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

[matchbreaker]

If you're going to call me Ms, you might as well use my family name.

[ Just a sort of... flat statement... ]

[tsugomori]

[ He'll laugh a little here. ]

Well, yes, that seems quite reasonable...

[ ... and yet he's forgotten consistently anyway. ]

[matchbreaker]

[ . . . Or, well. ]

Actually,

[ . . . She stops.

She frowns.

And then she finally hits him lightly in the stomach. There's no force in it, just sort of "playful" ]

How was the cake?

[tsugomori]

Ow.

[ He grins sheepishly, faking being hurt at the playful hit. It seems he's definitely okay with going along with it. ]

The cake tasted really good. I think I had to stop myself from eating anymore, otherwise I will be in trouble. I can say truly say I am thankful for them being made.

[matchbreaker]

Actually, you get to thank Kimbley for that, not me! I can't cook anything. I did stir th stew!

[ Waving a hand dismissively... ]

[tsugomori]

[ ... Ah, he knew he was forgetting something. He worked with Kimbley, Elda, Varric, and Viktor so they could help set up this thing, but he had been forgetting to thank the other man for the cakes. He makes a mental notation to do exactly that at some point. ]

Thank you for the reminder. Ah, he really makes such good desserts, haha.

... But, I can still also give my thanks to you once more, but this time even just for stirring the stew. It is nice that you helped out in some way, after all.

[matchbreaker]

Yeah, I've been hearing that. I'm still surprised about it, actually!

[ Huff huff. That said, she shakes her head and brushes past him, initially thinking that she'll just leave as if nothijng happened there. ... But then she stops short and looks back at the swordsman before. ]

I just handled it because it didn't look like those girls were going to.

[ And because she likes... liked...? Varric. ]

[tsugomori]

[ Mikazuki seemed to listen to her speak nonetheless, with a normal, cheery smile stuck on his face, and there are some thoughts coming to mind as he just nods. ]

I see, I see...

Well, I believe that is all I had to say. I hope that things continue to stay this way for you and everyone else -- peaceful and without anymore incidents. That would be preferable, wouldn't it?

[ Because he hasn't forgotten what happened a moment ago; even if he can't prevent the weekly murders he would to ensure someone like Silver doesn't get a beatdown again. ]

[matchbreaker]

Maybe, but it won't.

[ Not if things continue like this. If they were just going to rot in here, then there was a chance that things could be like that... but if Wordsmith is going to intervene, then there's no way it would remain civil. ]

[tsugomori]

Hmm, I suppose not~

[ It's a real pity! Hopefully they'll get out soon, but he's been saying that a lot and so has everyone else, so he'd rather actions speak louder than words here. ]

But, sometime soon we're going to need to get it together and stop falling prey to such things. It'd be a terrible thing if we all ripped ourselves apart because we believed the lies someone fed us or acted too rashly, I think.

[matchbreaker]

You're pretty optimistic for a swordsman then.

[ She said, mildly ]

Are you supposed to be all honor and battle and stuff?

[tsugomori]

Of course.

[ He'll smile, and he really does mean it, but he takes pause. ]

But tell me, Miss Marker, do you believe there is any honor in any of these killings?

[matchbreaker]

I don't know, I don't really believe in honor like that.

[ Flatly. ] Being proper's all in good, but that stuff's for men to handle.

[tsugomori]

I see, I see... well, then take it from me that I prefer battles, yes, and fighting is quite fun, but the ones where you're fighting for your life on the false promise by this man aren't very honorable in the slightest.

Neither do I like it very much.

[ Fighting until you die a noble death...for a cause that is worth it (not one veiled with empty promises), is something that would be acceptable to him. ]

[matchbreaker]

[ Spoken like an actual Samurai or something. She hums a little, looking off at the bookshelves before she shakes her head and stands, stretching herself out a bit ]

Well, then let's hope I don't need to drop you into that shadow pit later. That wouldn't be fun for anyone.

[tsugomori]

Oh yes, I hope not. But if it happens, it happens.

[ Life eventually comes to an end, after all. No matter how much he cares about someone, he won't be able to deny this. ]

[matchbreaker]

[ You know she...

... Appreciates that he didn't say it was impossible he would kill someone or something like that. She actually hums and approving noise, but then waves her hand by way of a goodby and makes to leave. She's totally said her peace, so. ]