Dimebag for your thoughts?

[kremdelacreme]

WHO: Krem and the various Ashara nerds
WHAT: Stopping them all from slapfighting using *ahem* herbal remedies.
WHEN: Harvestmere 23
WHERE: The Herald's Rest, second floor
NOTES: Drugs? Smoking of Thedosian shisha, at least.

A notice had been posted, beneath Beleth's: a small stock of herb had been offered, and a location set for the little clan to gather. There was only hope that nothing would be set on fire or thrown over a banister.

Krem had taken it upon himself to pester the ladies in the kitchens, begging various baked goods off of them with the promise of reimbursing them, setting up a new supplier for their basic needs such as flour, sugar, starches and wheat. He'd been presented with a list on top of the basket he'd been handed, and now he was reclining at a table with it under his chair, a long, carved horn pipe on the table in front of him. He was picking some dirt out of his nails with the end of his knife, listening for the sound of bickering elves coming up the stairs.

Comments

[kremdelacreme]

"Spent a lot of time around elves even when I was little," he explains, gesturing to the assorted seats, then taking a moment to pull over another, just in case someone else was due to arrive that hadn't yet.

With most of them seemingly settling down and getting comfortable, or at least less on-edge, Krem retakes his seat and goes to light the stub of candle resting in its dish on the table. The pipe is packed, and he holds the metal bowl of it over the flame until the herb inside starts to smoke, taking a pull of the smoke for himself before passing it on to whoever wanted it next.

"Glad you could all take a minute to sit. Not much time for it lately I know," he says, voice just a little huskier for the smoke.

[dalishious]

It doesn't even matter who Krem passes it to first--Merrick swipes it from his hand and leans back in his chair, putting his feet up in the table. It's his own lack of self-preservation that causes him to take the smoke in deep, identifying what it is so he feels more comfortable handing it to one of the others.

It'll be fine; Cyril and Pel won't smoke, so they'll be on the alert if something happens. He'll be watching the others, too, to make sure they don't have too much. He doubts Ellana or Beleth have even touched something like this before.

He passes it over Cyril to the next person. "Slowly," he advises. "This isn't just plain elfroot."

[slipshot]

From the opposite end of their little circle, Gavin watches Merrick try out the offered pipe, leaning over so that he can murmur to Krem from behind him.

"That was like magic," he said, referring to the way that Beleth seemed to instantly calm down as soon as Krem spoke to her. "Can I keep you?"

[arlathvhen]

Beleth raises a suspicious eyebrow at Gavin's murmuring, but focuses on reaching over to take the pipe. She'd been watching Merrick carefully, made sure she could do this like he had done. Going slowly and carefully wasn't impressive, and Krem was right there watching, but it would be idiotic to question Merrick on this. He knew far more than she did on this subject, and she doubted that it'd be more impressive to anyone if she managed to take too much and keel over. It'd probably be some kind of poetic justice, though. Earn a few laughs at her funeral.

She obediently takes a slow draw from the pipe, head jerking back a little as it hits her. She'd believed Merrick before, but now she really believed him. This was definitely not like anything she had before.

"It's nice. Thank you." Is about all she can mutter, before holding it out to the next person along. "But Merrick's right."

[mythalenaste]

"We ought to keep him," Pel agrees with Gavin. "He's a decent man."

She's found some delightful fruit tart--apricot, or something like it--and is eating it daintily to avoid scattering crumbs.

[serannas]

Ellana pays the pipe little mind since she doesn't want to take a drag, and instead focuses on the very interesting human in their midst.

"Where are you from, that you knew so many elves?" she asks, thinking maybe he was from a part of a city near an alienage.

[kremdelacreme]

He'd figured that question would come sooner or later, and is prepared for the looks on the others' faces when he replies, "Tevinter. Small city, not like Minrathous where you could trip over whatever a magister's compensating for his dick with. Got to know some of the elven slaves."

A cookie in hand, Krem shrugged some, unable to help the chuckle at Pel and Gavin's proposal to keep him. He enjoys their company, wouldn't mind it if they did decide to bring him into their fold or whatever the intention is there. As long as it doesn't interfere with his work with the Chargers anyway.

[slipshot]

Gavin's eyebrows raised and he leaned forward. "Tevinter? Really?" But it wasn't said with scorn. Rather, it was a sudden and intense curiosity.

"I've never been. For - well, obvious reasons, probably, but I've heard parts of it are breathtaking."

[serannas]

It's definitely surprisingly, but Ellana leans forward over the table, just as curious as Gavin.

"Were you friends with the elves there?" She would think highly of him if he was. An elf in Tevinter could use all the friends they could get.

[dalishious]

Merrick has been hogging the pipe, and is showing no inkling of remorse for doing so--nor does he share the fascination with Krem that his clanmates seem to have. Frankly, he isn't interested at all, and it's weird to him that even Beleth seems enraptured by this human.

He does squint a bit at Ellana's question, though. "You want to know if he was friends with a bunch of slaves?"

He won't admit that he's actually interested in learning more about Tevinter, and everything else he'd been sheltered from in the woods.

[kremdelacreme]

Krem paused with a piece of cookie halfway into his mouth, shrugging some at Gavin. "Depends on how far north you go. 's beautiful just outside of Minrathous, but terrible when it comes to the traffic. Major trade routes in and out both land and sea, makes it hard to navigate if you don't know your way around the place. Architecture's pretty though.

"There are just so many people, lots of slaves both human and elven. The ones that lived near Father's shop, they would come to trade spare food occasionally for extra pairs of socks or a new tunic. Nothing too nice if they could avoid it, though. Hated when they'd come back bruised and ordered to give the clothes back. One of the elves, pretty girl named Lyla, she asked me if she could hide under my bed once. 'Course I agreed, she was sweet, pretty sure she liked me. We were as close to friends as you could be with someone owned by a magister's household. Didn't want her getting knocked around anymore, so she hid in my room for a couple of days. When she was found out by Father...well. He wasn't happy. But he didn't do anything, just escorted her home. Mother was furious. I ended up with a split lip and Lyla...never saw her again after that."

Krem stopped and rubbed a hand across his jaw, frowning faintly. Telling stories about home was always bittersweet.

"So maybe it wasn't close enough to be called 'friends' with any of them, but I never met one that I didn't like, or at least couldn't talk civil with."