Alistair (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bringspeopletogether) wrote2016-05-17 10:44 pm
bringspeopletogether) wrote2016-05-17 10:44 pm
[oom] Denerim
For the most part, Alistair's kept the little Trollian device secreted away in a locked chest. Before he hid it, he tested it to confirm it still worked inside the palace, fiddling with the buttons some more until he stopped turning it off whenever he meant to send a message. (Someone, somewhere, probably got very sick of seeing quondamGryphon sign on and off for thirty minutes straight.)
After that, his nightly routine gains a few extra steps: go to his room, lock the door, unlock the chest, blow out any candles, and curl up in his bed with the device in hand. Most nights, he doesn't send any messages; all he does is watch the flicker of names appearing and disappearing, the screen's soft glow providing the room's only illumination.
It doesn't feel so lonely when he does that. Just knowing he can talk to someone -- even if he doesn't end up pressing a single button the whole night -- eases a little of the pressure in his chest.
The instructions mentioned the device is a quasi-living thing. Maybe that's why the changes start: living things grow. All Alistair knows is sometime around the second week of his new routine, he pulls out the device, feels a smooth lump on its back that wasn't there before, and, with a frown, turns it over to investigate.
It looks a bit like the clear bubble holding the device's "food." It's smaller, though; it doesn't squish when Alistair prods it with a fingernail. It feels like a pearl, almost, embedded into the device's shell like a jewel stuck in a crown.
And there's a new button on the front when he flips it back over: red, printed with a circle inside a rectangle. Frown deepening, Alistair presses it.
The screen turns to glass.
Or that's what it looks like, anyway. All of a sudden, Alistair can see his knees, the floor, a bit of the chest -- hastily, swearing under his breath, he stabs the button again in the hope it'll undo whatever he just did. It doesn't. Instead, the image of his knees freezes in place, and a message pops up over top of it.
SAVE IMAGE? Y/N
What.
y, types Alistair after a long moment's pause.
NAME IMAGE: ______.jpg
...y?, types Alistair again.
IMAGE SAVED: y?.jpg
"All right, what in Andraste's name just happened," he mutters as he stares at the screen. Gingerly, he positions his finger above the new button, raises the device, and presses it again.
Click.
Huh.
Click. Click.
All right, whatever this is, it's...kind of fun.
Click-click-click --
Actually, it's downright remarkable, look what it's doing, it's -- it's painting little pictures --
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] has invited amaranthineIdeopraxist to join private transtimeline bulletin board THEDAS
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] has invited jackbootJudex to join private transtimeline bulletin board THEDAS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] RIGHT NOW opened memo on board THEDAS
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] sent file "alistair.jpg"
(The file, when opened, has the honor of being Thedas's very first selfie: Alistair beaming uncontrollably, the image a little askew due to the awkwardness of taking a photo sight unseen.)
CQG: YSA
CQG: CULLEN
CQG: LOOK WHAT I FOUND
CQG: IT'S ON THE TROLLIAN DEVICE
It seems that in addition to finding the camera his device grew overnight, Alistair has also located the capslock button.
After that, his nightly routine gains a few extra steps: go to his room, lock the door, unlock the chest, blow out any candles, and curl up in his bed with the device in hand. Most nights, he doesn't send any messages; all he does is watch the flicker of names appearing and disappearing, the screen's soft glow providing the room's only illumination.
It doesn't feel so lonely when he does that. Just knowing he can talk to someone -- even if he doesn't end up pressing a single button the whole night -- eases a little of the pressure in his chest.
The instructions mentioned the device is a quasi-living thing. Maybe that's why the changes start: living things grow. All Alistair knows is sometime around the second week of his new routine, he pulls out the device, feels a smooth lump on its back that wasn't there before, and, with a frown, turns it over to investigate.
It looks a bit like the clear bubble holding the device's "food." It's smaller, though; it doesn't squish when Alistair prods it with a fingernail. It feels like a pearl, almost, embedded into the device's shell like a jewel stuck in a crown.
And there's a new button on the front when he flips it back over: red, printed with a circle inside a rectangle. Frown deepening, Alistair presses it.
The screen turns to glass.
Or that's what it looks like, anyway. All of a sudden, Alistair can see his knees, the floor, a bit of the chest -- hastily, swearing under his breath, he stabs the button again in the hope it'll undo whatever he just did. It doesn't. Instead, the image of his knees freezes in place, and a message pops up over top of it.
SAVE IMAGE? Y/N
What.
y, types Alistair after a long moment's pause.
NAME IMAGE: ______.jpg
...y?, types Alistair again.
IMAGE SAVED: y?.jpg
"All right, what in Andraste's name just happened," he mutters as he stares at the screen. Gingerly, he positions his finger above the new button, raises the device, and presses it again.
Click.
Huh.
Click. Click.
All right, whatever this is, it's...kind of fun.
Click-click-click --
Actually, it's downright remarkable, look what it's doing, it's -- it's painting little pictures --
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] has invited amaranthineIdeopraxist to join private transtimeline bulletin board THEDAS
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] has invited jackbootJudex to join private transtimeline bulletin board THEDAS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] RIGHT NOW opened memo on board THEDAS
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] sent file "alistair.jpg"
(The file, when opened, has the honor of being Thedas's very first selfie: Alistair beaming uncontrollably, the image a little askew due to the awkwardness of taking a photo sight unseen.)
CQG: YSA
CQG: CULLEN
CQG: LOOK WHAT I FOUND
CQG: IT'S ON THE TROLLIAN DEVICE
It seems that in addition to finding the camera his device grew overnight, Alistair has also located the capslock button.
no subject
CAI: In fact I am doing it right now
CAI: Liranan supposes he is willing to forgive you
CAI: And accept that he is your favorite
CAI: I actually don't know what Anders' real name is
CAI: He keeps it for himself
CAI: That can be difficult enough, some days
no subject
CQG: Anders is the private type, then
CQG: I see
The paranoid type, Alistair might say, but...he can't blame someone for wanting to keep their name a secret. Isn't that what he did for most of his time with the Wardens? Still, there has to be a certain amount of trust between commander and soldier, and -- well.
CQG: That does make it rather more difficult, doesn't it?
CQG: I don't envy you
no subject
CAI: And he answers to Anders reliably
CAI: Which is all I can ask for
CAI: And he actually explained all of his escape attempts to me
CAI: So I can't say he doesn't trust me
CAI: Or didn't
CAI: I'm not actually sure where we stand now
CAI: Maybe I should send him another ten cats?
CAI: Also you know in your heart that everyone envies me
CAI: I don't mind
no subject
CQG: Which is quite enviable
CQG: And I also envy a mind who negotiates peace offerings with her charges via small fuzzy animals
CQG: Though I have to question what kind of sad, sad man would prefer ten cats to ten dogs
CQG: I suppose there's rooms for all types in this world
CQG: (Imagine me saying that in the most magnanimous, kingly voice I can muster up)
no subject
CAI: It cannot be denied
CAI: I suppose it's something about the Anderfels?
CAI: The part about preferring cats
CAI: Though Pounce is really quite sweet
CAI: And restored the party to life once, when we fought something really quite terrible
CAI: (I can hear that kingly voice)
CAI: Remind me someday to demonstrate my Warden-Commander voice
CAI: I have been told it is terrifying
no subject
CQG: The cat restored you to life?
CQG: How??
CQG: Tell me the whole story in your most impressive Warden-Commander voice
CQG: Or just write it in all capital letters and I'll do my best to imagine
(He's studiously ignoring the comment about Ysa's facial tattoo for now. Ignoring all thoughts about another elf with a different tattoo, wandering somewhere in Thedas.)
no subject
CAI: I can't swear to it
CAI: He refuses to answer when I ask
CAI: But next time I see you I can declaim it very impressively
CAI: And maybe you will feel inspired?
no subject
CQG: I'll carry the story back to my Thedas and spread it far and wide
CQG: After practicing for hours to make sure I get the voice just right, of course
CQG: Maybe these little ones will assist me
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] sent file "trio.jpg"
If the coloring's anything to go by, the three puppies clustered near Alistair's feet came from Nerissa's recently-weaned litter. All three look up at the device hopefully; one, head cocked in curiosity, has a front paw balanced on Alistair's shin.
no subject
CAI: And the gravitas
CAI: The real question is how good they'll be at enunciating
no subject
CQG: "Cat" is pronounced "barkbarkbark," right?
CQG: And "Warden" is just "bark"?
no subject
CAI: What's that, Liranan?
CAI: Warden is 'ruff ruff hoooooowl'?
CAI: Write that down, Alistair
CAI: And cat is 'barkbark'
CAI: Any other questions?
no subject
CQG: Thank you, Liranan!
CQG: If your resident expert could edify me further on the pronunciation of "secret agent of the darkspawn, as most cats tend to be," that would also be appreciated
no subject
CAI: Pounce and Liranan get on quite well, I will have you know
CAI: Just look!
amaranthineIdeopraxist sent file "brothers.jpg"
The attached picture shows an orange tabby snoozing comfortably on top of Liranan's chest. The mabari is licking said cat's ears.
CAI: See?
no subject
CQG: I was only trying to cater to my three royal advisers here
Upon opening the file, Alistair makes a noise that can only be classified as a squeak. (He would insist it's a very manly squeak, however.)
CQG: ...oh no
CQG: oh maker that's adorable
Apparently, his aversion to cats can be tempered when a dog has entered the picture.
no subject
CAI: I'll see if I can convince Pounce to come to Milliways with Liranan and I sometime
CAI: I can't imagine he wouldn't like to see more of the world
CAI: I mean, he keeps following me back into the Deep Roads when I go
CAI: And Antiva once
CAI: And Seheron
no subject
CQG: And I would love to meet him
CQG: So long as he doesn't try to claw me
CQG: He's not the type to do that, is he?
no subject
CAI: And try to wear him as a hat
CAI: I think you'll be all right
no subject
CQG: There go all my plans
CQG: Ysa the Destroyer of Plans, look how sad you've made me
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] sent file "sadface.jpg"
It is, indeed, a very woeful face Alistair's making.
no subject
CAI: Clearly I am a monster
CAI: Look at my sad face of shame
amaranthineIdeopraxist sent file "weepingandrending.jpg"
It is a picture of Ysalwen laughing.
no subject
CQG: Oh I see how it is!!
CQG: Fine, I will pour out my sorrows to my other friends!
CQG: Friends who WILL let me wear them as a hat!
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] sent file "betterfriends.jpg"
Indeed, Alistair -- now flopped belly-down on the floor of the kennels -- has coaxed one of the puppies onto his head. It's showing a great deal of interest in the camera, craning forward as far as it can in an attempt to sniff it; Alistair, meanwhile, is laughing uncontrollably.
no subject
CAI: Let me demonstrate
CURRENT amaranthineIdeopraxist sent file "kittencrown.jpg"
Apparently Ser Pounce-a-lot is quite willing to perch on top of Ysalwen's head. It helps that the back of the chair is also supporting him, once presumes.
But still.
no subject
CQG: Very regal
CQG: More like this, then?
CURRENT quondamGryphon [CQG] sent file "puppycrown.jpg"
There is nothing even approaching regality in Alistair's picture. There is, however, twice the amount of adorable, because he's succeeded in getting two squirming puppies on his head, while the third has taken up residence beneath his chin.
Alistair's trying very hard to look solemn, and, as usual, is failing miserably.
no subject
CAI: However did you know?
CURRENT amaranthineIdeopraxist sent file "regal.jpg"
Ysalwen has her face buried in Liranan's side while she laughs, at the same time as Pounce steps daintily off her head and onto the mabari's back.
no subject
He's about to type a reply when he hears a door creak. Alistair freezes, listening, with both thumbs over the keyboard.
CQG: uh oh
CQG: think the kennelmaster's up
CQG: back soon
Time to stuff the device in his pocket and make a break for it!
no subject
Still laughing, Ysalwen tucks herself back in between Liranan and Zevran, closing up her holographic displays and settling in for a nice bout of lounging.
It's a good morning for it.
Things are --
Good.