Finding Purpose

[noble_nate]

Nathaniel wandered restlessly through the corridors. He’d done as much preliminary scouting as he could, though he had to admit that the variances in gravity in specific parts of the station were unsettling

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[birdhousesoul]

What he might find inside ... well, one of the things he will find inside is a familiar blond mage, even more the worse for wear than the last time they'd met some years ago, but recognizably the same old Anders. He's currently at a table in the corner trying to teach the rules of Wicked Grace to two hippies. The only people Anders will ever beat consistently at cards are people who don't know anything about how to play, and once they get the hang of it, they'll surely outstrip him.

He's laughing, and the laughter will be audible. "Andraste's knickerweasels, talk about beginner's luck," he's saying, to one of the hippies.

[noble_nate]

Nathaniel freezes in the act of purchasing a mug of--well, he doesn't quite know what it is, certainly not ale--when he hears a familiar voice.

That's not possible, not here...

He turns around and sees a man sitting at a table, playing a game of cards. He's older, certainly, and more worn-looking, but he's definitely a man known to Nathaniel: Anders.

Perhaps this is the Fade after all. He grabs his mug and approaches the table. "Anders?" He looks down at his old friend, surprise clearly written on his face.

[birdhousesoul]

((damned if I can find any icons or anything I like much with the black coat in it. For reference, if it ever comes up, Anders in Entanglement has undergone his Act 3 goth-ification. This won't be the first dramatic fashion change Nathaniel's seen from him, though, as the infamous Tevinter mage robes of Awakenings are nowhere to be seen in DA2, so in this before-Act-3 window where our Deep Roads expedition is taking place, Anders would've been in his Darktown refugee wear with the greenish coat and the greyish feathers and all. The haircut and lack of earring are, of course, the same as on the Deep Roads expedition. Oh, Amaranthine-era Anders, so much more apt to make an effort...)

Anders hears the voice before he sees the man, and he feels the voice before he hears the voice, that Howe-ian rumble that prickles the hair along Anders' arms and at the back of his neck like a cat's.

"Maker, can it be? Nathaniel Howe." He looks up into his friend's face. The years have changed them both, but Nathaniel far less. There's

[noble_nate]

((Try Dragon Age Icons. Check the Legacy ones for some Anders angst))

He follows Anders to the more private table, still a bit shocked at seeing someone from his home here of all places. It hadn't been too terribly long since they'd last seen each other, but the changes in the other man were definitely noticeable.

He reaches forward and plucks the sticky piece of paper from the back of the mage's coat, staring at it curiously. He's more interested in the sticky substance on the paper that appears to be able to attache it to things than he is in the actual words on it.

He takes a seat and stares at Anders, completely at a loss as to what to say.

[surfacesoldier]

Quote, being a robot, had little interest in drinking. It wasn't that he couldn't, persay, it's just that his body wasn't made to either taste or to be affected by alcohol. It was more just another way to get excess energy when needed.

But a couple of his new 'friends' had encouraged him to go to the bar because it was a 'social' thing. He hadn't understood it at all, but, well, humans still baffled him in many, many ways.

As it is, he's settled in a seat near the door, turning his eyes to Nathaniel as the man comes in.

"You... seem uncomfortable."

[noble_nate]

Nathaniel looks at the boy in surprise--there's something...strange about him, though he can't quite put his finger on it.

"A bit," he cautiously admits. He takes a moment to study the boy, to assess him. He had a sword with him, though he's not brandishing it in any threatening way. "Aren't you a little young to be in a tavern?"

[surfacesoldier]

There's quite a bit strange, in fact. The grey skin, the emotionless face, the completely unblinking eyes...

"I am... not here to drink... as I... cannot be... affected... by alcohol. It was... simply that... I was informed... most humans... attended bars... to be... 'social.' It... seems a tradition."

[noble_nate]

Nathaniel cocks his head, his attention caught. "'Most humans.' You mean you're not human?"

Now that he's closer, he can see the lack of emotion in the boy's face, though the grey skin doesn't really faze him. He does find himself blinking a bit more, though, as if to make up for the other's lack.

[sevenapples]

Horo was a goddess of the harvest. She was a wolf. A divine wolf, or sorts, though exactly how divine Horo would never say. What was certain, however, was that Horo had been watching the newcomer from far away in the habitats here and again, inspecting his scent, feeling out the areas he had inhabited to see what he had left behind. Horo's new fetish was knowing more about the new people than the files would tell her.

She slid into the bar stool next to him, and winked. "Nathaniel Howe, I presume?" she said, her bandana pressing her ears flat under it and her tail safely under her skirt. "You didn't seem like the drinking-man type."

[noble_nate]

Nathaniel looks at her with a mixture of surprise and wariness. "I'm not, usually...how do you know my name?"

[sevenapples]

She crossed her feet and grinned a wide, toothy, warm grin.

"I make it my business to know everything about everyone, Nushi." The translator did not exactly catch the last word she used, and the audible footnote explained it to Nate as a "colloquialism for a male, usually used by the wife or servant thereof, but can also imply amiability despite unfamiliarity."

"You smell like leather and sweat. Horses, too, maybe. Even if I hadn't been watching you in the open-air containers for some days, I could tell you have soldier's blood in you. Incidentally, I have smelled the particular brand of earth ingrained in your pores in a few other of our residents here," she said, the magician and the one with the cute-but-knows-a-lot dog coming to mind. "You have a strong jaw, though, so that must count for something. What are you drinking? I will match it," she added at the end, putting her chin on his shoulder. She had, apparently, had one or two already.

[noble_nate]

By the time she finishes speaking, Nathaniel's mind is awhirl. It was the first time his translator had given a definition of a word it coudlnt' translate, and the mechanical voice inside spoke nearly as fast as the girl whose head was currently resting her chin on his shoulder.

He had caught the gist of the somewhat confusing speech, at least--it seemed to be an indication that she approved of him in some way.

He did approve of her desire to gather information of the people living here. A skilled rogue knew to treat everyone in an unknown situation as a threat until you can learn otherwise. Hard to remember things like that when a complete stranger was pressed close to him like this.

"I don't remember what it was called," he gestured to his mug. "Brikker? Does that sound right?"

[try_winging_it]

Hawke wanders into the Bucket. Risky, but the idea of going to a pub just to have a drink instead of to interrogate the bartender was appealling. If she's lucky, there'll be some harmless company to play cards with.

The company she finds isn't what she'd call harmless.

"It's Nathaniel Howe, isn't it?" Hawke's voice is surprised but clearly pleased. She only met him the once, for a brief few days on a daring rescue from a botched Deep Roads mission, but remembers him as being deserving of respect.

[noble_nate]

Nathaniel looks up at the woman addressing him. "Hawke." He smiles, pleased to see her. "I'd heard you were here..."

[try_winging_it]

She takes the smile as an invitation to sit down; Nathaniel Howe is a man whose smiles have meaning, as she remembers. "If you've heard I'm here, then you've probably already run across Anders." It's said without any discernable weight, though she and Anders have both been...not avoiding each other, but not actively looking for each other either, for a few days. "He must be glad to see you. So am I. How long have you been here? It can't be long, surely."

[noble_nate]

"Not very long, no," Nathaniel replies. "I've been here a little over a week, but I haven't been socializing much, I'm afraid." Not really surprising, since he wasn't that big on socializing even back home. "I did run into Anders, though I'm still not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing." He smiles to show he's joking.