faderift | Truth or Dare: The Imperial Court

Truth or Dare: The Imperial Court

WHO: Select Orlesian and Fereldan Nobility and the Inquisition
WHAT: Josephine and Vivienne have orchestrated a good-will soiree in response to this dastardly rumor.
WHEN: Drakonis 15, Evening
WHERE: Skyhold Great Hall
NOTES:
- A list of nobles in attendance can be found here. The list was provided by the mods but there will be no npc support for them. Play away.
- A secondary outside party is being held in the valley in the tent town for anyone who couldn't/wouldn't attend and/or behave in the fancy pansty party.
- The goal of the evening is to clear up a spurious rumor about Cassandra and Leliana, with secondary goals of establishing the Inquisition as a respectable presence in Thedas (and fish for more money). Any major disruptions that would Game Over the court approval should probably be brought to the advisors and/or mods.

To say that Josphine has far outdone herself with this little soiree would be the understatement of the year. The Lady Ambassador has pulled out all the stops in providing a festive and yet elegant stage for this political intervention. Because sometimes gossip can be more deadly than a sword.

The Great Hall of Skyhold has been converted into a grand receiving hall, glittering with hundreds of lights around the room, in addition to the repairs accomplished to the original chandeliers. Of course, there has been artful placement arranged so there are a few shadowy corners for rendezvous of the more suggestive nature. Just in case. The majority of the floor has been cleared for dancing, and a fine troupe of musicians have been installed for the bulk of the evening's entertainments. Some members of the Inquisition have plans to entice attendees with their own artistic performances in addition to the group of mages performing illusory tricks to oohs and aahs.

For those who feel their energy flagging, there are chairs set against the walls, with a few tables interspersed between. Servers hired for the evening circulate the crowds with wine, fine Orlesian and Nevarran reds as well as crisp whites from Antiva. Refreshments are set out on buffet tables, tasteful and extravagant nibbles, including imported cheeses, spicy saucisson, dried fruits and nuts, and the highly sought after deep mushroom and anise petits fours that are all the rage in Orlais.

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Relieved when he drops the formality, Korrin laughs with him claps his shoulder in turn. "Huh, maybe I should've taken that route instead of standing for hours while snooty Orlesian tailors in the Undercroft tutted over my gall in being born taller and wider than them. And I'm having a good time scandalizing people with my mere presence...well, most of them."

She gestures to Lady Odette subtly when the noblewoman's attention is distracted. "Watch out for that one. She's keen on touching horns and is likely to only get worse the more wine she has in her. And there's an old Comtesse with the most long, boring stories ever. You have no idea how hard it was to behave myself and not counter with one her audience might actually find interesting."

"Well, snooty nightmare aside, it sure worked out great. The blue is very nice on you, kadan." Taas voice is warm and soft as he calls her that, and he's still smiling happily. Something about this was just making him so elated and excited, even if it definitely wasn't the soiree thing itself.

Honestly, he hadn't been able to stop smiling since Pel asked him to take Cyril.

At the other qunari's warning, he shakes his head a little. "Oh, how horrible that I'm deaf and cannot hear their requests, right?" He winks at her.

Aw, Taas. Korrin's smile softens at the compliment, glad for her last-minute decision. "Thank you, Taas. And you know, I should have tried that! I went with pretending to understand only Qunlat instead, but that only prompted her to try and learn from me. Some people can't take a hint."

If only this was the Herald's Rest, where she could slouch as she pleases and tell people to fuck off if they annoy her. Alas, the evening is still very young. Her smiles lingers, though, as she notes his own smile. "You're in high spirits. I didn't think you'd have much tolerance for all this, either."

He rolls his eyes a bit at that and subconsciously rubs his own horns. Taas might like it when people touched them in bed of with affection, but definitely not as a novel and exotic experience for a rude noble.

"In all honestly this isn't my thing at all, but Pel came to ask me to take Cyril, and I wanted to make him happy." It's easy to admit that. Making someone happy wasn't strange... it was just the feelings behind it that were. He was proud to escort Cyril to this, and his heart was making little jumps inside him every time the elf smiled.

"What about you? How did you get roped into this? Or did you want to go?"

"Good for you, Taas." Korrin smiles, thinking he could do a lot worse in the date department. Cyril has both looks and charm in spades, and she'd remember to check the dance floor for them both.

His questions provoke a soft amused snort out of her, and she shakes her head. "This is normally the sort of thing I'd flee from, not towards. But Vivienne insisted on the members of the mage council being in attendance. Plus, Araceli was going and I wouldn't be so rude as to deny her a dance...or as many as she'd like."

There would most likely not be dancing in this setting, considering he didn't want to upset Josephine by making a scene of clumsiness and shocking everyone. Maybe later, once the thing settles down and the outside party is in full swing... far away from nobles.

"Ah, I understand! I'm sure she's happy you're here, looking this good." Taas smiles slightly, giving her a little wink. "She's a really good person. We had a long talk the other day, and she's impressed me a lot." He very much approves, okay.

"I'll look forward to seeing you two dance."

Hearing Taas speak about Araceli in such glowing terms brings a bright smile of pleasure to Korrin's face. "I'm glad you two hit it off, Taas. I was hoping you might, at least partly to break this pattern I have of people important to me disliking each other." Go ask Kas and Araceli how they first got along, that was...interesting. And there are other examples. Korrin can't help it if she gets along with very different people.

"And there will definitely be dancing. I didn't get dressed up just to stand around. It'll be fun to see how many nobles we can scandalize at once. Who knew 'savages' like us could manage such things, right?" And suddenly mindful of how Taas' lack of hearing would affect him on the dance floor, Korrin looks wistful. She can't exactly come up with the same solution as First Day, not until they leave for the real party. "If we can, I still plan to make an appearance in the valley. If you're going, too, expect another dance there."

"I usually get along with everybody unless they're outright assholes, so no worries there." Unless he was in that blood thrall again, but nobody should be introducing him to people in that situation anyway.

He chuckles at the mention of dancing, giving her a clap on the shoulder. "I appreciate that, Korrin. It was fun last time, no matter how uncoordinated on my part." Fun had been the main purpose of that kind of dancing rather than looking good.

That gets a grin out of her, thinking fondly back to that grand party by the bonfires. "That's the point, isn't it? Fun. It doesn't have to be perfect, though I definitely wasn't complaining. Not to mention it's nice to be the one dipped for a change."

Her thoughts straying to Araceli and that impressive amount of cleavage this evening, Korrin can admit that having being so much taller does have its advantages sometimes. And that earlier exchange prompts her to give him a light shove. "I also heard you taught her a certain phrase without telling her what it means. You're lucky she did that while I wasn't drinking anything."

"Fun isn't really on the topic of everyone this evening, with the way some of these nobles are staring. I'll save the fun in a place where people smile and enjoy seeing big horned people stumble over their feet." There's a little wink at that - and then she shoves him and Taas is laughing. It's pretty loud since he can't quite measure his own voice, but it's full of joy.

"She said it? Hah!" The warrior had hoped the girl would let that slip out to Korrin one day, and it makes him beam when it's revealed she did. "Did it heat up the situation any?"

Sexiness or laughter. Both were equally great.

"The situation was already pretty heated, since she...well, she's in this very low-cut dress and when she emphasizes her chest like that, it's -ahem- distracting." And if they weren't in public or needing to remain that way, Korrin would have swept her up then and there. But alas....

Anyway. She clears her throat and tries to glare at him, but fails to keep those twitching lips in check. "It's definitely a moment I'll never forget, though you might have a tiny, feisty woman looking to scold you now. No, correction, you will. But I think you knew that was going to happen anyway."

How can he not smile at that? It was so nice to hear Korrin enjoying herself with Araceli, even if there had been confusing uses of qunlat in there. Her tries to glare at him makes the big warrior wink back at her.

"Glad I could entertain," he starts, and then Taas rubs his face slightly. "...and yeah, I'm pretty much prepared to be verbally kicked in the nuts by a small almost-Antivan lady for this, but it was definitely worth it."

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Truth or Dare: The Imperial Court

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why did gmail eat this tag =/

It's a conspiracy!

gasp!

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