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Kellina didn't realize how much time she spent in the Herald's Rest Tavern with Bull and the others until she walked in that particular evening. Bull and Krem, as well as Varric, Dorian, Sera and Blackwall were all at their usual table, tankards dotting the surface, waiting for her. As one they cheered and raised their mugs as she sat with them, making her smile.
“What's with this, then?” she asked, motioning for Corbet to send her a tankard as well.
“It's twenty questions day, Sparky,” Varric replied with a chuckle. “We've been trying to guess the answers before you got here to confirm. There are a few heavy bets going so you better not disappoint.”
“You're betting...on my answers? When I wasn't here to hear the questions?” she asked incredulously, sipping from the mug that was now in front of her. She never once saw Corbet actually bring someone their drinks. They just sort of...showed up.
“Of course!” Bull answered with a wink. “Best part of the game. How well do we really know you?”
“All right. Ask your questions then. But if it's about sexual positions I'm leaving.”
“Maker forbid!” Dorian gasped with a smile. “That's something our Qunari friend needs to figure out on his own.”
“Hey!” Bull growled, but Kell just laughed. He loved the way she lit up when she laughed and so left it alone. For now.
Varric clapped his hands together, rubbing in anticipation of the sovereigns that would soon be gracing them. “Okay, let's start with an easy one. What is your favourite colour?”
“Really? That's the kind of questions you're going to be throwing at me? Well, all right...I would have to say forest green. It's dark and soothing, but not depressing like blue.”
Sera and Blackwall grumbled slightly and a couple of coins hit the center of the table while Varric made a mark in one of his many notebooks. At Kell's questioning glance he chuckled. “The person with the most marks next to their name at the end of the question period gets the pot. So far, Tiny and I are tied.”
Kell glanced at Bull with a soft smile before returning to Varric. “Next question then, I guess.”
“What about a favourite song?”
Kell thought about it for almost a full minute before answering. “In the Tower we pretty much only got the Chant. Anything else might encite...fun, probably. But there was this one little ditty. 'A Mage's Staff has a Knob at the End'. We'd be laughing like madmen by the end.”
Everyone but Sera tossed a coin “What? She danced to it at Haven! Good guess, right?”
“I guess in the Tower you didn't really have a lot of experience with flowers then either, huh?” Bull asked.
“Oh, that one's easy! Crystal Grace, of course!” More coins, only Dorian not pitching in with a knowing smirk.
“Why the Grace?” Varric asked, taking a drink.
“We received samples of all local and non-indigenous plants for herbology classes. I loved the sweeping lines and the scent! Used to make my head spin. I see them now in the wild and they're even more beautiful. Almost a shame to pluck them, even if they are useful.”
The questions continued long into the night, with Varric and Bull neck and neck to win the pot. By the time the last question rolled around, the bar was empty and even Corbet had retired for the night. And to say that their little group was inebriated would be an understatement.
“All right, last hiccup oneexcuseme....what is your favourite ice cream flavour?”
Kell had to stop and think. Think really hard, 'cause, you know, drunk as a lord over here ya know. Ice cream flavour...ice cream flavour...wait! “What's an ice cream?”
The whole table froze- well, the ones that weren't passed out on the surface froze anyway. “You've never had ice cream?” Bull asked, voice soft with suspicion. “How have you never had ice cream?”
“I...don't know? What is it? Maybe we just called it something else in the Tower?”
“It's a mixed frozen cream with stuff added to it to make different flavours like fruits or chocolate.”
“Doesn't sound familiar.”
“Well, shit! We can't let that stand!”Bull grabbed her hand and stood. “You know that Winter...spell thing, right? To make shit cold?”
“Winter's Grasp? Yes, of course.”
“Good!” He pulled until Kell stood with him, then lead her back behind the bar into the kitchen, Varric following along behind with his notebook at the ready.
Bull began working his way around the room, rummaging through pantries and the ice box and cupboards to produce cream, bowls, whisk and a dark liquid that smelled remeniscent of the cookies that Leliana liked to make. “We're going to start with a simple vanilla ice cream. Leave the fancier stuff for another day. When I tell you to, I need you to chill the mix, okay Boss?”
Kell nodded, Bull nodded and Varric made incredibly annoying scratching noises in his book. It didn't take long for Bull to get all the ingrdients into the bowl, more than just cream though truth be told she wasn't really paying attention to anything except his biceps. When he held the bowl out to her, Kell touched it with a finger and willed it cold until crystals began to form on it's surface. Bull chuckled and pulled back, then began churning that mess until it was smooth as silk.
“Okay, first spoon to the Boss.” He held a small mound of the white mass out for her and before she could change her mind, she slid her hand around his wrist had her lips wrapped around it's entirety. Both Bull and Varric froze mid-motion, the Qunari gasping lightly, wishing silently that it weren't a spoon he was holding.
Kell's eyes closed as the flavours of the ice cream slid along her tongue. She didn't think she had ever tasted anything quite so...sinful. She moaned into the spoon and suddenly both the dwarf and qunari were shifting where they stood, surreptitiously adjusting things.
“I take it you like it?” Bull asked softly, removing the spoon from her lips.
“It is my new favourite thing in the whole world,” she breathed.
“All right, Tiny. You win,” Varric said with a cough. “I'm gonna go and...see if I can take a cold bath or something.”