trusthell | i'll wait, so show me why you're strong

[ Generally, people need time to cope and gather themselves after a... thing... like that. Unfortunately, that's not how Vanille sees it. Her thing is avoid, and once she gets out of that hellhole that's the courtroom, she makes her way to the supplies closet, then to the library. She spends some time setting up things, pushing things aside to make room. Once she's finished, and she's met up with the Party Brigade, she makes enough invitations for everyone. She slips them under everyone's doors, or hands them out if she sees someone walking around.

Inside the library, there are candles set up to provide some soft, comforting lighting. There are pots of tea, courtesy of Mercy, pancakes made by Viktor, and books (picked out by Estelle, of course) laid out on the surrounding tables. The others have provided their own touches, and Vanille's even managed to make something: sugar cookies, which are actually very good. They're flavored lightly with all sorts of flavors--not all in the same cookie, okay--and each plate is marked with whatever flavor she's put in them.

After a successful trial, it's healthy to indulge, right? Let's mingle. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It'd been awhile since he'd spoken to Alani. He glanced at her from across the room, deliberating as to whether or not to talk to her. Re look on her face is what convinced him -- there was something relieving about not finding under devastation there. Try as he might, he wasn't in the comforting mood. At least with her, he might be able to pretend that something was normal.]

Good book?

[ She blinks and then looks over at him. ]

I think so? It's about something called surfing. There's this boy who likes to surf but his parents want him to join the military. Also there's a girl? I'm not very far in.

[ She is trying very hard to sound normal, but it's strained. ]

Surfing? [Varric quirked a brow.] Mind a quick run down for the unread?

[The strain in his voice made his heart lurch, and he opened his mouth to offer some amount of comfort, but stopped. For once, he had no idea where to begin.]

It's... you get a big plank of wood? Plastic? Something like that. And you use it to ride waves as they approach a shore.

[Varric's lip cruled at the thought. He wasn't found of water and waves to begin with. Willingly going out to embrace them, especially on the rough seas he was familiar with.]

[No thank you.]

Who the hell would do something like that?

I don't know. If the waves were gentle enough you could do it, but too far from a shore and uh... it seems dangerous. But I think that's the point? He keeps calling himself "extreme".

No offense, Blue, but that seems like a pretty awful book. [He allowed himself a laugh, sharp and tight. His heart ached at the very sound.]

Shame our captor doesn't have better taste but... I think I've talked your ear off about that before.

It... might be. It's called Riptide of Love, I just grabbed it because it was about the sea.

[That's definitely a disgusted face on his part. At the very least, it's a welcome distraction from everything else.]

Worse than "Swords and Shields" if you ask me. [How Cassandra found it in her heart to love that series, of all things...]

I like the ocean, I'm noooooot as fond of this.

[ Romance novels just sort of. Confuse her? ]

Yeah. I wouldn't be either. [He tilted his chin up slightly, expression deep in thought. The dark cloud that served as his thoughts had been kept at bay for the time being, but it still swirled menacingly in the back of his mind. And if Alani's earlier tone was anything to go by, he wasn't the only one feeling that way.]

[Before speaking with her, he'd resolved to put his helping role on the shelf for the time being, but it seemed that was a mantle he couldn't cast off so easily.]

You know... there's this new story I'm working on. It's a dark tale, and right now it's reached a pretty low point. But the protagonist, a charming dwarf fellow, isn't so easily bested. Especially when he's got the lives of a handful of smart young women with bright futures ahead of them in his hands. [He shrugged.] I don't know how it's going to happen, but that story is going to end happy, if it's the last thing I do.

[ She smiles at him. Good ol' dwarfdad. ]

I do like stories with happy endings.

Good. I'll make sure this is the best damned happy ending you'll ever see, then.

[Despite his reservations, the resolve his statement managed to stir up was at least enough to hold his less than positive emotions at bay for the time being.]

I'll be looking forward to it.

[ Things'll end fine, she's sure of it. ]

[And like all things, the resolve that had briefly sparked a good mood quickly came to an end. His expression sobered, and his eyes drifted from the woman.]

You let me know if you need anything, alright? Sticking together is about the only thing that we can do right now.

i'll wait, so show me why you're strong

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