Despite the fact that Khari finished second overall at the tournament, they spent the first night back at Skyhold in celebration.
Rom had been somewhat worried that Khari's mood might be sullen due to losing to Ser Blancheflor of all people, but it quickly became apparent that the worry was unfounded. For good reason, too. She'd beaten him in the melee after all, and won what would be a far more memorable and lasting victory than he could ever hope to.
Just leaving there alive was a victory itself, the one that Rom was perhaps most relieved to have. Had anyone other than Lucien been presiding over that fight... he didn't want to think about what someone like Celene or Gaspard would've done in that situation.
The cheer in Skyhold's great hall was making it impossible to linger on what could have happened, so caught up was everyone in what had happened. All of the Irregulars were present, as well as just about anyone around and able to fit into the hall. They dragged in extra long tables and benches to fill the space, giving Khari a seat at the head of the central one, Rom situating himself on her right.
He wasn't sure how to describe what he was feeling. Relief didn't quite cover it, but that was perhaps the most prominent feeling. A great deal of pride lurked in there as well.
"Does the Grand Melee's Champion have a speech prepared for us?" Vesryn asked from down the table, as soon as there was a lull for his voice to carry down to the end. He put some emphasis on the title he applied; normally he reserved it for himself, but Rom supposed tonight it could only belong to Khari.
From the way her eyes went wide, Khari did not have a speech prepared. She looked torn between being touched at Ves even asking and quite possibly wanting to throttle him for the same, a combination that contorted her features until she just looked incredulous. She huffed once, then again, looking out at her assembled friends, companions, and the dozens of people she'd fought beside in the past, and harrumphed.
“Yeah, okay. I've got a speech." Clearing her throat, she grabbed the nearest glass, which looked to still contain half of Estella's brandy, and downed it in two large gulps, slamming it back down on the table and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
The legs of her chair screeched a bit against the stone floor as she stood, doing better than a throat-clearing to draw attention anyway. She coughed anyway, shifting a bit in her straight-backed stance. It wasn't completely different from the one she wore when there was a much more physical challenge in front of her. “So, uh—" Rom was close enough to hear her throat work as she swallowed. “I guess by now, you all know what we're here to celebrate, so I promise not to tell the epic story of how awesome I am too many times tonight." She flashed a lopsided grin, earning herself enough laughter to bolster her a bit, clearly.
“I don't think I have to tell any of you how much of a... a big deal this is for me. You've all heard me shouting about being a chevalier for years now. And if you've got half a brain in your head, you figured out just how fucking hard that was gonna be." She paused, a slight frown marring her face before she continued. “And I'm not there yet, obviously, but a big thing just happened, and it was more than pretty much anyone ever thought I was gonna be able to do. More than I thought I was gonna be able to do, some days."
She pulled in a deep breath, releasing it slowly through her teeth. Her face was beginning to turn a shade of pink, especially around the tips of her ears. “Thing is... the reason I could do any of that was all of you." Clearly unsure what to do with her hands, she used them to make a vague gesture at the room. “I mean, literally in some cases, since I needed a team for the team round and all, but I mean more than that. I mean... pretty much everyone here has taught me something, and some of you have taught me a whole damn lot. About how to fight, or how to think, or just... how to be a person. A real one. A good one, probably most days."
Khari bit down on her lip for a moment, eyes dropping to the surface of the table. “So... thank you. What just happened was definitely me being all kinds of awesome. But I couldn't have done it if you guys weren't all kinds of awesome, too. So do me a favor and pat yourselves on the back before you get drunk off your asses in my honor, okay?"
Estella grinned, but it was Leon who picked up his glass, raising it over the table. "To Khari!"
The words darkened her flush to a blotchy red, but she smiled all the same, the force of it crinkling the corner of her eyes. Drinking deeply from her refilled cup, she set it back down with a little less flourish this time, settling back into the chair she'd been given. For once, she seemed content to just take it all in.
And take it in they did. They drank and feasted until they could take no more, and all the while they laughed and shared stories with those unlucky enough to have missed the spectacle in Val Royeaux. Rom never got tired of it. He didn't have to speak if he didn't want to, and at times he stayed silent, just listening and observing in a sort of wondrous awe of the people around him. The drink was stirring thoughts into his head, he knew, but sometimes it just hit him how remarkable it was, this place he'd found himself in, these people he'd ended up with.
He didn't remember the last time he'd felt so at home.
All nights had to come to an end, however, and this one did as well. One by one or two by two they left, congratulating Khari again and saying their farewells on the way out. Many took Khari's invitation to heart, and were well and truly drunk off their asses. Séverine nearly fell on the way out; Vesryn had drawn her into a contest, and despite the Knight-Commander's reservations and protests of having far too much to do in the morning, she could not back down from the challenge. Once started, she proved difficult to stop, and the winner was entirely inconclusive. Vesryn likely got the better of the deal, having a shorter distance to walk to the bed he would collapse on.
Rom was drunk, but certainly not to the point of embarrassing himself. A sleepy, near-permanently pleased look was plastered onto his face, and he rolled it sideways to look at his fiery haired knight. Out of her shining armor, but no less impressive. "You wanna turn in?" He glanced around at the others left. "I know we almost made it to the end of the melee, but we don't have to be the last two standing if you don't want. So to speak." He lightly slapped the bench underneath him.
Somewhat surprisingly, Khari wasn't especially drunk either—enough to perform her duties as center of the celebration, sure, but her expression was still mostly lucid when she turned at his words. “I guess a strategic retreat might be a good option." She grinned, eyes narrowing with the force of it.
Getting out of her chair took a little doing; she paused about halfway up, blinking rapidly and going still, deep breaths marking the seconds until she felt stable enough to push back from the table she'd braced herself on. Most of those remaining were a bit too far into their cups to really notice the departure, but she did wave at Cyrus and Leon, still holding down one side of the table more or less by themselves at this point.
“Mind if I crash at yours tonight? The barracks is kinda... far." Khari waited for the door into the main hall to close behind them before asking. It didn't seem to be all she wanted to say, exactly, from the way her lip twisted after she said it, but whatever the other thing was, it didn't immediately follow.
"Tired from your victories?" he asked, unable to stop a grin. "Need me to carry you?" His restraint was a bit diminished, so after one good look at her he decided it was going to happen. "I think you've earned it, to be honest." Even a little drunk he was still precise enough to sweep her up effectively. One hand was already around her shoulders, the other taking out her legs at the back of the knees and hefting her up in his arms. She wasn't feather-light, certainly, but he was up to the task without too much trouble.
The decision obviously took Khari by surprise; she yelped and gripped his shoulders as her feet came out from underneath her. But then she was laughing, the tension in her body relaxing as she registered her slight change in scenery. She rested her forehead at the juncture of his neck and shoulder, turning her face in towards him, still shaking slightly with somewhat more subdued amusement. “I feel like we have this kinda... backwards? With me being the knight and all. But I guess you can be the gallant one for now." Her breath wisped over the skin at his collar as she spoke.
“I guess I did pretty good out there, huh?"
"So good, I'll let you carry me next time." He let her get the door open when they reached it, as she still had her hands free. From there he just had to carry her down the stairs. The hall was just wide enough for her dangling feet not to skim along the stone walls. He descended slowly, but he'd done it more than enough times to take the stairs blind. Before long they had the door to his room shut behind them.
"I think things are gonna change," he said, still watching the image of her navigating the melee in his mind. "It'll take time, but I guarantee you something: someday soon, someone's gonna stand up for a cause, and they'll say that your example gave them the courage to do it." Not in the shadows, either, clinging to a knife, but in the light of day for all to see, proud and fierce.
He dumped her on the bed and rolled in after her, kicking off his shoes and ending up on his back with a sigh. The ceiling twisted above him if he stared at it too long, so he rolled his head towards Khari instead. "So yeah... you did good."
Khari snorted softly, rolling herself over on her stomach and toeing her boots off until they hit the floor with a thunk, one a few seconds after the other. She couldn't and didn't bother to hide the bright smile on her face at the words, though, pulling in a deep breath and letting it out in a contented sigh. “It's kinda funny. I've been talking the ears off anyone who will listen about how I'm gonna do that stuff for years, but now that it's really happening, I feel like I'm the one that can't believe it."
Propping one elbow on the mattress underneath her, she rested her chin on the heel of her hand and met his eyes, her expression softening into something subtler, warmer. “I've been thinking, you know. Seems like... this is a good moment to be seizing, and all that." Her feet waved lazily back and forth in the air, further evidence of her inability to ever be entirely still. “Embrace changes, or whatever."
She cleared her throat, expelling a short huff. “What I wanna say is... you think—uh." It took her a second to gather the thought, or maybe just the courage to say it. “You think maybe it'd be okay if I, y'know, moved my stuff in here? And myself, also, obviously."
He'd always been a very private person, something he felt he both struggled and benefited from. In his past he sometimes felt like his sanity depended on being able to spend time to himself, apart from the world in every way. His position had afforded him the opportunities to do that when other slaves never had the chance. Being Inquisitor was no different. There were times when the weight of things or the craziness of it all made him want to retreat here, this place that no one could disturb without his permission, and the thought of giving that up, his one bastion of solitude, was frankly frightening.
But she had come to know him almost as well as he knew himself. Maybe better in some ways, considering that her influence had only ever helped him, especially when he couldn't figure out how to help himself. She knew when not to disturb the silence, and when it was needed. When not to touch the stillness, and when to give things a push. She already did belong here, as far as he was concerned.
"The sooner, the better," he said. His arm tugged her gently towards him.
That prompted another grin, and Khari went easily with the pressure of his grip, tilting her head a little to kiss him, just a momentary touch of lips. “Tomorrow, then. For now, though... I think I could go for a little more celebrating. How about you?" The almost-challenging arch to her eyebrow left no ambiguity to her meaning whatsoever.
He returned the grin. "As though you have to ask."
Rom had been somewhat worried that Khari's mood might be sullen due to losing to Ser Blancheflor of all people, but it quickly became apparent that the worry was unfounded. For good reason, too. She'd beaten him in the melee after all, and won what would be a far more memorable and lasting victory than he could ever hope to.
Just leaving there alive was a victory itself, the one that Rom was perhaps most relieved to have. Had anyone other than Lucien been presiding over that fight... he didn't want to think about what someone like Celene or Gaspard would've done in that situation.
The cheer in Skyhold's great hall was making it impossible to linger on what could have happened, so caught up was everyone in what had happened. All of the Irregulars were present, as well as just about anyone around and able to fit into the hall. They dragged in extra long tables and benches to fill the space, giving Khari a seat at the head of the central one, Rom situating himself on her right.
He wasn't sure how to describe what he was feeling. Relief didn't quite cover it, but that was perhaps the most prominent feeling. A great deal of pride lurked in there as well.
"Does the Grand Melee's Champion have a speech prepared for us?" Vesryn asked from down the table, as soon as there was a lull for his voice to carry down to the end. He put some emphasis on the title he applied; normally he reserved it for himself, but Rom supposed tonight it could only belong to Khari.
From the way her eyes went wide, Khari did not have a speech prepared. She looked torn between being touched at Ves even asking and quite possibly wanting to throttle him for the same, a combination that contorted her features until she just looked incredulous. She huffed once, then again, looking out at her assembled friends, companions, and the dozens of people she'd fought beside in the past, and harrumphed.
“Yeah, okay. I've got a speech." Clearing her throat, she grabbed the nearest glass, which looked to still contain half of Estella's brandy, and downed it in two large gulps, slamming it back down on the table and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
The legs of her chair screeched a bit against the stone floor as she stood, doing better than a throat-clearing to draw attention anyway. She coughed anyway, shifting a bit in her straight-backed stance. It wasn't completely different from the one she wore when there was a much more physical challenge in front of her. “So, uh—" Rom was close enough to hear her throat work as she swallowed. “I guess by now, you all know what we're here to celebrate, so I promise not to tell the epic story of how awesome I am too many times tonight." She flashed a lopsided grin, earning herself enough laughter to bolster her a bit, clearly.
“I don't think I have to tell any of you how much of a... a big deal this is for me. You've all heard me shouting about being a chevalier for years now. And if you've got half a brain in your head, you figured out just how fucking hard that was gonna be." She paused, a slight frown marring her face before she continued. “And I'm not there yet, obviously, but a big thing just happened, and it was more than pretty much anyone ever thought I was gonna be able to do. More than I thought I was gonna be able to do, some days."
She pulled in a deep breath, releasing it slowly through her teeth. Her face was beginning to turn a shade of pink, especially around the tips of her ears. “Thing is... the reason I could do any of that was all of you." Clearly unsure what to do with her hands, she used them to make a vague gesture at the room. “I mean, literally in some cases, since I needed a team for the team round and all, but I mean more than that. I mean... pretty much everyone here has taught me something, and some of you have taught me a whole damn lot. About how to fight, or how to think, or just... how to be a person. A real one. A good one, probably most days."
Khari bit down on her lip for a moment, eyes dropping to the surface of the table. “So... thank you. What just happened was definitely me being all kinds of awesome. But I couldn't have done it if you guys weren't all kinds of awesome, too. So do me a favor and pat yourselves on the back before you get drunk off your asses in my honor, okay?"
Estella grinned, but it was Leon who picked up his glass, raising it over the table. "To Khari!"
The words darkened her flush to a blotchy red, but she smiled all the same, the force of it crinkling the corner of her eyes. Drinking deeply from her refilled cup, she set it back down with a little less flourish this time, settling back into the chair she'd been given. For once, she seemed content to just take it all in.
And take it in they did. They drank and feasted until they could take no more, and all the while they laughed and shared stories with those unlucky enough to have missed the spectacle in Val Royeaux. Rom never got tired of it. He didn't have to speak if he didn't want to, and at times he stayed silent, just listening and observing in a sort of wondrous awe of the people around him. The drink was stirring thoughts into his head, he knew, but sometimes it just hit him how remarkable it was, this place he'd found himself in, these people he'd ended up with.
He didn't remember the last time he'd felt so at home.
All nights had to come to an end, however, and this one did as well. One by one or two by two they left, congratulating Khari again and saying their farewells on the way out. Many took Khari's invitation to heart, and were well and truly drunk off their asses. Séverine nearly fell on the way out; Vesryn had drawn her into a contest, and despite the Knight-Commander's reservations and protests of having far too much to do in the morning, she could not back down from the challenge. Once started, she proved difficult to stop, and the winner was entirely inconclusive. Vesryn likely got the better of the deal, having a shorter distance to walk to the bed he would collapse on.
Rom was drunk, but certainly not to the point of embarrassing himself. A sleepy, near-permanently pleased look was plastered onto his face, and he rolled it sideways to look at his fiery haired knight. Out of her shining armor, but no less impressive. "You wanna turn in?" He glanced around at the others left. "I know we almost made it to the end of the melee, but we don't have to be the last two standing if you don't want. So to speak." He lightly slapped the bench underneath him.
Somewhat surprisingly, Khari wasn't especially drunk either—enough to perform her duties as center of the celebration, sure, but her expression was still mostly lucid when she turned at his words. “I guess a strategic retreat might be a good option." She grinned, eyes narrowing with the force of it.
Getting out of her chair took a little doing; she paused about halfway up, blinking rapidly and going still, deep breaths marking the seconds until she felt stable enough to push back from the table she'd braced herself on. Most of those remaining were a bit too far into their cups to really notice the departure, but she did wave at Cyrus and Leon, still holding down one side of the table more or less by themselves at this point.
“Mind if I crash at yours tonight? The barracks is kinda... far." Khari waited for the door into the main hall to close behind them before asking. It didn't seem to be all she wanted to say, exactly, from the way her lip twisted after she said it, but whatever the other thing was, it didn't immediately follow.
"Tired from your victories?" he asked, unable to stop a grin. "Need me to carry you?" His restraint was a bit diminished, so after one good look at her he decided it was going to happen. "I think you've earned it, to be honest." Even a little drunk he was still precise enough to sweep her up effectively. One hand was already around her shoulders, the other taking out her legs at the back of the knees and hefting her up in his arms. She wasn't feather-light, certainly, but he was up to the task without too much trouble.
The decision obviously took Khari by surprise; she yelped and gripped his shoulders as her feet came out from underneath her. But then she was laughing, the tension in her body relaxing as she registered her slight change in scenery. She rested her forehead at the juncture of his neck and shoulder, turning her face in towards him, still shaking slightly with somewhat more subdued amusement. “I feel like we have this kinda... backwards? With me being the knight and all. But I guess you can be the gallant one for now." Her breath wisped over the skin at his collar as she spoke.
“I guess I did pretty good out there, huh?"
"So good, I'll let you carry me next time." He let her get the door open when they reached it, as she still had her hands free. From there he just had to carry her down the stairs. The hall was just wide enough for her dangling feet not to skim along the stone walls. He descended slowly, but he'd done it more than enough times to take the stairs blind. Before long they had the door to his room shut behind them.
"I think things are gonna change," he said, still watching the image of her navigating the melee in his mind. "It'll take time, but I guarantee you something: someday soon, someone's gonna stand up for a cause, and they'll say that your example gave them the courage to do it." Not in the shadows, either, clinging to a knife, but in the light of day for all to see, proud and fierce.
He dumped her on the bed and rolled in after her, kicking off his shoes and ending up on his back with a sigh. The ceiling twisted above him if he stared at it too long, so he rolled his head towards Khari instead. "So yeah... you did good."
Khari snorted softly, rolling herself over on her stomach and toeing her boots off until they hit the floor with a thunk, one a few seconds after the other. She couldn't and didn't bother to hide the bright smile on her face at the words, though, pulling in a deep breath and letting it out in a contented sigh. “It's kinda funny. I've been talking the ears off anyone who will listen about how I'm gonna do that stuff for years, but now that it's really happening, I feel like I'm the one that can't believe it."
Propping one elbow on the mattress underneath her, she rested her chin on the heel of her hand and met his eyes, her expression softening into something subtler, warmer. “I've been thinking, you know. Seems like... this is a good moment to be seizing, and all that." Her feet waved lazily back and forth in the air, further evidence of her inability to ever be entirely still. “Embrace changes, or whatever."
She cleared her throat, expelling a short huff. “What I wanna say is... you think—uh." It took her a second to gather the thought, or maybe just the courage to say it. “You think maybe it'd be okay if I, y'know, moved my stuff in here? And myself, also, obviously."
He'd always been a very private person, something he felt he both struggled and benefited from. In his past he sometimes felt like his sanity depended on being able to spend time to himself, apart from the world in every way. His position had afforded him the opportunities to do that when other slaves never had the chance. Being Inquisitor was no different. There were times when the weight of things or the craziness of it all made him want to retreat here, this place that no one could disturb without his permission, and the thought of giving that up, his one bastion of solitude, was frankly frightening.
But she had come to know him almost as well as he knew himself. Maybe better in some ways, considering that her influence had only ever helped him, especially when he couldn't figure out how to help himself. She knew when not to disturb the silence, and when it was needed. When not to touch the stillness, and when to give things a push. She already did belong here, as far as he was concerned.
"The sooner, the better," he said. His arm tugged her gently towards him.
That prompted another grin, and Khari went easily with the pressure of his grip, tilting her head a little to kiss him, just a momentary touch of lips. “Tomorrow, then. For now, though... I think I could go for a little more celebrating. How about you?" The almost-challenging arch to her eyebrow left no ambiguity to her meaning whatsoever.
He returned the grin. "As though you have to ask."