tushanshu_logs | February Catch All

Characters: Valdis and you!
Date: The Month of February
Location: Noted in the starters
Situation: Various
Warnings/Rating: None yet

A) Before the 5th, Keeliai's Markets: After acquiring the angelic sword, Revelations, Valdis has found herself in need of some supplies in order to make a sheath worthy of the blade. She has enough coin to obtain what she needs and it helps that the Kedan are currently trying to put on a good face for the Ambassadors. She is quickly evaluating the attitude of the store owners and either purchasing or moving on, aware that this window of niceties might be quite narrow.

B) Midnight Hotel: When she isn't out in the city or exploring the surrounding areas, Valdis can be found in the common area, reading up on the history of Keeliai or going over her extensive, hand-written notes on the current issues the foreigners are facing in the city. If one is lucky, they may catch her in the lobby of the hotel, or if someone is ambitious and unafraid, they may find her in her room, though if she is sleeping, wake her at your own risk

C) Before the 5th, Turtle's Head: The cold didn't bother her much and she sat near the turtles head, looking out over the water at Khatronma, marveling at the dome from a distance. Revelations is at her hip, glowing softly in the early morning light. The last time she had been here it had been to possess the turtle in an attempt to help Wan oust Malicant from the ancient entity. It had also been where she had used the Void to kill four of the cultists attacking her and her friends. So many memories and none of the peace that had once been attached to this place.

D) Start your Own: Please give a location and a setup.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Valdis noticed Sonja enter the room, but she opted to complete her current train of thought. She had been writing out the details of her observations of the residents of Khatronma and their interactions but had recently switched back to her observations of the Snakes and their interactions with the other families. Or at least, she was trying to focus on her work, but it was hard when Sonja's subtle spying wasn't nearly as subtle as the girl might believe.

She put down her pen, shifted her weight and crossed her legs before picking the pen up again and writing a few more runes, then she sighed heavily. "You know that spying on people is rude." She said without looking at Sonja.

Sonja's initial reaction was to look around and see if there was anyone else the new woman could be talking about. When reasonably sure there was not, her next reaction was to turn bright red.

"I wasn't- I just-" Shit, that was a terrible denial. Abort!

"S-sorry," she said, stumbling out of the bench. Was a seat that was easy to get in and out of so difficult?? Oh well, looks like she was going to be adding new woman to the list of people she would be avoiding forever.

Valdis broke into a laugh, one that was light and good-natured and one that she had not used in some time.

"It is alright, Sonja," She replied, smiling and jotting down a few more runes, "I forgot that you haven't met me in human form."

"Huh?"

Sonja is so caught by surprise that the gears jam.

"I am a shapeshifter," she replied. It was the simplest answer she could give and the most easily understood, though she was quite enjoying the girl's confusion.

"Well obviously. 'Shapeshifter' is the only logical conclusion after a sentence like 'you haven't met me in my human form'."

The gears were turning again. Sonja hadn't met very many non-humanoids in
Tu Shanshu (or outside of Tu Shanshu for that matter). Probably not Skulduggery, and Zelgadis and Donatello probably would have opted to add a 'female' in there in terms of forms - well, unless Donatello was female? She admitted that her grasp of anthropomorphic turtle anatomy was tenuous at best, but Donatello seemed to be pretty narrowminded on the gender/assigned sex issue. That left...

"...Valdis?"

Valdis sighed, pushing away the annoyance that rose as a result of the girl's rudeness.

"Indeed." She grabbed a blank sheet of paper and continued to write. "Why do you feel the need to sneak around instead of being direct?"

That deflated Sonja a good bit. "I wasn't-"

Having an argument in the middle of a startling revelation was not fun. Sonja was forced to compile logical retorts in the middle of organizing sudden emotions. Valdis wasn't just a large telepathic wolf monster, she was also a human? An older, mature, intimidating, shapeshifting woman. With a needlessly ornate sword.

"Being direct doesn't... work," Sonja said. For me, she added silently. She sat back down awkwardly and fiddled with her phone absently.

The single gemstone embedded in the hilt of the sword flashed brightly for a moment as Valdis' hand brushed the hilt when she reached for a small book, "Perhaps it is something you should work on," she said, "As a Queen, I can say that you have to have the confidence to face people directly, but," she recalled the incident with the metalworkers, "you must be respectful of them at the same time. Sneaking around is neither direct nor respectful."

"I don't-" Wait, as Queen? It made sense. Valdis was everything Sonja had ever envisioned in a queen. Her presence, her composure. Maybe not the cheek-bones.

The only queen Sonja had ever know was...

No, there was nothing to be gained from going down that road. Again.

It was a long time ago, anyway. Long enough that the memories were too blurry. Just feelings really, fleeting and frustratingly rare. Stories - from her father, from Sensei, from the Chamberlain, from the occasional foreign dignitary. That was all she had.

She wondered if Valdis- no. No, that was silly.

More importantly, Valdis was wrong. Sonja didn't have the confidence to be direct. That had been proven so many times that it was beyond scientific consensus. She just lacked the right stuff. She knew that. She accepted it. That was why she needed to prepare, why she needed the upper hand in every situation. To break even. Without that, she would always fail.

But-

No.

No, Valdis was just being nice. Empty flattery, based on social niceties. That's what she meant by 'respectful', lying to make people feel better. Yet another trait that you needed to be direct. Another trait Sonja lacked, and grateful for it. She'd rather be an outcast than a fake.

"You're right," Sonja said. Sneaking around wasn't direct, or respectful. It was practical. It was smart. It was what she was good at. Sonja sat up, empowered by her new-found resolve.

Valdis watched the girl, feeling each and every emotion that crossed the girl's heart and wondering what exactly was going through Sonja's mind.

"I often am," Valdis replied dryly, concerned that Sonja may have gotten the wrong impression from her words, "And yet I get the feeling that you have reached a conclusion that differs from what I hoped."

The kedan were a suspicious bunch of late and Valdis worried that if Sonja was caught sneaking around there would be consequences, not just for the girl, but for all the foreigners.

"Did you know that when you are out in public, that your actions and words affect the public's perception of all the foreigners?"

"I didn't decide to be a foreigner, and I don't accept the responsibility to represent them," Sonja said. Honestly it didn't seem like most of them were so bad off. If she could fly or shapeshift or control water, she'd be in a very different place than she currently was in Tu Shanshu.

"Unfortunately," Valdis replied, gazing at Sonja with softness in her eyes, "You don't really have a say in the matter. What you do will affect us whether you want it to or not."

It was really hard to stay petulant when Valdis was being so understanding and patient.

"...I'll- I'll keep that in mind. Maybe." Yes, good, show her your unwavering resolve. Sigh. She was sincere about the maybe part though.

"What are you writing there?"

Deciding not to push any further on the matter, Valdis merely turned back to her notes.

"I am writing down my observations of the Snakes and tracking their movements within the city."

Really now?

"Have you established any patterns?"

February Catch All

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So close, Sonja

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