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[fatherlesskind]

So this is Alistair speaking, you know, in case you somehow don't recognise the sound of my voice even though you're trying to talk to me. I'm not here or you'd be talking to me and not hearing this. You can leave me a message or share any juicy gossip or embarrassing secrets on this thing and I'll answer you or tell everyone I know when I find it. Maybe. Or maybe I won't because I don't want to talk to you and I'm really sitting here listening to you and laughing and just pretending not to be here, you'll never know! You should definitely share those embarrassing secrets though. I wouldn't tell everyone - just a few people and- *BEEP*

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[pussyfooted]

<sub>[Sorry, cats, it's survival of the fittest in these parts. But Anders doesn't seem any more inclined to make room for them, either, quite comfortable where she is, socks long forgotten under her sitting room table somewhere behind her.

These sorts of things aren't supposed to have rules, are they? They're allowed to flop out on the floor in their bare feet, and eat with their fingers, and drink out of the bottle if they want to.]</sub>

What else do we need for one of these? The Circle didn't exactly teach a person the proper procedures for a sleepover. _{[Thoughtfully, she rotates her ankle where it's trapped under her knee.]} I have food. And cards. And alcohol, of course. We can always get more of those--and more people.

_{[Except Rutherford's not allowed unless Anders gets to shave her head.]}

[doglady]

[If they're not supposed to sprawl out and relax however they please then what's the point? Alissa has no plans of being the least bit ladylike, though that's hardly restricted to when she's invited to unexpected sleepovers.]

Templar training didn't cover it either. [Not in the fun sense anyway, despite the odd game during their free time.] We just had to make our own fun sometimes. It could get painful if you weren't careful.

[And embarrassing but that was the whole point of truth or dare, wasn't it?]

Food is a good start if you ask me. And drinks. But if we're getting more people involved I think we should share all the juicy gossip first. That way we can laugh at the others behind their backs.

[pussyfooted]

_{[Wait, templars are capable of fun? Grinning, she laughs one short, amused note.]}

I bet it wasn't as painful as making apprentices hold open flames in their hands before they mastered shielding.

_{[Despite the deviousness of that grin, don't worry, she won't make you do that, Alissa. Probably. But Anders definitely wants in on a game of dares. That sort of thing is only fun when you have companions to make the most of it, and Anders is pleased Alissa had allowed herself to be roped into another of Anders' dubious ideas.]}

To that end-- _{[Jumping up, she heads for her small kitchen set snugly in the back corner and comes back with a different platter in each hand.]} Snacks! I couldn't decide on sweet or salty, so I went with both.

[doglady]

Nnno. No. Definitely not.

[Also: Ow! She'll take battering each other with blunted practice swords over playing with fire any day, thanks. Maybe it's time to stop talking about dares lest anyone gets ideas.

Thankfully Anders has plenty of good ideas as well, the snacks more than enough to make her forget any concerns about what her fellow Warden might be scheming. Alissa immediately sits up and snags a handful from each side, munching down some popcorn followed immediately by an couple of sausagey-things with the discerning air of a connoisseur.]

Mm! [She swallows noisily and gives a thumbs up.] Both was definitely the way to go!

[Of course if Anders is going to continue to be such a good hostess she might have trouble getting rid of her guest... Without threats of fire.]

So where did you want to start? Cards? Gossip? Drinking games?

[pussyfooted]

<sub>[Everybody knows the way to a Warden's heart is through their stomach. This way Alissa may forgive her for putting vaseline on the toilet seat later on when she's asleep.

Flopping down onto her cushion nest (she could get used to this, honestly), she tilts her head with the utmost seriousness the question deserves.]</sub>

I do owe you a game of diamondback...

_{[But mentioning the old trick to haze apprentices sparks an idea and she jabs the air with her index finger.]}

Ooh, you know what we could do when it gets darker out? Combine the best of both worlds with a bonfire. And marshmallows! Those things are addictive, I swear.

[doglady]

[....Or she could save that treatment for someone deserving. Like anyone else. Anyone at all.

Alissa manages to both brighten and look worried at the same time at the idea of a game of diamondback. Oghren had taught her the basics of the game but, well, for one the dwarf had been drunk at the time (of course) and for two.... she's not very good at gambling. Tends to lose. A lot. But a friendly game would be fun... Though a huge fire might just be safer.]

Toasted marshmallows? Count me in! So long as I don't have to chop firewood.

[Since it was Anders' idea and all.]

And you can't have a bonfire without spooky stories!

[pussyfooted]

<sub>[Alissa has chosen well in her friends, because not only had Oghren "helped" Anders the same way, she also shares the defective gambling gene that Oghren had keenly taken advantage of more than once.

Do two bad gamblers make a right? If they somehow manage to defy reason and both lose, will the pillar of the universe start to crumble around them? It can't hurt to try. The worst that could happen is that they bring Wonderland down around their ears.]</sub>

It's settled! Drinking under the stars is how all the best stories start.

_{[Alissa's reward for shirking the manual labor is a smirk and a shrug.]}

Just stand next to a tree and stick your chest out a little. Someone will come. The Maker never fails to deliver when we most need Him.

[doglady]

I think you mean it's how all embarrassing stories start.

[Same thing. Maybe. That suggestion gets her a dubious look.] Every time I try that someone just comes along and hands me an axe.

[Alright, maybe she's exaggerating a little but she hardly needs to tell Anders that the Chantry was all about physical labour as a way to get closer to the Maker. Or just to keep their charges in line. So there had been no shortage of wood chopping in her templar days, no matter who else was around.

...Or maybe that's what she meant and she's planning to be the one handing over the axe. In which case better that Alissa gets plenty of energy now by digging into those snacks.]

Wait, can't you make a magic bonfire? Or just set a tree on fire?

[pussyfooted]

You're doing something wrong if "here's an axe" is the response you're getting. Have you tried... I don't know, bending over a little?

<sub>[For now, the thought of doing anything besides stretching on a cushion with a handful of popcorn is too much for Anders to contemplate, and she does so, hitting the pillow with a whomp like a heavy sack of beans. (She'll get up from her cushion nest in a minute. In a minute, she swears.)

Putting out her other hand to accept a nuzzle from one of the cats and scratch under his chin, she looks up the other woman from her prone position.]</sub>

Everything in moderation, isn't that what the Chantry teaches? It'd be cheating to use magic for everything.

_{[This comes from a completely pious place, of course, and not at all because for reasons like this when it's more fun not to use magic.]}