faderift | Open: Party Preparations

WHO: Josephine, Vivienne, OPEN
WHAT: Preparing the Inquisition for the Soiree
WHEN: 15 Guardian to 14 Drakonis (about a month's span before the event)
WHERE: Skyhold, varies
NOTES: * Josephine is the hostess of the shindig. Matters regarding invitations, guest lists, admittance, entertainment, food, or general complaints/suggestions should be directed to her.
* Vivienne has personally invited three tailors from Val Royeaux to assist with clothes making for the attendees. She is available to assist with design selections and/or advice on how to behave.
* YOU are open and invited to grab your nearest and dearest CR to complain about the party, ask for a date to he event, complain you have nothing to wear.
* Belinda Darrow has donated from her own private purse to the cost of clothing which people could otherwise not afford.

The Orlesian tailors arrived in great state, bringing with them a cadre of servants, workers, and snotty attitudes. They hate everything. It is cold in Skyhold. It is damp. Everything smells of wet dog. The working conditions are abysmal. The food is criminal. There's not a damned thing they don't complain about, except for the piles of coin they stand to make from this soiree. Yes, they are more than content to build a fortune with exclusive work that will be seen by some of the aristocracy's finest.

Harritt apparently doesn't much like them either. They've taken over his Undercroft with their fabrics and threads, designs and opinions. Oh they have opinions. He stays to one corner, attending his work, and grumbling under his breath about the poncy cheesesniffers.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sina has never done anything more exciting with her hair than put it back, but tonight it's being pinned up around her head with little flowers, the colors of which complement her new dress. She expressed some dismay at how the shard blazes through the fabric, but little can be done to help that, and she's so determined to be useful that she has chosen not to let it worry her.

There's a small looking glass in their tent, lent from one of the elven servants, and she simply can't stop looking at herself in it. There's color on her face, and it transforms her in a way she isn't sure about.
She's still mesmerized by the bizarreness of her reflection when Nari speaks, and she turns to smile at her. "Me, vhenan? Why?"

Sina's smile is always sweet, but with the gown, and the flowers, the color in her cheeks from both anticipation and the bit of rouge, tonight it's more than sweet. It's lovely--and Nahariel can't help but smile back, moving to rest her chin on the younger woman's shoulder, peering into the glass alongside her.

Looking at the two familiar faces smiling back, she understood why one might want a mirror.

"Because," she said, amused at watching her own lips move, "you got injured very badly, and the first thing you do when you feel well enough to stand is dive into shem politics. Not because you want to, but because you feel you need to, even though no-one would have begrudged you sitting out. Even in the hardest times, you think of how you can help." Nari leaned her head in to nudge her clansister's, grinned to see the slight upward swell of Sina's cheek as she did so. "It's very... First-like of you."

"It makes me proud to be part of your Clan. As much as I try to take care of you, you take care of all of us."

Sina grinned back when Nari nudged her, affectionately leaning her head against her clansister's as she watched her in the mirror.
"It's what Thalia would do," she mused, "...once she got over all the shem'len in Skyhold." A small amused and slightly anxious smirk followed-- Thalia would likely not approve of a lot of the connections she'd made or the things she was doing. But, what was done was done.

"Do you think she'd be able to get over all the shem'len in Skyhold?" Nari chuckled. "They're absolutely everywhere. And could you imagine her wearing a shem dress and making nice with nobles?"

The hunter made a stern face in the mirror, raised her nose slightly so she could look down its bridge. After a moment, she broke it with a crooked smile.

"I respect Keeper Thalia. Deeply. She kept us safe. Keeps us safe. But she also..." the smile faded from Nari's eyes, her chin resting a little heavier on Sina's shoulder. "If we need to be diplomatic with shem'len, she wouldn't be the right choice. Neither would I." But Sina? Sina made friends.

Sina smiled at Nari's impression, but a bit uneasily; it wasn't that it wasn't funny, but having worked so closely with the Keeper her whole life, and having that look leveled at her more than once (not to mention the likelihood of it happening again on their return), it mostly reminded her of what she wasn't supposed to be doing.

Like... all of this. She dropped her gaze, but Nari's words were reassuring. "Who could have known we'd ever need to," she observed, smiling helplessly. Who could have known she'd be injured in such an unfathomable way and be forced to go to shem'len for help. If it weren't for her, Clan Dahlasanor would still be off the world's radar.

"Nobody."

After all, how was one to prepare for something like the Breach? Something so far outside your realm of experience? As far as she knew, nothing like it had ever happened before. It would be like preparing in case your halla herd suddenly turned into sculptures of Qunari. More difficult than that, because she knew what sculptures were, and she'd at least heard of Qunari. This, though? Nahariel shook her head.

"And don't let yourself think our current residence at Skyhold, or that shem are hearing the name Dahlasanor again is your fault." She smiled crookedly. "Maybe it's about time the outside world knew that we're still standing."

"Maybe," Sina conceded, mirroring Nari's smile even if she didn't completely feel it herself. "If nothing else, we've made some close ties with Clan Ashara. I've written to Keeper Thalia on the subject, but haven't yet heard back." Mail could take weeks to arrive, and if something happened to the bird, then... well, it never would.
"I should ask Beleth to write to their Keeper as well. No sense in our clans remaining strangers, when we've gotten so close here."

Thinking of the Asharas visiting their clan--it was quite an image, and brought another grin--then a laugh. "I bet Gavin and Isen would get into worse contests than he and I ever did. We're definitely going to need a bigger camp."

After a bit, the chuckles faded to just a warm look. "It pains me to say so, but maybe shem'len do know what they're doing sometimes. You look lovely, da'halla. Really. Do you need help with the lacings?"

Sina looked at Nari a bit confusedly when she laughed, but met her smile. "Oh no," she breathed, "they must be kept apart."

She couldn't help but blush appreciatively when her clansister complimented her; it wasn't that she'd never felt lovely before, but she'd never thought to go out of her way to be so. "Serannas," she said gently, and angled herself so that Nari could reach the lacings. "You do too. You look like royalty."

"I had better, for all the time they made me stand," she said. Despite the wry tone, her smile was a genuine one, a bit of color in her cheeks at the thought of looking nice. She didn't think much about how she looked, but the deep jewel-toned green of the fabric, and the way it moved around her was... good. The hunter shook her head bemusedly, and set deftly to the task of lacing Sina's gown.

Nari'd seen the fashions--they all seemed to be laced so tightly. Given how Sina's breathing was, she fretted for the distance of two fabric loops before realizing how thoughtful Vivienne had been in her gift. The gown would take an easy lacing well, had most likely been custom made to. It would be flattering without grasp or squeeze, and the light hand she took to the task seemed to be what was intended. She resolved to be less abrasive to the Knight-Enchanter in the future.

Finishing at Sina's lower back, she twisted the laces into a trailing bow, and nodded.

"Does that feel all right?"

Acknowledging the quip with a small giggle, Sina tried to sit up straighter so Nari could lace the garment properly. She'd worn plenty of things that tied on the sides-- it was a staple of Dalish culture-- but having something tie in the back seemed so impractical. Was it crafted with the purpose of having someone do it for you? She would never understand most humans, let alone Orlesians.

"It's fine," she said, angling her head back to look at Nari, "comfortable, even. Who would have thought?"

Open: Party Preparations

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