faderift | [OPEN] So Much Is At Stake

Entry tags:

[OPEN] So Much Is At Stake

WHO: Character(s) Vivienne and OPEN
WHAT: Catchall leading up to Orlais happenings
WHEN: Beginning of the month up until Orlais event starts
WHERE: Skyhold (early) / Val Royeaux (one week before event start)
NOTES: Open to all. Val Royeaux segment is a shopping trip en route to Halamshiral (which is available for 'guests' to tag around with each other.) Prose or brackets is fine, I'll tag to match.

Early Solace
Courtyard
Even with whispers about ongoing strife in Orlais, little notes and letters finding Madame de Fer's hand confirming as much, she remains in Skyhold for the time being. Her business is much as it has been. No small part of her day is spent working with the younger mages present in the Fortress. With no Circle to provide these youngsters with solid training, they find themselves trouble in trying to alleviate their boredom. The best solution she's found is to take an active role in not only learning their names and personal quirks, but genuinely trying to seek out responsible mages to serve as mentors to guide them. Much of her time is spent finding suitable adults willing and able to work with their younger members.

Balcony
Not quite as many new mages are joining the Inquisition as there were in the early days. Those who do are often either Rifters, or rebels who didn't follow Fiona to Redcliffe, for good or ill. Regardless of affiliation, Vivienne attempts to stay apprised to the numbers of the magically gifted present in Skyhold. It's especially important that she does so now, as the recently appointed mage liaison. For her part, she tries to remain as available to find on her balcony as she may. When a new name is brought to her attention, an invitation is sent out to join her for tea where she holds court from her chaise lounge.

Anyone passing through the Main Hall of a late night might find her still awake upstairs and intent on an alchemy project.

Gardens
Any morning following a late night dabble with alchemy will find the Iron Lady strolling through the Skyhold Gardens. She examines the plants as she passes through, calm as always, though sometimes a thoughtful hum gives away her extra consideration of something she sees.

---

Val Royeaux
Convinced now that the Inquisition will be making a move into Orlais in short order, Vivienne's routine alters. She decides that a little detour en route for shopping is absolutely demanded. Nevermind that the capital is actually beyond where they will be traveling, or that it seems perhaps frivolous to be indulging in retail therapy when there are far more serious matters to attend to. She, of course, insists that if they are to deal with Orlesians, those agents should at the very least look presentable as such. ~~No, plaidweave is unacceptable. Find something else.~~ Shopping is happening. They've plenty of time to conclude their business and meet with the intended encampment at Halamshiral.

She doesn't travel to the capital alone, however. There are a number of people she's invited to join her for the excursion. Not all of them are particularly pleased to be present, but somehow the Iron Lady's gotten her way. Not that blackmail was involved in any way, that's far too cheap to someone who revels in playing the Game. However, her bullying victims might perhaps feel otherwise. She's arranged lodging for them all at Bastien's townhouse, though the Duke is not in residence at present. Playing hostess is quite fun for her, thus Vivienne will point out the best shops, the tastiest pastries, and of course the most ideal restaurants to see and be seen.

Her own personal shopping involves inspecting a golden pig, which she decides firmly against, browsing fabrics, pretty jewelry pieces, careful inspection of practically every bookseller she can locate, and much time inquiring with the local herbalists.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

When it comes to corsets, Araceli Bonaventura y Castell is something of an expert on two fronts. (Haha, see what I did there.) Firstly there's the whole growing up in a brothel part where you grow up with an appreciation and a great knowledge of these things, and then there's the fact that whatever she didn't get in height, she received elsewhere. Mainly in her generous, more than generous helping of hip, and thigh, and backside, and of course, her bust. So corset shopping has been sorely needed since a girl like Araceli can never have too many.

"You need to breathe all the way out," she instructs gently, since she can pass on advice here as the one that knows this sort of world very well. "It has to shape what you do have before they can decide if they'll pad it out or not."

Of course the first time is always the worst time, when you think that your ribs might actually puncture your lungs as she holds a few swatches of fabric against the corset she's being laced into, as you do.

Beleth was about the same size as Araceli--as far as height went. Curves were another matter entirely, and a matter that she hadn't spent much time considering until now. The elf was roughly 90% spindly limbs, and the curves she possessed were subtle. She gave a nervous glance at Araceli, then down at the corset, and hesitantly, as if not sure she would be getting any of that air back, breathed out.

"Pad it?" She was probably not supposed to be talking, but questions needed to be asked. "Where is this--" And she has to take a moment as the assistant gives the laces a firm tug. "--padding going?" It occurs to her that this is possibly an elaborate joke to play on the isolated Dalish woman, pretend that humans regularly and willingly put themselves in these devices. She's not sure if she prefers that idea to it being truth.

"And why? I don't understand, what does--" The complaints cease for a moment as a light bulb (lantern???) goes off in her head, and she turns back to Araceli, trying not to wheeze because that is not dignified. "--Do men like this, is that why?" Then another pause as she looks down, contemplating this new epiphany, and when she looks up again, there's something more pointed in her expression. "...Would a man find a woman more, ah. Alluring? With this?"

"Some of it would be in the gown itself, or the cut and the way that the fabric falls. The padding goes here," instead of actually saying where, Araceli taps the assistant's hand so she can adjust herself better at the front with a significant glance down at herself then at Beleth. Korrin might like it if Araceli looks like she's going to burst out of her corset any second but she wants to look perfect in it, so that requires a lot of adjusting, shimmying, prodding and tugging until she's satisfied.

A touch light-headed but that's why you break in a corset once you get it home.

"Most men, if they like women at all, will like tits," Araceli replies bluntly enough for the woman behind her to tut but grow up in a brothel and go through life growing into her figure and well, you earn the right to be very blunt about it. "You get arse men, some leg men, hip men as well but I have never met a man in all my life that likes women and wouldn't say no to them." Looking over to Beleth properly this time, because this deserves her full and undivided attention, she gives a coy and teasing little smile. "I might be the wrong person to ask when I have never done anything in my life just for the allure of a man but yes, a man probably would I think. Why do you ask?"

Beleth watches Araceli adjust her own corset and prod and tug and whatnot, then glances down at her own. The assistant has finished tying enough of it for some cleavage to appear that had not been there previously, with her chest getting squeezed up and together. Well, if that's what was fashionable, she supposed.

She prods a little at the new line that's formed, before looking up as Araceli explained yet more. She looks slightly alarmed at the prospect of there being multiple body parts that were contenders for favorite among men--that was yet another piece of information she'd have to figure out.

Which was--well. Was this a good time to ask? Beleth had been nervously contemplating asking Araceli for a while now, and it seemed relevant enough. "There--There is a man that, ah. I might want to...impress? Allure? That's an awfully strong word. Maybe just, ah. Interest. I don't know. If he notices. I don't know if he'd notice." She'd quite literally shared a bed with the man for a while without him seeming to notice she possessed any of the body parts Araceli had listed, after all.

"It gets easier with practice." Unlike Beleth, her first experiences with this had been as a much younger girl, when it was more exciting and less awkward. She'd felt like a grown-up then but she imagines it must be very different to be in Beleth's position right about now because even now there are times she feels all of five when she has to let someone measure her or move her about when she's being fitted. And that's when it's part of her life, day-in, day-out. Talking about men (laughing about men, specialist subject) is a welcome distraction.

"Men can be very dim. Can't see what's right under their noses. If he's like that you need only nod in his direction and I will deal with him." Not like that but his life certainly won't be fun, little miseries piling up on top of one another, possessions going missing and returning but not quite as he might like or when he might need them by. His underthings, for instance, might be displayed from the highest points of Skyhold and all his other clothes will mysteriously go missing at the same time, the maids are good girls, not paid enough and thus easy to bribe with coin and smiles. "What's he like? There are plenty of men in Skyhold after all, they tend to blur for the most part. Only one or two stand out, he must be something, no? To catch your eye." Why yes, she winks, to see if it'll make Beleth blush.

It is a little bit odd, and a little...demeaning? Her figure had never been found wanting before, and suddenly she was having her ribs crushed and her breasts squashed in unnatural ways, in order to achieve an ideal she never knew she lacked. But it wasn't as painful as having her vallaslin done, and if Beleth could handle someone tattooing around her eyes, she could handle this.

"Deal--? I don't think he needs...dealt with? Is that bad?" Besides, she's sure once Araceli finds out who he is, she wouldn't be as willing to do anything against him. Alistair was a very popular man, and for good reason. But nothing needed to happen to him, she was pretty sure.

Araceli's plan to make the elf blush works, of course. Beleth clears her throat, glancing to the side as her cheeks heat up. It only gets worse as she starts talking about the man in question. "He--He really is something. I've never met anyone like him before. He's sweet, and he's funny, and he's caring. He always knows what to say to make me feel better, and he puts my well-being above his own. Which is--the first time someone's ever really...done that for me. He saved my life and he saw me when I was...in a really, really bad state. And he took care of me and never made me feel less for it." A fond, goofy smile grows on her lips as she continues, and she'll probably be incredibly embarrassed when she remembers herself.

"...And he's famous enough that my mother might not disown me for being with him." She tacks on belatedly, blinking thoughtfully. "Maybe."

"It depends with men. I have much stricter rules regarding the men I spend my time with," Araceli replies carefully given present company; she isn't quite sure how Orlesians will react to her and Korrin, or her and any woman, so that phrasing will have to do for the moment. Instead she listens, keeps her face carefully neutral until the screen is put up so she can slip back into her own clothes again; there's a clinking of coin, the rustle of paper because a girl can't have too many corsets after all, not when they're a necessity and when tailors on Skyhold are thin on the ground.

(There's Teren but she would rather not allow that woman near her bust if it can be helped.)

Adjusting her own clothes again, she shrugs lightly. "Korrin saved my life, that's true, and she's funny but all those things are things that anyone should do for you." She doesn't want to pity a friend but if Beleth has never had someone in her life like that before, then a part of Araceli can't help but feel very sad for her. "No one should ever make you feel less than what you are which is remarkable, same as no one should ever take you for granted," she murmurs softly because it's that last part that's caught her attention, that's draining the blood from her face enough that she has to lean against a stand, fingers gripping tight.

"Why would your mother disown you?" If Araceli sounds appalled, it's because she is - she's never heard of such a thing before, and the idea of it has her shuddering enough that the lady adjusting her corset apologises, murmuring about how cool it must be in Orlais at this time of year compared to the heat of Antiva.

Araceli's declaration on being pickier with men doesn't overly phase Beleth, at least. She can't feel the same because she needs to focus marrying someone she can have children with--but. The idea is to have elven children. In that sense, Alistair is as unfit as a woman would be. Hmm. She thinks on that as the corset is finally removed from her, and she can breath again. Thank the Creators.

She's not sure how to comment on Araceli's next part, she listens as she pays. She doesn't think she's particularly remarkable, and being treated like less than even what she feels like is an occupational hazard of being an elf that interacts with humans regularly. Not Alistair, though. Beleth probably just isn't explaining it well enough for Araceli to properly understand.

However, her fellow bard's reaction to the last part is startling enough that it puts attempts to better explain out the window. She hurries over to Araceli to make sure that the other woman is quite alright. But she doesn't seem to be actually injured--is it that surprising--ah. She'd forgotten to mention the important part.

"Well, he's a human. And my mother is our clan's Keeper." The tone with which she imparts this information makes it clear she feels this explains everything, and it isn't until Beleth begins leaving the store that she hesitates. "Oh--Um. I don't know how much you know about racial, ah. Interactions. But that's frowned upon by everyone in general, and particularly prohibited by Dalish. Particularly prohibited for the leader of the clan's daughter. I'm supposed to be setting an example, not running off to the arms of some shemlen. But Alistair isn't just a shemlen. He helped stop a Blight, helped save a clan and allied with them, etc. I doubt I'd be allowed to live in the clan, but it might be enough to occasionally send letters or visit." She says it calmly, like she's explaining to Araceli some minor interesting facts about the Dalish. It's just how things are, and it's perfectly reasonable. She can't blame her mother for following the laws.

Marriage isn't a common practice in Castileos, at least not among the native commonfolk. It's a noble sort of thing, alliances for the most part; you love who you love, you don't need to do anything in particular to demonstrate that, so words and seals on paper stored securely in a vault somewhere with a copy made pending disaster tends to very much be marriage back home. So she follows Beleth, her own purchase tucked under her arm to be safely hidden away for after Rivain, thank you Korrin, trying not to shake her head the more she listens.

"Your mother should value your happiness first." Rain is wet, snow is cold, mountains are tall: she really shouldn't have to actually say that, should she? Oh she's met noble mothers, she's had dinner with them, and she's snuck in and out of their houses (to steal from them, bed their daughters, sometimes both but not on the same night because she has manners and that's just not classy); they behave as they will, Araceli will grind her teeth at them as she smiles, making polite and pointed conversation. "You're your own person, Beleth. You make your own choices same as you have your own opinions, your own feelings. I suppose I should ask, before we continue this further: do you actually have feelings for Alistair?" Her own tone is light, carefully so, one brow raised but the shock has gone and left her angry. Angry enough that she fiddles with her dragon tooth for something to do, letting it bite into her palm deep enough to leave a mark. None of this sounds right to her. Alistair sounds like a decent human being which wasn't really in doubt when he was there rescuing Zevran but the rest sounds too much like a list of 'things that might be acceptable to Beleth's mother' and not really 'things that Beleth actually likes in a man'.

"My mother is our leader. She had to think of the future of our clan. It's a heavy responsibility, but she knows what's at stake. The issue--well. There are a lot of issues with being with a human. But, ah." She's never had to explain this to anyone before, she doesn't really talk to a lot of rifters. And everyone in Thedas knows the issues at hand, even if they view them through different lenses.

"It's generally taboo for humans and elves to, ah. Have lasting relationships. It is not considered...good decorum, for a more, um. Temporary relationship." Beleth is, as always, careful to speak delicately. She clicked her tongue, giving Araceli a meaningful glance to make sure she knew what kind of relationship she was talking about, than continued.

"But it happens anyway, and most people just tut and look away. But marriage? Bonding? Absolutely not. For the humans, it is simple prejudice. Elves are inferior, so are their children. For elves, however--well, to begin with, humans are been trying very hard to kill off the Dalish for centuries. We have a relatively impressive list of reasons to dislike them. And their children--Elf and human couples will make a human. Every time. They can be called half-bloods, half-elves, but they are human." Similar to what Araceli had been told by other people, but from an elven perspective. "Can you see how that would create an issue? The Dalish in particular are an already shrinking population. If enough of us bond to humans, produce human children--We would be marrying into the race that tried to kill us off in the past, while contributing to killing us off in the future."

She's sharing more than she really ever does with humans, this is a topic of conversation she usually keeps within Dalish circles, or at least elves. It's a little odd, but Araceli is different from most humans in Thedas. The next part is a lot more personal than she usually gets with all but her closest intimates. But Araceli deserves to know, if Beleth is going to drag her into this. "I am my own person, and I have made the choice my mother made before me. My happiness, and my needs, have never been my main concern, what is the happiness of one woman in comparison to protecting my entire culture? I have always been willing to make that sacrifice. But now--" She fidgeted with her bag, feeling heat rising to her cheeks again. "--I've spent. A lot of time thinking about how I feel. About him. I didn't want to take any steps until I was absolutely sure. But. Yes. I do. I just don't know how he feels." She pauses, glancing over to Araceli.

"...I was hoping you could help with that, actually."

"Beleth." Araceli purses her lips, says Beleth's name simply to buy herself a moment to breathe, to think. Yes there are Dalish traditions to think of but there are things that go deeper than that though she would take the gamble and place a bet on Beleth not being so willing to hear her there; merchants marrying their children off to secure the future of profitable shipping routes or to procure acquisitions to expand, nobles of course rising up the ranks and securing their status in the same breath, the complicated games of keeping the peace when it came to other nations. Leandra's marriage as a teenager like that of her mother before her had been less about love, and far more about politics but that had been Leandra's choice. She had drawn up her own contract, she had chosen a husband and he had been a friend.

"If neither of you wish a child - and I feel that is jumping the-" she's going to say gun, catches herself with a wave of the hand because Araceli doesn't bed many men but she knows this. Knows all of this so well because she grew up talking about it. Race wasn't the issue but class? Class was certainly the problem for her. "Allow me to start again. Thedas as a whole? It's very different about these things.

"There is no shame in seeking pleasure where you find it, for however long you wish to, so long as neither party is being hurt by it and both consent to it. Anyone that judges you for it does it for their own reasons and though the words sting - you cannot imagine for a second what people have called me since I came of age - they have their petty narrow-minded reasons for it. It hurts. Sometimes you will argue with them, sometimes you will shame them and they will change their opinions, sometimes you are best to walk away with your head held high to show them that they will never hurt you. It takes practice. I...have had a lot of practice when it comes to that. And if you do go to bed with him or any man, not everything involves what leads to pregnancy, there are so many other perfectly enjoyable things that don't involve that. There are precautions too - witherstalk here, I am told that it should be fresh. I am sure there are more but seeing as I am with Korrin and have no plans to take a man to my bed? I hardly need concern myself with that. Besides, if children are needed where I am from, and say two men are together, or two women, and something stipulates that a child of blood is required? So long as all parties agree? Once, maybe twice is all it takes and there is a child of blood."

There isn't any shame or embarrassment to be found in Araceli as she speaks confidently and very matter-of-factly about all of this, the same way her mother did when Araceli was old enough to start learning about the world (younger, she suspects, than most would learn in Thedas but Castileos has never shied away from sex and love and passion.) Marriage is the business of alliances, not the common, not unless it's the act of faith where the Sons and Brides take on the roles of the sea and the moon though how she would begin to explain that, she isn't entirely sure since it's a lot.

The history is the part that gives her pause since true, this is very different from home, and she's a human, not an elf, but there are always plenty of ways to look at things. "Cultural relations are important. People cannot be divided forever; say the Inquisition is the future, say that change comes from it, you will have played a part in that. You cannot say for certain what the future might hold when the Dalish are there same as mages, templars, Grey Wardens, city elves, dwarves, elfblooded folk, people from every country in Thedas, from the common to the nobility. No one can say how much might change. The past is set, but to look to the past always never allows us to look ahead and to all the possibilities that there might be."

Still, a part of Araceli wants to scream. Even before she trained to be a bard she knew how to rule her face at the tavern table playing cards. "My people live a life where we seek out our own passions with freedom, yet we are all expected to pull together as a crew when times are rough. Sailing is in my blood and I have worked upon my father's ship. I have always thought that those best at helping their communities are those who are happy and contented in their lives, those who in a place of such peace that they require nothing themselves and thus are able to give freely." She shrugs as if to say 'what do I know, I am only a rifter'. She doesn't know what opinion Beleth holds of them collectively or of Araceli herself but she's quiet, considering, pursing her lips in thought.

"Do you wish me to speak to him on your behalf? To spy on him? To observe discreetly when you and he speak? To give you advice on flirtations and seductions? My mother is a whore, closer to a courtesan if we must use terms from Thedas; you will need to be specific in what you wish of me here since I grew up in her brothel until I was old enough to live alone."

Beleth listens quietly, attentively. She listens with a polite expression that has traces of--well. Confusion. Not because she doesn't understand what Araceli is saying, but she doesn't understand why Araceli cares quite so much about this. She's not the first person that Beleth had said this to, that her needs paled in comparison to the needs of the People. And while the others didn't always appreciate it, they didn't try to talk her out of it. Maybe it's because Araceli is a rifter?

"I don't want to just--" Beleth's lips twitch as she tries to think of a delicate word. "--just bed him." And heat rises to her cheeks even so, she rubs her lower lip as she tries to speak like a mature adult, not a teenage girl. "Temporary dalliances aren't...as big of a taboo. If that's all I wanted, it wouldn't be an issue." She's had those, that's all that she's had, really. And they are not unpleasant, but that's not what she wants with Alistair. "And--I want to be serious, about a relationship. I don't want to enter one if I can't see myself staying with that person long-term."

What's the point in dating someone if you can't see yourself marrying them??? Waste of time otherwise.

The rest of what Araceli says sounds nice enough. It sounds idyllic, for everyone in all their different races and cultures and backgrounds to hold hands around a fire and sing the Ballad of Nuggins and for everyone to get along and never fight or attempt to hold another Exalted March on each other. It's a nice future to imagine, but it's a future that will never happen. Beleth knows it as well as her own name. And she's not sure that's the point. Or maybe Beleth just missed the point? That would be awkward. "It would be very nice, if we could all get along," she replies instead. "and I look forward to what the future brings. But that doesn't change that if elves and humans started pairing together in large numbers...the future for elves would look much bleaker." She pauses. "Though I never thought about surrogates. That would be a solution."

She wants to tell Araceli that she ought to be happy, that she ought to be content, to dedicate herself thusly. That she ought to be proud to serve, to sacrifice herself in such a manner. That should be enough. But she doesn't feel happy, and she doesn't want to tell Araceli, and she doesn't feel quite ready to explore those feelings. They're still hot coals, painful to prod, and Beleth is still getting adjusted to their heat.

"No, don't speak to him. He's the most dodgy man I've ever met, you couldn't pay him to give you a straight answer. I was hoping you would talk to Zevran, and see if he knew. He's close to Alistair, close enough that he probably knows Alistair's general inclinations towards women, if he has a type--and if he has any interests." Now, she begins warming up to the conversation. She has spent a lot--a lot--of time thinking and planning and strategizing, because maybe if she spends enough time studying and planning and plotting, maybe she can actually get this right. "And you are very charming. And good at hiding information. I think you'd be one of the best people I know to get the information and not let him know who it's for. And if you tell him it's for a friend--well. You have a lot of friends. And he probably wouldn't instantly connect you to me."

There's a pause, as Beleth glances to the side, thinking, then back to Araceli. "I--um. I wouldn't mind advice. On flirting. Or seduction, I guess...? Maybe that would help." It's awkward to talk about, no matter how matter-of-factly Araceli discusses courtesans and brothels. Zevran's like that too. Maybe it comes from being raised in a brothel--it would be awfully difficult to not get used to discussions of sex. But even so, Beleth had thought about the idea before, that maybe it'd be easier to start by bedding Alistair. And even if that didn't move into romance, despite what Beleth had said before, well. The violin playing in the back was still in the band, even so.

"Forgive me, Thedas has...strange attitudes about these things that remind me of home. Not always my country but-" her hands make a sweeping gesture to encompass a world; usually it's enough to just be Castilean here, before she has to remind some of the people she talks to that there are other countries, Albas, Ebeos, Estene, Corundus, Zimevur. The Inquisition has no brothel for instance when spirituality and sex and healing are so entwined that such an act brought Araceli into the world so the more you know. Not that Beleth knows but in general.

Listening to Beleth, there's a truth under her tongue known only to three people in all of Skyhold, in all of Thedas, that she wonders if others ever guess at though by now the bard training likely helps to disguise all the things the daughter of a pirate and a whore, an accomplished thief and fence and gambler shouldn't really just know or be so polished at. This is what she works to do, to bring people together until she aches to the bone but Beleth doesn't even have a reason to believe her so she nods, smiles just so to the surrogate part, allows it all to move on ahead. One other probably knows enough to see through but well, she would be disappointed if he didn't.

Instead she laughs, giving Beleth a nudge. "You know I consider him to be an uncle, yes?" There's a serious look in her eye very much out of place with her laughter - it's true, Beleth could ask Zevran herself were she inclined to though she might not get a straight answer, and Araceli will defend him since she's an honourary Antivan. "I think I can manage that with Zevran, as for the other one? Well, I've been meaning to find sparring partners who were larger than me, and if we both happen to be friends of Zevran, I think he wouldn't pull his punches but he certainly wouldn't injure me. It's a good place to start." Beleth...does not know how many duels Araceli has gotten into in her life that have involved who she's bedded so she might not realise why this idea is perfectly logical to her. Because it is. Only she doesn't plan to wear her best gown and a corset to do it like she's had to more than once although Korrin might like that view along with a few others. And she does need to actually meet Alistair again anyway, regardless. She needs to assess this man.

Araceli honestly can't remember how old she was when she got the 'this is where babies come from but only if you actually want to have them because sex isn't all about babies' talk. That's probably not the talk anyone gets here. "The streets in Orlais aren't the best place for that sort of discussion, but I can kick Korrin out to go see her smelly friends - I don't know why she's friends with dirty men, I would drown them in the springs if I could - and get something good to drink and make something to eat. Then we can talk seduction. You have to be comfortable to do it, it's the only way it works." So consider that lesson one in a way.

Beleth isn't so sure that Alistair wouldn't pull his punches for a small woman--it seemed the kind of thing he would be inclined to do, even if she was friends with Zevran. But she doesn't mention that, and instead just politely raises her eyebrows when Araceli says that Zevran is like an uncle to her, and then with some mild alarm, "Why do you need to fight Alistair...? Um. But if it's just sparring, go ahead. But like I said, he's tricky to get information out of, especially if he's in a mood."

She's not sure how the sparring and the interrogation and everything quite works, but Araceli is a smart woman. She's sure there's some method behind it that Beleth can't see. "You know, in Dalish culture, we usually just make a big show of being particularly adept hunters, and give the object of our affection the largest game we can take down. It's a lot neater."

She laughs when Araceli mentions the smelly men--she's not sure which smelly men Korrin has befriended, there seems to be no shortage of them. But the point stands either way, and the laugh turns nervous on the topic of seduction. Beleth is...rarely comfortable about that, in general. But for this, she'll manage.

"Thank you, Araceli. I owe you a great deal for this aid. I don't know if it'll actually work out for the best--it probably, ah. Won't." Beleth likes to think of herself as a realistic woman--albeit a realistic woman with a very poor self image, which dampens that somewhat. "I know that he'll probably very politely turn me down, but. I've spent a lot of time mourning over feelings for others that I never pursued, because I had already decided it would never happen. So. I want to at least try, for him."

She shrugs a moment, rubbing the back of her head. "Have you ever had unrequited feelings--Ah. You don't have to answer that. I know it's personal. I guess...I can't imagine you not having anyone you desired. You're so smart, and skilled, and beautiful."

"Honestly? I need someone bigger than me to spar against, there aren't any warriors in my home country. Everyone fights like a rogue. Two blades. Or a blade and a very small sort of shield, maybe even just one longer light blade so I find myself in need. Taas is a friend of Korrin's but he's bigger than Korrin so no." Plus you can distract people too but she's not going to say anything like that because you play your cards close to your chest and her cleavage is full of secrets Beleth. "Are you going to return to Skyhold one day with a bear over one shoulder and a deer over the other? Dragging one of those ah...bogfisher? The grumpy things from the Fallow Mire?"

There aren't as many big land animals where she comes from, keeping up takes more time. Dracolisks are still mysterious spiky horses to her.

"You owe me nothing, but please stop thinking it's over and one before it's begun. Planning for all outcomes is helpful, but going into such things with that mindset can seal the endeavour too soon." Look if she's putting work into this then you're going into this with some of her optimism and positivity Beleth Ashara. Is this what Leliana had in mind when she wanted them to get along? Honestly what a conversation: Nightingale behold, how to help Beleth get a boyfriend and to be annoyingly positive because this rifter girl is going to white knuckle her way through everything if she must.

Beleth's words give her pause, because it's not something she can say she's been asked before, not here at least but there's nothing to be lost by being honest and Korrin won't care if someone else knows. Araceli isn't ashamed either but she was always too homestick to talk about any of this much, too worried about sticking out when her and Marcel were still doing their thing. "Korrin is the first time I've ever been with one person. No one in Thedas has ever spoken about it to me personally but open relationships, if all parties agree to them? Common. Multiple partners? Common. That was my life before I came here." Will it ever stop hurting to think of Leandra and the queensguard? Honestly, she hopes not, she couldn't bear it if that ache lessened even if she knows they wouldn't want her to hurt, and that it doesn't mean she loves them any less. "So...no. There were plenty more fish in the sea."

Badum-tssh.

"I understand, most Dalish aren't warriors. It's not very easy to try to chase a deer with a giant sword." For the Dalish, it's necessary to both be able to defend yourself, and be able to go out and hunt down food. That means being able to move more quickly than a warrior can. She laughs, though, at Araceli's next words. "Creators, Taas is a sweetheart of a man, but--no. I don't blame you, I've seen him fight. I wouldn't fight him if I had any choice in the matter." Fighting massive berserkers who could lift you with one hand? Absolutely not.

Her next words continue the laughter, and Beleth just shakes her head, shoulders shaking helplessly. "That would certainly net me some prospective matches with the Dalish. I wonder if Alistair likes bears? Or bogfishers? Maybe I should give it a shot." Not really. But that does give her an idea. "Surely humans have something similar. Maybe Fereldans specifically? But he already has a dog, I can't give him another." What else do Fereldans like? Beating up Orlesians???

She listens to Araceli's gentle chiding, nodding along but not commenting. There's little she can say, she knows Araceli is right. It's a work in progress, trying to be optimistic about this, trying to put her hope in something going right, when she knows how much failure will hurt. The failure will hurt less if she expects it--but expecting it will make it more likely. It's a hard line to balance on.

Araceli's explanation as to her love life doesn't draw a comment at first, either--mostly because Beleth is too busy staring at her, eyes wide. Multiple partners, with open relationships--? It certainly wasn't what she was custom to, but she quickly gets over it, clearing her throat and nodding again. It also confirms in her mind that Araceli would never truly understand what it was like, for Beleth. When you can have as many partners as you please, how could you understand what it was like to never have anyone return your feelings?

The fish pun does earn a giggle, though. "See, I knew you were popular. If it were more common in Thedas, I'm sure you could have plenty of people here, too." Now that would be something to see.

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[OPEN] So Much Is At Stake

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