[ she gives him a look that says "you definitely made a face." but it's all soon swept away by a measure of self-satisfaction. she takes pride in her surgebinding, and so rarely uses it for something so mundane. more often than not, it's a skill kept guarded unless she considered something to be a valuable application. ]
Soulcasting. [ her correction is mild — more informative than corrective, really. ] And no. Only two Knight Radiant orders are capable of it, and in both cases it's a rather advanced technique. We do have fabrials, however, that can achieve some similar effects.
[ fabrials, as he's doubtless learned by now, are simply any device or machine powered by infused gems. his room has a fabrial heater. the elevators in the tower are fabrials. the oathgates are just giant fabrials. technology, but make it magic!
she goes back to her orange wine, intentionally ignoring the minor scandal it would be if someone learned she'd shared a cup with a man. alethi gender norms are messed up. ]
In future, order an Auburn. Not least of all so you can make it down the stairs without stumbling.
[ In future, she says, and Verso does not ask if that means there will be more outings like this one. Another thing he doesn't mention, although his eyebrow quirks a little higher as he contemplates it, is the fact that she just used what she herself proclaims to be an 'advanced technique' when she could have simply sent his drink back. Jasnah, he thinks, may be as much of a show-off as he is.
Case in point, he brags. ] I can hold my liquor better than that.
[ He cannot, actually. A few glasses of wine in and he's liable to start wine-drunk crying, but Jasnah never needs to learn that. ]
You'd like our wine, I think. It's... elegant. Sophisticated. [ A cant of his head, as if to make the comparison like you. ] Sometimes bitter, but in a pleasing way.
[ what are you talking about. jasnah absolutely must learn that. ]
I'd like that, I think.
[ she swirls her orange, eyeing its contents before taking about mouthful. she lets the taste settle, then swallows. it's weak by design, as he now knows, and tastes close to juice than alcohol. ergo, she makes no face. ]
Trying wine from another world. Comparing it. Learning all the little divergent paths through history and society that made that wine what it is instead of what it isn't.
[ if she catches the implication under his adjectives — ah, well, she ignores it. or she chalks it up to his playful nature. or she dismisses it as conversational manipulation. believes anything other than what it could be.
she stares at him a moment. eyes narrowing, a question forming in the back of her throat. jasnah inhales, ready to ask — when a smudge on the horizon catches her eye. ]
The highstorm. [ she stands, pushing back her chair and carrying her wine the few feet it takes to step onto the balcony. she looks back at him, excitement undeniable. ] It's coming.
[ Ah. This is definitively not a date, because she'd taken his attempt to flatter her with a thinly veiled comparison and made it about comparing and contrasting drinks from different worlds.
He shakes it off, following her lead and taking his cup along with him as he once again plods behind her like a lost puppy. Jasnah's gaze is on the horizon, so he turns his there as well, squinting at the dark spot before turning his attention back to her. ]
Is it safe to be out on the terrace like this?
[ She'd just gone on about how deadly the storms are, after all. It's less a concern for his own safety—no matter what happens, he'll bounce back quickly enough, like it never happened—than for hers. ]
[ that smudge on the horizon grows, gains texture, sparks with lightning in the depths of its clouds. so strange, she thinks, to now know what powers the heart of that storm — the stormfather, a cognitive shadow of honor himself. ]
For now.
[ the air temperature drops. she can feel her skin turn to gooseflesh under her havah. jasnah braces herself with a breath and resists a shiver. ]
When the stormwall crosses into the camp, they'll shutter the balcony and escort us into the bunkers. That's the true point of this place, Dessendre — a perch from where we can watch the storm hit. And then retreat.
[ did he think she'd brought him here for the wine alone? she could have had amphora delivered back at urithiru. no, if he is to eke out any kind of life here on roshar then he needs to gain a healthy respect for the highstorm. ]
[ Yes, he'd thought she brought him here for the wine. Another foolish assumption, he realizes. Visiting a winehouse for the sake of it must seem rather pedestrian to her. ]
Bunkers, [ he echoes, both eyebrows raised now. Lumière certainly never had any of those. No reason to. Some had tried to hide when their time came, holing up in their homes or other buildings out of the Paintress's sight, but it hadn't mattered. The Gommage can find you wherever you are.
Verso realizes, slowly, that perhaps the highstorms are more intense than he'd thought if they're going to be sequestered in bunkers. A question he probably should have asked long before now: ] How long does a highstorm last?
[ she doesn't tear her eyes off the darkening horizon. no matter how many stormwalls she's seen — most of them from above, in urithiru — it's hard to shake a sense of...awe? no, can't be awe. more like the wary respect one feels when watching a predator. that feeling has since been intensified upon learning the true nature of the highstorm. ]
They're longest in the summer seasons. But today's?
[ she tilts her head, breathing deep the ionized air. ]
Three, maybe. Four if we also wait out the riddens. [ a softer, drizzling rain that is entirely safe to go out in — but perhaps an inconvenience. ]
[ Hours. Okay. Well, he might have been less inclined to believe this was a date if she'd been upfront that the main event would be spending hours in a bunker. A little less intimate than he'd expected, or maybe hoped.
He takes another sip of the now-auburn, taking a distant sort of note of all the ways in which it differs from traditional wine. Jasnah will be interested in that, he imagines; might as well start thinking about it prior to the inevitable interrogation. ]
That's quite a while to be holed up. What do you do to pass the time?
[ she folds her arms across the balcony rail, only now glancing aside to meet his eyes. the wind continues to pick up; she can feel it plucking and prying at her carefully pinned braids. ]
During storms, as a child, I would read to my brother and my cousins. I made certain it felt like a treat — letting them pick the books. If they were very well-behaved, I would even read the undertext.
[ it takes her a moment to realize he might not understand the significance. ]
As men don't read, their wives and daughters and sisters do all their reading for them. Those women also write the texts, and it's common to add your own annotations — never meant to be read aloud, shared only with others. A wife might add bits of truth to her husband's biography. A scholar might make note of a handsome guard.
[ she looks back at the oncoming storm. five, maybe ten minutes — then they'll need to take shelter. ]
[ Verso is, unfortunately, paying more attention to Jasnah than to the incoming storm. He leans against the railing, cup held by the rim as he listens to her talk. It's very strange to imagine not reading, but he supposes he can picture what it might be like. Clea, like Jasnah, favored the cold hard facts over fiction, so he'd rarely had the benefit of being read to by her— but he can recall his mother reading to him as rain gently drizzled outside their window, his head in her lap as she stroked his hair.
Not the same as being holed up in a bunker while illiterate, but. Similar enough that he can picture it. He's contemplative for a moment, and then: ]
Bring any books?
[ He's not expecting to be read to, but they could at least pass the time reading together. ]
[ she can feel his attention on her. yes, some of her powers of observation leave something to be desired in the genres of flirting and dating. but she's not wholly ignorant of why one person might choose to watch another person instead of the veritable spectacle of nature sweeping across the plains.
jasnah sniffs, thoughtful, and drains the rest of her orange wine with very practical gulp. elegant only in that it's efficient, confident. ]
No. I trust the women's side will have a small but sufficient selection.
[ like putting out thin, stealthy feelers — she looks at him again, searching for any disappointment in his expression. wondering if the possibility of being split on sex-segregated lines for the next few hours bothers him as much as the violet wine did. ]
I'm sure there will be rousing games of Towers or Pieces on the men's side.
[ There is a small measure of disappointment. He'd expected that they'd be spending time together, and it's not exciting to realize that this outing actually entails spending hours in a bunker with a group of strange men while they wait out a storm. The feeling makes itself known on his face for only a moment before he takes another sip and course-corrects. This, Jasnah will learn soon enough, is his way. Perfect children don't have hopes or disappointments, and if they do, they smother them down in favor of pleasing other people. ]
[ there is, perhaps, a wicked spark of gratification when she catches his slight slight slight dismay — and it's less about wanting him to want her company, and more about being correct in her assumptions.
equally gratifying, perhaps, is the restraint he shows in his disappointment. she appreciates a man — anyone, really — with mastery over his outward reactions. ]
Doubtful.
[ because she has no sweet clue what 'chess' is. and if she doesn't, she can't imagine any of the soldiers, labourers, or waitstaff will.
the rain starts. jasnah uses the edge of her gloved palm to wipe the first few drops off her cheek. thunder rattles, soon after. the dust and debris kicked up by the storm is growing more and more apparent. highstorms can move boulders.
she walks backward, like she doesn't want to put her back to the oncoming clouds. she's stopped watching him, again, as she plays her one card: ]
Tell me, Dessendre. Would you rather join me on the women's side?
[ ...it's not like the winehouse was busy to begin with. and it's not like anyone will deny the alethi queen, even if the command is an unholy one. ]
[ Yes, he would rather. Spark of interest aside, Jasnah is really the only person in this strange new world he knows well enough to call a friend, even if he's not entirely certain she would deign to call him the same. (She does seem to enjoy regarding him like a stray dog that won't stop nipping at her heels.) Verso has always been socially adept, but decades spent with minimal human interaction have blunted the skills a bit, so he's less confident than he might have been that he'll walk into that bunker alone and walk out the most popular man in the room.
He's not sure if she's asking because she wants him to come, though, or if it's simply a tease. Alethi customs around gender seem quite rigid from what she's told him, and he's unsure if such a thing would even be allowed.
As an opaque way of asking, he runs his fingers over his jaw. ]
[ what on roshar does she mean by that?! he'll never know, because she doesn't follow up with any kind of explainer.
nor does she pry further or ask again or even seem to consider whether he does or does not want her to intercede on his behave to make the next few hours less isolated or lonely. it's not as though jasnah would have any issue with a few hours to herself. she does her best work alone.
metallic grinding and clattering fills the winehouse as the staff begin to pull the storm shutters over the balcony — light dwindles as the shutters close, leaving the infused spheres along the walls to illuminate the room. rain washed onto the stone floor, sneaking inside the shrinking gap.
jasnah hails the doorman, whose duty has now become ushering everyone safely into the bowels of the building. when he nears, she slips easily into queenly authority. some say she never left it. ]
I'll not be separated from... [ she looks at verso over her shoulder, wondering how much lie to tell and how much truth. ] My retinue.
[ the doorman (kinda foolishly, frankly) argues that he knows what the cobalt guard uniforms look like, and that man ain't it. ]
Plain clothes. [ she counters. ] More discreet that way.
[ they haggle a moment longer, until both jasnah and her stray dog are being led into the same shelter-side. ]
[ Hello??? Now he's wondering if he should shave his beard. He doesn't have time to consider that for too long, though, because moments later she's stepping away to speak to the doorman, and Verso doesn't beat the stray dog allegations by following along behind her. He keeps a polite distance between them until she's finished, although he's still close enough to hear their conversation.
It's only once she's done speaking and they're being escorted to shelter that he leans in beside her, voice low and amused. ]
Your retinue, huh?
[ He's gathering that this is, perhaps, somewhat scandalous. ]
[ of one. out of uniform. it isn't a very deft lie — although perhaps that's just as well, as jasnah isn't fond of lies. secrets? absolutely. but secrets are different to lies. ]
I've been the target of assassination attempts in the past. This establishment won't risk depriving me of my... [ she eyes him, thoughtful. ] Bodyguard.
[ to her credit, she doesn't laugh. it's nothing against him, it's just... she really doesn't need one, does she?
the shelter itself is dimly lit by flickering spheres — stone walls, stone floors, stone ceiling. lush rugs and upholstered sofas. shelves, with books. tables, with fruit and more wine. a trio of women — scribes, she thinks — gawk from the far side of the shelter. jasnah ignores them. ]
[ When she'd said 'bunker', he'd imagined something a bit more utilitarian, although he argues with himself now that of course it makes sense for it to be a more comfortable setting given its frequent use. He gravitates toward a bookshelf for a moment, running an index finger across the spines. A small selection, Jasnah had said, but it's still more books than he'd had regular access to on the Continent. (Just wait until he gets to that library.)
A moment of fascination, and then he remembers himself, turning to their company. Of course they're gawking. It's understandable, to be surprised at an interloper.
He cants his head. ]
Ladies.
Edited (WHEN YOU FORGET TO FINISH YOUR SENTENCE) 2025-11-11 19:07 (UTC)
[ the wide-eyed an curious audience watches as verso touches the books. now, it's certainly not heretical for a man to touch a book — but societal taboos create all kinds of funny, strange circumstances. to the scribes, the scene carries a twinge of the forbidden. that slightly askew sensation of sin and guilt and reversed expectations. one scribe whispers something to the other two. awkwardly, they twitter.
jasnah rolls her eyes. not out of critique for the young women — they're allowed their fascination — but she's familiar enough, now, with verso's demeanor that she worries what their attention will do to his showmanship.
— nabbing a book off the shelf, she steps up beside him. almost shoulder to shoulder. she keeps her back to the women, presumably because it would be inconvenient to be recognized. not a dealbreaker, necessarily. just annoying.
she leaves through the pages, looking for marginalia. ]
Careful. [ she teases. ] They're already imagining the scandal. No need to give them evidence. Unless you'd prefer to play an ardent over a bodyguard.
[ ardents being those shaved-head priests he might have seen around the tower. the only men in the vorin religion who do learn reading and writing. ]
[ All right, yes, maybe Jasnah is correct that being looked at and tittered about is inflating his ego. His lips twitch into a faint but somehow still unmistakably smug grin as he shifts to prop up an elbow and lean handsomely against the shelf, putting on a performance for the sake of it. At least someone here is interested in him.
Glutton for punishment that he is, though, Verso is of course only interested in the one person here who shows little interest in him at all. Aware that perhaps she actually won't want him to embarrass her by entirely flouting cultural expectations, he quiets his voice to tease, ] I thought you liked a little heresy.
[ she doesn't look up from the page — sensing his lean instead from the soft sway of the shelf. the faintest tilt of her head, a flick of the eye that could slice. the turn of her mouth suggests she's more amused than scandalized. ]
Don't flatter yourself. Heresy challenges the mind. You're aiming for attention.
[ the difference is palpable. isn't it? or is she just sensitized to it, now that she has to share his performance with a wider room. ]
There's a difference between provoking thought and performing... [ a beat. temptation? no, that will only make him grin and preen all the more. ] Whatever it is you think you're performing.
[ He's performing the very charming and handsome man of leisure, which has historically worked out quite well for him. It has been quite a while since he's relied on that particular archetype, though—it's difficult to pull off on the Continent, where he instead leans on being mysterious and tortured and good at hitting things with a sword—so perhaps it's grown a little stale. It doesn't seem to have any great effect on her, at least, although very little has. She's only ever seemed moved by his piano-playing, although it's just as possible she was more wowed by the piano itself than anything he did.
Hmm. He holds out a hand. ]
I'm happy to provoke some thought, if you like.
[ He'll read right here, right now, in front of everyone!!! ]
[ her gaze drops to his hand. she considers it, for a moment. she considers him. beneath all the banter, she understand how the stakes must feel very different to an outsider. at the same time, she fervently believes that there shouldn't be stakes at all. why shouldn't they encourage boys to read and write? why should it be heresy?
and she thinks on a conversation she once had with her uncle when they started calling him heretic too. she'd cautioned him not to let it define him. it's getting easier, day by day, as others shake off conventions and superstitions and edicts. ]
Alright.
[ but not this book. she shelves the book in her hands. and (taking two steps closer to verso to reach it) jasnah selects relic and monument — it had caught her eye earlier. tipping it outward, she offers him one of her published works. ]
All right, [ he echoes with the tone of a little boy who doesn't know how to back down from a challenge. He takes the book in hand, tilting his head as he looks down at the cover, the author. Oh. Now that's interesting.
It's not a deterrent, though. Still leaning against the shelf, he makes a show of considering the cover, then flipping it open. Not to brag (definitely to brag), but he's rather a quick reader, and he's flipping the pages before long, eyebrows raised as he reads. Without taking his eyes off of the page, he leans in with a casual, ] Quite a long preface.
[ That's right. He knows the difference between a foreword and a preface. ]
[ — okay, for all her earlier inner monologue, there is something about the vagabond angle of verso's lean and the ease with which he starts to read. it's the way these men from other worlds don't carry an ounce of insecurity in their literacy. wit had it, too. he used to lean over her shoulder, peering at the paperwork littering her desk, and offer off-colour commentary about obscure legal codes. at first, it would catch her by surprise. like she'd forgotten he could do that.
she doesn't take her eyes off him until the scribes' chattering increases in volume. one wonders whether he's a dignitary from another kingdom. another comments that he's almost too short to be alethi. the third posits that he must be faking it.
verso's quiet critique draws her attention back to him. she snorts derisively. ]
Every word was necessary. Not everyone picks it up with the requisite background information.
[ as if resentful of her own fascination with him, jasnah grabs some reading material for herself and stalks over to a low settee. she settles, straight-backed, and will certainly make him chase her to the couch if he wants to share any further opinions. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Soulcasting. [ her correction is mild — more informative than corrective, really. ] And no. Only two Knight Radiant orders are capable of it, and in both cases it's a rather advanced technique. We do have fabrials, however, that can achieve some similar effects.
[ fabrials, as he's doubtless learned by now, are simply any device or machine powered by infused gems. his room has a fabrial heater. the elevators in the tower are fabrials. the oathgates are just giant fabrials. technology, but make it magic!
she goes back to her orange wine, intentionally ignoring the minor scandal it would be if someone learned she'd shared a cup with a man. alethi gender norms are messed up. ]
In future, order an Auburn. Not least of all so you can make it down the stairs without stumbling.
no subject
Case in point, he brags. ] I can hold my liquor better than that.
[ He cannot, actually. A few glasses of wine in and he's liable to start wine-drunk crying, but Jasnah never needs to learn that. ]
You'd like our wine, I think. It's... elegant. Sophisticated. [ A cant of his head, as if to make the comparison like you. ] Sometimes bitter, but in a pleasing way.
no subject
I'd like that, I think.
[ she swirls her orange, eyeing its contents before taking about mouthful. she lets the taste settle, then swallows. it's weak by design, as he now knows, and tastes close to juice than alcohol. ergo, she makes no face. ]
Trying wine from another world. Comparing it. Learning all the little divergent paths through history and society that made that wine what it is instead of what it isn't.
[ if she catches the implication under his adjectives — ah, well, she ignores it. or she chalks it up to his playful nature. or she dismisses it as conversational manipulation. believes anything other than what it could be.
she stares at him a moment. eyes narrowing, a question forming in the back of her throat. jasnah inhales, ready to ask — when a smudge on the horizon catches her eye. ]
The highstorm. [ she stands, pushing back her chair and carrying her wine the few feet it takes to step onto the balcony. she looks back at him, excitement undeniable. ] It's coming.
[ ah! the adrenaline rush. ]
no subject
He shakes it off, following her lead and taking his cup along with him as he once again plods behind her like a lost puppy. Jasnah's gaze is on the horizon, so he turns his there as well, squinting at the dark spot before turning his attention back to her. ]
Is it safe to be out on the terrace like this?
[ She'd just gone on about how deadly the storms are, after all. It's less a concern for his own safety—no matter what happens, he'll bounce back quickly enough, like it never happened—than for hers. ]
no subject
For now.
[ the air temperature drops. she can feel her skin turn to gooseflesh under her havah. jasnah braces herself with a breath and resists a shiver. ]
When the stormwall crosses into the camp, they'll shutter the balcony and escort us into the bunkers. That's the true point of this place, Dessendre — a perch from where we can watch the storm hit. And then retreat.
[ did he think she'd brought him here for the wine alone? she could have had amphora delivered back at urithiru. no, if he is to eke out any kind of life here on roshar then he needs to gain a healthy respect for the highstorm. ]
no subject
Bunkers, [ he echoes, both eyebrows raised now. Lumière certainly never had any of those. No reason to. Some had tried to hide when their time came, holing up in their homes or other buildings out of the Paintress's sight, but it hadn't mattered. The Gommage can find you wherever you are.
Verso realizes, slowly, that perhaps the highstorms are more intense than he'd thought if they're going to be sequestered in bunkers. A question he probably should have asked long before now: ] How long does a highstorm last?
no subject
[ she doesn't tear her eyes off the darkening horizon. no matter how many stormwalls she's seen — most of them from above, in urithiru — it's hard to shake a sense of...awe? no, can't be awe. more like the wary respect one feels when watching a predator. that feeling has since been intensified upon learning the true nature of the highstorm. ]
They're longest in the summer seasons. But today's?
[ she tilts her head, breathing deep the ionized air. ]
Three, maybe. Four if we also wait out the riddens. [ a softer, drizzling rain that is entirely safe to go out in — but perhaps an inconvenience. ]
no subject
He takes another sip of the now-auburn, taking a distant sort of note of all the ways in which it differs from traditional wine. Jasnah will be interested in that, he imagines; might as well start thinking about it prior to the inevitable interrogation. ]
That's quite a while to be holed up. What do you do to pass the time?
no subject
[ she folds her arms across the balcony rail, only now glancing aside to meet his eyes. the wind continues to pick up; she can feel it plucking and prying at her carefully pinned braids. ]
During storms, as a child, I would read to my brother and my cousins. I made certain it felt like a treat — letting them pick the books. If they were very well-behaved, I would even read the undertext.
[ it takes her a moment to realize he might not understand the significance. ]
As men don't read, their wives and daughters and sisters do all their reading for them. Those women also write the texts, and it's common to add your own annotations — never meant to be read aloud, shared only with others. A wife might add bits of truth to her husband's biography. A scholar might make note of a handsome guard.
[ she looks back at the oncoming storm. five, maybe ten minutes — then they'll need to take shelter. ]
no subject
Not the same as being holed up in a bunker while illiterate, but. Similar enough that he can picture it. He's contemplative for a moment, and then: ]
Bring any books?
[ He's not expecting to be read to, but they could at least pass the time reading together. ]
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jasnah sniffs, thoughtful, and drains the rest of her orange wine with very practical gulp. elegant only in that it's efficient, confident. ]
No. I trust the women's side will have a small but sufficient selection.
[ like putting out thin, stealthy feelers — she looks at him again, searching for any disappointment in his expression. wondering if the possibility of being split on sex-segregated lines for the next few hours bothers him as much as the violet wine did. ]
I'm sure there will be rousing games of Towers or Pieces on the men's side.
no subject
[ There is a small measure of disappointment. He'd expected that they'd be spending time together, and it's not exciting to realize that this outing actually entails spending hours in a bunker with a group of strange men while they wait out a storm. The feeling makes itself known on his face for only a moment before he takes another sip and course-corrects. This, Jasnah will learn soon enough, is his way. Perfect children don't have hopes or disappointments, and if they do, they smother them down in favor of pleasing other people. ]
Any chance they've heard of Chess?
no subject
equally gratifying, perhaps, is the restraint he shows in his disappointment. she appreciates a man — anyone, really — with mastery over his outward reactions. ]
Doubtful.
[ because she has no sweet clue what 'chess' is. and if she doesn't, she can't imagine any of the soldiers, labourers, or waitstaff will.
the rain starts. jasnah uses the edge of her gloved palm to wipe the first few drops off her cheek. thunder rattles, soon after. the dust and debris kicked up by the storm is growing more and more apparent. highstorms can move boulders.
she walks backward, like she doesn't want to put her back to the oncoming clouds. she's stopped watching him, again, as she plays her one card: ]
Tell me, Dessendre. Would you rather join me on the women's side?
[ ...it's not like the winehouse was busy to begin with. and it's not like anyone will deny the alethi queen, even if the command is an unholy one. ]
no subject
He's not sure if she's asking because she wants him to come, though, or if it's simply a tease. Alethi customs around gender seem quite rigid from what she's told him, and he's unsure if such a thing would even be allowed.
As an opaque way of asking, he runs his fingers over his jaw. ]
I think the beard might make me stand out.
no subject
[ what on roshar does she mean by that?! he'll never know, because she doesn't follow up with any kind of explainer.
nor does she pry further or ask again or even seem to consider whether he does or does not want her to intercede on his behave to make the next few hours less isolated or lonely. it's not as though jasnah would have any issue with a few hours to herself. she does her best work alone.
metallic grinding and clattering fills the winehouse as the staff begin to pull the storm shutters over the balcony — light dwindles as the shutters close, leaving the infused spheres along the walls to illuminate the room. rain washed onto the stone floor, sneaking inside the shrinking gap.
jasnah hails the doorman, whose duty has now become ushering everyone safely into the bowels of the building. when he nears, she slips easily into queenly authority. some say she never left it. ]
I'll not be separated from... [ she looks at verso over her shoulder, wondering how much lie to tell and how much truth. ] My retinue.
[ the doorman (kinda foolishly, frankly) argues that he knows what the cobalt guard uniforms look like, and that man ain't it. ]
Plain clothes. [ she counters. ] More discreet that way.
[ they haggle a moment longer, until both jasnah and her stray dog are being led into the same shelter-side. ]
no subject
It's only once she's done speaking and they're being escorted to shelter that he leans in beside her, voice low and amused. ]
Your retinue, huh?
[ He's gathering that this is, perhaps, somewhat scandalous. ]
no subject
[ of one. out of uniform. it isn't a very deft lie — although perhaps that's just as well, as jasnah isn't fond of lies. secrets? absolutely. but secrets are different to lies. ]
I've been the target of assassination attempts in the past. This establishment won't risk depriving me of my... [ she eyes him, thoughtful. ] Bodyguard.
[ to her credit, she doesn't laugh. it's nothing against him, it's just... she really doesn't need one, does she?
the shelter itself is dimly lit by flickering spheres — stone walls, stone floors, stone ceiling. lush rugs and upholstered sofas. shelves, with books. tables, with fruit and more wine. a trio of women — scribes, she thinks — gawk from the far side of the shelter. jasnah ignores them. ]
no subject
A moment of fascination, and then he remembers himself, turning to their company. Of course they're gawking. It's understandable, to be surprised at an interloper.
He cants his head. ]
Ladies.
no subject
jasnah rolls her eyes. not out of critique for the young women — they're allowed their fascination — but she's familiar enough, now, with verso's demeanor that she worries what their attention will do to his showmanship.
— nabbing a book off the shelf, she steps up beside him. almost shoulder to shoulder. she keeps her back to the women, presumably because it would be inconvenient to be recognized. not a dealbreaker, necessarily. just annoying.
she leaves through the pages, looking for marginalia. ]
Careful. [ she teases. ] They're already imagining the scandal. No need to give them evidence. Unless you'd prefer to play an ardent over a bodyguard.
[ ardents being those shaved-head priests he might have seen around the tower. the only men in the vorin religion who do learn reading and writing. ]
no subject
Glutton for punishment that he is, though, Verso is of course only interested in the one person here who shows little interest in him at all. Aware that perhaps she actually won't want him to embarrass her by entirely flouting cultural expectations, he quiets his voice to tease, ] I thought you liked a little heresy.
no subject
Don't flatter yourself. Heresy challenges the mind. You're aiming for attention.
[ the difference is palpable. isn't it? or is she just sensitized to it, now that she has to share his performance with a wider room. ]
There's a difference between provoking thought and performing... [ a beat. temptation? no, that will only make him grin and preen all the more. ] Whatever it is you think you're performing.
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Hmm. He holds out a hand. ]
I'm happy to provoke some thought, if you like.
[ He'll read right here, right now, in front of everyone!!! ]
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and she thinks on a conversation she once had with her uncle when they started calling him heretic too. she'd cautioned him not to let it define him. it's getting easier, day by day, as others shake off conventions and superstitions and edicts. ]
Alright.
[ but not this book. she shelves the book in her hands. and (taking two steps closer to verso to reach it) jasnah selects relic and monument — it had caught her eye earlier. tipping it outward, she offers him one of her published works. ]
Go on, provoke.
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It's not a deterrent, though. Still leaning against the shelf, he makes a show of considering the cover, then flipping it open. Not to brag (definitely to brag), but he's rather a quick reader, and he's flipping the pages before long, eyebrows raised as he reads. Without taking his eyes off of the page, he leans in with a casual, ] Quite a long preface.
[ That's right. He knows the difference between a foreword and a preface. ]
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she doesn't take her eyes off him until the scribes' chattering increases in volume. one wonders whether he's a dignitary from another kingdom. another comments that he's almost too short to be alethi. the third posits that he must be faking it.
verso's quiet critique draws her attention back to him. she snorts derisively. ]
Every word was necessary. Not everyone picks it up with the requisite background information.
[ as if resentful of her own fascination with him, jasnah grabs some reading material for herself and stalks over to a low settee. she settles, straight-backed, and will certainly make him chase her to the couch if he wants to share any further opinions. ]
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aggressively backflips into prose
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tosses u a midnight before bed tag.......
delightful.
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