driftfleet | [OTA] I am my own man, I make my own luck

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[OTA] I am my own man, I make my own luck

Who: Adalwolfe Hawke and you!
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Yes; Three Twins lab
When: Fight: evening of 9/8; the rest: 9/9

Pay Per View; The Fight
((ooc: This fight was broadcast and a ticketed Moxie event, so feel free to have your character have seen it))

Adalwolfe may be a mage but he's never let that mean he's allowed to grow complacent physically. For all he could just stand back and fling spells, Hawke makes sure he keeps in excellent shape. Maybe it's vanity, maybe it has to do with years of apostasy, but when the show starts and he's brought into the ring, shirtless and with his hair tied back, it's clear that he's definitely not a sit in a library all day studying and forget to eat sort of mage.

But that doesn't mean he's any good at hand to hand fighting.

True, he's gotten into many a scrap even before he had his magic, and the times after it was always more imperative that he hide his abilities than win the fight, but when he beats his mountain of an opponent - a man who seems to be made of one large muscle. (Adalwolfe's reminded of a hornless, hairless Arishok with this guy's stature and reach and it brings back some nasty memories. Makes the scar on his abdomen twinge.) - it's only by the skin of his teeth and he doesn't escape unscathed by a long shot.

When the ref raises his arm with the triumphant announcement of his victory, Hawke is covered in nasty red and purple bruises and bleeding from more then a few impact wounds, especially on his face. He can't quite make out the crowd for the triple vision he's seeing them in through his one good eye. The other is swollen shut and there's blood across his nose, in his eyes, and in his mouth, but he still won. And with no magic at all.

He hits the surface of the ring with a goofy grin on his face and passes out.

Recovery; Action

When he comes to, he feels like one giant bruise. Before even opening his eyes, Adalwolfe groans and tries to move an arm in order to... he's not sure, but after half a second he decides that's not a good idea thanks to the shooting pain that fireworks into a grinding agony in his shoulder. Best to leave that for Anders to look at. Best to leave everything for Anders to look at, by the feel of it.

At the very least he cracks one eye open to see where he is, surprised that he feels glad to see the inside of the Three Twins lab. He'd spent too much time in here already fretting but it sure beats a jail cell. Guess they really did release him after he won. Awesome.

If anyone comes in within the next few hours, he'll be in the same position; stretched out on one of the beds looking like an abused piece of produce. It's not so bad as he'd appeared at the end of the broadcasted fight though, and in fact lessons as the day goes on; someone's clearly been caring for him. The cut across his nose remains, however, at his insistence. It makes him look cool.

Care to visit the invalid? Admonishments expected, well wishes appreciated.

Aftermath; Network Video

[Later, when Adalwolfe's recovered enough to leave the med bay and can move without anything more than dull aching thanks to the TLC from his favorite healer, he finally locates his communicator and pops on the network. He's still graced with that stupid split across the bridge of his nose burning an angry red, but at least his eye isn't swollen shut anymore and most of the other evidence of his hard-won boxing match has faded.

Wolfe grins a tired grin out at the rest of the fleet, pleased at himself for having gotten out of all that, though there's a little disappointment lurking behind his expression. He was in prison the last few days and then forced to fight for his freedom, so he's been completely out of the loop. And then Anders told him he'd missed facing off against a dragon. That would have been way better than a boxing match against the not!Arishok.]

So... what'd I miss? I hear there's a dragon, is everyone okay?

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"There's only so much you can do when you're fighting a mountain that can throw punches." He snorts, more amused than defensive, and winces immediately after. His nose is still broken. "I thought I was going to lose the back of my skull though, not just my eye, so lucky me."

He shifts to sit up with a bit of a grimace but manages so long as he doesn't put any weight on his right arm. "Actually, uh, I'm glad you're here."

"Oh, you'd be surprised at what you can do to a mountain."

She'll leave it at that. Even she can't claim she would have gotten out of that fight without injury. And if it hadn't been for Zevran and Alistair teaching her hand to hand, she wouldn't have been much better off than Hawke.

Glad that she's here? It makes her raise a brow. That's not usually the reaction they get from each other.

"Any particular reason why?"

"Look, don't hit me for bringing this up, but I need to apologize again. That fight, the guy hitting me in the head, it jogged something."

He lets out a long breath, knowing he needs to do this not just for his peace of mind but hers too, even if it might mean she gets mad at him initially. He's been punched enough for the week but if she feels the need for that then he'll take it.

"My memory, it was wrong. It's been bothering me for awhile now, all the inconsistencies. Bothered Leleiana too, she told me not to talk about this anymore, but it all makes sense now." He takes a deep breath and lets it out, looking at his hands instead of at her face. "Alistair... he wasn't there. It was Stroud. Atroma for... whatever reason, they changed my memory. Alistair wasn't the Warden that was in the Fade with us."

He lets his head drop back against the pillow, suddenly exhausted. "It was Stroud. And I'm so sorry I ever thought or told you otherwise."

Well, that's quite the way to go about the conversation. Riona begins to brace herself, wondering just where it's going to go this time-

....

She stares at him for a long moment, trying to figure out what she should say. If Atroma is at fault - and she suspects they are because they're dickbags - then she really can't be upset with him.

"Leliana and I did talk about it a bit. She told me the inconsistencies were bothering you. I thought about the augments we have. Memory alteration wouldn't be beyond them, considering what else they can and have done. She and I both wondered, but... well, we had no way of verifying it." And it seemed like a stretch. But apparently not.

"Maker's breath. I knew something wasn't right. Nothing about it made any damn sense." Hoo boy does she feel vindicated now. "I am sorry Atroma did that to you."

He nearly laughs. Or he does, but it's an almost manic and short lived noise. All the pain he put her through, thinking her husband was dead, and she apologizes for his lot in life? First the Inquisitor, then the Hero of Ferelden; was there no hero of Thedas that wasn't straight up a bloody better person than he is?

He exhales slowly, trying to recenter himself. "It's alright. I'm just... I mean, I'm not really glad anyone was left, but I am relieved it wasn't Alistair."

Hawke has still lost a friend, that day, of sorts. They didn't see eye to eye with him on many things, most of all his reticence to help with the invading Qunari at the time of their meeting, but he wasn't a bad person. Dedicated to his Order. And he'd died for it, like so many others had.

Maker, it feels so fresh all of a sudden...

"I don't know why they did that, change my memory. For drama? Ratings?"

"You and I both. And I don't say that lightly." She's sorry a Warden had to die in such a way, but that's how Warden life goes. He was going to meet a violent end, one way or another. She only hopes he took the creature out with him and made his sacrifice worth something.

She snorts derisively. "More than likely. I swear, Atroma particularly enjoys kicking my teeth in. If such is the case, I am doubly sorry they used you to do it." She probably sounds paranoid, and she'll admit it, but it's shit like this that feeds into it.

"It just seemed so real... I remember him--" Leliana's face runs through his head, her warning. It's one thing to tell Riona he's sorry, but to tell her details of a future that are largely still intact but don't include Alistair, he doesn't need to do that. The Qunari invasion, the Wardens refusing to help. That's not her fault nor her problem.

He runs his one hand over his face, back through his hair. "Sorry. Nevermind. I'm just going to focus on the relieved part."

She appreciates him withholding that. Too many times to count she's imagined what it must have been like for Alistair, in those last moments. While she likes people saying what's on their mind, when it comes to certain things, it's really better if nothing is said at all.

"Let's just move forward with it. I think this has been enough of a barrier that we shouldn't let it stand for any longer than we have to."

Maker, she's just glad to get some good news for a change. Cole telling her about the Breach really threw her for a loop, on top of everything else.

He just smiles at that, something small but genuine even if there's still a shadow of confusion behind his eyes. It will take him a little longer to really sort everything out and feel sure of his own mind again, but this he didn't feel could wait. The relief apparent in her baring is proof enough.

"I'm not good for anything if not knocking down barriers. And other things." A stupid joke, but humor is humor and far more welcome than his confounding double memory, Stroud turning to look at him on the burning streets of Kirkwall and Alistair in the very same position, moving the very same way in a ghostly afterimage.

"...is it a little sad that the fact that something good happened is making me nervous? Like I'm expecting the other shoe to drop?" Because seriously, this doesn't happen in the fleet. She almost forgot what it felt like to have something positive happen, especially where Thedas or other Thedosians are concerned.

"A little, but understandable. I've felt like that since I've arrived." Their rocky start and his other issues aside, it's still a league better than being a fugitive or barely escaping the Fade or facing the crippling self doubt he'd had shoved in his face while there.

Did you think you mattered?

He shivers, suddenly cold, and pulls the thin blanket in his lap up awkwardly over his injured arm, trying not to use it on healer's orders. "Maybe it's best to just try to enjoy it for now."

"For however long it'll last." Until Atroma throws something else at them.

"Thank you for telling me. But I should let you get some rest. And... try to avoid more brawls in the future, hm?" She shakes her head with an amused smile. "Leave it up to us warriors to do that."

"I will," he laughs a bit, wincing but taking it with a good nature regardless. The pain's his own damn fault anyway. "I can't promise to stay in the back row, but I'd much rather we all fight on the same side."

He's glad that maybe, with this recent revelation, they can finally do that.

He's got a point there. Whatever their differences, they're all in this crazy madhouse of a situation together, and it's not good if they're fighting amongst themselves. Atroma causes enough problems that they don't need to be creating their own.

"Let us hope everyone feels that way." She stands up. "Atroma poses a big enough danger. We can't afford infighting."

"You're absolutely right." And he means it. He's trying, even with Fenris which is a precarious situation even still. He thinks he's getting somewhere though. The elf is taciturn but he's not impossible.

"You know, Crowley said something about people from Thedas coming and going more often than others. Do you have any idea why that is? Or do they just like to play with us because we bring all our own mess?"

His questions make her pause, delaying her departure a moment. "I really don't know. A few have left, yes, but I did not think it anything out of the ordinary for this place. But I have not yet been here even a year." And it's been steady enough the last few months that she hasn't given the subject too much thought since then.

"Mm. And I've been here even less. I'll try not to dwell on it unless there really does seem to be a pattern after a time." And even then it's not like they can do anything.

"Sorry, don't let me keep you."

"It's all right. It's something I'll keep an eye on myself." She nods. "You should be resting anyway. I will speak with you later, and maybe teach you a good trick or two for hand to hand."

I'd be glad to learn.

[He forces a gentle, if tired smile and waves just a bit, settling in better on his bed with uncommon exhaustion. He hadn't expected all that, but if it means he can make peace with Riona he'll take it.]

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[OTA] I am my own man, I make my own luck

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