Worth all the while (Alaina)

[Aurora Briere]

There it was: that same golden dome that loomed over all of Cumberland, always fixed in the distance and able to be seen from every part of the city. At first, Aurora found it pretty and pleasing to the eye, but the admiration was short-lived. She had quietly inquired about it earlier, when gathered just outside Cumberland with the rest of those who had traveled to partake in the tournament, and was appalled at the answer. She no longer was in awe; instead she glowered, with narrowed judgmental eyes, and decided that she really didn't like the rest of the civilized world. It was pretty on the outside, but the beauty only masked the hideous truth behind the surface. Thedas was full of ignorant hypocrites, it seemed. Another blow to the gut.

She hissed as she uncurled the fists she had unknowingly clenched at the sight, glancing down at the crescent shaped impressions in the flushed palms of her hands. Aurora gave the wretched building in the distance one last withering look before she left her perch at the window and turned back to the present before anyone could get the wrong idea. It wasn't to say she wasn't up to any good, as that would be a total lie, but she certainly wasn't up to anything at the moment. There were no loitering, no stealing, no disturbing the peace in today's plan, but of course there would be no convincing everyone. She was a foreigner—not just any traveler, but a Tevinter, and that was clear from her accent when she asked where to find something ornamental (and therefore not suited for combat)—and apparently it didn't matter whether she had coin to spend or whether she looked as nonthreatening as she possibly could on the exterior.

Aurora pretended to be oblivious to the blatant discomfort written all over the proprietor's features as she placed the coins in her hand, paying for the knife she had seen after perusing the store for what seemed like forever. A shy, subtly teasing smile graced her lips as she took the small thing and turned away, the smile pulling into a grin as she rightly guessed that the little mouse of a woman was staring holes into the back of her head. No doubt she had her suspicions, but Aurora had slipped out of the building before those suspicions could be acted upon, and she hid the small, sharp knife with its gorgeous hilt somewhere on her person before it could catch the eye of any passers-by.

Another nearby building soon drew her in, although Aurora had to restrain herself from giving into any urges. She wandered, seemingly without any goal, into an apparently popular and talented dressmaker’s emporium. It was a sea of women and gowns on display, and a few young women scampered about and worked tirelessly to heed to the beck and call of every gentlewoman whilst simultaneously tending to the less needy customers and the owner herself. Aurora hung back, avoiding the chaos and letting the scene unfold far from her, and gravitated toward a few lovely, lavish pieces. One outshone the rest from how the light shone at all the right angles; it was fit for a temptress, if not a goddess, in all of its scandalous glory. It was flanked left and right and hidden by more conservative pieces, as was sadly appropriate for the setting. A wistful sigh left the young Tevinter women, along with a string of barely intelligible words in Arcanum about beauty and glory and whatnot. It was a right shame that she couldn't foresee an occasion in the near future for such a masterpiece, and a pang of homesickness soon followed those thoughts.

If only.

[thorne]

Cumberland. Nevarra. The old Free Marches state. Not where Alaina figured she'd be on a brief vacation from Tevinter, and certainly not on the heels of some tournament... But she had to take what she could get. Quite frankly, the very air of Minrathous reeked of bloodshed just waiting to happen, and she was thankful to get away from it if only for a few days. It was a breath of fresh air. It was good to see that there was more to the world than painfully intricate and deadly political games once in a while, and it was fun to be able to have some fun once in a while. It was nice to know there weren't ninety daggers waiting to shed blood to your back as soon as you turned around for once, at least.

And damned if she wasn't going to take advantage of it. She was even assigned three legionnaires - two of which were carrying bundles of items she had bought already. She found these beautiful Antivan leather riding boots... And this amazingly crafted Nevarran longbow she was just itching to try out. Along with anything else that caught her eye. Had to have them doing something or else they might die of boredom. Carrying boxes and containers of stuff certainly counted as something. She also bought several containers of raw ingredients, seemingly innocent in nature, to manufacture some poisons later on when she got some time back in Tevinter. Could never be too prepared, she always said. She even insisted they swap boxes every once in a while so they all got a decent rest about it - which they finally started doing over the course of the day.

A rare chance at leisure for the Senator, she soon found herself meandering through the market area, until a building in particular caught her eye. A dressmaker's emporium? How had she not seen this before? They had to have something suitable for the Tournament! All the dignitaries would be there, some even said the ruler of Orlais would be there as well. There were even whispers some dwarves were attending as well, nobility. She had to have something presentable there, and Alaina as any good politician knew that looking the part was half the battle. If you looked impressive, even people with no idea who you were would gravitate towards you; giving you the perfect opportunity to influence things. It was a thing she learned at a young age, and maintained throughout her life.

Dressed in a fairly standard - for Alaina anyway - demure lavender dress of her own, she beckoned the three legionnaires following her to follow her into the dressmaker's store. Her brunette hair was down and fussed over to an insanely meticulous degree - and it showed. It was pristine, as a Senator's should be, and her mismatched eyes - one green and one blue looked over the store with a practiced eye. She examined the dresses like a shipwright examined a vessel. She was so absorbed into flitting between the different dresses, she actually ran into someone. Her mismatched eyes refocused - taking notice of the woman in front of her all too late to be of much help.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--" she paused for a moment, taking a closer look... She remembered this woman from somewhere... But where? Golden hair.. That face... Damn, that face... Where did she remember this woman from? She spent an awkward moment in silence, before asking in little more than a whisper -- for once filled with uncertainty: "Aurora?" she asked, while taking a polite sidestep so that they weren't quite so uncomfortably close together.