this is why we fight

[birdhousesoul]

Date & Time: backdated to fall between Elissa's open log and the Initiative 'announcement'
Location: That cafe that allows cats, where Anders hangs out sometimes
Characters: Cousland, Anders, eventually Fiona
Summary: Cousland is a tactician. Anders isn't ... though he still thinks what he did in Kirkwall was a great idea and will absolutely have the results he intended ...
Warnings: Anders might get punched in the face



The official, stated purpose for this meeting involved Anders reintroducing Ser Pounce-a-lot to Cousland. It was Cousland who originally rescued the scraggly orange kitten -- friendless, alone, thin, quite possibly orphaned in the selfsame darkspawn attack that the Keep suffered at the time of the new Commander's arrival -- and it was Cousland who placed the kitten in Anders' keeping. Seven years going on eight years later, cosseted by "a friend" in Amaranthine all through Anders' lean years in Kirkwall, Pounce is a sleek and solidly muscular tom, a credit to felinity. Initiative alchemy has transformed him into something even more impressive, augmenting his size and strength incrementally with each mission he and Anders undertake.

So, of course, Anders needs to show Pounce off to Pounce's godmother.

The unofficial purpose ... Anders isn't even sure. He isn't sure what to expect, pure and simple. They've covered some ground over the network, he and his commander-turned-friend; some of that ground seems to have been differently charted in his and her differing experience, and Anders isn't sure what to make of that, either. But he needs to see Elissa, face-to-face, not mediated by the technology of their captors. He needs to hear her voice directly.

Even if he might not like what she has to say.

There's that cafe he likes, the one where the owner lets her own elderly cat laze about in the window, and Anders arranges to meet Elissa there. He brings Pounce, of course. He also brings his netbook, and he's poking at it when she arrives. Yet he rises from his chair to greet her, as though she were commander still.

Pounce winds around her legs in a greeting of his own.

Comments

[ladyspitfire]

She's thought of Anders over the past week or two since her arrival. He had never explained himself, not fully, and though she allowed it, the secrets have begun to bother her. Elissa's always been overly curious and nearly impatient in some things, wanting the truth in everything she's done. But she also knows when not to push, when to hold back and wait. Nathaniel has given her enough to work with and it's up to Anders to acquiesce and come clean with what he's done.

When he contacts her in the hopes of re-introducing her to Pounce, she isn't certain what to expect. They both know their meeting won't end at hellos and a cat. It's just a question of who will speak first.

Still, it doesn't sit right with her. Whatever's happened, whatever he's done is bad enough that he hasn't spoken to her about it. He couldn't bring himself to tell her everything. And that's the part that makes her feel a little sick with worry. Anders isn't Alistair by any means, nor is he Nathaniel. She hasn't known him as long as others, but he's still important to her. It's a kick in the stomach to know something terrible's happened, enough to drive a distance between them so easily.

She goes to meet him and is certain to wear the clothes she's brought from home, just so she doesn't seem like too much of a stranger, though it makes her stand out. The cafe only serves to make her feel even more lost, unused to this world and its buildings, but she quickly brightens when she sees him and Pounce.

Elissa starts towards Anders and then pauses with the cat winding around her legs. Careful not to step on him, she turns to Anders. "Hullo, Anders," she says amiably, and gives him as strong of a smile as she can manage. She's uncertain whether she should embrace him or take his arm, and finally opts to reach out and squeeze his shoulder instead. "Here, sit. You don't need to get up for me."

Finally, she looks down to her 'godchild' and smiles. "And hullo to you too, Pounce. Handsome boy." She kneels down to let him sniff her fingers. "And...bigger than I last saw you. What have they been feeding you?"