Chapter 6: A Night to Remember: Part 2
"Seeker, what's with the suspicious looks? You're watching me like I'm about to run away with the board," complained Varric as he moved a piece. "You keep grinning, and I want to know why," exclaimed Cassandra as she crossed her arms. "Maybe I'm thinking of ways to torture and kill the knight commander," he laughed. "No. Your smile is different," replied Cassandra. "What? A man can't enjoy a good game and a few drinks without worrying about an interrogation," sputtered Varric casually. "You know you're not my prisoner," protested Cassandra. "Just... Nevermind. I don't want to go down that victimization path again. We've obviously both had too much to drink," Cassandra said with a smile. "Yeah obviously. I can tell by the way you just butchered 'victimization'," Varric laughed.
"She doesn't know she's beautiful. Feminine yet strong. Caring. Soft, Supple breasts. Slight sensitive smile. Is she smiling at me," Cole interrupted. Varric instantly choked on his drink as his face turned bright pink in horror. He didn't want to look at Cassandra after Cole's statement. There was no question as to whether or not she heard it, and Varric was half expecting to be beaten out of his chair as he turned to face her. When her gaze met his, her soft smile started to grow and turned into a brief giggle. "I don't know what to say," she said. Though she giggled, he could tell that she was laughing at the situation and not at him. Her cheeks were rosy and pink, but Varric couldn't tell if it was from her embarrassment or the alcohol.
"So um... How about we never speak of this again," Varric suggested as he played nervously with his fingers and glared at Cole. "Alright Mr. Tethras," Cassandra responded. "But for the record, I don't excatly dislike you, either," she added. "Is that an admission of guilt," questioned Varric with a smile. "I'll never admit anything to you," laughed Cassandra, who was now looking at Cole suspiciously, hoping that he would not reveal anything else.
"You were both nervous, but now you're happy. I helped," Cole chimed in. Varric laughed heartily. "If you say so, kid. I think Blackwall and Cullen might need some help." As Cole disappeared to find more exceitement, Varric chuckled again. "How about we finish that game of ours, seeker?" "That's the best idea you've had all night," she responded, still giggling.
"That's 30. What's it gonna be, elfy" laughed Sera, tauntingly. "I guess I will drink," frowned Solas as he proceeded to the table to get another glass. It had been so long since he had consumed alcohol, and given the effect he was feeling from the first drink, Solas knew that he couldn't keep drinking. He needed to win the next round. Dorian had lost his first round as well and raised his glass towards Solas, who unceremoniously returned the gesture. Solas took the first sip slowly and then quickly finished it off. The Qunari drink was strong, but he recalled much stronger and worse-tasting alcohols in the distant past.
Eka walked over briefly while Dorian was working on his drink. "How are you holding up," she asked, afraid that Solas might be angry. She was surprised that it was the opposite. He slowly placed his arms around her back and lightly pinched the side of her waist as he responded with, "It is hard to complain with such a gorgeous view." Eka instantly blushed and looked around to see Sera poking her tongue out at them. "I'd better get back to my game," she continued. "Dorian is trying his best to make me pay for what I did to him in the last match." "Oh I see," responded Solas with a mischievous grin.
"So what's with you and Quizzie," Sera asked as Solas returned. He simply smiled and said, "Not for discussion," which made Sera even more curious. The next round was close. Sera and Solas were both tied at fifteen when Sera hit the yellow target, which sent her back down to ten. Solas lucked into two blue marks in a row and won the round. "I guess I'll drink so you're some kind of a challenge to me," Sera laughed as she disappeared to get her drink. He glanced over towards Eka and Dorian. Eka had lost the second round and had already finished her drink, and they both looked like they were having a lot of fun. He smiled as his mind began to wander.
She looked so pretty tonight - that infectious smile that could brighten up the darkest of rooms. The second glass was beginning to hit him hard, and he was really beginning to feel the alcohol's effects. His fine motor skills and speech were still in tact, but it was only a matter of time, and his head was starting to get cloudy, swarming with desirous thoughts.
His vhenan was completely irresistible, and her lips seemed to beckon him, so tender and wanting. She was completely oblivious to how much she aroused him. How he wanted to walk up to Eka and sweep her up into his arms and take her to his quarters, or her quarters. He really didn't care at that point. He pictured himself taking off every article of her clothing piece by piece as he laughed, fully knowing that this was the main reason that he had tried to avoid alcohol that evening.
"I guess I'm not surprised that you would be bumping bits with the only other elf here. I mean, she's hot and you're all about elvaan glory, so it makes sense," Sera interrupted. "Once again, not for discussion," reminded Solas with a playful smile. "Ugh, now I have to know. Why do you always make my head hurt," complained Sera. "So I have been told," countered Solas with a chuckle. During the third round, Solas deflected every question that Sera threw at him regarding his relationship, which frustrated her and threw her off of her game enough for Solas to get the win.
Once again, Sera opted to drink. "Are you sure that is wise," responded Solas, questioning if Sera was capable of handling her third glass. "Worry about yourself," she responded. "I'm probably the only one here who can keep up with Bull." Solas noticed that she barely seemed to respond to her second drink, while he was starting to notice a loss of coordination, especially in that last round of darts. He needed to end this quickly before Sera overtook him.
"You seem rather determined tonight," Eka said to Dorian, who responded with, "After that last match, I owe you big time." "I did you a favor," protested Eka. "You two had been looking at each other for weeks, and I simply sped up the process." "Yes, but walking up and saying 'I've been watching you, and I really want to ride the bull' out of nowhere was a bit creepy and upsetting." "You didn't seem very upset the next day," Eka snickered. "You're such a saucy minx. I never would have thought you had it in you," Dorian exclaimed with a laugh as he threw his dart. "By the way, that's my win," he added.
"Hmm.. I guess I'll to go with dare," said Eka, who had decided that two drinks were enough for the night. Dorian suddenly got a devious grin on his face as he said, "I want you to get a piggyback ride from Cullen all the way around the tavern." "You can't be serious," Eka complained. "It seems cruel. I know you've seen the way he looks at me. Secondly, I don't want to do that to Solas." Dorian commented with, "And that's precisely why you're going to do it. I don't care if you have to pull rank on him. I want to see the look on Solas' smug face," he said with a giggle. "Know that I WILL get you back for this," Eka sneered.
Eka immediately walked up to Solas and whispered something into his ear, earning a quizzical look from Sera. All eyes were focused on Eka as she walked to the other side of the tavern and then whispered into Cullen's ear. Cullen immediately laughed, obviously amused, as Eka climbed up the back of his chair and put her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs across his back. As the commander stood up and began to gallop, Eka bounced up and down on his back. She looked like a small child on top of him, and Dorian found himself quite pleased with his little idea.
Iron Bull and Leliana were the first to look up and start cheering. As the others joined in, the entire tavern erupted in claps and cheers. Dorian laughed out loud as he saw Solas' expression as Cullen first approached them. Solas' mouth was wide open in disbelief, but as he looked closer, Dorian didn't see anger. He saw jealousy that quickly subsided and was overtaken by what could only be described as lust. The reaction was entirely unexpected, and Dorian was quite impressed at the elf's restraint. Eka bowed politely to Cullen and then made her way back to Dorian.
"Jerk," she said playfully once she was back within earshot. Eka then smiled at Solas, who returned the expression, only he looked as if he was wanted to pounce on her from across the room. His seductive, predatory grin made her somewhat excited, as she began to wonder what was going through his brain and what might happen as the night continued.
"What did you say to get him to do it so easily, and what did you whisper to Solas," asked Dorian. "That's for me to know and you to find out," Eka teased. Round four was pretty even for the two until Eka pulled away at the end with a red hit to end the round.
Both mages were rather tipsy, and Dorian had decided that he was done drinking. "Truth," he announced, not wanting to deal with Eka's retaliation from his last dare. Eka grinned and asked, "What was the most embarrassing moment in your life?"
"Of all the questions you could have asked," Dorian whined. "I was sixteen years old and still developing my chain lightning. I wanted to practice by myself, which was obviously ill-advised. I walked to a nearby farm and decided to try to hit the metal farming equipment in the field. After about thirty minutes, I finally managed to do it, but the lightning jumped further than I could have imagined. What I neglected to notice was that I had been standing in a puddle next to a metal door. I woke up covered in my own urine, and my beautiful hair stood straight up. The walk home was embarrassing enough, but my hair wouldn't go back down. My father was so angry that he made me shave my head, which was the worst part of the entire thing. Eka laughed as she said, "You still electrocute yourself, so I guess not much has changed."
Shortly after Dorian's story, Bull walked towards them victoriously, twirling his favorite eye patch around his finger, which earned a congratulatory remark from Eka. Leliana joined him a few minutes later. Cullen and Blackwall had both left early, and Cole was nowhere to be found.
Cassandra and Varric were still engaged in the longest game of Wicked Grace in history. They seemed to be doing more talking and drinking than playing, and Iron Bull noticed that at one point they were just staring at each other and not saying or doing anything. He wondered if they were both obliterated from the alcohol and questioned if either of them was capable of getting out of their chairs.
The fourth round was tough for Solas. He couldn't seem to compensate for his sudden loss in precision and missed the entire board on his first two attempts. Sera was up fifteen points. "See, I told you I was fine. You're the one who should be worrying about the nasty things I'm gonna make you do. I hope you like bees," she said as she giggled boisterously. He glared at her and then hit a blue for five points. Sera answered with a red, which won her the round. "What'll it be," she asked. "I will take another drink," he said rather slowly, aware that his speech and balance capabilities were coming undone. As he walked towards his cup, he knew that the third drink was going to ravage him. He needed to finish the fifth round in a hurry.