[closed]

[notched]

WHO: Anna & Teren
WHAT: A match?!
WHEN: A time
WHERE: The Docks
NOTES: Will update if needed.

While Anna is always keen to be useful, she does not particularly like when this involves standing out in the open with a flower on. She spends a long time lurking in the shadows, trying to avoid the need of it, but eventually she edges out. The dwarf latches on to her and her flower almost immediately, hustling her onto the ship. She does not care for that, but doesn't know enough about dwarves to determine if this should be tolerated or if she should feel at lease to start a fight over the cavalier handling.

She doesn't get much time to think about it, she's ushered down to the goods. The dwarf is also gone before she can inquire about what it is she's meant to do with the cargo. What, did they intend her to load it out by hand? That doesn't sound like her purview at all.

She spends a moment looking. Was there a cart, was there a ledger?

Then the other unfortunate is pushed into the hold with her. Anna turns to look and feels immediately that her hands go cold.

"Oh. Ma'am."

Comments

[doneisdone]

"Mm."
So be it, then. Teren steps aside, gesturing expectantly to the bottles inside the crate. "Inspect away," she offers, having little idea of how else to proceed.

[notched]

She hesitates. Opens her mouth to say something, says nothing and instead moves with slumped shoulders. She's gone to one of the crates to inspect the wine, working loose one of the bottles to hold up to the light.

Somewhere in that time she regains her courage and starts to say, "Ma'am, I'm sorry about how I--"

But as the wine bottle comes free delicate feathers and rose petals spill to the floor. That shuts Anna up all over again.

"What is going on in this hold........ "

[doneisdone]

The odd look Anna gets is more for the 'ma'am' than anything else, but it's enough time for Teren to see the feathers and rose petals. She furrows her brow, concentration taking over her hawkish face as she steps away from the wine to crouch and inspect a feather.

"And what're we expected to do with these," she asks no one in particular. Maybe Anders is refurbishing his pauldrons.

[notched]

This is all... very strange and Anna is growing increasingly uncomfortable. She all but closes her eyes to force out:

"Ma'am. I'm sorry for how treated you last time we met."

Lord. If she has to be in this hold with her she needs to get that part over with so they can all move on.

[doneisdone]

Teren looks back at her, confused.

"What?" she asks sharply, and then, as it dawns, "--you were hitting your own self, my girl, no reason to apologize." She thrusts a hand into the crate with the feathers, digging around for literally anything useful.

Distractedly, "but call me ma'am one more time and I'll give you something to apologize for."

[notched]

"It was--"

Unseemly doesn't really do it justice. That she'd gone into a frenzy and teetered on the edge of her own fragile humanity, no. Big. Deal.

"I've nothing else to call you."

[doneisdone]

"Warden will do," Teren replies, still digging, and growing increasingly annoyed. "Whose fucking idea of a joke is this?"
She knocks the lid off the crate with a grunt, then goes to the door to wrench it open. She seems completely oblivious to Anna's continued presence, at least until she comes back in much more quietly, her entire demeanor changed.

"They've taken the ladders," she hisses, taking care not to make any other noises with her feet or otherwise, "we're trapped here."

[notched]

Anna is rarely trapped anywhere. Moving in and out of a ruined city filled with locked doors and crumbling walls, she has gotten rather used to a life of scrabbling and technique. Maybe the old woman isn't quite so able.

"I could go get help."

[doneisdone]

"Help?" Teren asks, briefly shaken from her moment of paranoia, "what--"
If the girl can leave, doesn't that mean they both can? What good would it do anyone to bring someone back here? Teren stares at Anna like she just grew a second head.

"...we'll fucking swim," she decides.