it’s about family and friends as well and depending on what someone is to us, it influences which they would wear at home. Scotland doesn’t wear much with their plaids,tartans, in the way of kilts or otherwise today, unless it’s for fancy occasions, or special ones. There’s a lot of history there and suppression that I am no qualified to go into speaking of, but in our case, it’s more open than that at home. In Starkhaven, you’d likely see a good half of the people in a kilt at any time, and if not, a good number, still, wearing something of their colors, like a scarf or bit of edging on their cloak. It’s no always practical to go around with your knees bared and no trousers, after all.”
"That makes sense. I'd think it'd be cold too in winter, but - New York." Tony waves a hand. "So - bits of the tartan would be - perfectly fine?"
“Aye, they are, among close friends and family. Among friends it’s a sign of brotherhood, more or less. Not quite so binding as the assassins, of course, but still quite the sign that someone belongs to you now, and is a part of things.” Calum smiles. “For instance, Aedan gave Hans a scarf with it, and told him he now had a brother who wasnae out to get him, and Sebastian had one for Sherr the first Christmas they knew him, after he helped when Aedan ran away a while. Noah got much more than just a piece as soon as Sebastian could, mind you.” His eyes gleam. “But it really does mean that you hold someone quite dear and are going to be looking after them, and that they’ll be doing the same for you. And it would be perfectly fine to do.”
"Anything that'd be a good option? I was thinking - scarf or a hoodie or something -" Tony's tilting his head. "I do mean that though. I care about all of you."
“I think that he WOULD like that.” Calum smiles. “He’ll be needing one again soon enough. It’s summer now, and hot, but come the end of September we’ll be back to things being fairly chill again. And I know that I care for you and my brothers have said the same. You’re family now, like it or no.”
He pauses to sip his lemonade and nibble on a corner of a small sandwich. “AND it would be a fine idea for us to find something you might like to wear at times as well. What would work the best for you? A scarf or pocket square or something else?”
"Honestly, flannel pajamas would be amazing. I get cold in the night." And that's with Steve's resting body temperature akin to a lazing cat next to him. Tony's trying to think. "Pocket square, maybe, but I get that formal kind of rarely. Scarves are good?" Are they honestly checking what he'd like?
“Those could happen.” Calum smiles. “Sebastian has a pair that I can ask him about where he got them if things go well. And the rest are good ideas too. Just, so we have them in mind. I know you’ve already had a birthday this year, but…”
Tony laughs. "But there's other holidays. I do know that Steve really likes Thanksgiving. I'm kind of terrified of it. Never did a standard one."
“And we’ve not done one in a group ourselves. Sebastian tried one, the year that they were in America, but it was all a bit awkward then. Aedan was away from home at the time, so it was him and Ellie and someone he was dating at the time who Aedan describes as ‘the doctor Ken Doll’. We’ve not needed to have our own, living here, but I think something like it could be done, perhaps even on another day if the pressure’s too much, just to celebrate the same ideas of it, of being together and the like.” He looks thoughtful. “AND Desmond is Americanm so perhaps he’ll want to have the assassins have one. I’m sure you’ll have an invite somewhere. But with us, you’ll always have one for Christmas and the rest.”
Tony nods. "I'm not - holidays aren't easy for me, but people - I can spend time with people."
“They’re not so big a thing around here as it turns out.” Calum says.
“We try to be together, and to have a meal and there are gifts but it’s fairly low key. Aedan was kidnapped at a New Year’s party, so the weeks before and after it aren’t easy for him now. Last year, he stayed with the assassins to be away from the associations but he came to visit on Christmas itself and we came to him for a bit at the New Year, and some other times through that season. As the Lord Provost, Sebastian appears at the city’s events and there’s a large party that night, but presenting and hosting it , away from here and in the downtown...that’s MY purview.”
He looks incredibly proud and happy as he says that.
"You really love this kind of thing?" Tony's smiling at him. "Hey, I'm glad the work's fun for you. I'd kind of - want a secretary and to hide at the idea, but I'd probably not be bad at it. But that's not enjoying it?"
“Well, aye, I do a bit.” Calum laughs. “Coordinating events is fun, yes. And I do have an assistant AND a secretary who are both quite good at it. We manage to keep each other mostly on an even track.”
Mostly, anyway.
Tony's digging out his phone. "Let me make a note about checking in for the holidays then. Uh - want to look around? See if there's something good to order for Aedan? And I can wrap it up and bring it over."
“Sure, I’ll have a look and let you know. The shop that did our things for the wedding knows us well and might have ideas. You may want to come see it yourself sometime too.”
"Sure. The time zone difference might make it interesting, but I'm up for that." Tony's making the note and leaning to eat more tart. "This is really amazing."
“You should take a little back with you.” Calum smiles. “Noah’s made a few so it’d be perfectly fine. And we can find a way to work with that. I think we’re about...eight hours ahead of you in California? It’s five for somewhere in the Eastern Zone I think.”
"That . . . sounds right?" Tony nods slowly. "Morning for me, when it's dinner for you? I think. And - uh - let me snap a photo and see if Clint's curious to try some. I know he stops by here, so if he loves it, he can get some?" He smiles back. "It's - I'm not used to this. Usually my friend circle, close friends, was small."
“Sounds like a good idea.” Calum grins, “He and Sebastian try to get in range time often so we definitely see him sometimes. And well, I’m glad we can give you friends now. I know the feeling only too well. For me, it was...you never did know who was a friend and who was there for other reasons, in my position. And we didn’t grow up among many people close to our ages so our ability to socialize was very...formal. The casual things were harder to learn. I think only Hari is good at it.”
"Well, we're managing this." Tony smiles at Calum. "Can we set up a visit down to that shop, perhaps?" Since he thinks Calum wants to get him something. Might as well make it easier.
“Sure.” Calum smiles. “Would you like me to call now and ask when someone can show us what’s on offer? You could try things on yourself as well, and see the fabric choices.”
"I'd not mind? I don't know what I'm getting into, but -" Tony waves a hand. "I'm still discovering things I need in my closet, you know? That kind of stage."
“Are you now?” Calum grins. “You’ll get there. At least this world is vaguely close to the one you came from in terms of fashion, eh aye?”
"Yeah, but I was a rich guy who mostly got - you know - piles of stuff. Didn't wake up and wish I had a sweater most of the time. Or get sad that I'm running low on socks." Tony waves a hand. "It's - good for me, but also different?"
“That makes sense.” Calum nods. “Different would do it. Not being the heir to Starkhaven here has been...amazing in that sense. But it WAS weird at first.”