[ open: all arise! ]

[vorbratta]

WHO: you. yes, you there. you're invited
WHAT: Sonia is throwing a big party, because everyone needs an excuse to get good and drunk together right now. And dancing. There is always dancing.
WHEN: Justinian, shortly after the return of the jungle crew
WHERE: The suite at the top of the mage tower
NOTES: ♫ have some party jams ♫

The month in the jungle was a long one, made longer by the total lack of any alcohol to mitigate the experience. Utterly unthinkable. Sonia is addressing a public need by throwing a grand party -- a public service, even. Besides, it's what she does. When was the last time she got to plan a party, anyway? Granted, this is not a Denerim soiree for the young nobility, but the venue doesn't matter. Only the people and the drinks, and Sonia is assuredly rich in both. It is also a fantastic excuse not to think about any of the bad things that have happened since she was last in Kirkwall.

The decoration in the residential suite at the top of the mage tower would be best classified as improvisational -- one of those drapes tacked along the wall for ambience may be a bedsheet -- but it's the spirit of the thing that counts. One makes do with what one has. In one corner are a few tables laden with spirits, some provided by Sonia, others by generous partygoers. There are a few Barra vineyard vintages in the mix, highlights of her personal collection, a testament to the celebration she considers tonight to be. There's a small selection of food nearby, mostly for snacking to go with the drinks, though guests are free to bring whatever they like to share.

And there is, of course, music. Someone here has brought a fiddle or a flute or a bunch of pots masquerading as a drum set. Maybe you've brought your very own a capella choir. Whatever the accompaniment, there's something to dance to. Sonia makes sure there is dancing.

Tonight is not for licking wounds or swapping grisly stories of terror and survival. Tonight is for feeling alive, getting properly and delightfully drunk, and having a good god damn time.

Comments

[vorbratta]

It's a good thing Athessa did, because if Sonia knew that Colin didn't feel like he wasn't welcome at her party, she'd have marched over to his apartment and dragged him out herself. There is no mistaking the look of delight on Sonia's face when she sees him.

"Colin! Oh, I'm so glad you could make it! Please, please, come, let me get you a drink!" Her eyes fall on the doughnuts, going wide with even more delight, and there's even a little gasp. "Oh, these smell heavenly. How lovely of you! Where did you get them? Is there a bakery in Hightown I've been missing out on?"

[keenly]

"Um." Colin scratches the back of his neck self-consciously, though he feels somewhat reassured by the presence of Sonia. "They're mine. I mean, they're everyone's, I just made them."

[vorbratta]

"You made these?" From anyone else it might have seemed overwrought, but Sonia's delight and surprise are unmistakably genuine. She can't cook to save her life, and the idea of making what seem like bakery-quality goods in one's own humble kitchen blows her mind just a tiny bit. It...well, might as well be a little bit magical. "Colin, this is so sweet of you! Please, please --"

She relieves him of the basket and ushers him towards the tables, an arm around his shoulders. Her pleasure at seeing him (and not just the donuts) is plain. "Come, join the party. Let's get you a drink. What's your fancy?"

[keenly]

A smile and a blush at the compliment. He always has to glow when his food is complimented sincerely.

"It wasn't hard," he's mumbling, "I just whipped them up in...um, dry red wine?"

[vorbratta]

Oh, and what a precious glow it is. He really does look so sweet when he smiles. Sonia beams, clearly pleased to see his mood so lifted, and sets herself to selecting a bottle at once.

"Only the truly talented can be so modest," she proclaims. "And if you prefer a dry red, then let me pour you some of this year's Merlot. I think you'll find it pleasant to the taste."

[keenly]

"Thank you." He's starting to realize this is different from standing in a crowd of strangers. He's spent six weeks in close proximity with these people, often in embarrassing ways. They're all celebrating making it out alive. Granted, most of them he's somehow never spoken to, being shy as he is.

"So we just...drink and talk?" Yeah, he doesn't really know how parties work. The ones he's been to, he tended to put in a quick appearance and run away.

[vorbratta]

"Drink, talk, dance, sing." Sonia gestures expansively with an arm to the room at large. "It's a party. You can do whatever you want. Well, you can at my parties."

She gives him an almost furtive grin, a little wink over the rim of her own glass as she takes a sip. She often appears to be a perfectly respectable Fereldan lady, but this is her natural environment. Drinks and merriment, joy and music; it is this benevolent chaos that Sonia thrives on. She gives Colin a thoughtful, curious look, the smile never leaving her face.

"Have you ever wanted to do something that you thought would be quite fun, but you didn't because you were worried what the people around you might think?"

[keenly]

Colin's eyes go wide. He can't think of anything, and rather than internally delve into why that's true, which would open up a whole can of worms, he falls back on self-deprecation.

"You think I'm secretly interesting, but I'm really not."

[vorbratta]

On most men, this sort of self-deprecation would be utterly tiresome. But on Colin, it's sort of adorable. Sonia, looking charmed and entertained, only tosses her hair over one shoulder and smiles, almost smugly.

"Nothing secret about it. I already think you're interesting." Sonia lifts one eyebrow, smiling over her glass. "Should I not?"

[keenly]

That's a good comeback. So good, he's smiling and blushing, like he's caught a bit off-guard but he sort of believes her.

"I don't know," he says. "I'm not too big on thrills. Maybe if I lived a less dangerous life."

[vorbratta]

Sonia's grin only widens. She can't help it; it's so very satisfying making Colin smile. She laughs a little.

"We all live dangerous lives these days, don't we?" It's still uncomfortable to think about, but right now, she can say it with a smile. "Who needs those thrills, anyway? That's not the sort of thing that makes a person interesting."