driftfleet | interfaith dinner mingle!!

Who: Interfaith Center regulars & the not-so-regulars (party crashers are welcome too!!)
Broadcast: Nope
Action: Interfaith Center on the Iskaulit
When: Forward-dated to November 4th

[The Interfaith Center sounds far more bustling and busy than usual - and anyone peering inside would quickly figure out that a communal dinner is underway! Take off your shoes and walk in: the lounge has extra tablecloths on the floor as well as buffet tables with non-alcoholic beverages and all sorts of food, including Jordanian cuisine (or the outer space equivalent of Jordanian food).

The board games are out of their hiding nooks; the furniture's arranged for the maximum seating possible; and even the teddy bears donated by Kitty & Winn are out for cuddling, should anyone want them.

The kitchen's bustling with helpers - Stefan's running around at vamp-speed to make sure everything's a) done on time and b) cooked to perfection - but he sure wouldn't mind an extra hand. And if you're still not up for some food? Well, the prayer rooms are open as usual. There's always a quiet moment to be found, even if the laughter's louder and the scent of freshly-baked mansaf's wafting through the long corridors.

Anyone and everyone who's ever been inside the Interfaith Center has been invited (via text message - and Stefan even used the fancy emoji). If you're not particularly faithful or devout? Well, drop by anyways. There's more than enough food to spare.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Lark's expression turns sour for a moment.]

I know about her, I know what she was to you and what she did to you. I stuck one of my daggers in her myself, right next to one of your arrows.

[And she'd do it again. She'd fight that woman one-on-one if she had to, anything to protect her Leliana from that pain.]

[That earns a surprised look. She had wanted to kill Marjolaine back then but Riona had convinced her to spare her life. To know that a version of her had done differently - had given into her desire for revenge - was intriguing.]

We killed her, then? An interesting change of events.

[Not unwelcome, either.]

[That takes her off guard and it's clear in her face.]

You mean...you didn't? Why would Riona leave her alive, how could you? What she did was unforgivable.

[Her Leliana wasn't a killer, not like Marjolaine, but Lark hardly wished her to be passive, especially not when it came to those who dared to hurt her. Leliana was too good a person, too sweet for anything to try and hurt her.]

It was unforgivable but it was the choice we made. She left for Orlais and I followed after the Blight was finished, to make sure she did not try to send assassins after me again. The only difference was that I did not have Riona accompany me.

Edited 2017-01-03 16:46 (UTC)

[Lark almost looked sad to hear it. She looked away.]

You stayed with me in Denerim for a time. We got rings to match... [She held her hand out, a ring made of silverite on her finger. Her expression was soft, fond of the memory of presenting the ring to Leliana and the way her gentle human had lit up.]

Then you received a letter from a friend of yours and decided you'd go to meet her, about the same time I received notice I was needed at Vigil's keep. We said goodbye and then I was here.

[She looked back to Leliana.] I'm sorry you still bore that burden.

[For a moment she can picture herself as she had been then - young and full of songs in her heart - and then she and Lark would get these rings and it would have made her feel as if she was flying and full of joy. The only problem with that was she hadn't experienced it. She didn't remember it. And then that light happy feeling she'd had for a brief moment died in her thoughts.]

It is... beautiful. I'm sorry that I- [She cuts herself off, realizing apologizing was honestly fruitless.] I am sure that the both of you were very happy.

[Yes, talking about this like it's someone else's life which by all accounts it is, but still the idea of it was enticing. The idea that she could have someone in her life the way Riona felt for Alistair felt intriguing.]

[Before Leliana had cut herself off, Lark was shaking her head. There was nothing to apologize for, if anyone had any apologizing to do, it was Atroma for doing this to them in the first place.

Instead, Leliana stopped herself and Lark felt a pang in her heart. She tried so hard not to push, not to say anything to put Leliana on the spot, but her heart clenched tight and the words escaped her before she could stop them.]

We still could be. You are her as much as she is you. I want...

[Lark shook her head again and made to stand. She swore to herself that, if she were to win Leliana back, it would be through conversation and shared understanding, just as it had been before, not out of a perceived obligation on her love's end. That wouldn't be fair to either of them.]

I'm sorry, that wasn't fair of me to say. I should be going, thank you for your company.

[Leliana didn't know what to do - should she stop her from leaving? What could she even say to that? Already she was playing in her head the struggle between Alistair and Riona - that he couldn't be the Alistair she wanted him to be. Leliana felt the same for Lark. She couldn't be exactly that person that she saw. There might be more than a few glimpses of that person there but at the end of the day things had transpired very differently.]

I- I don't know. I don't think I can be, but... I'd very much like it if you still came to see me again. Despite all of this - [She gestures between them as she makes to stand as well.] it doesn't hurt to have a friend in this place.

[Lark paused, her expression suddenly intensely serious. Gently, her fingers reached out to brush at red hair that was exactly as soft as she remembered, then traced down Leliana's cheek.]

Vehenan, you will always be my friend, before you were anything else, you were one of my dearest friends and you always will be. Of course I'll come back to see you, you can't be rid of me as easily as all that.

[For all her jokes at other people's expense - especially Riona's and, lately, Cullen's - somehow Lark was actually making her blush. And she had to internally conjure up the ugliest thing she could think of - some fat noble woman with mismatched shoes, darkspawn, anything would be nice.]

Good. I'd like to see you again. Even if things aren't quite what you hope they'd be. I'd like to hear stories, if you want to tell them.

[Stories were a safe topic. It was familiar. Something she'd enjoyed telling herself when sat about the campfire with the rest of their merry band of misfits, back when she had been younger and Riona hadn't yet become a Queen.]

The I'll return with stories for you.

[She took Leliana's hand and pressed her lips to it. It was such a human noble thing to do, but she knew the gesture wouldn't be lost on Leliana.]

I'll see you later.

interfaith dinner mingle!!

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ow my feelings...

I'm here to supply your pain