Hazelnuts and plaid

[Aveline Vallen]

"We haven't," Aveline agrees thoughtfully, nodding. Glancing over her shoulder, she adds, "go ahead, Wylde."

[Wylde]

Wylde pushes Aveline's chair, and the pair are soon inside the jail cell once more. That's when Private Lowell hesitates, looking from the door to Aveline and back, clearly reluctant to leave. 

[Aveline Vallen]

"Wylde, it's fine. Go ahead and head home for a bit. Shower, change, take a nap, whatever. You can come back in the morning to check in, okay?" Aveline waves at her, a polite but firm 'shooing' gesture.

[Wylde]

Still, she hesitates. "I'll check back in in a few hours," she finally says, with a salute. "Just in case you two need anything."

Then she's off, and they're locked into the cell, both guards retreating to leave them alone. 

[Aveline Vallen]

"Need to find her a girlfriend," Aveline mutters to herself before turning her focus back to Marian. "So about that kiss or ten..?"

[Marian Hawke]

Marian sits on the ground, leaning back against Aveline's legs and craning her neck up until Aveline kisses her. "I missed you," she whispers. "I'm so sorry."

[Aveline Vallen]

"I missed you too," Aveline breathes against Marian's mouth. This close, this tight against Aveline, Hawke can tell that she's not actually in her normal off-duty attire of tunic and trousers that aren't a guard uniform but looks pretty damn close. No, this is her armour, glamoured to look like the outfit. She doesn't see her sword but the paladin is evidently otherwise geared up for active duty. "So damn much. I should have taken time to just... be with you this week. I'm sorry I didn't."

[Marian Hawke]

"I wouldn't have had time," she whispers. "I already had to cancel plans with Isabela tomorrow to go to a tutoring session."

[Aveline Vallen]

"I'm not as easy to brush off as Isabela," Aveline replies, no hint of insult to the other woman in her tone or mind about what she said. "I'd have made sure we found the time."

[Marian Hawke]

"I've been... I've been drinking a lot more than I let on."

[Aveline Vallen]

Aveline is quiet a moment, then she slips her hands under Marian's arms in order to lift her up onto her right thigh. "Talk to me, amata," she whispers.

[Marian Hawke]

"I've been yelled at for this already but... most weeks... three, four times I've gotten blackout drunk."

[Aveline Vallen]

That gets a sharp wince. "Love..." she sighs, disappointment in the sound but, stronger than that emotion, is sorrow.

[Marian Hawke]

"I'm not... I'm not doing as well as I tried to let on, either. I've been..." She bows her head, shuddering a little, before switching to Celestial. "Papa came back," she whispers. "And all I had for him was a story of my own failure and weakness."

[Aveline Vallen]

"Pa--" Oh. Oh! "You mean-- he's here? I didn't--" She scowls. "Why didn't he get a hold of me?" she grumbles, curling an arm around Hawke absently. And where even he is? What's he up to? "Well, that's-- that's good. But you've more-- you are more than that, amata."