IC Inbox

[thecookery]

(sending crystal, notes and letters, surprise visits, etc. etc.)

Comments

[ichaer]

[ And Ciri simply stares quietly for a moment, brows furrowed before opening up her drink and settling back into the water. ]

Right, well... change of subject then. Hiding any tattoos or questionable piercings? [ A chuckle. ]

[thecookery]

Do you see any?

[The sarcastic response is automatic, but after, Avery frowns, now aware that Ciri picked up on her moment of discomfort there.]

Look, it's not--

It's stupid. [And the last time she tried to talk about her reasons for joining the Inquisition with someone, it went very poorly.]

[ichaer]

I can't see all of you, you know.

[ It is said with a shrug as glances over, listening quietly before speaking: ]

And that's fine. Listen, I'm not here to poke and prod about shit that folks don't want to talk about. I know how much of a pain in the ass that can be.

[thecookery]

It's not some great tragedy or nothing, where all my children were eaten by demons coming out of a rift or whatever.

I got hurt in the fighting between the mages and templars in the Hinterlands. [Her hand sort of subconsciously drifts to her burned side.] An Inquisition healer helped me, so I thought I'd help them in turn.

[All said in a way that attempts to convince Ciri this WASN'T the worst experience of Avery's life, spanning several months of incapacitation, horrible pain, and the certainty that she was going to die. How well she manages this feat is... debatable.]

[ichaer]

[ Again, Ciri listens on in silence besides the slow sip of her drink. The fighting in the Hinterlands had been rough from what she had heard while holed up in the Anderfels. It had been angering to imagine considering how stupid the mages and templars had to be to get innocents caught up in their stupid war. ]

A good a reason as any. Besides we need more people around here without great tragedies because the Inquisition is starting to sound like a hastily written story in the back of those dirty magazines.

[thecookery]

[She scoffs, unsure of how to feel about that response.]

Tell that to the last arsehole I told that story to. He said I was whining wannabe martyr for even bringing it up when mages have it so much worse, and I had it coming anyway, and more, because of how little I cared about them, by his numbers.

[ichaer]

Seriously? Give me a name and I will. [ Honestly, she looks offended. ]

Those mages put themselves there by their own choices. I lose sympathy for anyone that drags innocents into their trouble because, by their fucking excuses, they have it so much worse.

[thecookery]

[She shrugs.] Never got his name.

He was just some prick who went on and on about how important being kind and caring is and all the things I needed to do to be a good person, while acting like a right arse himself. Mocking me for the way I talk when I called him out on his bullshit, treating me like I'm an idiot and a monster, saying me and everyone else who's got caught up in this fighting "had it coming."

[ichaer]

Sounds a lot like a certain someone I know...

[ She got along well enough with Anders for the sake of not having to listen to the self-righteous bitching of why she was wrong like what happened before in their talk about the shitty talking darkspawn they apparently had a deal with. But, at the end of the day, she'd never like him. She'd never not hate him deep down. He went against her one true vow in life to never hurt the innocent. ]

He blew up a fucking Chantry, he doesn't get to call other people monsters. But I wouldn't mind him since there's only one issue that matters in his eyes and fuck anyone else. Forget that you might have your own issues trying to make it day to day because the poor mages are the only ones that matter.

[thecookery]

[Avery stiffens up in recognition, taking in a long breath... followed by a long drink.]

Aye. I'd heard that one was here.

[ichaer]

Yes, we Wardens are protecting him from whatever he might have deserved. A shame, truly. It's for the best I was not here when that judgement came to pass...

[ She idly shrugs, raising a leg from the water and stretching her toes with a sigh. ]

But... that's enough about him. Last thing I want is him ruining my good bath without even being here.

[thecookery]

Good call.

[Dark bathtime is the worst kind of bathtime.]

So what's the opposite of that? A topic that makes a bath better rather than worse?

[ichaer]

Truth or dare?

[ She's chuckling again. ]

Though that could also easily make this bath worse too.

[thecookery]

I should've expected something like that, shouldn't I?

[ichaer]

Probably should have expected worse since I'm almost through this second bottle already. [ A shrug. ] What do you have in mind then?

[thecookery]

For fun conversations and games? [She huffs a laugh.] No clue.

I'm the last person to ask about either of those.

[ichaer]

Boo. Believe it out, truth or dare was actually pretty popular when I was stuck up in Weisshaupt.

[ Helped to ignore the constant thought that they'd probably die at any point. ]

Though in truth the should invent water-proof cards for Wicked Grace that would be fun.

[thecookery]

I've not often been asked to join such things. Shocking, I know.

[She's so friendly and personable, obviously.]

Anyway, if you have the coin, maybe you can get a smith to fashion a metal set for you.

[ichaer]

How very shocking indeed. We'll have to get you up to speed someday.

[ Most obviously! Ciri likes her so much and her choice in people is never wrong. ]

It's not a bad idea and certainly skips anyone suggesting strip Wicked Grace.

[thecookery]

[A quiet grunt is the only response to that first bit.]

Do the opposite. Losers have to put clothes back on while they're still in the bath.

[ichaer]

Terrible. Just sitting in water with your clothes on is the worst especially when you're stuck there for hours on end.

[ She chuckles, lifting a leg out of the water with a sigh. ]

Baths are better than sitting around in a bog at least.

[thecookery]

[Avery briefly glances at the leg, then away again.]

A bog, eh?

[ichaer]

Mm... this little small village in northern Orlais had reported sightings of darkspawn. They said there was this old entrance to the Deep Roads but failed to mention it was half submerged in a bog.

[ She dips the leg back into the water before lifting the other up, rubbing at the bruise covering her knee and frowning. ] It was cold and wet and gross.

[thecookery]

Is it always like that, your job?

[ichaer]

Not really. For the most part we're left to our own devices since we can sense out darkspawn on our own but we'd sometimes get orders from Montsimmard or Weisshaupt for whatever they deemed important.

[ She idly shrugs her shoulders, closing her eyes. ] Usually things are rather boring for a Warden without a Blight but that certainly came back to bite me in the ass.