[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/241208/a04161052c56932d95d6bf9168fcef02.png[/img][/center][hr][i]The Eye of the Beholder[/i][hr]
Nesna’s nodded as Sya weighed the little stud earrings. Of course, even here there were charlatans about who would seek to pass off nonsense for gold. Well, of course there were desperate wretches everywhere one looked, especially in this day and age. Why, if that irritating guard were turned, he’d barely even be able to afford death—and it wouldn’t be his words that would sell any Lunarian authorities on him being deserving of it. 

Her upper lip twitched as Sya addressed her again. Of course, the other blightborn couldn’t have known. But she had to ask, had she indeed lost so much of her former poise that even well-dressed, she gave off nothing more impression than that of a ‘Miss’? Being Miss Nesna was better than sleeping in a ditch, but how disappointing it was. And here she was, once the eldest daughter with perhaps enough shrewdness to steer proud family lines back off the routes of decay and dismantlement, now a grovelling beast trembling around some pet project of a foreign noble. A decade ago, if only she had found a more decent and concealable vice, if only she hadn’t gotten sloppy again, this would have all been averted and she could look in the mirror, see a proud Marquess, and chase the lower ranked, disgrace-spreading squatters out of [i]her[/i] family legacy. And yet, now there wasn’t any legacy to claim anyway.

Nesna nodded along absentmindedly as Sya offered a choice of wine.

[color=DDA0DD]“Yes, yes, the Aurelian will do,”[/color] she affirmed. 

As Sya offered an option for meat, Nesna brought a gloved hand to her chin and rubbed it for a moment. With a sigh, Nesna realized it likely wouldn’t do. Even a tender cut was probably pushing it, but it had been ages since she’d tried it. Had she even tried any such thing since she’d turned? Thinking of it, she couldn’t recall. But a normal cut definitely wouldn’t do the job. Nesna frowned and furrowed her brow as she thought. Her thoughts, however, were soon interrupted as her ears perked up and she overheard the word ‘murdered.’ 

It was that rude ruffian who called himself a guard again. While she made a point of not looking directly towards the man, Nesna forced a tight-lipped smile onto her face again. At this rate, the innkeeper was going to get the wrong sorts of ideas planted in her head…

But apparently not now. Nesna sighed as Guard Kain rose. It was best to avoid eye contact, or, the implication of it, anyway. Better to behave as if she hadn’t noticed him. Nesna stepped to the side, away from the door and closer to the wall. Once Sya came back around, Nesna gestured for her to come closer.

When she had Sya’s attention, she tilted her head sympathetically and offered a gentle smile, while lifting up the hand that was facing towards the rest of the tavern. She gestured as if she was embarrassed. by pulling her hand up by her face and leaning into it. Conveniently, her hand also hid the movements of her mouth from the rest of the people on that side of her. How many times had her great grandmother, grandmother, and mother all used this same manoeuvre! If she closed her eyes here, it could be just like the old days, all those odd times when she had the opportunity to be a guest elsewhere and request that there be no cheese with her food, or ask for a bit more dessert.

But this wasn’t for propriety, sadly. It was necessary.

[color=DDA0DD]“I fear venison may not be suitable for my rather particular needs, Mistress Sya,”[/color] Nesna murmured, just loud enough that Sya could hear. Hopefully, anyway! Goodness, she was rusty whispering in a crowded room.

[color=DDA0DD]“My affliction is inconvenient in a sort of way which demands I be a bit curt about the matter. Begging your pardon before I should ask if there might so happen to be any blood-based dishes available, would there? I would die if only to eat out of a bowl or drink from a cup like a civilized person again. If such things aren’t possible, I of course understand, and will see if I can manage a broth of some kind as a substitute, perhaps the sort one might give to those in a delicate state of health.”[/color]

Nesna let her hand slide down and retreated from leaning forward, offering Sya a tight-lipped, apologetic expression as she stood straight by again. At a normal volume, she then added, [color=DDA0DD]“Once again, my most sincere apologies for the bother.”[/color]

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