Private Tales Take the risk or lose the chance

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
Lottie couldn't see it on account of her quick departure, but she'd left the innkeeper with quite a thoughtful expression on his face. He'd seen Varys as an annoying child for so long that he'd failed to realize that Varys saw him as the inverse; a father figure of sorts. After all, it wasn't as though the young elf had much in the way of a true family.

The slight shifting of the bed underneath was enough to inspire the awake, but still relaxing Varys to open his eyes, immediately wincing at the pain radiating from the side of his head. It always hurt more the day after, didn't it? Groaning, he brought a hand to the bandaged temple where his ear had once been, turning around towards Lottie sipping coffee beside him.

Funny how company could make you forget about pain.

"Mm. Mornin' sunshine." He mumbles up at her, pulling himself to sit up against the headboard. Gods, it wasn't just his head; His whole body ached from the battle of the previous day, and he wasn't looking forward to standing up. "Looking pretty good for somebody who nearly imploded. How you feelin' Lot?"
 
Lottie felt as though she looked anything but good. She'd caught a glimpse of herself in the looking glass in the bathroom earlier and had decided it was wise not to look again. Purplish bruises had come out along her arms and the wound in her shoulder from the arrow felt as though it were on fire and being dowsed in ice in equal amounts. Then there was the general state of her hair...

"Like Death, but Death with coffee at least," she murmured half into the cup before taking another blissful sip. Her eyes closed as she savoured the feeling of life coursing through her veins. "I brought you some, and some food. I had to listen to a lecture on your youthful ways in order to get it but it is a small price to pay for coffee this good," special blend indeed. Lottie would have to find the recipe for it.

Shifting her cup from both hands to one, she picked up a bit of toast and eggs and took a giant bite.

"'ow 'bout yew?" she asked around a mouthful of food.
 
Varys failed to resist cringing at hearing that Hassel had been complaining about him. It was expected, but Lottie didn't need to hear it after the day she'd had. "Eugh... Sorry about that. I'd bet he's been saving all that up for the last few years..." He apologized and swung his legs off the side of the bed, bringing a hand to where his ear had been again and wincing at the sharp sting.

"I've been better, but that wasn't the worst beating I've taken if you can believe it..." Anything beat being drowned and having your fingers hacked off, although thankfully the latter had been mental torture magic and not reality, granted. "Today, our schedule is to do absolutely jack shit. Except maybe take a look around. No roof racing today." Varys turns his head and smirks back to her. "Unless you're feeling froggy, of course."

Either way, Varys needed to get moving. Pushing himself to his feet with a groan, he goes about dressing himself while Lottie eats. They got off lucky yesterday, everything considered. A night of sleep had cleared his mind a little, and he wasn't feeling nearly as conflicted about things as he had been the night before.

There was work to be done, and he finally had an idea of what direction to take next.
 
Lottie stuck her tongue out at Varys when his back was turned. Froggy indeed! She focused instead on what mattered most which was finishing her coffee and the food. Whatever the differences between Varys and the old innkeep, he certainly hadn't slacked when it came to making them their meal at least.

"You should eat," she commented after the elf was dressed and pointedly pushed the still full - alright, semi full after she had stolen a sausage and a piece of toast - plate towards him with a look she thought Wren would have been proud of. "I could do with picking up some real clothes... and more supplies than just three days worth," she admitted with a glance to her sad canvas pack. After yesterday she had lost one whole outfit to blood and tears and she hadn't had a lot to begin with.

"But sightseeing sounds fun, it's been a while since I could walk around a city without having to hide my face..." though maybe after yesterday she shouldn't flaunt who she was. Sliding out of bed she picked up the tiara she had stolen from the Queens very head. "And I need somewhere to pawn this."
 
"Mmh. Shopping and tourism..." Varys let out a little grunt as he finished dressing, pulling his jacket over his shoulders and stealing a look down at the food with eyes that betrayed just how badly he needed something in his stomach. "...Sounds like just the grueling training a blossoming young mage needs." He smirks and sits back down on the bed, pulling the food into his lap and taking a large bite out of a sausage. Hassel could be a pain, but the food he served was always good.

"Yeah, I don't think any of those mooks from yesterday will be around. They probably won't be on their feet for weeks, so it should be safe to let your hair down." Varys shut his eyes, speaking between bites as his aches and pains seemed to melt away under the strength of a decent meal. "I'd hold onto that tiara just a bit longer though. Trying to pawn that in town is definitely going to draw attention to you. I know some guys out in the woods who'll work with us on that."

Fal'Addas was a long way from Oban, but that didn't mean news didn't travel. The events of the party would have reached at least a few pointy ears down here. That was a risk Varys didn't want to take so soon after that whole episode yesterday.

"For now, let's just worry about clothes and supplies. We'll worry about the tiara when that's squared away.

Lottie didn't have much in the way of clothes to begin with, and she couldn't keep wearing his old duds all the time.
 
Lottie considered the crown and then, eventually, sighed and stuffed it back into her bag. She was beginning to regret having taken the thing though it had seemed fun at the time. She needed to let go. It wasn't just people hunting her but her own nightmares, and the best way to get rid of them was to put them behind her. What had happened, had happened. Nothing she did would ever change that fact, but she could stop letting it define her. No more fear and anger. She had a new goal, her own goal, something not fuelled by the need for vengeance or her sisters beliefs.

Hers.

"Fine," she sighed flippantly and headed for the door, hand on the handle until Varys was ready. "I hope you're quite prepared to see my second best power; haggling," her lips kicked up at the corners into a devilish, cocky smile before breezing out into the corridor when Varys was ready.

Almost four hours later Lottie flopped onto a bench in front of an elegant fountain that looked as though it were made of ice, yet it did not melt in the heat of the midday sun. She had bags upon bags and she looked rather pleased with herself.

"We might need a bigger carriage..." she mused.
 
Lottie's dissatisfaction at his answer in regards to the Tiara was noted, and Varys knotted his brow as shoved it away once again. He didn't know of its symbolism, but she certainly seemed to be getting antsy in regard to the haul she was so proud of only a few days prior. Some things are best left unpressed, he ultimately decided. If she wanted him to know her reasons, she would tell him.

If one searched for a word to describe the next four hours, you could certainly do worse than imparting. Lottie really didn't even need him for the trip; As soon as Varys had shown her to the largest market district she was off speaking to every grandiloquent salesman who flagged her down. Human tourism was a big source of revenue for the city, and the eager merchants were certainly making their money today.

The ordeal was also rather alien to Varys. Having always been a man of poverty in his time here, he'd never actually spent much time in the heart of the markets. Too much risk of getting caught stealing there, no point in browsing without any coin. For his part, he purchased a fresh pair of gloves, a couple of jars of fresh salt for his work, and a deer pelt so that he could repair some of his more personal effects that had worn with age.

By the time Lottie finally decided she was finished, It was midday, and the warm sun had returned to bake them as they sat aside the fountain.

He gave her a playful smirk at her thought. "Don't know if you've noticed, but that old thing has a lot more space than you realize. You were only in the back when you were half-dead, so maybe your memory is a bit fuzzy." An elbow nudges her. "That was after...what, the second time I'd saved your ass? Or the third? I'm losing count."
 
Lottie stuck her tongue out.

"Fine, perhaps I owe you a few of those life savings you keep mentioning," she muttered lightly, the smile on her lips betraying her true feelings. Unlike her sisters, Lottie did not particularly feel the need to repay debts and neither did she expect for others to repay such debts to her. She she did she hoped would be paid forward, and so it was that when good things fell into her lap she paid them forward. Perhaps she would not save Varys' life one day but she might save anothers in his name.

"This city is so beautiful," Lottie sighed, returning her attention to the scene before her. "I had only ever heard songs of this city before and how the bards had described it... I thought it couldn't possible be real. But..." she waved a hand towards the climbing glass spires.
 
"You know, I honestly hated this place when I was growing up." Varys admitted, crossing a leg over the other as he let his eyes roam over the busy city surrounding him. The calm between the two of them in the center of such a bustling, thriving haven made it feel like they sat in the eye of a hurricane, a brief moment of peace before more chaos came their way. "But I was always struggling to live. I was such an angry person. Looking at it now... I never did forget these people. All the times I came close to dying kinda made me realize how I took it for granted."

Varys almost wanted to ask her about Oban. Did she miss it, despite all the wrongs committed to her there? Was it still home in her heart? Varys hadn't forgotten what he'd seen yesterday, the atrocities she'd been through. It wasn't a surprise his attempt at expressing himself to her last night had fallen flat. How could she trust anybody to that extent after something like that?

Lottie motioned a hand up towards the tall spires, reaching high into the sky. Varys followed her fingers with his eyes and gave a soft smile as the hand dropped back into her lap, before placing his own over hers. "Hey, you've done a lot for me too, Lot. I know you don't see it that way, but you saved my life yesterday. I couldn't have handled all of that on my own."

After a pause, he nodded towards the spires.

"When you're feeling better, I'll show you how to climb those things. The view up there is something else."
 
After putting it in danger...

Lottie didn't say it aloud of course. It was an argument her and Varys would no doubt have for as long as they live and she saw no sense in ruining the perfect day with rehashing it now. Instead she took his hand and gave it a squeeze in silent thank you, a thank you for believing in her goodness and ability whilst she did not.

"I wish I was arrogant enough to say I was up for it today," Lottie laughed, her eyes still lingering on the city spires. "I've always liked being up high. You can feel a part of everything whilst finding... solitude," her sisters had always thought it lonely but Lottie had always had an imagination that had enabled her to insert herself into the mundane lives of the city folk without the need to live it.

"You know, when I was little, I wanted to be a Griffin Rider. To fly," she sighed and closed her eyes, a smile curving her lips upwards. "I think to fly is freedom personified."
 
If the perils he'd faced had taught Varys anything about life, it was the importance of looking forward and not hinging yourself on the events of the past. Maybe the throbbing pain where his ear used to be should have been bugging him a lot more than it was, but his way of thinking had already pushed the events of yesterday out of the forefront of his mind.

What was important is that they were both still here today.

"So you're not going to pretend you are?" He smiled at her claim she lacked such arrogance. "Dare I say it... progress?" Of course, Varys didn't say the quiet part out loud; Lottie had almost certainly learned a very valuable lesson about pushing herself too far over the last couple of days, and he wasn't so petty as to pull that into the open. "There are a lot of different kinds of solitude, you know. The solitude wherein you escape the eyes of others is much different than the solitude wherein the eyes of others escape you."

It was harder than he expected, not showing outwardly how much he enjoyed her hand closed around his. The breeze of the bustling city blowing his hair coupled with the familiar scent of bark, leaves and life in the air... it almost made it easy to forget they were supposed to be learning. If he closed his eyes tight enough, he could pretend they were just here. Together.

"With your untapped talent, Lot? I wouldn't be surprised if you can fly without a Griffin."

Then he was quiet for a moment, just enjoying things as they were.

"C'mon, let's load up the wagon and head back. If there's anything else you wanna see before sundown we better get on with it. It's back to work tomorrow." He reluctantly released her hand, turning over to look at her beside him. "Hope you didn't think you were getting rid of me that easy."
 
Why did her hand feel so... wrong when he let go?

Lottie shook herself and mentally slapped herself for being so stupid. It was because she was tired and because he had saved her life now twice. That was all it was, she told herself irritably. None of her mental argument showed on her face and she stood with a stretch and that easy, lop-sided smile that was her signature piece.

"I think I should be the one saying that, I was just letting you have today off," she drawled and picked up her bags once more. She was quite pleased with the things she had gotten, but there was one last thing. "One last shop, I promise."

Setting back off through the city she retraced her steps to where she had seen the little book shop on the corner and smiled when the bell tinkled. In Oban, magic was outlawed, so when she had seen the sign advertising books on the magical arts... well Lottie hadn't been able to resist.
 
Oh, of course! She couldn't let down that big fuckin' wall of confidence for long, could she? He rolled his eyes as she stood and gathered her things, one brow raised as he peered up at her from his spot on the bench. "Give me a break, I can handle anything you could possibly throw at me." This bush-league mage thought she was gonna step on his ears, or ear rather?

All in good fun, of course. Varys had a competitive streak a mile long that he rarely got to exercise. With the potential she did show, he doubted he'd stay ahead of her for long. Hell, he was probably going to have to pick up his own training just to keep up. Let it not be said that Lottie wasn't good motivation on several fronts.

"One more, huh?" He eyed her already exhaustive haul for the day, before relenting with a shrug of his shoulders. "Alright, alright. Let's go." Varys pushed himself back up to his feet, stretching his arms out over his head. "But if you get so much you can't carry it back, you're outta luck, bub."

The store she had in mind turned out to be one of the few Varys had never been inside of. Given he hadn't any magical ability when he lived here, he'd never even thought to steal from Albrecht's Arcane Academics. Though he had vandalized the sign a few times. Awful lot of A's in that name, weren't there?

"Huh... you know, I've never actually been in here..."

The inside was a deep blue, and any wall that wasn't lined with books had random assortments of magical paraphanelia, potion making tools, vaguely labeled paintings and ingredients... It was a cacaphony to the senses.
 
Lottie's eyes were as large as the full moon as she took it all in. In Oban, if she had been caught in such a shop - if such a shop had existed - she would have been imprisoned, perhaps even executed. A few other patrons glanced up from their browsing to see who had entered then turned their attentions back to their books. She couldn't even put into words how that made her feel. She wasn't sure she fully comprehended it herself. Dumping her pile of bags in a corner so she didn't knock anything over as she browsed, Lottie stepped up to one bookcase and ran her fingers over the spines of her books.

"How could you not come in here every day?" she whispered in awe.

Picking out a book at random she flipped it open and thumbed through the pages. It seemed to be a spell book of some kind though it was written - naturally - in elvish. She put it back down.

"Are there common tongue books?" she asked shyly of her elven friend.
 
He couldn't deny the place was impressive. It felt like he'd stepped through a portal leading him right into that gaudy college in Elbion. Not that he didn't mind the vibe the store gave off; he found the color and scent of burning candle in the air to be relaxing, and the wisps of smoke that traveled from the dimly lit lanterns hanging from the concave domed roof above their heads could have lulled him to sleep if he was tired enough to nap.

"I didn't know any magic. And... I couldn't read." Varys muttered back, leaning against her slightly, his head turning towards a far shelf as if he were embarrassed by the admission. "I was just some little rat from the alleyways, Lot. Places like this didn't mean a thing to me." There was a pang of sadness on his tongue, but whether it be from memory or from regret was a mystery.

Lot stepped away and started skimming a book that looked to be on the topic of Elven-Made potions by the title of the spine: "Brews of the Falwood; Potency and Purity". Varys himself took a few idle steps towards the counter, devoid of anything, even dust. Didn't look to be anybody behind it either, unless you counted the strange mannequin dressed up in some of the most stereotypical wizard garb he'd ever seen. Clicking his tongue, he pointed a finger at the dapper dummy. "Lookin' good, chief."

"Common tongue, you say?"

He turned to see a tall, slim woman approaching Lottie seemingly from nowhere. Her hair was a pale white, tied into massive braids and trailing down the length of her back to hang over her rear, which was hugged nicely by a blue dress painted with pictures of the night sky; bright white splashes over blue as dark as the room around them.

"Mmm. You're not from around here, are you, young lady?" She purred, her voice smooth, but with a hint of age's rasp to it as one of her hands reached out trail across the shelves Lottie has been skimming, long painted nail dragging lazily against leather spines. "I'm sure we can find something for you. What is it you wish to expand your knowledge on?"
 
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Lottie looked up in surprise when Varys commented on the fact he couldn't ready. She often forgot how he started in this life considering how he swaggered about now as though the world owed him something. She also acknowledged it was presumptuous of her to assume in the beginning; despite having left her past life behind many moons ago the silver spoon still altered her perceptions of the world. She should have apologised but he was already off to investigate his own thing amongst the shelves and after all this missed out time on not perusing these shelves, she didn't want to deprive him of the chance to look for himself now.

She put the book back with a small sigh and was about to find someone she could ask for help when a woman of such beauty approached it made Lottie's whole mouth dry up.

"I... yes..." Lottie stammered and then forced herself to swallow. "N-no, I'm sorry... I wish I could speak your tongue though," it seemed as though there was far more knowledge written in elvish than in mans Common Tongue. The woman seemed to find that amusing for she smiled, which only made her more achingly beautiful. Were all elves like this?

"I-I-Illusion magic... please... if you have anything..."
 
The woman smiled, not at all offended by her ignorance of Elvish. This store lured in bevels of human travelers who spoke only the language of their kind; it was far from new to her. If anything, Lottie's manners were a refreshing far cry from her usual human patron. "Have you not asked your partner at my counter about learning our wonderful language? Certainly, it is possible to teach." The mysterious shopkeeper's head swiveled to look at Varys, arms crossed as he watched the two of them. A shade of color ran to his face and he cleared something from his throat that likely didn't exist.

"I mean... It hasn't come up, but I don't see why I would mind doing that..."

Varys used common more than he did elvish, but elvish was his native. This strange, mystifyingly beautiful woman spoke as though she'd already known that though. Who was she? The curvaceous elven woman certainly wasn't what Varys imagined from the name on the store. Albrecht sounded more like an old man.

She flashed Varys a smile that would have threatened to melt him if he were as shy as he once was, and it still made him avert his eyes as she returned her attention to Lottie. "Ah, but where have my manners gone? My name is Arilette Albrecht. The pleasure is all mine, my dear." Reaching her hand back out to the shelves, she deftly pulled a thinner book from between two massive leatherbacks emblazoned with elvish words. With a sweeping, practiced motion, Arilette flicked her wrist to open the book to the first page and presented it to Lottie in the span of a second. "Crafting the Unseen. It is an older work, but perfect for the aspiring illusionist who wishes to better their abilities."

Honestly, Varys wasn't sure that Lottie could be considered a beginner. In terms of raw strength, she was a prodigy. It was reining herself in she needed help with. Stepping away from the corner, he took the risk and interjected in elvish as Albrecht busied herself with row after row of knowledge, scanning for more reading options for Lot. "Miss Albrecht, If I may."

Her body turned at his call, nodding to him before giving Lottie some final words in a warm purr. "Call me if you need anything more, darling." Arilette then glided over to Varys, tilting her head quizzically at his sudden language switch. "Something you don't wish the girl to hear, dear?"


It wasn't that he wished to hide anything from Lottie, but he knew she would take his concern the wrong way. "I've been working with her on her illusions, and she's... well, remarkable." He replied, looked past the captivating woman to Lottie and the open book in her arms, smiling a bit. "Her emotions though, they're too unstable. She can't hold onto anything for long before losing control." His voice lowered, as if somehow Lottie would hear him even in another language. "I had an unfortunate peek into her psyche yesterday. It's ugly. I'm surprised she can do any magic with all the unresolved trauma filling her skull. Admittedly, it's been about all I can do to keep us both alive the last few weeks."

Arilette was wise, not showing any sign of concern or reaction on her face, maintain the smooth, welcoming smile she'd worn this entire time. She did, however, lean in a bit, lowering her voice to match his own. "Darling, you do not strike me as a fool. You wouldn't be teaching her if you thought her unteachable." She mused, cheeks rising as her smile... changed. "Unless... there's more to the situation than you're sharing with me?"

One could almost hear the growl under the one-eared elf's throat. Was everybody going to start calling him out on his feelings for Lot now? He wasn't even sure he'd processed the revelation himself yet, and now he had strangers needling him. Deciding that he wasn't going to answer, Arilette leaned back, softly biting the inside of her cheek. "Sometimes, darling, the best thing for a troubled mind is company. Time. She is better suited with somebody who is capable of helping her than she would be alone." A chaste pat to his shoulder and she resumed common speak. "All one truly needs is the right shoulder to lean upon."

Not waiting for another reply, she spun once more, long braided hair nearly knocking Varys off his feet as she called back to Lottie happily. "I'll be sending you home with a book on the elvish language as well, free of charge. The spreading of our culture is payment enough."
 
Where had a desire to learn elvish suddenly come from? Lottie was certain she had just panicked, afraid she looked like some stupid human who went around assuming everyone would speak her own language or at least Common, even in their own city. Though now she had said it and Varys had offered she found herself thinking it might not be a bad thing. It also felt rebellious in its own little way; her father would have a fit if he ever knew his darling youngest daughter had dirtied her tongue with elven speak.

"Thank you," she murmured as the book was placed in her hands and she instantly opened it to leaf through the pages. She was quickly consumed by the introduction to the point she didn't even realise Arilette leaving to speak quietly with Varys. In fact, now she had been shown the section of the store where books she could read were shelved, Lottie set about quickly finding five more - six more - seven more - volumes that interested her.

"Oh!" she turned towards the elves with the pile of her books now reaching her chin and grinned. "Thank you, I think I should... probably stop here," she laughed and made her way over to rest the stack on the counter. "Varys won't be able to carry anymore than this," Lottie threw her friend a mischievous smile.
 
Even Arilette raised her brows at the enthusiasm Lottie showed in her perusal of her wares. Unlike Varys, who seemed to look more and more exasperated by the haul he was expected to take back with them, Miss Albrecht looked rather proud of the human for her eagerness. As Beaufort finished her shopping, Arilette lowered her hand down to her shoulder and patted it affectionately. "I'm sure you'll make it up to him darling, and the next time you come to me, you can greet me in my own tongue." The smile that shone down on Lottie was positively radiant.

Lottie's pack mule shot her a look as he slid between the two of them to retrieve her books, hoisting them into his arms with a soft grunt of exertion. "Girl has put me through the wringer two days in a row, I'm starting to feel like I've done more training than her." He complained, but not without a hint of a smile. "Left the money on the counter, Miss Albrecht. Thanks for the hospitality, yeah?" He shot the woman a wink as he turned towards the door, carefully carrying the books as he went. "C'mon Lot. We have reading to do, apparently."

Arilette returned the wink and wiggled her fingers after Varys and Lottie, the soft clinking of her various rings as they collided sounding like a bell as they exited. "Come again soon! I'll be waiting, darlings!"
 
"I can carry them if it's too much for you," Lottie said sweetly, knowing full well the elfs own pride wouldn't let him now she had offered. They were much too similar in that regard. Instead she gathered up the other bags she had all but abandoned and with a wave and promise to the beautiful bookkeeper they would be back soon, Lottie followed Varys outside. She was true to her word in that being the last place she would drag him to which was probably for the best given how much they had spent.

"Shops like that are completely banned in Oban," Lottie shook her head to clear it of the wonder that still lingered on her as they reached the door of the inn and began making their way to their room. "I just can't get over how... different it is here. Where's the best place you've ever visited?"
 
"The best place?" Varys grunted as he dropped the stack of books on her side of the bed, where he wouldn't have to pay them any attention if he didn't want to. Lottie's question was an interesting one; Varys had a lot of places under his belt, but now that he thought about it, almost all of them were attached to negative memories. "Well, considering somebody has tried to kill me just about everywhere I go, that's a toughie."

He could think of a few cities that were impressive to the untrained eye, but in one he'd been kidnapped and enslaved, and in the other he'd been used and extorted by the city's matriarch. Osteriam was a cozy little mining town, but it was run by criminals, and he'd spent half the night in a cave with a demoness. Then there was Elbion, but the one time they'd invited him there that strange Visha woman had ambushed him right in the quad...

"Most of the time, I suppose I considered that little lake outside of Oban to be my favorite memory, but..." Varys plopped onto the mattress, his body silently thanking him for some kind of cushioning. There was one place the elf thought Lottie would love. "You've heard of Alliria, I bet? Massive city, it's like two of Oban, maybe even more." Varys had only been there himself once, on a nasty bit of business hunting a demon that some moron had managed to summon from an old book in a library. Still, he'd explored for a week and still hadn't seen even a fourth of what the place had to offer, he smiled up at Lottie as he recounted what he saw.

"All types there. I've never seen so many different species and races living in the same place. None of that no-magic bullshit for the women either. One old crone just about burnt a purse-snatcher to a crisp last time I was there, it was a sight to see."
 
Lottie's eyes were wide saucers and it was easy to see she was mentally trying to conjure the image of a city almost double or more the size of Oban but coming up short. Especially when it came to different species.

"I saw a dwarf, once. In town for trading...." she drifted off when she realised she'd been speaking aloud and not thinking of the strange looking creature quietly to herself. She had been trying to imagine if he had had friends or family. If there had been, say, ten of them wandering the streets and how much attention that would have brought. Yet in this Allira it was nothing.

She busied herself with putting away her new items into proper trunks and cases so it would be easier to pack into the carriage.

"That spot by the lake is one of my favourites too..." she said quietly as she did, a fond smile tugging at her lips. "though I reckon by the end of this trip we'll have found a lot more."
 
Varys occupied himself sorting away his own belongings, pouring the salts he'd purchased into large glass jars of his own design, shaped wide to the point they nearly resembled bowls with lids. He set each jar on the only full-sized table in the room, lining the wall by the bath and then pulled a small vial from his jacket, full of a crystal blue liquid.

"Dwarves can get a bad rap, but really they're agreeable as long as you're respectful of them. It's when you look down on them that they can be dangerous." Varys hummed as he uncorked the vial and poured a few drops of the liquid into one of the jars, quickly replacing the cork and setting the vial back in his pocket as he waited for the salt to soak the agent up, adding with a smirk. "Looking down on them in a figurative sense, of course."

With the salt soaking, Varys unrolled the deer pelt and pulled out his knife, sitting on the stool beside the bed and slowly cutting the pelt into strips of different sizes. He too couldn't help but smile at the idea of finding places like the lake for them to remember.

By the end of this trip.

"You know, it's only been a couple weeks, but it feels like it's been months, doesn't it? I know things haven't gone according to plan, but I hope you haven't gotten sick of me just yet."
 
Lottie snorted a laugh at the joke. She hadn't formed much of an opinion on dwarves in general he had just been a morbid curiosity, a tulip amongst a sea of roses. It had been hard not to stare when she had only ever read about them in books. Being friends with Varys was the only reason she didn't stare at the elves here - unless of course they were beautiful tall bookkeepers apparently. Her cheeks reddened at the memory and she was glad when Varys drew her attention back to him.

"Months, years," she laughed and ran a hand through her choppy short hair. "Maybe we were just cramming all of the dramatics into our first few weeks together and the rest will be... easy?" she offered weakly, keeping a serious face for all but a second, before bursting into laughter.

"What am I saying, I think someone stuck a curse on us for trouble. But at least it's fun with you."
 
"More like a curse on me. Trouble seems to follow me everywhere, Lot." It was half-laughter, half exasperation as he laid back on the bed after finishing pelt-strips, his eyes sliding shut for a moment. "I legitimately don't think I've ever gone a full week without something trying to kill me. It's why I feel so bad about what happened." Varys yawned, opening his golden hues to stare at the wooden ceiling. "Though I know your penchant for getting yourself into trouble probably didn't help. We're quite a combo, aren't we?"

Trouble was part of training, but Varys much preferred it when he could choose which proverbial cookie jar he had to go elbow deep in. Hopefully, things would slow down enough for him to set up a tangible regimen with Lottie that didn't involve kidnappings and trips to nightmare dimensions.

"Next time we work on your magic, we're going to be using a proxy. It'll let you practice your control, and if you start to spiral, the proxy will prevent you from doing any damage. Should have done this first, but I didn't have the materials for it, so our little shopping trip worked out."

The elf gestured towards the bowls of salt with his head, sitting up and leaning back against the headboard as he retrieved his bag and counted his remaining coins.

"Our best bet to avoid a situation like last time is start over from the very basics. We also need to start taking odd jobs, or else I'm gonna run out of money. When you're good enough, you can help me run the flowers."

The 'flowers' were implied to be the strange flower shaped contraptions that had been in the back of their wagon, a special kind of 'firework' he'd mentioned to her on their last trip, when he'd been learning to use them himself.
 
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