Though the cake had not turned out as hoped, though the "club" had been victimized by language barriers, Natalia viewed the night as a success. When she woke with the familiar disorientation of having been in the middle of one thing, then stirring, rested and prone, Natalia woke with lingering contentment. It faded as she listened to that man, as she considered the now familiar ceiling, as she plucked at her sleeve and rose from the bed. She disliked the idea of allowing a routine to form, of once again putting on slippers and waiting for the nurse. Natalia went through the motions, and after a moment's deliberation, took the journal and a pen.
"Good morning," Natalia answered once the woman opened the door with a sunny greeting. She forced a polite if frosty smile, and near lead the way to the cafeteria (after, of course, a stop at the bathroom to scrub and toy with her hair), her impatient strides quickening the nurse's pace. The air inside was heavy with a syrupy smell, underscored with meat. Filing into the line, Natalia began to fill her tray, increasingly aware that another nurse had approached hers and, following their brief conversation, hers stood pointedly at the end of the line, looking directly at her. Fruit salad, juice, french toast, and sausage. The meal quality here did, she had thusfar noticed, exceed that of certain inns on Auldrant -- but could not hope to compare to those in Baticul (of course).
She had hardly stepped off the queue when her nurse approached, her expression simpering. "Sarah, dear, you're friends with Dana, correct? Mm, well, he's gotten close to Thomas, and I'm sure you'll get on well together. Thomas had a bit of an accident, and he could use the--oh, come on!"
Bewildered (Dana? Thomas?), Natalia watched the woman spin on her feet and walk, stopping at a table in which a young man sat alone, his eyes bandaged. "Here we are, Thomas," she heard her say, "Sarah will be joining you!"
Her heart immediately twinged with both sympathy and indignation. An accident indeed; she knew better than that. Lifting her chin, she cleared the distance and paused at the table, giving the nurse a pointed look, one she had begun to develop in particular for some of the more trying of the undesired suitors. Apparently impervious, the nurse chalked it off as a success, and moved away.
"Pardon me," Natalia began, once they were alone - or, as alone as they could be. "I won't lie and tell you that I wasn't asked to sit here, but I must ask all the same. May I? It isn't Sarah, of course. My name is Natalia, Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear."
no subject
"Good morning," Natalia answered once the woman opened the door with a sunny greeting. She forced a polite if frosty smile, and near lead the way to the cafeteria (after, of course, a stop at the bathroom to scrub and toy with her hair), her impatient strides quickening the nurse's pace. The air inside was heavy with a syrupy smell, underscored with meat. Filing into the line, Natalia began to fill her tray, increasingly aware that another nurse had approached hers and, following their brief conversation, hers stood pointedly at the end of the line, looking directly at her. Fruit salad, juice, french toast, and sausage. The meal quality here did, she had thusfar noticed, exceed that of certain inns on Auldrant -- but could not hope to compare to those in Baticul (of course).
She had hardly stepped off the queue when her nurse approached, her expression simpering. "Sarah, dear, you're friends with Dana, correct? Mm, well, he's gotten close to Thomas, and I'm sure you'll get on well together. Thomas had a bit of an accident, and he could use the--oh, come on!"
Bewildered (Dana? Thomas?), Natalia watched the woman spin on her feet and walk, stopping at a table in which a young man sat alone, his eyes bandaged. "Here we are, Thomas," she heard her say, "Sarah will be joining you!"
Her heart immediately twinged with both sympathy and indignation. An accident indeed; she knew better than that. Lifting her chin, she cleared the distance and paused at the table, giving the nurse a pointed look, one she had begun to develop in particular for some of the more trying of the undesired suitors. Apparently impervious, the nurse chalked it off as a success, and moved away.
"Pardon me," Natalia began, once they were alone - or, as alone as they could be. "I won't lie and tell you that I wasn't asked to sit here, but I must ask all the same. May I? It isn't Sarah, of course. My name is Natalia, Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear."