Cylus 1, Arc 722
It had been a restless night for Natalia, which meant that Apollo got the bed all to himself, not that he needed it, being an itty, bitty six-headed mini dragonet. His heads rose inquisitively when the young woman quietly slipped out of bed, clad only in a comfortable oversized shirt that she favored, and padded over to the large window in her Inn room. However, as soon as he realized she wasn’t coming back to bed, the tiny creature immediately relocated to the warmth of the spot she had just vacated and swiftly fell back asleep.
Natalia had always felt an affinity for the night. There was something so comforting about its quiet embrace. Curling up on the windowsill, she looked out over the streets of Etzos. It was several breaks until people would start to rise, and while a few stumbled about the area, the thoroughfares was mostly empty. In childhood, she had always been a deep sleeper but once Natalia had struck out on her own, running into all manner of trouble, sleep now came in fits and starts.
Running wild were her thoughts during those peaceful breaks. Although it was far from the truth, she felt a lull in her life in Eztos. There was her training with Grayson and the theatre work. There, somewhere in the chaos, was Oberan, but truthfully, Natalia had no idea where the enigmatic man played into things. It would have been easy to say that he simply wasn’t a puzzle piece, but that would have been a falsehood, and lying to herself was something she had never aspired to do. Like it or not, he was there.
Good or bad. That remained to be seen. Perhaps it was a little of both?
Etzos had provided her with a serviceable backdrop for her training, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to convince herself that she wasn’t staying as the trials crawled along. With its dark edge and moods that shifted on a whim, Etzos was becoming familiar to her. A place she might want to stay. Maybe call home.
Wrapping lithe arms around her knees, Natalia leaned back against the window frame and sighed, considering what that might mean for her. There was a comfort in believing she was in control of things, even though most of the time, control was an illusion.
Experience told her that making acquaintances and contacts was a good idea. While she had been doing that all along, it was always with the assumption that she would be leaving eventually, not sowing the seeds of relationships that might have to stand the test of time. She’d need to shift gears and reevaluate things if that were the case.
The Inn had served well as a base of her Etzos life, but she’d need to find other arrangements if she chose to stay. Perhaps Ladrian could point her in the right direction of affordable housing? The older man had a soft spot for ‘Sophia’ – the name she went by in Etzos – and he probably knew where to go and what to do. Then there was the matter of Grayson, although she suspected he would choose to stay in the city as well if she did, although for reasons other than that. Although Natalia had never been introduced, long legs and red hair kind of reasons, if she were to guess.
Then there was the matter of her training. Grayson did well with combat-related issues, but there were more subtle skills that Natalia needed to learn if she was going to be effective at gathering information, and she wasn’t sure her cousin could teach her those, but she knew of someone that might.
Having washed her face, organized the long dark locks that she was blessed with, and dressed, Natalia made her way to the tavern area, looking for one particular individual – Velvessa.
The inn she had called home for a while was owned by a biqaj couple, Velvessa and her husband, Mah'ludre. Both were friendly, although she figured that was due to her actions apprehending the thug that had attacked an inn server. In fact, that was the same night she met the perplexing Oberan.
Anyway, on a few occasions, she had witnessed the female biqaj dance for the tavern, and it was certainly not the type of dancing Natalia had seen before. Seductive and wild, and with varying amounts of clothing on, it was evident that the woman knew what she was doing - there were lessons Natalia could take away from that. Right now, her skills and opportunities to learn were limited, so she needed to get creative with the latter.
It was early, and the tavern was devoid of patrons, but the staff still bustled to and fro. Within a few bits, Natalia spotted the beautiful Velvessa, bringing out some glasses from the kitchen.
Moving towards her with a smile and purpose, she greeted the woman. "Velvessa – good morning…."
The biqaj glanced up at the young woman, giving her a quick smile. "Ah, young Sophia! You are up early totrial, my dear. Running off someplace with that handsome cousin of yours or just couldn't sleep?" In the time she had been acquainted with Velvessa, Natalia had noted her honed skills of observation. Very little got past the woman, being used to keeping an eye on a tavern full of drunk idiots.
Laughing lightly, she replied, shaking her head. "The second one, I'm afraid. Gareth is busy totrial with a 'friend,' I believe." Natalia marveled at how easy it had become to slip into the roles of Sophia and Gareth, two cousins from another place that had come to see what Etzos had to offer.
Giving her a knowing look, Velvessa chuckled. "Ah yes. The redhead. He's been with her a lot lately. Or should I say, she's been sneaking out of here during the early morning breaks a great deal recently. I think he's rather smitten with that one, but I suppose one never knows."
Ugh. Talking about Grayson's clandestine activities was not something she took pleasure in, but if it helped form a connection with the biqaj, it was worth the 'ewwwwwwwww' Natalia felt inside. "I suppose. He doesn't speak to me about 'them,' so I wouldn't know."
Grinning a bit, her companion sensed an opening and wasn't shy, at all, about taking it. "So, Sophia, when will I start seeing young men sneaking out of your room in the early breaks?"
The question prompted an immediate blush from the dark-haired young woman – one she couldn't hide if she tried. However, the conversation needed to continue so she buckled down and forced herself forward."I don't foresee that happening in the near future, Velvessa, but thank you for the cringe-worthy embarrassment so early in the trial." Phrased as a good-natured retort, laced with a small amount of amusement, Natalia felt anything but inside. This is what Velvessa was good at, knowing people and what made them tick. It was evident she kept tabs on people, and knowing the type of people that did so was a good thing.
Breaking out into an actual laugh, the biqaj smiled and apologized. "I'm sorry, Sophia. It was too good an opening to pass up. I'm just as happy to see you be particular about the company you entertain, but something tells me you came to see me for a specific reason. Out with it – what's on your mind?"
Again, the woman had accurately read her and knew Natalia's purpose. However, this time, she refused to hold back the question she wanted to ask. "How? How did you know that? I didn't say anything about wanting to talk to you about something?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Velvessa continued to work, racking glasses and giving Natalia a grin. "You engaged me, not the other way around. It wasn't a convenient meeting, meaning you had to go out of your way to find me. I've been doing this a long time, and I know when someone has something to ask, so you might as well."
Her information made sense, and Natalia couldn't argue its logic, so instead of pressing that topic further, she nodded and moved on to the subject in question. "I've had occasion to see your dancing…" she began, blush threatening to rise again.
"I was wondering if…well, I wanted to…. it's a very unique style, you see…." There were a lot of words she wanted to say, but none of them seemed to come out just right before being replaced by others words of similar meaning. In fact, the words tumbled over each other as Natalia tried to grasp at a grouping of them that made sense.
"I've never….I don't know…." she continued, trying to find something – anything – that would convey her question.
Velvessa watched Natalia closely, eyebrow arching pointedly as the younger woman stumbled over her words. It was amusing, certainly, and even though the biqaj knew what she wanted, she waited to see if Natalia managed to find her way out of the hole she was crawling into.
Finally, holding up her hand, the woman laughed and stopped Natalia's rambling, incoherent mutterings. "Stop. This is too painful to let you continue. Are you trying to ask me if I'll teach you how to dance like that?" Cheeks aflame again, Natalia answered the only way she could, nodding slowly and thinking of anything to say that might pull her out of the stupor.
Considering her carefully, Velvessa laid her hands on the counter. "I guess the only question I have is 'why.' As we've already established, seduction isn't your thing. I've seen you in here often enough to know that to be the truth. Which means you have a plan for the use of the skills."
Finally getting a hold of her senses, Natalia briefly replied, keeping the true intent to herself."I….might require them, yes. I don't need a great deal of instruction. Just some basics, perhaps."
The woman didn't push, grinning at her companion knowingly. "Alright then, keep your secrets. I don't need to know."
Eyeing Natalia up and down, Velvessa quickly assessed what she had to work with. "You have the body for it, no doubt. You've been training your muscles, but you aren't muscular – that's important. Hmmm…alright. One lesson to start. If you do well, perhaps a few more. However…."
Ut oh. That was never a good sign.
"However, as payment, you'll perform for the tavern. One dance, to see how well you learned." No, no…that wasn't acceptable, she thought. Part of the reason she came to Etzos was to lose herself and perhaps find out who she truly was. She didn't want to be known. Dancing with far less clothing on than she normally wore, in front of a group of people, was the opposite of fading against the woodwork.
Velvessa, sensing Natalia's hesitancy, came up with an idea. "We will put a mask on you. No one will know it's you. Is that better?"
Well, it wasn't perfect, but Natalia readily agreed. The pair made arrangements to meet up later that trial, and while mostly happy with the agreement, the young woman wondered what she had just gotten herself into.
