Alya always loved her time with Dorian. She never knew what amusing quip would come out of his mouth at any given moment. Today, he had decided that she needed a day off, and had whisked her off to the ramparts with a picnic basket filled with wine and snacks that looked suspiciously like they were swiped from the kitchen without permission. So, they sat looking out over Skyhold, eating contraband and playing a game Dorian affectionately referred to as 'smash or pass'. "Alright, here's one for you, Iron Bull; Smash or Pass?" Dorian asked. He'd stopped re-filling his glass a while ago and now took sips straight from the wine bottle. Alya thought on the question, and after a minute replied "mmm pass." Dorian gave her a look that screamed 'oh I have to hear this' "Please explain." "I feel as if he would be fun in bed, but… The horns… One wrong move, and you poke your eye out. Pass." Dorian howled in laughter "well, in that scenario, at least the two of you would be matching." "DORIAN! That's horrible!" though she giggled along with him "Alright, smart guy, what about you? Smash or Pass on Bull?" Dorian paused before looking her in the eye and saying, "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it." After a beat of silence, the pair broke out into more giggles.
"Okay, okay." Alya sighed, continuing with their game "How about… Varric?" Dorian wrinkled his nose in a 'really?' sort of gesture. "Too short, and definitely too hairy. Pass." Alya pondered it a moment before replying "I do not know… he seems like he would be experienced. Also, some people like chest hair, Dorian." The man simply pretended to gag. "Well, I don't. Also, the height thing. If I'm going to be with someone, they have to at least come up to my nipple." Alya chuckled at that "That is a little superficial." "says the girl who said 'pass' because of horns." "That is different!" Alya defended "there is risk of injury there!" Dorian considered his wine bottle as he said, "I don't know, you could probably get a serious rug burn off Varric's chest-carpet." The elf had to grab onto the ledge they were sitting on for support as she laughed "Stop it! You are going to make me fall off the ramparts!"
Dorian chuckled at his dear friend's antics, before his eyes landed on a rather handsome elf that was sparring with Cullen in the court yard. "What about him?" Dorian gestured with the bottle. "Who? Commander Rutherford?" Alya fidgeted slightly "I umm… actually-" Dorian shook his head "No, no. Not Cullen. Everyone in the Maker damned castle knows you'd smash him." And for what felt like the millionth time in three months, Alya was relieved that her skin tone made it difficult to tell when she was blushing. "The elf sparring with him. My, he's a snack, isn't he...? say, Al, would It be racist of me to say you look a lot like him?" The woman in question looked at her companion as if he'd just sprouted a second head. "I… Dorian, that is Ronnin. You met him yesterday and called him 'Prickish' remember?" Dorian did a double take "That's your brother?" "Yes! I do not understand how you did not recognize him. You literally met him the day before." "well," Dorian began, in an exasperated tone, "It's a little hard to see what someone actually looks like when they spit in your eyes and call you a 'Vinty Scum-Sucking Pig'".
Alya let a breath out through her nostrils as she looked down at her brother and shook her head. "Yes, that sounds like him. I suppose I should have been there to introduce you, instead of shoving the duty onto Cass. I have just been so busy lately, what with all the alliances, and that one Orlesian who keeps sending letters to Josie asking for my hand…." Dorian, who had been lost in thought, snapped out at that moment "What? As in all severed-like?" Alya snorted at his phrasing, and tossed it back at him. "No. As in, all married-like." "How old?" Alya shrugged "I do not know. From the tone in his letters, Lelliana guesses at least 55." Dorian cringed "Gross." The 26-year-old elf hummed in agreement. "Tell you what," Dorian propositioned, "Pimp me out to your very tasty older brother, and I'll scare off your would-be suitor." Alya looked from Ronnin, to Dorian. "Two things: I have to approve on your scaring methods, and you never describe my brother using an adjective that you would also use to describe food ever again." Dorian laughed, re-filling Alya's glass with the beverage before raising the wine bottle in a mock-toast. "Deal!"