Someone to Share With [Open]

[Mariana]

Dangerous though it was to piss off the Chantry in most of Thedas, the decent human being Mariana kept buried deep inside wouldn't let her leave the mages to be locked away for no better reason than being born. Besides, the pay was good and she had no particular love for the Chantry anyway. The whole religion was run by a lot of narrow-minded hypocrites, as far as she was concerned.

Ugh, but these mages were slow. Most of them had never been outside their respective prisons before as she understood it, which meant they were easily tired and painfully conspicuous. If only she had a ship, this whole thing would be so much easier.

But finally, they were there. The fortress loomed tall overhead, cold and foreboding, looking for all the world like some ancient prison. I was... not the first place she'd choose to look for freedom, but perhaps her sailor's heart made her biased. The only freedom that existed in her eyes was made up of wood, sails, and rigging.

It seemed the mages gathered here had some sort of steward who came and bustled the new mages off to what Mariana assumed.were their personal quarters. Well, good for them. But she was left to wander alone, looking for a hot meal and a warm bed. And hopefully someone to share them with.

[merrill]

Merrill was walking around Andoral's Reach when she saw what looked like some more mages arriving.She watched as one of the mages that had been here since before she came showed most of the people to some of the rooms. She still didn't know the woman's name. She seemed to avoid Merrill, probably because she was a blood mage. A lot of people avoided her because of that. She was about to turn around and go get something to eat when she noticed that they seemed to have left one of the women behind. Why would they do that? She shrugged to herself and bounced over to the other woman. "Hello! I'm Merrill, and you are?" She started in a perky voice. "You don't look at all like the other mages here! Clothing-wise I mean. Everyone else likes these weird looking robes, and they tell me I'm the one who dresses oddly. I don't dress oddly...Do I?" She asked looking down at her clothes for a minute.

She looked up at the woman in front of her and laughed sheepishly, "Sorry, I'm rambling aren't I? I do that a lot. You don't look like the other mages here though, were you raised outside of the Circles? I feel so sorry for the mages who were raised in the Circles sometimes. Just think: They never got to see butterflies, or sunflowers, or daises before now!...One of my friends used to call me Daisy. I wonder what stories he's telling now..." She thought, cocking her head to the side, "Oh, but I'm getting off track! Hehe, oops! What I was trying to ask is if you were another mage coming to join us at Andoral's Reach. Are you? Or are you here for something else? Are you looking for someone maybe?", she asked curiously.

[Mariana]

Mariana hadn't gone far when a very perky little elf - a Dalish, by the tattoos on her face - walked over to greet her. Or, well, actually more hopped over to greet her. The smaller woman introduced herself as Merrill before asking Mariana's name. She was quite cheerful and welcoming, and certainly very pretty.

"I am Mariana Dacosta," she said, flashing her most devilishly charming grin as she leaned down to kiss Merrill's hand. "I am very pleased to meet you."

Merrill started chattering away, talking about how Mariana didn't look like the other mages and how they all dressed so oddly. At one point she gave her own clothes a self-conscious examination and asked if she was the one dressed strangely.

"I think you look lovely," she assured the elf gravely.

It was no lie. Merrill was very beautiful, even for an elf, and Mariana wondered that she'd be left to wander the forbidding corridors alone. Well, she'd just have to fix that, now wouldn't she? Even in a place like this there must be some fun to be had.

But Merrill seemed to realize she was going on and looked up with an apology on her lips. She explained that she had a habit of rambling, then went off on a tangent about lowers and butterflies. And a story-teller friend that used to call her Daisy. Then she stopped again, getting herself back to wherever it was she'd been going, and asked what Mariana was doing at Andoral's Reach.

"Nah, I'm not a mage and I'm not looking for anyone. I'm a sailor - a privateer, you might say, though I haven't had work aboard ship in a while. I just brought some runaways where the Chantry won't get 'em." She gave Merrill an arch look and wrapped an arm around her shoulders conspiratorially. "So then, Daisy, I've already made an enemy of the Chantry. What other trouble is there to get into around here?"

[merrill]

Merrill blinked when Marianna kissed her hand. "I thought only men did that. I guess I was wrong," She said to herself with a small shrug. "Oh good. I mean, thank you. I knew I didn't look weird. Some of the people here can be so mean. We're all fighting for the same thing though, so we can't fight amongst each other to much. That's a good thing at least." She said nodding to herself. She looked interested when the other woman said why she had come here. "Well that was nice of you. If the Circle where they come from was anything like the one in Kirkwall then the Chantry people can't be very nice. So you're a sailor? I have a friend who's a sailor, well a pirate, don't know where she is now though. Did you ever meet a ship captain named Isabella? She's from Rivain I think. She said some very dirty things when we were traveling together, I think I missed a lot of them though. It's a shame, I really would have liked to hear more of them."

She giggled when Marianna put her arm around her shoulders and asked if there was anything fun to do around here. She frowned as she thought. Something fun to do... "We could always raid the larder! I've never done that before! It could be fun!" She said, happy again now that she'd found something to do. "If we can find it..." She looked giggled slightly, "I get lost a lot here. I'm sure I can find it with you around though!" she told the other woman, completely ignoring the fact that Marianna didn't know her way around either. "What about you? Can you think of anything fun to do? What do sailors do for fun?" She asked curiously.

[Mariana]

Mariana staggered a bit when Merrill asked if she knew Isabella. "You know Captain Isabella? Well, if that don't beat all. My poor dad about had a fit when the Siren's Call went down. Bloody queen of pirates, her." She couldn't help feeling a little star struck. Bloody Captain Isabella herself.

But there was fun to be had, and now she had a partner in crime to join her. She leaned in and put an arm around Merril's shoulder to ask what sort of mischief they could make. In return, she got a very charming giggle and a suggestion to raid the larder - Merrill really was a girl after Mariana's own heart. She was a little startled to find Merrill wasn't sure where it was, but it was strangely sweet that the little elf had so much faith in her.

"Well, if you want to find a kitchen you just have to follow your nose." Mariana chuckled. "Or the rats." She started down the hall, arm in arm with Merrill, and tapped her lips in the absolute most exaggerated manner she could when asked what sailors do for fun. "Well, I expect my idea of fun is a lot like Isabella's. I like drinking gambling, sometimes brawling... And sex. I'm very fond of sex."

[facemelterrp]

3 years. 3 long years since anyone in Thedas last saw her. But finally, she was now ready to join the fight against the vicious Templars. I sure miss the fame of being Champion, she thought to herself, letting in a hint of amusement to herself. She was nearing Andoral's Reach, traveling for weeks around Thedas to get here. Perhaps some familiar faces will be there. Anders will be there for sure, and I am also quite certain Merrill will be there as well, getting lost in her thoughts. She tread on the hard ground she had grown accustomed to walking as of late, her armored boots clinking on the ground with each step.

Arrival

She was here! The gathering of all the mages in Thedas. She was a mage herself, of great talent at that, so that only added to the excitement of her arrival. As she neared the Tevinter fortress, her staff strapped on her back, she gently pulled her hood down, her face exposed. Her hair swiftly swayed from side to side as the wind picked up. She took a brief sigh. I am here, she thought to herself, slightly worried what the mages reaction would be. Everyone should know who she was, given she started the war in the first place. She wouldn't be surprised if some of the mages rejected her from the fortress.

She walked inside to see mages gathering around her, hearing many gasps, mutters, and a few curses. From a distance, she could barely see Merrill accompanying a Rivain woman. She looked like a sailor, and that immediately reminded her of Isabela. My dear friend Isabela. She grinned a little. "Hello everyone! I am certain everyone here knows who I am, and I have come to aid all of you in the war of the Templars. I have remained unseen for 10 years. And now I come to you! May we mages finally earn freedom." She nodded and she waited, staring at the crowd gathered around her...

[merrill]

Merrill looked at Marianna strangely when she started talking about Isabella. "Really? She didn't look like a queen. She didn't talk like one either. Are queens different in Rivain?" She asked the dark-skinned woman, tilting her head a little to the left. She giggled a little when Marianna tapped her lips. "I had a lot of rats in my house in Kirkwall. I tried to find all their little holes, but new ones just kept popping up! Do they always do that? It was very frustrating!" She said as she wrinkled her nose slightly. "You like sex too? Isabella talked about it a lot. I've never had sex, it just seems so... intimate! I don't know why the two of you think it's so fun. I think it would be very depressing if someone left you after doing it, don't you?" She asked the other girl. As they headed down the hallway together she stopped and turned the other way as she heard someone speak."Do you hear that?" She asked the sailor beside her.

who I am...I have come...unseen for 10 years...come to you...finally earn freedom

If she listened carefully, it almost sounded like... Hawke! Could it be? She turned around quickly and rushed back towards the entrance. When she reached the outside of the building she scouted the crowd for a familiar face. It was! Hawke was back! She hadn't seen the other woman in years, but now she had finally come to join the mages at Andoral's Reach, as Merrill knew she eventually would. "Hawke! It feels like it's been ages! How are you?" She asked with a big smile on her face. "Somehow I knew you'd show up eventually! It feels almost like old times! I've even met another pirate we can drag on adventures!" She paused and looked back at Marianna, "We can drag you on adventures right? It'll be loads of fun, I promise!" she said, looking at the sailor with innocent puppy eyes.

[Mariana]

"Well, when I plan to leave I only have sex with people who won't be sad when I do," she assured Merrill.

Just then, Merrill heard a commotion near the entrance and darted away. Now what was going on over there? Curious, Mariana followed the elf over in time to see her talking to none other than the Champion of Kirkwall herself. Captain Isabela, the Champion... Next she'd find out she was a distant relation to the Hero of Ferelden.

But now she was asking if Mariana would join them in her adventures with the Champion, and with those great big brown puppy eyes... Oh, how could she refuse? Not that she'd have refused anyway. She rather liked adventures.

"Well, if it'll be fun," she said, grinning broadly. "So, what sort of adventures are we talking about here? Slaying dragons? Dueling qunari? Stealing templar's helmets and using them as flowerpots?"

She turned to the Champion, making the grandest show of her introduction she could manage. "I am Mariana Dacosta, lately of the Mermaid's Kiss, former second lieutenant of the late Captain Matthias Dacosta, and likely the only woman you'll ever meet who didn't set foot on dry land for the first time until she was seventeen. I am very pleased to meet you, Champion."

[facemelterrp]

As Hawke looked around the entrance, she could see Merrill running towards her. As well as the Rivain woman following close behind. Hawke grinned as Merrill got within speaking distance. Here we go with the rambling. Oh it's been so long, she thought to herself. Merrill asked her how she was and how long it had been since their last encounter. "I have been doing very swell these last few years", she smiled as Merrill stared at her with the most puppy-eyed look she could bear. "It has been a long time indeed. And of course I would show up... it's not like I just vanished into thin air? Or did I haha. How have you been, I've been wanting to meet you for quite some time now."

The Rivain woman started talking afterwards about slaying dragon, and using Templar helms as flowerpots, which sounded something like Isabela would say. Could she be Isabela's sister?, she thought to herself as her speech reminded Hawke greatly of her dear friend. She then introduced herself to Hawke, trying to muster some grandness that Hawke faintly recognized. "Hello Mariana Dacosta! I am sure you know who I am... so we have that covered.", grinning a little not realizing that she does it almost every minute. "And likewise, I haven't met a sailor since I last traveled with Isabela." She needed to ask how things were around here, as well as the plans of their war with the Templars.

"So how are things here if you don't mind me asking, and as for the war..."

[Mariana]

Mariana raised her brows at Hawke. "Am I the only one who doesn't know Captain Isabella? Don't know much about the war, though, except that it pays well."

She pulled a face. That probably sounded bad, but there was no taking it back now. And it was true, anyway, she wasn't about to lie and say otherwise. It was probably the only good thing about the war.

Her stomach chose that moment to growl, and she grinned. "Me and miss Daisy here were about to try a daring raid on the larder. A lot of brigands like us could hardly resist, eh?"

Looping an arm around each of them, Mariana started steering Merrill and Hawke inside and in the general direction of deeper into the fortress. She had absolutely no idea where she was going, but they'd find the larder eventually, and they could plot and plan their little venture on the way.

"So, my dear mages, how are we going to get our way with the food? Rush in and grab it? Sneak in and snatch it right from under the cooks noses? Distract them with a dazzling circus act? One of you'll have to juggle, though, I'm rubbish at it."

[facemelterrp]

As Hawke asked about the war, Mariana stated that she didn't know much about it, also saying that it payed well. Ah Mariana... we will get along just fine, she thought to herself. As she opened her dry mouth to speak yet again, she was grabbed along with Merrill to 'raid a larder'. She developed a dumbfounded look upon her face. Grab the Champion like a common soldier, she joked to herself. "Wha... raid a larder? Food? Pardon me but I already ate..." Just as she said that her stomach growled as well. Maybe because she ate nothing but a small piece of bread earlier. "Well... I could go for something. Maybe I could manage to make some food appear out of thin air with my magic? Or I could hypnotize the cook into giving us food?"

She laughed and looked Mariana upon the face and grinned.

She loved this woman... just like her dear Isabela.

"So Merrill, up for an adventure?"

[Myles]

Myles hummed a little tune under his breath as his horse cart jostled along. It was a rare sort of treat, driving a cart, goading a horse along, usually he was stowed away in a crate in the back of carts, or being carried on a litter by beautiful slave women. This was a lovely change of pace, much more bumpy. The odd young man chewed slowly on a piece of hay, sinking more and more into the 'rural' persona, and loving every minute of it. The horse cart slowed to a halt before the gates of a mighty old fortress, a tad worn by the years, but still more than capable of breaking an enemy army against its walls. Myles whistled, and offered a chuckle, Tevinter architecture was always easy to spot, what with its habit of doing its utmost to make any passerby feel terribly small and utterly inconsequential.

Two lads armed with staves trotted out to meet him, reeking of that fine 'new recruit on guard duty' stench, so strong one could almost taste the naivete and bravura on the air. They slowed to a swagger, as they drew nearer to the cart, and the cart rolled right on by them. They cursed and swore and shouted and Myles thanked them with a suitably rude gesture, as he rolled into one of the throbbing centers of the grand rebellion to come. He slowed to a stop and hoped down to the ground, stretching stiffened limbs, and popping joints. The two 'guards' caught up with him, panting from a run that had doubled in length, much to their chagrin.

"Hey! You we're supposed to stop!" One of the red-faced lads managed to wheeze out, leaning against the cart for support and panting.

Myles grinned and clapped him on the back, "Really? What possible mischief could one fellow get up to in a fortress full of rebel mages, when its guarded by such fine, strapping, mighty young bucks as yourselves?"

The second guard, pulled himself upright, befuddled dismay evident on his features, some part of his no doubt vast intelligence quite sure that something was very wrong with that question, that perhaps some portion of that praise might of been somewhat sarcastic.... He was certainly the brighter of the pair," Well-"

Steely fingers clamped the boy's mouth shut, Myles shaking his head in mock dismay, "Rhetorical question, boy. Shut up, get your mates, and grab a box."

Myles pulled back the tarp over the back of the horse cart to reveal no less than a dozen wooden crates, crates that made slight clinking, sloshing sounds as they were disturbed. He pulled down one of the smaller crates and heaved it up onto a shoulder, heading for the entrance to the fortress proper, one word on his lips, "Hawke."

The next set of guards, the one's who'd been watching the antics of the last pair, quickly pointed him in the proper direction, no questions asked. It seemed... healthier. People dressed in funny clothes and swaggering about with daggers, demanded a certain respect. Besides, those crates looked heavy, and the odd man was holding up one on his lonesome, that implied muscle (muscle that could be seen through the gaps in that odd clothing, along with an unhealthy amount of tattoos....) At the end of the day, it didn't matter how much ethereal fire and lightening you could call down upon your foes, there was just something generally intimidating about people with scars and tattoos and sharp pointy objects. Besides, that voice... even tinged as it was with some sort of strange accent, cracked out like a whip, even though the young man didn't speak above a whisper. That voice was used to obedience, issuing commands that weren't obeyed because the speaker held this title or that, but were obeyed because to do otherwise... would result in distressing amounts of pain and suffering.

~~~~~

Myles found three women, stumbling jauntily down the hall as one collective mass, arms thrown about one another, a certainly joviality stamped across their features that made the lad wonder if they were heading up from whatever passed for a tavern in this place. He stood square in their path (which wasn't entirely intentional, the hallways in a Tevinter ruin only seemed to come in two flavors, large enough to house three elephants standing abreast with one another, or so tiny the elves had to walk sideways to get through), a wall, a grinning wall, but an obstacle nonetheless. The simper on his face reflected a low-burning sort of hunger, though such hungers were only natural in the presence of three beautiful women. He set the crate down on the floor at their feet, arms free now, fingers threading about the hilts of the daggers, sheathed on either side of his waist. Myles offered a modest bow, the grin on his face widening a bit, "My, my, my, and they say Tevinter ruins are dull and dusty, you lot certainly brighten the place up. So which is of you is Hawke then? The lovely, dusky vixen, so tuned to the ocean I can almost smell the satlwater? The pretty elven lass with the puppy dog eyes and the smile sweet as peaches? Or the beautiful woman in the spiky armor that just screams, 'Champion of Kirkwall?'"

[facemelterrp]

As Hawke was trudging along the corridor with Merrill and Mariana in hand, a man suddenly appeared in front of them, holding crates of some content Hawke didn't know about. He looked upon the three of them in a flirty, but cautious manner. What is it with this place, she joked to herself. He managed to set his crate down in front of them, leaving his hands free, and bowed as a sign of respect to all three of them, grinning in the process. He joked about the Tevinter architecture then asked which one of them was Hawke, providing his opinion of the three of them openly.

"My my my strange fellow... if I had half the mind, I could attack you right now. Which one of us is Hawke?" Smiling at the man. "Haha... spiky armor that screams Champion? Should I change? I believe I am Hawke... and no... I won't sign anything." Laughing heartily, grabbing Mariana and Merrill more tighter, perhaps choking them to death. "What do you require young lad? Given those scars, I could heal you?" Smiling yet again. "Or do you plan on hitting on us? Well?"

Hawke shifted awkwardly as her body tensed, her bright blue eyes shining like pearls in the golden sun...

[merrill]

"Yes! You are!" Merrill answered the sea lover with a giggle when she asked about Isabella, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll meet her someday! Oh, it would be so wonderful if she came to Andoral's Reach! I do miss her," she finished, looking like a lonely puppy. Then she looked at Hawke cuiously, "Are you going to move into Andoral's Reach, Hawke? You should! I could water your plants for you!" She offered to the woman. She perked up again when Marianna mentioned distracting people so they could get the food. "I can juggle! I've been practicing!" She told the other girl eagerly. "It's so great that you're coming with us Hawke! We're bound to get into some interesting situations with you along!" She said beaming brightly at her old friend. "And of course I'm coming silly! I'm the one who suggested it!" She told her as they went down the hallway.

Before they could get far however, a man stopped in front of them. She watched as he set the crate he was carrying down and his hands moved a bit above his daggers. She couldn't help but tense as she glanced from the hungry look on his face to the, thankfully, still sheathed daggers not far from his hands. Throughout her years of traveling with Hawke she had become wary whenever people seemed like they might draw a weapon. Despite this, her happy personality still shone through. "The armor isn't lying to you, she is the Champion of Krikwall. Actually, isn't that the same armor you wore in Kirkwall, Hawke? It doesn't look much different." She commented while examining the spiky armor her friend wore. She frowned as Hawke gripped her tighter, "Hawke! If you hold me much tighter, I'm going to have trouble breathing!" she told the other woman urgently before turning back to the man in front of them. "The pretty elven lass is Merrill, and the lovely, dusky vixen is Marianna. And you are? We were about to raid the larder. Would you like to join us? The more the merrier! Right Hawke?"

[Mariana]

Mariana arched a brow when Merrill said she could juggle. She'd been jokin, but really? Where does a Dalish mage learn to juggle? It seemed rather an odd skill for anyone outside the circus to have, but to each their own. Mariana could just imagine what other skills the little elf might have, rather wishing Merrill was less conservative about sex. Mariana bet she was an excellent lay, virgin or no.

Ah, but now there was yet another tasty morsel blocking their path. It seemed only pretty mages lived in Andoral's Reach. Not that she was complaining, but he was carrying a crate. Probably just arrived, then. And maybe looking for company.

But he asked for Hawke, and Mariana pouted a little. Only a little, though. She rather liked the way he described them all, even if he did have his hands hovering over his daggers. Dangerous wasn't necessarily a bad thing, after all, and he looked more sexual than violent - not that the two were mutually exclusive.

Still, Mariana regarded him with a hooded gaze, a sultry smile on her lips, food all but forgotten. Hawke looked ready to fight, though, despite her calm demeanor, and Merrill was just as chipper as ever. Mariana chuckled - she would invite a strange armed man along on their "adventure."

"Of course he's welcome," she said before Hawke could answer, tilting her head. There was something oddly familiar about him.

She dropped her arms from her companions' shoulders to approach the stranger and studied him carefully, suggestive smirk never leaving her lips. There they were - she reached out to touch the golden hoops adorning the upper ridge of his ear.

"Bruxo," she murmured. "You're a long way from home."