Kinship of Shades
Sixteenth Day of the Third Month 293 AC
Garin Drekelis, born the scion of Braavosi aristocracy, had been drilled from a young age in the fine art of smalltalk, of easily making if not friends then at least pleasant acquaintances of those around him. Those same skills had been refined these past few years into an excellent tool for uncovering secrets, or even manipulation at need. Alas, however, that he did not have much experience in sincerely reaching out a hand of friendship. Indeed for all those close to his heart his wife and Wyla were the only ones he had not forged a friendship with in the fires of battle to begin with.
Yet as he left the headquarters of the Inquisition after a day of lecturing that left him slightly nostalgic for his brief time in charge of the Silver Eye, he knew he was the best suited for the task.
"Do you have any plans for this evening?" he asked the young woman who was already beginning to walk back to the keep in a brisk almost hurried gait.
"What? No." The chill winds around her swirled just a little stronger in surprise.
"Then would you consider joining Selyse and me for dinner? She has been interested to meet you for while now," the young Braavosi offered with a smile.
If Garin were any judge, Rina had never been in a position of receiving something so simple as a dinner invitation, had never been in control enough of her own fate to decide who she could associate with socially, and there was no mistaking the loneliness in her eyes.
"I wouldn't know how to act or dress or..." she stuttered out, staring at the cobbles as though she found them abruptly fascinating.
"Ah, yes," Garin laughed. "The refined Sorcerer's Deep manners, born of millennia of tradition and requiring a lifetime to master.
Thou shalt never seat a fledgling mage with a view to the library nor a minotaur next to the ale barrel..."
That surprised a laugh out of her, but the joy only lasted a moment, like the sun flashing through a break in the clouds. "Beyond my... magic, I fear she would find me remarkably dull."
"I have certainly not found you so in the time we worked together," he noted gently. Then with a flash of returning humor, "I would not have married Selyse if she had poor taste in people."
"And is good taste defined as agreeing with you?" she asked in a bit of a rush, forcing herself to speak past ingrained shyness.
"Naturally, that is the highest standard," Garin replied in a mock-imperious tone.
"So this is to be only the three of us?" Rina asked, anxiety and hope mingling in her voice. The undertone was clear: only one person she did not know and that one already used to Garin's own divided nature.
He nodded in reply, just before he nimbly jumped aside from the path of a cart driver who had given his horses a little too much head on the wide open boulevards of the Deep.
"Alright, then. I accept," she said at last. This time the smile lasted for a far longer time.
OOC: Originally this was supposed to include Rina's studies, but in the end I think it's stronger for just being a character piece.
It's basically why I'm so against visiting the feywild.
