[ 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

[sulahnan]

[ In the middle of trying to figure out what that means, the music changes and Athessa offers Sidony her hands, an invitation to a dance that the latter woman is more familiar with. ]

[indissection]

[ Oh, this is much better - Sidony steps out with a smile, offering a curtsey before she takes Athessa's hands. ]

Would you like to lead?

[sulahnan]

I don't think I know this one well enough for that.

[indissection]

Then, if you would allow me?

[sulahnan]

By all means, Princess.

[indissection]

Princess? [ She laughs softly. ] If you say so, my dear. [ And she does, pulling Athessa with her and putting their hands in position. ]

[sulahnan]

I do indeed say so. [ Athessa grins and follows Sidony's lead. Not being a bad dancer or cursed with two wrong feet, she's able to pick up the structured forms pretty quickly and easily. It's just the retaining of that info that never works out.

Also? What a silly pair these two make. Sidony in her finery and Athessa in the same drab streetclothes she wears everywhere. ] Should I call you Queen instead?

[indissection]

[ Sidony, of course, seems blessed with grace - grace that comes with years of being trained to dance properly to attract a proper husband. Clearly it hasn't worked in her family's favour, considering that she's all tangled up with Byerly.

Turning Athessa, she grins. ] I wouldn't protest entirely.

[sulahnan]

And what should you be the Queen of?

[indissection]

Oh, everything, of course. [ She beams. ] But I would settle for surgery, for now.

[sulahnan]

[ Athessa's expression takes on one of muted wonder and admiration. ]

I wish I had your ambition.

[indissection]

I cannot possibly imagine what you mean.

[ It doesn't feel like ambition to her; it's simply what she wants to do to sour her family and get vengeance in whatever ways she can. ]

[sulahnan]

You could be just a surgeon, but you wanna be the best surgeon, the most beautiful. You want to be the queen of everything and surgery is just the beginning.

[ Athessa knows the feeling of needing vengeance, but to excel out of spite is less available to her. ]

And you'll succeed, I bet.

[indissection]

Of course I will. I don't have a choice.

[ Sidony purses her lips, leaning a little closer. She looks a touch sourer now, but the fact that she's even talking about this... It shows that she clearly does trust Athessa. She wonders if her partner knows. ]

All I wished for when I was younger was to become a Mortalitasi. Knowing that I would never be able to achieve that... Well. I must prove myself better than them in every way, shape and form.

[sulahnan]

[ Athessa likes this determined, kinda scary side of Sidony. The demure princess is easy to flirt with, dance with, tease, but this vengeful woman demands respect by simply existing. ]

You already are.

[indissection]

[ It startles her again, to hear something simple and powerful said so easily, and she has to force that catty confidence that she has always used to protect herself. ]

Kind of you to say, darling.