[ 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

i

[thereneverwas]

Ah! My mistake.

[It's hard to miss Barrow, as the man takes up a lot of space wherever he is, but he at least hadn't intended to stumble into someone else's path. He glances at the wine bottle and the table, puts the pieces together, and winks amusedly at Dick.]

Having a good time?

[nonvenomous]

[ Caught off guard by the Wall of Man he meets on the pivot, Richard makes that half-step a full step taken back, and is still unable to find a path around quickly enough to avoid conversation. So trapped, he pulls back into himself at the wink, forced to brace through it into eye contact that’s more about wary assessment than it is friendly confidence.

Barrow might have seen him in the jungle, but it is immediately clear that he recognizes Barrow from more contemporary drama. ]

One would think so, [ he says.

Nailed it. ]

I’m glad to see there doesn’t appear to have been any lasting damage.

[thereneverwas]

[Equally caught off-guard by the comment, Barrow pauses, his smile frozen on his face in a gradually-developing look of confusion.]

I'm sorry?

[nonvenomous]

From your encounter at the dock.

[ While he’s cornered into standing still anyway, Richard goes ahead and pours himself that glass. ]

[thereneverwas]

[It takes Barrow a moment to realize what the man means, in which he opens and closes his mouth several times, the amusement slowly draining from his face.]

Ah.

[He pauses to refill his own tankard matter-of-factly.]

Yes. Thank you for noticing.

[nonvenomous]

You’re most welcome.

[ Shady, but like, in a passably supportive kind of way? Dick watches Barrow closely as he sips his wine. Somehow, the fact that he is dead ass holding a full bottle in his other hand doesn’t detract from his poise. ]

We’ve all been there, [ he says. ] It’s human nature.

[thereneverwas]

[Barrow isn't going to comment on it if Dick doesn't. They're at a party, and he's no snitch.]

Ah-huh. Well.

[It's while he's glancing around to find literally Anything else to talk about that Barrow's eyes land on Fitcher, standing a ways off, looking expectance. Something clicks in his mind, and though he doesn't comment, his expression when his gaze returns to Dick has taken a knowing, exasperated quality.]


Enjoy your wine.

[nonvenomous]

[ Richard traces Barrow’s search head on from the front until he settles on something or someone, at which point Dick turns to follow his gaze. With both of them fixed briefly on Fitcher, Richard meets the larger man’s exasperation back at a skeptical slant. ]

Please.

[ Derisive behind the shadow of half a smile at Barrow’s expense, he tips his glass in silent I will as he steps away to rejoin her. ]

[thereneverwas]