(no subject)
Title: A Warmer Welcome
Prompt Set: Various #2
Prompt: 050. Reassurance
Timeline
Walking to the guild house required some backtracking through the city, but it gave Istrel the opportunity to calm herself, smooth over her anxiety until she felt the part of a respectable courtesan, rather than just looking it. Most importantly, it gave her time to prepare herself to lie to Rentia, which in itself required an actor's composure and self-assurance. The leader of the Dyimbur faction of the courtesan's guild had made a career of stripping away masks and disguises to expose the person beneath, and for that reason, among others, had risen to her position, and had survived for so long as the leader of an illegal organization behind the front the guild provided. Most wouldn't stand a chance deceiving her. But Istrel had spent years before she left the Academy among the best actors in the country-in the world-and her masks had become almost a part of her, so deeply ingrained were they. If anyone could lie to the formidable Rentia Akminai, it would be Istrel.
No one who didn't belong to the lower city would ever be able to detect the boundary between the territory claimed by the Academy and that belonging to the courtesan's guild, but everyone who lived there knew, as if by some inexplicable sixth sense or some inborn knowledge. Nothing visibly changed, not the buildings or the street vendors or the appearance of the men and women on the street, but nevertheless Istrel sensed a shit as she reached the domain of the courtesans, and a bit of tension left her. Here, more people recognized her, or at least guessed her occupation from her clothing, and gave her respectful half-bows, kept a polite distance they offered no one else on the street. As always, the simple fact that people acted as if she were someone important, someone respectable, made her actually feel it, as she rarely did on her own. By the time Istrel reached the guild house, she felt confident as ever; the sting of the Academy girls' scorn vanished altogether.
The guild house could not have been more different from the Academy. The Academy building announced pride and power in a several stories high marble face, elegant arches and exquisite bas reliefs, beautiful but aloof. The courtesan's guild house announced nothing-rather, it whispered, or murmured in low, intimate tones warmth and gentle invitation, just as much pride as the Academy but more discreet, in the gently curving corners of the white clay exterior, the rich reddish brown wood door and shutters, and the rust-colored painted border around both door and windows. It actually wasn't much larger than the homes around it, two stories tall, and stood out more in presence than size or decoration, in the way you could identify most courtesans by bearing and demeanor. Well, Istrel thought, walking through the gate that led into the tiny courtyard off the street, and up to the front door, if a group of people lived in any place long enough, some of that was bound to be transferred to the place itself. And this place had been a guild house for the courtesans for centuries.
Istrel opened the front door without bothering to announce her presence and stepped into an inviting front room that rather resembled Istrel's-her own at home had been modeled on this one. A low couch provided seating for a dark-haired woman, while another woman and a man lounged on cushions on the floor. All three looked up as Istrel entered, offering her a quick smile, and the woman on the floor a warmer smile-all of them friends of hers, or close enough to it. "Istrel! You'd be looking for Rentia, right?"
Istrel smiled and pushed the door shut behind her before taking several steps further into the room. "Yes. If you could tell me where she-"
"Out right now, some business she didn't bother telling us about."
"She never does," the man muttered, pretending to be put out, but Istrel knew better than that-Arlan didn't give a damn about the business or politics of the guild, and was most happy if he could be left alone to his own devices without either interfering in his life.
Minri, the woman on the floor, motioned to the stairs. "She said you could wait in her office if you happened to come by, and she'll be back before long."
Istrel murmured her thanks and started up the stairs. She suppressed a slight chill and a shiver of unease, stopped herself from wondering how Rentia had known or guessed she would come by today when Istrel's visits tended to come at such irregular intervals.
Prompt Set: Various #2
Prompt: 050. Reassurance
Timeline
Walking to the guild house required some backtracking through the city, but it gave Istrel the opportunity to calm herself, smooth over her anxiety until she felt the part of a respectable courtesan, rather than just looking it. Most importantly, it gave her time to prepare herself to lie to Rentia, which in itself required an actor's composure and self-assurance. The leader of the Dyimbur faction of the courtesan's guild had made a career of stripping away masks and disguises to expose the person beneath, and for that reason, among others, had risen to her position, and had survived for so long as the leader of an illegal organization behind the front the guild provided. Most wouldn't stand a chance deceiving her. But Istrel had spent years before she left the Academy among the best actors in the country-in the world-and her masks had become almost a part of her, so deeply ingrained were they. If anyone could lie to the formidable Rentia Akminai, it would be Istrel.
No one who didn't belong to the lower city would ever be able to detect the boundary between the territory claimed by the Academy and that belonging to the courtesan's guild, but everyone who lived there knew, as if by some inexplicable sixth sense or some inborn knowledge. Nothing visibly changed, not the buildings or the street vendors or the appearance of the men and women on the street, but nevertheless Istrel sensed a shit as she reached the domain of the courtesans, and a bit of tension left her. Here, more people recognized her, or at least guessed her occupation from her clothing, and gave her respectful half-bows, kept a polite distance they offered no one else on the street. As always, the simple fact that people acted as if she were someone important, someone respectable, made her actually feel it, as she rarely did on her own. By the time Istrel reached the guild house, she felt confident as ever; the sting of the Academy girls' scorn vanished altogether.
The guild house could not have been more different from the Academy. The Academy building announced pride and power in a several stories high marble face, elegant arches and exquisite bas reliefs, beautiful but aloof. The courtesan's guild house announced nothing-rather, it whispered, or murmured in low, intimate tones warmth and gentle invitation, just as much pride as the Academy but more discreet, in the gently curving corners of the white clay exterior, the rich reddish brown wood door and shutters, and the rust-colored painted border around both door and windows. It actually wasn't much larger than the homes around it, two stories tall, and stood out more in presence than size or decoration, in the way you could identify most courtesans by bearing and demeanor. Well, Istrel thought, walking through the gate that led into the tiny courtyard off the street, and up to the front door, if a group of people lived in any place long enough, some of that was bound to be transferred to the place itself. And this place had been a guild house for the courtesans for centuries.
Istrel opened the front door without bothering to announce her presence and stepped into an inviting front room that rather resembled Istrel's-her own at home had been modeled on this one. A low couch provided seating for a dark-haired woman, while another woman and a man lounged on cushions on the floor. All three looked up as Istrel entered, offering her a quick smile, and the woman on the floor a warmer smile-all of them friends of hers, or close enough to it. "Istrel! You'd be looking for Rentia, right?"
Istrel smiled and pushed the door shut behind her before taking several steps further into the room. "Yes. If you could tell me where she-"
"Out right now, some business she didn't bother telling us about."
"She never does," the man muttered, pretending to be put out, but Istrel knew better than that-Arlan didn't give a damn about the business or politics of the guild, and was most happy if he could be left alone to his own devices without either interfering in his life.
Minri, the woman on the floor, motioned to the stairs. "She said you could wait in her office if you happened to come by, and she'll be back before long."
Istrel murmured her thanks and started up the stairs. She suppressed a slight chill and a shiver of unease, stopped herself from wondering how Rentia had known or guessed she would come by today when Istrel's visits tended to come at such irregular intervals.