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driftfleet2018-04-13 09:46 am
Fourteenth Blight - video and action
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Also yes
When: April 14th through April 21st (aka drift week)
[When the camera turns on, it initially faces the ceiling. There's some chatter in the background, but it's not easily made out. A moment later, Kiter the mabari's large face comes into view. He looks rather worried, whining as he noses the device.]
What are you doing? [It's the voice of a young girl that carries over. Footsteps approach, and Kiter steps back as the camera gets picked up.] What is this odd thing? [Eventually, whoever is playing with the device turns the camera so it's facing her.
It's Riona, no doubt, but she looks a tad... different. Like, twenty-years-younger different. She tilts her head curiously at the device.] Some kind of metal, but it's so... shiny. Well, whatever it is, I'm keeping it. Whoever left it on the floor obviously didn't care much for it.
[Kiter barks, trying to communicate... something or other.]
Hm? What are you trying to say, boy? I assume you're a boy? [He yips.] Boy it is. I'll have to think of a name for you. Of course, you might have one already, but I don't see your master about. It'd be nice to find SOMEONE to speak with and ask them they return me home. I don't know where we are, but my father will find me soon enough, and I assure your master that there'll be consequences. [Despite only being 12 at most, Riona tries to hold herself up high and haughty. If one listens closely, however, they may hear the fear in her voice.] Go get him and bring him here. I want to go home, and I'm going home now.
[Kiter whines again, clearly unsure as to what to do here. Help a poor dog out?]
[There's a child on the loose on the Iskaulit, tailed by a concerned looking war hound.
Riona darts about the ship, running down the halls, making the mabari chase after her. There's so much to do and see! And she's young and curious, so when she tires out a bit of running around like a little maniac and running into people, she sets off to explore. There are three areas in particular that interest her:
The gardens. Many of the plants look unfamiliar to her, and she can be found checking them out, poking and pulling them. At one point, she pulls an entire plant loose by mistake, her eyes wide as she realizes it. Glancing around - hoping no one's around - she quick tosses it off to the side and out of sight. No one will notice at all, right??
The pool. Growing up near the sea, Riona learned to swim early. The idea of a pool baffles her a bit: it's clearly not a natural lake, but the water looks so clear (and why does it smell so funny?). But as a girl, she hardly concerns herself with that question for long. With a laugh, she throws off caution and jumps into the water, clothes and all. Hey, she doesn't have a suit and she's not about to go looking for one. She does what a child does and swims and splashes around. And because she's a little shit, if she spots you, she'll snicker before splashing some water at you.
The Space Bar/Malum. Taverns are no place for children, but Riona doesn't know where else to go. She's found more people here then elsewhere, and she wants answers.]
Excuse me. [Look down and you'll find her staring intently at you.] I need to be escorted back to Highever. My father's the teyrn. I have no coin on me, but he'll surely pay you when I get back. [If they've been watching her, they'll know they're not the first person she's asked since arriving in the bar. But she's persistent if nothing else.] Oh, and don't mind the mabari. I think he's supposed to be guarding me, but he's doing a terrible job.
[Kiter, sitting a few paces away from her, huffs in offense.]
Tell me when you're ready to leave.
[At some point she comes back - or gets dragged back - to the Blue Fish. Her reign of terror gets contained, but the ship might not be too glad for it for long.
Riona pries and snoops everywhere, getting into the guns and playing with them. At one point, she accidentally fires one by mistake. Luckily it hits a wall and nothing else, but she quickly puts the gun down and puts on her best innocent face.]
It went off on its own! I swear! [Uh huh.
Of course, Riona still has her pilot augment, even if she's not quite... mature enough at the moment to handle it. Not good. She does eventually find the pilot seat and sits in it.]
Oh! What does this do? [The augment guides her still, helping her grab the controls and flip the right switches. But instead of just, you know, guiding the ship, she decides to yank on the controls as hard as she can. The ship swerves to the side. Whoops, hope you weren't doing anything too important, like making a meal or sleeping. Riona nearly falls out of her seat as well, but she's far too entertained to care. Laughing hysterically, she yanks it in the other direction. This is grand fun, she decides. The ship's in for a joyride.
Someone might want to get her away from the pilot controls. Granted they can stay upright long enough to get to her...]
((OOC: as I'm sure you've guessed, Ri's been glitched to de-age to about the age of 12 for a week. Each header has mini prompts within, but you're also free to put in your own prompt if you'd like!))
Blue Fish
And there weren't any real new people to join the Blue Fish with this latest shuffle.
When he gets to the doorway of the large bedroom he shares with Riona, the king just...stops. And stares.
There's a girl, a literal girl, in their room, and Kiter is following her around with a long-suffering expression on his doggie face, like when Morrigan used to yell at him. But that face is familiar, that regal bearing as she meanders.]
Riona? Is that you?
no subject
She freezes when she hears her name. There's a grown man staring at her, yet another person who somehow knows her but she doesn't recognize.]
And yet another grown up who says they know me. I don't know you. Really, this is getting [Scary. Unnerving. Kind of creepy] ridiculous.
no subject
As if their age gap wasn't questionable enough as it was.] My name is Alistair. I'm [your future-past husband... your king...an idiot that's about to sleep on a couch somewhere after he figures out just how much to drink to actually get drunk enough to pass out or kill a way to find the persons responsible for this.] I'm the son of King Maric and a friend of your brother, Fergus.
[There. All true.]
What are you doing in here?
no subject
Is... this your room? I didn't break anything, really.
[She frowns a bit as he introduces himself. Something about him feels... she doesn't know. Familiar? Welcome? It's so odd. But he mentions Fergus and she tilts her head.]
He never mentioned you before. And he'd have told me if he knew a prince. And the only prince I know of is Cailan. How come I've never heard of you before? You weren't in Highever when King Maric visited last year.
no subject
It's... yes, this is my room. [He stops before he can say anything about it belonging to her too. She's a child. And she obviously has no clue what's going on. It's just that easy to discern.]
Cailan is my half-brother. I'm the bastard.
[And he's only been to Highever with her, to see Fergus.]
no subject
[A bastard... Riona's a little young, though not so that she's unfamiliar with the concept of bastards. Still, it's very strange Fergus never mentioned being friends with such a person. Surely she'd have heard? Maker knows she eavesdrops on him and her parents often enough. But she keeps quiet about it, for now. Until she can find Fergus and ask, there's no way of discerning whether or not he's telling the truth.]
no subject
[Like, much later, but yeah...
Her last question is sort of like a lance to the chest and he has to ball up his fist to remind himself not to blurt out that she is his wife.
She's nothing but a child right now, and there's no telling if the Atroma will keep things this way. Better to not traumatize her.]
She's not here right now, but yes, I'm married.
[He really, really hopes that Riona doesn't ask more about...her. He's not sure how he'd take it.]
The mabari behind you is named Kiter. It looks like he's taken a shine to you. Faster than with me, that's for certain.
no subject
[She's not sure if that comforts her or not. On the one hand, she's not alone. But on the other, it means less and less of a chance of being able to go home. As much as she always wanted an adventure, this isn't what she pictured. She wants to go home; she misses her father and Fergus. And... even her mother.]
Oh, is he yours? He's been following me around everywhere. [She tilts her head curiously at the dog.] Kiter... What an odd name. Was that your idea?
[Self-roast.]
no subject
[It's not something he wants to think about, but it's a fact of their stay and should she ask anyone else, they could confirm his statements. It might not be what he wants to tell a child, but any child of Thedas needs to be aware of what is in front of them. Being too sheltered is detrimental.]
He belongs to my wife. She's the one who named him.
[Congratulations, Riona, even you think the dog's name is dumb.]
However, you know that it's hard to get a mabari to like you. I once saw him go head-to-head with a Qunari.
no subject
[It rules out ransom. As a teyrn's daughter, she always has to be aware that she might be taken for ransom or some such. She's heard stories of it happening to other daughters of nobility. Horror stories intended to keep her scared and aware.]
Your wife is very strange, then. But- wait, he took on a Qunari? How? Why?
no subject
[No ransom, sweetheart. No demands. Just you here for however long you're here.]
I happen to like my wife very much. [He gives a watery laugh that is a lot more sane than his earlier sob.] We—my wife, Kiter, myself and a few others—had a Qunari companion during our travels. He and Sten had a...n interesting relationship that consisted of a lot of growling.
no subject
[How very peculiar. She almost wonders if he's lying. Except it's... almost too bizarre.]
You do? And you travel together? With a Qunari and a mabari? [That... sounds amazing.] I thought married people just live together in their homes. Or, well, the wife does while the husband gallavants around and does whatever he wants.
no subject
I would agree with you about the awful part, but supposedly it's rather well received. If we can believe our "hosts". As for who's watching....There are things called cameras that are following our every move and letting others watch them. There are moving pictures that are rather popular. We have one on this ship if you're interested in seeing what I'm talking about.
[Rambling? Who, him? Never. He would never do that in front of a confused child.]
Some couples are like that, but... Well, she's a Grey Warden. She has other responsibilities than just to keep my house. [As if he would expect her to do that. He's not stupid.] Besides, I wouldn't ask her to do that anyway. I like her as she is.
no subject
No, I don't. I don't like any of this and you sound mad.
[Despite trying to sound stern, her voice cracks a little and the fear seeps in. It's much easier to talk about this wife and his friends than the insanity of this place.]
Don't Wardens travel around killing darkspawn? Do you go with her? Are you one, too?
no subject
Yes, I can see how that would seem the case. I thought the same thing when I got here. Still feels rather mad half the time. You can either believe me or not, I can't stop you. However, until we figure out what's going on, you're free to stay here in this room with Kiter to guard you or to travel to any of the other ships.
[He knows that the mabari's going to be following her no matter what she wants, so he doesn't have to stalk her during her trips around the Fleet.]
For a while, I did travel with her, killing Darkspawn, werewolves, and the like, but I have duties that mean staying in Denerim a great deal of the time.
no subject
Isn't this your wife's room as well? Wouldn't she mind?
[Preeeetty sure she would.]
Oh. That sounds boring. Staying in Denerim, I mean. See, I don't want that. Mother always says I'm going to be married someday and I'll have to run a household. No fighting, no adventures, just... drudgery. [She huffs and crosses her arms.] S'why I won't get married. I refuse. No one can make me and no man will persuade me.
[...boy is she in for a surprise.]
no subject
She's not here right now. And she'd be angry at me if I didn't offer in the first place.
[Look, Riona, just listen to him for once. FOR ONCE.]
Staying in the capital is rather boring a bit, I agree. I sort of miss the traveling. [The freedom.] Well, I can tell that it would take a...special person to get you to change your mind. Who knows?
no subject
Very well.
[For all that she's a brat, Riona can at least tell when she should drop a subject.]
At least there are things to do in Denerim! Highever's boring. We should switch places, so neither of us get bored. [A silly little suggestion, but uh, at least she's trying to be nice?] Well, if I could travel around like you and your wife did, it might not be so bad. I don't know though. Most of my mother's friends always complain about their husbands and how stifled they feel. I don't... want that at all.
no subject
For all that there's to do, I can't really go out and do it. Most of my time is spent in meetings with nobles. But, you know, I'd trade you places in a heartbeat.
[She has no idea what sort of thing she's saying to a man who had no real parents. He's always wondered what it would be like to have parents and an older brother who knew he existed and cared.]
I'm sure that when you get married... that it'll be your decision. No one can make you do what you don't want.
no subject
My mother says I will have to someday but I don't want to. But you should know what it's like. Your father is the king. Surely he set you and your wife up as match? Though how very strange he would let a Warden be a princess.
no subject
Ah, no, I didn't meet my wife through my wife. I met her through the Grey Wardens. I am one as well.
[It's complicated.]
no subject
[Wow. But... why? What would-]
Are there darkspawn? Is there going to be a Blight? [Her eyes widen in wonder.] Is that why? King Maric wants you fighting them off? Have you fought any yet? Did you see an Archdemon?
no subject
[TOO COMPLICATED! NOT GOING THERE.]
I have fought Darkspawn, on many occasions. [That's like the only one he's going to answer. The rest gives too much away and he doesn't want to talk about what happened during the Blight, not really.] I've even spent some times in the Deep Roads.