
Anders (Apostate-at-Large) | On his first night in Denerim, Anders rented a room in the cheapest tavern he could find that didn't actively frighten him.
By the next morning, he had learned that it was more brothel than inn. That was just as well: People who were focused on whores probably weren't chasing down runaway mages.
He could hope, anyhow.
He went into the market for most of the day to earn a few coppers running errands and carrying heavy things. By the time he made it back to the Pearl that night, he was tired, grimy, and more than grateful for a cup of ale.
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Captain Isabela Pirate Queen of the Eastern Seas | The Siren's Call had just brought another cargo of questionable legality into the harbour, so it was time for her hard-working captain to spend some quality time (and quality coin) in her favourite place in this brown and dreary country.
"Who wants to help me spend some coin?" she asked the room at large, swaggering her way up to the bar.
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Anders | "Andraste's flaming knickerweasels," Anders swore, so excited he sloshed ale over his hand. (He was a few coins into the evening himself by then.) "Isabela? What are you doing here?"
The possibility of alternate realities wasn't exactly at the top of his mind right then.
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Isabela | Isabela didn't recognise him, so clearly her fame was spreading at an amazing rate. "What people usually come to the Pearl for," she said, leaning back against the bar and grinning. "You're a pretty one, are you buying or selling?"
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Anders | Anders frowned at her for a moment, confused, and then went pink. It was shockingly easy to make him blush sometimes.
"Er. Neither. I just -- I thought I knew you, is all."
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Isabela | Oh, Anders, no, that was just blood in the waters to a Rivaini-shaped shark.
"I know a lot of people," she said, grinning. "You could get to know me."
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Anders | Anders thought about that offer a second longer than he should have. Isabela had always been on his mental list of people he'd sleep with given half a chance, and this was more than half a chance. This was at least three-quarters of a chance, grinning right at him, and he was ...
Still too broken-hearted to take her up on it. Damn it. Besides, she wasn't the Isabela he knew from school; it'd just be weird.
"I'm not sure I'd be much fun to get to know," he said, shaking his head. "My life's been shit lately. Plus, you know, apostate. Not the safest person to get to know these days."
It occurred to him belatedly that announcing that in a crowded brothel probably wasn't the smartest move. Sod it. He wasn't built for the fugitive thing, anyhow.
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Isabela | Neither Isabela would think it was weird. Of course both Isabelas would be trying to get in the other's pants so their collective judgement was suspect.
"Not exactly subtle, are you," Isabela said, laughing and shaking her head. "Run away from your circle to see the world?"
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Anders | Anders would very much enjoy witnessing the two Isabelas trying to get in each other's pants, and possibly helping them along.
"I've had too much ale to be subtle," Anders admitted, with a laugh of his own. "And ... something like that. I'd like to make it home but I'm not sure I can."
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Isabela | Oh, Anders, you were lucky you were tiny and adorable. "And where is home exactly?" Isabela asked, coin weighing down her pockets leaving her in a fairly sympathetic mood.
Fine, she'd likely feel sympathetic anyway, but nobody needed to know that.
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Anders | "It's an island called Fandom, no place near here," Anders said. (He hadn't exactly thought through the bit of this plan that required getting back from Thedas to Fandom; he just vaguely assumed a portal would show up sooner or later.)
His eyes got more curious as he remembered one rather important fact about Isabela -- or, more precisely, how the Isabela at school had gotten there. "Actually, wait. Do you have a ship?"
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Isabela | "Odd name for an island, sounds Avaar," Isabela said, mainly to herself. "I'd be a pretty piss-poor captain if I didn't."
Someone was blissfully unaware of those seven years in Kirkwall far off on the horizon.
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Anders | "It's an odd place," Anders said, in what was possibly the understatement of the day. "What would you want to give me a ride there? I don't have a map but I don't feel like it'll be hard to find."
They would just sail until they spotted a shimmering blue portal. It was a foolproof plan.
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Isabela | The kind of plan that was going to lead to those seven years in fucking Kirkwall.
"Why do I get the feeling you can't actually pay me?"
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Anders | "I can pay!" Anders said hastily, then followed it with a sheepish. "Just ... maybe not so much in coin. But there has to be some use for a pretty mage, doesn't there? I could, I don't know, shoot lightning at somebody you don't like."
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Isabela | Isabela could think of plenty of uses for a pretty mage, but she had enough of something vaguely resembling principles keeping her from suggesting that.
"I suppose I could use some nice scenery on our next trip." She hired her crew for skill, not looks.
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Anders | Anders eyes widened in gratitude. "Thank you. And if we can't find our way to Fandom, I'll get off wherever you're going."
He had no idea where that would be, but anyplace he landed had to be better than the Anderfels. (He hadn't been to Kirkwall yet.)
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Isabela | "We're headed to Llomerryn next." Because Isabela needed somewhere with colour after Ferelden runs, it was just that brown. "Not hard to get off there."
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Anders | "I've heard that about Llomerryn," Anders said keenly. "And I've always wanted to see Antiva."
He knew little about the place, but it seemed unlikely to smell quite as strongly of wet dog as Ferelden did.
"When are you leaving?"
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Isabela | "Well, you'll get a good look at both if you stick with me," Isabela declared grandly. "On the morning tide, I'll make sure the girls know to wake you."
Because she still had all that coin burning hole her pockets.
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