( closed. ) there is no crime in being kind.

[fightingale]

WHO: closed to Araceli, Ariadne, Beleth, The Iron Bull, Isabela, Legolas, Solas, Teren, Zevran, with possible sending crystal appearances by Leliana if necessary and a collection of nps.
WHAT: Antiva Mission; freeing slaves, dealing with a Merchant Prince, capturing an Orlesian noble and maybe recruiting some Antivan chefs.
WHEN: Roughly 1st - 5th May, with a gentle touch of timey wimey
WHERE: Antiva City, Antiva (and thereabouts)
NOTES: Plotting post & ic recruitment log (if you want to thread Leliana approaching your character to come along just lmk and I'll get to it asap.)
Themes of slavery, all the terrible things Venatori do that could be mentioned, the existence of Zevran and Isabela, and general carnage. (Please add any surprise warnings to subject lines, bruhs.)

Starters being added in the comments :]b

Comments

[ombranera]

[ His last venture North had not been half so pleasant as all this- even with that ever present wariness crackling at the back of his mind Zevran is pleased to be returning home. There's a lightness, a joy about him for something so simple, leaving him bright and cheerful through mountains and rocky paths, through long hikes and lonely nights. Upon the ship he strips to the waist and slides into place among the crew easily enough, working the rigging, earning his keep and as much gossip as he can possibly wrangle.

A little wariness on behalf of the sailors isn't entirely unwarranted and they do not seem to wish to make trouble- far more interested in an easy job and quick pay. Aside from that his markings brand him a Crow, and that is not one most would wish to bother.

Even so late as they arrive he is crackling with excitement- home. Antiva City. The glittering jewel of his country, how he has missed her. Ferrying his goods into the back end of the brothel takes little time- Zervran checks his gear once more before slipping to the brothel proper to speak with the whores. After all, they say you can never truly go home again- but this? This is comfortable and familiar enough for him. ]

[foxsays]

[Months ago (and sometimes she can't believe it's already been months) Zevran had offered to show her Antiva since she'd been so homesick, and then he'd been taken by those he'd escaped, and she'd gone chasing after him with a band of others. She had seen things that had made her sick to her stomach.

It's hard to be back here. Harder still to be back here with Zevran though she's good at this, she is better than good, and when Zevran goes she's quick to slip out and follow him; if her ears were pointed, she might truly pass for his sister, as it is, if she keeps her hand tucked away then the only time she merits a second look is because she's a pretty girl in leathers that fit her well, weapons swinging at her side.]

Running away without me is incredibly rude, I'm hurt. [Of course she's teasing as she catches up, falling into step, tucking herself on the side where his eye is milky white because that way he is covered, because that is what a friend does.] All work and no play means I have no scandalous stories for when I get back.

[ombranera]

Ah, but Sorellina, what if I was slipping away to purchase something special for you? Something that glitters to go on your marvelous neck.

[ His grin is bright and easy, slipping from Common into Antivan without much thought- any other Rifter? He wouldn't dare. They can't possibly know the language. But Araceli is a girl after his own heart, his own blood, and that as much as her taking his blind side has him slinging an arm about her shoulders as he would any close comrade. ]

Come. We are going to meet up with a few of my old contacts, learn more of our purpose here. And possibly meet a few of the whores that raised me if they yet remain.

[ One, he knows, has become the Signora of the establishment, minds the children quite well. It is not the same as taking her to meet his family under normal circumstances as he had none, but it was the closest he might come. ] There will be scandalous tales aplenty before we leave, I assure you.

[foxsays]

Then I would of course become very distracted and pretend not to notice, I can be obliging, of course, when it comes to the people I care for.

[After all she has had so long to learn to do that since the other girls in the guard came into her life; they are very bad at sneaking off the job, they don't know how to do it but you look away for some things. She suspects she would do the same for Korrin at times, because like Zevran, always being alert means she's still here, still alive, and she tucks her head against his shoulder, tucking her curls out of the way.]

I know it wasn't the same for you as it was for I but...to have someone that does understand that yes, whores can raise you is something I'm glad for. Although Skyhold having no brothel baffles me to this day. There are so many where I come from, how is it that so many people are there and no brothel. I mean the Fereldan folk or the Orlesians can hardly even make it through a day without shoving their feet down their throats. [An exaggeration, and Zevran doesn't talk about feelings that way that she might where she can throw the word love as casually as she pleases but well, they know about getting rid of tension.

Plenty of other people must barely be able to wield weapons with the damage they'll be doing to their wrists with no brothel about, and sometimes (a lot of times) you need another body (or two, or three, or more, as many as you'd like and have the coin for) to be there with you in the dark, so you aren't alone and feel safe.] Enough to make Korrin's hair curl? It's a mission of mine, to see if I can actually manage it since she decided to run off and fight a dragon leaving me on the back foot which is just incredibly rude of her I think.

[ombranera]

Raise and raise well. It was not an ideal situation- my mother dying and leaving her debt and another mouth to feed- but they took care of me and the other children; made certain none of the customers ever were under the impression we too might be bought, and ensured we were not hungry or beaten for scampering about as children are wont to do. Most trouble we found came from wandering the market beyond the brothel, finding trouble as street urchins are wont to do.

[ He never spoke much of those women, the life he led in that warm, colorful building. It all seemed too personal to share with most but Araceli...Araceli would understand. ]

It is where I learned how to braid my hair and apply basic makeup- I could never quite get the hang of the way they would line their brows or eyes when I was that young, but I could color their lips quite well. [ Ah, memories. ] I think it is because the Inquisition was founded as a branch of the Chantry- and the chantry mothers and sisters might find a brothel on the grounds to be sinful? I do not understand it myself, Sorellina, I truly do not.

[foxsays]

There's no such thing as debt with the whores at home, that isn't how it works at all with us; like everyone on a ship is one crew, that is how it is in the brothel. One of the younger women there before I left was my first. We were friends, she was nervous, I was nervous, if that can be believed. [Some firsts she shared on the docks, in the taverns, or with her thief friends, but some things seemed safer under her mother's roof. There's always that safety for her, knowing she can always go back and be welcomed.] If I had wished to take that path they would have taught me but she taught me all the other things that people never think you can learn in a brothel.

I...I confess that I still find it very hard to think of it as sinful when what my mother still does is considered to be healing. To be with a Bride is to be embraced by the sea, to be healed, to be comforted; even with a consort - that is what the whores call themselves, consorts to refer to the gender or genders they prefer to lie with, it makes it simpler for all parties - when they do not need to provide the same healing, to be with someone? How is it sinful? We were given a body to feel alive, I have always felt so alive and connected. Loved. [There's a moment of pause, careful consideration as she tips her head to think about a few instances in the past. Not hurts, more selfishness on the part of others and she shrugs.] I think some of your Chantry mothers and sisters are the ones who are in need of it the most.

[ombranera]

Growing up around it as I did my introduction was quite practical. This is what happens, this is what might go wrong if you are not careful, this is how to be certain you are not hurt, so on and so forth. Not all Antivans share that easy education quite so early but most do not find lovemaking to be so shameful a thing. After all if one sins one must light a candle, pray for forgiveness, and move on with one's life. In the South...

[ Zevran shrugs. ]

Things are quite strange here, this is true. The closest to your Brides I can think of, considering what I know of them, would be Tamassrans of the Qunari. For them it is a need that is filled, a manner of healing.

[foxsays]

That was what the sailors did for me; my father's friends all knew me, he's one of those sorts of captains - the captain that commands respect even from what rivals he might have? Friendly rivalries, everyone only wishing to push one another to be the very best that they can be. And Marjani, the woman who taught me to duel, she made me more aware but that is the sort of thing that sort of teacher does at home, a special sort of bond.

[Both rapiers are tapped lovingly, another reminder that she carries her home with her wherever she goes; what belonged to Marjani now belongs to her, will perhaps one day belong to another girl, maybe a boy. She'll teach Leandra's child or children one day.]

But the Qun do not have love. Not the way Korrin has explained it to me - there is no choice in the Qun. 'This is your place, the place that is chosen for you'. That is no way to live a life. I have chosen my path and... [Glancing over at him betrays a hint of her nervousness that she might not have had prior to going to Antiva before but she doesn't wish to upset him, but she didn't miss his hesitation when she said she loved people in Thedas.] And I think now you have chosen yours at last, you are letting your kestrels have the chance to choose theirs. Everything in Castileos is done with love, it's naive in Thedas I'm sure, but I would never change that.

[doneisdone]

[Periodically Zevran may catch Teren watching him, her expression thoughtful but not entirely unpleasant. Most importantly, she does not look away if he meets her eyes, but continues to stare into them with a knowing glint.
Having said that, she at no point directly approaches or engages with him.]

[ombranera]

[ It is after the fifth time he catches her staring that he caves, slipping from shadow to shadow until he is at her side. ] What is it you want, Bella Dama? A story, a song? A night in my bed?

[doneisdone]

[Teren, of course, is up to the task of pretending none of this is warranted. She's leaning against the ship's railing, watching the crew and listening to the waves, and she barely turns her head when Zevran appears.]

A story, [she decides. Her tone is cryptic.]

[ombranera]

...as you wish. What manner of tale would you wish? Something of the fifth blight? Something daring? Something steamy?

[ Casual as he can manage he leans a hip against the railing, eyes on her. ]

[doneisdone]

Something cultural. Traditionally Antivan. [She casts him a wry look.]

I should get in the mindset of where we're going.

[ombranera]

Well... there is the tale of the princess and the flea, the Merchant's Arrogance, the Giant and the Toad....hmm.

[doneisdone]

The Merchant's Arrogance. [The title seems relevant, if nothing else.]

[ombranera]

As you like. Let me see, now...

[ It is a long tale, a winding one of fear and luck, with ghosts and dragons and talking dogs. Risk of death, romance, and a whirlwind marraige at the end.

It has it's moral to be certain but above all else? It is terribly Antivan. ]

[doneisdone]

[Teren listens without interrupting, nodding periodically or pulling a face, but she doesn't speak again until Zevran has finished. Then she looks at him, eyes slightly narrowed.]

It does ramble, doesn't it. [She taps her chin, thinking over the details for a good few minutes.]

What I've gleaned is that nearly killing a man is forgivable as long as you make up for it by... what, saving a fairy? Killing a dragon, then telling on the person who had the good sense to step in when you've gone off to feel sorry for yourself?

[She squints out at the sea, vaguely displeased.]

And why was everything bloody enchanted? Normal dogs can deliver messages.

[ombranera]

Such tales are often told with wine, this is an edited version of the tale. Normally it lasts an hour.

[ And then some. ]

The actual lesson is a straight port for a crooked ship- meaning even the worst of intentions can lead to a path that ends well. Quite an Antivan Sentiment. We are, after all, a country of assassins, pirates, and brigands.

[ a beat. ]

You have never seen Antivan dogs. They are small, whipish things, and terribly stupid.

[doneisdone]

[Teren mulls this over for a moment.]

An interesting take on morality. Do you find that this resonates with you?

[She continues to look out on the water, keeping her voice impartial.]

[ombranera]

Well...actually? It is quite apt for my situation ten years ago.

[ Try to die, find redemption. Who saw that coming?

Not Zevran. ]

[doneisdone]

[She angles a curious glance toward Zevran. As long as he's being candid...]

How so?

[ombranera]

There is no more crooked a purpose than murder, yes? And yet in attempting to kill the Warden and Alistair all that time ago, I have found my freedom.

[doneisdone]

Interesting.

[She looks back out again.]

I hear you gave up the life then. That your recent dealings with the Crows were unrelated.

[ombranera]

You cannot get more 'unrelated' than 'I am attempting to kill them and they are attempting to kill me.'

[doneisdone]

[Once again, his candor catches her by surprise. At the same time, she knows not to trust things that come too easily.]

Why?

[If he's so open to speaking about it, perhaps she can glean his true intentions. Find the gambit in his phrasing. Not that she'd expect a Crow to be careless.]