OPEN | Too Much Sunshine

[nadasharillen]

WHO: Nari, Lexie, Myr, Korrin, Kylo, You!
WHAT: Catchall for my gals (hmu if you want a prompt)
WHEN: Pre-Tevinter Solace
WHERE: Kirkwall
NOTES: on a scale from Lexie to Nari, what's your work ethic?

Nari

I. Working (Gallows)

Despite the hot, sticky, relentless weather, there's still work to be done, and Nari is doing it. Sometimes in a loose light cotton tunic and sometimes stripped to a breastband and shorter leggings (she'd added the breastband after the casual habitual strip of her shirt she'd employed at home seemed to be vaguely distracting), but whether in the oppressive closeness, but shade, of the workshop or out under the blaze of the sun when it manages to peek through the haze, she's out in the Gallows at the constant repair tasks as well as light deconstruction on the finished pieces of the obstacle course to prepare for their move to the Wounded Coast.

Currently swearing and trying unsuccessfully at one of the boards securing the latter—her team had perhaps been too effective—it looks like she could use either help or a break.


II. The Beach Episode (Korrin, OTA, let's all go together)

Okay, maybe some time for leisure. As devoted as she is to working herself into a tired stupor on a daily basis, spending time with Korrin is always something that will make her take a pause. That, and it's a rare nice day. So, off they go to the beaches outside of town with some blankets to spread across the sand, some food, and the intention to heap sand on top of sand and purposefully cover themselves entirely in water that isn't falling from the sky in sheets.

It's gonna be a good day.


III. Wildcard!

She's around~



Lexie

I. It's Hot Up Here, A Lot up Here

Each day of unfavorable weather—which is to say, most of them—finds Alexandrie lounging out on the balcony of the apartments that faces the Waking Sea in dresses with fewer layers, lighter weight fabrics, and less corseting than she would wear out in society. Her hair is up more simply than usual and she looks alternately vexed and content depending on whether or not the breezes are currently blowing past her off the water.

All things considered, it is not a poor place to spend the afternoon. Do come play cards, or read, or chat about current events, or drink, or watch the late afternoon storms roll by in their brief cacophonies.

(Or be smugly used to the heat, you Tevene savages.)

[ impromptu group activities welcome :3 ]


II. Wildcard

Catch her outside painting on the two non-garbage days this month. Sit in the Memorial Garden. Something else!

Comments

Myr | A Couple of Nerds

[nadasharillen]

Rey had done some excellent work on siege engine design, and Nari had seen little way to improve on the mechanisms, but she'd been spending a decent amount of time thinking about the way ammunition could be improved. Alchemical processes had been an idea, since they could be delayed until the strike impacted the ground, but she'd been unable to think of a way to incorporate the magic they had at their disposal. It was all so... immediate.

Unable at least until one utterly unremarkable time the glyph on their door chimed as she opened it and suddenly the persistence of Myr's particular focus jolted through her mind like one of Korrin's lightning bolts. She slams the door the rest of the way open in the way she has when there's a sudden idea she needs to talk to her roommate about, and good, he's here.

"Myr! Glyphs!" Excitement! "Do they have to be broken by people to go off, or is it just the being broken that does it?"

[faithlikeaseed]

"Technically, just being broken--you can set 'em off if you put one over the other the wrong way, though most of the time they'll just fizzle.

"What're you thinking?" He knows what that tone of voice and the slammed door mean; there's an anticipatory grin on his face as he tips his head in her direction, laying aside the very glyphs he's working on.

[nadasharillen]

This time Nari remembers to close the door again before continuing, but she's back at it in short order.

"So if we were to take something like, for example, a boulder, and you were to put a glyph on it," her voice moves back and forth across the length of the room a couple of times before there's finally the sound of her chair moving away from her desk and the quiet thud of her sitting, "it would remain inactive until the boulder was smashed?"

[faithlikeaseed]

Myr makes a pass at tidying up his own desk as she talks, setting everything where he'll be able to find it again before pushing his chair back and turning it so he's (roughly) facing her. This is something he'll want to pay full attention to.

"Well--if you actually break up the surface the glyph's on the magic'll come apart without activating, most of the time. And if you didn't set the glyph right someone could set all your boulders off beforehand by getting too close--but..." He lapses into silence, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and his chin on his crossed hands.

"...I've been working on glyphs that'll trigger in a series--you set one off and the others go once the disturbance reaches them, like ripples on a pond lifting a bunch of leaves. Might be I could make one that goes off when it's jolted physically, instead."

[nadasharillen]

Nari makes a disappointed noise at Myr's first clarification of how they work. That wouldn't do for her purposes at all. He's thinking, though, so she'll wait to set aside her new and exciting plans until he's run it through his mind a few times. After all, he tends to be as interested in solving unique problems as she is.

And there it is; or at least a possibility.

"It would have to be only a very large jolt, or the destruction of the surface, else the loading or actual flinging—" wait, she hadn't actually told him what she was thinking of. "—I'm trying to think of ways to use magic at long range during a siege. Ideally in a way that doesn't require many mages, so the same size force could have twice the impact. I thought maybe throwing glyphed boulders from a trebuchet might be an option?"

Kylo | Being a Hypocrite

[nadasharillen]

Having become quite fond of the taciturn— albeit more open since moving in with Rey— fellow, Nari makes it a habit to pass by the forges at least once a day to make sure Kylo isn't working himself too hard in the heat. Like her, he tends to... focus.

"Hello the forge!" she calls, leaning against the fence that encloses the area, her eyes narrowing slightly against the wave of heat emanating out from the workspace. "When's the last time you took a break?"

sorry for the late

[letoldthingsdie]

Nari finds him hard at work - as if that was any doubt - about to dip the recently shaped metal into water to set the shape. The steam rises up, with a second of flames, and when it disappears he startles at seeing Nari poke her head in to find him.

"Ah- not sure. Why?" Truthfully, he seldom ever took breaks which was probably why Nari always appeared like this - or Rey. He pulls the blade out of the water, setting it on the table for now. Peeling his thick gloves off, he tugs at the collar of his shirt to wipe sweat off of his chin. It got hot in here after a while, but he liked the work. It kept him busy, his thoughts diving into his tasks completely.

now *I'm* sorry for the late

[nadasharillen]

"Because it's hot as anything out, and the blades aren't the only things in there that need water and to sit for a bit," Nari replies with a lopsided grin. "We really ought to treat ourselves at least near as well as we treat our work, right?"

[letoldthingsdie]

"Heat or otherwise have never stopped me before. I've never been one for making use of my own limitations." Though she was right. It was stifling work being at the forge all day.

Lexie I

[altusimperius]

Smug? Benedict? Such a fiendish accusation, he would n-- okay yeah he doesn't mind the heat much at all, except that he can't wear some of his more intricately embroidered jackets because they're too heavy. The world is truly unfair.

He's been out on a walk to get some things tailored for their sojourn up north, but at the sight of a familiar tendril of reddish hair at an equally familiar house, he pauses beneath the balcony and calls up.
"Have you melted?"

[coquettish_trees]

In response there is a loud disaffected sigh. So, yes.

"Do come upstairs Lord Artemaeus," follows a reply with actual words in it, "I would so like to see your face but am exceptionally disinclined to move."

dead

[altusimperius]

"It would be my pleasure," Bene replies, and takes the detour into the shade of the twins' foyer as he makes his way upstairs to join Lexie.

Once up on the balcony, he makes an impressed sound at the view of the sea before stepping forward to take Lexie's hand and kiss it in poised greeting. "You look wretched." Ever a gentleman.

[hwaaaitsme]

"Practicing our manners for the trip home, are we, Bene?"

Loki's voice preceeds him by a few steps. He has been a bit further in the apartments, not quite as bothered by the warmth of the indoors as much as Lexie. She is clad for staying in and, as a perfect gentleman, he has dressed down to match her.

This is not, of course, to say that he is dressed poorly. His black shirt and trousers are perfectly pressed and tailored. They are respectable in form and quality save, perhaps, for the way the front of his shirt is a bit unlaced. To nearly his navel. It hangs mostly closed. Mostly.

"Here you are, Lady de la Fontaine," Loki says as he steps alongside the chaise, two perspiring glasses of something sweet and likely alcoholic in hand. He extends one for her, on the side that Bene is kissing, and regards the other man with an arched brow.

"My apologies." He doesnt look even slightly sorry. "You shall have to ring for your own, my friend."

I - Nari

[justice_is_blond]

"Have you considered taking a break for a cold drink?" It's absolutely hypocritical of him to ask anyone else about taking a break, he knows that, but at least he's working on his bad habits there. Slowly.

"Water, or something a little more... relaxing?" His robes are loose enough, flowy and light and pale blues, but he also enjoys the heat so he seems rather at ease. It's nice. Especially when he's spent most of the day in the dark of, well, Darktown. Sunshine and warmth is exactly what he wants.

"Or must that board meet a particular fate before you're free?"

[nadasharillen]

"It said something uncouth about mages," Nari says with a lopsided grin as she looks up at Anders, "I'm," she yanks at it again with a grunt, "defending your honor." It remains stubbornly in place. "Poorly," she amends wryly, and abandons the task for the time being to stand and stretch.

"Water would be perfect," she says with a nod. "If I get too... relaxed... I may actually devolve into debating the voidcursed thing."

[justice_is_blond]

"Mm." He holds out his waterskin, offering her a grin as well. "I can't say I've ever tired of seeing drunk people debating inanimate objects, but all I have with me is water so I suppose I'll not get that particular joy today."

Once his hands are free of the waterskin, Anders leans in to take a closer look at the problematic plank. A shrug follows. "I could use a little force magic, potentially blow it free, if you want to stand... behind me, likely. I can at least keep it from hitting me." Force isn't something he's all that precise with. It's a shame that healing has no board-removal applications.

[nadasharillen]

Healing has plenty of board-removal applications if the board-removal goes awry!

"I'll let you know next time I get into it with a roll of parchment, then," Nari replies good-naturedly. "Hours of fun." She dusts off her hands and considers the board for a few moments longer before throwing up her arms, gesturing at it, and walking around behind Anders with a grin. "Blow away."

I - Lexi

[thorndergod]

Smug is Thor's natural state of being. He calls on her in the early afternoon, dressed in a red tunic and grey pants that aren't too wildly out of place in Kirkwall.

"It is about time the weather turned to this," he says loudly, knowing very few out here will agree with him. It's time to see what his brother's fiance is actually like. Thor gestures at the cards next to her. "Are you interested in a game, my lady?"

[coquettish_trees]

Alexandrie had been genuinely surprised to hear Marceau announce the elder Asgard, although given the sheer amount of time she'd been spending with his brother it was inevitable that Thor would come by eventually. After all, as evidenced by her conversation with Knight-Commander Norrington, she would joyously bother anyone Evie seemed to have the slightest interest in. On principle. What else is family for?

"I am sure the weather is pleased to have such illustrious support as yours, my lord," Lexie replies, rising from her recline to set aside the novel she'd been idly paging through and sitting again in a slightly more arranged fashion, "especially in the face of its many detractors."

His query after a game of cards is met with a nod, and an inclination of her head, "Have you one in mind? I am sure we know several in common, but I always enjoy learning new games." She smiles brightly. "Provided I have a patient instructor."

[thorndergod]

He takes a seat of his own once she's nodded and picks up the cards to begin shuffling them. It is not hard to see why Loki would initially be attracted to the Orlesian woman. She's pretty. But beyond that? A woman who isn't a mage, who is Orlesian which is at least better than Nevarran but not by much? Yes, she has wealth and title, but she has no mage blood and that's what trips Thor up the most.

None of that gets spoken. Instead Thor smiles at her and starts dealing cards. "There is a game that is popular with the soldiers upon my father's estate. Each round you are looking for something different. The first round, you want two sets of three. Jokers are wild."

Thor begins dealing, glancing briefly at the novel she'd discarded to note the title for later. Gathering intelligence is not his area of expertise, but this isn't his first time trying to figure out how much of a risk or benefit a person would be to his House.

[coquettish_trees]

The novel is Orlesian drivel full of romance and politics and overblown dramatics. You know. Like the country. Really, who can be expected to read anything else in this heat? Alexandrie does catch the glance though. Being vetted, are we? She'd expect nothing less.

Game on, then.

She returns Thor's smile and gathers the hand he'd dealt her, frowning thoughtfully— and prettily— and sorting it in a manner that has a chance of misrepresenting the cards she already has, if he's watching.

"You are given to playing games with your father's soldiers?" she asks, her smile returning brilliantly as they make their first plays, "A laudable pursuit! There are so many among the nobility who would not deign to do so, and thus lose the chance to promote camaraderie and loyalty."

This round she will be counting cards and attempting to get a handle on his strategy, the second she plans to use for confirming and attempting to get in the way of it, and by the third she plans to be cheating egregiously. After all, what difficulty cards if you've been being taught to conceal and produce knives?

Of course, there's a decent chance Thor might notice. She rather fondly imagines that Loki cheats at cards with a similar lack of shame.

Beach Episode!

[gatheringstorm]

It's the perfect day to do nothing by the water, and Korrin has prepared to take advantage of it. Arriving with some quality picnic goods from the market, she promptly unrolls a large blanket for the spread, weighing down the corners with stones. Her staff is ready nearby, but that's all the precaution she's taken, as armor has been shed in favor of an antaam-saar that's much easier to wear under the heat of the sun. (The fact that if shows off her muscles and curves to better effect can't be denied, either.)

Personally, though, the feast can wait a moment, as she reaches the edge of the water and calls back. "Nari, come here! I want to show you something."

Re: Beach Episode!

[nadasharillen]

"Is it you sweeping up and hurling your poor trusting friend into the sea?" Nari calls good-naturedly from where she's rummaging through the food to get her hands on a few of the strawberries they'd picked up at the market. She's not all that good about waiting on strawberries.

Despite the possibility of being hurled into the sea, she dutifully shows up next to Korrin at the water's edge and holds a berry out towards her friend. "What am I looking at?"

Re: Beach Episode!

[gatheringstorm]

"This." Korrin pulls off a ring, holding it up for inspection. It's finely crafted, of a wave motif that speaks to Rivaini influence. "I thought you might want to try out something I brought for myself. This ring lets me breathe underwater for up to half an hour at a time. It's probably too big for a finger, but maybe your thumb would do. Want to try it out?"

Re: Beach Episode!

[nadasharillen]

Nari leans in as Korrin holds the ring up to her, nodding her approval at the craftsmanship, and then raising her eyebrows to hear the effects. Korrin always has the most interesting things.

“I absolutely want to try it out. How does—“ she cuts off with a chuckle and shakes her head. “I was going to ask how it works. I, uh... assume magic.”