I'm Not The Moon (Open)

[youwonscience]

WHO: Cosima, Avery AND YOU
WHAT: Open log of goodbye to all that Skyhold; in which Avery may or may not try to help get Cosima a quality one-night stand and in which there will definitely be drinking
WHEN: Backdated to before the move (forgive my hiatus)
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: No warnings to start, but Cosima is fresh off TTT, so if you want a less shiny happy thread, those are also on the table.

Behind closed doors, Cosima had said very evenly that she needed to hug Avery once, and to please just let it happen. She was, in some ways, less shaken up than she'd been after getting captured by the Venatori; the things that had happened to her, specifically, hadn't been as bad by pretty much any measure. But seeing a future-that-might-be ... it had been enough to shake her up.

But that had been in private, and before they left Skyhold behind, Cosima was determined to enjoy herself a little. ("What would Ruby do?" she'd enthusiastically pointed out to her roommate when attempting to sell the idea of a night out.) Cosima had officially thrown her lot in with the Inquisition, was committed to making sure the future she saw didn't come to pass. But the world wasn't going to go to shit in one night -- probably -- and she wanted to dance and drink and flirt with someone.

(She wanted to look over and see Avery, right there and fine and looking mildly annoyed but not leaving her either.)

So a trip to the tavern seems well in order. Cosima's going to be enthusiastically greeting her friends from the start. She might be enthusiastically greeting glancing acquaintances later too, depending on how the drinking goes.

Comments

[youwonscience]

"It's the baker's son, though now he's not dressed as a baker. Mercenary might be a better guess, or at least someone who routinely wears armor that's gotten some use. Back before you left home, you got the sense he had a crush on you, but neither of you ever said anything about it. The other guy looks like a merchant; no one you recognize." She tilts her chair back, slightly, relaxing as they get into the rhythm of the game.

[thecookery]

The baker part earns Cosima a raised eyebrow, and the crush another tick higher. Is there a hidden message in this somewhere??

Eventually, she shrugs it off for the most part and comments flatly, "How strange. They been fighting though, you said. With words, or has it come to blows as well?"

[youwonscience]

It could be flirting, or it could be a Freudian slip; either way, Cosima doesn't linger over it.

"Words for now. Since the merchant is a skinny older man who isn't visibly armed, it'll probably go the worse for him if it comes to blows, but the guy you know is definitely angry enough it might. Jordan, you remember, that's his name."

Jordan is probably not a very realistic name for anyone in Thedas, it occurs to Cosima a moment later, but whatever. At least Avery shouldn't have problems pronounce it.

[thecookery]

Or maybe Cosima just thinks Avery needs to get laid too? It's a real mystery, but Avery is already thinking about her next response, fingers drumming idly on the tabletop.

"Well," she mutters after a moment, "if one angry boy with an ego run wild is the worst these deadly wastes have to throw at me, this trip will be over in no time. I urge my horse forward, looking down on the two of them from its back, and I order them to stop and explain themselves. I have somewhere to be, and they'd best not slow me down. Do they listen?"

[youwonscience]

"The merchant looks totally relieved. Jordan, though, seems annoyed, and says it's none of your business. In a very rude way. He doesn't seem like he recognizes you, though he could have just become a complete asshole in the intervening years."

As entitled boys so often do, in Cosima's experience.

[thecookery]

She's not wrong!

Avery snorts, "Prick. I've no time or patience for this, so I draw my sword and tell him I'm making it my business. Does he flee, as any sane man should in front of such an experienced blade?"

[youwonscience]

"The merchant totally cuts and runs, but Jordan draws his swords. They look like they've gotten some use, though he's obviously not that smart if he doesn't recognize your skill." Cosima grins. "So you've got that going for you."

[thecookery]

"Fine," Avery answers, adding a slightly haughty affectation to her tone. "If he really wants to be humiliated, I will... oblige. So tell me, gods, do I succeed? Do I fail? Or is the fight a close one? Will luck decide if it goes my way?"

She pulls out a coin and lays it on the table.

[youwonscience]

"I suspect the gods are really into games of chance. Heads you beat him easily, tails he gets the better of you," Cosima suggests.

there is an actual cointoss happening over here right now, i hope you know

[thecookery]

Avery scoffs, "Fine. If I have to," then flips the coin with her thumb and handily catches it out of the air and slams it down on the table again.

There's a moment of pause for drama's sake, before she slides her hand away and looks down. "Shit. This is not on me. I am too skilled to be beaten by someone like this. Surely, it's the work of you damned gods that has turned the tide against me. But I refuse to be beaten, even by you. He has me bested for now, but what must I do to strike him down? Whatever it is, I will do it."

excellent

[youwonscience]

"There is a folk saying in my world: Fate's a bitch." ...that is not a folk saying, Cosima.

"Unfortunately for him, he's a gloater. He thinks his disarmed you, but that mainly meant taking your sword and gloating about how foolish you were to think you were his match. If you've got another weapon hidden somewhere, he wasn't very thorough, so you could probably go for it. On the other hand, he still doesn't seem to have placed you, so he doesn't know you have any way to know anything about him; you could try to freak him out that way."

i hoped youd be proud of me for that

[thecookery]

"Oh, I'm sure I have a knife in my boot, for emergencies," she says, after a brief consideration. "It's not much, but it can do. Especially since I've also a well-trained warhorse with me. Once I give the signal for my loyal friend to create a distraction, I strike again while his back is turned. There's a time and a place for honor, and a time and place for survival. And if this poor sod bleeds out in the desert, there's no one to say I don't have both well in hand."

At that, she levels a slightly challenging look Cosima's way. "Does it work?"

[youwonscience]

Cosima pauses for dramatic emphasis. "Your cleverness takes the day. And he totally deserved it." She leans back in her chair. "So, what now? The merchant left his cart, but otherwise there's nothing of note around."

[thecookery]

"I search both," she answers easily, after giving a confident nod to her foregone victory. "Maybe I'll find out what this was about, but even if not, I'll definitely find something useful for getting across this desert alive, I'm sure. What is it exactly?"

[youwonscience]

"So it looks, at first, like the cart is just fruits and vegetables. But assuming you keep digging a little, you'll find it's covering a bunch of gear - weapons, armor, that sort of thing. Probably salvage, but in decent condition."

[thecookery]

A disappointed little tsk-ing noise is the first response Cosima gets.

"Not so useful, after all. Thanks, gods. None of this can serve me as well as what I already carry, so I leave it. Maybe the man will come back for his goods, or maybe some desert bandit will have it. None of my concern. I grab just a few pieces of fruit though and begin to eat one as I mount up again and ride."

Again, Avery has one of those moments where she has to pause and think about what comes next in this little game. There aren't many rules, but there's at least a general structure she's supposed to follow. If that was a wrap on act one, she thinks there's supposed to be one or two more? And the next is... "It's hours later when I see anything but sand and a few scattered desert plants. Some sort of building. But from here, I can't tell what exactly. Tell me, gods, is it the temple I'm looking for?"

[youwonscience]

Cosima's less familiar with the rules of the game, but she thinks it can't help to insert an element of chance. "Fate will decide," she says, grinning over the rim of her glass. "Heads yes, tails no, it's something else."

[thecookery]

"Fine," Avery mutters, narrowing her eyes slightly, then goes to flip the coin again.

This time, when she catches it and looks, she scoffs, "Ugh, apparently the gods here are as cruel as I'd heard. This is not the temple, but I approach anyway, keeping an eye out for danger. Am I alone here?"

[youwonscience]

"There's not evidence of any other travelers as you approach," Cosima says, thoughtfully. "As you get closer it looks like it's some sort of small fort or outpost. Weirdly, though, there doesn't seem to be anyone in the guard tower. Are you going to head straight in, or do you try to scout around a bit first?"

[thecookery]

Avery takes a moment to mull it over this time, eventually answering, "An empty fort is always a bad sign, especially in a place like this, and I hesitate at the entrance. I'm a warrior. I can fight a man. But there are stories of worse things in this land, and in places where soldiers once gathered and possibly died."

She drums the coin she's still holding on the table a few times.

"There may also be water though, and my horse is thirsty. Mustering my courage, I make a sign of warding against dark spirits as I enter and begin my search. What is it that I find living here?"

[youwonscience]

"At first," Cosima says, well and truly into the game now, "the only thing you see are a few rats. They're big and pretty bold, but not supernatural as far as you can tell. You can find a trough for your horse near a well that's still full of water, but it kind of feels like you're being watched."

[thecookery]

"First the water, then the watchers. I fetch a pail and give it a close look and smell. Is it safe?"

[youwonscience]

"The water looks and smells normal. When you taste it, it tastes faintly of strawberries. It's pretty pleasant, actually. Your horse seems to drink it without urging, too." So clearly, nothing to worry about. At all.

"...why don't you flip your coin, though."

[thecookery]

She narrows her eyes briefly and makes the flip.

"Well, well. Seems fate is on my side this time. But I'd best not press my luck, so I wait while the horse drinks and keep an eye out for trouble. What approaches while I'm there?"

[youwonscience]

"After a moment or two, you see a figure approaching out of the shadows. It's kind of hard to focus on, like it's not entirely solid, but you can definitely track its movement; it seems to be more or less human-shaped as far as you can tell. Do you wait for it to come closer, or call out to it?"