fandomhigh | Library, Sunday

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Library, Sunday

Being an industrious sort, today Face had set up several displays of books the new kids might find useful, prominent among them were some books on learning to read, a couple of cultural primers, and a stack of YA romance novels.

One of those things was not like the others.

His good deed done, Face was now napping behind the desk.

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"It wasn't too bad," Face told her. "But I had one of those big, world-turning adjustments a few years back, so compared to that, most anything would be easier."

"The squirrels were a bit of a surprise."

"The squirrels are a pain in the arse," Cassandra said flatly.

Because well, they were.

"If you do not mind me asking, what happened to you?"

"They're fine if you just let them have their rum." Because encouraging alcoholism in squirrels was a brilliant idea.

"Got shot in the face," he said. "By people who were supposedly rescuing me. They didn't really do a good job of it."

"They did not, if they left such a scar," Cassandra said, frowning. "Though you are lucky to be alive. I take it the weapon was one of these advanced technologies of yours - I do not recognize the shape of the scar."

"They thought they killed me." Though that wasn't the story that'd been all over the holonoet until Alderaan pushed it off the headlines. "I wasn't exactly in a hurry to let them know otherwise."

"Blaster," he said. "They fire bolts of energy. Not fun to get with one."

"Wounds in the face are never fun," Cassandra said. And she hadn't even gotten her own facial scars yet.

She frowned. "Did these people intend to kill you under the guise of rescue, or did you reconsider being rescued by them when they did you harm?"

And by the time she did, he would have been blackmailed from beyond the grave to have his removed, so they'd never truly be scar buddies. :(

"The second." If they'd been trying to hit Face he probably would've escaped without a scratch. "Mostly the second, it was complicated."

Truly sad. Nothing beat the bond formed by being scar buddies.

"I see," Cassandra said. "In that case, I am pleased you are safe."

At least she'd have Varric and Bull. Between them they might even match Face on the smart-assery front.

"So am I." Obviously.

Well, the power of being facial scar buddies apparently did not work on Varric as well as it did on Bull. Possibly all the throwing of books and furniture had cancelled it out.

Cassandra nodded.

She ran over the conversation in her head for just a moment. "You said this changed your world," she said. "Why?"

Hon, you were trying to have a friendly conversation with someone you found likable so far. Try not to sound like you were interrogating him.

Yes, but Varric brought the unresolved sexual tension, so it evened out.

Face paused. "If I tell you this, you can't let Mara know," he said. "She's from a version of my galaxy, but this hasn't happened to the me that lives there yet."

Cassandra considered the proposition with all the respect it deserved - which would be 'the exact opposite amount of the respect the accusation of unresolved sexual tension with Varric would deserve in the future'.

"I have not yet met her," she said, "but if you believe it is important, I will hold my silence."

Don't deny the power of the chest hair, Cassandra.

"You'll know her when you meet her," Face said. "Cute redhead, green eyes, accent a bit like mine."

He bit his lip as he tried to figure out how to continue. "I told you last week that I used to be an actor," he said. "Most of the things I starred in were propaganda. Pretty dire artistically, but effective. I was a kid when I started, too young to really get it, I was just told if I acted my best I'd be helping the Empire. So I did." And he was a really good actor.

"Problem was, the Empire isn't really that great, especially if you're not human, genocide, enslavement, invasions, you name it, they've probably done it." She'd might even be able to find some blood mages there. "I got kidnapped by a splinter group of rebels whose idea of striking a blow for against the Empire was offing the poster child for Imperial recruitment after showing him exactly what he'd been supporting.

"They weren't exactly great people themselves, what with the let's kill a teenager to make a political point plan, but they were informative, and I was later able to confirm that everything that wasn't ranting was true. So when a bunch of stormtroopers showed up and didn't so much attempt to rescue the hostage. as enter the room with blasters set to kill, shooting everything including the hostage... I didn't really feel like drawing their attention to me."

[Details here NFB, please]

This Empire of Face's sounded a great deal like the Tevinter Imperium, which was enough to render Cassandra both sympathetic and frowning. (You could argue that neither the Chantry nor Orlais was that much better, but you would not gain great approval from Cass if you did.)

By the end, the frown had made way for something more in the way of surprise and grudging respect. "That is understandable," she said, "And... remarkably brave. You are here in hiding, then? That is why this Mara must not know?"

"Well, I was hiding on Lorrd, my folks are from there," he said. "But I figured spending a couple of years somewhere so far out of the way that I can use my real name wouldn't hurt either." Because so many people here called you Garik, Face.

He nodded. "If we were at the same point in time I'd just ask her to keep the whole not actually dead part a secret, but as it is, if she knows she might somehow stop it happening, and while it sucked like hard vaccum, in the end I'm probably going to be better off for it."

"If this Empire was using you for their own ends without your knowledge, then yes," Cassandra said, firmly, "You are better off for it. It is better to live a truth in hardship than rest comfortably in a lie."

Hence her - in retrospect, rather thoughtless - denouncement of acting last time they met.

"Well, I dodn't know if I'd call living here or on Lorrd a hardship." Lorrd was a really nice planet, just out on the Rim. "But, pretty much, yeah."

"Fleeing your home and spending your life in hiding is not something I would immediately equate with 'easy'," Cassandra said. "But if you say so."

"If you say so," Face said with a shrugged. "But enough about me, let's hear about you for a change."

"Me?" Cassandra snorted softly. "What do you want to know?"

Face shrugged again. "Whatever you feel like telling me," he said. "Doesn't have to be earth-shattering."

"I am not that interesting," Cassandra said. "But fine."

Sigh. Was there anything she particularly wanted to tell him? She had no grand, romantic stories of fleeing evil empires, and Anthony's death was not something she was eager to speak about.

"I... liked the book I found last week, even if some of it is hard to understand," she said. Not that he didn't know that already. "I have always been fond of such tales. It is frivolous of me, I know."

"There's nothing wrong with enjoying 'frivolous' stories." Face wasn't one to judge. He'd been marketed towards teenage girls as well. "People need hobbies, it's healthy."

"Perhaps," Cassandra said. "But it is not what I should be doing with my time, especially here."

But the issue of the star-crossed lovers was not letting her be. Sigh.

Face raised an eyebrow. "Because we have so many classes taking up our time?"

Library, Sunday

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