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WHO: The new Inquisition moving company & friends
WHAT: One important roadtrip to Starkhaven
WHEN: /waves hands in a timey wimey wibbly wobbly vague way
WHERE: Kirkwall, the lovely main roads along the Free Marches & Starkhaven proper
NOTES: None to mention, will add as needed

The group leaves Kirkwall early in the morning just as the sun is rising. Their wards have all piled into one covered wagon, all of their worldly possessions fitting neatly and seemingly... little after several generations living inside the city. Speaking of Kirkwall, the young one's elderly grandparents do spend a few short moments looking over the city before it rightly goes out of sight with quiet tears. Saoirse stands with them, speaking comforting words but understanding well what it is like to leave behind all one knows for something (one hopes and prays) will be better.

Their trip along the roads to Starkhaven are thankfully underwhelming compared to most ventures Inquisition members take outside the city these days. They make good time passing through Vimmark Mountains and Wildervale, making brief stops as needed along the road. One they reach the Minanter River, it isn't long before the city of Starkhaven comes into view and it very clear even at a distance that there is a good reason why it is the wealthiest city in the Free Marches. Nestled in a fertile valley, alongside the river, the air is even different from the tense air that has lingered over Kirkwall lately. It's light, free caring with the citizens clearly at ease within their city walls.

Those here to continue help with the moving process will be led along with Saoirse to the alienage, none too different from any other alienage despite the grand buildings that surround it but the people seem welcoming especially when they realize the group is with two of their own. They are also quick to help with the moving process, removing boxes and helping the family set up their new home. Others are more than welcome to travel the city, explore and visit family. Just... not make trouble, okay? The last thing the Inquisition needs is another Marcher city frowning at them.

OOC: Welcome to Starkhaven!!! Currently this is planned to take place before the group goes to Neverra, backdated to early in the month. The trip is currently expected to take three days (at the most) before returning to Kirkwall. Nevertheless folks are welcomed to stay longer if they wish.

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[ Gareth will remember the pizza thing for later, but for now, he’s still all up in Prompto’s space. ]

I’m glad you think so. Is there, by chance, anything else you think about her? I mean, you two seem...pretty close. So. I’m sure you’ve done all sorts of thinking about her.

[....oh no.

Oooooh no. No no no. He sees where this might be going and it's just gonna lead to teasing.]

Ah, well... we're friends? We hang out? [A lot.] I'm, ah... not sure what you're getting at.

[Prompto, honey. You are not good at pretending to play dumb.]

Really? Just friends? If that’s all it is, I’d hate to see the smitten look you give someone you actually like.

[ He grins at that, like it’s all just one big joke, and slings an arm around Prompto. It could be perfectly friendly, if Gareth weren’t so good at being subtly unsettling, when he wants to be. It’s just a little too friendly, his eyes focusing on Prompto just a little too intensely. ]

Did you know Saoirse and I were in the same Circle? We were pretty good friends, then. You have no idea how relieved I was to see that she’d managed to flee Kirkwall safely. You see, [ And here, he leans in, giving Prompto’s shoulder a little squeeze. ] I don’t like the idea of her getting hurt. In fact, I take it very poorly. You know?

[Has he been spying on them? Surely Saorise didn't say anything, right? Not that he thinks she's noticed, or cares to make anything of it if she did, but...

He's suddenly sort of reminded of Ardyn, with the way Gareth gets into his space and gives him an unsettling smile that, doesn't necessarily look creepy but it certainly comes off across as such. Prompto fights to keep himself from shrinking away from him. Man, where's Gladio when he needs him? Gladio wouldn't stand for this. He needs to be more like Gladio.

Then again, Gladio is 6'+ and is a solid wall of muscle. He didn't get shovel talks. He gave them.

No. He can do this!! ...Maybe!! HE'S GONNA TRY. Prompto straightens his shoulders.]

I would, too, to someone I'd been friends with since we were kids. You're looking out for her, and I'm glad she's got a friend like that. But I'm not out to hurt anyone, least of all her.

[ If it makes Prompto feel any better, the person threatening him is a scrawny ass nerd, not some wall of meat. ]

I'm glad you understand. Just make sure to remember that, alright? And, if you'd like, also remember that I can set you on fire with my mind.

[ He flashes a quick grin, then releases Prompto, and suddenly the unsettling air around him disappears, like it was never there at all. Which, honestly, may be even more unsettling. Now, he takes a few steps ahead of Prompto, then turns around and walks backwards, facing him with an easy-going smile. ]

So, what are your intentions? Do you want to do the whole kissy face mwah mwah mwah thing, or are you more into the pining forever with a wistful look into the distance? Hard on your heart, but very dramatic. Very aesthetic. Good if you want to be a broody, troubled hero.

[But said scrawny ass nerd can - yeah, what Gareth said. Set fire to him. Or freeze him. Or shock him. Or any other number of horrible things that would make Prompto almost prefer the wall of meat.]

I'll make sure it haunts all my dreams at night.

[Instant relief hits him the moment Gareth lets go of him. It seems the threatening portion of this chat is over with, even if it wasn't necessary. Which, Gareth will find out why after his next set of questions.]

Well, never could pull off the broody, dark archetype real well. Everyone says I look too cheerful for it. But... [He shrugs.] Saoirse's pretty out of my league, let's face it. And besides, I'm a rifter. Not really a stable, reliable option for her, right?

[A feeling he's used to. To him, he doesn't stack up, and as much as it stings, he's accepted it. Gotta love it when that lack of self-esteem rears its head.]

[ Gareth listens to Prompto speak, and despite his kneejerk of course Saoirse is out of your league, dumbass, he can't help but think--

He looks at Prompto, his face unusually serious. But not in a threatening way, don't worry. ]

Friend, if I've learned anything since my Circle fell, it's that nothing in this world is stable, nor reliable. You can't go to sleep and be completely sure that you won't wake up to your entire world tearing apart at the seams. Nothing is guaranteed.

Saoirse knows that just as well as I do.

Edited (wrrrong icon) 2017-12-03 03:39 (UTC)

Well, sure, but...

[How does he explain he doesn't think he's good enough without actually coming out right and saying it??]

I might wind up disappearing and going home. She deserves someone who at least is able to promise they'll not get sucked into a rift and put into another world. Even if she were somehow separated from someone from Thedas, as long as they both survived there'd at least be a chance to reunite. That wouldn't be the case with us.

And... who knows what this thing might do in the future. [He gestures with the hand that has the shard in it.]

Buddy, listen to me. Even if someone can promise the whole rift thing, that doesn't mean jackshit right now. The sky is falling apart, there's a darkspawn magister running loose, we got so much shit going on, that the risk of you falling in a rift is about the same as every other asshole's risk of dying from Red Templars or regular Templars or Venatori or darkspawn, or an ogre, or a giant spider.

Do you want me to go on? Because Thedas excels at ways to get killed.

--The point is. You've just got an extra way to shuffle off this mortal coil, and considering there are ten thousand of them, that's a low percentage change from the average person.

Or sylvans throwing walnuts at your head?

[He had to, okay. But all right, all right. He gets the point. Anybody could up and get killed, or rifted away or something. Especially someone who's tangled up with the Inquisition.]

Point taken. Okay, so probability is on my side here. But there's the whole issue of her being interested in me that way, which I'm pretty sure she's not. And I like our friendship a lot.

Why would your friendship be ruined? Do you think that Saoirse is the kind of woman who says, [ And he pitches his voice in an approximation of some evil lady voice. ] 'Oh, Prompto, how dare you have feelings! I'm never talking to you again!' [ And then back to his normal voice. ] Or would you stop being her friend if she said no?

Of course not! I don't even expect her to like me back, why would I-

[HUFF.]

Look, I just don't want it to be awkward for her. It'll always be there, just hanging over us like a little annoying dark cloud that won't go away. She'd probably start wondering if I'm just sticking around in hopes she'll change her mind, or how I'd react if she did find someone else. [He rubs the back of his head. There's just so many ways it could go sideways. It's easier just to stick to the status quo.] And she... [Could do a lot better than him.]

Well, I can't tell you what she'll feel or not feel. But I can tell you that you'll never find out one way or the other if you keep fretting about it. And I can tell you that it's awfully unfair of you to make that kind of decision for her.

And I can remind you about the whole imminent death thing, too. Do you really want to get brained by an ogre and have your last thought be 'well, at least I died a loser that never had a date'.

[You know, he almost misses the shovel talk portion from before. At least he sort of knew what to do with that. This? this just boggles him.]

Why are you pushing this so much? I mean, you threatened to set me on fire if I hurt her just five minutes ago. [Amongst other horrible things a mage could do if they felt so inclined.] I'm sure there's plenty of other people who like her that are way better at this than I am and aren't in danger of getting brained by ogres.

[And speaking of-]

Heeeeeey. Who said I never had a date? [He even puts on an indignant face. And no this is totally not his attempt at changing the subject. Never. How dare you accuse him of such.]

[ Gareth raises his hands defensively, looking perfectly innocent. ]

Listen, threatening you if you hurt her and trying to reason with you on why you're being ridiculous are two very different things. I just had to make sure that you knew what was what, and now you do.

If you don't want to go for it, that's fine with me. But, I mean. You're gonna have the same problem with anyone you could hook up with. So even if you have had a date before you came to Thedas, you're going to spend the rest of your time here in the bachelor brigade. So, you'd better figure out what you wanna do with that.

Edited (thedas doesnt have baseball and im bad at idioms) 2017-12-10 07:40 (UTC)

[Part of Prompto's issue here, aside from the whole self-esteem debacle, is that he's not used to actively being encouraged to actually pursue a person in this regard. His friends usually just joked and poked fun at his infatuations and called it a day. Granted, Prompto usually crushes on women totally out of the realm of possibility, so that doesn't help matters either.

THE POINT IS, this encouragement befuddles him. And why would Gareth encourage this so much? If his and Saoirse's positions were reversed and he was encouraging a long time friend to go for it, he'd understand. But this? Is there something he doesn't know? So many questions, but considering Gareth still hasn't even answered why he's doing this, he's not gonna bother with asking.]

I'll think about it. We've got that Nevarra trip coming up, and I know she's been worried about elves going missing back in Kirkwall. [So now's not exactly the best time.] I just hope her dad likes me, too. If he tosses me out of his house, I'm pretty sure that's gonna shoot down whatever chance I'd have had with her.

[ 90% of it is that he just thinks that Saoirse deserves to have someone doing all that romantic shit that couples do, and Prompto seems to be a decent enough choice. He took the threatening in stride, and he's here, helping Saoirse, and worrying if he's good enough. Could do worse. ]

Yeah, there's a lot going on right now. That will just give you time to think of the best way to woo her. You know, turning on the charm.

You're right about the father thing, that's an important step. Can't help ya out with that one, I have no idea what fathers like. [ He thinks for a moment, and smiles brightly. ] I know they don't like mages, so you have that going for you!

"Woo" her? [A snort escapes him. Ifrit's balls, he didn't people still actually used that term anymore.] Don't know how much of a "woo"er I am. I've never woo-ed.

[Okay, he's had his fun with saying the word. For now. He still kind of wants to laugh about it, but he knows Gareth is trying to help.]

Er... but Saoirse's a mage. Why wouldn't he like another mage?

Hah! So you haven't been on a date before. Called it.

[ He clicks his tongue, with a quick wink, and a smile that starts off genuine, but loses a great deal of its humor as Prompto goes on. ]

Just 'cause you accidentally birthed one doesn't mean you like them. My dad sure as fuck didn't. [ A dry laugh. Ha ha fucking ha. ] But Saoirse said that her family helped her escape Kirkwall, so they're probably fine with her. [ Shrug. ] Just, I don't know. Be yourself, I guess. If he hates you, better to find out now, then when you're old and you have three kids, yeah?

Wha- I never said that! You can date people without having to woo them!

[Well, it's technically true, but he can't deny that Gareth is right: he has never gone on a single date in his entire life. Why oh why is he so transparent, he internally laments.

But he's not all that terribly upset about it, and it's hard to be anyway with what Gareth says next. That sounds beyond awful.]

You deserved better than that from him. [Why do parents suck] She seems close with him, though. Asked me to take a photo so she could send it to him, so I don't think she'd-

[Wait what now]

Kids? [GARETH PLZ] Getting a little ahead of yourself there, bud. [Ahahahaha..ha... haa...]

I guess they could woo you. Or you could do the arranged marriage thing and have your parents take care of all of that. I've heard alienage elves do that, sometimes.

[ He gives an unconcerned shrug at Prompto's words. ] You're right, I did. But I made my peace with it a long time ago. It's not even the worst story, I've heard of Templars having to rescue children from angry mobs, all sorts of things.

Hey! [ He puts his hands up defensively, a cheeky grin on his face. ] I'm not saying that'll happen! I'm just saying, better to get everything out in the open sooner rather than later, yeah?

Eugh, thanks but no thanks. Think I'd rather risk being single forever than do the arranged gig. [Which, given how desperately lonely he's been most of his life, says a lot. While he wants company, he values being able to have a choice more.

Angry mobs? Forming over a kid being a mage? He - you know what, he's really not that surprised. Which is kind of sad. He just shakes his head; Thedas offers its own special brand of awful, that's for certain.]

I'll be sure to tell Saoirse that. For the sake of the kids and all. [Dry tone. Such a dry tone. It takes a lot to make Prompto sarcastic, but Gareth's managed.] But hey, I know honesty's important and all.

It can’t be that bad, or people wouldn’t have done it for so long.

—Wait, scratch that, I just listened to what I said, and it was dumb. If anyone tries to arrange a marriage for you, I’ll tell ‘em off.

[ He grins at that, and only grins brighter when Prompto goes for the sarcasm. ]

Don’t be like that. I won’t tell you who to marry either, alright?

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