Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

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Welcome to the Warder Yards. This is the place for Warder and Trainee roleplays. Informal non-training interactions take place here, as well as some extended role plays. Yet these events may take place at any area of the Tower, and sometimes outside of it, since the images to the left merely serves as inspiration towards the sceneries of your stories. Channelers are always welcome, and might even find his or her bondmate through the threads that are displayed below.
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Andy
"A Crown of Swords"
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Joined: February 4th, 2017, 11:16 pm
PC: Alrim Farshera Gaidin
Location: UK

Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

Post by Andy » March 18th, 2017, 5:49 pm

His chores were done, dusted and over for a while now. He couldn’t see the armoury needing cleaning, buffing, sharpening and whatever else the flaming Gaidin wanted for some time now. He had made sure it was don to perfection, they hadn’t even been able to find a complaint, something which had amused him and infuriated them. A small victory. Free time abounded and he had taken to setting up in a corner of the Yards of late, a pack of cards and a crate before him. Boredom ate away at him constantly and a game had had to be made. It just turned out that he already knew one that was quite useful.

“Cone on lads, can’t find the lady as a card how are you going to find one out there for real?” he asked as he shifted the cards before him, three of them and flickering fast.

“Don’t give us all that Bells, we know it’s rigged now”

“You wound me Jeff, I would never rig it, just a simple game of chance. Seen people win as well as lose, no?”

“Less often” there was doubt in his voice and the beginnings of prideful greed, Alrim smiled at him.

“One in three chance to win, two in three lose, means less winners. Besides, it’s for a good cause!”

That was true at least, he reflected as he shifted them, overlapping the Lady so that it appeared he was moving it but as moving the card underneath, switching and spinning to add confusion. He was not playing for money, he was playing for favours owed. He used those to help the weaker ones, the ones they saw as a chore to help and train, to cover for and take penance in place of. He loved it. He had found a way of mixing his past and present with an honourable goal, if not an honourable practise. Mostly it was a half-lie because of what happened next, his partner this day stepping forwards.

“I’m game to give it a go Bells, can’t fox me”

“Indeed? Wager?” he asked with raised eyebrow.

“One penance” there was a hushed silence, he had wagered the biggest loss.

“Alright then, find the Lady! Watch the cards now,” he shifted them, slowly at first and overturning the Lady every so often, “here she is. And here, now here. But where is she...now?!”

“Left one”

“Sure?”

“Yes”

“Positive?”

“Burn me Bells just turn it” and he did so, exposing the Lady, “hah! Told you! You owe me a penance Bells, good luck with it as I’m out drinking tonight, oh yes I am. Evening lads!” Alrim’s partner walked away laughing towards Hama Valon.

All part of the game and the bait was taken as they closed in to take their turns. It was such an old trick, such and old shill, but greed and pride bought a lot for one as knew how to exploit it. He wanted to go on for as long as possible but he knew the limits. He would push it a little but only until he had a few of what he needed and then he would call it quits, take it up in a week or so again, after memories had faded slightly. He rotated partners each time, he had four others in on it and they got their shares. He didn’t know if the Gaidin knew or if they even approved but he didn’t care.

In a funny way being slightly dishonest kept him honest.
~
Arafel Will Rise, Kick Matty's Butt & Be Totally The Most Awesome Land Evar
~

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Bella
Female Channeller Representative
Posts: 5615
Joined: April 14th, 2015, 11:28 pm
PC: Miahala Darrow Sedai
SC: Lysira Viathene Gaidin
TC: Gareth Tomosan Asha'man
QC: Natlya Cade Gaidin
QC: Andraste Alhandra Sedai
Location: New England

Re: Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

Post by Bella » March 18th, 2017, 11:58 pm

Natlya walked through the Yards that day on the way back from a spar with Terric. Her body felt sore as they worked each other hard, keeping their skills sharp. She knew he was working through things after what had happened in that awful village, and she wasn't going to tell him to back off. She could take it. He had taken it from her while she worked through her grief over Morgan.

She stretched her arm across her chest, gently pulling on her shoulder and then doing the other side. As she lowered her arms, she heard a group nearby.

Being almost as curious as a cat, she meandered in the direction. She saw a young man sitting at a create with three cards, and he was running a game. She recognized it instantly and was flooded with memories of running a very similar game when she was a Drin. She grinned outright, the thought taking her away from her sore muscles and what caused them.

Nat held back, just watching for a bit until the disappointed crowd started to drift away. She waited until they cleared out and then walked up with her hands loosely behind her back. "You know," she said casually, although her eyes lit with a hint of mischief. "I used to do it with three shells and a dried pea underneath."

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Andy
"A Crown of Swords"
Posts: 611
Joined: February 4th, 2017, 11:16 pm
PC: Alrim Farshera Gaidin
Location: UK

Re: Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

Post by Andy » March 19th, 2017, 10:29 am

It was as everyone dispersed that he began to count out the winnings, or rather the promises. He had had to give a few away, losing them to keep the game going and people’s self-interested greed pushing them to wager. Still it proved to be a profitable session, he reflected, as the piles were sorted and grew. Penances, training, conflict resolution, support and even socialising, - there were piles for everything the Yard’s people needed, and everything had value. What people wanted, of course, was to trade up in them. Most would rather be owed a penance cover than a training session and Alrim made sure they traded up often enough to keep interest but not too often.

“Ten, eleven...twelve” he counted out the last pile of wagers with a grin, “that’ll do for a while. Very nice” he muttered to himself as he sacked the cards, rippling one edge of the deck before putting them to on side.

He didn’t look up immediately at the interruption, he was too busy ordering things and wondering if he could be bothered to move the crate this time. He piled the slips up and stuffed them into a a battered ledger which he tucked into his jacket, taking a lesson from the M’Hael.

“I knew a man once who managed to make other objects appear inside fruits,” he said conversationally, “he always won his bets and each time was so more outrageous than the last he never paid for his own drinks. To this day I have no idea how h managed to do it. I mean, a boiled egg in an apple sure but someone’s dagger inside of a marrow, that was impressive” he looked up then and smiled at his new company.

She was quite pretty, beautiful some might say and the curled red tresses were rare enough that they would be considered a prize indeed. She had a glint in her eyes and the bearing of one used to ten times what Alrim was on a daily basis. A Gaidin, he was lucky that she was not shutting him down on the spot. He ordered his explanations mentally as he nodded his head in respect and leaned back to offer her the crate as a seat should she desire it, she looked as if she had been training and simple gestures proved appreciated at such times.

“As for me, cards always had a certain amusement to them. I like the pictures and people always like to try to find a pretty lady, something about male minds and some such I’m sure,” his lips quirked, “could it be that I have found a kindred spirit? Rare here, it’s why it’s so easy” he tapped the ledger with a thud, half sticking out as it was.

He relaxed somewhat from his initial tension, he wasn’t being shouted at - yet. If he was going to be it was now inevitable and as such he found that space of quiet in the face of fate that he quite licked. It felt like dancing upon a blade edge and that sort of thing was what made things fun.

“Alrim, Drin and former general layabout. Or Bells if you prefer” he offered her his hand in greeting and flicked one of his bells with the other, “what did you play for? I promise you that I do this for a good cause, an innocent lamb I am” his eyes twinkled at such naked pluck.
~
Arafel Will Rise, Kick Matty's Butt & Be Totally The Most Awesome Land Evar
~

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Bella
Female Channeller Representative
Posts: 5615
Joined: April 14th, 2015, 11:28 pm
PC: Miahala Darrow Sedai
SC: Lysira Viathene Gaidin
TC: Gareth Tomosan Asha'man
QC: Natlya Cade Gaidin
QC: Andraste Alhandra Sedai
Location: New England

Re: Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

Post by Bella » March 19th, 2017, 11:41 pm

Natlya knew that as a Gaidin, she should be yelling at him. She should grab him by the ear and march him off to the Master of Training like the good Gaidin she was meant to be...but rank or no, she was still Nat. She knew that it was, ultimately, fairly innocent. Or at least she knew it until it was proven otherwise. She just didn't have the heart to be the disciplinarian over this.

Seeing the crate, she hooked the toe of her boot on it and pulled it a little closer, taking the offered seat. Her body moved so much different than it had when she first arrived.

Back then, she had been slightly overweight, focused more on being comfortable, soft and womanly to run her part of the games. Now she was leaner and harder, still with clear female contours but almost half was she once was. Her body also moved with that long-trained, fluidic grace that Gaidin bore.

"Once I was here, I ran it for chores, usually," she said. "I'd get out of an hour of scrubbing dishes or some such." Bells, huh? One glance at his hair made that clear, and she marked his nation instantly. "My name is Natlya, or Nat." She found herself liking him for his audacity, maybe because it reminded her of herself. "What good cause do you play for here, then?" She smiled.

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Andy
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Joined: February 4th, 2017, 11:16 pm
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Re: Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

Post by Andy » March 20th, 2017, 7:39 am

“Well met then Nat, well met” he smiled as she sat down, he seemed to be doing that more often of late.

He also found himself in strange situations too, he was not yet sure if that was one of these. He hoped, at least, that he wasn’t going to get into a fight like with Nate, he would quite clearly lose to her fluid, graceful moves. Probably quicker too. His back itched slightly, memory drawing attention to the scar before he dismissed it in favour of Nat’s question.

“Anything and everything,” he spread his hands, “chores, training, socials, taking the blame for others. I would say it is a terrible trick but it seems to work. Some people are friends now because of it and others, at least, get a break,” he shrugged, “better than watching the little one’s flounder”

His gaze turned distant momentarily, wondering if he was doing the right thing. Again he dismissed it, it didn’t really matter if it was right. He enjoyed it and others did too. A bit of distraction and if he profited in some way then all the better. He was running the thing after all, he deserved to get a cut.

“Once you were here,” he repeated the phrase and turned it on its head, “so before you ran it for other things? You know, I’m always surprised how many rogues - sorry, ex-rogue’s - are members of this Tower. Makes you wonder...” he trailed off with a grin.

He weighed up whether to say it, what he had finally been thrown from his home for. She was Gaidin but she was also clearly cut from similar cloth, even if that cloth was now flickering and invisible at times. He erred on the side of caution, opting for other schemes. Smaller ones, perhaps. Finding the Lady was innocent enough, it was mostly other's greed which made them poor, he had merely helped it along. The stealing of purses whilst they were distracted was outright criminal though, as were the women exploiting their game to get themselves someone in an alley to rob them blind with promises.

“Used to run it for coin, silvers mostly. On the table and cards at least,” he spoke slowly, it was strange how your feelings upon memories could change over time, “had one partner to lure them in. Another to cut-purse when possible. A few...interested parties. Small things one might say. Or that’s what we told ourselves, leastways” he shook his head wryly at his former self.

“But then what‘s life without some risk?” he asked her, "I am going to go out on a limb and say you did it but with better flourish?"
~
Arafel Will Rise, Kick Matty's Butt & Be Totally The Most Awesome Land Evar
~

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Bella
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Joined: April 14th, 2015, 11:28 pm
PC: Miahala Darrow Sedai
SC: Lysira Viathene Gaidin
TC: Gareth Tomosan Asha'man
QC: Natlya Cade Gaidin
QC: Andraste Alhandra Sedai
Location: New England

Re: Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

Post by Bella » March 20th, 2017, 10:22 pm

As she listened to him talk about it, she did feel that odd sense of nostalgia setting in. She considered it odd because it wasn't a desire to go back to the way things were. She was wholly done with that life. But there were many aspects of it that she could look back on fondly, even if others might judge her for it.

"Oh, it was more than a pastime or a job for me, it was a lifestyle," she said, almost flippantly.

"I ran all my games with a partner back then, and he and I were a pair. Street rats at first, mainly just cutpurses until I tried to take his and got caught. Then we upped every ante we could find and soon were running short games and long cons, grifting, thievery, forgery, whatever suited us at the time." She waved a hand. "For the money, for the thrill, because I knew nothing else."

She brushed some red tendrils back off her forehead. "Almost all of it stopped when I came here, except for a little game here and there, like this one." She gestured to where the crate had been before she sat on it. "Although you'd be amazed how useful the one can be to the other, for quick hands help make a quick Gaidin."

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Andy
"A Crown of Swords"
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Re: Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

Post by Andy » March 21st, 2017, 6:36 pm

He nodded slowly as she spoke, it both a familiar and a strange tale, his history was not quite hers but they merged where she spoke of the thrill. It was addictive, that was for sure. Perhaps more so than the wine, women and fighting lifestyle that accompanied such exploits. He had never truly squared such things with himself, he tried not to think too deeply upon such things. He knew he had been a terrible person but it served no purpose beyond torture to pick it all to pieces and run it through his mind.

“I never made up my mind whether I did it for the thrill or if I just told myself that to justify things,” he mused softly, “a bit of both, perhaps. It does feel good though. Something about cheating people who think they are cheating you. The rooftop chase. Oh the tales that could be told” he stopped, grinning at himself.

That was something he had had trouble with too, the stories that had started him down the paths of larceny and how they had never been quite like the reality. He couldn’t remember a legend where you woke up in a pile of filth after something went wrong. And the taverns were never filled with witty repartee between sword swings. Or torch brackets to swing upon. No, things were much grimier in reality.

“I always liked the rigged fights and dice,” he suggested, “they were always so reliable. Unless we’re talking full on burglary, they were always quite fun to plan. Not so fun to do, at times”

His eyebrows rose at the suggestion that such things were good for Gaidin too, it seemed so antithetical that he had to stick his finger in his ear in case it was blocked. She can’t have meant what he thought she meant, surely? Weren’t Gaidin all about protecting people and ridding the world of evil? He was fairly certain that the Ajahs - some of them at least - were about that. Though he would be first to admit he had not looked at them too deeply.

“It sounds like you are suggesting that cheating, bluffing and picking locks are Gaidin activities to be praised. Or did I get that wrong?”
~
Arafel Will Rise, Kick Matty's Butt & Be Totally The Most Awesome Land Evar
~

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Bella
Female Channeller Representative
Posts: 5615
Joined: April 14th, 2015, 11:28 pm
PC: Miahala Darrow Sedai
SC: Lysira Viathene Gaidin
TC: Gareth Tomosan Asha'man
QC: Natlya Cade Gaidin
QC: Andraste Alhandra Sedai
Location: New England

Re: Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

Post by Bella » March 24th, 2017, 2:22 am

Dice, they had run that one a few times. Outright burglary, not so much although she had flirted her way into a house or two and swiped some things. Rigged fights, however, had never been their thing. They had known a few fellow thieves here and there who had done that sort of thing, among many others, but not them.

She outright laughed at his question and the look on his face.

"No, that was not what I was suggesting," she told him easily. "I have turned over a new leaf and live a life far apart from that which I once was. However, I have learned that things I learned then help now. Are you good at reading people? Are your hands quick? Can you think fast and change your plans on the fly?

"I learned things like that while being a thief. Now I use them to be a Gaidin. See the difference and yet the similarities?"

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Andy
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Joined: February 4th, 2017, 11:16 pm
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Re: Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

Post by Andy » April 6th, 2017, 3:51 pm

It was a strange notion, the idea that he could be at least somewhat a rogue and yet still be a Gaidin. Doing so as a Drin was easy but he had assumed that Gaidin were all about rules and being honourable. Perhaps he had been over-thinking it, or romancing the role more than anything else. He should probably have seen it earlier, that he could be a bit dirty and still be a Gaidin. Or dusty at least. Warders had to protect their Wards at all costs, that much was obviously true.

I suppose I have some skills that might be what she's talking about. Still, it seems a stretch. Criminals rarely get away with it when caught, even if they are Gaidin he told himself, not doubting the penalty for such actions in many lands.

"I guess I can see your point Natyla," he spoke slowly, thoughtful, "I have done many things I am not proud of. Perhaps they could be put to good use for the Tower against it's enemies. Then again, I'm not sure I'd like the punishments for getting caught any better than anywhere else"

"Still, quick hands...used to lift purses, could probably lift some messages if required. Or perhaps sneak about into some cam somewhere and get hold of things to make battles easier. Or surprise attack. I usually went for exploiting the greed of others. Or their other instincts. Might turn them to other tasks...perhaps" he tilted his head and looked at her.

"I suppose even lock picking has its...occasions. But then I suppose I'd only ever do such a thing if required. Sanctioned, perhaps. Can't see me being up thr with the powers as be but maybe a bit useful"

She was, in some sense, a reflection of him from the future. From the sounds of it quite a close approximation too, if not exact. She had managed to turn her talents to use but he was having difficulty seeing how you could do so and still maintain any sense of true morality - if such a thing existed. H had to have some sort of code, surely?

"Tell me, how do you do it? Tread that line? I man I could go ahead and do as I wished, bring back all of the old days skills into the now. But then there'd be the danger of slipping back. I might do a well meaning card game today but a larcenous one in a week, or a month. Or a year. How do you walk that line and not cross it? Or do you only cross it if...required?"

The question had meaning for him, he had crossed lines before and those he had cared for were now no longer breathing. He had survived because he was usually the quicker and more useful. Usually. If he were to be a Warder on day then he couldn't let that happen. Not again.
~
Arafel Will Rise, Kick Matty's Butt & Be Totally The Most Awesome Land Evar
~

User avatar
Bella
Female Channeller Representative
Posts: 5615
Joined: April 14th, 2015, 11:28 pm
PC: Miahala Darrow Sedai
SC: Lysira Viathene Gaidin
TC: Gareth Tomosan Asha'man
QC: Natlya Cade Gaidin
QC: Andraste Alhandra Sedai
Location: New England

Re: Of Pasts And Practises [Bella]

Post by Bella » April 6th, 2017, 6:23 pm

She listened to him without interruption, although there was a curious expression flickering in her hazel eyes and still that dancing edge of amusement. That faded a little when the conversation inevitably shifted to the blurry lines of this very topic. Or more, when her past had nearly lost her something dear. You are still friends. Relax. Though...

Not now.

Natlya smiled and tilted her head. "I think you're thinking of my answer too literally. I don't do any of those anymore. I suppose I could pick a lock if I had to, but that has yet to be the case. But those reflexes from cutting purses? They helped me learn how to wield a sword. My ability to read people from running games? That has helped me spar and fight better. I can anticipate my opponent better.

"I don't mean to use the old skills directly, but take the benefits they granted us and translate them into new skills. And the new skills are what we use to be Gaidin, to be a warder."

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