orlaiscation all i ever wanted (semi-open)

[sulahnan]

WHO: Athessa and Vanadi and Orlesians et al
WHAT: Catch-all for Athessa's Orlesian Bardcation
WHEN: 3 month span (Cloudreach, Bloomingtide, and Justinian)
WHERE: Val Royeaux
NOTES: People are welcome to bump into her in Val Royeaux if they happen to be there so long as they don't blow her cover.

i. on the boat (closed to Nikos)

[ Nikos being on the boat is, needless to say, something of an odd coincidence that Athessa manages not to notice until she sees him on deck, blessedly early enough on the voyage to avoid the worst of her seasickness.

She approaches him, standing next to him at the gunwale and giving him a friendly (if tight-lipped) smile. ]

Where are you off to, then?

ii. in the city (Cloudreach)

The apartment that Athessa finds isn't much; by Orlesian standards it's downright paltry without being neck-deep in the slums. By Athessa's standards, it's fine. Nothing worth complaining about at all. It's small, located above a textile shop, and it has a blue door. It came with a bed, a fireplace, a kitchen, a washroom, and an old sofa with a filigree back that's seen better days. The paint on the walls is flaking, the door creaks, the floor is dusty and hasn't seen wax in years. The chimney definitely needs sweeping before it's usable...but all of this is doable and Athessa isn't going to argue that they aren't reasons to lower the price of the rent.

The first week or so is spent getting the apartment in working order and getting a sense of the neighborhood, exploring in the way one must when moving to a new city. Athessa wanders from place to place, fetching necessary items and asking directions for various things, familiarizing herself with the butcher and the baker and other sundry incumbent merchants. Not everyone is willing to give her the time of day, but a few people yet surprise her with their general helpful natures.

Around the third week of Cloudreach is when Athessa believes she's found a few choice areas to start performing. She keeps a list of them in mind, ranked from most to least likely to get her the kind of exposure she needs, along with a general knowledge of when she has the best chance of being discovered. It isn't her only tactic, of course; if she can't get herself an invitation to the party as a performer, like Lexie said, she could get invited as a guest, and for that she keeps an ear out for any mention of it. The easiest way to get invited is by proxy, after all.

iii. on the stage (Bloomingtide)

[tbd]

iv. on the list (Justinian)

[tbd]

Comments

[highborn]

Vanadi trails after her, drifting away once he's inside just to set his letter-writing kit at the desk and shrug off his jacket, draping it across the chair there.

"It worked perfectly," he says. "Though only just in time. I was writing in Orlesian, and concentrating far too deeply on it. I'll be quicker next time, I'm sure."

[sulahnan]

"Next time," she echoes on a breath of laughter. Whether or not there'll even be a next time is a question yet to be answered.

Obviously.

"Is it just me, or does writing in Orlesian look prettier than writing in Trade?"

[highborn]

"Oh, to be sure. It's the accents, I think. They encourage flourishes all throughout the rest," he says, and pulls the chair from the desk. He spins it about to settle into a comfortable sprawl in it, facing outward to the rest of the room. "Now, tell me -- have you eaten?"

[sulahnan]

Her shoulders lift and drop in a loose shrug. "In a manner of speaking. Who're you writing to in Orlesian?"

[highborn]

That's well worth a grin -- and also counts as a yes, he supposes. He relaxes more into his sprawl, releasing thoughts of dinner.

"Mhavos," he says. "I'm making a fool of myself, I'm certain. I must sound like a toddler with delusions of grandeur."

[sulahnan]

"That's how my letters already sound in Trade," she matches his grin and leans against the back of the well-worn sofa. She doesn't bother to hold her robe shut now that the balcony doors are shut. "Did you tell him about that wheel of cheese that got loose? I think he'd have a good laugh about that."

[highborn]

She makes a lovely sight there, and Vanadi isn't shy about idly enjoying it. He's always liked the fit and drape of that robe -- what a good find it had been.

"No, but there's room yet. However, I'm not sure my command of Orlesian can really be trusted to accurately describe the look on the merchant's face as it escaped slowly down that hill."

[sulahnan]

Athessa nods. "Yeah I think I wouldn't be able to describe it without drawing a picture. A little stick man with an O for a mouth. Like—" She adopts the pose she reckons is most reminiscent of a stick man and makes a :O face.

[highborn]

He snorts, briefly calling off the admiration. The look really just doesn't lend itself to the sexy-in-a-robe chic, however charming its maker may be.

"Yes, I'll be sure to request your artistic rendition on the letter before I send it," he says. "Please be sure to add the little splash, as it dropped into the channel."

[sulahnan]

"Of course," she laughs, "Gotta have the splash."

She steps away from her lean to walk around the sofa and set up the kettle in the hearth to heat water for tea, then crosses to the kitchen just off to the right of the fireplace to fetch cups.

"Tea?" she asks, getting a cup out for Vanadi automatically regardless of whether he says yes or no. "I was gonna finally try brewing some of those apple blossoms like Lilou said."

[highborn]

"Please," he says, and hauls himself back up again from his sprawl to trail after her. "It's a wonderful garnish, she had the right idea. I would suggest plum blossoms, for something of a fuller taste."

He reclaims his sprawl at the little kitchen table instead, one foot propped up on the opposite chair under the table.

"So then, how was your day? Regale me, I'm nearly done with Byerly's chores and running dangerously low on anything to keep me busy."

[sulahnan]

"I can't believe you want me to regale you after a long hard day of regaling other people," she jests fondly. With the cups prepared and ready for hot water, all there is to do now is wait.

"It was fine, same as usual, ya know. I think I'll probably leave off playing at that spot near the docks — there isn't enough traffic there, and the people who do pass by aren't always in a giving mood. The market square is the best option but it's also exhausting to set up there. If I just play music, nobody pays attention. If I sing, too many pay attention."

[highborn]

Vanadi nods as he listens, arms folded comfortably over his chest as he sits back in the chair. He's made it for a few of the performances, though of course always at a respectable difference, so he knows about what to picture.

"Really?" He quirks a brow. "Is there such thing as too much attention in this business? I'd never have guessed."

[sulahnan]

She rolls her eyes, fondly.

"Maybe not for business but for me, definitely. I don't like feeling like I'm on display."

[highborn]

His quirked brow stays quirked, and the other joins it a second later. "I think," he says, slowly, like he's thinking it over, "That being on display is just what this project requires. I don't know of any kind of performer that isn't."

[sulahnan]

"I know, I know," she sighs. It's something she hasn't quite figured out how to deal with, that's all. She cranes her neck to look at the kettle, but she can hear that the water isn't yet boiling. Her fingers drum on the edge of the table.

"I just have to figure out a way to...make everyone see what I want them to see. Control their perception somehow so I don't feel...exposed."

Athessa shakes her head, dismissing that conundrum for now.

"What about your day? What'd you get up to?"

[highborn]

Vanadi watches her, the shifts, the drumming fingers, and doesn't so much as stir his thoughts toward his own day. He instead rises from his lazy sprawl at the the table, announcing, "I could use a smoke," and steps away to go and gather pipe and elfroot. When he's back with it, lit and gently smoking, he leans to hand it to Athessa.

[sulahnan]

Her eyes follow him as he moves, from the moment he stands to the moment he returns. It's clear that he's not going to answer, that he's going to pursue this conversation until she gives it a more definitive end. A soft sigh escapes her as she accepts the pipe from him.