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: 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.