07.06f: Underwater Ball (Musician's Lounge)

[Wyvern]

Alys looks at Aibne, and cocks her head to one side, and says, "If it bothers you that much, you can just tell her no."

She pauses for only a moment - long enough to see Aibne's initial reaction, but not long enough to let him get a word in edge-wise, and then continues.
"Not acceptable? Then do something about it. There's a servant right over there that you could ask to show the two of you to a private room - or perhaps Priscilla already has someplace arranged, given that this was her idea to start with. And if you want my presence as well, ask; telling me it's fine if I go deal with my own business is likely to result in me doing exactly that."

[Draylen]

"I-I don't..." he starts, spluttering a little, before looking down. "I-I'm sorry Ma'am," he says very softly. "T-thank you for your time... W-where, uh..." he says, not quite looking at Priscilla. "Did you have a place set up for this? O-or... I-I could find a sitting room... or something..."

[Joshua]

Priscilla winces. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to cause such an issue. Yes, there are private places we could go. My fitting room, for example... or there are some nearby lounges.... or... if this is a bad time..." She is trying to pull into herself, worried she's angered you both.

[Draylen]

"N-n-no, it's not a bad time," Aibne says, shaking his head. He pulls his head up, looking at her, bowing slightly. "Please, lead the way. I-it's no trouble, really," he says, putting on a glassy smile, looking extremely fragile for all of his build and size.

[Wyvern]

Alys looks at Aibne, eyes narrowed to angry slits for a moment, then sighs and shakes her head. "Too much, too soon," she mutters, and then takes up position on the far side of the bear from Priscilla, clearly intending to go with the two of them.

[Joshua]

(Really no need for a separate thread here.)

Priscilla will flush a little red and nod, leading the group through a short series of tunnels to her workshop. A large dressmaking shop, currently empty, with many different types of dresses and ball-gowns. It'd clearly an up-scale level shop. Priscilla doesn't stop, and leads you to one final door into her fitting room.

Which is a large beautifully decorated room with mannequins wearing lovely dresses and suits and racks upon racks of clothing all lined up on each side of the room making a path to a stand which is in front of a very large ornate mirror that strangely seems to be casting no reflection.

"I'm the only one who'd be in here, so... it's safe to talk, and we won't be mistaken for being open."

[Wyvern]

Alys relaxes noticeably as soon as the group leaves the ballroom, and looks around appreciatively at the interior of Priscilla's shop, taking a few moments to feel the fabric of one dress or another.

At the end of the trip, she spends a few moments contributing to the awkward silence, and then sighs and looks away. "Fine, I'll go first."

"Some time ago there was a... person, who managed to help save my life. Out of gratitude, I served it for a time - but it was a prince among its kind, and a minor sorcerer, and it had enemies; when I saved it from an assassin, I considered the debt to be settled."

Alys tenses a bit, but is still looking away so that her face isn't visible. "Turns out it didn't understand the concept of gratitude, and had simply considered me property. But still, it had helped save my life, so I let it keep its, and left. That was... a mistake. It hired bounty hunters. The first three I killed - but that was also a mistake, because they were member of a Clan of Sorcerers* that did not take kindly to notion that someone who wasn't a Sorcerer could go around killing them."

"And the thing about Sorcery is, if you're up against a sufficiently competent Sorcerer, there are only three options: Take them by surprise and kill them before they realize you're a threat. Match them Power against Power and beat them on their own terms. Or..." Alys trails off.

_____
* Aibne will realize that Alys is actually talking about Logrus here; anywhere that Sorcery or Power is capitalized, she's referring to "Greater Powers" like Logrus... or Pattern.

[Joshua]

Priscilla will nod, and wait for an appropriate pause before admitting, "That sounds terrible. I don't understand why men-" She will pause, "Er, anyone, could consider another as property to be used. I was lucky not to face direct fallout when I fled. Are these hunters able to reach you here? I know mine can't. Although, what if he was a shadow of someone here who is even worse?"

[Draylen]

Aibne frowns a little at Alys, nodding slightly. "There is always that risk, wherever you go and whoever you're with," He says, instead of responding to Alys directly*. "People can be horribly monsters, women as well as men. Women simply tend to me a little more subtle about it." He shakes a little, closing his eyes. "I spent two months working in a mine far too small for me to fit properly in. I was constantly grungy, my ha- fur, was always a mess. And when I didn't bring in my quota - almost every day, because I wasn't allowed to dig a larger mine - I'd be whipped and not given food. And that was still better than the master Rogbar bought me from," he says, pursing his lips. "Brothels are... not a fantastic place to be forced to work."

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*He's concerned for her sake, and wants to talk to her about it afterwards, but right now is not the time.

[Wyvern]

Alys snorts, and turns back to the other two. "That's a bit of an understatement," she replies to Aibne. "And whoever was running that mine sounds like an idiot; if they're still in charge of anyone, we may want to fix that."

To Priscilla, "No, that one wasn't a shadow of anyone here. And unlike most people, it actually had a reason for its issues: it was an Enki - a sort of a squid-like creature - that gained some degree of power from solipsism. Doesn't excuse its actions, but at least there's an explanation. As for the hunters... they've got bigger problems these days. But they certainly could get here; Odin's arrival is proof of that."