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

[iaspis]

[Jasper gives a nod.]

...Yes, I. I'll be fine.

[She points at Clefable curiously.]

Who is that?

[...that's a marked improvement from the "what the hell is that" that someone else got earlier in the week.]

[elepe]

[Definitely.]

This is one of my partners. Rather, my Pokemon, Clefable.

[...Clefable is just trying to look up at Jasper and promptly just kind of plops onto the ground and stares.]

She's a rather cheerful dear, so I thought bringing her in would help some of us out. [...] I wasn't exactly fond of the idea of going to one of these parties without something familiar nearby, either.

[iaspis]

Clefable.

[She crouches down to greet the Pokemon-- not something she does to speak to the others, but she'll make an exception for the Pokemon, so they're not so... intimidated.]

I am... glad to hear that those of you with Pokemon are getting them back, even if they are in that machine.

[elepe]

[Clefable waves her hands in greeting!]

...At the very least, this means that they are not in the Wordsmith's hands. It means he isn't torturing them, and he can't use their safety against us.

[...There are, of course, several other ways he could, but--]

And they appear to be helpful, if...only a little bit.

[iaspis]

[She looks thoughtful.]

Pokemon can understand speech, right? If something suspicious starts happening...

[She trails off.]

Beyond the killings, maybe the Pokemon would be our best bet for information.

[elepe]

...Ah, they can understand speech. But I'm afraid they cannot speak themselves.

[Clefable demonstrates a bit, trying to say hello and...succeeding at saying her own name, basically.]

They can understand instructions, so perhaps it would be good to utilize them for simpler task.

[She's...wary, admittedly. But hey, perhaps it could work.]

[iaspis]

Can you... understand their meaning?

[It might be an odd question, so she clarifies after a moment.]

Maybe nothing too specific, but being able to answer basic yes or no questions.

[elepe]

[Given that Clefable nods her head enthusiastically, Lusamine gestures toward her.]

She can't give verbal answers, but she can at least communicate through gestures.

[Clefable also wiggles her fingers a bit, making 1, 2, 3 motions. ...She only has three fingers per hand, give her some credit--]

...I suppose she can also give us numbers, should we need them.

[iaspis]

...I wouldn't want to put her in danger, but maybe one of the Pokemon would be able to see something we wouldn't.