Hopeless Wanderer

Antiva was probably Nahreida's personal favourite kingdom, she certainly spent much of her time there. She'd been in Rivain when she got the raven from Julian asking to meet up, visiting her dear friend Eriar. She hadn't been sure if Julian was going to get in touch with her after their first meeting when they'd been introduced by Keenan, a friend of Julian's and customer of Nahreida's. Well, friend wasn't perhaps the right word, she knew the connection was through the Crows, so she wasn't actually sure whether or not friend would be an apt description or not, perhaps they were just comrades or allies, or whatever it was, it was hardly her concern.

Finding the little out-of-the-way tavern hadn't been hard, in fact she'd actually tattooed the owner there a year earlier. She ended up getting there rather early, so she took several minutes catching up with the owner/bartender. His third kid had been born since she'd seen him last, and the gout was bothering him again. She wasn't actually sure what gout was, but then there were a lot of human diseases she wasn't familiar with. After all, she'd only been awake for three years or so, there was a lot of catching up to do in the couple of thousand years or so she'd been asleep.

Finally she made her way to an empty table where she could be seen from the door. Her hair was up and her large long bangs covering her forehead where she had four extra eyes and her long sleeve shirt covering the spinnerets on her wrists. For the most part she didn't care what humans thought of her, or even other elves for that matter, but she did find it generally easier if she kept her differences as covered as possible. She ordered an earl grey tea with cream and waited.

Julian made his way out toward the tavern for the meeting with Nahreida. The mutual person that made contact with them was Keenan. Keenan and himself had dealings with crow business. Nothing that would ideally give away Julian but enough to know a Talon needed a crow for things. Earlier in the week, Julian had sent a raven to Nahredia. Julian wanted to seek out a magical tattoo that he had heard Nahreida was known for. Potential maybe even do some sort of enhancement with it. The first meeting was more small talk but something about her intrigued him. He was someone who was always fascinated by things that others may look away. He dreamed of riding dragons as a kid. Taming magical creatures was another fun dream he had. Julian would never look away in fear but be inspired by the fascinating differences in other beings. He wore articles of dark clothing alongside a black hood cloak. His face was covered as the hood of the cloak blocked his vision of his face as he made his way to the destination. It was easy to find coverage for his absence. He was off tutoring with his tutor, which was a half-truth. His tutoring session was much later in the evening. 

The distance wasn't an issue. Walking and taking small shortcuts through the shadows was something Julian was known to do. He arrived right on time, not late but not early. As he entered the tavern, Julian's body tensed slightly as he took a glance at every single person in the tavern. Eyeing those who looked sketchy, those who were drinking and eating. Seeing Nahreida, he calmly approached her. He sat next to her in the open seat. "Good afternoon....looking lovely as always...." 

Nahreida smiled when the familiar entered the tavern and made its way to the table where she was sitting. As Julian sat down, the barman came over with her earl grey tea and set it next to her. She grinned a bit when he complimented her, it wasn't exactly something she was accustomed to, sure not everyone was completely freaked out by her 'extras', but it usually didn't result in such pleasant compliments.

Well, aren't you the charmer, you're looking well yourself. How's Keenan? I haven't spoken to him since he introduced us, not that we speak often but I am fond of the boy. She didn't mean anything by calling Keenan a boy, but being as old as she was, everyone seemed quite young to her. Sorry I wasn't able to meet until today, I was in Rivain when I got your message, visiting a friend. Eriar didn't get out much, so Nahreida made it a point to visit her any time she was in the area.

Julian smiled in response to Nahreida's comment toward him. His attention then went to the bartender who had brought her tea. Calming he adjusted his posture and locked eyes with the barman. "I'll have what she is having." His eyes lingered on the barman for a few seconds before returning his gaze back to Nahreida. 

"Keenan? Oh, he's been quite the busy bee as of late. I actually miss him myself. I'm jealous he doesn't spend much time with me anymore. I'm due to see him soon, I'll mention you miss him." Julian's sudden smile faded as he thought about Keenan. He was rather fun to be around, well when they worked together. And he was quite good to look at he thought to himself. His sad face melted away as his eye looked back at Nahreida with a smile. "No worries. I know your busy. I'm just glad you made the time to see me. I appreciate your time. Friend? Was it a friendly visit?" He watched Nahreida's body movements. Analyzing her in a way of admiration. He knew what she was and it didn't scare him. He was fascinated ber the knowledge she knew. 

Nahreida nodded as Julian spoke about Keenan, but was glad he was well. She imagined that wasn't always the case in the line of work the boys were in. She took blew on her tea slightly, then took a sip. It was still a bit too hot but not unbearably so. She tipped her head slightly to the left when he inquired about her friend and what sort of visit it had been, then shrugged.

She's a dear friend that goes back before my people went to sleep. She doesn't get out much, she's like me you see except where I can hide most of my uh, differences, she can't and people can be quite cruel about it. Nahreida wasn't sure what she'd have done if she'd had massive wings, horns and a tail, there wasn't a single thing about Eriar that could be hidden by something and although Nahreida wasn't ashamed of her differences, she did like being able to cover them up when she wanted, though having her bangs hide her extra eyes was sometimes an annoyance. It's a shame really, she's an amazingly talented seer but also a hermit, she'd make so much more money if she lived in town.

"I never understood, why people can be so cruel to people that are different. It's upsetting really. But thinking about it....hate will never go away. It will always linger and plague the people of this world." *Julian frowned thinking about the way people acted toward things they didn't quite understand. The barkeep brought back his tea. Julian smiled with a nod and slipped him a few pieces of coin. Julian drew his attention back to Nahreida. "If she is anything like you, I'm quite sure I'd get along with no problem....a seer you say?" Julian's eyebrows peaked with interest. He was always intrigued by magic and any time he spent with Nahreida he wanted to know more about her. 

"Well, maybe soon you can introduce me to her. I'd love to meet....which reminds me...the whole reason we're talking...I was wondering if you had the time for a tattoo. One of your special tattoos...Of course, payment can be discussed..." Julian smiled as he took his cup of tea and sipped the warm liquid. 

Nahreida nodded understandingly, it was true about hate, a sad truth but a truth none-the-less. One would think that at least her people would accept them, but even that wasn't always the case. She shrugged a bit when Julian mentioned about if Eriar was anything like Nahreida then he'd probably get along with her no problem.

Yep, a seer, damn good one too. Personality wise we're a bit different, she's not quite as outgoing as me, but she trusts my judgement when it comes to people. Sometimes I wonder if I'd be as outgoing if I couldn't hide my differences, but it's impossible to say for sure. I'll reach out to her first, make sure she's OK with it then we can work out a plan to go meet her. She's in Rivain but it's not far. As he talked about wanting a tattoo she smiled warmly, she did enjoy her work.

Of course, always happy to oblige. Did you have ideas of what you wanted, as far as appearance and enchantments? Obviously there are some things even magic can't do, but I'm generally pretty good about finding a way. As far as enchantments I've done everything from something as simple as a tattoo that changes with the seasons, to something that helps with stealth. She said with a grin, she absolutely adored her work.

"I certainly would love a chance to meet her. Whether it's just an introduction or even some work for her." Julian smiles at the thought of the future meeting of the seer. Being able to talk to a seer is something he would find useful for his own future endeavors. He took another few sips from his tea, the warm liquid had eventually cooled off a bit. As soon as that hot tea became drinkable, Julian would finish the drink in a matter of minutes.

"I have always loved dragons. The stories in books but in also history. I had a thought that maybe along my back, maybe a black dragon breathing some sort of smoke that could maybe change between the seasons but mainly would love the idea of having it sort of help benefit me in being unseen..." Julian's eyes and a smile grew slightly bigger talking about dragons. He was fascinated with them and if it wasn't for his father being head of the third talon name, he find a way to find a dragon. Maybe one day, he will meet one and potentially befriend one. Though people are often scared of such creatures, Julian would embrace them with kindness and love. 

Nahreida nodded in agreement to setting something up for Julian to meet Eriar, she was always pleased when she was able to set up an introduction for Eriar with someone that she knew for sure could be trusted and wouldn't be bias or frightened of her differences.

She nodded as she listened to Julian talk about dragons and what he'd like the tattoo to do, dragons were a common tattoo request and she couldn't really blame them, they were pretty cool, as long as she never had to face one in person. She'd actually done one dragon tattoo for someone that changed positions on the body.

Dragons make for great tats! I'd never want to meet one in person, but I do love drawing them! As far as being unseen, there's a few ways I can go about it with enchantments. There's the chameleon enchantment, basically blends you in with whatever you're standing in front of. Then there's the light refraction one where it sort of bends light around you so it makes you appear unseen but really it's just a trick on the eyes. There's also one that allows you to disappear into the shadows, but for that there has to be shadows already there. She explained a few, though there were probably more ways she could do it, but these three were the best.

"That is where we differ... I'd love to meet a dragon one day. To be able to just witness the beauty of such a creature. To be bonded with such a creature would be something....though those are just stories..." Julian spoke excited to talk about the topic but soon the excitement faded as the dream would soon be unrealistic to reality. Snapping out of his dream, his body relaxed as he nodded to Nahreida.

"You are wonderful...you know that. You have such talent....all three sound like viable options...which would you suggest? Technically I think I might be leaning toward the Chameleon enchantment. I'd imagine, on my back would be a good option.....for your time and skill....we should also talk about payment...." 

She certainly wasn't surprised that he wanted to meet a dragon one day, for one he just seemed like the sort but for two there were actually quite a few people out there that would love to meet and/or fight dragons. She'd tattooed plenty of them. She blushed slightly at his kind words and then nodded at the enchantment option he chose.

Yes yes, quite the charmer you are! That's sweet of you to say! She paused and did some calculations in her head. The chameleon enchantment is definitely one of the popular ones. Now base pay for a dragon tattoo is three-hundred andris. For the magic in making the dragon blow smoke based on the seasons, that's another one-hundred andris. Now obviously the chameleon enchantment is the priciest, it's an additional three-hundred andris, but I also throw in a life time of touch ups for free. She always strove to make keep her paying customers happy because happy paying customers were more likely to give her good word of mouth advertising, and since she'd only been awake for three years, she needed all the word of mouth she could get.

Julian didn't leave Naherida's site. He nodded as she began to talk about the prices of such work. It was a bit of change but something he could do. It's not like he didn't come from a wealthy family. His family's coffers were pretty full due to both his parent's line of work. He didn't come with that much on him but he reached out into his cloak and took out a coin purse filled with andris coins.

"Seems worth it. That should be roughly half of what your asking. I can give you the remaining, after completion if that is okay. Chameleon enhancement, alongside the season's smoke." The coin purse was gripped in Julian's hand as he discretely handed it to Nahreida. A moment of silence filled the air as he took on the quote of the price. He enjoyed having conversations with Nahreida. Having friendships and allies was needed if his plans for the future were to hold up. 

 "How is work going for you? Any difficulties causing issues? I know the blight has been causing problems in other areas around Thedas. Not sure if it's impacted your own work."

Nahreida smiled warmly and nodded her head, she expected to be paid half up front and half upon completion, especially since the enchantments could sometimes be tricky. Not that she failed at them, but there were a few occasions where things hadn't gone as expected and she'd needed to split a tattoo up into two sessions instead of just the one. She took the offered money and slipped it into her own coin purse had been tucked inside her satchel.

Perfect, I would expect nothing less. I will warn you, sometimes it ends up taking two sessions, but it really depends on if the enchantments go smoothly and what sort of pain tolerance you have coupled with where on your body you want it. Some places hurt worse than others, like the sensitive skin under your arm up by your shoulder and any spot where the bone is easier to feel like on your knee cap or fingers. She tipped her head to the left and she thought about how business had been.

I was in Ferelden for the King's betrothal celebrations, I got a few clients out of that, but yea Ferelden and Orlais dealing with blights makes those kingdoms a bit rougher, but I mainly stay around Antiva and Rivain.

His smile didn't leave his site. Pain was not going to be an issue for him. After what his mentor put him through when teaching him blood magic, most pains he tolerated. His mentor had a certain way of teaching him. A unique method that may or may not be ethical he thought to himself. Taking what is left from his cup, he drank the last remnants of his drink. [color=#c10300]"That shouldn't be an issue for me. I have a high pain tolerance that I developed over the last few years...."[/color] The tricky part about all of this was the coordination. He knew he could make it work regardless but his father could call on him at any notice. [color=#c10300]"Location shouldn't be a problem...but closer would be ideal...Antiva and Rivain I could work with...when would it be a good time to schedule this appointment?" [/color]

He nodded in agreement about the Blight. The blight has been a problem and potentially getting worse in the kingdoms of Ferelden and Orlais. He even got attacked on the road with his brother earlier. Traveling alone is ideal for Julian as he could easily pass through the shadows. [color=#c10300]"The blight has been getting worse. It's only a matter of time before it overruns Ferelden and Orlais." [/color]

Nahreida nodded as Julian spoke and smiled warmly, she really enjoyed her work, getting to know new people and creating art on their bodies. It was probably what kept her going from being too overwhelmed with the state of the world since she woke up. Not that things had been perfect when she and the others had gone to sleep, but it was just, different and sometimes overwhelmingly so.

Well, I don't have any appointments scheduled for the next couple of weeks so I can do it any day you want really, and if you need something further out I can always rearrange my travel plans. I mean, I'll still be in Antiva in two weeks, just I'll be in Arlathan. Nahreida often wondered what the Antivans thought of Arlathan, an elf run city in Antivan territory, it had yet to come up in any conversation that she'd had with one. It was her city, where she'd been sleeping before the veil had been taken down three years earlier. It felt strange to think a whole three years had passed, when it felt like mere months.