faderift | You're easier to love from afar (open)

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You're easier to love from afar (open)

WHO: Cosima and open
WHAT: Open post/catchall for Wintermarch
WHEN: Throughout the month; if you need to back or forward date due to Orlais plot, feel free
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: No warnings to start except for the potential of sad Cosima in some threads.

Tavern

Cosima's been moping long enough. She says this silently and firmly to herself several times a day, in fact. Enough moping. Get out, do some good, meet some people.

And while she's generally inclined to constructive action, Cosima isn't made of stone. After all, she's seen with her own eyes how possible it is she could be gone any moment without warning. (Home or ... wherever.) Carpe diem.

Which, loosely translated, means "have some wine at the tavern and flirt with ladies, because fuck it, you're in another world and you might as well." (Unless she sees a friend first, of course.)

Barracks (semi-closed; you know who you are)

While Avery is at work, Cosima has the room to herself. This makes it an excellent place to hold a meeting, and there's some unfinished business to attend to. She gathers Church and Jamie and does some digging to see if there's anyone else Ruby had roped into this idea before she left. Cosima is, by no means, a natural entrepreneur. But it felt like something she owed her friend.

"So. Who's ever run an eatery before?"

Points Around Skyhold (choose your own adventure)

As far as Cosima can determine, there's not just one place to declare: "Hi, I'd like to formally join the Inquisition" if you're not a fighter, a healer or a mage. She knows she can be useful, surely, but she doesn't know exactly where and she isn't entirely sure who to ask.

But she's seen a little of this world now - run up against Venatori and seen some of the effects of rifts that are much more destructive than spitting rifters into Thedas. She's determined to help.

So she'll keep trying to find a way in. There's a lot of research that goes on in Skyhold; surely someone can use an off-world research assistant.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A slow nod. "More or less."

"Okay. So ... to massively simplify, but scientists - doctors, healers - in my world have figured out a way to make a whole bunch of organisms from the same blueprints, so to speak. On purpose. They did animals first - a sheep, famously. And about 30 years ago a group of researchers figured out how to do it with humans."

Tiny, facetious jazz hands.

"Thus me. And at least 12 others, almost certainly more. I don't know for sure."

"So," she starts, watching Cosima carefully for any moment she wants to cut in and correct her here, "you're saying you've a bunch of twins running around somewhere. Because someone figured out how to make a... person recipe? And went a little mad with it for some reason or another?"

She laughs, ruefully. "Yeah, actually. That's not how I'd put it, but it's not wrong. I didn't know myself until not long before I came to Thedas. There's a lot of treatments out there for couples who want kids but have trouble having them; the people with the recipe took advantage of that to hand us off to unsuspecting couples, really far apart so it was unlikely we'd ever run into one another by accident."

Cosima adjusts her glasses, then adds, "Problem is, what good is an experiment if you can't measure how it's going? So they had to have people in our lives reporting information back to them. See how we were doing as we grew up."

Okay, she's not even going to bother asking about the hows of all that, because it'll be pointless and confusing to attempt. Instead, Avery just frowns and rubs at her shoulder idly, saying, "I don't get it. Why all the secrecy? It sounds like a lot of trouble."

"Couple reasons. There's the possibility it'll be found illegal, once people realize it can be done, for one thing. The country I'm from and the country where the company is set up both don't allow you to own human beings, but they do have laws protecting what's called intellectual property - a technique or an idea you can use to make money that you don't want to give people access to. The recipe, in this case. If no one knows your intellectual property is actually people, you can keep control of it easier."

She exhales. "Also for control. My sisters and I are all adults now, and it's reasonable to think most or all of us are kind of angry about someone thinking they own us. And, um. You know I go to the healing tent regularly? That disease is something they created by accident in an effort to keep us from being able to have kids of our own."

So all this is pretty fucked, really.

"Right. Gold. Should've figured," she grumbles. "Arseholes."

There's a quiet moment after that where she seems to be struggling with her thoughts over something, trying to get the words to come out right, but eventually she just sighs. "How bad is it?"

This was not a part of the story Cosima had planned getting into, exactly, and she glances down into her wine glass. But it's only for a moment; Avery's not always forthcoming, but she's always honest, and Cosima feels she deserves the same in return.

"Here it's manageable, as long as I have access to spirit healing. The healers can't cure me, but they can keep me on my feet and reasonably healthy as long as I go see them every few weeks." The lack of comment on whether it's manageable where she's from speaks for itself.

Not sure what to say to that, Avery hesitates briefly before moving over next to Cosima and giving her shoulder a little nudge. It's the best move she's got right now, man.

It works, inasmuch as it coaxes a brief smile from Cosima. She leans a bit into Avery.

"So, yeah. Anyway, all that's ... so since we're not even supposed to know we're clones, they can't just randomly ask us to submit to medical tests. But they need data. So they get close to us through people in our lives, who can observe us without raising suspicion. I'd figured out that my girlfriend was the one watching me, but I'd just dumped her to move halfway across the country. And then out of nowhere this gorgeous foreign student turns up in my new program."

"I think maybe I can guess the next part," Avery mumbles, trying not to actually interrupt.

Cosima laughs ruefully. "Oh shit, so could I. A couple of my sisters and I were in touch by then, they told me to be careful, but..."

She spreads her hands.

"Turned out it was worse than I thought, though. She wasn't even really a student. She was a doctor working for the company itself, posing as a student. After I found out, she tried to tell me she'd actually fallen for me, that she wanted to help, but ... shit. I don't know. And then she was here and now she's not and it doesn't really matter whether I can stop thinking about her or not, I guess."

A pause, then:

"All of which is to say it could be worse."

She may have only followed so much of this whole story, but it was enough to know that was quite the complicated and intense situation to attempt a relationship in. She's not completely sure how to even feel about it just yet.

"Yeah, I've never been there. Which is maybe another tick in favor of my method. Not bothering in the first place."

"I mean, it's not like I set out to fall in love with the most dangerous person possible," Cosima said. "I'd have fallen for her anyway. She was gorgeous and brilliant and funny. Is. And it's not only dumb and dangerous, it was also amazing sometimes. I don't know, maybe your way is smarter. I don't know how to do it, though."

With a shrug, Avery answers, "Pretty simple, really. Just be very off-putting so no-one wants nothing to do with you. Except weirdos, seems like."

Here, Cosima, have another poke in the shoulder.

"Too late. I've tasted your delicious baked goods." She rests her head on Avery, maybe a little more boldly than she would a couple drinks prior. "Besides, you went and saved my life, now you're stuck with me unless you leave Skyhold."

Which, of course, she could. Herian had. But Cosima doesn't want to think too hard about losing Avery too.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbles, unsure about this new development but notably not moving or complaining.

"Anyway, if I went anywhere, it'd probably just be back home for now. Which is a bakery a short ride that-a-ways." A vague wave to the east. "It's not like you couldn't come see me."

"I'd probably fall off the horse, if my track record in Thedas is anything to go by," she half grumbles, though it's mostly good-natured. "I knew I should have been more into sports as a kid. Or at least, like, running."

Avery hesitates a moment, before gruffly offering, "I could teach you to ride sometime. Nothing fancy, mind, but it'll keep you from falling at the least."

"Yeah?" Cosima smiles at that. "I can usually manage at a walk, but like, it'd be nice to know I could stay on if I had to suddenly, like, run away from demons or something."

A worryingly plausible scenario.

"That I can probably manage."

Slightly fidgety, she rubs at her knees for lack of anything better to do with her hands. "It's not too hard. I only really had reason to learn myself a couple of years ago. Grew up in city, rarely left it, until I found work at a farm for a bit there."

Cosima presses a tipsy kiss to the side of Avery's cheek. "You're sweet when no one's looking, you know."

They are having a normal, friendly time! Look how normal.

Okay, no, this is not normal. Not at all! That "s" word she just used? And this... thing she did with her lips there? Neither of those is normal, and anyone who thinks otherwise must be mad.

Not even sure what to say to any of it, Avery just turns her head slightly and gives Cosima a confused look. "Me?"

"Yeah. I won't tell anyone, though, promise." Since Avery has a reputation to maintain and all.

She frowns and shrugs after a moment, grumbling, "It's not as if they'd believe it."

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