faderift | [Open] A Proper Party

WHO: The brothers Asgard and everyone else.
WHAT: Loki and Thor throw a party for everyone.
WHEN: Right after the quarantine is lifted.
WHERE: The Asgard Estate in Hightown.
NOTES: Loki gonna Loki, probably other things. Directly corresponds to this rookery post.

The new manor has come a far sight from where it had been, cleaned and updated significantly, but the aesthetics are still in keeping with Kirkwall standard...mostly. The exterior features a large iron scrollwork fence with matching gates, currently flung wide open, and a cheerful array of fresh floral decorations. Beyond the gates there are a number of hedges, bare but thick enough that once spring has properly taken over, they will likely be shaped into large living sculptures. There are a few torches scattered among the flora, but they lead toward the front of the manor.

The building's superstructure has not been overtly altered, but there are several exceedingly Tevene touches. The front doors, once made of hardwood, have been wholly replaced by a pair extremely detailed, solid, white marble doors. The fittings are all custom made, snake themed, and plated in gold.

The interior of the building is far more obviously Tevinter styled. The floors are the original wooden, polished to a mirror shine by the staff and bedecked in places by rugs with complex woven designs and thick piles. The foyer is well lit by a series of gold, wall-mounted sconces, and a large chandelier made of serault glass with a distinctly magical light-source in the center.

The staff, all elven in matching black uniforms, are waiting just inside the threshold and are ready to assist anyone who requires it. First and foremost they will offer to take any coats and curtsy with proper depth to anyone who passes by.

There is still some construction going on, deeper in the house, but it is up the grand staircase and beyond the realm of the party. Occasional hammer-falls resound from upstairs but they can only be heard if one is being very quiet.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She frowned a little when he kissed her hand. No one kissed her hand. Not unless it was accidental in the event of her fist making contact with their face anyway. She didn't really know how to react, so she decided not mentioning it was probably for the best. Either he was making fun of her, or he was taking pity on her, and she disliked both options. She let her hand fall stiffly down to her side, and cursed her fair skin when she felt her face flush a little.

"I just did my job. I'd have been a piss poor Guard Captain if I didn't fight against them. Hawke had a greater part in all that. We just tried to lessen the casualties, and protect as many as we could." She shrugged. "Where is your homeland?"

He didn't sound much like a Marcher, that was for damn sure. Definitely not Orlesian. Possibly Fereldon, but there weren't many Qunari there. Now she was extra curious.

She's blushing. The warrior woman is blushing and Thor tries to hide his amusement as he takes another sip from his cup. Likely she'd think him laughing at her and he doesn't want to give that impression.

Her question lets him abandon the wineglass cover as he smiles widely and gestures at the decor. "Marnas Pell is in Tevinter, of course. My brother and I are mages from House Asgard. What better to have against a suspected ancient Tevinter magister than two Tevinter mages?" One of whom will be a magister eventually, but he's not going to be so crass as to say that.

She curses herself a little for not picking up on it when he mentioned his home town earlier . She couldn't get distracted by a pretty face. Especially a pretty face from Tevinter of all places.

He was smiling, quite a lot, and since she hadn't said anything tremendously witty, she assumed he was laughing at her. She drained the glass and stiffened, reinforcing the emotional walls she surrounded herself with at all times. He probably lost a bet or something and was stuck trying to make conversation. She did not fool herself into thinking that anything about her could be at all tempting. She'd heard insults time and time again, the most recent exampled was "the Guard's Dog", which had been lovingly screamed at her before she bashed her shield into a gang member's face. But she knew her own worth regardless of what anyone thought of her. Nothing he could say or do would make her balk. She would get whatever information she could to start digging, and then go.

"Kirwall is quite different from Tevinter, I'd imagine. What brought you here to help with Corypheus?" She crossed her arms.

"Survival, of course." She's stiffened up. Is it the country he's from, or something else? He doesn't know enough about her to guess, yet, so all he can do is keep going on.

"If the Inquisition falls apart, I do not see the various countries represented in it working together to fight him. Corypheus will take over the southern lands, his strength will have increased to the point where Tevinter alone cannot defeat him, and we are not fools enough to think that aligning with the qunari would not backfire." He shrugs as if they're talking about something far more casual and simple than the possible destruction of his homeland and hers.

She stayed silent for a few beats, assessing him, eyebrows a little furrowed. He doesn't seem to be lying-she's gotten pretty good at measuring people's bullshit. Perhaps he was just trying to help. But his casualness in talking about such events gives her pause. Perhaps in Tevinter the thought of one's country being annihilated is a common thing? Perhaps they wouldn't be very stable allies to have.

"It would take a lot to get any of them to work together, it's true. And the Inquisition, although I believe in it's purpose, it hasn't done much to ease tensions between nations. Either one country is vying for their favor, or they are railing against the influence other countries might have with them. The Inquisition's ambassadors have quite a task ahead of them." And she has been thrust into that mess too.

She broke off her staring, and shifted her weight on her feet. She reached out to rest her hand on her sword hilt, like she often did while in thought, but of course it wasn't there, so her hand just clenched it and let it hang down again.

"How will you and your brother help them? Are you scholars or historians with? Or perhaps you just happen to have a spare legion or two just lying around?"

"Are you? Do you?"

He doesn't know how to read her all that well. There's a lot of anger and defensiveness worn on her sleeve, but is that the truth of what's going on? Can it be that simple? Much of what he does is in the open like that; it would be refreshing for more of the same.

"I am here because sometimes two people can change the balance. Or one. I do not have a legion. I am no scholar. But I am a mage forged on the front lines against the qunari who has seen corruption creep into his homeland, and who has chosen to take a stand against it. I am no more, but I am no less."

[Open] A Proper Party

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