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

[neverheardofhim]

[After setting up the party, Varric excused himself into the hall once more. He had a second task to attend to, continuing tradition. This time, the words came easier, and it wasn’t long until he had the first piece completed.]

[He felt odd about writing the second one. Honoring a murderer, no matter the cause, felt wrong. But he believed, deep in his heart, that Alani had been a good woman. He didn’t agree with her methods, but the cause had been just.]

[It reminded him of a friend.]

[When they were completed, both papers were hung above their respective profiles, matching Adelina’s before them. He looked up, and for the third and final time, he prayed to Andraste. Let this be the last time.]

Christo pushed his glasses up on his nose, glancing around the warm, peaceful room. He shifted his posture, prepared to wait patiently for as long as he needed. He wasn’t sure of the time, but he knew that surely his guest would arrive eventually.

Until then, two bowls of curry waited. It wasn’t as good as Killia’s, but then, that was the reason it was there. Perhaps the very idea of Christo eating something other than his cooking would put a skip in his partner’s step.

But it didn’t matter. He knew he and his beloved friend would be united again soon enough. Until then, he could rest peacefully.

- - -

Alani woke, gently rocked awake by the peaceful swell of the sea. Her body was held aloft by an ornately carved plank of wood, but her hands trailed in the water. One of them was brushed by a featherlight touch, a kiss from a bright red flower.

She lifted herself up, glancing across the water that stretched endlessly in all directions and broken apart by countless other forms, rising up and looking around just as Alani herself did.

Above them, the stars shone brightly.


[Work done, he returned to the party, lingering in a corner just as before. If you look hungry, he might bring you a bowl of stew. Otherwise, he’ll keep to himself.]

[All this shit sucked.]

[introspects]

[ Despite Varric's invitation, Orihime has no intentions of going to the party. Rather, after the trial, she can be spotted at the mailroom, gathering papers and envelopes and taking a pen as well. She appears to be writing for a few seconds, but abruptly stops and turns around, taking all of the materials with her. She'll be making her way to her room tonight.

Out of courtesy, she'll at least leave a reply to Varric's invitation and sneak into the library while they're setting up to leave it on one of the tables, going unnoticed. Hopefully. ]

Tethras-san,

Thank you for your invitation. I'm not feeling too well, so I'll have to pass on tonight's gathering. I'm very sorry. I hope you all have a good time.

- Inoue Orihime

[ She leaves the door to her room slightly ajar, in case anyone wants to talk to someone in a more private setting. Otherwise, that's where she'll be for the rest of the evening. ]

[matchbreaker]

[ So cooking is weird. And Elda decided that she doesn't like it at all but she might try it just because she's a little bit bored, or at least...

... Bored wasn't the right word.

She decided to help them set up this "party" mostly because she figured that those youngsters who did it last time weren't going to this time. They all seemed upset, and she knew that the weight of the trial was something which had been suffocating all of them. She's included in that, of course, but the old woman was long, long since used to hardship. Alani wasn't a friend, wasn't even a member of the same species. Neither was Christo. And because of that, she could handle this, so much so that she even bothered to try and help cook. Hell, she might've even tried to make her own cookies! (they're awful, don't try them).

Either way, in the library with a chair pulled up to seat herself, the old woman will try to make herself the life of this. She's brought all of her generic items she got from the vending machine for people to play with and seems to be using duct tape and a sharpie to try and make... playing cards? ... Is that even worth it?

...

Either way, she's there and has all that going on as well as a cup filled with BLOOD that she got from the infirmary. She might yet ask Kimbley or Hanyuu or Guzma or someone to let her bite them, but she's content to have this overly sharp taste in her mouth for tonight. ]

[elepe]

[Today was...surprisingly interesting, needless to say. Lusamine doesn't feel as weird as she did last time. Maybe it's just getting used to the feeling.

Either way, Lusamine is gonna be at the party this time--and she's got Clefable alongside her. Lilligant didn't want to come with her once Lusamine explained the situation, so it's a little quieter. She's over getting some food for both herself and Clefable, and some stuff for Lilligant as well. If Lusamine sees someone come by, she'll look to them.]

Are you going to be okay?

[Of course, Clefable's gonna be a little more vigilant--and is definitely here to hug, if anyone needs it.]

[ravagers]

[ After that whole thing, Vanille goes to her room. Welcome as the invitation from Varric is, she's not willing to do much of anything. She's already shown just how emotional she can get, and honestly, she's worried that something else might come out at the gathering.

That's... something she's not prepared to deal with yet, if at all. So instead, she sits cross-legged on her bed, cradling the flower close. It needs water, but... but Vanille doesn't want to leave just yet.

Even still, she won't mind if anyone comes by. Just knock. ]

[feistytrader]

[Silver takes note of all of her, well, stuff.

...And then he silently leaves the room, emerging sometime later with his gaming machine.]

We can take turns.

[plentyfriendly]

[Phi liked those two, both of them. As much as this was necessary... why?]

...I'll be fine.

[neverheardofhim]

[If Orihime had hoped to avoid Varric, she had another thing coming. Though he stopped into the party for a time, he soon left again, carrying a bowl of stew and a mug of tea. Both of these items were carried to her room, where he tapped his foot against the door.]

Can I come in, Sunshine?

[firstaid]

[Estelle's instantly distracted by Clefable. She'll go up to the Pokemon and start petting her gently, then turn her head in Lusamine's direction when she speaks.]

Yes, I'll be fine.

[alchemicals]

[While Kimbley's spirits aren't exactly high - that is definitely untrue, that thing in the pit unsettles him - he seems a bit less generally off than he did last week; Alani's...everything had come out relatively easily once it got going, it wasn't pulling teeth like it was with Kyrie, and she'd been calm when she'd gone out.

He's both grateful for it and he hates it at the same time, so he's just going to be following some of the others to the kitchen and making cake of some sort, because baking and chemistry really aren't that far separated, when one thinks about it.

(Thankfully, none of the girls here remind him of his sister; that might put him off doing even that much.)

At the gathering itself, he'll do as he usually does when they're all together - namely he'll be sitting somewhere that's a bit separated from the others, somewhere that he can see the door, but still close enough that he's not completely isolated. Just staying where he is and writing...something.

He doesn't seem to be making a lot of progress - he usually just ends up crumpling it up and stuffing it in a pocket or something before starting over - but either way, it's keeping him occupied when he's not just...watching everyone.]

[neverheardofhim]

[Varric had, admittedly, been watching for Vanille. And when her familiar locks failed to appear, he stood up. Much like he had with Orihime, the dwarf took it upon himself to ladle a fair amount of stew into a bowl and pour her a mug of tea. Both of these items were carried to her door and set down outside.]

[While his knock might have been abrupt, his voice was gentle.]

Open up, Bubbles. It's just me.

[elepe]

[It sucks all around, really. Lusamine nods.]

...It will take time, but I believe you, Phi.

[matchbreaker]

[ . . . Uuuuh ]

What's that thing?

[feistytrader]

[...Silver doesn't look upset, but he's definitely tense in a way he wasn't up until the end of the trial.]

Yeah.

[Maybe not right now, but he will be; for the moment, however, he and Weavile are both parking their butts on the floor next to Lusamine and her Pokémon with their absolutely absurd amounts of pancakes and cake.]

What about you?

[introspects]

[ When Varric comes, Orihime stops whatever she's working on with that pen and paper and flips it over on her desk, before looking back to the door. She can't see his face, but she can recognize his voice. ]

Please do, Tethras-san.

[ She'll at least greet him with a smile. A smile that's as big as she can manage. It's not very big at all. ]

[matchbreaker]

Yes. [ Quietly, she answers. And then responds, ] What about you, sister?

[ Elda... has a lot of things she revealed at that trial, and even more to consider in it's aftermath. But if she's alright? okay? As much as one can be, when...

Well, nothing Lusamine needed to hear about ]

[neverheardofhim]

[Varric might have been happy avoiding the man, but there was something about his demeanor that drew the dwarf's attention. The fact that he was writing, as well as the fact that the least Varric could do was thank the man for his help, certainly helped matters of course.]

[He approached the man but was quiet for a long minute, simply watching his efforts. But after a short while, he cleared his throat.]

Writer's block?

[feistytrader]

[...This is the part where he says "nothing" and haggles for her presumably useless piece of plastic.

...

Or he would, if he were in the mood. Instead, he points to her game.]

Let me see that.

[elepe]

[If there's one thing Clefable can do, it's serve as a distraction. She'll be nice and still for Estelle.]

Alright. If there is anything I can do, please let me know, hm?

[If nothing else, it seems like it was an okay decision to come by this time.]

[matchbreaker]

[ Kimbley stood up for her a lot earlier.

Kimbley also made an ass of himself earlier.

Either way, she's going to ghost over to him and try and ninja the note right out of his hand to look at it ]

[firstaid]

[Estelle shakes her head.]

I'm not the one who needs comforted.

[Well, she does, but she doesn't believe she needs it as much as many others here do.]

[plentyfriendly]

Yeah. I have my own reasons to keep going.

[matchbreaker]

Sure?

[ She hands him the disc-cartridge-whatever... ]

[ravagers]

[ She's crying when she hears his voice, and... well. It's a mark of how much she trusts him that she doesn't want to pull the mask over her face when he comes in. She gently sets the flower on her pillow and goes over to open the door. ]

H-hiya, Varric.

[neverheardofhim]

[Using his hip to nudge open the door a little further, Varric entered the room. He brought the bowl and mug to her desk and set both down, careful to avoid her paper. The smile he offered her was just a small, and didn't quite seem to reach his eyes.]

Figured you might need something.