killedwithlove | PSL: For kremdelacreme

Krem's sleep was dreamless, allowing him to sleep like a brick, on his stomach and snoring like a determined saw through legions of logs. When the sun started to rise though, he started to rise with it, habit reinforced before he'd ever left home.

Just as he had been back then, he was roused by the smell of fresh bread, and he pushed himself up onto his knees with a long yawn, grinding a knuckle into each eye and squinting blearily toward the window that was still missing its glass, then leaning his shoulder against the wall when he caught sight of the shadow of Cole's hat. He yawned again and turned in place, sitting with his back against the stonework, knees pulled up and his arms propped up on top of them.

"How long've you been there?" he asked, waking up little by little, a luxury he could actually afford these days.

The tray was set near the bed, where it would be within easy reach without having to actually get up. Cole tipped his head a little as Krem roused and spoke.

"Not long. I came through the night, but you were very peaceful and then the halla was cold, so I went to help him, but I know breakfast is important and the kitchens were already busy, so I got you breakfast. I hope that's okay."

"I'm sure the Inquisitor and the other elves will appreciate you helping the halla," Krem murmured, his eyes falling half-closed even as he looked over at the tray left there within reach. His brows arched up and he leaned forward, pulling part of the bread off, smiling faintly at the warmth still radiating from the inside of it. He smeared a portion of it with the butter and another with the jam, then mashed them together and took a bite out of them, waking up more with the taste of it.

Scooting over on his bed, he nodded over to the empty space next to him in silent invitation. No reason to stay perched there on his chest of drawers. "I suppose it would be silly of me to ask if you got bored wandering around in the night."

Cole hesitated and then came over, the floorboards refusing to creak under his feet as he came and knelt on the bed, settling down on the edge of it. He liked the enjoyment Krem took from food, from the flavours and the way it woke his body up.

"I helped people. A lot of people have nightmares. It helps to have someone shush them softly, stroked back their hair, or make sure the fires keep burning. I spend the night making sure everyone sleeps as best they can, and being warm enough."

"Y'know, when you creep more into being human, it'll be harder to keep doing that," he pointed out needlessly, taking another bite of his breakfast then flicking the crumbs off his fingers. He hesitated subtly as he shifted forward, pulling his blankets up around his shoulders.

It was easy enough to distract himself with that look on Cole's face, like he was absorbing the good in a moment, but soon he knew he'd have to actually get dressed in more than his smallclothes and tunic.

"So even after doing all of that, you found the time to grab fresh bread and butter and bring it here. How do you even get it all done before sunup?"

"Why?" He shifted to hug his thighs to his chest. "And it's all right. I can help you with your vest, if you'd like."

He knew. He didn't see it as a problem.

He looked at his hands and rubbed at the nails on his left hand. "I spend most of the night helping and then came here."

"When you start being able to sleep, you'll probably actually start needing to sleep. Harder to spend the night helping people when you have to spend time taking a nap. Could nap during the day, but I doubt you'd care for that."

Krem scooted forward to the edge of the bed, glancing back over his shoulder at Cole, then at himself. He knew Cole didn't think of him as anything except a man, with that peculiar ability to see inside a person to the core of what they were, but it was a matter of personal comfort, some illogical thing that made it hard to look past the physical. He made a silent request for Cole to avert his eyes before reaching for his compression vest to pull the first part on over his head. It was a struggle that he'd long since mastered after designing the garment for himself. He had to stand to finish fastening the leather outer layer, and without his shirt, the scars on his body were made visible, just as much as the hard muscle moving subtly under skin.

When the belts were pulled taut and buckled securely, he pulled on his tunic again and turned back to Cole. "D'you know what you'll be having to do today? Going out with the Inquisitor or anything I mean. Because I wondered if you'd care to join me in training." Cole had insisted that he wasn't fragile, after all, and he knew it would be enough of a challenge to really be worth the time and effort, on his part.

"Hm. I hadn't thought about that. I wonder if I'll dream when I sleep. A spirit, in the real world, dreaming into the Fade."

It was less the request and more Krem's discomfort which had Cole tuck his head down, tugging his hat so that he couldn't see what Krem was doing. He understood privacy and the drive for it; he didn't really feel it himself, but he understood it.

"I don't think we have anything to do. Josephine was talking about things needing signing, so that's probably happening today instead." He glanced over, confident it was allowed. "All right. That sounds good."

"You have to promise you won't get too upset if one of us gets hurt in the process," he added as he went for the basics of his armor, refraining from pulling on more than his chestplate and bracers. The rest wasn't necessary for sparring matches, not unless he was working with Bull and had to prepare himself to be hit repeatedly by a heavy shield.

Before they headed out, Krem stopped to grab the last of the bread and smear it with the rest of the butter and jam. He ate half of it in a bite as they walked back through the tavern's upstairs storage space, finishing it off by the time they got back outside. He didn't intend to start training just yet, he just wanted to be outside for the moment to watch the rest of Skyhold waking up.

"I promise. Little hurts happen." Nicks and cuts and small things that could be fixed with cobwebs and potions. "Little healing spells work when I'm around. No risk of pulling anyone else through."

He followed after Krem, moving down the stairs in a controlled stumble as much as anything else. He stayed close, but started to stray away and back once they got outside.

He picked up something and came back to sit next to Krem, feeding crumbs to whatever was in his hand. "I like morning."

"The quiet's nice. Don't get much of that around here," Krem said as he leaned over to try and see what Cole had found. The bustle of Skyhold was almost constant and almost impossible to get away from unless you followed the dusty, cobweb-ridden paths under the fortress.

Cole was hand feeding a young rat. Not a baby, but nothing like an adult yet, either. It seemed calm so long as it was sheltered from the rising sunlight.

"It's quiet underneath Skyhold. You can hear the forge, but it's a steady beat, like the heart of the keep given sound."

"This place has rhythms, like a living thing. A pulse and schedules and magic in the stones."

Krem was trying not to think too loudly about disapproving of the rat. The things weren't a welcome sight, growing up, usually a sign of crumbling mortar and filthy corners, bringing diseases into crowded spaces that couldn't afford them. They might have had a wealth of mages here, but only so many of them were trained for healing and if illness broke out it could devastate them.

The whole scenario played out in his mind far too fast for him to catch it, but he reminded himself that if they were really at risk here, Cole wouldn't hold and feed the thing.

"Rats are a measure of the environment," he commented at the thought, the flicker of revulsion. He understood it well. "They eat the scraps and insects that might grow into molds. If there's sickness, they'll get sick first. And the dracolisks like to eat them. And hunting them keeps the cats and dogs entertained and fed without needing food from people."

He set the rat down and let it run off again.

Krem felt mildly ashamed of himself hearing that. He hadn't thought about the mounts or the other animals of the hold. He didn't see them much, as much time as he spent outside of the keep or keeping to himself in the Herald's Rest, so they hadn't crossed his mind.

"Sorry," he muttered, rubbing his hand along his jaw and looking down at the ground where the rat had run off.

"Don't be ashamed. Most people don't know all the levels that work in a settlement. We need lots of flies, because spiders like flies. The rats stay healthy and feed the mounts and other animals. Life is a big net, spinning everywhere, interlace and related."

He looked to the stairs that led down to the entrance and stables. "Do you want to meet some of the mounts?"

"Not used to being around animals much. Never had much luck with mounts either," Krem pointed out, but he still stood to follow Cole down. Even if he wasn't good with animals, Cole was bound to be.

The stables were cool in the shade of the early morning, and most of the mounts were awake and eating. He lingered at the entrance, watching the massive Amaranthine Charger shaking its head out then turning to watch them as they came in. Krem was approaching slowly, a hand up to be smelled when he got close enough.

Like most situations, Krem adapted easily enough and before long, he was able to run his hands down the horse's neck, giving it a quiet murmur of approval as it nosed at his face.

Cole loved the animals. The animals loved Cole in return, turning and following him as he moved among them, before coming up to Fluffy's stall.

Fluffy was the newest acquisition. She arrived two days ago and barely fit in a stall, so she was tethered outside while a new stall was built for her. Her massive weight rested on her knuckles and she ducked her head for Cole to rub between her curling horns while he watched Krem get to know one of the horses.

A dracolisk was watching him, nosing at his arm until he paid it attention too. He had to admit that he was enjoying himself, though the smells of the stable reminded him quite a bit of how the Chargers tended to smell when they got off of long missions.

He joined Cole before long, looking the nugalope in the face when she turned to look at him, his face immediately scrunching up in disgust when she snorted at him, spraying him with a fine mist of what he hoped was only spit. She nudged at him with her muzzle until he rubbed her nose and up between her horns as Cole had.

"Thanks for the bath, really needed that," he muttered sarcastically, wiping his face off on his arm.

Cole had ducked under a horn and was rubbing behind one ear, dragging his fingers along the long length and massaging with his fingers.

"She wants you to smell like her, not like the horse. Nugs have fairly sensitive noses, they can smell very well. Not as well as they hear, but fairly well." He patted her stocky neck. "Their eyesight is very poor. Little nugs are mostly blind, the pink ones, anyway. The brown ones can see a bit better."

"There are better ways to make something smell like you, nug," Krem huffed, wiping off the last of the moisture then scratching at her ear. "Cats do it just fine by rubbing on things or- ...no, you're not allowed to piss on anything. Blackwall'd throw a fit."

As funny as that might be, he would just as soon wait until they had the new stall ready for her before she did her business anywhere.

"Bull will probably give me shit for smelling like nug later."

"I like nugs. I like little nugs, and big ones."

Fluffy responded by headbutting Cole in the chest and sending him staggering back a step before he caught himself. "That means she likes me. And The Iron Bull will tease you, and then he'll find out you were down here with me and he'll tease you about that, instead."

"Not like that's anything new at least," Krem replied with a quiet snort, then reached over for Cole and pulled him by the hand, leaning up and rubbing some of the smell off his face and onto Cole.

He smirked up at him, still holding onto his hand."Now you can stink like nug too."

Cole wrinkled his nose. "I smelt like nug anyway."

He kept hold of Krem's hand, though. "So now I smell like nug and you."

Krem's smile grew some, and he lifted Cole's hand to rub the back of it against his neck. "Now that's even worse." A joke at his own expense, the sort that the Iron Bull would have made if he were there as well.

"You don't have much of a smell of your own. Is that because of the spirit thing?"

PSL: For kremdelacreme

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