249 replies to this topic

[Zella Calomine]

There was the oddness again, but Zella thought she needed to wait before burning again. Just incase someone had noticed. She'd already been stupid enough in this conversation. Stupid and thoughtless. She wished that her smoker was nearby. At least he'd be able to notice when she was getting out of hand.

"Mistings are definitely also intriguing, especially Pewterarms. At least, I find them intriguing." Zella turned a bit red at that. She had wished for a long time that she burned pewter instead. It seemed so much more useful, to have something that enhanced her fighting. To be able to burn both seemed outrageously amazing to her. She had to be careful to not give away anything because she was excited about Allomancy. "But just think, to have someone who burned all ten metals. I mean, there are metals that are exclusive to only Mistborn, ones that you can't see in a fight between Mistings." She reined herself in and smiled. "It's very interesting to me." She said, trying her hardest to keep herself in check.

People don't like it when you get like that, Zella. You'll never find a husband if you keep going off about things that ladies shouldn't be so interested in. Silvan had told her that once, and it haunted her every time she got excited about something. It wasn't her fault that she was expressive, but it was imperative that she came off feminine and lady-like enough to catch a husband. Not that she was really thinking about that at the present moment, but it was still important that she not be talked about like she was a child who couldn't control her actions or her words.

Edited by MozytheHealer, 03 January 2014 - 04:01 AM.

[Jasun Vallace]

"True," Jasun scratched his chin, he didn't really burn gold, it was a useless power and the metal itself was far too precious. And atium... Jasun had never burned atium, he knew what it did, of course, but he had never burned it. Atium was a thousand times more precious than gold. He'd never needed it badly enough to save up the funds to buy a bead, and he'd never been bold enough to try and steal some.

"Better to stick to Mistings, I think." he said, "Although, what is a proper young woman like yourself doing thinking about Pewterarms? Do you want one to sweep you off your feet, literally? I'll have you know that a normal man could do that." His grin was back. The girl seemed unsure about herself for some reason, perhaps because it wasn't exactly proper for her to be interested in fighting? Probably. Still he didn't mind indulging her, it was only polite.

[Zella Calomine]

Zella gave him a look as if to tell him to stop making fun of her size. She was quite small. Still, she smiled. It didn't make her feel irritated when people noticed how small she was. It meant that they would then underestimate her strength. "I'm aware that it is not very proper for a lady to be interested in fighting, but to be able to burn pewter sounds much more interesting than many of the other metals. It gives you such an enhanced physical awareness and strength. Who wouldn't want that? However, I won't bore you with my odd opinions."

[Jasun Vallace]

"Oh I don't know about that, what about tin?" Jasun asked, "I would think it would be amazing to be able to see or hear or feel things other people could not." Tin was best used when seeing through the mists, in his opinion. But it did have other uses.

"Or perhaps brass and zinc? It make people feel whatever you wished them too, that seems like a powerful thing to possess." It was not using that power that was the hard part. He was pretty good at not using his powers for no reason. He hadn't remained hidden for two decades by doing flashy displays of his power, after all.

"Or steel? You could fly through the mists, that seems wonderful. Lurchers can too, after a fashion." Truthfully Jasun was not as adept with iron as steel, steel was just more forgiving than iron, you weren't pulling yourself towards something hard and metal after all.

"Copper and bronze may not be as flashy, but they're still quite useful, indeed I think having any allomantic power would be amazing, don't you?"

[Zella Calomine]

Zella arched an eyebrow again, shrugging as she did so, and though her smile was ever-present, it was more thoughtful now. "It's not about power, though. Any Misting can be powerful, in a sense. I like Pewter because of how it can be used. Brass and zinc are, dare I say, dishonest. Even if you aren't technically forcing someone to feel a certain way, you definitely influence their actions without much effort, and often before it was right for them to act that way.

"I dislike the fact that with steel and iron you could never use them in public. Yes, you can fly through the mists at night with nothing but yourself and the air, but do that any other time and you give yourself away. Copper almost always requires you to have someone else with you. It's no use to someone on their own, and bronze, though it does seem useful, is not as helpful in a fight. Therefore, Pewter is definitely the way to go."

[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun found it immensely amusing that she seemed to share his same views on zinc and brass, for all that they were his best metals. "And what of tin? What do you have against tin Lady Calomine?" he asked, noticing she had not mentioned the metal. Perhaps she had something against Tineyes?

[Zella Calomine]

Tin's the one I got stuck with. Zella thought to herself, though she wasn't irritated about it. She loved the power it gave her, even if it would be more useful combined with pewter. The metals all sounded like they'd be more useful when combined with whatever metal was it's compliment. Push and pull. They were like that for a reason, she thought.

"Tin is exactly how you described it, Lord Allard. You can see and hear and feel things that other people can't. That's the extent of it's ability. You'd have to be clever to find a way to work that into fighting, but it would be wonderful for surveillance." She was careful to speak of it as something that was hypothetical. She could easily slip when talking about tin. "Personally, and this might just be my silliness, I think that being able to burn both pewter and tin would be the best. To have both an enhanced physical awareness and enhanced senses? Of course it would have it's drawbacks, but it would also be powerful and versatile."

Edited by MozytheHealer, 03 January 2014 - 05:09 AM.

[Jasun Vallace]

"You keep talking about Allomancy as if it is only about combat, Lady Calomine. Surely you know there are plenty of uses for it outside of fighting, and that it's not always important how a power might benefit you in a battle?" Jasun said gently, this girl seemed rather focused on how one could use allomancy to battle, but it was so much more then that. Jasun preferred to use it for more... recreational pursuits.

Then again, perhaps that's the skaa corrupting me he thought and gave a mental shrug. It wasn't like he was going to change anytime soon.

"It seems that you wish to be a Mistborn then, Lady Calomine." his smiling turning once more into a grin, "A worthy goal to aspire to, indeed."

Edited by Noelle, 31 January 2014 - 01:08 AM.

[Sebastien Perrault]

Sure enough, Sebastien had been right; the siblings were Ventures. From the Urteau branch of the family, probably - he hadn't seen them before, and he doubted that Luthadel natives would seem quite so lost. They seemed friendly enough, as well, so perhaps he would be able to make himself some new acquaintances today. But even though they were friendly, he wouldn't risk offending them by addressing them too casually. Until they invited him to do otherwise, he would continue to address them formally.

"One and the same, my Lady," he said in response to Lady Adala's question about the ball. "Might I assume that I may look forward to the pleasure of your attendance tonight?"

[Zella Calomine]

Zella laughed softly and shook her head. "You speak as if it's possible to aspire to be one, Lord Allard." She said, before addressing his previous question. It was something that she had thought a lot about, as she had had to figure out how to use tin as a weapon. No one had taught her that, but she hadn't wanted to be stuck as a spy forever. She was much to honest for that.

"Not strength in battle alone, but versatility. For versatility you must have strength in-combat, but it must also be useful out-of-combat." She carefully phrased the next part in her head as she spoke, to make sure it all remained hypothetical. This was a dangerous conversation. "Hence why I prefer tin and pewter. There must be ways for both to be used in a combat situation, but both can be used out-of-combat, if you so desire."

[Aldric Venture]

"You do indeed! But really Lord Perrault there is no need to be so formal, we are all friends here." Adala said, bright and happy and sincere and Aldric knew, suddenly, that it was just an act. The manners, the laugh, the introductions, even the excitement about the ball had all been an act. His sister was wearing a mask, but why?

Adala glanced at him sharply, and Aldric suddenly realized that his hold on her arm had tightened until it was no doubt painful. He eased up quickly, but not so quickly that Sabastien was apt to notice, and decided just to pretend like his sister wasn't playing the games of nobles and being someone she was not, "Indeed could you give us any insight on what is planned for the ball tonight? I understand the Casuana's had dancing and dueling competitions planned before all that... unpleasantness."

Edited by Noelle, 04 January 2014 - 01:11 AM.

[Jasun Vallace]

"But of course you can aspire to be a Mistborn, Lady Calomine," Jasun said, "It does not mean you will become one, but you can still aspire to be one all you like, there is nothing wrong with that."

Except the part where you got your entire family murdered, or were forced to kill countless skaa to desensitize you to death and hide your gender for fear of people underestimating you and your skills, but besides that it was wonderful, of course. Simply splendid.

This conversation was treading on dangerous ground, however, he could not tell this Lady Calomine the many uses of steel and iron or zinc and brass in everyday life without revealing he knew far too much about Allomancy. He could hardly risk outing himself to some girl, not when so much was on the line. "I bow to your wisdom, Lady Calomine, although I still think you underestimate the other metals." He did not phrase it as a rebuff, merely an opinion, and not one that mattered at all to the Lady in front of him.

[Zella Calomine]

Zella smiled at him, glad that this conversation was leaving the treacherous grounds of Allomancy. "Of course I do, Lord Allard. I know very little about them, so I am obviously biased towards those that I've heard about more." That was easy to lie about, if he asked. It was not uncommon to know someone interested in Allomancy. "I suppose everyone is biased to familiar ground. It is not unheard of to prefer that which is known."

[Sebastien Perrault]

Sebastien couldn't help but chuckle nervously, though he was grateful for the invitation to relax. He would still be polite, of course, but he didn't have to be so stiff now. "Well, I can promise that we didn't invite an Inquisitor to attend," he said, "and nor do we plan for anything to catch fire." Not that the rebels cared about their plans, but he didn't feel the need to say that.

"We Perraults aren't quite so showy as the Casuanas," he continued with a friendly smile. "I can promise you good food and excellent music for dancing, but there are no competitions planned."

[Aldric Venture]

"A pity," Adala said, "I do so love competitions." Which of course meant she was sad she wasn't going to see men dueling. Aldric did not understand his sister's fascination with the sport, and he was a duelist himself. She had a certain... love of violence that disturbed him at times. And it certainly wasn't a proper thing for a lady of her station to be interested in. He glanced at her, but she wasn't looking at him so he couldn't even try to communicate his feelings to her. He settled for jabbing her in the side with one elbow. She jabbed him back, harder, and he winced. That was going to leave a mark.

"Probably for the best," Aldric said, "considering how the dueling competitions turned out."

"And how did they turn out?" Adala asked him, one eyebrow raised.

Aldric gave her the look, the one that said 'why don't you know this already' and explained, "With the keep ablaze, from what I understand."

"Oh, right.... that." Adala said, and he saw her mask slip as she tried to recover herself, she managed it after a moment and said brightly, "But surely the rebels would not even attempt another attack so soon. They probably risked much to do what they did at Keep Casuana."

Aldric shrugged in reply, he certainly didn't know the logistics of keeping up a rebellion.

"But we dwell on unpleasant things," Adala said, "Please Lord Perrault tell me more about your house. I beg your forgiveness but I know very little of it, I am new to Luthadel. Indeed your house's ball it to be my debut."

[Sebastien Perrault]

What in the world was going on with these two? They acted for all the world like a perfectly friendly and polite pair of high-born siblings, all the while elbowing and shoving each other as if they were about to break out into an all-out brawl at any moment. Or perhaps a duel; female duelists weren't precisely common, but they did exist, and if anyone had the social sway to pull it off, it was a Venture.

But they never acknowledged it, or even showed any kind of reaction to being elbowed in the ribs other than to shove the other one right back. Sebastien supposed that was a queue to not mention it himself, so he tried to keep his expression friendly rather than confused and focused on answering what Lord Aldric had just said.

"Your debut?" he asked with a smile. "At my family's ball? It is an honor indeed to host such an important event, and I offer you my congratulations as well. I hope my house's hospitality lives up to the occasion."

He could not help but be slightly surprised, though, that Venture was not throwing a ball of their own for such a thing. To be fair, though, that custom was more common for girls, and people who were born closer to the line of succession than these two seemed to be. Or perhaps the timing was off; if these two were new to Luthadel, they would either have to debut when they could, or wait until Venture could slip in another party without throwing off the rotation. Yes, perhaps it made more sense than he'd originally thought.

"As for my house," he continued, "We harvest obsidian from where it forms in Lake Tyrian, then craft it into any number of useful and beautiful things to sell all over the Empire. Though of course, currently, the demand for obsidian weapons is much higher than decorative pieces. We have substantial contracts with the Steel Ministry, while our largest buyers among the nobility have always been House Deveaux. In addition, we've been growing closer to Casuana and Raisaal recently, as well as to your own house. If you ask around, you might find Perrault weapons in the hands of some of your own Allomancers."

[Jasun Vallace]

"Oh I don't know about that," Jasun said, "I've always found the unknown quite a bit more interesting then the known." The mists, especially. Jasun loved the mists and the freedom they gave him. They'd also, after a fashion, given him Lysette. He couldn't help but smile fondly to himself at the thought of her, but the genuine smile was quickly replaced by a fake one as he looked down at Lady Calomine. "Might I ask something of you, Lady Calomine, as an unknown? Or would you prefer to stay on familiar ground?" There was a bit of a dare in his voice and manner, he doubted he needed it to get her to agree but it always helped to be sure.

Edited by Noelle, 31 January 2014 - 01:12 AM.

[Zella Calomine]

Zella noticed his slight change in manner and burned tin for a few moments. She noticed as his smile changed and returned it with a genuine smile, now quite sure that he was really just putting up with her. That was okay with her, as she was the one who had unceremoniously started a conversation with him. "You may ask, though I can't guarantee a positive answer."

Zella let her tin go out during his reply, almost reluctantly. She felt so vulnerable without it. She knew that she couldn't keep burning it, but the sudden changes in her sensory awareness would no doubt get in the way of her conversation. Best keep it out and risk not noticing someone than get noticed herself.

[Aldric Venture]

Oh Lord Ruler of course the man's house dealt in weapons. That would be just his luck. Aldric glanced at Adala and saw she was positively alight with interest, about obsidian weaponry of course. Her courtly mask could not stand up against such temptation. At least the man hadn't said something she just had to make sport of. Aldric supposed he had to be happy with the little things.

"What decorations can be made with obsidian?" He asked before Adala could get a word in edgewise and he felt her gaze. He decided not to look back and merely gave Lord Perrault a friendly smile. Adala was not above stomping on his feet if he got too uppity though, it would probably be a good idea to watch out for that.

[Jasun Vallace]

"A good answer." Jasun told her, with a wink, "But I was wondering if, perhaps, tonight you could spare me a dance?" Lysette had made it clear that she could not spend all night dancing with him and he had to do something while he waited for her after all. "I'm sure you'll have to beat the noblemen off with sticks to get to me of course, but if you could be bothered I would be honored." The girl seemed like good company after all, and he was quite sure she wasn't flirting with him, so she was a safe choice in dance partners.