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[DragonRage]

As Camira made her rounds, it would swiftly become apparent that she was being followed.  As she begins her not-quite-patrol, Lydia follows the warrior close behind, staring expressionlessly at her, largely unreadable.  Not taking any notes, not really doing anything other than walking and staring, just keeping pace.

Lydia, for her part, is intensely wracking her brain for plans and coming up dry.  How exactly does one start a conversation?  Aside from swordplay, she doesn't know any of Camira's preferred fields of study, so attempting to establish common ground that way is out.  How do people start conversations without academic common ground?  Is it even possible?

Unable to come to a conclusion, oblivious to the awkward, off-putting impression she's giving, Lydia continues to follow Camira, staring, seemingly without blinking, into the back of the warrior's head.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

As on edge as she always was, Camira was quick to note the individual following her. Specifically one of the Aes Sedai, Lydia if her memory recalled correctly. At first, Camira didn't pay her much mind, simply continuing with her rounds, but as it became more and more apparent that Lydia was following her and not just heading in the same general direction, the Borderlander suddenly stopped, turning her body halfway in order to face the Aes Sedai,


"Is there something you need? Or has something about me caught your eye, Aes Sedai?"

[DragonRage]

"Nothing in particular.  I wanted to talk," Lydia said tonelessly, "We will be spending a great deal of time together in the coming journey.  I would like to better understand the individuals I will be entrusting my safety and research to, and I would prefer our interactions and parting be of the pleasant sort."  Lydia tilted her head to the side, the corners of her mouth turning down in a slightly contemplative frown, "What is your primary field of study?  I have not been able to ascertain it through observation.  Swordplay seems likely, but I would not wish to offend by making unfounded assumptions."

Express greetings, locate and identify common ground, express interest in the other's projects, studies, or profession.  That was what that Grey Sister said was the best way to begin a friendly conversation, right?  No, there was something else...

Smile!

...How did that work again?

It can't be too hard.  Lydia has seen people do it all the time.  How did it go...  Lift the corners of your mouth, raise the eyes, bare teeth?

Lydia's best attempt at a 'smile' gives off the distinct impression that she's about three seconds from pulling out a very long and bloodstained knife, or possibly biting someone in the neck, far more so than anything even remotely positive.  But since the Grey Sister she'd convinced to help her learn to converse with others suddenly remembered an urgent appointment and had to leave right away after seeing Lydia's first attempt, and surely the other Aes Sedai wouldn't have done that unless Lydia had gotten it right on the first try.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

For what it was worth, Camira considered herself a hard to unnerve individual. Even with all her faults, she had never ran due to her fear, or opened her guard because of surprise. But the instant Lydia ‘smiled’ at her, it took all the Borderlander had to stand her ground, a feat only matched once in her life.

She rarely interacted with Aes Sedai, being nothing more than a mercenary herself, but surely they couldn’t be this odd, could they?


“... I… Yes, you could consider swordplay my ‘field of study’. Though you’ve certainly waited a while to talk.”

[IamanElfCollaborator]

-snip-

"Surely a dignified noblewoman has enough, well, dignity to put up with a tent for a while. Unless you aren't one."

Dola, for her part, was used to this sort of thing. Desensitised even. A calm amble about the forest was all well and good, but some part of her craved the thrills of her past life. After all, chasing lost artifacts and recovering them was a far cry from what she was setting out to do.

[RedMageCole]

Those thin lines that had been trying to hold Hortensia's patience together had been wearing thin for quite some time. And one of them just finally gave in and snapped— it was evident with the nasty look on Hortensia's face. At the very least, it looked like her body language had finally begun to relax.


"You dare speak to me as if you know what it means to be nobility? Perhaps your kind might be used to sleeping in the mud, but a dignified noblewoman has enough pride in herself to be rightfully disgusted with sleeping in such conditions. You should be grateful that I am allowing my patience to be tested just for all of you— if it were not for Sir Isidro's generosity, I would have you and these horses walk until we reached the end.." Of course, she might be commanding a lot more presence and anger if she wasn't mostly sputtering and speaking through gritted teeth. Eventually, realizing how much she had lost her temper, Hortensia quickly went to looking away with her nose turned up— attempting to tie the string that snapped. "You would do well to leave me be. What is it you commoners say? 'None of your business?' Keep it that way."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Well done. That's the first honest thing you've said on this trip."

[RedMageCole]

"What are you even saying? That is the first thing I've said to you."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Not like I don't pay attention to what you're saying to other people. Unless you think commoners are deaf, too. Or blind, while we're at it. If you're gonna disrespect us, at least the balls to do it to our faces."

[SOLDIER First]

Two weeks on the road, one more to Whitebridge, and a good deal more than that until Baerlon. This was shaping up to be the longest Baronel had ever spent with a single group, and of course it would be one with three Aes Sedai in it, too. Just trying to move around camp without having to speak to them was doing a number on his nerves. He could almost sense their eyes on him wherever he went. No, that's not possible. Pull yourself together.

His tent is set up and he's helped the others unpack here and there when he hears a voice not too far away - Hortensia, likely eviscerating some poor sap with her viper's tongue. Baronel would rather march straight up to the White Tower himself than listen to that woman seethe if he could help it, so he turns on his heel and marches straight in the opposite direction. Near the edge of the camp he passes a few tree - and freezes as he sees Lydia (and Camira) on the other side. Too late to hide; there's no way she couldn't see him. Stupid. Careless. He takes a few steps forward to make himself known and raises his hand in greeting.

"Ladies. Not interrupting anything, am I?"

[RedMageCole]

Hortensia looks extremely offended at all of what Dola said— even marking her offense at the last part of Dola's sentence with a gasp.


"Do you have no sense of shame!? I have done nothing but show my politeness towards you and the rabble— but if you desire honesty, then very well! You, just like any other commoner, do not deserve my respect. Once again, you should grateful that despite your inferiority, I have been patient to no end! You'd best begone before I lose it even further."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Dola raises an eyebrow.

Then she starts laughing.

"I've survived the likes of Darkfriends, jungles that would eat a thousand of you and temples that would rot you alive to retrieve artifacts that were forged while your mother was a twinkle in her mother's eye. If we're being honest, you scare me about as much as that rock over there does. It'd do you some good to lighten up. You'll love those tents when the rain starts pouring."

[DragonRage]

"Swordplay.  I see.  Fascinating.  My own studies most commonly cover natural philosophy, and the interactions of natural laws and phenomena with the Weave.  Starting conversations does not lie within these fields," Lydia admits, her face passing through a tinge of discomfort on its way back to her usual neutral expression.  How do people do that so often without cramping?  "I am still learning the appropriate procedures and protocols to facilitate pleasant and productive discourse.  You have yet to find urgent business elsewhere that you had forgotten until this exact moment, so observational data suggests that my skills are improving.  Or that you have a high tolerance for beginners' mistakes.  Insufficient data available to determine which."  Lydia stares silently and expressionlessly at Camira just long enough for it to feel a bit awkward before speaking again.  "Have you achieved any significant breakthroughs or discoveries in your studies recently?  Are those even the correct terms?  I rarely have the opportunity to speak to an expert in your field for long; most with such knowledge and skills who visit the White Tower are Warders with other business or commitments.  I am thus unfamiliar with the terminology used to describe study in swordplay and other martial or physical disciplines."

Lydia blinked, slowly, before turning so that she was partially facing both Camira and Baronel, apparently seeing zero reason to make eye contact with either of them.  "You are not.  I had engaged Camira in discourse in order to gain understanding of those I will be entrusting my well-being to in this journey.  As such, speaking with another of the warriors would not be counterproductive.  Feel free to join us."  Lydia paused again, just long enough to for someone else to maybe think she's done, before speaking more.  "Hello, Baronel." She states belatedly.

[RedMageCole]

Hortensia once more went into her snooty noble position, looking away in an attempt to keep herself from really losing it. She couldn't, however, hold in a scoff.


"You all sound the exact same— 'lighten up' this, laughing at completely inappropriate times because everything in life is just a big joke to you... For your sake, we're finished talking— I've no more to say to you." Despite cooling down, she still carried a desire to flip the entire wagon if she had the upper body strength.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

It was unclear whether or not it was a blessing or a curse that Cami could wrap her head around what Lydia was saying, but she could, which allowed her to shake her head at Lydia's question about 'breakthroughs in her studies',


"Eh, it's close enough to work. As of late though, no such luck, this quiet journey hasn't given me much to test my skills, aside from the spar with the Warders two weeks ago" Cami replied, a brief, barely visible smile on her lips as she recalled the spar. She had messed up, but it was still enjoyable, she hadn't felt as alive in quite some time, weaving through the Warder's defense. Of course, her memories had to be cut off as another figure approached, the Borderlander's smile quickly fading right before her head turned to greet Baronel,

"As she said, you aren't interrupting anything important. I was simply making a patrol of the grounds before the sentries were put up."