"The cello and the lute. First the lute and then the cello, but now the cello is my favorite. And every now and then someone will let me borrow something else and make a fool of myself—in a fun way, you know."
He mimes holding up a flute, as best he can without dropping the package he's carrying under his arm, and whistles sharply to evoke making it shriek. It earns them a few glances from passersby, which he answers by smiling apologetically and dropping his hands.
"I am putting myself in charge of the music if we manage to have a Satinalia party this year, so if you have a favorite dance, you should let me know."
"I haven't learned any dances," he admits. "Though I suppose I could learn something before then. I'm not usually one for crowds, but I'm trying a whole new 'facing my fears' thing, so."
"I mean I've never liked them." A shrug. "It got really out of hand after some things happened at the Circle. Then it got worse again after Lutair. Places and crowds just...don't feel safe. So I spend most of my time outside work in my flat. Not, um, not great for making friends. Which is why I'm trying to be better about it."
Bastien nods a little at the explanation. Understandable.
"Well, if we do manage to have a party, I hope you come. Do you know what might help you if you did? We could try to make sure there is a separate room set aside for talking if people want to get away from the dancing and the noise, or... Do you have any conversation games you like, for making friends?"
"If I did, I probably wouldn't be in this mess." He glances away as he thinks for a moment. "Have some of the party in the garden or the courtyard. That sounds like it'd be lovely anyway."
"You know, before you and Athessa, I don't think I've ever had anyone ask me something like that. At the Circle it was sort of...after Uldred, absolutely everyone was a mess, and it's hard to accommodate about two hundred peoples' simultaneous and completely unique messes. So I kind of just had to make do."
Which isn’t really untrue. Being helpful is a pastime. But happy might be overstating things a little, at the moment, given that maintaining his good face is already taking more effort than usual, and he feels like he’s carrying this conversation on his back through a swamp full of traumatic sinkholes, and he still isn’t sure Colin doesn’t want something.
But that’s why they left his room. They’re walking past a few fish stalls, now, and one of the vendors has a large conch set next to the fish. Bastien stops in his tracks and secures permission to pick it up with a look and a gesture. He rubs the pearly interior and then holds it to his ear for a moment, listening to the resonance—the sea, they say.
It’s not meant as a permanent interruption or subject change. It just cheers him up, a sustaining little bit.
He holds it out to Colin in case he’d like a try.
“That was during the Blight, wasn’t it? You must not have been very old.”
A little smile spreads over Colin's face. He spends a moment longer listening before taking it away from his ear to admire the natural beauty of the shell--something it wouldn't have occurred to him to do, without Bastien.
"Athessa told me about the tree seeds. It's such a beautiful thing to say to someone. You have a gift. Oh! She told me to ask you about the Black Fox."
"From scratch! Oh," a little despairing, "I have a decent amount of respect for Ferelden—don't tell anyone—but these gaps in your education. It is unforgivable. Let me see..."
And he launches into an animated explanation of Lord Remi Vascal, emphasizing the anti-establishment traits that made him a hero to commoners, that's still in its early stages when they reach the Lowtown market.
"—and Servana de Montfort was a Circle mage—" Supposedly; perhaps it's a myth. "—but there are different explanations for how they managed that. I like the ones with daring rescues, but the De Montforts have been influential since the Exalted Age. Perhaps it did not take that much work for her to be able to run around with him. Perhaps someone just asked nicely."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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And it sort of does, even to him. Occasionally he wonders if he really wants as peaceful a life as he strives for.
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"I might do that," he says with a chuckle. "So do you play an instrument?"
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He mimes holding up a flute, as best he can without dropping the package he's carrying under his arm, and whistles sharply to evoke making it shriek. It earns them a few glances from passersby, which he answers by smiling apologetically and dropping his hands.
"I am putting myself in charge of the music if we manage to have a Satinalia party this year, so if you have a favorite dance, you should let me know."
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"I haven't learned any dances," he admits. "Though I suppose I could learn something before then. I'm not usually one for crowds, but I'm trying a whole new 'facing my fears' thing, so."
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"Well, if we do manage to have a party, I hope you come. Do you know what might help you if you did? We could try to make sure there is a separate room set aside for talking if people want to get away from the dancing and the noise, or... Do you have any conversation games you like, for making friends?"
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"You know, before you and Athessa, I don't think I've ever had anyone ask me something like that. At the Circle it was sort of...after Uldred, absolutely everyone was a mess, and it's hard to accommodate about two hundred peoples' simultaneous and completely unique messes. So I kind of just had to make do."
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Which isn’t really untrue. Being helpful is a pastime. But happy might be overstating things a little, at the moment, given that maintaining his good face is already taking more effort than usual, and he feels like he’s carrying this conversation on his back through a swamp full of traumatic sinkholes, and he still isn’t sure Colin doesn’t want something.
But that’s why they left his room. They’re walking past a few fish stalls, now, and one of the vendors has a large conch set next to the fish. Bastien stops in his tracks and secures permission to pick it up with a look and a gesture. He rubs the pearly interior and then holds it to his ear for a moment, listening to the resonance—the sea, they say.
It’s not meant as a permanent interruption or subject change. It just cheers him up, a sustaining little bit.
He holds it out to Colin in case he’d like a try.
“That was during the Blight, wasn’t it? You must not have been very old.”
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"It sounds...like air?"
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"Athessa told me about the tree seeds. It's such a beautiful thing to say to someone. You have a gift. Oh! She told me to ask you about the Black Fox."
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But he’s smiling, while he takes the conch back and returns it to its owner.
“Do you know anything about the Black Fox already, or are we starting from scratch?”
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link included for cia spies not because i think you need it
And he launches into an animated explanation of Lord Remi Vascal, emphasizing the anti-establishment traits that made him a hero to commoners, that's still in its early stages when they reach the Lowtown market.
"—and Servana de Montfort was a Circle mage—" Supposedly; perhaps it's a myth. "—but there are different explanations for how they managed that. I like the ones with daring rescues, but the De Montforts have been influential since the Exalted Age. Perhaps it did not take that much work for her to be able to run around with him. Perhaps someone just asked nicely."