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The cake looked lovely. There were crystalline sprinkles over a thick coating of white frosting. It looked like the snow that dusted the mountains surrounding Skyhold. It was a gift from the visiting Comtesse du Chaumont of Orlais. Ashra and her companions sat around the table in Skyhold’s Great Hall as the treats were presented to them. Josephine had stayed up late preparing the Inquisitor, made sure she knew what fork to use, which glass was hers, when it was okay to scratch her horns at the table (the answers being left, right and never).
Ashra clumsily scooped up a portion of the spongy cake with the tiny fork the Orlesian comtesse had provided for her and each of her companions. It did not fit well in her hand. At all. Ashra had an inkling that the silverware was not designed with a qunari in mind. Everyone watched as she took the first bite, as daintily as she could.
The cake… tasted of mushrooms. Earthy, peppery, mushrooms. Mushrooms that were inexplicably textured like cake and covered with sugary icing.
The Inquisitor did her best not to pull a face. The Orlesian comtesse had a distinct advantage over her that the qunari thought was unfair. Ashra wished that she too wore a mask.
With an effort that rivaled the strength of taking down a hoard of Red Templars, Ashra managed to swallow her bite and smile politely. “Thank you, Comtesse for your gracious offering,” she said, using the words she had practiced. “The cake is… lovely.”
The woman frowned beneath the mask, but nodded as she turned to discuss something with the advisor that sat beside her.
When she was certain she was not being watched, Ashra reached for a napkin and spat the offending cake into it. Next to her, Josephine giggled and Vivienne tutted.
“I officially do not understand humans,” Ashra whispered to them.
“No, dear,” Vivienne said. “You don’t understand Orlesians. They're a different species entirely.”
Varric chuckled as he passed another plate to Ashra. It appeared to be meat, pale pink and sliced thin. “Just wait ‘til you see what they do to ham,” he said. “I think this one’s supposed to taste like envy.”
Ashra’s face fell as she took in all the plates that stretched out on the table before them, knowing she would have to at least sample them all to be polite to their guest. “I never thought when I joined the Inquisition it would mean being force-fed inedible food.”
Josephine gave her a sympathetic look and patted her hand before scooping a large bite of the cake into her mouth.
“What?” she asked when the others looked at her with horror. “I’ve always been rather fond of mushrooms.” Ashra smiled, looked left and right conspiratorially and plopped the remainder of her cake on Josephine’s plate. Josephine took another bite, grinning.
“My hero,” Ashra said.