InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "True story."

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

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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