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

ii. in the city

[sulahnan]

[ nest all threads from Cloudreach/April under here! ]

iii. on the stage

[sulahnan]

[ nest all threads from Bloomingtide/May under here! ]

iv. on the list

[sulahnan]

[ nest all threads from Justinian/June under here! ]

[exsecutus]

[Nikos, with his elbows resting on the rail, takes a moment before he shifts his eyes from the horizon to her. Oh, was his first thought. Her. His face is telling a slightly stronger story: displeased, stormy. Then again, she is, allegedly, friends with Kostos, who often looks worse.

So.]

I'm here for fun. I love feeling like weak-kneed shit.

[He looks back out across the water.]

You?

[sulahnan]

Same, [ she nods, and leans against the rail as well. ] The barfing hasn't started yet, but it's only a matter of time.

[exsecutus]

Mm. Be far away from me when you start.

[Not a request. He keeps looking out on the water.]

Perendale is my real answer. Nevarra is a mess.

[sulahnan]

[ Naturally, the tip of her head says. ]

Hmm. And you're gonna fix it?

[exsecutus]

[Ha. His mouth curls in a mean sharp smirk. If it were a blade, it would cut inward.]

Already tried that.

[sulahnan]

And it went perfectly and there are no more problems? That's great!

[ The sidelong look she casts in Nikos' direction is wry. ]

[exsecutus]

[Ha ha ha. Nikos casts his gaze down to the rail of the gunwale. There's a scar in the wood, a long jagged mark. He shifts his grip, presses his thumb at its apex.]

I'd rather see Nevarra razed than continue the way it is. Dumbly watching isn't something I can stomach any better.

[sulahnan]

Well, [ Athessa doesn't know anything about how Nevarran works or doesn't work. ] That's pretty drastic. What's so unfixable about how it is right now? Other than all the unquiet dead in Nevarra City. That's proper fucked.

[exsecutus]

I don't give a shit about Nevarra City. You didn't hear? The resistance in Perendale--which we, Riftwatch, intervened with, in some small ways--was recently and brutally cut down? Hangings. Anything that threatens the occupying forces will not be permitted. The new leader of that city is said to be worse than the last. The people will be suffocated into submission and they won't ever learn--

[He jabs his thumb at the notch in the rail, with more force.]

--They could have better. That it is not just the occupation that crushes them. They were crushed when Nevarra was still all her own.

[sulahnan]

Of course I didn't hear, nobody tells me anything.

[ She shrugs, helpless and only mildly defensive, because goddamn, Nikos. ]

So what're you gonna do?

[exsecutus]

[YOU ASKED

He gestures at the ship they're standing on, the sea and the path before them.]

I'm going to Perendale. The least I can do is not abandon them.

[sulahnan]

Hmm.

[ She nods, accepting that as his answer and looking out toward the horizon. Apparently looking into the distance is supposed to help with motion sickness, but of course that's nonsense.

In comparison to Nikos' calling to Perendale, Athessa's journey to Val Royeaux seems almost frivolous. Maybe she can get away with not mentioning it. ]

[exsecutus]

[He gives her a moment of quiet, to think about Perendale; he gives himself a moment of quiet, to do the same, but angrily, and guiltily, and back then to anger again.

But it isn't a very long moment.]

And you?

[sulahnan]

[ Damn. ]

Val Royeaux. It's probably a mess, too, but I'm not gonna fix shit.

[exsecutus]

[Val Royeaux, ew.]

Why are you going?

[sulahnan]

Would you believe I'm running away?

[ She gives him a sidelong glance. Weighing. Measuring. She sounds curious, but she is also teasing. ]

a visit.

[cozen]

Bastien warns her that he's coming to Val Royeaux, but by letter, well over a week in advance, with only a vague estimate of when and no mention of where or how.

The answers to all of those outstanding questions are: now, in the bright and bustling district surrounding the Grande Royeaux Theater, and by planting himself on the low stone wall around the base of a tall, golden statue and its surrounding greenery, in a place he's confident—because he's good at his job, this is his city, and he knows who to ask—she'll be putting in an appearance.

In the meantime, he's reading a book. It hides most of his face. But his hair and eyebrows are visible above it, and his posture and clothes are his usual fare.

[exsecutus]

No.

[Flatly. He meets her gaze, raises his eyebrows a little in challenge. So. A gesture, loose hand.]

Why are you going.

[sulahnan]

[ Hm. She files that answer away and shrugs. Worth a shot. ]

Well, I've got an assignment, haven't I? That's the unfortunate downside to trying not to be such a fuck-up anymore. People start having expectations.

[exsecutus]

Mm.

You could always fuck up the assignment. Then they wouldn't trust you to do the work any longer.

[Just a suggestion.]

[sulahnan]

Kinda defeats the purpose of trying, doesn't it?

[ And if she fucks up on accident? Well. She's already catastrophized enough about that before even setting foot on the boat. ]

[exsecutus]

So you are interested in meeting people's expectations? From your earlier remark, I couldn't tell.

[If he had a drink, this is where he would pause to take a sip. He doesn't have a drink. More's the pity. There's an itch starting in his arm, deep in the scar that's never cleared. He does not give in.]

What's the assignment?