A bottle of white, a bottle of red

[fleurdesel]

WHO: Open to anyone that wants wine and warmth and a little company.
WHAT: Wine and no whining.
WHEN: After the mage meeting wraps up.
WHERE: Close to the healing tents, specifically the Orlesian section.
NOTES: There will be wine, drinking, unwinding, and nibbles.

The meeting had been stressful for just about everyone involved. Tempers had flared, opinions made known, a few rounds of confetti and arguing before some manner of accord. Whether it would last or however long it might? No one could truly say. In the interest of being quite done with the stress and headaches such debate brought on the Orlesian healing tents clearing out the potions, bandages, and poultices in favor of what cushions and braziers they had on hand for light and for heat. The space was open, warm, and inviting with an odd assortment of tin mugs or clay glasses set around flat side tables propped up with stones to keep them from wobbling and tipping the whole mass onto the ground. There are some dried fruits and hard cheeses, dried meat and hard crusted bread- whatever scraps they could scavenge or spare and a few bottles of wine or brandy. Across the entrance to the tents there was a sign:

Bring a bottle or food to share for entry.

Tacked below was a list of rules:

• Everyone is welcome, don't make a fuss
• Don't hog the wine
• Don't hog the food
• Don't fight or argue
• If you finish a bottle open a new one, don't recork it for someone else to find
• Clean up after yourselves

Comments

[el_tybs]

'He's somewhere near the entrance, I think.' That's what she had said. I think. Yeah right, she knew where exactly the man was. Probably also knew exactly when Krem had shown up too. On top of that she probably had been keeping tabs on where both of them were, and that was why she had pointed all of this out to Sam, including a drink. Sneaky.

Course now that he knows and sees Krem was actually sitting there, Sam wasn't quite sure how to approach the other man. The two of them hadn't talked much since that evening. Some of that was due to Krem working on his project and Sam didn't want to interrupt him again since he had a due date, and mostly because Sam had been keeping himself busy with different things during the morning and not stopping in the tavern during the evenings. So he wasn't sure how to approach Krem at all.

Was he supposed to just go up and start a conversation like he normally did in the past? Flop down into a chair, maybe patting Krem on the shoulder, and talking about current events? Or was he supposed to be a bit friendlier than that? Some reason Sam feels like he would get a punch for that. Well maybe a bit more then that considering there was a crowd.

Huffing at all the uncertainty, Sam looks at the wines, considering Lady LeBlanc's suggestion. After a bit of time he eventually goes and pours himself a couple mugs of the mulled wine she had suggested.

He's slow as he moves through the crowd, but once he gets close enough he can see Krem already has something to drink. Great. Well he can't back out now, because he's already made eye contact. Slipping a smile onto his face he closes the distance, stopping just short of standing by Krem's feet.

"...Hey."

[kremdelacreme]

Whatever Sam might have expected or been worried about, Krem's immediate reaction is little more than a smile and a nod to a nearby chair.

"Hey," he echoes, putting his first bottle aside and sitting back, hands coming to settle in his lap. He doesn't really know what else to say. But it's...nice. He's fine with quiet between the two of them, as if nothing had really changed.

[el_tybs]

The smile puts him a little bit at ease. Nodding at the invitation, Sam adjusts the mugs so he can hold them in one hand while pulling the offered chair a bit closer, so that it would be easier to... talk? Just to be closer? While it is nice that they can fall back into their usual routine it still leaves Sam unsure of certain things.

Regardless of his uncertainty, Sam holds out one of the mugs he had brought over towards Krem. "It's mulled wine. I-" There's a moment of hesitation as he tries to figure out what to say. Crap. Was he supposed to say that Lady LeBlanc suggested it, or was this supposed to be purely his idea. "I heard it was good. Figured you'd like to try some before it's gone. After all I 'don't' owe you one for that bit of interruption during the meeting."

[kremdelacreme]

Krem looks down at the mug, laying his bottle aside and taking the wine. "Didn't know we had any of it, unless someone brought it in recently," he comments, taking a small mouthful and moving it around a bit before swallowing it with a nod.

The mention of his impromptu derailing of the meeting of mages before made Krem smirk subtly. "I've got no idea what you're talking about," he replies and raises his mug.

[el_tybs]

"It's been there long enough that it's almost gone. Course most of it might be gone because of Lady LeBlanc," he chuckles lightly, looking over his shoulder for a moment to see if he could see his mentor. At his offer she had been more than willing to let herself simply enjoy the evening and their refreshments. He watches with interest at how Krem seems to test the wine before giving his approval. Seeing that it had been a good choice, he smiles, letting out a small sigh of relief.

And then Krem is smirking. It's small and almost not there, but he can see it, making his pulse race a bit more. "Oh you don't? You missed it. It was quite the party with it." Smiling he looks down at his own mug. "Shame really. I wanted to shake the person's hand."

[kremdelacreme]

"Let her have all the wine she wants," Krem says with a softer smile, glancing back at where Adelaide had gone after their talk, then up at Sam. He just catches the look on Sam's face before he's looking down at his mug again, and Krem makes a subtle move into his space, just letting his leg fall and lean against Sam's. "Perhaps they'll have more surprises like that before long. Never can tell with these crafty sorts."

[el_tybs]

"I'm not stopping her, she deserves a break. Compassion is probably chewing her ear off though," Sam offers back, shaking his head a bit as he thought about LeBlanc's spirit. Would it be like that if he ever got one? Course he didn't drink much or at all so there probably wouldn't be issues there.

For a moment, staring at the wine in his mug, Sam seems to drift off into his thoughts. Up until something firm slides and presses up against his leg, drawing his attention back to the mercenary, or rather his leg. At hearing Krem call himself this mysterious cloth confetti bomber crafty, he shakes his head, while his smile grows a bit more - had that been a pun?

"Oh? You think there will be another surprise soon?" Was Krem referring to the nugs?

[kremdelacreme]

Judging from the look on Sam's face, he'd caught that admittedly terrible pun, and Krem's smile widens in kind.

"I imagine there'll be many," he assures Sam, then keeps his attention as his hand comes up to find the mage's, fingers running over his palm.

[el_tybs]

Sam's brows raises a bit at that, not completely sure if Krem is indeed referring to the nugs or not at the moment - many being the number being launched, or if Krem indeed had many more plans. Crafty sorts indeed.

Just as he's about to open his mouth to make a comment, he stops, glancing down when he feels Krem's hand find his. He doesn't even try to hide the smile that pulls at his lips, closing his own fingers around Krem's as they pass over his palm. They're a bit rough and calloused, but strong and comforting all the same. "You've been working pretty hard lately. Almost done with it?" He assumed the confetti was from the strips from Krem's project. Just how close was he to it now?

[kremdelacreme]

"I need maybe a handful more, but with so many people showing up every time we turn around, I've been adding a few more to the original plan." As he speaks, Krem's fingers close around Sam's in kind, his mug back up at his lips. The quiet, mostly meaningless conversation is nice, after everything that's happened and that's bound to happen soon. Things here didn't just calm down because people are stressed, after all.

[el_tybs]

The press of Krem's leg against his and the two of them just holding each other's hand while they talk about little things is enough to bring a happy flush to Sam's cheeks. They're small gestures but overly comforting at the same time. "I suspect we're going to keep getting new people every week. You might need to consider a deadline otherwise you might get stuck just making them forever."

[kremdelacreme]

"I'll make them until I run out of either thread, material, or stuffing," Krem suggests, then peeks into his mug. He has maybe half of it left, which he drains then puts down on the ground before just leaning back in his seat and looking out at the rest of the courtyard. His thumb strokes lightly across Sam's as he sits back and props his heel on the edge of his seat. "Can you sew at all? You could help, and I'd be done that much sooner."

[el_tybs]

Seeing Krem finish off his mug, he leans down and picks up the other mug and offers it with a raise of his brows. He honestly doesn't know why he bothered to get two since he doesn't drink, but Krem is more then welcome to it.

At being asked if he can sew Sam chuckles, shaking his head. "I'd love to help, but I don't know how to sew. My Aunt did all that when I was younger and I didn't exactly need to do that in the circle. I'd be willing to learn though, but that might defeat the purpose of getting done sooner."

[kremdelacreme]

Krem glances down at the mug offered, tempted but shaking his head nonetheless, as he's trying to limit his intake for the night.

"Perhaps when it's all done, I can teach you how to do simple things then. Fixing holes in socks and the like," he offers, shrugging a bit. "If you want to, anyway."

[el_tybs]

Giving a light shrug Sam sets the mug back down, eyeing it for a moment then turning his attention back to Krem. "I'd like that." Spending more time with Krem was good. Not that he didn't enjoy getting his ass kicked.

"Would probably be good for me to learn to do something like that for myself. Is it only good for cloth or could the same thing be used to fix leather?"

[kremdelacreme]

"There's special methods for fixing leather that I'm not quite as good at. There's other men in the company better at it though, could ask them to teach us."

[el_tybs]

Teach 'us'. It's possible that Krem doesn't mean together, but it still warms him a bit to hear it said like that. "I'd like that."

For a moment he is silent, rubbing a thumb over Krem's hand in return, watching the crowd. "What are your thoughts on all this?"

[kremdelacreme]

"That's a really generalized question," Krem points out, though he has a feeling what Sam is referring to. But he, too, will go ahead and be vague. "I think it'll work out. It might take a while to get to that point, but it'll be good when it gets there."

[el_tybs]

He considers what Krem says, nodding a bit at it, but clearly not really comforted by it. "I hope so. There are a lot of different views in this that will require there to be a lot of compromises... and quite a few who don't seem like they will compromise on certain things. It's a good step though. We'll see how well it goes."

[kremdelacreme]

"Thus far, I think we're all pretty fortunate things have stayed as calm as they have. Could have been fiery hell unleashed and a small war breaking out here but it's all settling down, more or less. Not ideal by any means, but this is a good sort of equilibrium we're finding here."

Krem reaches his free hand up, nudging it against Sam's cheek to encourage him to look around, then pecking the corner of his lips. "Try not to stress yourself to death, alright?"

[el_tybs]

"I wouldn't exactly call it an equilibrium really..." he says, his lips pursing together in frustration. It's more of a separation honestly, which kept the peace to a point, but didn't exactly encourage anyone to work together.

Feeling the touch on his cheek, Sam raises a brow curiously, but allows himself to be directed. What was he supposed to be looking a-? Oh. For a moment he just blinks before a faint flush appears on his cheeks. "Well I guess I can't argue against that request."

[kremdelacreme]

Just because Sam couldn't see it, doesn't mean that it isn't happening. It's small, scattered instances now, but he's seen it, and it's a comfort. A glimpse of what sort of change they could bring about, sooner or later.

For the time being though, he just sat back without a word, raising his bottle to Sam. This is good. For now, he's content.

[el_tybs]

It's not that he doesn't see it. There is change, he's experienced it, but... it's not as settled as Krem probably believes. So long as it was 'us' and 'them' there were always going to be periods of calm and a flaring up.

But he's not here to talk about Templar/Mage issues, he's here to enjoy the evening. And he was enjoying himself rather well right now.

There's a moment of hesitation when Krem offers him the bottle, but eventually he takes it, giving a shrug and taking a taste of it. As per usual Sam just makes a face and licks his lips at the taste before handing it back. "When did you start drinking?"

[kremdelacreme]

"Not long after joining the Chargers actually. Couldn't drink in the army, could've given myself away any number of ways. Soon as I knew I was safe, Bull handed me a bottle of wine and told me it was all mine." Krem smirked some, taking another deep swallow then licking his lips. This is better than the too-strong shite he'd been handed back then, but at least he'd had time to gain a discerning palate for what would fuck him up best at what rate. This, he could down at a steady pace for a few more hours, before he would have to immediately sit down again if he stood up. He doesn't intend to get that drunk, though.

[el_tybs]

Sam raises his brows curiously at that. This is the second time Krem has mentioned his time in the Trevinter military, but this time he mentions something about being discovered? He's tempted to ask, but decides against it seeing as the man was purposely being vague about it. Another time, when they weren't trying to just enjoy themselves.

At the mention of Bull, Sam smiles, tilting his head a bit. He'd seen the Iron Bull back in Haven, but not so much here at Skyhold. "What's Bull like?"