Low Profile

[Carter de Chevelle]

Carter had learned from a young age that he could never hide from the person he was for long. Even when he dressed plainly – even when he put in the effort to look normal – he never was. The twin prince was never shy of the family he had come from or the life he was destined to lead, but it got tedious at times. It was the same thing over and over again.

Everyone in the streets might have been beneath him, but they were still of their own interests. They carried a little more life than those shoved in the palaces and castles. It mightn’t have felt particularly nice to walk among the people – Goldcrest people, as they were – but he was still willing to do it.

On that particular night, he found himself at the Lazy Drake. Pushing the door open, he let his blue eyes scan the people who had followed the desire to drink, in peace or not. But nothing outwardly stole his interest. Not right away. He settled himself in a chair at the corner of the room, steely eyes peering at anyone who dared try to take the one beside him. He would choose who he spoke to, whether it took all the time in the world or a few short minutes. He’d know what he was looking for when he saw it.

[Luxanna Viera]

The thing Luxanna loved the most about working at the inn, was the people that came by; they always had the most wonderful stories to tell. She could spend entire evenings listening to them. It was the closest thing to an adventure of her own that she'd ever get. She wasn't remorseful, though. She envied them, sure, but she always knew exactly where she and her family stood.

This night was no different. Technically, she had the night off, but she spent it down by the bar area regardless. She felt a finger tap at her shoulder; her father asked if she could bring out some drinks. 

Some fellow had ordered drinks for the entire crowd and well, considering the amount of people, that was a lot of drinks. The brunette nodded and accepted the plate filled with cups.

She handed them out one and one until she reached a table with a person she couldn't remember ever seeing here before. "Want a drink?" she asked the man, her head tilting curiously. Newcomers weren't a new thing, though they generally didn't keep to themselves the way this one did. "Don't worry," she continued. "The gentleman over there has paid for it," she added and gestured towards a table where a couple of older men sat. "I think he's celebrating his wife giving birth to a son."

[Carter de Chevelle]

Attention was immediately drawn when he was offered a drink. Carter glanced up at the person who offered, and his dark eyebrows rose as she offered a story in tandem. He wondered if it looked as if he cared for a reason, or if he truly looked like he couldn't afford a drink or two.

The corner of his mouth dragged upwards; it meant blending in wasn't as hard as he thought.

"A son is a very great gift." Carter admitted, leaning forward in his seat as he extended a hand. He supposed he could use at least one drink; "His first I'd guess, given the celebration."

[Luxanna Viera]

"A child is a very great gift," she subtly corrected him with a smile. She looked over at the man who had spend greater portions of the night celebrating the birth of his son; Luxanna was well aware of how the different genders played their parts and she supposed that much like most other people, she had come to accept it.

"I think his wife and him have been trying for years; They've got four daughters and all the boys have been miscarriages or." she paused, turning her green eyes towards the stranger once more.

She offered him a shrug.

[Carter de Chevelle]

A scrutinising glance was thrown in her direction at the correction. Either she was playing stupid or she was genuinely naive to the importance of men in families. It wasn't an equal concept, but it was the world they lived in.

Pursed lips carried little importance as he idly sipped from the drink she had offered to him.

It was sad, but most stories down this way were.

"How do you know so much about them?" He asked. The assumption had to be that she knew them personally. He hoped there was a better story to it than that.

[Luxanna Viera]

The brunette smiled. "He comes in here a few days every week," she began as she offered the man her attention once more. "He has a loud mouth." Her smile grew. The man enjoyed bragging about his tales, so missing out on them was a rather difficult task.

"As for the rest..." She shrugged lightly; there wasn't much to say. "Your ears grow big when working at a place like this." It was a simple and honest truth, really. Even if you didn't want to listen in, it was hard not to when there was chatter all around you.

"Knowledge gets you further than a sword does around here."

[Carter de Chevelle]

Things were easy to piece together when information was just handed out as it was. Perhaps that was the strength of working in a place like this.

When she expressed that words were greater than swords, Carter even looked impressed as he stared at her. He might have been a genius with a sword, but she had a variety of skills outside of that strength. And often they weighed far heavier.

Carter glanced to the individual in question. To the smile he wore and how enveloped he was in the company he had. He tilted his head to the side slightly; "Four daughters, one son, and he spends his money and time here three nights a week."

[Luxanna Viera]

The man seemed to study the group of people and Luxanna couldn't help but take the moment to study him. His hair was blonde, almost white. His eyes were blue, but held a kind of deep wisdom to them. There was more to him than he let on, she figured. Then again, the same could be said about most people.

The brunette chuckled softly before offering the young man a shrug accompanied with a smirk. "Well, I never said he was a smart man," she pointed out.

"I'm hardly in a position to judge either. His lack of restraint is what brings my family food on the table."

[Carter de Chevelle]

Intrigue caught Carter like a kind of plague; now that he had someone to speak to, he felt interest. Like he might sit and listen to the variety of stories she could give him for as long as she felt the need or desire to. Better, she seemed to have a greater understanding of the hierarchy of this world. Importance versus interest. Personal gain against another's loss. It was necessary.

"And the first son - youngest to many women - will always have to live with the fact that though he is the family babe, he is the most important."

"I wonder how long it might take him to follow his father's footsteps. Repetitive natures do so keep the doors open." He agreed finally, raising the drink in her direction. These cycles that existed were just a way of life, and his nonchalant tone at least worked to convey that she wasn't wrong or offensive in her listed priorities.

[Luxanna Viera]

Luxanna had long ago come to realize that despite her own personal opinions, men would always be at the top of the food chain. She didn't have to like it - she just had to understand it - and perhaps, some day take advantage of it. "And he'll have to live with the fact that he'll never be anything better than what he is, right?" she asked curiously.

Luxanna then cast a quick glance towards the man in question; she wondered briefly if ones path were so easily set, just because of ones parents. Then she looked to her own life and decided that perhaps, it was.

At least for her, a woman.

"And yourself?" she asked as she looked at him. "Are you following in yours?"

[Carter de Chevelle]

Pursed lips offered something of an agreeing hum to the last words she offered. It wasn't his place to rightly admit how every person would feel, but such experience reminded Carter that they were all incredibly similar. He could argue for hours over the inflation as drawn by the city, or the world, but it didn't seem like the most inviting conversation for strangers.

Perhaps it was. Perhaps that was the point.

When she asked him a question. Blue eyes glanced to the spare chair nearby; it was hers to take, if she so chose to do so.

And he leaned back in his seat, throwing a thoughtful glance in her direction. "You could say that," Carter admitted. There was no reason to keep it to himself now, "But there are a great many things he has asked for - or ordered - that I have never complied with. Things I never will comply with. At least, I can hold onto that."

[Luxanna Viera]

Her eyes followed his, and she felt the sudden urge to be polite. Perhaps it was his presence or perhaps it was the simple fact that she was supposed to waiter him. That was, after all, her job.

Sitting down, the brunette looked around briefly before settling into her seat. Her green eyes returned to the man and she waited for his response.

The brunette felt the struggle between remaining polite and the curiosity that seemingly coursed through her veins. In the end, the brunette opted for the last. "Like what?" she asked, her attention now fully his.

[Carter de Chevelle]

Carter watched the way she chose to sit. Though he didn't know her name, he had a genuine interest in talking to her. It was a stark cry from the way he had isolated himself when he first walked in. He had hoped someone would catch his interest, but given who he was that was such a rarity. A light buzz and a boring night had all he had been in for until she came along.

She looked invested. And so he allowed himself to reciprocate that feeling, rare as it was to ever see something genuine catch his face.

"Who's to really say I am the oldest?" He asked her instead, tilting his head to the side idly, "That I live under that pressure. I could always be second and dying for that title. Or I could have a sister. I sound concerned; I might have a sister."

[Luxanna Viera]

Her head tilted briefly in confusion. Title? Was he some kind of noble, perhaps? She wasn't about to ask. Truly, it was really none of her business. And that wasn't really what the brunette was curious about.

"But your sister wouldn't have any such claim to the title," she said, her brows furrowing. Women generally didn't, anyways. She supposed it was possible if said woman got married, though she expected the oldest male heir to be higher regardless.

That was the norm, no?

[Carter de Chevelle]

Society was degrading to women on a daily basis. Those with even the slightest hit of power were scrutinised far more intently than the blonde who was allowed to wander the lower streets like he might fit in one day.

"She would always be the first born. Just perhaps not the first that gathers any attention." He explained. Truly, it would be terrible to have the live in the shadow of a younger just because of gender. And it happened all the time, just not to him. He had to be grateful for the fact; it must have been a swirling mix of emotions to try to handle that kind of mess.

"What about you? Siblings?" He asked, tilting his head a fraction, "Is this place to be your legacy, or someone else's?"