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“Oh come now, it can’t be that bad, Ashra," Josephine called. "Come out before I send Leliana in with her spies to root you out.”
After a moment’s hesitation and the sound of fabric rustling, Ashra pulled back the curtains of her makeshift dressing room. Josephine had set it up in front of one of the closets in the Inquisitor’s quarters. Only her head peeked out over the thick curtain of fabric since Ashra held it up to her neck, one horn caught in a fold above her.
Josephine clucked her tongue quietly. “Ashra, I promise you, there is no judgement here. You don’t have to worry about that with me. I would think that would be perfectly clear by now.”
Ashra sighed. “I know that, and I’m sorry to make you feel like I don’t trust you. I do. It’s just… I don’t feel comfortable with this. What was wrong with my old outfit? It was warm. And soft. And…”
“Beige. So very beige. You looked as if the Inquisition chef sewed bronze buttons onto a potato sack and presented it to you as your official uniform. It wasn’t regal enough to befit someone of your station.”
Josephine saw Ashra’s face fall and quickly stepped in to remedy her misstep. “Not that it was any reflection on you, dear. You looked… lovely. Just not as stately as one would hope for a person of your position. You look lovely in anything.”
“But those clothes were the first I ever wore that truly fit," the qunari said. "Coming here, joining the Inquisition, it was the first time I was provided with clothing that was not only big enough for me, no tight wrists or cropped pants, but they even considered that I can’t get things over my head. I had buttons, Josephine. Buttons! Do you know how often qunari get caught in shirts not meant to be pulled over horns?”
Josephine giggled despite her attempts to keep a straight face. She had no writing tablet to hide her grin behind like she normally did. “Yes,” she finally said. “And that was enough for a little while. But we can do better than the bare minimum of ‘big enough and practical enough.’ We can give you clothing that leaves an impression.” Josephine gave the air a little punch for emphasis. Ashra flinched at the movement of her fist, as if frightened by it.
“I’m worried this will be too much of an impression,” Ashra said as she finally stepped forward and dropped the curtain that had been hiding her.
“Oh my,” Josephine said with a tiny gasp. Ashra was a thing of beauty, decked all in silver scalemail. Half dress, half armor. Each scale was impossibly small for such precision crafting, no bigger than the smallest fingernail on Ashra’s pinky. It was easy right then for Josephine to remember the fantastical tales people told of the relationship of qunari to dragons. Her lover looked every bit like she was made to wear scales; they shimmered against her like a second skin.
Hardly any time passed, but to Ashra it was ages. Knowing she was on display as Josephine looked her up and down made her queasy. “This is what I was afraid of,” Ashra said in a small voice. She ran her hands down her front self-consciously. The metal made soft tinkling noises as it brushed against itself. “I already get too many people staring. This just begs for attention, the absolute last thing I want.”
Josephine took Ashra by the hand so she would let go of the curtain she was still gripping. She pulled her out of the closet into the center of the room. In the light that streamed in from the large open doors that led to the balcony, the thin metal glittered and sent sparkles of light dancing across the room.
Ashra glowed.
Despite the fact that it was made of metal, the scalemail tunic was soft, slippery and almost silken because it was so fine. It was cool to Josephine’s touch but warmed under her hand as she pulled Ashra closer.
“Actually, that’s what made me think this was a good fit for you. And might I add, it’s also a good fit .” She nudged the Inquisitor with her hip playfully. “You look like a warrior. Intimidating. People are already intimidated by you. Whether you like it or not, justified or not, it’s true.”
Ashra nodded sullenly.
“So we use that to your advantage!” Josephine said. “You were too approachable in your linen pajamas.”
“They were not pajam-” Ashra cried before she was silenced by narrowing eyes.
“As I was saying. You’ve told me you’re worried you’ll say the wrong thing when someone approaches you. But Ashra, they’ll take one look at you now, a beautiful giantess clad in rippling silver armor, and stop in their tracks without a single word. It’s the perfect defense for you! No need to be shy since they wouldn’t dare address you.”
A smile crept across Ashra’s face. “You just called me beautiful.”
“And I’ll do it again because it’s true. But it’s also not the point.”
Ashra’s face was fully lit up and matched her tunic perfectly. “You think of everything, Josephine.”
“I do my best.”
“So… what do we do with my old clothes?”
Josephine leaned into Ashra so she couldn’t see her face. “Burn them, hopefully. I’m sure Vivienne and Dorian would both lend their fire conjuring skills to assist with their disposal. There are plenty of us ready to see those rags burn.”
“Stop teasing,” Ashra said. Josephine giggled and Ashra took the opportunity to catch her off guard and sweep her up into her arms. It was easy considering how tiny Josie was to Ashra.
They were otherwise occupied with each other so they failed to notice they had an audience. Eventually, Josephine saw movement out of the corner of her eye and patted Ashra’s arm to help her back to her feet after their little twirl around the room.
“Oh don’t stop on my behalf, Ruffles,” Varric said, chuckling. “I was just coming up to see if Mouse was ready for her reading lesson, but you two’ve given me inspiration for a new story. I think I might be too busy writing to teach today.”
“Varric,” Josephine said in a warning tone as the attempted to smooth down her mussed hair.
The writer held up his quill as if framing the two women in a portrait. “I can see it now. I’ll call it Silver and Gold.”
Before either of them could protest, Varric took his leave, backing out of the Inquisitor’s quarters laughing warmly.