• Solo • Observations

[Natalia Gregorios]

Ashan 26, Arc 721

Exploring places was always fascinating but somewhat exhausting. After having lived in Scalvoris for her entire life, Natalia was finding a certain exhilaration in being able to explore the town as she desired, and that being on one’s own was something of a different beast.

Spending several breaks of the trial wandering, simply for the pleasure of wandering, the young woman eventually found herself meandering down a street that took her in front of the Knight’s Rest. Inquisitiveness was a peculiar creature and sometimes it took hold of the young woman, rarely letting go once it had. Satisfying said curiosity – and the rising urge to explore – she mused that apparently the Universe wanted her to have a drink before moving on.

Taverns were fascinating places for people watching, and this tavern was no exception. Cleaner than most, the Knight’s Rest had a warm, welcoming feel to it, and that was something she could appreciate, especially in contrast to her own home, which currently contained extraordinarily little in the way of cozy touches.

Casting a quick gaze around, she spotted the perfect place to sit. While many people enjoyed random socializing, she did not and began moving towards a seat in the far corner. The vantage point chosen offered her the opportunity to watch the lively room, buzzing with activity, and allowed her the opportunity to contemplate each person or group within the establishment.

The newly-in-love couple fawning over each other’s words….
The curious loner getting lost in the bottom of his cup…
The young woman hoping to catch someone’s eye. Anyone’s eye…
The smaller group of colorful merchants talking about their conquests of the trial…

One could find these standard personalities in every tavern in Idalos. There was some comfort in that thought for her. No matter where she was, there were a few things that would never change. Change was something of a new theme for her, having uprooted her entire life within wealth and privilege for something better. Better, in this case, meant more meaningful. There was more to life than what she had been offered previously and Natalia was determined to find it.

It was a place to start, she surmised.

Nodding as the server approached, the young woman smiled and ordered a glass of wine, suspecting it was late enough in the trial for an indulgence. After the server departed, she continued her observation of the room, latching onto a pair in the far corner. They were most certainly having a disagreement, based on their body language and tones, although there was no yelling to be had. The woman was younger, perhaps her own age. The man, older. ten or more arcs, she guessed based on appearance alone although that was never an accurate indicator.

As her wine arrived, Natalia took a sip, curiously watching the pair to see what else she could deduce. The young woman kept trying to hold the gentleman’s hands, but as soon as she would reach out, he’d pull them away from her. Her expression was distressed; his angry.

Interesting….

[Natalia Gregorios]

Ashan 26, Arc 721

As she continued to watch the pair, more things became evident. The tone of their voices, even low as they were, carried certain indicators. Natalia had heard those tones before and knew that tone of voice could easily escalate or calm a situation – depending on its use. The man’s tone of voice was clear – he was done with the conversation. The young woman’s? She was still trying to engage him. Her posture was open, appealing to him with her hands. His, was not, arms crossed, and expression fixed. Natalia predicted he would last another few bits and then walk out, leaving her be.

Despite her expectations and observations, he stayed. Arching an eyebrow gently, she almost felt frustration towards the man for defying her ideas of what he would do. “Rude,” she muttered under her breath, taking another drink of her wine.

Further observations found him softening to the young woman’s pleas, relaxing his arms just a bit. Whereas before he wouldn’t look at her, he now offered slight glances her direction. Spurred on by his more accepting behavior, the woman reached out for his hands again and this time, he allowed her to take one.

Turning her attention back to the main room, Natalia searched for something else of interest, her intellectual curiousity in the behavior of the couple having waned. She noted a middle-aged gentleman, seated at the bar, with a mug in his hand and a grim expression on his face. A quick visual inventory told her that while he probably had some money, he wasn’t well off. His clothing was newer but worn, and the fabric was of the quality that would last a fair amount of time. The sour expression did nothing to hide the fact that he was attractive – a quality being quickly noticed by a few of the ladies in the room, leaving her curious how things would end up.

The first to approach was a noticeably young woman, bright smile and cheery representation. It had every indication of being something of a disastrous combination. The blond stormed up to the bar and unintentionally overwhelmed the man in every way possible. Too many words, too much apparent delight, and too much…. just too much. He tried to be polite but, in the end, she sulked away, having been rejected quite directly.

“Too much, girl. Subtle until you know what they are about,” she offered quietly to herself, almost as if using the visual experiences to teach herself lessons about others.

The next woman to approach was a bit older, closer to his age. She slowly slid up to the counter, not looking at him, and ordered a drink, allowing him to get used to her presence there. After a few bits, Natalia overheard the woman make a quick remark about the weather or some such source of small talk – something Natalia abhorred but was proficient in – and before long, they were chatting as if old friends. Gold star to that one.

The art of observation was one that she had dabbled in since childhood, having been taught that most times, people wouldn’t tell you what they wanted, so one had to figure it out on their own. They were lessons the astute young woman had taken seriously, putting into practice at numerous social events over the arcs and attempting to hone because another’s motivations and desires were important pieces of information to know.

[Natalia Gregorios]

Ashan 26, Arc 721

Finishing up her drink, Natalia gave one last glance around the room, curious if there was anything else of interest. Noting nothing, she decided to make her way back to her new home and contemplate the next move regarding her new life.

What she didn’t know, however, was that she was being followed.

As Natalia moved down the street, a man followed her at a distance. To be fair, he had been doing so for quite some time, trying to document her movements and habits. She was an interesting one, this one. It wasn’t an emotional analysis, of course. Purely professional…because he had been hired to kill her.

In her case, all it had taken was a jilted ex-fiancé. For some people, the urge to kill another was harder to come by, and in others, not so much. He didn’t care for the particulars. He was being paid a fair price for his services and he would see the contract through.

From what he had gathered, she was getting ready to leave town on some trip. He knew her first stop was to be in Egilrun but hadn’t been able to figure out what the trip contained beyond that. Quite secretive she was. Finding information out had been challenging. She wasn’t socializing with her former peer group and as such, he was forced to do a bit more digging to figure out exactly what she was up to.

***

Natalia’s thoughts, as they often did, drifted to the choices she made in her life. She had rejected abject control of another, choosing freedom for herself. It had come at a cost – a high one – but given the same to do over, she wouldn’t have decided differently.

By virtue of the life she had led, the young woman had been given time and opportunity to orchestrate her ‘escape’, making sure she had the skills necessary to take care of herself. Yet, something still eluded her – reason and purpose. Natalia was truly clear on what she didn’t want, but what she was looking for was a bit harder to pin down.

While she had looked every inch the part in her former life, the well-behaved daughter of a socialite, Natalia was anything but. She wanted to question and think for herself. To live and find a place that accepted her for who she was and not for her family’s money or what they could get out of her. A place where her mind could be free to ask questions and learn. To form opinions and have them listened to and seriously considered.

A place to belong. Was that too much to ask?

[Jackalope]

Experience: +10 xp

Knowledge:

Knowledge:

Appraisal - Surmising fabric quality by how worn it is
Detection - Age can be difficult to determine by looks alone
Detection - Body language can indicate a disagreement between people
Detection - Observation can help you figure out what another wants
Socialization - Tone of voice can calm or escalate a situation

ETA: Detection: Observations can be misleading without context

Skillplay: Appropriate to level

Loot: None.

Consequences

Injuries/Overstepping: None.

Magic Experience?: None.

Renown: None.

Comments:

My first Natalia thread!

People watching is always fun, and you describe the kinds of behavior one typically sees in public engagingly and entertainingly. And it was a nice twist that she is, in turn, being watched without knowing about it. I assume this is part of some larger plot that you’re teasing for future threads? If so, it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

That brings me to a couple issues, however. The brief, sudden shift in point of view to the assassin was slightly confusing; it seemed to come from nowhere, and to go nowhere, although it did sorta work as a segue into the last section where Natalia muses about her past decisions (one of the consequences of which is the assassin stalking her, presumably).

Perhaps more significantly, I did not award: “Failing to detect you are being followed”. Failures can be instructive if one becomes aware from them; that is “learning the hard way.” The problem is that Natalia apparently remains completely oblivious to the fact that she has a tail, so I don’t see how it can become knowledge for her.

“Tone of voice can calm or escalate a situation” doesn’t really sound like a Detection knowledge to me; it sounds more like a Psychology or Socialization one. I awarded it as Socialization.

You can still claim a sixth Knowledge, of course. Let me know if you want one and I can edit your rewards. Let me know if you have any other questions/feedback, as well.

ETA: Done!