Project Haven: Kirkwall Outreach [open]

[venenifer]

WHO: Brother Gideon, everyone who signed up, anyone who wants to join without signing up
WHAT: A mobile Chantry service in Lowtown. (FREE FOOD)
WHEN: end of Cloudreach
WHERE: the Lowtown market square
NOTES:

I. READINGS

A small podium has been set up for speakers, who have been given passages from the Canticle of Andraste (keeping it simple) to read aloud to the slowly gathering crowd. They rotate through, starting with Brother Gideon on the first verse, then Wysteria, then Warden Adrasteia, then Seeker Tiffany, followed by any other volunteers who happened to show up at the last minute.

There are a fair number of listeners, but it's also safe to say many are simply here for the food.

II. PANCAKES

When not reading, Tiffany is in charge of making and doling out pancakes, with Maud (and anyone else) assisting her. They have brought down a single brazier that she can use for cooking more, as long as the dough holds out. This is far and away the most popular section of the gathering, and no doubt struggle to keep up with the clamoring hands.

Security are asked to keep a particular eye on them, and to help maintain order.

III. DONATIONS

Lazar will, perhaps, disappointed to find that most donations come in the form of used clothing, toys, and equipment; it's Lowtown, after all, and there isn't a lot of coin to spare.
At least one street urchin, perhaps misunderstanding the purpose of the collection, tries to make off with an item that is, at least in theory, completely available to them. Whether someone decides to do anything about it is their choices.

IV. OTHER

Brother Gideon himself is looking rather on the overwhelmed side, but is keeping it together well enough. Anyone approaching him to ask for direction or delegation is at risk of being snapped at, but this is likely only because he's quite invested in the event running smoothly.

V. AFTER

After the crowd has dispersed and the cleanup is done, Brother Gideon exhaustedly beckons everyone toward one of many hole in the wall dining establishments with the promise of reward in the form of free dinner.
Free for them, at least.

He still doesn't look that enthusiastic, but it's safe to say he never does.

Comments

IV.

[kantikoy]

[ Adrasteia doesn't approach Gideon to ask for direction. She approaches him with a glass of water, however, and the suggestion that maybe he sit down for a second that somehow doesn't manage to leave her mouth.

So. Just the water, then. ]

How do you think it's going?

[venenifer]

[His thanks for the water amounts to a silent nod, but Gideon takes it and drinks, his dark eyes flickering out over the modest crowd.]

As expected.

[At first, it seems like that's all he'll say. But she brought him water, after all-- might as well keep the conversation going.]

How have you found it?

[kantikoy]

Overall pretty good, I think. A few children seemed to think that now was the time to take the items they wished to have from the donations, [ she points out with a shrug, because it's not that big of a deal, ] but I think that Sister Sara, was it? Has a handle on things.

These people know and trust her; it's good that she's here.

[venenifer]

Ah. Yes.

[He follows her gaze over to Sister Sara with an expression that could pass for fond, if one squints.]

Anyone who steals from the good Sister will quickly learn not to.

[okayimin]

iii

She'll let the smaller kids run off with things, but there is a limit. Large hands sliding out from the bustle of the crowd get a whack. The whack gets progressively meaner if she notices familiar hands.

"You can come with me to gather alms in Hightown, if you're so eager," she says primly to whoever last got a bit too handsy with the donations, "Or at least be more clever about it, if you're pinching from the donations." She's pretty sure some of the smaller children are part of the local gangs, but that's just business.

iv

People show up, sick, hurt and pregnant. Occasionally all three at once, which is harrowing, but Sawbones at least is in her element. She's been doing rounds in Kikrwall for the better part of a year now, these people know her. And she is intimately familiar with the practice of making very little stretch to aid too many.

She's also an insufferable busybody. Voulenteers that seem to be flagging or too wound up will find a cup of hot tea shoved into their hands and shoved towards a chair by a tiny menace of a nun. "You need to sit."

[kantikoy]

Adrasteia hovers during Sawbones' inspection of one pregnant woman with suspicious bruising around her throat and face, manages to hold her tongue and keep her hands to herself, though she's itching to be useful, somehow.

Problem is she doesn't know how best to do that. Some of Lowtown recognizes her from when she'd come through helping rebuild houses in the wake of the last winter's snowing with the Chantry sister from Nevarra, but that doesn't exactly make hers a trusted face, just a vaguely familiar one.

When the woman goes on about her business Adrasteia steps forward.

"Do you ever need help, going about your rounds?"

[okayimin]

Sawbones tolerates hovering. To a point. It's for the best that Adrasteia asks a question when she does, even if it receives a snort that's nearly a laugh.

"Usually. And I'm not shy about running my help into the ground." It's a friendly threat more than anything. Sawbones doesn't have time for half measures when it comes to patients. "You got any experience?"

[kantikoy]

Well at least Adrasteia wouldn't be bored, that's for certain.

"With healing?" Adrasteia nods. "Yes, and with people in a family way in poor conditions, though the first is more recent than the latter, for sure."

iii

[fairforce]

"They really aren't very clever. Blatant, if anything."

Tiffany is there for extra muscle, clad in light armor and towering over the children crowding the donations. A smudge of flour on her cheek diminishes some of her mien of intimidation, but that's quite all right, as the Sister seems perfectly capable of managing on her own.

She picks up a little doll with a wooden head and a green kirtle. "Then again, if they're able to get any money for these, I'd say they'd have earned it."

[okayimin]

"I've stitched a few of 'em before, they think that means they've got leeway," she says, making eye contact with a similarly branded dwarf who slides away once they get a lay of the tables contents.

"And I don't reckon it's money some of 'em are after anyhow," she says, settling back, "And if they are, they're clever enough not to get caught." Have there been any tiny pickpockets slipping among the rabble? Who knows.

[fairforce]

"What else would they be after?"

Tiffany watches the kids melt into the crowd, fitting themselves in seamlessly between people. They could be pickpockets. She left anything worth picking behind, realistic about where she'd be spending her day. Her sense of charity is no less for it. You don't blame a child for becoming a thief when their circumstances have pushed them to it.

iii.

[heirring]

One particularly powerful crack to the knuckles elicits a sympathetic 'Ooh' from Wysteria. From where she is posted near the other end of the donation pile, she shoots Sawbones an appreciative sidelong look. Evidently temporarily relieved from her orating duties--Wysteria is, perhaps unsurprisingly given the nature of various announcements she's had cause to make over Riftwatch's crystal network, perfectly competent when it comes to reading passages aloud before a scattered assembly--, she has been directed to assist in collections but has yet to quite perfect the art of chasing off scoundrel children.

"I should not have wanted you as my governess with a hand so fast as that. You would have made a formidable antagonist for a child."

[okayimin]

That gets a snort of laughter from Sawbones, genuine amusement flaring up.

"Only if you weren't being clever." Which considering who it is, she imagines the child Wysteria was exclusively and nightmarishly clever. "Not being clever gets you killed and as a midwife, I can't abide someone mucking up all that work put in dragging them into this world."

iv

[venenifer]

Gideon always looks cross, but he looks especially so when he's strongarmed into having a seat, his mouth flattening into an angry little line as he scowls down at the tea in his hands. But then he sips from it, enduring the irritation because he knows better than to argue with Sawbones.

"You're a natural at this," he observes, surreptitiously wiping his brow. He's been working largely in the background, but the fact she noticed how busy he's been is telling.

[okayimin]

"Been doing it for most of my life, be a blasted waste if I weren't," Sawbones says, with a grim kind of satisfaction. They've done something today. It's not enough, and it never quite will be for places like Kirkwall, but it's something. "This your first time?"

Adrasteia, open to all, will match format

[kantikoy]

→ a. Securitay

[ Adrasteia is not in Warden gear for this; instead she's in just some robes she owns, with her staff tucked up against her spine. When she's not reading she keeps an eye on the food line, gently chastising any soul who cuts in line.

She's small, and an elf, but more people in Lowtown are wary of the staff as to not bother arguing with her. Much.

Feel free to intervene if need be. ]

→ b. Food

Adrasteia orders a seafood dish for their shared meal, and promises it should be good but not too spicy or taste too much of the ocean, if that's a hesitance others have towards sharing food; you don't grow up coastside without gaining an appreciation for seafood, apparently.

"How do you think it went?" She asks the table at large. The children stealing things hadn't been surprising, but she'd managed to (mostly) curtail the behavior after the first few lifted things they wanted from the donations.

→ c. Wildcard

[ Come at me, boos. ]

b.

[radicans]

"I thought it went well," Maud offers from across the table when no one else immediately speaks up, glancing around at the group before smiling at Adrasteia. "Don't you think? It was a good turnout, and seemed fairly orderly, overall? At least from the pancake station. Did you have any trouble with security?"

[kantikoy]

"Not really." The Grey Warden shakes her head. "Some children ran off with a few things from the donations, but I feel that's to be expected, honestly." Adrasteia smiles at Maud and passes a dish from in front of her to whoever is next to her. "I look forward to the next time, I think this could be very good outreach."

[fairforce]

i - readings.
Tiffany has a good reading voice--strong, clear, well-projected. She knows the verse by heart, but habit has her keep the Chant open before her, one hand laid across the page to ground herself.

When she's finished her verse, she takes her seat and listens attentively to the readers that follow her. She'd deliberately sat near to the back. It's the better seat for avoiding observance. Still, even a passing glance in her direction will see her occasionally mouthing along to sections of the other verses.

"For you, song-weaver, once more I will try.
To My children venture, carrying wisdom,
If they but listen, I shall return."

If she catches on that she's been caught, she'll flash a self-conscious smile, and a little shrug, and mouth the word, Habit.

After the reading has concluded, she's free with her compliments and her good wishes, thanking anyone who took part in the reading. "I never get tired of hearing that part of the Chant. Every time I hear it, I think I find something new in it."

ii - pancakes.
Pancakes are Tiffany's specialty. Today is the day she proves it to Kirkwall, and to Riftwatch. She is attentive enough that they do not burn, watching for the first sign of tiny bubbles at the edges so that she can flip them with great expertise. A quick slide of the flipper, a gentle twist--the pancake lifts up and flips over with a satisfying plop and sizzle, perfectly blonde and browned on the cooked side.

The demand is high, and she keeps up with it well. Anyone standing idly by is likely to be pressed into service. "Can you get that plate?" as she gestures with her elbow. "This one is nearly done--and I promised it to that woman over there, can you see that she gets it--"

The longer she cooks, the more fancy Tiffany feels like being. The last dozen pancakes she flips with aplomb, eschewing the flipper so that she can toss them in the air right out of the pan. "Watch," she commands, cheerfully, to anyone standing by. Taking the handle of the pan in two hands, she squares up, takes a breath, and flips the pancake up in the air. It goes above her head, and does a graceful tumble back down, end over end. Tiffany leans back--takes a half step--and move the pan at the last minute to catch the pancake.

Pleased with herself, she gives a little cheer. "That's how it's done!"

V - after.
She's communal, so of course she goes to dinner with everyone else. Anyone who seems reluctant to accompany the group can bet that Tiffany will try to coax them into joining.

"It'll only be fun if we're all there. And it's a free meal. You don't get one of those every day of the week. My pancakes were good, but they weren't that good. Please?"

Of course the tavern serves beer. Of course, Tiffany buys a round for everyone. She's generous of spirit.

wildcard!
(Whatever.)

ii. pancakes!!

[radicans]

"You're very good at that," Maud remarks with a little laugh after Tiffany lands yet another look-ma-no-spatula flip. She's been a constant presence at the pancake station, helpful, cheerful through the occasional press of orders, not too concerned about getting the occasional spot of batter on her cuffs, and reasonably adept when armed with appropriate tools, but with neither Tiffany's confidence nor her flair.

"Is there much call for pancakes among the Seekers?"

[fairforce]

"Thank you." Tiffany flashes Maud a grin as she places the pan steadily back in place on the brazier. There has to be a balance. It can't all be aerial flips. The pancakes need time to cook.

"You'd be surprised how often Seekers eat pancakes. They're inexpensive, easy and quick to make, and you can make a lot of them with very little. Good energy, too, for when you're going to be training all day. And yet I'm not tired of eating them. But you're not so bad yourself. You'd have fit in at the keep just fine."

i. ii. & wildcardish;

[kantikoy]

When the reading is done and there's a small lull in serving, Adrasteia slips in next to Tiffany and smiles at the Seeker.

"You were amazing, at the reading." Just saying. Adrasteia herself did alright, she figures; her voice was clear, at the very least, and she didn't have to go back and start over. "Do you think we'll run out of batter before the day is out?"

[fairforce]

"Definitely we will," Tiffany says, as she looks over their dwindling supply. "But that's good. Everyone got enough to eat, and then some. If we had batter left over, we'd not be doing our job. Which is a little more than just feeding pancakes to the hungry masses, yes, but still."

She gives the Warden Adrasteia a quick smile before she turns her attention back to the pancake on the pan. Quickly, she shuffles the flipper underneath it and leans in to peek at the bottom. It's still a little pale, so Tiffany lets it fall back to the pan.

"And thank you, also, for the compliment. I've had a lot of practice at it. You did very well yourself. It was such a pleasure to listen to you that I almost missed my cue to go up and start my verse."

i.

[heirring]

As the miscellaneous gathered assembly makes quick work to get their hands on whatever assorted pancakes and donations are remaining and then get the heck out of dodge in the aftermath of the reading, Wysteria cheerfully turns the full brunt of her attention to the admirable Lady Seeker in their presence. She goes so far as to clasp Tiffany's hand in both of hers, lest the woman doubt the sincerity of her compliment:

"And you read it so beautifully. Truly, it is such a shame there is no proper Chantry in Kirkwall any longer. Do you know that the first thing I did when I arrived was demand that the Mister Rutyer--he was not the Ambassador then--take me to see where it had stood. We stood on the gate surrounding it--for the area was still closed to the foot traffic then--and peered in. I believe he was quite bored with it, but I have always found everything about the southern religion so very fascinating."

[fairforce]

The southern religion. That does get a little smile out of Tiffany. She doesn't pull away from Wysteria's clasped hands, untroubled by the familiarity and sincerity of the gesture.

"Thank you, really. That's very kind of you. I have to say, you must be a very convincing person, to have coaxed the Ambassador to accompany you to a Chantry, even a defunct one. I do get the sense that would be outside his interest. But you're being modest," she chides, kindly. "You read your verse admirably. You have a very fine voice for reading, and excellent projection--really, you should count oration among your skills, if you don't already."