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Post by Felicien Clermont-Montmorency on Aug 11, 2011 9:53:45 GMT -5
(Continued from Chilly Reading - also I would really like it if someone got the random reference)It occurred to me as I was leaving the townhouse that I could do a lot worse than taking Noemi’s hunting dog with me. It wasn’t that I was anticipating any real trouble but Noemi was good-natured and naïve, and Night’s Doorstep could be rowdy and unpredictable. And I was largely helpless on account of being stuck as Felicien. I had a sword, tucked somewhere inside all the finery, and although Florian can use it tolerably I suspect Felicien would faint and scream rather than touch a horrible, dirty blade. This would put me in the awkward position of having to choose between maintaining my role or behaving sensibly if anything went wrong. But the presence of Vesta, even though she wasn’t fully grown, would likely discourage opportunistic troublemakers and she could be counted on to go to the defence of her mistress in an emergency. I don’t as a general rule like dogs, but she came meekly enough at my call, tail wagging, eyes bright. Like her Mistress, she struck me as being all too trusting. I managed to take a carriage partway to Night’s Doorstep, for which my feet thanked me, but by the time the streets got darker and narrower I had to abandon it, and teeter after Noemi under my own steam, such as it was. I drew some stares, and some muffled sniggers I’m sure, as I passed, but thankfully nobody actually tried to knife me. And, to my even greater relief, nobody cried out: “Hey, is that Florian dressed up like a peacock?!” In fact, apart from the general attention one garners as an idiot abroad, I tip-tapped my way through Night’s Doorstep unscathed. But where was Noemi? A sunshine blonde noblewoman in a black fedora shouldn’t be hard to find, surely? Vesta and I looked at each other. I shrugged. “She’s your Mistress, sniff her out or something.”
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Noemi de Trevalion
Royal (Staff)
Her Highness, Princess of the Blood; House Trevalion *Voted Character You'd Most Like to Meet 2010*
Sister to Victoire and Cygnus
Posts: 1,119
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Post by Noemi de Trevalion on Aug 11, 2011 16:26:45 GMT -5
One of the things about exploring the City as I had when I'd first gotten here, by just being a wealthy girl who didn't make a fuss and didn't give out her title too freely, was that people here didn't know who I was. Of course there were probably some that had seen me here or there, but I never cut the path that Victoire did with her titles and carriages. Victoire, there was a thought that didn't come comfortingly or with the familiar sisterly affection that it once had. For a moment I wondered if I'd latched onto this idea so quickly just to escape that. Well, if I did better to actually use it as an escape.
Especially if I meant to do what was right in that as well as this.
My gown was a simpler one of violet, something I'd chosen on my shopping trip with Josette at Bella Boutique, wearing matching slippers, my hair tied back in a simple ponytail with a piece of ribbon and my hat shielding my eyes somewhat from the bright sun. I wasn't sure if that was too ostentatious for this part of the City as I'd never been here before but it was the best I could do without feeling like I was some insulting caricature of poverty. Wasn't that worse than just being yourself?
So I was myself, and I smiled slightly at the people as I passed them while the streets got more narrow and the buildings a bit more shabby. The people seemed more intent on their work, even on the main street of this place, but so far nothing had really struck me as out of the ordinary from some of the poorer sections of La Serenissima save that even those dressed the most shabbily still had the beauty of their d'Angeline features, or were exotic foreigners that were living here. It was a cornucopia of human beings and I let myself be completely distracted by it.
From out of nowhere there was a shout and I felt something brush against my foot, then looked down to see a leather ball roll to a stop and picked it up. In La Serenissima I'd learned to play some of the more sporty-type games and as I looked over at the children my smile brightened slightly and I tossed it back to them. One, a boy about ten years old with a shock of red hair, gave me an echoing grin as he caught the ball and cocked his head sideways to take me in before he returned to his game. These kids- they looked poor, and thin, but they were still playing anyway. Maybe that was just how children were. What did that mean though?
Pushing a loose tendril behind my ears I continued on, feeling more able to focus on the task at hand and ready to see what had to be seen.
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Post by Felicien Clermont-Montmorency on Aug 14, 2011 17:57:12 GMT -5
Vesta gave a sudden bark of excitement and dashed away from my side, straight into the centre of a group of scrawny urchins who were kicking a ball between them, joining in the game with the sort of enthusiasm only a half-grown dog can muster. I made a half-hearted attempt to chase after but what was I going to do? I'd look even more than a fool than usual teetering into the middle of a ball game chasing a dog who wasn't even mine.
However, beyond the children I caught a glimpse of gold and violet, disappearing into the crowd. That had to be Noemi – I doubt Night's Doorstep often sees such brightness. And I could well imagine her distracted by the children playing, probably enjoying their perceived innocence while neglecting the truth that they are underfed, ill-educated, and imprisoned in a life that will offer them little opportunity beyond crime or poverty. Yes, they were playing but whatever distraction it provided, they still had no future ahead of them.
I hurried onwards, moving as quickly as my heels allowed, hoping the noise Vesta was making would attract her mistress's attention. I really wasn't dressed to be sprinting down streets like these, but if I lost Noemi in the maze I probably wouldn't find her again easily. As I pushed through the crowds, I could clearly see her familiar fedora, tilted slightly rakishly atop her shining hair, so I risked calling out to her. I couldn't quite face shrieking “Nomnom!” in Night's Doorstep so I settled for a fairly restrained:
“Noemi!”
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Noemi de Trevalion
Royal (Staff)
Her Highness, Princess of the Blood; House Trevalion *Voted Character You'd Most Like to Meet 2010*
Sister to Victoire and Cygnus
Posts: 1,119
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Post by Noemi de Trevalion on Aug 15, 2011 11:09:53 GMT -5
As I moved though this place I was more and more reminded of the dirtiest places in La Serenissima, save for one thing- as dirty as it was, I got fewer looks of wonder, apprehension and fear than I might have there. Maybe it was the proximity to the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers and that the adepts there really did come here for their business, or that they were in the middle of a city so wealthy the money just poured over to everything else. Or maybe I simply wasn't seeing the right things. Could I be so naive that I was literally blind to anything that didn't fit my vision of the world?
Promising myself that I would try the best I was able to see the worse side of things. I'd never even considered doing that before, or been encouraged to look at the negatives for any given set of events or circumstances, so it had never been a habit for that. Did that make me an optimist or just careless? Before I would have said that there was no harm in thinking the best of the world, in assuming that everything would work out for the best if you just gave it a chance to. A fun party to make people happy would make things better because happy people didn't worry or panic and drive other people to panic as well.
But now I was the one worried. Somehow it seemed very unfair. It prickled at me, made me a bit angry, and then ashamed. Here I was, walking among people who, while a bit better off than the beggers in La Serenissima, were for this place beggars, and I was annoyed because someone hadn't liked my party. A party that my sister would have loved, and she was most likely a murderer and for no greater reason than her own desires. I couldn't let myself follow that same sort of path, otherwise I may make the same bad decision one day.
Then there was the sound of barking that sounded so much like Vesta that I stopped for a moment and looked around, wondering if she'd slipped her leash- but wait, I hadn't brought her with me, had I? Was someone calling my name too? In the distance I caught a glimpse of a man in bright clothing with a huge hat on his head that sported several feathers and pins and who walked as unsteadily as though he were unused to doing anything at all as strenuous as moving himself. A glimpse of dark hair and the familiar voice told me who it was though and I could only stay where I was for a moment as he moved to where I was, completely surprised to see him here. He'd seemed so firm about not coming down here. "Hello again Felicien- or Cammie," I said with my usual smile, which was still probably showing my shock and confusion. "I didn't think you wanted to come. If I'd known I would have waited."
Well, at least it was still better than thinking about dark things for the few moments this conversation might last.
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Post by Felicien Clermont-Montmorency on Aug 17, 2011 7:49:55 GMT -5
Cammie. Grr.
Noemi seemed rather shocked to see me there, and, to be honest, I couldn’t blame her. I’d been so determined to talk her out of coming here that, my change of heart – and my outlandish appearance – must have been incomprehensible to her. Before she smiled at me in her usual fashion, I thought I caught a look of melancholy on her face. Had I put that there, with my pamphlet? Or was it the poverty of Night’s Doorstep?
“Nomnom,” I said, moving in to air-kiss her as extravagantly as if we were meeting in a gilded salon, rather than a crowded, dirty street in Night’s Doorstep.
But what else I could I say? I was worried about you. I wanted to protect you. As if Felicien would ever think such things, let alone utter them. Besides, the idea of Felicien protecting anyone from anything other than a crease in their clothing was ridiculous. She might find it endearing, of course, but I was starting to balk at being always her simple cousin to whom she was kind. It was a role I’d chosen for myself, of course, so it was silly to chafe against it the way I did. But it was easy to be Felicien in the face of disdain and irritation; difficult when I was met by compassion.
It was all very well to want to show who I truly was ... but I had no idea who that would be. I’d lost myself a long time ago. Another choice.
So instead I blinked at her as if I didn’t quite understand why she was so surprised. “La, I changed my mind, darling,” I said, as though it was the simplest thing in the world. “Consistency is only for dull people. And I brought Vesta – she’s playing with the smelly children over there.” I waved a languid hand back in the direction I’d come.
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Noemi de Trevalion
Royal (Staff)
Her Highness, Princess of the Blood; House Trevalion *Voted Character You'd Most Like to Meet 2010*
Sister to Victoire and Cygnus
Posts: 1,119
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Post by Noemi de Trevalion on Aug 25, 2011 12:11:53 GMT -5
From the way Cammie greeted me after his moment of watching me I had to wonder if anything could ruffle his sense of decorum. We may have been standing in an alley but he behaved as though we were at some official event, and while I'd never been terribly formal myself that didn't mean that other people couldn't have their own habits. Besides, it was a good distraction in its own way, and I returned his air-kiss with my smile a little more sincerely happy than it had been before. Perhaps it was wrong to think of his behavior as a performance when he really might have that sort of nature, but considering how he'd helped me earlier it was easier on my part, and my mind was my own, wasn't it?
It would be nice to have company anyway, if only to remind me where my attention was supposed to be. I was supposed to be thinking on the plight of the poor who I could have been helping rather than throwing parties and learning the ways of society here, not thinking about what it meant if my sister was a half-mad traitor who would poison someone to secure their affection from the person they were jealous of. Besides, I probably had it all wrong, and it was a huge coincidence or mistake.
Felicien was still speaking so I paid very close attention to what he said as Vesta darted back and forth out of the corner of my eye, playing at chasing the ball and barking at whoever had it when they held it out of her reach for too long. "Well, I know it probably sounds strange but I'm glad you changed your mind," I replied honestly as I looked around. "Usually I don't mind walking around by myself but today I have a lot on my mind and I'm almost certain to miss something. Would you like to get something to eat or drink first though?"
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Post by Felicien Clermont-Montmorency on Aug 29, 2011 16:14:05 GMT -5
Noemi seemed genuinely happy to see me now that she'd overcome her initial surprise, and I couldn't help but be pleased by that. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. But I thought her manner was still rather subdued. It concerned me that I was so willing to chase after minute variations in her moods because it made it harder than ever to pretend I didn't care. And what right had I to care when I had published an edition of La Voix precisely to prove to myself I didn't.
As she lent in to return my absurd air-kiss, I felt the brush of warm air against my cheek, and the silken caress of a few wind-whipped strands of her hair. I had the strangest impulse to catch for them gently, as if they were butterflies. I stepped away abruptly, feeling dizzy and stupid all at once.
“Lunch would be darling, darling,” I said, talking to stop myself from thinking. I didn't really feel like eating, but the longer I could keep her from wandering the streets the better, surely? I just had to make sure we went to places that Florian didn't frequent. The last thing I needed was to run into Alayne - “Hey, Prissy Fuck, what're you writing now and why are you dressed like an idiot? Who's blondie?” I shuddered to imagine it, although I could hold fast to the delusion that her sharp harlot's eyes wouldn't recognise me in my finery.
I tucked my arm companionably through hers. “What's on your mind, Nomnom?” I asked, cheerfully. “I suppose you must be mulling over the season's fashions. Let me tell you now: the puce is going nowhere. Don't even think about trying it. Not with your colouring. It would make you look positively jaundiced, darling.”
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Noemi de Trevalion
Royal (Staff)
Her Highness, Princess of the Blood; House Trevalion *Voted Character You'd Most Like to Meet 2010*
Sister to Victoire and Cygnus
Posts: 1,119
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Post by Noemi de Trevalion on Aug 31, 2011 21:39:00 GMT -5
He did like the word 'darling', didn't he? But somehow that was endearing in its own way and I was starting to wonder if it was because of his silly nature, his waywardness of mind or something else that I couldn't exactly put my finger on yet. Sometimes what I perceived took me a little while to be aware of, as though some part of my mind was racing to put puzzle pieces into their places while the rest of me simply went about its usual way with the rest of it. Maybe that was for the best though. In any case I couldn't change it.
When the answer came to me though no doubt it would be a pleasant surprise.
I scarcely got to return the air-kiss when Felicien pulled away, almost seeming uncomfortable, but I let that pass and reminded myself to be more careful in the future. Maybe I'd made a mistake but done was done and I didn't want to embarrass him with it when we were just now forming something more like a companionable friendship than simply being distant cousins. In all honesty I always preferred the former to the latter but that alone didn't make for a good reason to force your company on someone who likely had their own life. What did he do in his time out of the house anyway, or did he ever leave? Well, more time to talk about that later.
But then he was asking what was on my mind and I had to wonder exactly how much I'd been showing in my features so far. And what I could tell him that wouldn't be a complete lie. "Oh, it's nothing really- I mean, nothing that I don't think anyone else is thinking," I replied as I rested my hand comfortably in the crook of his arm. "Just worrying about my brother and sister, and whether or not I've been behaving rightly or wrongly, things like that."
Looking around I couldn't see anywhere that was specifically a restaurant, but there were inns and weren't they like that but with rooms upstairs? At least they had drinks and stew, from what I'd heard anyway That would be enough for me, I wasn't picky as far as food was concerned, but what about my distant cousin? With his refined tastes I worried that he would be offended but there wasn't much else to do at this point except to make do. "What do you say to eating there?" I asked interestedly, giving Cammie a smile while I waited for his answer.
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Post by Felicien Clermont-Montmorency on Sept 13, 2011 14:56:18 GMT -5
It was with a profound sense of relief that I saw the inn she indicated was not The Traveler's. I would have once thanked heaven for such a boon, but I have long since lost all faith in the ultimately benignity of Elua, and his Angels. Well, perhaps not necessarily their benignity but their interest at the very least.
I'm sure Felicien would have been horrified at the notion of eating what would probably turn out to be rat strew in a vulgar tavern in Night's Doorstep but Noemi seemed genuinely worried and I didn't want to embarrass myself by making a fuss in the street.
“I'm sure it'll be vile, Nomnom,” he said … I said. “But I suppose I can try it for you.” Still, at least if we all suffered food poisoning she wouldn't be likely to visit Night's Doorstep again any time soon.
I slipped my arm through hers, as if we were everyday companions, trying not to wish too hard that it was not Felicien who accompanied Noemi today. But then would Florian be any better a friend? He's just a Prissy Fuck, isn't he? Had I been less of a coward I would have asked her about her troubles. But I was afraid she would tell me something I might have had to use in La Voix, and I was even more afraid it would drag me ever further into caring.
So instead I babbled like a fool about the best coloured ribbons for this season, fully intending to keep it up relentlessly until Noemi de Trevalion couldn't stand the sight of me, and I could learn how to keep her from my mind.
[ooc - and it's a wrap!]
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