Waffle House!

[elementalherodragonlord]

Is it breakfast time? Lunch? Dinner? Is there a hurricane rampaging through town? Tornadoes ripping down the streets? Zombies out for brains? Do you just need a break on your family roadtrip? Wherever will you go??? You're just so hungry!

Well, Waffle House is open.

Waffle House is always open.

Comments

[inthistryingtime]

[Egg laughs when Tabris tells her that humans suck. It makes her feel a little better about how much she still doesn't know about. The majority of the rest of her clan doesn't come into town much at all, she's really only here out of curiosity. She just wants to know more about the world outside of Dalish culture.

Tabris's compliment makes Egg beam. This is the best part of working a customer service job: nice people who are grateful for the service. She makes a note of the omelet.]

Cheese and bacon, got it.

[From behind the counter music has been blasting since Tabris and Alistair arrived. The radio goes to commercial and Egg makes a face.]

Sorry about the noise. I don't know if the chef realizes anyone is here besides me. I can go get him to shut it off if it's bothering you.

[trystabbingit]

[Tabris waves off the comment about the radio.]

Nah, it's alright, nothing short of nuclear armageddon is going to wake somebody who just chugged two health potions, and I don't mind the noise. I snuck into so many concerts in high school, I'm surprised I never went deaf.

[However, as she's making that joke, the radio switches from an advertisement for a car dealership to Governor Mac Tir's voice. Tabris immediately goes stock-still, and in spite of what Tabris just said, Alistair mutters something unhappy in his sleep.]

Hello, my fellow Fereldans. In these challenging times--

[Tabris swears under her breath.]

--we must remember to stand together, and resist the encroaching influence of foreign powers. The threat of the darkspawn has brought fear into our homes, but we must not lose hope. The good men and women of the Fereldan armed forces are more than a match for these monsters. It is only a matter of time before the situation comes to a close, with Fereldan land still in Fereldan hands. While we honor the work of the Grey Wardens of the past--

[Tabris is now glaring through the door of the kitchen, clutching her forearm where she has the symbol of the Grey Wardens tattooed just above her wrist. Alistair is sleeping on her hoodie, so there's really no hiding it otherwise.]

--the Grey Wardens of the present, are, unfortunately, a victim of Orlesian expansion. They cannot be trusted to keep our country safe. Remember, every Warden reported is a step towards preserving Ferelden's independence, and the wellbeing of you and your neighbors. If you see something, call the hotline at--

[Tabris hastily clears her throat, breaking into a very loud, very fake coughing fit to cover the phone number.]

[inthistryingtime]

[When the commercial starts Egg groans and looks in the direction of the kitchen.]

Not again...this guy is so annoying...

[She realizes suddenly that her unfiltered words came out of her mouth in front of a customer and places a hand over her mouth.]

Oh! Oops, sorry, uh--

[And that's when she sees it, Tabris is suddenly acting very suspicious. Egg is young but she isn't stupid. Tabris's whole body language has shifted in the seconds since that commercial came on. What's the connection between these two and the Grey Wardens? Clearly not a fan of this commercial, or is it more personal? Tabris is holding her arm really tightly, don't Grey Wardens get tattoos on their arms? Egg glances at the sword, remembering the darkspawn blood. She looks so tense. That coughing fit was way too obvious.

Egg lets her hand drop from her mouth. She glances between the kitchen and the couple in the booth and makes a decision.]

Hey, um, I don't know you guys so maybe I'm, I don't know, out of line here? But, uh, that guy on the commercial seems like an asshole and you seem nice, so, if you're hiding what I think you're hiding you...don't need to worry about it.

[She holds up her hands in a placating gesture.]

I keep hearing the Grey Wardens aren't needed, according to this guy, but the Ferelden armed forces haven't done shit about the darkspawn horde that's been getting closer on the highway. I have to drive around them every day on the way to work. So...if you're helping out...

[Egg shrugs instead of ending the sentence. There's not much else to say.]

[trystabbingit]

[When Egg starts talking, there's a moment where Tabris looks up at her like a hunted animal, all adrenaline. But then what she's actually saying registers, and the expression shifts to one of open surprise. Then, a slow-growing smile, shoulders relaxing and real warmth in her eyes.]

[She lets go of her arm and turns it palm-up on the table, revealing the cup and griffins inked a few inches above the delicate skin of her inner wrist. She's proud to have it, in spite of everything.]

I'm that obvious, huh? Subtlety wasn't part of the job until recently, in my defense.

[She laughs, palpably relieved.]

We just came from there, actually. Exit 48 should be clear now, so long as you can stomach the... leftovers. It's just the two of us and a couple friends, so cleanup's been a challenge, to put it lightly.

[She gives Egg's face another glance, putting together the darkspawn on the roads and the way Dalish usually get around.]

Hey, your clan's around here somewhere, right? Wardens can sense darkspawn so we've got a rough map of where they're moving, I can text it to you. It's not much, but it might help you get outta dodge if they get too close to where you're staying.

[inthistryingtime]

[Egg looks at the tattoo when it's revealed and it really is beautiful. There's got to be a story about why the Grey Wardens are being treated like villains these days when they're supposed to be heroes but Egg doesn't know it. She doesn't really understand human politics.

When Tabris shares the news about the darkspawn it's Egg's turn to look relieved.]

Oh you really are heroes. See, this is what I'm saying, you've been here for what? A minute? And you've done more than the Ferelden armed forces have done in a month.

[She flips to a new page on her notepad, writes down her phone number, tears the page out, and hands it to Tabris.]

Please text me their routes. I'm sure my Keeper would be relieved to have that information. We were only planning on sticking around until the season changes but this will help so much.

[Egg looks at the sword again and makes a face. These two really aren't good at hiding in plain sight at all huh?It's lucky that Egg has been trained in specifically that as a part of the hunting team for her clan. Even if this is a little different, she knows subtlety.]

You said subtlety wasn't your deal right? Let me help you.

[She digs into her apron and pulls out a small roll of bandages. Egg places them on the table.]

These are for your wrist, you can keep them if you want or give them back when you leave, just in case someone comes in. I have another apron in the back. That should be big enough to cover the sword. I'll bring my backpack too. The apron will be less conspicuous that way.

[Egg glances back at the kitchen again.]

I think you'll be okay here for a while but better safe than reported for, I don't know, eating an omelet menacingly.

[trystabbingit]

[Tabris rolls her eyes at the mention of the armed forces.]

The Governor is tossing those soldiers to the darkspawn like table scraps to an elderly mabari. Martial law or whatever isn't going to help when darkspawn don't even notice you've shot them. What you really need to do is cut them down and burn them, my buddy Leliana has better luck with flaming arrows than the military has with machine guns.

[She sighs.]

Not that giving the military a bunch of swords would help. You get darkspawn blood in a cut or in your mouth or eyes and it's all over. Wardens are immune, it's how we do what we do.

[On that cheerful note, she takes the scrap of paper and pulls out her cell phone. It's an old model, enough that she has to text with the number pad, but smart phones are way too easy to track or break. She types in Egg's number and sends the following texts:]

hey its tabris

[She looks up after that, realizing she hasn't actually introduced herself.]

Oh, right. I'm Kallian Tabris, the sleepy lump is Alistair Theirin.

[She ducks her head back down to keep texting.]

drkspn on hiway r moving north but there r blocks from military and we r working on those so ignore them

map shws small groups just as bad w no media coverage

[She sends a photo from her phone's shitty camera then, a roadmap with military blockades in blue pen and darkspawn in black. There are arrows showing movement that seem to be drawn in a purple glitter pen, and a red crayon circling areas that are already taken. It's coherent, but you can definitely tell what sort of circumstances it was made under.]

I have a couple people I send these out to, I'll put you on the list.

[Tabris accepts the bandages with a grateful smile, quickly moving to wrap them around her very exposed warden tattoo. She leaves the rose on the other wrist alone; she got that fairly recently and it isn't really identifiable.]

Maker, thank you, I wouldn't have even thought of that. I mostly just wear a jacket or hoodie, but, well.

[She looks sheepish now, tilting her head towards Alistair and the hoodie he's using as a pillow.]

I lose my head when it comes to him, sometimes. Thanks for covering for us, means a lot.

[inthistryingtime]

[Egg grimaces at Tabris's description of fighting darkspawn. It sounds miserable and incredibly difficult, but that information is actually very helpful. In emergency situations it would be good to know what to do.

No one is really looking out for the Dalish the way people look out for cities. They've lost a couple people to darkspawn on hunting trips. That's part of why Egg is in town working. A steady paycheck is a good way to get access to food when going out into the woods isn't really feasible. But..maybe if they know how to fight them, or at least slow them down, maybe it would be safer to go out on occasional hunting trips. It's something to consider, but not her job. She's no Keeper. Egg is truly grateful she doesn't even qualify for that leadership role. Having that many lives in her hand sounds scary.

Egg's very outdated smart phone vibrates in her pocket and she pulls it out. Tabris, huh? She adds the number to her phone and lists the name as an angel emoji. Egg doubts anyone will have any reason to check her phone but it's better to not have her name listed if she's running from the army.]

Tabris and Alistair, it's nice to meet you. You two are super cute together, by the way.

[Egg smiles in their direction. She shrugs her shoulders in response to Tabris's thanks.]

I'm glad I can help at all, I mean, I'm just a waitress. Speaking of, let me go put in your order and grab my stuff.

[She turns from the couple and quickly half-jogs over to the kitchen. When she returns she has her apron and backpack with her.]

Here you go!

[She hands the apron to Tabris, probably safer to let her handle the sword, and puts her backpack down on the booth. It's clearly handmade out of a sturdy leather with some kind of embroidered symbol on the front flap, probably something to do with her clan. The straps are braided leather and there's a furry rabbit's foot keychain attached to one of them. The only thing out of place are a few more modern looking patches including one that says "mage rights", a bi pride flag, and one that says "decolonize thedas".

Egg takes a look at the patches on her bag and frowns. Not exactly inconspicuous. She turns the back around so the patches are facing the wall of the booth.]