ａｂｉｅｃｔｉｏ

          Aristide lets out a heavy sigh as he accepts the glass, staring down into the amber liquid. He swirls it slowly round the cup, letting the aromas release. He has scarcely savored hard liquor. Wines, indeed, his preferred drink of choice – liquor is for shooting back quickly to numb whatever pains ache at the spine. Resisting the urge to simply make a mess of himself (his typical guests adore his mess), the elf peers up at the smiling man.

           “ I fear you shall gain the wrath of our dear ambassador. She has               specifically told me not to drink while doing my duties. A pity, truly.               We occasionally make our best decisions while drunk. From what               do you hide, Dorian, in order to turn to drink? ”

          “hush--she shan’t know. i’m good at keeping secrets, you see.”

     he wink over the rim of his own glass. he ignores the question for now. lots of things turn him to drinks: his father, his own failures, the overwhelming feeling of not belonging. but he can’t bog aristide down with his feelings. the man was already caught up in his own head.

          “you’ll never save the world like that.” dorian can’t help but smirk at the situation fenriel’s gotten himself into. honestly, the inquisitor hiding in his alcove is a humorous situation in and of itself. “hiding from chantry mothers?”

          “have you seen my book? the one on magical properties and geodes? it was sitting right here--” he gestures to the table, a grand thing born of frustration and anger. “did you take it? at least let me know when you borrow books.”

She let out a scoff as he immediately starts scrolling, giving a light punch to his arm. “You weren’t supposed to scroll through!” Her cheeks are blazing red. “I-I had a lot of wine. I don’t even know what came over me.” Mae took the phone back, pouting at him. There wasn’t exactly a justification for it. “Anyways…I think she’s very cute. But…I don’t know.” She took the wine bottle, pouring her own and drinking deep. “Nothing will probably come of it.”

    “Well, I guess not…It’s just…Surely someone will be upset with us for existing.” She shrugged a bit, just walking along with him down the streets. It was obvious to her, the smell of sweat and sex and life. They were certainly around humans. She steps up to the bar, having a seat and bringing the glass to her lips. It’s a shame that it didn’t do anything for her any longer. Her sapphire eyes slowly scanned the dimly lit room.

         ❝ maybe if it was saved for endearing comments. ❞ but now it was just getting irritating to the point of no return. of course the smirk on the other’s face said that he was achieving exactly what he set out to do. ❝ what is your fascination with bothering me right now? ❞

      and the urge to punch the mage square in the face arose, though he knew that would only cause more problems than give him satisfaction. a sigh escaped and fingers ran through his hair to brush it back. ❝ y’know, a lot of people don’t really talk to me because i’m the inquisitor. why aren’t you more like them? ❞