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ɴᴇʀɪᴀ ꜱᴜʀᴀɴᴀ ([info]halamshivanas) wrote in [info]colligo_threads,
@ 2011-03-14 22:26:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:anders, neria surana

Who: Neria and Anders.
What: Talking about serious business.
Where: Neria's flat.
When: After this.
Rating: TBD.
Status: In progress.

Neria was concerned about Anders. Yes, she hardly knew him beyond the stories she had heard in the tower, but there was something about him that drew her to him. And that was just from a conversation on the network. Maybe it was the fact that he was another mage, another person who had lived in the Tower and truly understood what their kind went through every day. Maybe it was the fact that he was another Grey Warden. Maybe it was the fact he had made her laugh in a way few could these days. She wasn't sure what it was really, but she felt a kinship with him. And that's why the outburst on the network had worried her, scared her even.

She could have sworn that when she'd heard that other voice Anders's eyes had glowed blue. That did not bode well, and she sincerely hoped it was not what she feared. She knew it was perhaps dangerous to speak to the man alone, when there was every chance he could be a danger, but she had faith in herself and her abilities. Besides, he had wished to speak alone and she would not deny him the opportunity to explain herself. Both Wynne and Morrigan had taught her that one could not always judge a situation solely on how it appeared. Though he seemed to be an abomination, that might not be the case.

She was just finishing the tea when a knock came to the door. Setting it and a pair of cups on the table, she smoothed the skirt of her robes and went to the door. Though she typically dressed in the more modern manner of the time in public, she still her robes in private. It just felt more comfortable to wear something familiar. Opening the door, not honestly sure what to expect, she looked up at Anders. Well...he was tall, that was certain. But most people were, compared to her. He looked much nicer in person than he had on the network, but she supposed that was to be expected. She smiled softly and couldn't resist reaching up to brush her fingers along the feathers on his jacket. "It's very...lively," she said after a moment, quickly pulling her hand back as she realised it was hardly appropriate. "I think I rather like it...even if it does look terribly complicated. How do you manage all those buckles. If the circle taught me anything, it was that robes really are terribly practical."

She noticed she was really off track and stopped, colouring slightly. "Please...come in," she said finally. "Are you all right? I must admit I was...worried."

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-15 03:59 am UTC (link)
This place was altogether strange. Certainly that made it fascinating but being captured to a place that made no sense and then tracking down the past version of his friend and Commander was just a little bit on the stressful scale of things that happened. It was no wonder that Justice seemed just a little bit closer to the surface than usual. Getting into a debate with the future king of Ferelden was really not on his list of things to do, let alone introducing Justice to their dear Warden so early.

But this was Neria. The woman had saved both of their lives in one way or another, the entire reason that the two of them were together as they were. Which was perhaps why Anders was even more hesitant to tell her. She did not know either of them yet, she had no idea what all of them have gone through together. The Architect was an unknown, the Blight still going on and she was blissfully unaware of just how intelligent darkspawn could become. She had no idea just why they would be driven to something like this.

He made his way up, frowning at the structure around him. It all seemed so odd, artificial, maybe like some sort of fade construction that was a poor creation of reality. But perhaps this was just how places looked in other parts of the universe. None of this made any sense to him really and Anders was able to take a lot on faith after all he had been through. Still when he reached the right number, he knocked.

When she opened the door, he smiled. Raising an eyebrow, he chuckled as she seemed to go straight for his robes. "Well, I can't say I've had a woman go straight for the petting in a while." he teased, simply letting her. "I've a friend who says that the getup lends to my broody hero persona."

But she brought the conversation back, of course. She did not stop the blight by getting hopelessly distracted from what she wanted, after all. It was admirable if unwanted at this moment in time. His smile turning a bit sad, he stepped in, looking around the room as he did. "I'm, well, fine. Fine for me anyway." he offered, which was not an explination and he knew it.

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[info]halamshivanas
2011-03-15 04:55 am UTC (link)
"I'm sorry," Neria said, though her smile contradicted the words. "I just couldn't help myself. I simply cannot resist a pair of ridiculous, feathery pauldrons. Sends me swooning every time." She laughed softly when he mentioned his 'broody hero persona', tilting her head to the side and trying to see it. "You know," she said at last, thinking of Sten, "I've met a few brooding heroes in my time. I can't say they were much for feathers. But I suppose it's a matter of preference. Or perhaps things are simply different in Kirkwall. Is it an especially feathery place?"

His answer told her all of nothing, so she sighed and walked over to the table. Pouring two cups of tea, she sat down and gestured for him to join her. "You must know that wasn't an answer at all," she said gently. "But if you do not wish to tell me, I won't press. Just...have some tea. Irving always told me that tea could help with any problem." She looked over in the direction of the window, silent for a moment. "If only it were that simple. If only the circle could have been saved or the Blight ended with tea." Some days, the weight of the task she had undertaken felt unbearable, even so far away from Ferelden.

She had her suspicions, but she wasn't sure how to bring them up. "I have a friend from the Circle," she said finally, "you might have known her in her time there, considering she was a Senior Enchanter. Her name is Wynne. She's the one who taught me everything I know about healing. I mean...I was always drawn to the healing arts, but she taught me how to use those gifts in ways I had never realised were possible."

She looked at Anders. "She was killed in the Tower...before she ever started travelling with me. Somehow...a spirit of the Fade protected her. A spirit of Faith, she said. I suppose many would believe her an abomination. But I have never seen anything from goodness from her."

Andraste's knickers, this was awkward. "I suppose what I'm trying to say is...life has showed me that things are not always a black and white as the Chantry would have us believe."

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-15 05:19 am UTC (link)
"That's me, making women swoon all over the place. Really it can get frightening at times int he clinic." he chuckled slightly. It felt good to laugh like this, it felt like it had been forever. Sure it was just a bit of one but it was almost like he had his friend back, even if Neria had no idea who he really was. Once the Commander had headed back to Denerim, well, things with the Wardens and himself had gone a bit downhill. "Have you met many brooding mage heroes though? I feel that's the true test."

He frowned slightly at the mentioning of Irving. The man was a great mage, that was true. But Irving was as much of the problem as one of the templars. Certainly he stood up for some, such as letting Neria join the wardens, but how many apprentices had been led to their deaths under his watch? How many more had their lives taken from them and replaced with the soulless husk that was a tranquil? "Sadly I don't know of many darkspawn that like tea." he mentioned, though the Architect crossed his mind as he said that.

"I met Wynne." Anders replied, looking down at the cup of tea. "Well, I mean, I'd seen her as a senior enchanter, we shared a discipline, but I met her with you in Amaranthine. She sent us after some loony botanist." He smiled just a bit at the memory.

Looking around a bit awkwardly for a moment, he sighed and rubbed the bit of his neck beneath his ponytail. "It's not... exactly what you might think. This would be so much easier to explain if you had already met us, well me. Is it us anymore? I don't even know."

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[info]halamshivanas
2011-03-15 07:06 am UTC (link)
"I can imagine," Neria said, "what with all those women falling. However do you catch them all?" It was strange to find herself in such good humour. Lately it had felt like she had forgotten how to laugh, or even smile some days. Something about Anders put her at ease, and let her relax at least a little. "My brooding heroes tend to be more of the Grey Warden and qunari persuasion," she admitted, thinking of how quiet Alistair could be at times, or how serious Sten often was. "I suppose they don't exactly tend themselves to feathery frocks."

Irving was a source of confusion for her. He had been a mentor in her time at the Circle, the closest thing she'd ever had to a father, but when she had helped Jowan he had been perfectly willing to send her to her death to appease Greagoir even though she had not known her friend was a blood mage. It left a bitter taste in her mouth to know that, in the end, he would rather protect himself than his charges. While she generally fell on the more Aequitarian side of things, there were times when she could certainly see the appeal of the Libertarian mindset.

"I am glad to hear she is well, even after the Blight is over," she said with a small smile, taking a sip of her tea before she continued. "I suppose...I had worried she was only staying until we stopped it. That once it was taken care of and the threat of the Archdemon was removed...that she would let go. She always said that she was living on borrowed time. I would...miss her, if that was the case. But all things have their end."

"Honestly," she said, "I do not know what to think. You changed when we were speaking. Your voice and your eyes. That was not natural. But you seem to be a good man. I cannot imagine that you would let yourself be charmed by a demon...not with the way you speak of Blood Mages. I just...want to believe that it is something good and noble."

She had listened to what he said to other people, and something had stuck out to her. Now, it began to make a bit more sense. "Does this have something to do with the friend you spoke of?" she asked. "Justice?"

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-15 05:55 pm UTC (link)
"I normally have a dwarf sidekick. Last one was terribly perky. It was a shame to leave her." Anders sighed playfully. Though he did miss Sigrun. Sure they had their own little spats but she by far had the best sense of humor from those he traveled around with during his time with Neria. And she had no idea who any of them were. "And I've got the Grey Warden part. Well, sort of."

"No, she's alive." Anders replied, finally picking up his cup. "Doing work with the Circle last I heard. Haven't seen her in along time." He had known Wynne had been one of Neria's companions. She seemed to gather people to her like that. But Wynne was not someone he had kept track of, he wished he could have been more help really.

Frowning, he just stared down at the tea in his hands. "Yes, Justice. He's a friend. Of both of ours, actually. I wouldn't have met him without you." Anders sighed, trying to get a handle on his thoughts. There were many people that he could lie to in this world, or rather back at home, but not the Commander. Maybe she did not know who he was, or who Justice was, but she was his Commander. Really she was one of the only people that he had any trust in within the Grey Wardens.

"He's a spirit. But, it's not what you think." he started, looking up at her with an almost desperation tinging his voice. "He's a spirit of Justice, from the fade. He was trapped in our realm, his body was decaying. And he wanted to help the mages. So, I offered. He's my, he's our friend. It's just, he's now me. It's all very confusing really."

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[info]halamshivanas
2011-03-15 08:00 pm UTC (link)
"Ah, dwarven sidekicks," Neria said with a fond smile as she thought of Oghren. The gruff dwarf was actually quite pleasant to be around if one knew how to handle him. She, thankfully, had figured it out fairly early and got along well with him. "I can't say Oghren is especially perky, but he is certainly entertaining." She smiled at him, remaining quite for a moment as she sipped her tea. "I am sorry for that. Not for saving you, because I would do that again without ever knowing you, but for subjecting you to this curse. It should not have been necessary. It isn't right that you are caught between the slow death the taint brings and being imprisoned for who you are. There is nothing right about it at all."

She sighed. "I am glad to know that," she said. "I don't remember my own mother...she died when I was very young. I guess...Wynne has become what I wish my mother had been." She didn't remember a lot about her life in Denerim, before the Circle, because she had come into her magic so young. But what she did remember was not especially pleasant. Perhaps that was why she had appreciated the Circle more than most.

"I wish I remembered him," Neria said softly. Anders seemed fond of the spirit, and that really was enough for her. Anders was an ally, a fellow mage she had conscripted to save him from the templars. She was not a naive person, but she did trust her own judgement, even if that judgement had not yet happen. She believed Anders was worth trusting, and that meant Justice was as well. "He sounds like someone I would like to know."

She couldn't help smiling sadly at his reaction, reaching over to cover his hand with hers. "Why don't you leave what I think to me," she said fondly. "I know my own thoughts better, perhaps, than you do. Because I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, that Justice is no different than Faith. Or Valor. Or any other number of forces of goodness within the Fade. And I think that this virtuous spirit has chosen you for a higher purpose, and you have agreed to help him both because he is a friend who you did not wish to lose, and because you wish to make a difference." She looked up at him. "But if I am truly wrong in my thoughts, please feel free to correct me."

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-15 08:41 pm UTC (link)
"He has quite the sense of humor, that's for certain." It seemed like such a long time ago that he had seen any of his fellow grey wardens, the ones who had joined him under Neria. They were the ones he felt a kinship with, even Nathaniel and his disturbing lack of humor. But they had all gone their own ways within the Order, Velanna disappearing completely. "It's not so bad." Anders shrugged. "Though I do hate the deep roads. If I never have to go there again it'll have been too soon."

Mothers. They were a painful thought. "My mother loved me." he said softly, but that was all he could say on the matter. His mother had tried to protect him, to keep him. His father had been more than happy to hand him over to the templars that had ripped him away from her.

He jerked away slightly when she reached out from him, more out of shock than anything. It had been an unexpected source of comfort. "He is. Was. He's me now. He wants to bring more justice to Thedas. The plight of mages, it's an injustice he had never even fathomed before."

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[info]halamshivanas
2011-03-15 09:15 pm UTC (link)
"That is certainly one way of putting it," Neria said with a laugh, "though humour is not quite how I would describe it. Or perhaps dwarven humour is something only they understand. It was strange, talking to this man she didn't know as if he was a friend. She wrinkled her nose with distaste at the mention of the Deep Roads, shuddering. "I could never stand them," she admitted. "They're so dark and cold and...we're not meant to be a part of that. Taint or not it just feels wrong to me."

"I think mine did," Neria responded softly. "Maybe. I'm not sure." Perhaps it was better not to think of the time before. Dwelling on the past did not improve anything. It just reminded her that life was often cruel.

"I'm...sorry," she said quickly, when he jerked away from her. "I didn't mean to...I just thought...I'm sorry." She listened as he spoke and felt a something akin to compassion for the man sitting next to her. "I suppose this is an odd question, and I mean no offence, but is there any separation? Are you truly one entity now? This is different than anything I have ever seen and I cannot help being curious."

His talk of injustice made her think of all the injustices she had witnessed. "It is not just mages," she said finally. "Yes, our plight as mages is not to be ignored, but I would ask that you not lose sight of the others who suffer every day in Ferelden. If you had not been a mage, you would have had a normal life...and perhaps you never would have cared to make a difference. There are others who are not so fortunate. You have not seen what it is like in the alienages. Those people suffer every day. It is not so different than mages, save that people do not make excuses about danger or anything else. We elves are simply less. We are inferior. So what does it matter if the humans take what they want?" She stopped suddenly, looking down. "I am sorry. I can get a bit...but the point is there are injustices aplenty in Thedas. Mages, elves, even qunari suffer from the ignorance of people. The poor are all too often left to suffer on their own, with little help because they are forgotten. Don't get so caught up in one, however personal, that you become blind to the rest."

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-16 02:25 am UTC (link)
"No, no. It's. Just I wasn't really expecting it. Just a bit... out of the ordinary." Anders breathed as he looked over at the Commander. He had to keep reminding himself that she was not his Commander yet. But at the same times she was. She just needed a bit more time to cook maybe and then she would be the person who not only saved his life but someone he had been willing to follow into the bowels of the Mother's lair itself. "He is me. I'm him. But there's some, I'm not really sure how to explain it. There are times where I'm not myself. And times where he's not himself. We're both, well, new at this."

It was a bit hopeless to try to explain to someone really. Really Anders did not rightly know himself. But it was what it was, explanation or not.

"I have seen what it's like." Anders shook his head, continuing to just watch his tea as he held it in his hands. "I've, well, I've left Ferelden. Moved to Kirkwall. I've been working as a healer for the refugees of the blight. Though really, it's anyone who can't afford an actual healer. There are so many of them, and they're treated so horribly. Darktown is worse than the Alienage there."

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[info]halamshivanas
2011-03-16 05:19 am UTC (link)
"It is out of the ordinary for someone to wish to comfort you or show you compassion?" Neria asked, surprised and a little upset on Anders's behalf. It just seemed wrong somehow. Anders was a good man, and he had been nothing but kind since she had met him. Surely others could see that as well. And if not, she truly pitied them. But perhaps she trusted too easily. Morrigan had certainly said as much on more than one occasion. She dropped her hands to her lap, feeling embarrassed. She wasn't big on touching people herself, but it had just seemed like he needed it. "But I do not wish to make you uncomfortable, so I will try not to...do that again."

It sounded complicated and confusing, but she felt like she understood at least a little. "It must be difficult, for the both of you," she said softly. "But to be willing to do that...both to help a friend and to aid a cause...even though I don't know you as well as you would like, I really admire you, Anders. There are not many who would do that."

"I didn't mean to put it like that," she said. "I'm sure you've seen injustice aplenty...both of you. I haven't been to Kirkwell, but I've heard things. I cannot even imagine what it must be like there. Especially a place worse than an alienage. I did not believe such a thing could exist." The one good thing about the Circle was that it got her out of the alienage.

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-16 06:20 am UTC (link)
"Both, maybe?" Anders sighed, setting the cup down since he seemed to come to the conclusion there was no way he was going to be able to drink anything. Why did this remind him so much of when Hawke had shown up at his clinic what felt like just the other day? People reaching out, it seemed like such a foreign concept. But he reached out all the time, at least to his patients. "It's for the best though. I'm, I'm not someone that you should be wanting to comfort. No good will come from it."

A bit of a smile tugged at his lips when she said she admired him. It was such an odd thing to hear from the Commander of all people. She defeated the blight, the first Grey Warden to ever do so and live. He had seen her bring down broodmothers, defeat demons, and brave the fade. "It's kind of you to think I'm admirable."

"Well, Darktown isn't the Deep Roads. But that's about all it's got going for it."

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[info]halamshivanas
2011-03-16 06:38 am UTC (link)
"Well...then clearly people are far too foolish for me to possibly understand them," Neria said decisively. She knew she had something of a tendency toward picking up strays as it were, but it had always worked out in the past. "You know," she said with a smile, "I don't know if you know this, but I'm told I don't have much sense when it comes to the company I keep. Let alone those I care about. An ex-templar bastard prince, a Witch of the Wilds, a former Orlesian spy, a Qunari murderer, a very slightly deceased mage, an Antivan Crow who tried to kill me, and a drunken dwarf? Really, what's one dashing apostate added to that list? Even one with a spirit living in his head. So stop trying to discourage me. I am very stubborn when I want to be."

"It isn't kindness," she told him. "It's good sense. Anyone with a brain could see your good qualities. And that's without even taking into account your daring escapes from the Circle. Perhaps your friend wasn't so far off with the brooding hero thing."

She wrinkled her nose. "I cannot even imagine it," she said. "But it sounds perfectly dreadful."

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-16 08:56 pm UTC (link)
Anders shook his head, a weak and weary smile still there. It was so hard to explain, especially to a woman that at one point in his life he had been close to. In fact it really was not all that long ago for him, though longer than he would have liked. Back when he was just one person and he could actually stand to have things like attachments to people. But now, not now. Now he was a man who existed for his mission, that was what him and Justice were to do. This place though, ripped away from all of that, he had no idea what he was supposed to do here.

This was a world with no Chantry, a world where it seemed mages were allowed to roam about relatively free. Or at the very least they were as bound as any other person here. It was almost enough to think that things could be different. But he knew that was an idle thought. He would have to return to Thedas at some point.

"Your good sense is just going to get you hurt. And you're the last person I want to do that to, Commander." Anders admitted honestly. He was what he was and that was someone who would hurt people. Sure they were removed from their world but that did not take away everything else. It was simply a reprieve, a place where he could figure out what to do back home, hopefully.

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[info]halamshivanas
2011-03-17 02:54 am UTC (link)
Neria could see something in his face that mirrored the feelings she had in her heart. Here, away from the Blight and her duty, she felt as one adrift in a tide. In Ferelden there had been a surety, a purpose which drove her. Here, she was left with only worries and regrets, both numerous and heavy in her heart. "It's difficult, isn't it?" she asked him, looking down at her hands. "Losing the certainty...the ease that comes with knowing exactly what it is you have to do? In Ferelden, I had a duty to the Grey Wardens, to slay the Archdemon and end the Blight. It gave me a sense of purpose. Now...in this place...I feel like I've lost that." She looked over at him. "Is that how it is for you? Without the cause that brought you and Justice together?"

She sighed. "You're stubborn," she said, "but you'll find I'm worse than you are in that regard. I am very resilient, Anders, and I know how to look after myself. I think you're giving yourself little credit. You won't hurt me, because it isn't something you want to do. Besides, I'm stronger than I look. I want to be a friend to you. And I would be very hurt if you refused me that." She smiled. "So...since you don't wish to hurt me, I'm afraid you're stuck. Wouldn't you say so?"

She got to her feet. "Now," she said, "perhaps it's a bit soon, but I have a problem that I believe you are best suited to solving for me. If you'll give me just a moment." She went back to her room and came back out with a kitten in her arms. "The little thing has taken to coming around," she explained, "and I would hate to leave him to fend for himself, but it wouldn't be wise to have such a small creature around my hound." She smiled. "Do you think you could perhaps be of some assistance, Anders?"

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-17 06:36 am UTC (link)
"I'm not sure yet, I've only just arrived." Anders shook his head, reaching up and pressing his fingers to his forehead to ward off that inching pain that seemed to ghost around the edges of his mind. Justice was a spirit, an embodiment of all that Justice meant. Justice could not just stand idly by and wait, which meant that no longer could he. Without purpose, existence was meant to have purpose. Even within the fade there was purpose. And now here, this might all be enough to drive him mad.

Well, more mad than he already was.

Chuckling just so slightly, he managed to give her another smile. Smiles used to come so easy for him, they were almost his default expression. Now they were rare and his Commander yet again seemed able to bring them out in him. "You can't say I didn't warn you, Commander."

"A problem?" Frowning just slightly, Anders watched her as she got up and left the room. What possible problem could she have that someone she just met would be able to solve? She barely knew him, as it were.

And then she walked out, a kitten in her arms. For a moment Anders felt like his heart stopped. It was an almost chilling feeling of deja vu, seeing this replaying. The scenery was different, she was different, the cat was different, but it was all so much the same. "I." his voice caught up in his throat as his eyes went wide, just staring at the kitten that was looking back at him with those big kitteny eyes. "It's a kitten!" he finally managed, the most obvious response possible.

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[info]halamshivanas
2011-03-17 07:39 am UTC (link)
"I still don't know how to handle it," Neria admitted with a small, slightly embarrassed smile, "though I have been here since the end of Firstfall. I mean...it is nice, I suppose, to be in a place where people...most people, anyway...do not judge me for being a mage or an elf, but everything here is so strange and I cannot stop thinking about Ferelden. I have a duty and there are people who will suffer if I do not return." She sighed. "I've been doing my best to keep busy, to keep my mind off it, but it is difficult."

"You have a nice smile," she said, when he graced her with the rare expression. "You should do that more often. And I really am dreadful at minding warnings. Always have been." She looked at him for a moment, tilting her head. "You know, Anders, you really do suit the tragic but dashing hero persona, what with the coat and the hair and the...rugged handsomeness. Add an earring and it would be just about perfect."

She couldn't help the laugh that escaped at his pronouncement. Holding the kitten out to him, she gave him a warm smile. "It is indeed a kitten," she confirmed. "A stray kitten who needs someone to look after him. If I weren't afraid Dane might eat him, or Morrigan, I'd let him stay with me. But I wouldn't want to risk it. And so I need to find someone who will look after him and won't mind my visiting. Please, Anders?"

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-17 08:25 am UTC (link)
"Well, if I go mad, at least you'll know why?" he mused lightly. Though there was a seriousness to it still. Justice did not do well without a fight. Even before they had merged, he had always been seeking out his next task, the next injustice. It was the driving force of his existence. Without it what would he do?

"You think I'm ruggedly handsome?" Anders' smile definitely veered more towards a grin at that little revelation. What could he say, having his ego stroked was never a bad thing, right? Chuckling again, he shrugged just slightly. "I used to have one actually." he explained, reaching up and feeling where the hole had been in his ear. "Got rid of it a while ago, sadly. Had one when you knew me though."

Tentatively he reached out, taking the small creature into his hands. Bringing it in close, he looked down at the kitten, cradling it gently against his chest. "I certainly wouldn't mind you visiting at all." he replied, still utterly transfixed by the kitten in his arms. "You can stay with me. And we won't have to take you into the Deep Roads. And the Wardens won't think you're making me too soft either." he babbled to the cat, barely remembering that he was actually talking instead of just thinking.

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[info]halamshivanas
2011-03-17 12:22 pm UTC (link)
"I hope that you do not go mad," Neria said seriously. "It must be even worse for you than for me. I have met Fade spirits and if Justice is anything like them...he's single-minded. He exists to be justice. To not have that cause to fight...I cannot even imagine how difficult it must be for him."

Neria coloured slightly, wishing he hadn't latched on to that part. "You know you're handsome," she told him. "You hardly need me to confirm it." When he said he used to have an earring, she wasn't especially surprised. It just seemed to suit him. "Another thing the Wardens made you give up?" she asked. "Or did you simply grow tired of it?"

She couldn't help but smile at the picture Anders made, cuddling a kitten and speaking to it as if it was just another person. Okay, perhaps giving the handsome, charming mage a small furry animal had not been the best of ideas, but he seemed genuinely happy. She wondered how long it had been since that was the case. She giggled, not a laugh but and actual giggle, softly to herself as she watched them. "You two seem to be getting along quite nicely," she said with a fond smile. "I'm glad." She forced herself to take her eyes off the adorable pair and began cleaning up the tea. "Have you any idea what you'll call him?"

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-19 10:14 pm UTC (link)
"We'll see how we handle it, I guess." Anders shrugged. There was nothing he could do about it, at least not right now. Perhaps if he managed to get back into that library there might be a way to get home. He was needed there. Who knew if this was actually out of time at all, he needed to be back in Thedas to continue the work he was starting in Darktown.

"Do I know I'm handsome though?" he teased slightly with a brightening grin. Anders was not sure he had ever heard the Commander compliment him like that. Maybe the whole becoming Commander of the Grey had led to her less likely to say things like that to people. Or maybe there was someone else by the time he met her, he had no idea. When she asked about the Wardens though his smile dimmed just a little. "It was a bit of a combination, I guess you could say."

Anders was already rubbing the soft fur of the kitten's stomach, already completely bewitched by this tiny little creature. "I'm a cat person. Cats always like me." he smiled as he watched his new kitten. "I think I'll call him Lord Mewsy."

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[info]halamshivanas
2011-03-20 09:56 pm UTC (link)
"Well, if you need someone to talk to," Neria said, "I can be a good listener. I know I am not what you were expecting - I'm not the Commander you knew, and I'm sorry for that - but I can be a friend if you let me. I want to be a friend to you, Anders." He seemed like someone who needed all the friends he could get, and she had always been drawn to the strays and the lost causes. Some might call it a character flaw, but she simply considered it a way of making interesting friends.

Maker's breath, she could not stop blushing. It was embarrassing. "I heard more than enough stories about you in the Tower," she said at last, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture. "You definitely know you're handsome." She noticed the way his demeanour changed at the mention of the Grey Wardens, and she wondered what his experiences with the group had been like. "The only Wardens I have ever known were Duncan and Alistair...and neither of them were...conventional, I guess you could say. I suppose it must be different, dealing with the Order."

Anders really was terribly sweet with the kitten, and she couldn't help feeling a bit fond of him as she watched. "I can see that," she said. "You do seem to have a way with them." She giggled at the name, not entirely surprised given his other cats had been named 'Mister Wiggums' and 'Ser Pounce-a-lot'. "I think it suits him."

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[info]oftwominds
2011-03-22 05:03 am UTC (link)
"I still don't think you know what you're getting into, but I've never been good at telling you no, Commander." Anders chuckled, a tinge of sadness still there. Yes she had told him not to call her that but in Anders mind that was as much her name as Neria. Just because she had not lived it yet did not mean that she was not that same woman, the woman that he followed to the bowels of the earth and back.

Anders stroked his chin thoughtfully at that little tidbit. He knew that his escape attempts were given to be gossiped about, he did not know other things were. Then again it was not as if he was given to being discreet. The Circle's gossip was nothing he had ever been good at keeping track of, mostly because he was in solitary confinement more often than not when he was at the tower. "What sort of stories? I'm very curious." he mused with a slight smile. As for the Wardens, well, Neria would learn about the rest of the order soon enough. "I liked being one well enough when it was just you and me. And the others you brought together.... I miss Nathanial, oddly."

"It does suit him, doesn't it?" Anders chuckled, smiling with genuine happiness down at Lord Mewsy. "What do you think, Lord Mewsy?"

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