And it's the stars, the stars that lie to you.

[neverheardofhim]

[This week, Varric opted to take a page from Vanille’s book. Gathering everyone together after the roller-coaster that the first trial had been proved to be somewhat cathartic for himself. He hoped that it would prove to do the same for the others.]

[He wasn’t alone, of course, having found himself blessed with the most ragtag team of chefs and party-planners. He might have had words for and thoughts on Elda and Kimbley, Mikazuki was welcome company, and he wasn’t about to turn away potential allies, even in a fight as simple as cooking dinner.]

[Once everyone’s set to a task, baking a cake, brewing tea, or stirring stew (the only task Varric could think to assign Elda to), Varric excused himself to his room. His first task was writing up cards, each personally titled and signed by Varric.]

Food in the Library. 5 p.m. Don’t spend the night alone.

[Each note was slid under a door and accompanied by a single rap on the wood.]

[With his tasks completed, Varric returned to the kitchen to put out any potential fires and, with luck, set the food out. A table in the library would be adorned with plenty of tea, cake, pancakes courtesy of Viktor, and stew thanks mostly to Varric (sorry, Elda).]

Comments

[quadruples]

[ Viktor wasn't particularly close to Christo and Alani, but that trial was mentally exhausting nonetheless. Neither of them deserved to die.

When people begin to gather in the library, Viktor takes up a seat near one of the walls with a bowl of stew and a bottle of vodka, because he feels like he really needs a drink right now. He'll drink responsibly and eat plenty of food to slow the alcohol down, don't worry. ]

[neverheardofhim]

[That... sure is a bottle.]

[Varric approached the man, empty cup in hand. He looked once at the man, then away, relatively sheepish, all things considered.]

Can I trouble you for a hit?

[quadruples]

Yeah, sure.

[ Let him pour you a drink, buddy. He won't fill the cup entirely, but Varric will get approximately a shot glass' worth of liquid. ]

[neverheardofhim]

[Varric raised the mug to his lips and downed it in one. It was a taste not entirely unfamiliar to one, and the burn it brought on was almost cathartic. After wincing instinctively, he turned his gaze to Viktor.]

Thanks. [A beat.] You, uh... [He was tired of asking if people were okay.] Can I help you at all?

[quadruples]

[ He shakes his head, offering Varric a smile that's not entirely genuine. ]

No, I'm fine. You should eat something if you haven't already; it's unwise to drink vodka on an empty stomach.

[neverheardofhim]

[In that case, they can match. At least until Varric moved to wave the man off. The movement seemed to chase his smile away.]

I had a few bites here and there during prep. And I'm no lightweight, either. [Drinking and writing were his talents, after all.]

[quadruples]

I wonder which one of us would win if we had a drinking contest.

[neverheardofhim]

[Well that's... an interesting thought. And a welcome distraction.]

Is that a challenge?

[feistytrader]

[...You know, he can handle Viktor right now. He doesn't know him very well, but he's a reasonable adult that makes good food. ...The second part doesn't really matter, but he does make tasty pancakes.

Silver approaches him and holds out his gaming system; he's borrowing a video game from Elda for the moment, so there's actually something to play in it, too.]

Want to play for a little while? It's a nice distraction.

[It's a little socially awkward, but. He's trying.]

[quadruples]

...I'd love to. Thanks, Silver. [ He sets the bowl of half-eaten stew aside so he can take that console and start up the game. ]

I'm terrible at games but I'll do my best.

[feistytrader]

...I've never played anything like this before. Just a couple at Gold's house.

[So man, he isn't going to judge if Viktor totally sucks ass. At least he's probably not gonna be as bad as Elda.]

Do you mind if I sit with you?

[Weavile has uh, already decided the answer is yes, and cozies up to Viktor right away.]

[quadruples]

Not at all; please sit down. [ Oh, hey there, Weavile. Viktor holds his hand out to let him sniff it, not sure if it's a thing you do with Pokémon. ]

Who's this little guy? He's cute.

[feistytrader]

[Oh, please. Weavile's pushing his head right into Viktor's hand and even guiding it directly where he wants to be scratched. Go on, pet him right on the forehead.]

This is Weavile. He's been my buddy for a long time.

[...He's also been absent from the latest trial, and will never see a trial period, if Silver has anything to say about it.]

[quadruples]

[ Oh no, it's cute. The game is going to have to wait because Viktor is going to be busy petting Weavile for a while. ]

How did the two of you meet?

[matchbreaker]

So is that stew any good?

[ She stirred it. ... Can't taste it?

But... Curious. ]

[quadruples]

It's delicious. [ He says, with his mouth full of stew. ]

[matchbreaker]

Oh yeah, like what? When I was a little girl I remember stews being all... herby. And mild.

[quadruples]

It's hard to find the right words to describe it, but it has this really nice earthy flavor... the meat is so tender it's almost melting in my mouth and the gravy is so tasty I'm tempted to lick the bowl clean. It's the kind of stew that warms you up on a cold winter day.

[matchbreaker]

[ She closes her eyes, trying to imagine a feeling - a taste - that she long ago discarded, assuming she ever even tasted it at all. She sips her goblet of blood (totally not weird right???) as she does ]

Yeesh, who'd've thought the little people were good at that sort of thing.

[foundfate]

Vodka?

[Hello Viktor, Watanuki is here to interrupt your drinking.]

[quadruples]

Yes. I charmed the Wordsmith into giving me this bottle.

[ 'sup, watanuki. ]

[foundfate]

How in the world did you manage that? Any time I ever talked to him, he was extremely dull and straight to the point. It took me over a week to even get a pair of shoes.

[quadruples]

My charisma is hard to resist. Did you ask him nicely?

[foundfate]

...

I might have yelled at him instead.

[quadruples]

...Wow. Did you think yelling would work?