| Logs |
2014 January 01
| Neverneverwhere |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
| Realms: Taps Logs |
I Came So Far for Beauty
Suraksha is ready with the rest of the group later that night. Fantine clucks to herself the whole time she's making her mistress up to look clueless and countrified, but she understands the importance of it so doesn't outright refuse. Sura's shining midnight hair is pulled tightly back into a long, slightly fluffy braid down her back, and she's wearing a nice shirt that's a little bit too large for her, over a plain skirt and walking boots. The vest she's got on is nice, and clearly belonged to someone very stylish -- about a generation ago. She's tidy and clean... and looks to be exactly the age she looks. Mama Minta looks 'Chana over and declares herself happy.
Suraksha giggles at Fantine's dismay, giving the other woman a hug and sincere thanks once she's done. Rattler looks barely recognizable as himself. With careful applications of wax and paint, he has been made to look like a man that had a less-than-ideal run-in with some large animal. He's also wearing a wig that makes him look rather older than normal, but the gray looks more worn-out than dignified. Sura giggles again at Rattler, then twirls cheerfully for the group, "How's this? Do I look about 15 or so?" Her body language is younger as well; she knows its importance in being convincing, after all. She adds confidingly, in the tones of the innocent, "I'm good with sums, after all!" then laughs again.
Rattler smirks and says, "You look young enough to make me feel like a dirty ol' man, sugar." Suraksha laughs delightedly, giving Rattler a kiss on the cheek! Soon after, the Sokoloffs are gathered up with 'Chana and Rattler, and they all troop off for the mayoral mansion, chattering excitedly. It's a building that 'Chana remembers as a roomy but not pretentious house, that sometimes doubled as the town meeting hall. The young woman has to hide her amused dismay as she looks up at the building, goggling like a tourist -- and privately thinking how much better it looked previously.
They are met at the door by a lovely young woman in a maid's outfit. It's starting to be more than a little creepy how many pretty young things of both genders are around Doris. Suraksha is starting to wonder how Doris imports them all, too! Plus... doesn't the woman worry at all about her husband's interest drifting? Gracious, what is the woman -- a succubus or something?! That thought makes her smile ruefully.
They are shown through the house to a rear garden that is much prettier than the house itself. There is a garden party in progress, though it's getting toward the time that most garden parties would break up. There has been a space obviously set aside for the acrobats, with rugs laid out to create a sort of impromptu performance space.
Rattler is careful to keep his head down and he's walking with a limp that looks very real, possibly because Alexander has put him in mismatched shoes, making one leg an inch shorter than the other. Suraksha will put herself to work with the rest of the non-performers, darting around to lay out the requisite tools, and making sure the rugs won't trip anyone, and that all the performers' costumes are fine. Once Mama Minta gives her the nod, Sura looks around for Doris -- who is approaching by the time 'Chana thinks to look for her. Suraksha beams as she spots the woman, trotting over, "Hello! I think we're ready when you are, ma'am. Let me know when I should introduce, yes?"
Doris looks less-than-pleased, but she isn't the one looking forward to this. The young people surrounding her are between the ages of sixteen and twenty-three -- though that's considered quite old in many circles -- and are clearly looking forward to anything to break the monotony. "Just... whenever. Child, you could look so fetching... why don't you let my maid dress you for the evening?"
Suraksha blinks startledly, backing away a little with her arms crossed protectively in front of herself, "I, you, wh-what?! I can dress myself, thank you!"
Doris laughs almost indulgently, "I see. Well then, whenever you are ready, dear."
Suraksha hastily whirls to head back towards the group, calling nervously over her shoulder, "Okay then I'll introduce now thank you so much ma'am!" She takes a deep breath, then carefully modulates her voice so there's a youthful squeak on the end, "Ladieeeeeez an' genn'lmen! We bring you the one... the only... the fabulous! Flyin' jugglers of Corbett's Caravan!" She's deliberately left off the Sokoloff's surname, after discussing it with the family's matriarch and patriarch. As they put it, they're not sure they want this performance to go down in history under their name! Plus this should help conceal their true ability to some degree.
The announcement gets the attention of the pretty people gathered for the party -- and it especially gets the attention of several younger folk dressed much as Gerald was earlier. They're obviously pages of some sort -- a half-dozen or so, fairly evenly mixed as to gender and all across the spectrum of hair, eye, and skin color. They look much like they have been selected to be not so much a matched set as a complete one. They plop themselves down on smaller rugs that have been put down obviously for just this reason. Other servants hurry about, putting out several rows of chairs for the more adult guests to sit in. Doris herself is sitting on the veranda, able to see things but not too close to the action.
Suraksha finishes her (deliberately) slightly awkward spiel, then bows out of center stage so the Sokoloffs can take over. As she stands on the sidelines, helping out with shifting things when necessary, she finds herself perplexedly eyeing the audience. How on earth did this Doris manage to uncover such a superlative collection of human beauty? -and to what purpose? Could there be some sort of magic involved, perhaps? Rattler is likewise helping out with the shifting about of things. His disguise makes him effectively invisible to Doris -- her eyes slide over him as if he isn't even there. He's too old, too scarred, and apparently crippled -- and thus of no interest to her.
The Sokoloffs manage to scale their performance back from breathtaking skill to competent-but-obviously-second-rate. They can't perform in body-concealing clothes, which means their obvious athleticism is on show. Instead their hair and faces have been dirtied and smudged to make it seem like they have no concept of actual grooming. They didn't bring any of the truly astounding props, of course -- there's no fire and no high wire for the younger Sokoloffs to do feats of balance upon. The audience of children, nonetheless, are laughing and clapping happily as if this is the best thing they've ever seen.
The older young folk clap desultorily when they clap at all; Doris is obviously already bored. Rattler slips up beside Sura and murmurs, some worry in his voice, "Love, these folks... they all look like they've been imported from the Brahmin families."
Suraksha nods absently, then murmurs, "Are you telling me all the Brahmins are this... untouched? Perfect? It's..." she glances at him with a wry smile, "rather eerie!"
Rattler's lips thin, "A lot of them, yes. The young folk are bred like... horses or dogs. There are a lot of, ah... mysterious childhood deaths."
Suraksha stares in perplexity at Rattler, though her voice remains quite low, "Breeding?! What are you saying, lover? What are they breeding for?"
Rattler smirks, his eyes flat, "Well, this for one thing. Beauty. Brains. It's been going on for as long as I remember -- as long as anyone remembers. They've been trying to breed in some Tapping ability, but that's less successful."
Suraksha stares silently at Rattler for a long moment... then glances quietly back at the audience, "Selecting for beauty is easy. How do they select for brains? -and... what is their goal in this... this peculiar design of theirs?"
Rattler's eyes are still flat, "How else? You test them. You watch how they navigate the shark-filled waters of court. It's likely several of those young things out in the audience are pretty enough to be able to marry and have kids, but not quite smart enough. That might be why they're in a backwater like this."
Suraksha shakes her head slowly as she studies them all, "And Doris? Is this punishment, or is she leading expendables to see if she can extend their range?" She frowns thoughtfully as she crosses her arms and taps the fingers of one hand on her forearm, "Also, do they try to pull in new conquests or something? That would explain the acquisitive look I got earlier, if so...?"
Rattler snorts, "Yeah, they do. Like I said, they're being bred like horses. They know the importance of new blood. I haven't quite sussed out what this is all about, thought. It makes me nervous."
Suraksha nods slowly, murmuring, "True... because why Baton Rouge?" The Sokoloffs have just committed one of their pre-arranged fumbles: a human pyramid collapses, making the children giggle and the older members of the audience snicker. Sura sighs thoughtfully -- then does a dramatically dismayed squeak at the collapse, "Oh! Is everyone- are you-?" After they've sorted themselves out, the small woman moves back to the sidelines and continues to quietly watch the audience... and think.
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