[ A single panicked call in the middle of the night not from Alistair is a rare thing indeed- but his Kestrels are as paranoid as he and Settimo had been decidedly...upset by this revelation- but it is Vitta who called. Blades at the ready and deadly certainty in her voice to ask after disguises, what might be done for a face, for mannerisims, who in the hold knew them well enough to mimic them-
What was this mirrored image of her brother (he took a moment to be proud of her saying that so readily without batting an eye or a hitch to her breath) walking around with a bear on his back and a mabari at his heels?
Zevran...did not know, but managed to insist on some manner of calm. With the mission at hand he could not truly think on it until he is back within Skyhold proper and a new message is waiting for him- but he has yet to connect the mirror of his oldest fledgling to any particular group within Skyhold. ]
Ah, yes. I must apologize for not taking you up sooner on that recommendation. The illness and then work- you know how it is for assassins. The sooner a job is done? The better. What might I do for you?
[Dealing with this is a better distraction than facing his own limitations. Than accepting that there are limitations in the first place. He's bad at healing but pretending he's lounging around being lazy in dealing with business over the crystals is better than saying that he's still bleeding under layers of poultices and magic after all.
Plus, Nasir has Amalia, possessed of a temper and penchant for flames. If she is to spy Nasir's double near anyone she is likely to stake her claim and ascertain the correct identity later. Nasir would be fond, would laugh, would tease and say he loves her. Asher would be the one to clear up the mess to their reputation.
He's a lazy man, he'd head this off at the pass if he can.]
Right now the only tied to a bed I'm getting isn't the fun kind - some friends aren't the sort of friends you tumble and she might stab me if I get ideas but I'm getting ahead of myself. [Honestly he's very much over being injured, and being this sort of unwell for this long when it's making the rest of the Boneflayers twitchy enough that he's having to kick them out of the tents so they aren't hovering around him like he's an old man already.] This is...look this is weird. Even by my standards but I had my forward scout take a message to one of the Wardens once I was back and he saw someone who looked just like him. Just. Like. Him. Settimo, think that's the name.
[No, he knows that's the name. There's the rest of the company and well, Nasir isn't sitting around idle when he's their forward scout, they've all been busy since he dropped the news in their laps over dinner by the fire that night.]
Thought you might be able to tell me a bit more about how you've got one half and I've got the other.
So...Teresa wasn't testing out some new venom on him without his knowing, then? We had thought him hallucinating. But if they are twins...I am surprised the Crows did not take both. Perhaps it was a kidnapping of opportunity?
Settimo does not remember much, himself, of his childhood. That we are encouraged to forget when we are trained likely does not help all that much. But I suspect as children they were separated, the Crows took Settimo and with them he was trained until I liberated him along with the rest of his Cell.
Look if it's all the same to you I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that first bit because I don't know what to do with that first bit, and I have Carta brothers. [Don't ask, it's a whole thing, it's very complicated, even Asher doesn't really know what it entails exactly.]
Nasir grew up on ships coming in and out of Rivain, said he had family that did the Qunari convert thing and things got bad with the ones that didn't but he was only told about it so he's not totally shored up on the details, we just try to avoid Rivain jobs if we can. Out of respect. We get someone else to do our forward scouting if we need to go there and he travels with us. We met him on the way to Kirkwall, said he'd heard of us - this was back before the crew had settled into what we are now, before we had a name and when it was really just Melisende and myself as the only permanent members. We needed a forward scout who had connections like he did, he needed the muscle and reputation I had, and her head for numbers. No one does numbers like she does.
They call it a bonding exercise. I call it a headache in the making.
[ Kids, is he right? He's right. ]
Some of the Crows are known for taking children off docks if left unattended. Lesser houses that do not have the coin to purchase their stock from the slave market; it is quite likely that this is how Settimo came to be with them. Once he has calmed himself I will send him to speak with his brother. He is, understandably, a bit disconcerted at the idea.
I'll take my lot taking my money and drinking it when my back is turned or whatever Carta nonsense I get dragged into. I'll take Amalia's everything over that.
[Not that Asher would know about kids really, he's got his baby sister and she is blessedly wonderfully sane, adoring him and bringing out his soft side, the rest of the Boneflayers his age or older in Melisende's case.]
Nasir's pretty relaxed all things considered. Well, they're keyed up right now but a job went bad - smugglers in Gwaren but they neglected to tell us that they were smuggling an apostate on the verge of going abomination so suffice to say it's been a long journey back here. But I'll try to keep Amalia out of the way since she tends to complicate things. With fire. Settimo doesn't have any lads or lasses after him does he?
No, the Kestrels are not permitted to flirt nor bed anyone in the Inquisition until they have rid themselves of habits the Crows tend to instill into it's members.
[ He is not going to elaborate any time soon. ]
They are all of them unattached, so that is one complication we need not fear.
I'll make very sure Amalia knows that. But she's fairly tall, blonde, blue eyes, Marcher, always wears red leathers instead of mage robes, the staff looks plain enough you'd mistake it for some sort of fighting staff with a red blade at the end, tends to be attached to Nasir at the hip at the moment if you see her around. She'll probably just be curious or moral support.
[Since she might make a point of showing off and well, she's never taken kindly to people taking 'her' things before, and when she likes fire…]
I should've just sent the dwarves. I really should've just sent the dwarves to do this and not cared if they decided to get up to nonsense, bloody Kaisa.
He made mention of someone like that who gave him odd looks from a distance shortly after his arrival. Then again- most of them did. Skyhold does not often welcome Crows, even former Crows.
[ all the more reason now for them to be kestrels. ]
Dwarven nonsense tends to be...explosive, in one way or another.
Augur taught me enough as a lad that I should always be mindful of crows, but then my crew are full of lowlanders.
[That's not a judgement against Zevran or them, there's not any heat in Asher's tone - you can practically hear him shrugging, but it makes better business sense to avoid them and stick to the other sorts of work.]
They're ex-Carta, born and raised on the surface, never even had a sniff of Orzammar. One of them is an alchemist but more for potions and tonics or poisons than anything that'll blow up. They'd rob you blind, spin you a story, cause best friends to fight - they'll stir a pot but it's trouble you can handle. Usually trouble I can scoop up under either arm when my skin isn't sloughing off.
...I feel as though, perhaps, we ought to organize a play date of sorts between your crew and mine. There is much to be learned- and as long as we stand far enough away? The chaos will be hilarious.
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sending crystal; A break from the endless porn, alistair, porn cycle, yay!
Date: 2016-05-04 04:26 pm (UTC)What was this mirrored image of her brother (he took a moment to be proud of her saying that so readily without batting an eye or a hitch to her breath) walking around with a bear on his back and a mabari at his heels?
Zevran...did not know, but managed to insist on some manner of calm. With the mission at hand he could not truly think on it until he is back within Skyhold proper and a new message is waiting for him- but he has yet to connect the mirror of his oldest fledgling to any particular group within Skyhold. ]
Ah, yes. I must apologize for not taking you up sooner on that recommendation. The illness and then work- you know how it is for assassins. The sooner a job is done? The better. What might I do for you?
no subject
Date: 2016-05-06 03:37 pm (UTC)Plus, Nasir has Amalia, possessed of a temper and penchant for flames. If she is to spy Nasir's double near anyone she is likely to stake her claim and ascertain the correct identity later. Nasir would be fond, would laugh, would tease and say he loves her. Asher would be the one to clear up the mess to their reputation.
He's a lazy man, he'd head this off at the pass if he can.]
Right now the only tied to a bed I'm getting isn't the fun kind - some friends aren't the sort of friends you tumble and she might stab me if I get ideas but I'm getting ahead of myself. [Honestly he's very much over being injured, and being this sort of unwell for this long when it's making the rest of the Boneflayers twitchy enough that he's having to kick them out of the tents so they aren't hovering around him like he's an old man already.] This is...look this is weird. Even by my standards but I had my forward scout take a message to one of the Wardens once I was back and he saw someone who looked just like him. Just. Like. Him. Settimo, think that's the name.
[No, he knows that's the name. There's the rest of the company and well, Nasir isn't sitting around idle when he's their forward scout, they've all been busy since he dropped the news in their laps over dinner by the fire that night.]
Thought you might be able to tell me a bit more about how you've got one half and I've got the other.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-08 08:25 pm (UTC)Settimo does not remember much, himself, of his childhood. That we are encouraged to forget when we are trained likely does not help all that much. But I suspect as children they were separated, the Crows took Settimo and with them he was trained until I liberated him along with the rest of his Cell.
How was it you came to have your Nasir?
no subject
Date: 2016-05-10 12:10 pm (UTC)Look if it's all the same to you I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that first bit because I don't know what to do with that first bit, and I have Carta brothers. [Don't ask, it's a whole thing, it's very complicated, even Asher doesn't really know what it entails exactly.]
Nasir grew up on ships coming in and out of Rivain, said he had family that did the Qunari convert thing and things got bad with the ones that didn't but he was only told about it so he's not totally shored up on the details, we just try to avoid Rivain jobs if we can. Out of respect. We get someone else to do our forward scouting if we need to go there and he travels with us. We met him on the way to Kirkwall, said he'd heard of us - this was back before the crew had settled into what we are now, before we had a name and when it was really just Melisende and myself as the only permanent members. We needed a forward scout who had connections like he did, he needed the muscle and reputation I had, and her head for numbers. No one does numbers like she does.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-11 12:53 am (UTC)[ Kids, is he right? He's right. ]
Some of the Crows are known for taking children off docks if left unattended. Lesser houses that do not have the coin to purchase their stock from the slave market; it is quite likely that this is how Settimo came to be with them. Once he has calmed himself I will send him to speak with his brother. He is, understandably, a bit disconcerted at the idea.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-12 06:20 pm (UTC)[Not that Asher would know about kids really, he's got his baby sister and she is blessedly wonderfully sane, adoring him and bringing out his soft side, the rest of the Boneflayers his age or older in Melisende's case.]
Nasir's pretty relaxed all things considered. Well, they're keyed up right now but a job went bad - smugglers in Gwaren but they neglected to tell us that they were smuggling an apostate on the verge of going abomination so suffice to say it's been a long journey back here. But I'll try to keep Amalia out of the way since she tends to complicate things. With fire. Settimo doesn't have any lads or lasses after him does he?
no subject
Date: 2016-05-13 07:34 am (UTC)[ He is not going to elaborate any time soon. ]
They are all of them unattached, so that is one complication we need not fear.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-13 09:57 pm (UTC)[Since she might make a point of showing off and well, she's never taken kindly to people taking 'her' things before, and when she likes fire…]
I should've just sent the dwarves. I really should've just sent the dwarves to do this and not cared if they decided to get up to nonsense, bloody Kaisa.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-15 11:59 pm (UTC)[ all the more reason now for them to be kestrels. ]
Dwarven nonsense tends to be...explosive, in one way or another.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-16 08:20 pm (UTC)[That's not a judgement against Zevran or them, there's not any heat in Asher's tone - you can practically hear him shrugging, but it makes better business sense to avoid them and stick to the other sorts of work.]
They're ex-Carta, born and raised on the surface, never even had a sniff of Orzammar. One of them is an alchemist but more for potions and tonics or poisons than anything that'll blow up. They'd rob you blind, spin you a story, cause best friends to fight - they'll stir a pot but it's trouble you can handle. Usually trouble I can scoop up under either arm when my skin isn't sloughing off.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-17 11:54 pm (UTC)