faderift | Hot or Not

[ are the straights ok? ]

Not sure if that sounds passionate or miserable.

Do you wanna refill the bucket this time or shall I? Reckon we can alternate.

[(is, for the record, more or less the question Bastien had come to when they had this conversation as well.)]

Let us play for it.

[Setting aside her scrub bush, Wysteria flattens her hand and makes preparations for that well known Thedas tradition of stone, parchment, shears.]

And I believe it is both. Which are cornerstones of any relationship, I think, and why so much romantic fiction features great tragedy. It is a metaphor for the sort of natural misunderstandings that arise in the course of any union.

If you say so...

[ One, two, three, shoot— Athessa lands on stone, Wysteria shears, so Athessa taps her fist against the other woman's fingers. ]

I'll get the next one.

Damn.

[With a clucking tongue of dismay, Wysteria bends to fetch the rope handle of the bucket.]

All right, but when I return we resume with Colin. It is unbelieveable to me that we have already managed to stray from the alphabetical order.

Yeah, yeah. Alphabetical.

[ Athessa waves her off. Get outta here, nerd. ]

[ Wysteria is saved the effort by the arrival of Maud, already lugging another rather large bucket of clean soapy water, which has clearly been slopping over the edge on her walk judging by the wet patches on dark grey skirts. ]

Hello, [ she greets them both with a quick smile, more uncertain for the unfamiliar Athessa but no less friendly. ] I was told there's a great deal of scrubbing to be done.

[ If Athessa notes the uncertainty, she doesn't show it, her own grin friendly and a little lopsided. ]

Now that's what I call impeccable timing! Yes, there's plenty of scrubbing to do and until now, too few hands to do it. Some of the sigils look like they might've been painted on with blood, but that's probably fine so long as you don't get any in your mouth.

[Wysteria happily abandons any effort to fetch up the bucket in favor of—]

Maud! What a blessing you are! Athessa—have the two of you met? Maud is a most talented alchemist— We could use a third opinion in our assessments. What is your opinion of Colin? The infirmary mage.

We haven't. It's a pleasure to meet you, Athessa. Though I-- [ her protest about Wysteria's thus-far-unfounded compliment is cut off by the question, and her head tilts as she repurposes the aborted sentence ] can't say that I'm acquainted with him, except in passing here while coordinating supplies for one of the infirmaries. What sort of assessment?

[ She waves, nice to meetcha and moves on to answer: ]

Aesthetics, mostly. Attractiveness, romantic viability, you know. Silly stuff. Oh, but with added points for charm, of course.

Oh, I see. [ Maud hefts the bucket over nearer to the wall, equidistant between the areas they seem to've claimed. ] And you are in disagreement about him, that you require a third opinion?

Oh no, no disagreement whatsoever. But a third opinion may serve as a tiebreaker in case there is no consensus between the two of us.

Now [with an air of clearing the board for something very official], attractiveness - he has a fine enough face and figure. Very pleasant eyes. But as for romantic viability? That is another matter entirely.

Don't forget, he has great hair, too.

[ And she thinks of him like a brother, which doesn't make this weird at all. ]

He's...reserved. Shy. But compassionate.

[ Speaking of reserved, Maud clearly hesitates before chiming in. ]

He seemed dedicated to his work, in the little I saw of him.

[Her hum is very skeptical indeed.]

I really couldn't say one way or another. He seems to have very little time for Rifters. So there, already having a third opinion proves itself useful.

I don't think it's that he doesn't have time for Rifters, specifically, just...time for people in general. I have to strong-arm him out of his apartment most of the time.

[ Maud's hum is not quite as disapproving as Wysteria's, but a bit uncertain. ]

I imagine that sort of thing costs him charm points?

Most assuredly. It is far too difficult to romance a man who refuses to leave his apartments. I certainly don't have the patience for it.

[Wysteria dunks her brush into the water, flicks the excess free with a now expert turn of the wrist, and then resumes scrubbing the definitely blood sigil on one of the walls.]

[ Athessa shrugs, fetching up her own brush with similar aplomb. ]

That's fair. I'm not romancing him, so it doesn't bother me too much.

[ Maud rolls up her sleeves and collects the third brush, nose wrinkling briefly as she begins to scrub and sees that they were not joking about it being blood on the wall. ]

That seems to have settled that question, then.

So it has. Which brings us [she says, leaning hard on the bristles of her brush to work out a particularly dark stain] to Enchanter Pavus. If I recall correctly, his first name is Dorian.

[Maud, you're really in it now.]

Oh, he's so handsome.

[ scrub scrub ]

[ Maud's head turns to observe the two of them sidelong both literally and in spirit. ]

Is this a list?

[Wysteria's staccato beat of scrub-scrub-scrub doesn't waiver. They don't yet know eachother quite well enough for her to recognize that look in just the tone of her voice.

(Don't worry, Maud; they'll get there.)]

A comprehensive one, yes. And I would agree with you, Athessa, but I cannot take the man seriously with that particular arrangement of facial hair. He should consider doing away with it.

[ Athessa scoffs, mildly incredulous. ]

Wh- But it's practically the same mustache as that Chevalier has!

[ Make up your mind, Wysteria! Is it a good mustache or isn't it? ]

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