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

[kremdelacreme]

"Terrible ones. Usually involving puns and him laughing too hard at them. I'm not telling them to you though, you can ask him yourself." Krem snorts at that. He's refuses to give Sam any ideas.

[el_tybs]

He's starting to like Bull more, and more. "Oh? Think I'll be meeting him any time soon?" Now he's curious to how bad these jokes or puns were. Guess he'll be finding out later than sooner.

[kremdelacreme]

"Give him time to settle in again, he'd probably be ecstatic to meet you." He wishes that was hyperbolic, but honestly, Bull would probably fucking love to meet someone that had so much of Krem's esteem already.

[el_tybs]

Ecstatic. Really? "You make that sound like I should be a bit worried once he spots me." He's never met someone who would be that excited to see him. Just what did he do?

[kremdelacreme]

Really. Sam will see when he meets Bull. "Not worried, no. Well, unless you've managed to utterly fuck up somewhere along the line before then, but I really doubt that'll be something to worry about." He nudges his arm against Sam's, hand squeezing down on the other man's briefly. "It's because of me," he explains quietly at the mild bewilderment on Sam's face. "I don't...well. Get close to people much."

[el_tybs]

Because of him- oh. That certainly gets Sam's eyes to widen a bit, and for a few moments he simply blinks at Krem, wrapping his mind around everything that he was admitting. He eventually does start smiling again, noting the way Krem had lowered his voice and the vote of confidence on him not fucking anything up. "Wait... you've been telling Bull about me?"

[kremdelacreme]

"Don't really have to outright tell him," Krem sighs, making a face as he kicks a bottle up and rests it atop his foot, a distraction so that he doesn't get embarrassed about telling Sam. "He's well too observant for anyone's good. Knows something's changed with me, figured out what it was. It was safer letting him know enough to keep him from worrying about how I was getting on."

[el_tybs]

"Does that mean he knows about me, or he just knows you're seeing someone?" he chuckles a bit trying to imagine the kind of conversations Krem and Bull had. It didn't sound like Bull was just a Commander to the man. "That doesn't make me any less nervous you know. Before you were going to just introduce me as someone interested in joining the Chargers.

"So... are you going to be introducing me as someone interested joining the Chargers, or...?"

[kremdelacreme]

"Well, yes. If you still are. Interested, I mean. He wouldn't turn you down unless you were utterly incapable and couldn't follow orders."

Pointedly not saying that he's already let Bull know that yeah, he may be having serious issues regarding Sam and the desire to kiss him a lot.

[el_tybs]

Ah, so Krem was staying quiet about the bit about their personal relationship. So did that mean he hadn't said anything about them? That was fine.

"I am. What are your thoughts on that?" Looking down at the bottle Krem is balancing so that Krem doesn't feel like he's being put on the spot, he gives the man's hand a squeeze back. He knows it's vague, wanting to know if Krem thinks he's capable since he would be under the Lieutenant's command, and how he felt about it on a personal level.

[kremdelacreme]

"Just so long as you can hold up your end and don't make us drag your arse out of the fire more often than necessary," Krem replies and returns that little squeeze. "You're a capable person, Sam. I don't think you'll have any troubles with us, just don't be stupid."

But he had a feeling that that wasn't all Sam was asking about. He sighed quietly, nudging his shoulder against the other's. "I really do think we'll be ok. It'll be interesting showing you what we get up to."

[el_tybs]

"I'll be sure to keep my ass free of fire, Lieutenant," he says with a small salute with his other hand, grinning stupidly at the vote of confidence Krem had for him.

The grin softens a bit, but no less content, leaning a bit more into the nudges. "Interesting how? Watching you beat someone else's ass that isn't mine? Probably."

[kremdelacreme]

"It's not all beating up other people," Krem argues, looking comically offended for a couple of seconds. "I'll have you know, it's also whoring and boozing and singing terribly."

[el_tybs]

The grin drops at that, eyes narrowing in confusion as he tries to figure out how serious Krem is being on that. "As in... you gets whores or you whore yourself out?"

[kremdelacreme]

At Sam's confusion, Krem's expression freezes as well, brows arched high. "Are y- You're serious about that aren't you?" He laughed out loud, shoving on Sam's arm almost hard enough to topple him out of his chair. "Maker's taint, Sam, we're a mercenary company, not a travelling brothel. It was a joke."

[el_tybs]

Seriously asking if he seriously meant it, yeah. His brows shoot up in surprise at the sudden laughter, surprised by the volume of it, though he hardly has time to really think about it as Krem is soon shoving his side. His grip on Krem's hand reflexively tightens at the jarring motion, but he stays remaining in his seat.

Once he's over the initial shock of it, Sam feels the corner of his lips twitching upward at the sound of Krem's laughter. Perhaps that had been silly of him to not see that it wasn't a joke, but it was well worth it for that. He hasn't heard the man laugh like that before.

"Well I know mercenaries don't do that, but maybe you guys are THAT talented. There would be many more questions if that was the case though."

[kremdelacreme]

Maybe it was the liquor that was loosening Krem up enough to laugh like that. Belly laughs weren't really his thing, but when he was able to cut loose it was something to see, certainly. His face lights up like is rarely seen even among the Chargers. Count yourself lucky, Sam. You've seen a unicorn.

"Sam, when I said whoring, I meant picking up women or men or whatever else might be available for the night. That's generally what we mean when we say 'whoring'."

[el_tybs]

It's a nice laugh, and the way Krem smiles has his heart a flutter. If asking a silly question got this as a result, he didn't mind at all playing a fool. Leaning forward on his knee, he's content in just watching Krem for a while, knowing very well that this was a rare thing to see, and who knows when the next time it would happen.

"Well it sounds like there was some truth to all that," he says with a smile, tilting his head. Krem said it was a joke, but from the sounds of it, it is something that does happen. It's not something he's used to, but he is curious. About the lives of the Chargers, specifically Krem. He doesn't ask it, but he is curious if the Lieutenant has 'picked' anyone up as he put it.

[kremdelacreme]

From the way Sam says it, there's obviously more on his mind than just the Chargers' sex lives. He loses a little bit of the amusement, drawing his hand back and rubbing it around the side of his neck, his eyes down on the mug settled against his knee. The bottle on his foot finally unbalances and rolls away.

"What do you want me to say to you? That while my men were out having a good time getting their dicks wet, I was standing sentinel in the corner making sure they didn't hurt themselves? If you want a virgin I'd suggest looking elsewhere."

It's not said in a harsh manner, just a tired one.

[el_tybs]

Having a good time getting their- Krem had quite the way with words. His smile lessens just a bit at Krem taking his hand back, taking a moment to put it in lap as he continues to watch the man.

What had he wanted Krem to say? Honestly he doesn't know himself, he just... wanted to know; how did he compare to people Krem had actually spent time with? "I'm fine with what I'm looking at right here. I think I'd be more surprised if you told me you were a virgin honestly."

[kremdelacreme]

A bit of an unfair comparison, given that the most he'd done with Sam was a simple kiss. Krem shakes his head some, making a face at Sam then giving his arm a sharp punch.

"You're ridiculous," he huffs and finishes off the last of his drink, keeping the mug in hand just so he has it to occupy him rather than fidgeting.

[el_tybs]

"Ah-! Heeey..." he hisses a bit at the sharp, but quick pain inflicted on his arm. Still smiling though, course laced with a bit of pain as he rubs the spot. Least holding hands had been nice while it lasted.

"Why? Because I'm curious to know more about you?" He chuckles at that, a low light appearing at the seams of where his hand was against his shirt.

He only hurts you so because he loves you Sam

[kremdelacreme]

"Because you're curious about that of all things," Krem snorts. "Can't the past just be past and left at that?" He appreciates the idea, the effort that Sam wants to put in, but that's not really something that he's comfortable discussing at this juncture. Maybe in the future, after they've had a slightly different talk.

Obviously Krem likes doing it rough. I mean... Love you too <3

[el_tybs]

"Well you're the one that brought it up," Sam snorts back playfully, putting his hands down into his lap and leaning back. Even if Krem didn't really answer, he's got a decent idea at least.

For the most part a lot of the past could be overlooked, but honestly so much of it shapes them that it really can't. Even so he can see that this particular subject would probably be best for another time, or not at all if it really made Krem that uncomfortable. "Alright, then how did you start using a maul?"

Shhhh <3

[kremdelacreme]

"A joke," he tries to emphasize again.

The change of topic is both a bit jarring and greatly appreciated, and Krem's metaphorical hackles settle back down.

"Used to use a sword, standard issue. Wasn't until Bull hired me that I started training with other weapons. Gotta know how to adapt, he said to me. 's why I know hand-to-hand, short blades, swords, mauls, clubs, and staves at least in moderation. We had a job in the Deep Roads, some noble had sent us in, paid handsomely enough to overcome Bull's nervousness about it too. He was looking for some dwarven relic, had reason to believe that if it were handed to the Carta it'd make him rich, save his family from destitution, something like that. Turns out the relic had already been picked up and sold off by smugglers, and the place it was supposed to be was overrun by darkspawn. The mail I use now was picked up off the body of a hurlock Alpha when the fighting was over. We lost a man after he was kicked off a bridge by the thing, but that was the worst of the casualties."