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]

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.