It wasn’t technically his fault, nor did he start it, but by the gods he was finishing it.
The night had been one to remember, though he'd never be able to. Too much drinks and party favours had rolled in soon after. It had started innocently, but that was always how things wold begin, recklessness ensued and eventually a fight had broken out. About what exactly, Ruth had no idea, but when someone smacked him in the back of the head with a bottle he’d given up caring. Even with his height, Ruth was able to smack down a few of the brawling idiots, years of tagging along with a group of Mercenaries serving him well enough to keep mostly from being taken out.
The fight spilled out from the tavern, into the street. Then some idiot decided that since there was no threat of destroying the drinking hole, cast a blast to knock back a few of the still warring bodies. Ruth sprung into action, tackling the bastard who’d now raised the stakes.
“That’s Fuckin’. CHEATING!” he’d yell between throwing a fist to the man's face once on the ground. Did people not know the rules of fight club? He’d only get another two punches in before he too was tackled off the man by another pair of hands. Ruth became like a cat, body twisting in the unknown grasp, managing to get himself free, to only find himself in someones elses grasp. This pair of hands were far more steady, sure in yanking him out of trouble. He still struggled, even if it were a moot effort in his inebriated state and the solid firmness at his collar.
“Geet off! Lemme go! I can keep this up, you nug-humping fuckers!” he'd yell back to the group, tugging himself forward despite leashed.
It had been a tiring few days, from returning from beyond Arlathan with those shipments, to finding a spare few hours to find rest. Revas had not truly stopped, had he been to visit anyone, they likely would've told him to stop. Alaric sure would have, that much he knew for certain, to he stayed away. There was still plenty to be done and no matter how many he saw wandering through the streets of Arlathan peacefully, that did little to stop his unease knowing Elgar'nan and the bulk of his forces were still out in Thedas somewhere. Just waiting for the right opportunity to take what the absolute fool believed to be his. None of it was and it never would be, he did not think any of the Evanuris had such a right anymore. This land was no longer mostly comprised of elvhen like him after all, but of so many more than that.
Still the politics of Thedas as a whole was not his concern, nor even that of the People really. He had been a leader once before, not anymore. Instead he turned his focus towards studies long neglected. His first few months awake had been a frantic dash across the world seeking Feredir out, or Solas as he now liked to be called. As well as seeing what humans had become and what their intentions were, though he hadn't had a chance to sit down and speak properly with any child of stone, perhaps he should change that in the near future.
Still he had cast aside any pursuit of knowledge that was not geared towards his primary goal at the time, and frankly speaking, he had missed it. With that in mind he had spent much of the late morning and all of the afternoon doing just that, settled with various books and tomes around him, in the quiet and familiar space of the Vhenadahl that reminded him of a home not quite gone. While he had not been awake at the time, talk of rifts that had once been present when the Veil was still up made him curious, such magic was new to even him. Was the anything of such force left behind now the Veil had come down? He intended to find out.
Revas had done exactly that, seeking out every detail he could find, until his stomach started growling in protest about a lack of food early into the evening. With a frustrated grumble, he packed away what few belongings he had brought with him - books and all - slinging the small satchel onto one shoulder to head back into the city proper. Finding somewhere to eat was not difficult, saddening as it may be that certain dishes never tasted quite the same as he remembered, that did not stop him consuming what he'd ordered. Or the dessert that followed either. In truth he had intended to head back, read for a few more hours and then take his leave of Arlathan that night. He wished to see what had become of his former land, and perhaps then head back to Starkhaven to see how things were progressing there. There was not much he could do here in Arlathan at the moment as it was. Not to the scale he wished at least.
Instead of a peaceful evening however, came a ruckus catching his attention a little ways down the street. Lo and behold, what was causing such sounds? Ruth. Because of course it was. The sounds of shouting only grew louder as he approached, soft footsteps slow as he hung slightly back to watch the scene unfold, a typical brawl was there not a smattering of magic present in the air. It was with a heavy sigh that he moved to intervene, the last thing the city needed was the People fighting amongst themselves.
Ruth would find a hand at the back of his collar, easily lifting the younger up and away from the fighting. No matter how much he fought, he wasn't going anywhere. If he did not wish to be dragged kicking and shouting like a petulant child, he should not act like one. [color=#008e02]"Be. Quiet."[/color] The tone was harsh, a finality to his words before hazel eyes took to addressing the group that now seemed to be observing him. Given how he had yanked Ruth away one handed. [color=#008e02]"The rest of you will return inside, apologize to the owner and one another, then leave. Do I make myself clear?"[/color] This was not a mere traveler speaking, but man who had grown used to giving orders and expected them to be followed. His tone seemed to be enough, grumbling their acceptance as things began to quieten down. Only once he was sure did he proceed to yank the other further down the street, until they were a fair distance from that bar, only then did Revas drop him onto his feet.
[color=#008e02]"So, anything to say for yourself? Or should I just douse you in water and be done with it?"[/color] So much for a quiet night of travel and reading.
While he wasn’t privy to the preparations against the enemy, Ruth understood the severity of things. This wasn’t his first brush with a being bent on bending the world to its whim. The darkspawn tried, the mages and templars warring made a good effort, Coripheous’s was devious but the united efforts of the Inquisition had thwarted him. While the elf would hold out little hope of his own survival, he didn’t believe that the world as they knew it would succumb to another slighted narcissist. Powerful he might be, but everyone and thing had their weakness.
Instead Ruth found himself following Meg’s example. His reasons were still selfish in nature. He couldn’t stand the she-elf being pulled into a fight alone. She actively sought to remain under the radar, out of sight, one of the few who deserved a quieter life without shoving someone's insides back in. But having an Evanaris as a companion complicated matters. Oh but that wasn’t all, she had more.
He hadn’t believed her at first, snorting, laughing her off as if she were telling him a tall tale. Only Meg didn’t tell tales, she wasn’t someone who lied, not maliciously, and not to her friends. Nairn was alive. Ruth couldn’t help but feel singled out by fate. First his eye, then his father and now the shithead gangster he’d once thought to call a brother? It was enough to make anyone drink. Yet it was what he did most days now, in an effort to numb the sting, the anger and fear bubbling under the surface.
It was out in full drunken force now. Even collared and being dragged out of the way, obscenities flew out of his mouth. Revas’s tone didn’t perturb him for long, he made to speak, but instead made a nuisance of himself by attempting to wriggle out of the warrior’s grasp. Yet when they were dismissed like children, the shorter man spat, “Fuck no! The cunt used magic. He fuckin’ deserved what he got. Law is law. Noooooo-one is supposed to settle their little spat with the goods!” He’d gesture with his hands, wiggling fingers for good measure that he was talking about magic.
“You were too e-Asyyyy on th-,” he began, before again he felt his body be manipulated into walking away. Ruth scoffed a sigh, feet stumbling and awkwardly trying to keep up with the taller man. Right up until his release there was a quiet grumbling and Ruth would straighten his layers, fingers lightly fumbling over the fit.
“Pfft,” he’d start, drawing his gaze up to meet the others, scepticism piquing one of his brows. There was the faintest of twitch at the edge of his lips before a lazy smirk slid easily across his lips. He couldn’t help it. “...You planning on warming me up afterwards?”
Either the drink had addled his brain so much that he did not care how he spoke, or it was worse then usual. If the boy had any manners whatsoever to speak of, he hadn't found any since meeting him and frankly the elvhen spy highly doubted he would anytime soon either. Though the thrashing did very little in the grand scheme of things, already off the ground as he was, while tempted to simply knock the younger out he thought better of it. Less chance of being puked all over if he was awake and conscious. Rather then try to reason with the words coming out of Ruth, he simply waited before moving on. Soft footsteps leading them both further away from such rowdy establishments, he had avoided them at dinner for good reason.
Constant grumbling aside, that also went ignored, when set down he seemed to regain at least some of his thoughts enough to spit out a proper sentence. Well it was a start. Even if it was absolutely foolish at the same time. Enough that it pulled a small sigh from him. [color=#008e02]"Of course, I'm not a complete monster, just mostly one."[/color] That for once, was about as truthful as he would get of an evening. Though looking over the boy he had to wonder how he was standing upright and if he would end up toppling over face first at any moment. As entertaining as that would certainly be, he wasn't much in the mood to deal with dragging half a corpse around all night.
[color=#008e02]"Planning to walk in a straight line, or should I just carry you by the collar again?"[/color] Whatever the case was to be, he still bid the younger follow him with a brief gesture, or simply yanking him there by one handed force if need be. Back to the quiet of where he had begun his afternoon within the Vhenadahl, peaceful this time of night and easy enough to start up a fire with a spark from his hand. All the while Ruth would find that Revas was indeed a man of his word, a deluge of water dumped upon him from above, all before being sat down before the now quietly burning campfire. Small enough that it was easy to put out and not damage anything within this sacred space that felt the closest to home ever since he'd awoken.
[color=#008e02]"Now sit and sober up."[/color] The quicker the younger did, the sooner he cold plan his departure from the city tonight. In the meantime, he returned to the knowledge he had packed away before. One drunk fool was hardly enough to inhibit his evening of study.
Monster? Ruth made a noise, his brows rose all the way and he couldn’t help but laugh at Revas’s words. “Sure, Gramps.” Not the knight, surely. Though it niggled at his curiosity enough that he’d maybe remember it later. He was a nosy shit, but since Revas had begun hanging around Megara, Ruth was just strictly keeping an eye on it for Nairn’s sake. It was what he told himself anyway.
Despite his body swaying, pitching dangerously from one direction to another, Ruth maintained his balance. He waved off the offer, even as his stomach lurched when realising gravity had shifted. “I can walk…. Can do more than walk, but it’s you,” a pitiful sigh fell, “would’ve gotten laid if it wasn’t for you fucking losers, but nooo.” He’d follow after the man, head swivelling as he began to piece together where they now were. It was a place in the Home tree where he hadn’t been, so unfamiliar he didn’t have the foresight to shield himself from the summoned deluge.
At first he remained frozen, the shock immobilising him both body and mind in the moment. Disbelief at the audacity had him shriek, surging back to his feet in a wild jumble of limbs. “What. The fuck. Is wrong with you?” he seethed, nerves shot with the freezing temperature that he began to shake. “Evil nannies, both you and the Stoner. Can't a free man just enjoy himself?”
He couldn’t sit, not with his layers now plastered to him like a second skin. “Ugh! There are easier, less hypothermic ways to get me naked you know!” Fingers fumbled over buttons, slipping a few times with the added moisture it took him longer than necessary to rid himself of the top layer. Suddenly he straightened again, sucking in a breath through his nose, “You and those idiots have ruined my high. I paid good money for that.” While lyrium wasn’t impossible to come by it wasn’t cheap either. “Why the fuck would I want that?”
Much like the fussing and previous shouting, the name with which Ruth seemed to insist upon calling him went ignored. He was not here to indulge the boy in whatever he felt like tonight. Despite that, he still felt himself gesturing for the boy to follow him. Perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone as it were, the young elven was no use to anyone half dead in the middle of the street after all. Nor did those that now called Arlathan home need to witness such foolishness so late into the evening either. Drinking was fine until somebody started throwing their fists around like an upset child, let alone flinging magic around that clearly wasn't properly controlled. Honestly.
[color=#008e02]"Ah yes I'm certain one of them would've loved to sleep with you after having their faces bashed in."[/color] Sarcasm fell from his tone in endless waves, even as he slowed his pace just enough to ensure the other would not fall straight over onto his face if his legs did decide to give out and leave him a sprawling mess to deal with. Luckily nothing of the sort happened and they managed to reach where he had once been settled a few hours before, undisturbed by anyone or anything else by the look of it. How fortunate, he hadn't even set wards here during his time away from this spot either.
Seeing the deluge actually hit the other was entertaining, his reaction even more so, leaving Revas to snort quietly into his hand at the indignant reaction on full display. As fun as it was, his intention was not for the younger to end up ill or sick as a result. Only to wake up him a little, clearly the water had done it's job and he let out a small sigh. [color=#008e02]"If I had any desire to see you without clothing, you would know about it. Sit still."[/color] With a flick of his hand, a faint barrier formed around Ruth, not protective but letting off a soft heat and in turn, keeping him warm while also drying his clothes at the same time. With that done, mana pulsing steady beneath his skin, he returned to the tome settled in his lap.
[color=#008e02]"I never mentioned anything about you wanting to be sober, if you wish to continue to drink yourself stupid, you may leave. You chose to follow me, not the other way around."[/color] A ruined high, drunk or not, he was no kind of minder for anyone really. Still he did not look up as he spoke, perhaps it was due to a want to focus on the words before him, or for another reason entirely.
In most of their past interactions there had been some modem of sobriety, however small in Ruth. Now, in the thick haze of intoxication the younger elf was far more animated, his confidence doubled and inhibitions heightened. Left to his own devices he’d had found trouble, or a bed and company.
He’d scoff at first, then suddenly the thought wouldn’t shut up. “None of them would get a look in,” he caught himself saying out loud and proudly, briefly thinking back to the blurr of faces, “... maybe blonde, but I was enjoying the company of a fine lass before shit broke out.” His head shook, then pouted. She’d been pretty. Yes? Maybe? Cute dimples for sure.
Then he was soaking, shivering and panting at the sheer jolt to his entire system. Then just as he thought he’d regained firm footing his elder cracked. The return of his jab brought a wide grin across the healer's face. “...Holy shit, there is a sense of humour in there. Huh.” His chuckles didn’t last, the ghostly tingle of another's magic against his own, sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine.
“Can you not cast magic on me!” he’d snap, body suddenly more rigid than the icy deluge could muster. “It’s fucking rude. Gods. At least ask. Does consent mean nothing?” There were many things Ruth could casually let slide, but resented people forcing their will on him. Not when the largest enforcer of pain had knocked on his door. Swallowing back some of his frustration he’d continue to strip down to a pair of shorts.
“You dragged… levitated me out. Just drenched me. And now you want to argue semantics? … Now I’m definitely staying. Oh and I’ll take a goddamn blanket while I’m here.”
In the face of the boy in such a state, he held his tongue, all but dragged the other away before he got himself into more trouble than he was worth. Perhaps that was his mistake, his own foolish choice to try to do something right. Compassion had been hard to come by, a disconnect from who he had been and who he was, it was why he sought out old habits. Seeking such knowledge soothed him, if it would lead him to new magic he could not be sure, but it was worth the effort if it gave him another tool. But in aid of what, of who, for himself? That would be a first. Still keeping words to himself did not stop the sarcasm that slipped through the cracks, how strange. But he did not bother to linger on the why. Let the other mumble to himself as he liked until he dropped him down, dumped icy water atop his head and across his own form.
Were this his own youth, he'd be cackling with laughter at the simple vengeance at one who had prodded and poked at his personality seeking a reaction, now it was little more then a snort. Worrying and ignored, perhaps if he spoke to one of the spirits he might find in his dreams he could begin to understand why. [color=#008e02]"Shouldn't have started punching back then, should you?"[/color] Not an accusation but a question more than anything else, he had not been there for the start of it, but it did not take much to figure out how it might end if one of them had already resorted to using magic. Never a good sign usually, at least not with those that had lived such short lives.
[color=#008e02]"Of course there is, you simply do not see it."[/color] He was not offended by the assumption of his lack of humor, times as of late had been sorely lacking and perhaps he needed to start making up for that in due time. Yet knowing Elgar'nan yet lived and wanted to ruin the world as it was now, left little time for such levity but perhaps it was better to do so in spite of the damn bastard. Might even piss him off, now wouldn't that be fun? Oh certainly. In the process of such a thought, he did not consider the actions that followed. The familiar magic around them, a reminder of home, of how easily magic called to him and followed his will. Used to make life easier, to save time and yet still he'd witnessed so many back away when he flicked his wrist to use magic as opposed to using a staff. Fear still lingered, but the reaction he witnessed was something else entirely, it made him look up from the words upon the page.
A hazel gaze swept over the younger for but a second, over his reaction to the reach of his magic and gradually slowly, pulled it away with an obvious clear tug of his hand, a flick of the wrist up into a closed fist to dismiss it before settling back at his side. The barrier lowering and fading, heat seeping away into the air. The fire would do it's job and ensure Ruth would not freeze, but little else without further mana expended. [color=#008e02]"My apologies, I shall not do so again."[/color] A quiet, honest murmur, eyes cast back to the writing before him still settled within his lap.
[color=#008e02]"I would not call carrying you one-handed by your collar, levitating, but to each their own."[/color] At the very least the boy had not stormed off to drink his sorrows any further, only now determined to stay and likely irritate him. Was that a blessing or a curse? He could not be sure. Either way, while his demand for some other form of warmth did not go unnoticed, it did go unanswered. At least for a few moments, before his magic moved within the world around them once more, though nowhere near Ruth. But quietly moving a blanket from the depths of his own satchel across the space, settled just beside the other to reach out and take should he want it. [color=#008e02]"All I ask is that you do not throw up on it."[/color] A softer fabric then would ever be made with the methods of today he suspected, enchanted against wear and tear, such fabric was almost as old as him, but Ruth didn't need to know that.
If their roles were reversed, Ruth would be cackling with glee, his mischievous side winning out every time. He would always have that shred of recklessness about him, it was just his vices and demons preyed on it, twisting it into abandoning nearly all rules. “I did not start the fight, but once struck I’m not about to back out either. Flingin magic about is asking for banishment, if anyone’s the idiot, they were.” And there was no way of arguing the details when Ruth was drunk. Wet, cold and soon shivering, but still fully addled.
He’d scoff at his elder’s retort though. “Nonono. You just suck at it now… you know. Cos you’re ancient.” He’d snicker at his own joke, some vague part of him hoping it would dull the uncomfortable feeling of peeling off every layer. “All that time asleep, your jokes are a bit dry, not relevant with the times. You need to get out more, with people, I mean.” While some would feel a sense of self consciousness about undressing in front of a relative stranger, Ruth was unabashedly unashamed.
Designs and patterns inked his torso, his back though, was a litany to that of a whip, the grooves long healed overlapped another, that of a paw mark. The clean swipe of a bear, though it obviously hadn't been fatal. “Don’t say I didn’t give you a good show though,” rolling his eye aimlessly, Ruth's wicked snicker would echo.
The air cooled around him and in return Ruth offered a curt nod and grunt in gratitude. “It is not personal. So don’t think you’re special or something.” He was particular about his space, even if his character seemed aloof in nature. Magic was an intimate thing considering his position. People feared the abilities of mages, but healers more so, their affinity to the fade closer, interwoven with the spirits of the fade and now… now it was everywhere. People had cause to fear. Time both moved at a snail pace and then as an avalanche of change.
Down to a pair of short slacks, Ruth pulled the blanket close and took a seat next to the hearth. After a short while he’d sigh, side eyeing Revas with a narrowed look. “I knew you were a mean git. I’m totally telling Meg on you.”
Habits were hard to break, and Revas was all but certain that in his own youth he'd started and finished a fair few fights. But rarely as a young free being did he ever fight fairly, he had been far too caught up in the experience of it all. Of finding his own limits, and finding that others would not dare to tread as far as he did so quickly. He had tempered of course, with enough time, discipline and damage. It had changed him. Perhaps the same would be true of Ruth, but such a life-span could not be afforded to the elvhen male. Not by regular means, not what was once assumed to be their birthright at least. Maybe once Elgar'nan was dealt with, in one way or another, progress could be made to regaining what should have been. To give those of today the choice, the option of that burden to accept or live out their lives as they'd always known. Either way the answer given left him with little else but a small shrug of his shoulders. [color=#008e02]"I spoke of no one being any sort of fool Ruth."[/color] Thought it of those that had carried on, but no further.
The snickering of one in such a state did little to move him, though he certainly had to wonder what the young elven considered to be people as he defined it. Like him? Others within the city who now called it home? He did plenty of travelling as it was, so it was unlikely to be that. [color=#008e02]"And do such people include you, in a state such as this?"[/color] It would not do him any harm to ask, none that he could figure at least, unless Ruth felt like finding something to toss at his head while his gaze skimmed the page in front of him. Twice now. Frustrating. Though he could easily hear the sounds of shuffling about, of dampened clothes tossed aside, out of a sense of politeness. Despite the attempts to sway him one way or another, he did not look up, simply let the sound of snickering cast out across the darkened yet familiar space.
[color=#008e02]"I know I am not, you needn't worry. I simply must remember, magic is not as free as it was in my time, nor are many things."[/color] Fear was understandable, a fact of the lives of those here forever altered to being a state of the world of which he had barely ever known the alternative. This was his normal, but for most, that was not the case and things were not how they used to be. He would have to be more cautious. More careful. And if that had to begin once again with ensuring he did not cross a young man's boundaries, then so be it. But of course, no matter the reassurances made, the one sitting across from him was not done. Far from it, by the way he could hear Ruth sighing only to speak up. Void, what now?
[color=#008e02]"And how pray tell, have you figured that out, with you wonderful skills of deduction while intoxicated?"[/color] Sarcasm was like an old friend to him, and while he suspected his own living old friend - spirit or not - within Ruth would approve of such a tone. He did not care. Compassion had been his aim, but he had naturally forgotten that doing so meant his own tasks would likely be neglected in turn. He was not going to achieve his goals of study this evening, that was the uncomfortable understanding that dawned upon him as he read the same short line for the third time in a row in an effort to regain his focus. A fruitless effort. Damn it.
“No, you just assumed, because I am trouble, that I started it.” Normally that would be true, but he wasn’t foolish enough to get banished from the one place that he held some ties to, out of pure obligation of course. He did owe the Stoner.
“I am a fantastic time. In more ways than one, but I’m certainly not offering the other way, not after you dunked me.” Unless. “Unless?” He’d scoff, laughing and waving off any attempt at an answer. “I kid. You made it perfectly clear and I’m not that much of a bastard to push, unless invited. But I won’t ever not flirt, you’re stuck with the shit talking and the dirty comments, Gramps.”
“Yeah. The majority of my generation are more than aware of how it used to be. Some folks are keen we go back ten years or more, ‘the good old days,’ except those days were never actually ‘good’ were they?” He meant it both for his own life and those in ancient times, at no point could things be completely perfect for everyone and thing at one moment in time. “People, are greedy, selfish, cruel and untrustworthy. They fear what they don’t understand, and so magic became feared and suppressed to the point that keeping ones self just ahead of losing their freedom, or very life, entirely.” He felt he was lecturing but fuck, it was deserved for ruining his high. Now Revas had to deal with the downward spiral and the disconnected thoughts and ramblings of an addled Rut’theran. “So yes, excuse an elf for having trauma. Unless it’s one of your kinks of course?” Again, the smirk of defiance, teeth caught between his teeth. “I can totally cry about how dear daddy beat my ass from noon to dusk, and whacked me behind closed doors when I muttered a ‘Foolish word,’ for asking a damn question.”
His mouth snapped shut. Every word something he had thought was an inner rambling and not his mouth running amuck with the final vocalisation, the root of his most recent spike in anxiety, drinking and excessive dabbling of late. A finger pointed at the ancient, the youngers gaze pointedly glaring at the slabs. “Do. Not. Say. Anything, about that. I… forget it.” It wasn’t a threat, but the healer had torn clean one of his wounds by his own traitorous mouth.
Ruth’s stare remained elsewhere, unwilling to look or meet the elder’s gaze, instead it bore into the walls, the floor, the fire and every where in between. “I don’t know if it’s escaped your notice, but I happen to be quite an adept healer, and scholar in my own right. I’ve served time in various places post disaster. Post. Disaster. Kirkwall, Haven twice, Adamant Fortress, the Arbor Wilds. You judge me, but you know nothing about me. We’re similar. I'd just have the decency to laugh cos, fuck, might be you are dead inside. So you’re mean.”
[color=#008e02]"Ah but of course, assumptions go both ways da'len. I do not believe you began such a fight, that you refused to stop was the issue. Nevertheless, it is a moot point now either way isn't it?"[/color] No matter who had attacked first, that none of them had even attempted to halt their own actions was the problem. The fact that it was in the middle of the city during a busy evening only made it all the more frustrating. But such things had come and gone and like everything, would be mostly forgotten about in due time, save for the occasional embarrassing memory in a few years perhaps. As long as he was granted the chance to live that long, who was to say with Elgar'nan roaming around Thedas and fucking shit up quite consistently simply by existing.
Then again, he'd always tended to do that.
A raised brow was all the younger elf would gain as a response at first, at least until he was sure he'd finished. "You are more than welcome to push should you wish to, I simply cannot say if you will gain anything from it or not. My days of sleeping with another simply for 'fun' are long over, it stopped being fun a long time ago without someone to care for. As for the rest, I have met plenty with a far more foul mouth than you, I believe I shall survive just fine." A nickname he simply tolerated or not, he had been called and had far worse things thrown at him verbally over the years. From those who simply disliked his way of doing things, to the few that actively wanted him six feet under and drowning in a pool of his own blood. He'd had plenty of time in his younger years to develop a foul mouth and as for persistent flirting, well Elgar'nan still hadn't stopped no matter how many times he'd told the bastard no. He would manage, regardless of how Ruth insisted on behaving around him.
Entertaining as it was to listen to the elf and attempt to study at the same time, he could not seem to hold his focus on both. Not when the younger seemed intend to switch topics from one to the next so rapidly, a side effect of his intoxicated state, or so he presumed. Had he not known of the young elf, he might have once assumed it to be the ramblings of someone far older and rather fed up with life as a whole. Then again, everyone seemed to be on some level that he had met. There was a never ending source of problems to be sorted, but engaging in debates about existence was not why Revas had come out here. Not to mention he was hardly the right person to ask. An outsider's perspective would hardly prove to be of much help.
While the rambling certainly helped him see perhaps a faint glimpse of who the boy might truly be under at least some of that bluster, was not what he started with, but what he ended up on. A far more personal topic, one that had him looking over sharply, even as he had set about to closing the tome in his lap and shifting his own satchel a little closer to store it away for the time being. Paused mid-motion as he sat there for a few seconds, processing just what he had been told. Well, it explained a few things that was for sure. The excessively harsh reaction informed him of plenty more and as he slowly set the tome within it's proper place for now, he nodded his head gently. [color=#008e02]"I will not breathe a word of it to anyone."[/color] Not that such knowledge would be useful to any other that he could fathom at the moment, but he would avoid mentioning that. Sensitive topic that it clearly was.
After that, a heaviness in the air between them was almost to be expected. Coming for once, not from the sheer amount of belongings he carried around as he set his satchel to one side once more. He shouldn't need it now until he planned to move on for the night. Even if that meant having to carry it, and likely Ruth as well back to Megara. Unfortunate yes, but he wasn't going to leave the boy passed out in the middle of the city. No matter how much this particular area felt like home. Or maybe a nearby inn if the younger elf wished to continue his rambling to nobody before resting.
Rather then focus on a singular point, he heaves a sigh and with it lays back. Gaze instead fixed on the specs of the night sky he can see from here, smaller than what he could regularly witness from Skyhold, but it would do. [color=#008e02]"It has not escaped my notice, but there are more important matters I have to deal with than my own curiosity about other people."[/color] That was a simple fact, indulging in the simplicity of life was in short supply at the moment, clung onto by a thread while he worked frantically to try and regain the power he'd lost. Enough to reassure himself that he would not perish to a singular strike from that bastard. [color=#008e02]"People judge others, draw comparisons, it is a natural part of existence. You said it yourself, people do not trust. Not even themselves. You make the assumption that we are similar likely due to the fact that I have shared very little of myself with you, just as you hide your actual self away from others. I have not asked questions because I know I am unlikely to get a genuine answer, you evade or ask me not to mention it again if some shard of truth does come to light. Mean or not to you, do not assume it is all I am, just because that is the only infinitely small part of me that you witness when I am here." [/color]
It irked him that the other continued to call him a child, despite his own nickname for the Ancient being irritable. For Ruth it merely reminded him of his childhood, a time he’d sooner forget than be reminded of constantly, especially now his father and the clan had found their way to Arlathan. Only a slight tension washed over him with the word, eye rolling bitterly, but his mouth made no motion to answer, only his shoulders bounced in affirmation.
A hand made to cover a mocked gasp, Ruth’s tone marginally teasing and sarcastic. “Aw, is Revas a romantic? I should have guessed as much.” Of course he was, what ancient wasn’t? He’d snort though, finding the idea that they perhaps had had more in common, how unfortunate the means to transverse time was impossible. “But someone to care for? Pfft.” his head shook, expression turning into a scowl. “Love is for idiots. Was made an idiot once before, and once was too many in my opinion. It works for some I suppose. Saps and simps, but each to their own.”
The Stoner and Nairn came to mind, but the pair were quickly pushed aside else the anger swell again with Nairn’s apparent survival and decade of stalking. No, instead he went for the easy open, his tongue quickly making use of Revas’s own words. “As for my mouth, it has a variety talents. I’ve been going easy on you Gramps, I haven’t even gotten to the ageplay aspect yet.”
There was a sharp look of suspicion weighed across his brow as Revas agreed. That was new. Usually people prodded, wanting to know things, the Stoner would prod on occasion, though Ruth was sure she knew exactly why he hadn’t been home. Home. Fuck. “Well… good. He is someone I’d rather not discuss.” Yet the questions, the anger still burned in his mind, in his jaw clenched stare that bore into the stone floor.
“I don’t doubt what you’ve got on is important, but you gotta learn how to talk to people a little better. Everything and everyone are a lot different which, yeah, I get cos you napped a heap and missed it.” He’d sigh, adjusting the blanket some. “Must be shit, missing all the best and worst bits of history.” Then came Revas’s speech, observations of the healers countenance. To some, it might have garnered some more defensive posturing, but the younger elf was tired, both physically and mentally, his worries and troubles along with the night's events taking their toll.
“How very observant of you.” Offering him a passing glance Ruth sank back against the rock behind, his body's temperature finally warming with the fire and blanket. “There are reasons and there is genuinity in my answers if one cares to look. I’m rather an honest bastard really. I just understand people have their own agendas and I refuse to be used as fodder, again, in gaining whatever it is they wish to attain.”
A boy or not, he had mostly ceased the title used and given to so many who were new in the ways of the world. In truth, he rather suspected that if his father or mother were still alive, they'd still be calling him just that to this very day. But here, it was not done out of condescension, Revas had no desire to be like the nobility of old. If the younger elf saw it as mocking rather then a result of his insistence to use such an irritating nickname on him, well that was his own choice truthfully. He wasn't in Arlathan to try and change that, trying to shift people's mindsets took time and frankly these days, it sounded like a lot of hard work he didn't have time for.
A snort was the first thing that left him at the suggestion of him being a romantic, he certainly didn't see himself as one. If he did, he'd probably have been better working as a bard rather then a solider or General. [color=#008e02]"Hardly. It is merely a preference. I've no desire to play that particular game anymore."[/color] Sleeping around hadn't been fun, sure for the first few times it had been somewhat pleasurable, but that quickly faded when the reasons he had for doing so hadn't been out of any desire to bed any of the people he had. No, it was all part of the game, manipulation woven between soft words and even softer caresses. What was the point of that anymore without it meaning something? Neither he nor whomever's bed he shared one night to the next had cared, and that in the end, had been the problem.
Had he been far more youthful in his years, he might have agreed upon the idea that love was for fools. Or maybe he was just the fool, either way time had granted him the chance to see things differently. No wonder so many people held so much pain, all tangled up as it was with the joy, love and lust. [color=#008e02]"A long time ago I might have agreed with you. Perhaps you have simply not found the right person to care about, or who cares about you without any other sort of malicious intent. Though I am sorry, that you were hurt previously, it cannot have been pleasant."[/color] Understatement of the year perhaps, but anything involving strong emotions. Be they love or hate, were never simple or easily understood. It was why so many arguments happened between friends and family alike, why hurt was so constant no matter where he went. He couldn't help everyone, not in that way anymore.
Of course, rather then anything meaningful, it was a tangent once more directed his way. How nice. [color=#008e02]"Mm, I'm sure it does. I could say the same, but I'm not one for bragging."[/color] Leave that for those that actually had the urge and want to do so. Besides his own tastes were just that for a reason, why share when figuring it out was half the entertainment? Or maybe he just liked puzzles. [color=#008e02]"Lucky me, I'm sure you'll get to it eventually and be stubbornly persistent about it."[/color] That much he had worked out early on, if the younger got a reaction, he'd just keep on going with it. Until he ceased reacting or until the elven male grew bored and switched topics. For a so called scholar, he'd yet to see Ruth exhibit much patience.
The look of suspicion almost made him want to laugh, how many times had someone stared at him in such a manner and gotten nothing from it? Far too many. The fact that Ruth didn't want to talk about it, well it was obvious even without the demand, the rushed speech. Words before thoughts that seemed rather personal indeed. He would not push, it wasn't his place to do so. Besides, he'd be even more of a hypocrite if he did, there were plenty of his own secrets that he kept under lock and key for good reason. Prying out someone else's just didn't seem fair. [color=#008e02]"You do not have to discuss anything with me that you do not want to Ruth. It would be rather horrid of me to pry when I have plenty of secrets myself."[/color] A reasonable explanation, or so he thought, but perhaps the other would find a way to twist it as he often did.
[color=#008e02]"I am very aware of the differences and I am certain if I do not perish I shall have plenty of time once everything is more settled to learn about the history that I have missed."[/color] Speaking so casually of his own demise was a rather thing, he could even feel a brief flicker of interest from June before the thought and sensation vanished along with it. But he had come to accept that his chances were not as high for survival as he'd like, he only had so much time to gain what he hoped would be enough to allow him to remain. He wasn't about to tell the younger that however, he did not need someone else to carry his burdens or worries for him. Not him or anyone else.
Staring at the sky above left his rather only somewhat distracted. Words flowed with little thought behind them, what the other did with what he'd noticed thus far was his to figure out. Though there was nothing but silence as he was noted to be observant, it wouldn't be the first time he'd been told that. [color=#008e02]"Well you'll be pleased to know I'm not looking to gain anything from you or use you, assuming you believe me that is. If I were, I would have given in to your flirting the first time we met."[/color] Factual, genuine. Using people was easy when they wanted after something so carnal, it told so much about a person by how driven they were to such simple desires. He had no need, or want to use someone like that in this day and age, it gained him nothing and made him feel horrible just to think about now anyways.
Perhaps because the word held no affection attached to it, no affection had been dealt once his mother had passed, only pain, humiliation and abuse. Gramps was at least harmless, annoying, certainly, but that was the point. The snort drew the younger's attention, eye narrowing some, curiosity piqued. Well. He had been young once.
“You should. At least get the pipework checked out, might mellow you out some more too.” It didn’t have to be with him either, but it might loosen the stiffness of the rod up the Ancients arse. Maybe. Ruth snickered at the idea though he didn’t add anything else. Being unattached meant not being disappointed. If he didn’t care too much, and didn’t invest his feelings into anyone particular there wasn’t the risk of being discovered. The healer could continue to hide behind that mask of sarcasm and lewd innuendo.
“You’ve obviously not met many women then.” Rolling his eye, Ruth drew in a breath through his nose, later scoffing at the mans words. “No betrayal hurts more than one dealt by family. Nell played me like a fucking fiddle. She knew everything about me since she had been a clanmate. I thought her changed from those past days, but liars never change, just their spots.” It had plunged him down a dark path for a while, the early days spent in Skyhold’s cells to sober up and then put into Megara’s care and supervision. Perhaps it was because he had stuck around after Kirkwall that she felt obligated to help him, but in time he realised the sibling affection.
It would be the only crack he’d allow.
“You can’t know. You’ve neither experienced it, nor witnessed it in action other than when gibbering with me. Bet your’s is well out of practice too… So I still win.” Ruth’s grin flashed, the ‘victory’ taken rightly or not.
In the back of his mind the gremlin niggled. Secrets? What secrets did Grandpa have? His curiosity be damned, but Ruth contemplated it, a possible exchange could be on the horizon. His body tensed, muscles along his shoulders tried to roll in an effort to ease it, yet few knew his connection to the clan of the First Inquisitor. His gaze turned to the fire. “My Father is Keeper of Clan Ghilain, historically we were well respected. We..” he scoffed thinking about the futility of invoking his peoples achievements. “I left, after years of being blamed and punished for an accident, which resulted in my mother’s death. My father could not stand me after that, not that he tolerated me much before.” Ruth shook his head. “He turned up on the Stoner’s doorstep yesterday. Haven’t seen him in twenty years, but he was just as pleasant as the day I left.”
He wanted a drink. Badly. Instead his shouldered heaved and sagged under the blanket as he leaned back into the rock behind him. Ruth looked into the canopy of trees, the stars peaking through the black sky. “Nobody gives in on the first go. You do that and I know you aren’t worth the time.” There were of course exceptions, but Ruth felt the generalisation was apt. “Flirting is like chess. Both fun, but both are still just games.”
