An inconstant Student (Theo Coaststrider)

by **Zenobia** on February 23rd, 2013, 1:13 am

"On a night like tonight? Not to generalise but, well, some of the more intellectual ones might go to one of the theatres to see a production. I do that often enough... Agnes Fotheringhay is a brilliant singer, if you ever go to the opera, and one of my idols. When I was younger, I thought I'd grow up like that. I didn't, not enough patience to train."

The barman served Zenobia her second Kelp Beer. She wondered how in heaven's name she had got through the first one, vile as it was. She took a swig of this and scraped her tongue against her teeth, as if that would get rid of the foul taste. No such luck though and she took another sip. Maybe she could get to the point where she would hardly be able to taste it any more. She returned to Theo's question.

"Some do just stay in the Library or on University Grounds all the time, of course, but you mentioned trouble. In terms of trouble, I would say that the three most popular past times, mainly among the male students for it isn't considered so acceptable for females, is drinking too much, getting into fights in moonlit alleys and visiting the brothels of East Street. Talking of which, a couple of weeks ago, there was a big scandal after," she paused, trying to remember the exactitudes of it all, "Thirteen of the top Male Students went to 'The Scarlet Mansion' the most exclusive and expensive brothel in the city. They started a fight, apparently, and they had really chosen the wrong little den of vice to do it in. The Law doesn't care much about the protection of prostitutes but the Scarlet numbers city leaders, university professors and merchant princes amongst its clientele. It's exclusive and actually has something similar to city protection. I hear that if there is the slightest sign of turmoil, there is some sort of device which alerts the law immediately. Anyway, within ten minutes of the fight starting, members of the wave guard had arrived. Only, they didn't have to do much because all but four of them had completely passed out... then it was confirmed later the next day that one had died from sheer exertion. One can only imagine the amount of alcohol intake which preceded the fight. Following that, there was a bit of an enquiry into moral standards at the university."
Zenobia smiled lightly then leant forwards, putting both her elbows on the bar and held the cup of kelp beer cradled between her hands. She looked up at Theo with teasing eyes.

"Why? Do you want to get into trouble?"

by **Theo Coaststrider** on February 23rd, 2013, 7:43 am

Theo almost spit up his recent sip of the kelp beer. "Those folk get into fights? The little ones? Do they bully the village children, or just slap each other around?" He struggled to stifle the tail-end of his laughter, remembering that his condescension was probably less than welcome. To be honest, he was almost as surprised to hear that they frequented brothels, but he wasn't about to continue his streak of disparaging comments about the city.

"That was, quite the tale. I didn't really mean brothel when I said trouble, but it made for quite the story. I almost feel bad for the little fellow that succumbed to "exertion." That's a lovely little euphemism." Theo couldn't recall a moment where his own "exertion" had nearly killed him, and he suspected that the man's death had very little to do with any coital expenditures of energy. In a deft motion he tilted back the remainder of the kelp beer and gave Zenobia a beaming grin.

"I do feel like getting into a bit of trouble, actually. I spent half a season sequestered on a barge and another ten days tucked away at the University like a pious little nun, it's all very exhausting. If I'm being frank, this is by far the most fun I've had in 50 days or more." He punctuated his statement with an exaggerated wink and tilted back in his chair.

by **Zenobia** on February 24th, 2013, 7:10 pm

"Ha. I assure you that they're not all so little. Have you seen the Vantha? Or, better still, a Pycon? Of course, in comparison to you..." Zenobia smiled and took a sip of Kelp Beer, "Many do like to fight amongst themselves. Over their studies, over their honour, over gods and religion, over sects and cults, over groups and clubs, over political and social ideals, over money, over property even. Quite a few times, over me."

Zenobia let her words hang there for a bit with no explanation but an enigmatic smile and, after a moment, yawned lightly.

"Cheva only knows why, but I won't bore you with the particulars of those few fights. They're rather petty for the most part and I'm sure you'd rather talk about something else."

She meant this entirely. As far as she was concerned, although she thought her love life was interesting, it was not a topic of conversation with someone one would wish to make a good impression on. Not that there were currently any grossly unsatisfactory passages to it. Many were rather amusing and would have made a good story if she knew the sensibilities of the person she was conversing with well enough.

"God. That sounds like you must have had a ghastly fifty days. Well, relatively. I am the sort that is in constant need of amusement and entertainment. I can't help it - boredom and monotony feel like they are trying to seek to destroy me. Of course, I can be entertained by things that other people consider wholly boring. Like Political Discussion, Books of Philosophy, Avant-garde Opera, Pastoral Art." Zenobia looked up thoughtfully and started playing with the bejewelled bangles jingling on her wrist, before saying in a slightly lighter voice, "Of course, it could just be a sub-conscious intellectual snobbism. At least, when I first started paying attention to such things about ten years ago. Dear me, I must come across as perfectly unbearable to so many people, at least some of the time." She looked up at Theo, "How do you amuse yourself at sea?"

by **Theo Coaststrider** on February 25th, 2013, 12:50 am

Zenobia certainly didn't want for confidence, which was a good thing. In the same way it was difficult for him to understand the motivations of the characters in her play, he couldn't really see the reason to fight over anyone, no matter how pleasant their company. It wasn't like any of the boys had any right to own her, or limit her choices in any way, so the fight seemed pointless. Maybe they were just bored? He suspected they could have also thought it might impress the woman and serve as flattery, but it all seemed very odd. He thought the Svefra did a much better job managing the politics of love and sex. "There seems to be a lot of violence and subversion wrapped up in the sex lives of Zeltivans. I hope you have some left over for your wars and your politics."

He gave the woman a wink and turned his thoughts back to the journey by sea. "It was fun at times, we rode the spring squalls up the coast on a great Cargo Sloop. The journey should have only taken 40 days but we took a detour to hunt down and kill a little band of human pirates that had been working near the mouth of the South Suvan. Hunting pirates is less fun than it sounds though, it's a few days of staring out at the ocean and communicating with scouting birds in exchange for 16 hours of dogged pursuit and fifteen minutes of fighting. The rest of the journey I read charts, fiddled with the sails and drank with the crew."

He thought for a moment before continuing. "The fifteen minutes of fighting was great fun though. The crash of grappling harpoons and the clang of steel has it's own sort of music and sense of harmony, I suppose." He left out the parts involving the actual swordwork. It was a much messier business than people liked to boast, a rusted cutlass can leave an ugly wound and the sounds of a struck man are more haunting than he had expected. Regardless, Laviku would not tolerate those that aren't his children pirating on his seas, and the Svefra had their obligations.

Without another moment's hesitation he quickly changed the topic. "I've never seen an opera, they sound like an... acquired taste. Do you have a favourite?"

His question made he considered her other answers. Somehow, after her comment about the streak of scarlet, he doubted that her favourite aesthetic was truly a pastoral one. "Pastoral? I would have pinned you for a gilded girl, all gold foiled fresco and bejewelled frames."

by **Zenobia** on March 7th, 2013, 10:55 pm

"I show no interest in war or politics anymore. It's too lucrative a business. People, politicians, figureheads... sometimes one of them sets himself up as the champion of lost causes, fighting hunger and poverty and injustice. Then they turn out to be corrupt or ineffective. So, what choice do I have but to throw all my passions into love and art? Under everything, I am a romantic and a romantic must have a cause to fight."

There was an element of jest in everything she said, but also a strong element of seriousness. At one point, in spite of the luxury she had been brought up to enjoy and seek, she did have a social conscience. She did want something done about the state of affairs in Zeltiva, and elsewhere, where there was often a huge gap between the richest and the poorest in society. Now, she had almost became completely disillusioned with this and saw Mizahar for the beautiful and magical yet cruel place it was, and she accepted it. In some ways, the cruelty highlightened and strengthened the glorious struggle for survival.

There was a moment then, when she was quickly pulled away from her thoughts by Theo's recitation of his adventures. She had almost missed the first few words, but then was all ears. It was a world very unlike her own, and reminded her of the book of Suvan Tales she used to read when she was small. He didn't touch on the real violence of such warfare, but she didn't mind. She didn't need to know.

"I love the Opera, ever since the first time... and I don't agree that it's an acquired taste. If you see a good opera for the first time, it generally strikes quite strong feelings in people. They hate it or love it. Of course, taste and a liking of it can be learnt through education or a pose of being cultured, but if that's the case, then I don't think you would ever truly understand it. It's just so raw and passionate." She paused for a second, "My favourite Opera would have to be 'Forbearance' - it's very powerful, both vocally and visually. Very violent too. When it was first performed, people didn't like it, and they still don't. There's one particularly scene where the heroine - Elvira - is tricked into drinking a poison that makes her suffer a rather violent miscarriage onstage and then she's, again onstage, strangled with a rope pulled on both sides by her elder brothers. She takes ages to die though, because of a whole section written for soprano during this scene. It's very powerful though. It's also considered out of the ordinary because the main component of the Opera dies half an hour before the end. After that, it's all just retribution."
Zenobia smiled at the comment on gold foiled fresco.

"Ah. Well, you'd think so and, of course, I do enjoy and admire that sort of thing, but I think to truly understand paintings and art, one has to try and appreciate it in all it's varieties. I wish to be a person who truly understands art."

by **Theo Coaststrider** on March 12th, 2013, 8:19 am

Theo pulls his mug up to his face to stifle what was sure to be an inappropriate guffaw on his part. The Opera she described did seem somewhat interesting. Though there was rather less miscarrying in the performances he had seen to date, a story devoted to brutal retribution would fit the Svefra dramatic motif quite well, he thought. Maybe that was why they spent 30 minutes of their runtime on brutal vengeance, a bit of crowdpleasing. That seemed like a rather charitable move on the part of the playwright. "It all seems very grim, though a half hour of violent retribution would likely draw a standing applause from my own folk, and sailors all across the continent."

His aside made, he returned to his careful pondering of her discussion on the philosophy of art. He couldn't seem to decide if her explanation had floated over his head, or he simply wasn't enough of an aesthetic to fully endorse it. He had always had a particular fondness for paintings of tall ships and crashing waves but he doubted that particular comment would be even remotely surprising. In truth, painting was not a widely practiced art among his folk. Even the theft of paintings to hang up in a Captain's quarters was relatively rare. The damp air ate up delicate canvases far too quickly.

With a final, aggressive gulp he sets his cup down and gives the woman a mischievous look. "Trouble. I've decided on some trouble. I would love to see this wonderful Opera Hall you speak so glowingly of, and I'd hate to have to wait the long weeks until your play reaches production. How about we go take a peak? It's late enough now that I'm sure we won't have to worry about a guard turning us away and in a big building like that there is bound to be an open window or loose door we can sneak through."

His pitch finished he looked towards the woman with an inviting, if lopsided, grin. He felt it wise to withold his relatively light resume as an infiltrator, but that hardly seemed important. It was a big drafty Opera House, how strong could security really be? Besides, what was the worst these folks could do if they were caught? Chastise them and send them on their way. Beside, what right did they have to lock the door to a public building! Was the Opera House public? Who cares, the point still stood.

His justifications thoroughly marshalled he leaned back casually in his chair to await the young womans yea or nay.

by **Zenobia** on March 13th, 2013, 7:54 am

Zenobia returned his mischievous smile and mirrored his finishing of the drink, though perhaps draining the rest of her slightly more elegantly.

"There is not so much an Opera Hall, as of yet, in Zeltiva. Only the University Theatre and the Lightshow Theatre, which is by far the best of the two... in my opinion, at least."

She hadn't been in a couple of weeks either and she might have joked that she was experiencing withdrawal effects for, from the first time she had been there, she had probably been one of the most regular visitors. It was such a powerful atmosphere, even when the shows were not operating, the huge stone walls lit with a thousand lights and decorated with arches. The nooks and crannies that only those who had thoroughly explored the theatre, like herself, could find.

"Well, then. The Lightshow Theatre? If we are quick, I think we should be able to catch the majority of the second half of the Evening Performance, whatever it is. They do midnight performances too, which are increasingly popular because they have more atmosphere, apparently, and cost less."

With that, she stood up elegantly and waited for Theo to do likewise. The Lightshow Theatre was somewhere between West Street and the Old Quarter and she did want him to experience some of it first hand. She tried to recall what they were performing. It was a toss up between 'The Third Sex' and 'Doubting Reason' - neither of which she had seen, a rarity, and new to the theatre's repertoire - and she hoped it would indeed be 'The Third Sex' which was a pastoral comedy of mistaken identity, she thought might appeal to Theo, rather than the other, which she had been told was merely a tragic psychoanalytic study and difficult for some people to follow.

She headed to the door, once Theo ready, and walked out into the streets, towards the Old Quarter.

by **Eldritch** on August 8th, 2013, 3:01 am

Zenobia :

Theo :

Notes :

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