contact part deux

[bouchonne]

if this were modern times byerly would probably make you listen to total eclipse of the heart before you were able to leave a message

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[bouchonne]

A heavy choice, it seems.

[untiltheyarent]

[A little laugh.]

It's a nice reward, at the end of the day. I will see you then, messere.


[And she does, appearing with a polite little knock around the normal quitting time. Benedict lets her in on his way out, and she steps inside with the quiet confidence of someone who knows the office-- which she does, because it's she who cleans it in the early morning.

She curtsies again.]

[bouchonne]

[ And he, in turn, gives a bow to her - reasonably deep, quite elegant. ]

Tell me your preferences, madame. Red or white? Sweet or dry?

[untiltheyarent]

[Fifi's not used to receiving bows or honorifics, and it shows in her quietly startled expression.]

...red, [she says, caught off-guard,] please. On the dry side, if you can.

[She takes a few steps in, glancing about as if seeing the office for the first time.]

[bouchonne]

I most certainly can.

[ He makes his way over to his side table and selects a bottle. ]

This should do. Nevarran - say what you will about Nevarrans, and I've said rather a lot, but they make fine wines. Please have a seat.

[untiltheyarent]

I don't know that I have much to say about Nevarrans.

[She smiles faintly, coming to perch on the chair opposite Byerly's desk.]

Good or bad, I mean. I haven't met all that many, and never been to Nevarra itself.

[bouchonne]

What, don't you know my glorious lady wife?

[untiltheyarent]

[A subtle shake of her head.]

Not personally, messere, though I know of her. She is quite distinguished.

[bouchonne]

She is.

[ There's real warmth in his voice. ]

And what about the twin kings of bad moods? You don't know them?

[untiltheyarent]

[This yields a slightly larger smile, though it's still restrained, in its way.]

Again, not personally, though Messere Kostos' office was under my care, for a time.

[Until he got his ass fired from the leadership position, but there's no need to trot that out.]

Not many have reason to talk to me, Messere. I suppose one might say it's my own fault, but I have gratitude for the quiet.

[bouchonne]

[ He lifts his brows, pouring her a glass of wine. Then, because she asked that he speak plainly: ]

Do you have a side career, madame?

[ Well. Plainly-ish. ]

[untiltheyarent]

Outside of Riftwatch? No.

[She raises her glass to him, waiting for him to pour his own before she takes a drink.]

[bouchonne]

[ He hums, and obediently sips from his own glass. He doesn't miss that caution. ]

And inside Riftwatch? Does the Scoutmaster take your reports?

[untiltheyarent]

[She pauses to sip from her own glass, and perhaps takes a moment to think on it. Then,]

Yes.

[bouchonne]

[ Well, good. Otherwise, this conversation would be a lot edgier. ]

I hope she treats you well. I suspect she does, from my discussions with Bastien. So what brought you to Riftwatch?

[untiltheyarent]

[The shadow of a smile.]

She does, [Fifi confirms.]

I came to Riftwatch with a friend from Val Royeaux. We were associated, for a time, with the Freemen of the Dales, but we were intercepted by Inquisition agents while making a lyrium delivery, and... it was the excuse I needed.

[A strand of hair is tucked carefully behind one pointed ear.]

After all their pains to establish themselves as separate from and against the War of the Lions, they re-entered it in opposition to both sides. I had no stomach left for it.

[She looks down at her wine as she swirls it gently, some of the light leaving her eyes.]

[bouchonne]

The Freemen of the Dales?

[ Huh. ]

I thought that was a predominantly human organization. No?

[untiltheyarent]

[Meeting his eyes, she nods. Though her gaze is not exhausted, per se, Fifi has the overall look of someone who has spent a lifetime concealing her true opinions for the sake of survival.]

[bouchonne]

[ His smile is wry, but rather kind. ]

You'll find me hard to shock. You can speak freely.

[untiltheyarent]

[She warms somewhat, but only slightly.]

If I was noticed at all, I was the help.

[A small, bitter scoff through her nose doesn't change her expression.]

My husband was killed in action. I hoped I might find some justice for him there.

[bouchonne]

I'm sorry to hear that.

[ And for what it's worth, that seems very genuine. ]

The civil war was truly a blight. The Duke and the Empress both acted unconscionably in their hunger for power. And it was Orlais that suffered for it.

[untiltheyarent]

[She believes him.]

For all the culture and grandeur of my country, there are many who've died within its borders without ever seeing it.

[bouchonne]

Do you see it? Its grandeur? Or has it always been denied to you?

[untiltheyarent]

I auditioned for the opera ballet, when I first arrived. I was...

[Self-consciousness hits her, and her eyes lower.]

...foolish. Elves have been known to make it there, but a select few, who have been training under the masters their whole lives, brought up to do only that. I came from the countryside. I was a shepherdess with a bit of dance knowledge.

[The strand of hair has fallen forward, and she tucks it behind her ear again.]

My husband's brother painted the backdrops for the theatre near the alienage, and was able to secure us cheap seats there sometimes. I think that's the closest I've been to grandeur.

[This yields a fond smile, despite the bitterness of the conversation.]

[bouchonne]

[ And he smiles. Not pitying; just a little wry. ]

I'm half-Orlesian myself. From my mother. And yet when I came to Val Royeaux, looking for a home among people I thought would accept me more readily than the Fereldans had, all I saw was rejection. And I ought to have had every advantage - a man of noble birth, with cousins in the capital - but I was turned away.

[ A one-shouldered shrug. ]

Orlais is not a land that loves easily. I can only imagine the hell it put someone like you though.