open; Dry your smoke-stung eyes

[foxsays]

WHO: Araceli Bonaventura; open
WHAT: Post-Rivain catch-up, gifts for friends, general open in and around Skyhold things
WHEN: August (timey-wimey if needed)
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: High likelihood of Dairsmuid being discussed so annulments etc. Will update if/when needed. If you'd like a starter let me know but feel free to make your own!

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[foxsays]

(One day he's gonna be riding on a nuggalope. Those cats are fucked.)

Letting out a snort, Araceli shakes her head and her dragon tooth swings with her curls, rattling faintly. "I'm not making anything, not today. They're making something for everyone and I like to catch up on the gossip." Tools of the trade Sammy boy, same as she does in the tavern but these are her people, these hulking Tal-Vashoth and she will fight a duel for Burly's honour. "We all agree that none of you would last a day where we come from."

The thought of Sam diving straight into the waters of Castileos with his mouth wide open is honestly so funny she nearly loses it, biting down hard to keep her composure before she sweeps aside to reveal her gift. A large barrel. That she beckons him over to. "I trust you know a decent ice spell? I've had people working on this, people that owed me and everyone works shifts, and someone figured out something with a powerful ice mine overnight? To keep them fresh so you don't get sick."

Anyway, off comes the lid as she explains and ta-da, look at that delicious fresh fish.

[el_tybs]

(The cats already ride a mage. Better catch up, Lux.)

"You all come from the same world?" He knows a bit about where Araceli had come from, but he hadn't realized others had come from her world as well. Unless he was misunderstanding something.

At seeing Araceli making a face, or trying hard not to make a face, biting her lip, Sam raises a brow. He doesn't know what's so funny, and he's not sure if he wants to know? Then he's left even more curious and confused when he's presented with a barrel.

Sam isn't quite sure what he'll need an ice spell for, but when the contents are finally revealed he can immediately understand why - his eyes go wide. He remembers mentioning to Araceli that he missed having fresh fish, or fish in general, in Skyhold, but he hadn't expected something like this.

"You brought these back all the way from up north?"

[foxsays]

(Korrin Ataash is a thing Sam.)

"She means people that like good food." Burly is the one to answer instead, folding big arms over a bigger chest because sometimes they're not really over their first meeting with Beleth and Araceli back in Antiva, and the general agreement that the Inquisition still doesn't care about food that much. "People that care about it."

And then he's back to his sauce as Araceli smiles, patting a beefy bicep.

But anyway, here is the first half of her surprise for Sam as she nods enthusiastically. "I did! The first time I went to Antiva, we had these shrimp for such a wonderful price, and you're like me - you miss fish. But I spoke to Madame LeBlanc about if magic can keep shrimp fresh, and then there are huge fish markets at the docks in Dairsmuid, and some of the mages coming back with us were talking and…" Ta-da 2: Thedosian boogaloo.

[el_tybs]

"Well I like good food. Can't say I can make it though." Sam gives a slight smile at the larger man, rubbing the back of his neck a bit sheepishly. Healing people and making armor/weapons were his forte, not making food, but he certainly liked eating. "I'll have to send Kirk and Christine your way. He's been complaining about not having good food, and Christine has been learning baking when we aren't busy at the tents."

He'll let him get back to his sauce - that apparently will make people cry?

Sam taps at the ice as Araceli talks, seeing the variety of seafood just shy of the frozen surface. "It's been a long while since I've been to the Coastlands... I don't recognize some of these fish." Which makes sense, but he's still excited about fresh fish. He looks up when he tappers off, clearly looking excited. "We're having a what?"

[foxsays]

"You are a man grown, Samouel Gareth," oh ocean save her she sounds so very like her mother though her mother never needed to have the cooking talk with her, "and a free mage. You will need to learn to fend for yourself. What happens when you are out on your own in the world with your own little home? You will not have others to cook for you then, unless you seduce someone into making all your meals but then you will have to do all the cleaning up since that's equitable." Sam the pot boy, she can just picture it. Although Kirk and Sam? Well, she'll need to dig deeper into that when she can.

Alas no tears. Araceli will have to spice up her own sauce from her own stash.

"Tama - Korrin's grandmother - she cooked for everyone and most of it was fish. Kas fell asleep at the table, I could barely move by the time I was done. All of it is good, I didn't get eel, I don't know your opinions on eel. Kirk can vouch for all of them since he definitely ate everything here at Tama's dinner."

[el_tybs]

Yes, very motherly there, Araceli. The berating only has Sam grinning wider, and trying not to laugh at the very serious lesson she's trying to give him. "Seduce someone. Well I would have to be desperate then. I know how to cook, Araceli. Just probably not something you'd consider 'good' cooking. More like rustic, at least able to cook what I catch to be edible."

Hearing about the fish feast certainly has Sam tilting his head, perhaps a bit jealous for having missed out on that, and meeting grandma Tama of course. "I haven't had it, didn't care for it as a kid and haven't had the chance since. But sounds like I'll need to pick Jim's brains a bit on it since he just mentioned it in passing." A lot more other stuff was discussed or rather not talked about and there needed to be some down time.

[OoC: So sorry, this got lost in the inbox. I didn't forget! *cries*]

[foxsays]

"Never say that in front of Burly. If you break his heart, I will have to duel you." No, she's not joking, she will fight a hundred duels for Burly he is a sweet and gentle soul, she loves him. "Well at least you can cook, I have come to realise that isn't exactly a skill common to the Circles. Mages being able to fend for themselves, what a terrible thing, they might get ideas."

Rivain has...well Rivain has left her touchy. What might have been a more light-hearted joke rubs too raw when around that sort of hatred and misery.

Oh Sam it was incredible. Just flopped where they were. Stuffed to the gills. "It's an acquired taste," she agrees easily enough since well, jellied eels are something she avoids at the market herself. "Jim-- do you mean James?" Of course it comes out with more of a 'h' sound at the start, the same as when she says Jamie's name but that can't really be helped with her accent.

[el_tybs]

"Say what? Rustic?" Couldn't Burly just take pity on him instead? It's not his fault that he only learned to cook fish over a bonfire and then didn't cook during the second half of his life. He's made a pie and a cake in the past few months if that helped. "They still get ideas, but not knowing how to cook certainly made a lot of mages reliant." He knows Christine had been in such a situation and had considered going back, just because there was shelter and food.

"Yes?" That was his name, but Sam is also know many who actually call the man James besides himself. "The last name is Kirk?" Does that help? That was an unique name that, and he's introduced himself with his full name.

[foxsays]

He is a gentle soul. Concerned with sweets but in general he has a passion for cooking, because there are Raas and Kalla to deal with and they could snap Sam like a wishbone. "At least at home it was more that people could cook it was just that we don't really have streets to sleep on if you can't pay the rent. Waterways and bridges with water under them, and half the bridges are wood and rope so we can move them as needed." Meaning you pay the rent and worry about how you'll fill your belly later, unless you lived in Araceli's building since she was a damned good thief able to feed everyone with her loot. But that was rare. Here she is in Thedas, saving this world, but she can't be at home where she's helping to make sure people don't need to make that choice.

(Not that people know she does that. Araceli's just a thief after all.)

"That's him, I didn't know the two of your were friends Sam." You will of course have to tell her so much more now.

[el_tybs]

It's subtle, but Sam's able to pick up that this new information has grabbed Araceli's attention. The way she says it too certainly has him sighing, knowing that she wants to know more.

"Not just friends, we're roommates as well. Back when that nasty illness went around I found out he didn't have a place to stay and since then we've been sharing the loft. Before that I met him because he was being chased by the meat merchant - saying that Kirk had stolen sausage. Interesting way to literally run into someone."