“I know Caz as well“, Doran told Vega.
“Caz and Flea helped me when I came here in order to research Cassion’s Trial and Enri von Smooglenuff last cycle. She’s indeed nice, and her hot chocolate is delicious”, he agreed with a light smile and inclined his head before he turned to listen to her story, raising an eyebrow slightly as he did so.
“Pirates and Yaralon and a troupe? I’d very much like to hear more sometime”, he admitted.
Faldrun’s daughter said aloud what he had only been thinking so far. He’d already considered that the descendant might be innocent. A curse that was passed down through the generations sounded cruel and unfair to him. People shouldn’t be blamed for the actions of their ancestors. It reminded him of Audrae’s daughter who had never asked for anything that had happened to her, but who had still suffered and who had been supposed to die.
He briefly wondered if Vega thought of the girl that had become her daughter as well.
When Madame Leona transformed into her human guise – she was the woman that he had met at the Mummer’s Ball once more – Doran offered her his arm in order to accompany her into the Scholar’s Nook. He was, he had to admit, curious about her shapeshifting ability. Once upon a time, when he had been misguided enough to follow Syroa, he had possessed some minor shapeshifting abilities himself, but his clothes had always stayed the same.
It was, he decided, a curiosity that was best satisfied later on though.
For the time being, he listened to Leona’s answers attentively.
“If they have fire in their hair and cannot not dance, it shouldn’t be too hard to find them, even in a place where there are a considerable number of dancers”, he mused and stroke his chin thoughtfully. The other dancers would likely not dance all the time; they’d likely stop when they were talking, eating or drinking or waiting for the results to be announced.
He was, he had to admit, glad that they would get help with the curse removal part, although he would have tried his best to find a way to remove the descendant’s curse by himself, of course. Just like Vega, he couldn’t help but wonder who “Cassion’s little understudy” was. He doubted that he was one of the Taleweaver’s Mortalborns. Did the Immortals have apprentices nowadays, people that they taught the secrets of their trade?
Unlike some of the other questions that had arisen since Madame Leona had contacted Vega and him, this was one that he allowed himself to ponder in a bit more detail as it was quite relevant to the matter at hand. He only had a few moments to consider the matter of Immortals and their understudies before the MC announced the first act of the show though – and what an act it was. Just like most other members of the audience, Doran applauded when the group of men and women in white suits entered the stage.
The man in violet that followed the musicians – he concluded that this had to be “Sir Violet” – had horrible taste in fashion, and he was about as skilled a singer as Doran himself was, but he looked like he was having the time of his life. That was something that the Mortalborn liked, better than people that were focused on perfection and winning and nothing but that.
While the rest of the audience showed their disapproval openly and pretty much chased Sir Violet and his band off of the stage, Doran considered himself to be well-entertained.
“That was quite the performance, sir”, he remarked to Tio in an honest and quite cheerful tone of voice before he briefly turned to Vega and raised an eyebrow. This was Tio Silver, the man who had been Devout once, and he had become an Immortal? He hadn’t known that mortals could ascend like that.
“I’m most curious about a contest that requires its participants to be naked”, he admitted, the corners of his mouth twitching a little, before he remarked,
"I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Mister Silver, and I’m glad that you’ve agreed to help us to-trial!”
Vega, he decided, and cast another glance at the redheaded daughter of Faldrun, had made a very interesting comment. He was pretty sure that there
were dances that could lead to someone getting pregnant, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to have a discussion in that regard right now, or ever. Everything else aside, it would likely be inappropriate as well as highly awkward. So, he turned to face Tio, waiting for him to answer Vega’s question instead, before he posed a question of his own.
“If the descendant and the cub are here, in this very room, it should be relatively easy to find them, as I said before. Perhaps, they’ll show off their talent. What if they don’t though, or what if they don’t appear on stage until very late in the evening? There’s a backstage area. If it is anything like other backstage areas, it won’t be open to anybody besides staff and performers, and perhaps especially persuasive fans. Would any of you be willing to participate in the contest, if that turns out to be the best option? I’m a decent dancer, and I think I’d do an adequate job playing the part of a strongman as well”, he remarked in a very dry tone of voice, his blue eyes twinkling slightly.
Having said that, he let his gaze sweep across the room, and the crowd around them, once more. Nowadays, he was capable of noticing tiny details without needing to focus on them. Perhaps, he would notice something that would help him find the descendant, the cub, or both, or perhaps, he would even find
them, although he didn’t really count on things being
that easy.
Notes
Doran is using his Detection capstone “Big Picture, Small Detail”.
