faderift | [ open: all arise! ]

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Richard registers the cup being tipped out onto the floor while the spill is in progress, and fixes on it at a wary remove. His jaw is slack, left open on the cusp of an unfinished thought, his hand paused where it’d been in the process of reaching deft behind his lapel for the block of his crystal. In the absence of any context, it looks like it could just be judgment for Ellis making a mess.

Slowly, he leans back again, and kicks up his boots one after the other to cross them over the adjacent chair. What were they talking about? ]

Do they welcome Rifters into their ranks?

[ He doubts it.

But they don’t have to call Teren right now. He drops his crystal (thonk) onto the table, and tries to sober himself with a deep drink of water instead. ]

[ Ellis almost asks what before Richard presses on to more complicated territory than whether or not he's having an outsized reaction to Ellis emptying a bit of liquor onto the floor.

Whether Richard is interested or not, Ellis gives it due consideration. Would they? He doubts a Rifter would be turned away. Ellis would have given a Rifter the rite, though he's hardly equipped for it now. ]

I don't know, but I can't imagine they wouldn't.

[ The Wardens are almost as mismatched an assortment of an organization as Riftwatch, now that Ellis considers it. His fingers tap the wrist of his right hand, remembering. ]

Our enemy outnumbers us, thousands upon thousands. If a Rifter wanted to serve...

[ A shrug. His hand settles on the table. ]

But I do not make those decisions. Maybe it is being debated in the Anderfels at this moment.

[ Ha. ]

Surely the risk involved in inducting, training and outfitting an outsider who might disappear inexplicably from the battlefield at any time would deter them from trying.

[ Dick scuffs water out of his beard with his sleeve, sets the cup aside, and leans back far enough to dip a casual look under the table. Just checking. ]

But that sounds like a ‘them’ problem. [ If Ellis doesn’t make those decisions.

Back to eye level, Richard reaches up to unfasten his collar, dumb in the fingertips. But he gets it done, loosening up a little more room for him to sigh in. The trace flicker of a tiny tongue follows his thumb out of the mix, the owner camouflaged around the back of his neck, or coiled in some unseen pocket. ]

So you’ve recruited myself and who else?

[ The reappearance of the snake goes unremarked upon, for the moment. The implication of Richard's question takes precedence. Ellis' expression is bright with some kind of amusement, even if he doesn't understand exactly what Richard is trying to get at. ]

Are you expecting to meet them?

[ Which leads to the slightly grim question of how many are still alive.

Ellis certainly doesn't know. He can only assume much has happened since he's been avoiding all contact with the world. Who knows how many of the Wardens he'd known who survived the ritual were still in the Anderfels, or in Orlais? They could very easily have died some other way. Wardens aren't known for their long lives, and the darkspawn hadn't ceased to be a threat just because of the state of the world. ]

Just curious about who I’ll be working with.

[ The snake is gone as swiftly as she’d appeared, a forked tongue, a glitter of dark scales against pale skin, and a shift under his jacket. Richard laces his hands together over his middle, thoroughly settled in.

His eyes are still more keen than they have a right to be, considering the state of him. ]

I’ll find my way back to my quarters eventually. You don’t have to stay here.

Have you considered I enjoy your company?

[ Easy things to say to a drunk snake. ]

[ The thought hadn’t crossed his mind. There is a distinct pause accordingly, before he finds traction and falls back into a more critical challenge. ]

Do you find that you’re highly motivated to act on what you want or enjoy personally?

When I can afford to, aye.

[ Which could mean any number of things, really. It's hedging around no; the activities Riftwatch gets up to are often a singular exception. ]

It is a luxury, isn’t it?

[ Ankles crossed, he rocks one boot restlessly over the other, keeping loose time with the music, distant as it is. ]

Albeit one most free humans can afford.

Most. [ Ellis agrees, though it seems Riftwatch has enough breathing room for celebration and levity. Even the Wardens—

But no. Ellis doesn't think of the lighter moments, the shared conversation and song around campfires or in the wake of a scuffle. It has been some time since he could draw on those memories without feeling the full weight of his decisions bowing his shoulders. ]

Were you ever one for parties?

[ or is it just Riftwatch, Ellis, etc ]

Most of the celebrations I attended were compulsory.

[ Ellis has taken his wine bottle, and his wine cup, and his path to retrieving replacements. Richard calculates, and decides willfully against reaching for the snuffbox sharing a pocket with his snake. He inclines his head instead, studying.

Wbu? ]

[ Seemingly unbothered or willfully ignoring the scrutiny— ]

Is this one compulsory?

Edited (words??? IDK) 2020-08-11 00:42 (UTC)

Richard shakes his head ‘no.’ He doesn’t really have to think about it, stifling a yawn into a deep breath, along with his scrutiny. He looks away rather than press the issue, back to the band.

[ open: all arise! ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

shorter richard: https://i.ibb.co/9ryRJwX/e90057187924094ab5c9d127a9ed073b.png

correct

no subject

no subject