driftfleet | 5th Blight; video + open action

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5th Blight; video + open action

Who: Riona, a pupper and you!
Broadcast: yessss
Action: yessssssss
When: Today

[When the feed turns on, the fleet will immediately be greeted by the sight of a very excitable mabari puppy sniffing at the screen and trying to bite it. There's laughter behind him as his mistress pulls him back.]

Nice try, you little rascal.

[Riona plops him on her lap, keeping an arm securely around him. The ocean serves as the backdrop, the waves crashing against the shoreline. The sun is shining, but Riona's smile seems even brighter as she addresses the fleet.]

Everyone, meet Kiter. He's my mabari from home! Though he is much tinier than the last time I saw him... The tree must have made him little again. I can't fathom how or why, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

[She presses a kiss to his head. He barks happily, though he keeps wiggling to try and get at the communicator.]

Maker, I missed you. Though you're a puppy again, you still knew me. [She looks back at the camera.] The tree has been kind to me. Kinder than Atroma, at any rate. I'm grateful to it and this world. But I digress. If anyone wants to meet Kiter here, we'll be by the sea. He always liked to chase the seabirds. And I will not pass up the salty air.

[That is where she will be, sitting on the beach and playing with her hound. The little guy will be running up and down the place, chasing birds and walking up to passersby. And be absolutely adorable, of course.]

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[After working non-stop since arriving on planet, planning to buy presents for everyone who's angry with or unsure of him (basically, all of the Thedosians in the fleet), and then thwarting his own best laid plans by dumping nearly all of his considerable acorn profits into Margaery's lap to give to the less fortunate, Hawke's decided to take a few hours for himself, laying out on the beach in a locally made loose knit tunic and rough-hewn culottes with his boots thrown off to the side so he can feel the sand between his toes.

He'd also gotten a small meat pie with the last of his earnings, intending to munch it for a late lunch out there as he relaxes. But in this too is Hawke thwarted. He'd dozed off, all the around the clock work he's done in the past week finally catching up with him, and when he awakes it's to an admittedly delightfully pudgy Mabari puppy snuffling neck deep in the bag where he'd hidden his food.]

Of all the--

[He sighs, either too charmed or just too tired to truly be angry at the pup. He smiles as the pup emerges triumphant from the bag with crumbs all over his snout and the other half of the pie poking from between his jowls. Hawke reaches out to scratch gently between the dog's ears.]

Fine, fine, eat up, you mongrel.

[Riona and Kiter had gone out to stretch their legs and see the rest of the shoreline. Typically the most Kiter will do is chase the birds or sniff at something embedded in the sand. So Riona didn't think too much of it when he'd gone barreling off at first, more content to look out on the sea and watch for any passing ships. It was when he'd been quiet for a bit TOO long that she started to look for him.

She spots Hawke first, and her steps stop. Though things are somewhat better between them, they're certainly not what she'd call good. And Kiter seemed content at first to just sniff around him. Besides, the man is sleeping and she won't wake him-

- until she sees Kiter going into a bag.]

No! Kiter, no!

[But it's too late. Hawke is awake, and Kiter's nabbed the pie. Riona sighs in exasperation as she trudges up to them.]

Kiter. You don't go stealing other people's food.

[She scoops up the puppy and turns him around so he's getting the full gale of her glare. He whines softly.]

You rascal.

[She looks over at Hawke.]

I'm sorry about that. Please, how much did that cost? I'll reimburse you.

[Maybe it's because Hawke is still half asleep, maybe it's because he's feeling more bold for feeling a bit less lonely after his tryst with Kirk, or maybe he's just overwhelmed by his Ferelden heritage, but in answer he looks at Riona very seriously, drawing himself up even as he remains sitting.]

One cuddle.

[There's a twinkle in his eye and he grins just a bit, realizing how that sounds.]

With the Mabari, I mean. If the little wiggle will sit still long enough for it.

[He loses all sense of decorum and makes a silly face at the dog like one would at an infant, puffing his cheeks out and waving his fingers.]

[Blink.]

You want to cuddle with my dog?

[That's... not at all what she was expecting. There's a bit of wariness to her gaze. Not because she thinks he'd hurt her dog, but more because... well, why?]

That'd hardly compensate you for the lost meat pie.

[Kiter woofs, spraying crumbs of the meat pie everywhere. Riona rolls her eyes and gives him another stern look.]

What did I say about talking with food in your mouth?

I'm not really bothered about the meat pie. If he was hungry, then he needed it more than I did.

[He turns his attention entirely to the puppy for a moment, voice going into a higher register.]

Isn't that right you adorable pudgy little glutton?

[Ahem.]

I miss having a mabari around. Mine was left in Kirkwall with my brother when my friends and I left the city. Ser Drools will keep him safe, I'm sure, but I do miss him.

[Kiter makes a face at being called a glutton. He whines, seemingly offended.]

Don't you start. You're the one who raised his bag.

[HUFF.]

A few from Thedas seem fond of the breed. For which I'm glad. They're not appreciated enough outside Ferelden.

[She sets Kiter down. He remains still for the moment, still finishing the pie.]

Perhaps if you wish for him at the tree, he may be brought here.

I've seen some Orlesians use them as hunting dogs, at least. Which is close to their intended purpose. The dogs themselves seemed happy enough hunting wyverns and ghasts.

[He shrugs, leaning over the pup as the last bit of food vanishes down its gullet so he can scratch Kiter behind the ears.]

He's much bigger than yours, and I don't know how I would keep him fed. He can be a picky old thing and I doubt he'll go in for food gels, much less the pounds of it he'd need. Besides; who would protect my brother then?

[She scrunches her nose.]

Hmph. Perhaps so, but I still doubt the Orlesians truly appreciate them as they should. They wouldn't want to be associated with dog lords now would they?

[Gosh Riona, don't be such a Fereldan snob.]

Oh no, Kiter was fully grown back home. The tree brought him back this small.

Oh, really?

[That's an interesting development.]

Then maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have him on the ships. Easier to run around when you're that small.

[He rakes his fingers through his beard as he mulls that over. Maybe... maybe he could ask for Drools. After all, Anders being here hadn't changed what Hawke remembers. Bringing Drools here may not change anything for how he was left to protect Carver back in Thedas now. Carver still has Aveline too, anyway.]

Maybe I'll go see to the tree before we leave this planet, then. It couldn't hurt to ask, and maybe your Kiter would like a friend.

[He smiles, then looks up at Riona and backtracks a bit.]

If that would be alright with you, I mean.

[The more mabari the merrier. She nods and smiles, though it falters a tad at his suggestion. Although she does not want to necessarily deny Kiter or his mabari a chance to play, she's still not entirely thrilled at the thought of spending a lot of time with Wolfe. She fears the longer she is around him, the more time there is for underlying emotions to resurface. And she really doesn't want to wind up arguing or hitting him again.]

We'll see. They both might need some time to adjust first.

[Too much too fast, he understands. He doubts he'd be too happy to spend time with someone who told him Anders had died either, Maker forbid that ever happening whether they'd had a hand in it or not. And Hawke's too tired to argue. It had honestly just been to look out for his mabari, should Ser Drools be granted him by this magical tree.]

That's fair.

[He lets it go, drawing his hand away from Kiter and folding his elbows on his knees again, looking out to sea. He takes and accepts her meaning, isn't going to push any further. It had already been hard enough to reach this level of cordiality, even if it doesn't feel like an understanding.]

We all need some time to adjust.

[It's an almost maudlin, very telling statement and he's not sure why he'd said it at all. But it's out there now.]

[Kiter's still a pup but he can sense something is not quite right here. He turns and tilts his head at Riona, letting out a soft whine. She kneels down and beckons to him. As he trots over, she scoops him up in her arms and straightens, holding him close a moment.

Truthfully she's glad he didn't press the issue. There's all too good of a chance of it turning into an argument, and she's not in the mood. For the first time in weeks she's happy, and she won't ruin it by beating what's effectively a dead horse at this point.

This fleet - being in it - is trying. The extent of Hawke's troubles isn't known to her, but she still understands how hard it is to be new here. And while her feelings about him are mixed, at best, she's not so much a monster as to disregard what he might be feeling. (Doesn't always mean she'll agree with it, but she won't disregard it)]

That can take longer than we'd like. The key is to not push the issue too much.

A hard balance to find, really.

[He broods out at the ocean over it, over how Riona seems to always bring with her this miasma of everything he's done wrong. His fault his sister died, his fault his mother died, Fenris: his fault, Corypheus: this fault, Alistair's death: his bloody fault. He can hardly blame Riona for the things she reminds him of, though.

And now the whole thing is even getting to the mabari. He supposes that's his fault too, not being able to keep cheerful for even Kiter's sake. He's just too tired, not been sleeping. Running from everything in the only way he can when he's forced to stay still and just keeping as active as possible.

With a heavy exhale, Hawke gets to his feet, plucking his bag from the sand.]

I've got a job I should be getting to anyway. It was good talking with you without getting punched, my lady.

[He smirks, clearly meaning it as a joke, but it's a poor one and he feels a bit nervous for her reaction; if she'll take it as the joke it's meant or an insult.]

Sorry, that was a stupid thing to say.

[Riona's always prided herself on being able to read people pretty well. She's hardly perfect, and the fleet presents its challenges, but for the most part, she can pick up on people relatively fast and with decent accuracy.

But she's not sure what to make of Adalwolfe. A lot of it could be contributed to her own feelings towards him, and she knows they're clouding her judgment. Yet something about him... she can't quite put her finger on. Something roiling under the surface that she doesn't know what to attribute to.

She laughs a little, somewhat forced, at his comment. She suspects he meant it as a joke, even if it fell a little flat.]

No, it's all right. I understand what you meant.

[And hoo boy now it's awkward.]

We won't keep you then. [She picks up Kiter's paw and waves to Hawke with it.] But I'm sure we'll run into you again.

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5th Blight; video + open action

action; lemme know if this is cool

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