All Work and No Play [Attn: Natlya/Bella]

[Roan]

Paks Liard

Paks tilted her head and looked back to Natlya with a curious expression, “Any number of things I expected you to say in response to my question, but none of them came close to what you actually said.” She leaned back in her chair and took a sip from her mug before nodding towards the Ji’Val, “You’ve played the game.” She may have lost her smirk in her moment of surprise but it was back.

“And from your answer, you’ve played it bigger and better than I ever did,” Paks added. “Mind, others in my group played the game better than me, which I was more than ok with. I tended to focus on offering more pleasant distractions to our patrons,” with this last comment, she gave a wry grin. As she took another sip of her mead, she realized she was indeed tipsy and perhaps well on her way to intoxicated.

Looking to her drinking partner, Paks took another gulp of mead, “Another preemptive drink. I may have made our available topics to discuss too restrictive, but naught to be done for it than move forward and embrace the evening as it comes.

“I didn’t think there would be others of a similar ilk to me walking the Yards, and one a Ji’Val no less. I know my group did it out of necessity to survive, and selected targets that might not miss a little bit of coin. More often than not, we got away with it, until I fell for the magistrate’s trap,” her smirk seemed to broaden. “No regrets, though. His wife was worth it. I came here because I had no choice. Given the Chief’s response to my arrival, I don’t think he gets many souls such as myself here, which I’m guessing means you came here of your own free will?” It was phrased as a question, but open ended to allow the woman to share as much as she felt comfortable sharing.

[Bella]

No, it was not willingly, Nat thought, reflecting with bitterness about that one Asha'man that she hoped to never see again, but knew that was not likely to be able to avoid.

"I ran plays since I was perhaps...eleven winters old," she said reflectively, looking into her mug where it had lowered itself to almost a third, and it must have done it on her own because she did not remember drinking it. She knew she was not drunk, or even close, but perhaps just too lost in her thoughts. "Ran them for years, and not alone. With a partner, one partner. We were good.

"Long cons. Usually for items that sold well." She sighed, trying to not think about Morgan as she drank the rest of her mead. "I got caught too, only not by any magistrate. A member of this Tower and his warder were the ones, and it turned out my partner could channel. We learned that the hard way, so he was dragged here and I would not let him go without me."

She hadn't meant to say as much, but had. Nat forced a faint smile and looked up. "I wouldn't exactly call it willing, but not so forced as your term was."

[Roan]

Paks Liard

And there it was. The Drin was hoping to offer Natlya an evening of distraction where she could perhaps set the past aside and not think too deep on the events of the recent past. Unfortunately, the natural course of conversation brought them to the very subject Paks was hoping to avoid. She had no way of relating to what the Ji’Val was going through, as the closest thing to grief she’d ever felt was a longing for home, and wishing for acceptance from her father. It was not the same. . .not even close.

Was there a way to salvage the night? Paks had no idea. Could she at least offer comfort to Natlya? Again, she had no idea. She was a charmer. Her skills lay with her silver tongue and smooth talk. She hadn’t had many opportunities to offer comfort to anyone, and suddenly felt out of her depth. Her smirk and charm wouldn’t do her much good, not really.

A flurry of thoughts floated through her mind, and any number of actions. Reaching across and kissing her, not unlike how a certain novice had done to Paks, would likely result in a slap. Could be worth it, she considered, but thought of other alternatives. Half of the things she thought to say sounded lame without her even giving voice to them.

Reaching across the table, Paks hesitated when her hand was halfway, but then carried through and gently, almost tentatively took one of Natlya’s in her own. Her look of concern was genuine, and perhaps for once, she tried not to come across as shallow and self centered, “I didn’t intend for our conversation to bring us here, Ji’Val. I cannot begin to imagine what you’ve gone through, and about all I can offer are my condolences.” It was a rare moment when the Drin was so serious and without a thought for any ulterior motives. . .at least at the moment.

[Bella]

Natlya stared down at the other woman's hand over hers and frowned. Her first instinct had been to rip her hand away, because she despised pity, no matter how earnest the sympathy. She did not wish to be consoled or comforted. In fact, she had been working very assiduously since Morgan's death to avoid just that, in all its forms.

Still, something kept her from doing so. Or from stabbing said hand with a fork...if there were a fork in reach.

"I'm...fine, really," she said. "I don't need comforting. Your..." Her mouth tasted like it was full of ashes. "I appreciate the thought, but I prefer to handle this on my own. So, truly. It's fine. I only speak of a simple truth of the past." Her eyes flickered up between their hands, wondering why she hadn't pulled away yet, and Paks' gaze.

[Roan]

Paks Liard

I prefer to handle this on my own. So, truly. It's fine.

But it wasn’t fine. Everyone coped with loss and trauma in their own way. For the Drin, climbing into a bottle and some willing partner’s bed worked to keep her own ghosts at bay. For the woman across from her?

Natlya was, in some ways the very opposite of Paks. She doubled down on her training efforts, and seemed to pull so far into herself that she barely interacted with anyone in the Yards. To what end? It wasn’t really any business of Paks’ except that she’d made it her goal to see a smile on the woman’s face. For some reason, she had no intention of giving up on that personal challenge.

Several intense seconds drifted by where neither woman said a word or moved their hand, or dropped their gaze. There were a number of things Paks could reply with, but the conversation had been far too intense for her liking as it was. Instead, she cleared her throat and nodded to the door as she gave the Ji’Val’s hand a gently squeeze, “What about getting a bit of fresh air? The place is getting kind of crowded, and more than a little rowdy.”

The Drin stood up and looked to Natlya expectantly, offering the woman a warm smile free of her characteristic smirk. What are you doing, Paks? she asked herself, not entirely certain of the answer. With some reluctance, she let go of the woman’s hand and grabbed one of the remaining bottles. “We can drink this on the way.”

[Bella]

From the yards to her room to the tavern and now back out... She was spending more time moving around on this evening of "fun," it seemed, then she did when she was training.

Natlya's curious gaze followed the other woman, watching the shifting emotions in her eyes and face. For someone who had spent so much time on, and prided herself about, being able to read people, this girl could be difficult to analyze. She seemed...mercurial wasn't quite the word, but it was close. But it was subtle, and always brought back to levity.

"Sure," Nat finally replied, now that their touch and gaze was broken from the contact of moments before that left her just as confused as Paks herself.

Getting to her feet, she too wondered what she was doing. She wondered what Paks was doing, and what she herself was doing. Maybe it would be better to return to the yards, or to her room. Both of those places were straightforward, whereas this here? It was anything but straightforward, and yet she didn't seem to really want to go anywhere else just yet.

Did she?

Whatever it all was, at least the liquor was coming with them. "After you," she said, following the Drin out of the tavern.

[Roan]

Paks Liard

The noise from the pub crowd was muted the moment the door closed behind Paks and Nat as the Drin lead the pair out. She took a swig from the bottle and offered it to Nat. “Usually, I don’t mind crowds, but tonight. . .I can’t exactly say why, but a bit of peace and quiet seems more appealing to me at the moment.”

Paks still wore her characteristic smirk, though she was a bit more subdued than usual. Perhaps it was because Natlya seemed so reserved, or perhaps her drinking companion’s apparent introspection was turning her own thoughts inward? Without realizing it, the Drin started walking back towards the Tower.

“Lately, I’ve spent most nights in a tavern until it closes. . .finding some lass, or on rare occasions some gent to spend the rest of the evening with. I could say that routine is getting old, but I’d be lying,” the Drin confessed as she took the bottle back. After another long pull, she cleared her throat, “But perhaps a change of scenery and a change of routine from time to time isn’t such a bad thing.”

[Bella]

"So I've been told," Nat said thoughtfully. She saw they were heading back in the direction of the Tower, and figured that it was for the best.

When Paks referred to her other extracurricular activities, it did confirm the few things Nat had heard around the Yards about the Drin. Nat wasn't generally prone to listen to gossip, but she kept tags on some of it because it could be a good way to get information. What was a spy network if not, really, professional gossips?

Nat didn't see any problem with it, but it was...interesting. Paks was pretty open about such things, which was refreshing in its own way, and a contradiction to Nat, who had spent much of her life in secrets and false faces.

"I had never really been much for routine, truth be told. I guess my former profession was a routine of sorts, but it was always different too." She took a breath. "I've found myself in a lot more routine lately, though. I guess it's been...comforting."

[Roan]

Paks Liard

Paks Liard, Drin and former rogue (of a sort), was not known for deep, thoughtful conversations. Much of tonight with Natlya had been new territory for her, but Paks found she didn’t mind it, not really. It was, in its own way, refreshing. She hadn’t seriously started the evening thinking she might find her way into Natlya’s quarters, and given the course of the conversation, doubted she actually would. What she was less sure about was whether she’d even try.

Would her roguish nature win out before the night was done, or would she walk away with a shiner that she’d most likely deserve?

The Drin pushed the random thought to the side as she listened to Natlya. She offered Nat the bottle and gave a slow nod, “I can see how routine might be comforting for you lately. The routine gives you something to focus on, which means less time dwelling on the more heart-heavy things.

“My routine may not be sanctioned by the Master of Training, but it certainly keeps my mind from wandering to darker thoughts,” Paks admitted perhaps for the first time. By now, they’d just reached the path leading back onto the Tower grounds. She realized she’d opened herself up to questions she’d rather not answer, and she hoped perhaps her companion might let it slide.

[Bella]

Nat did let it slide, but not out of lack of interest or curiosity. The simple truth was that if she opened the door to Paks' darker thoughts, than she would come dangerously too near being swamped by her own. It was an all or nothing bargain with the shadows of their natures, and she wasn't going to gambling on being the winner tonight.

It was the one thing she could not lie or con her way out of, not in her own head, and she didn't want to roll the dice on honesty or self-control winning the day.

So instead she took another hard pull at the bottle before offering it back to Paks. They turned onto the path and followed it toward home, but Nat found she wasn't rushing her steps. She found she liked the company after all, and while getting back to their ground was for the best, she wasn't in a hurry to end the night.

"Maybe I need to change up my routine," Nat declared instead. "Although to what, the Light only knows."