👊 – A Best Friend

‘It’s cheesy, I know, but… Alexandria and Mirex… well, I can’t be with someone like I am with them if that’s not part of it. There are others I’d put up there, lovers or not, like Midna and Alyssia. It starts to get fuzzy on “how close are we really?” after that. Which feels unfair to many that I’m stopping there, but some people think “best” is exclusive, instead of… like a degree of closeness, anyway.’

A Love Interest?

The small, showy-haired woman laughs, though it only sort of touches her eyes. ‘Well, I have two lovely sweethearts of formal record, and a heart that’s very hard to tame – though now that I’m with Mirex and Alexandria, I have stopped “looking”. Over time, as I get dumped – again – I’m expect I’ll be down to just those two. My biggest… hmm… guilty temptation, I might say, since I tried hard not to flirt at her… just got engaged, and her fiancee is also at least a former assassin, so… she’s even safer from me now than before.’ She chuckles, shaking her head. ‘So, yes, too many, but trying to settle down.’

👿 – An Enemy

Adriwyn raises a brow, then chuckles softly as she lowers it again. ‘I have quite the list of those who don’t remember, or think they’ve got away with something… but of those who know that they’re my enemy? Either I don’t know yet, or they’re dead. Now, it’s possible I’m acquiring others as well that I don’t know by name, or can’t just eliminate – especially those I’m, so to speak, inheriting from association with you, darlin’.’ She flashes a cheeky grin briefly. ‘But as for my personal ones… that’s how it stands these days.’

🍼 – A Child (Theirs or Not)

It was really hard to tell whether her smile reached her eyes, thanks to that glowing, but her smile seemed soft enough to be genuine, despite the dry chuckle that accompanied it. ‘At my age, dearie, you count, more or less, you know.’ She shakes her raven mane, giving a small sweep of her hand as well as though dismissing the notion.

‘I keep taking in the broken, as well as some actual children. And of course, your little Adriwyn was both when I first met her. Victoria and Orchid… both broken enough to be counted as children when I first met them… though your Mirex has done Tori a world of good. She’s progressing nicely.

‘Still, probably not what you meant. And my apprentice before Orchid was seventeen, or said she was. Not that much of a child, either, hmm?’ She laughs, though this one definitely doesn’t reach her eyes.

‘My nieces and nephew are the real children in my life, though I don’t see much of them. My immediate family is… disturbed at how I’m such a throw-back to our ancestry in the Old House, I’m afraid. I do believe I rather frighten them.’

A simple, if poorly scrawled letter. “I don’t know you that well, but I’m coming back to the Reach for a few days.. and I’m wondering if you’d be able to put me up for it. If you’re willing, I’ll be outside that shop of yours, two days hence. ~Rose”

Blinking at the unexpected note, Adriwyn blinked, then realised which Rose that had to mean, and a smile grew on her face, one which quickly reached her eyes. She quickly got to her desk and inked a reply.

Dear Rose,

I’ll be more than happy to put you up, though I no longer live in the Reach. But the waypoint here in the Ascalon Settlement is convenient for such travel, and I’ll happily spot you a few silver for its use if you’re short just to be sure you have our sturdy roof over your head.

I’ll try to meet you at what’s left of the shop, though be warned – last I saw it, it still had my blood-stains on the door. It’s a long story, best told over drink.

If I’m not there, and you can get to the Settlement, ask the Seraph there for directions to the Jardin-Valdis estate, and tell the door-guard who you are. He’ll be expecting you. Still, I’ll try to be there.

Yours,
Adriwyn

Adri runs down the stairs and through the halls into the centre portion of the estate, where she finds her cousin. ‘Val! Do we have any rum?’

Favorite indulgence and feelings surrounding indulging

The small, snowy-haired woman stops, blinks, then gives a soft, bitter laugh. ‘Wallowing in self-pity, I suppose. It’s what I’m best at, really.’ She sighs, shaking her head.

‘Probably not the sort you meant… but… what other people indulge themselves in… I’m not used enough to having. I don’t much like sweets. People keep giving them to me, and, well, raspberry, lime, pineapple, omnomberry… tart flavours that don’t cloy me so quickly. But even then, it doesn’t take much and I’m done. I just don’t eat much, anyway, nor want to.’

She shrugs one shoulder and paces a little. ‘Reading, maybe? I mean, I did go from illiterate gutter-snipe to Magister in the Priory rather quickly once I finally started to learn in earnest. Oh! No, even that’s probably not what you’re really after.’

Turning, she eyes her questioner. ‘Well, you did ask, but still… this one didn’t occur to me because of how much I’ve had sweethearts who were … enough like me in this regard. But, really, sex would be my main indulgence. And so long as I’m not neglecting anything – or anyone – I shouldn’t be, I’m happy enough about that.’

“How do you feel about Rose?”

‘Rose… which one…? Oh! The lovely and mysterious Miss Ambrose!’ She smiles, with a small hint of a shiver. ‘Intriguing, alluring, fun… liked her a lot. Wished I’d got to know her better than I did. I hope she’s actually still around somewhere, and I’ve just not been running into her any more. I’d like to run into her again, for that matter. I only keep saying “was” and the like because it’s been so long. She’s good to talk to, and good to drink with, at the very least.’

Black – Their fears/phobias?

Adriwyn blinks, then chuckles dryly. ‘Now that’s getting awfully personal for someone who isn’t sleeping with me.’ She sighs softly, pacing a little as she considers the question more seriously.

‘There are a lot of little fears… but my overall reaction to those is to get angry, so I guess those only count as irritations. Big fears… probably two. I used to think there were more, but… some are related. Like, being too crippled to be of any use to anyone… that’s just an example from one of the big two. Not sure how to describe that one, though… maybe, being hopelessly helpless. Having no way to do anything to help myself out of something. Like that example of being too crippled, or the times… well, never mind. But there have been times.’

She sighs heavily, settling to a sort of perch against the side of the desk. ‘And the other… which also gets triggered by that “crippled” example, come to think of it… is being abandoned. Being all alone again, and having to start over yet another time. I’m… I’m not sure I could deal with it again.’

Yellow for Adri

‘Happy…? What makes me happy?’ She ponders a bit, tapping her cheek. ‘There are times when I’m not sure I even know that “happy” is… but even then, Alex breaks through… though at other times… hmm. I suppose, most of the time, it’s small kindnesses, or just enough pleasant company and being able to forget enough of my worries and tensions for a while. Of course, sometimes that only gets to “comfortable”, too… depends. Not sure I really know how to describe what it takes to bridge that difference for me.’

Red; Their opinion on love?

‘Love… is something that a lot of people seem to have ideas about, and only some of them agree with each other.’ She sighs. ‘And I suppose I’m more “out there” in my own thinking, by some standards.’ She shrugs.

‘But, while there I think there are different kinds of love, and you can feel more than one of them for a person at the same time… each one pretty much either is there, or it isn’t. That’s why I don’t ever tell someone “I love you so much” or the like, but only “I love you.”’