Afternoon Promenade...in Pants {Open}

[Isadora de Lunette]

Early Afternoon, Third Cycle of Melora, Spring

Isadora had decided one thing of the course of action she had opted to take: She needed to become accustomed to it. She needed to meld it with who she was. It had to be a part of her or all of it, the clothes, the sword, all of it would merely prove to be a waste. Of money. Of time. She couldn't afford her father discovering what she'd chosen to do until she was ready for the truth to be uncovered. She couldn't afford the humiliation...for herself, her family.

So what was there to be done?

Dressed in the clothing she had purchased--black trousers drifting over cuffed, black boots, a white shirt, loosely draped around her bandaged breasts and tucked into her pants, a gray vest worn open, and a gray cap secured over her hair--Isadora had taken to the streets of Daltina. The Royal Concourse. She might as well face down the scrutiny. Grow accustomed to her peers staring at her.

Would it fool them?

She belted the sword at her hip, the final touch to her attire, and stared at herself in the mirror. A fool. She looked the fool. She tugged at the trousers, wondering how men wore them so regularly. Did they not find the things confining? Still, she could admit that they did allow her body a certain freedom that had not been present previously.

Nonetheless, she was ready. Or as ready as she would be.

Anastasie had gone out that brightening and would be gone a majority of the brightening, leaving Isadora the time she needed to win free from the townhouse without notice and hopefully--hopefully--returning with ease. Sooner or later Anastasie would find out. Dora could only pray that it was later...not sooner.

Her gait was stiff, awkward, as she walked down the Concourse, trying to diminish her feminine mannerisms, gestures and movements that had been etched into her upbringing from the time she was a small girl. It was difficult and at times she felt she overcompensated and drew strange looks because of it. Finding a medium would take time...and thus the practice.

And thus she walked the concourse, a woman dressed as a man...or a lad barely in throes of his manhood with no fuzz on his cheeks, looking somewhat of a fool for the strange pace that she set herself. Self-conscious. Awkward. All of it etched in every movement no matter how minor.

[William Forrester]

Yet another brightening and more of the same nonsense. Things needed to pick up soon or he was going to go insane here. There was far too many thoughts, most of them troubling, that were going through his mind that he really thought he was losing it. He had become more hostile towards everyone and had taken steps of violence and aggression that had nearly cost him his long run of playing by limited rules. He had nearly broken the threshold of going over the edge. He knew it was only in due time that he took that step over the line.

Walking down the Royal Concourse, as he usually did every brightening for it was the main path between his home and Josephine's school, William found it the best place to study people. However, this pasttime only added to his dementia. Though, at times it did bring a smile for there were far too many fools who walked these streets and far too many beautiful women. Not looking at the person as they passed him for they were of no interest William smelled a scent not expected. It was as the person walked by that he noticed that the person that had drawn the scent was a man? A man with a sword that smelled like a woman? Maybe he had just gotten lucky, but for some odd reason William didn't buy it.

Pulling himself from the wall he waited, to give some space, before he would follow. Many of the man's mannerisms were of interest to him.

[Isadora de Lunette]

Isadora had taken note of William. It was hard not to, not when she was trying her best to be discreet and man-like and fool those who knew her. And William knew her, though she wished otherwise; the man was frightening in his violence, his anger...anger she had not thought she'd deserved at all. So she had caught a glimpse of him and thankfully he seemed not to notice her at all.

Her. Him. Theodore Toussaint. It was the name she kept repeating over and over in her head. Theodore Toussaint, a distant cousin of Isadora's from Jaedaxia, which would explain their similarity of appearance. Not that Isadora did not see herself as looking anything but female; how could she fool those who knew her?

She released a gust of breath she had not realized she held as she swept past him. Swept. The gesture was too feminine and she bit her lip as she realized it. She tried to mimic the movements of a man...movements she placed with a man, whether or not they were right; she did not watch people as William did and rarely picked up on the small movements that were so decidedly male. She hooked her thumbs on the belt that looped loosely about her waist, the backsword bumping against her hip. It was a distracting sensation and every now and again she paused to adjust its fit, clearly uncomfortable and new to its presence. This woman...man...whoever...was clearly new to the fit of a sword.

With no inkling that she was being followed, Isadora--Theodore--smiled nervously at a gaggle of women that seemed to be staring at her. Him. They giggled, their fans fluttering in the beginnings of a late spring warmth. The fans were more decoration than anything for the air was far from the heat that might require them for comfort. Isadora could feel herself flushing, her stomach a riot of butterflies. They seemed fooled and yet far from feeling confident by the reassurance, she grabbed the tip of her hair, dipping it slightly as if in greeting, and hurried past them. She wasn't ready to try her costume's authenticity in face-to-face confrontation. Not yet.

[William Forrester]

William found it very difficult for him to hide his humor in this all, this was a woman hiding herself as a man, he knew it. He did not doubt his suspicions at all for her scent remained on his mind, a delightful smell. But, besides just that there were many things to find humorous for it did not take a genius to know that the person was acting, and very badly. The person's mannerisms were so odd that anyone watching this person who had any sense had to know something was odd. But, if they did not catch the scent surely they could be fooled, William had been fooled at first as well.

Finding further humor in the difficulty the person had dealing with the sword at her side, he decided to refer to her from now on. She was a woman indeed. With each pause she took the fix the sheathed sword at her side, sheathed sword that was certainly bothering her as it bumped into her side, William paused as well to look around at people who may be watching or taking notice of either of them. When she finally moved again with no more pause William followed slowly and with caution, he did not want to be followed again as he had been cycles ago by that odd character.

Noticing the gaggle of women that she had seemed to notice looking at her as well, William smiled as they giggled and waved their fans to cool themselves, not like it was that hot, but it was surely to hide any blush. It was the first time that William stopped watching the disguised woman for he was as interested in the women as they seemed to be about her. Eventually as he grew closer he noticed the eyes wandering off of the woman who seemed to pick up step as she passed and the eyes of the group following on him. Always one to enjoy the affection from women regarding his beauty, as beautiful as a man could be while still being regarded as a man, William returned the smiles and raising his hand to his lips he blew a playful kiss their way.

If only he wasn't interesting in finding out who this disguised woman was, he would have not hesitated introducing himself to the fine quality of easy skirt he knew he could have. Or, so he thought it would be that easy, most of the time it was, but there were those many who were a challenge as well. And then there were another kind, the thought of Isadora brought a smirk to his lips as he turned off and followed the disguised woman again. Looking back though once more he saw the flirty smiles and waves, as well as pouts once they realized he wasn't coming over to them.

Now, where was this person going? And, when could he finally get the chance to expose this fraud?

[Isadora de Lunette]

The more she walked the more conscious she became of the eyes upon her. Whether or not people were actually looking--and it was quite possible they were not and it was all a simple figment of her imagination--she couldn't be certain, for she fixed her eyes ahead of her and kept her head slightly ducked. She was wary, very wary, of meeting others' stares...and perhaps this simply made her a focus of attention for she did not parade around as the other nobles did and her clothing were of lesser quality...and it was obvious.

She tried to remain conscious of Theodore Toussaint. She had thought of a name, his relation to her and why he might be appearing from her household, but that was it. She hadn't thought about what sort of man he was. The quiet type, certainly. Shy. Reserved. Not at all the social sort. Keeps to himself. That was Theodore Toussaint. He'd be odd, no doubt of that, what with she being Theodore and having no real knowledge of men--it had to be obvious, wasn't it?

But it was one thing to think of what a man was like and then act that way. She'd never been the shy type. She wasn't accustomed to being awkward. But it was easy, wasn't it, when the gender you were playing at wasn't truly your own. Yes, very easy to be awkward and self-conscious. Shy.

She was thankful when she came upon the menagerie, open to the public and an easy escape from the many prying eyes on the concourse. Not that the menagerie didn't have its own eyes, for here the nobles walked as well, but the traffic here was smaller and people would, hopefully, be more focused on the wild life rather than herself.

She paid the entry fee and started down the stone pathway that eventually did diverge, the signs marking the different ways to particular animals. She paused at this sign, completely oblivious to the fact that William had been following her this whole time, trying to determine which way she wished to go. Which way Theodore Toussaint wished to go. By this time she was almost certain she'd given herself away more than a dozen times. Her easy movements of the hip were habitual, her gestures so feminine that she caught herself lifting her hand to play with the hair that draped down the back of her neck. Pay attention, she scolded herself and returned to the stiff, awkward stance that didn't quite feel right.

In the end she decided to visit the foxes and walked the length of the cobbled path until she reached the fenced enclosure. She could make out the fluffy tail of a fox in the near distance, the white tip disappearing through a hollowed log and leaving her scowling slightly, eyes straining to get a better view of what she'd just missed. She leaned her forearms against the railing and relaxed, taking a breather from the pressures of her costume. Silly costume. She was starting to wish she hadn't done this. It had been a foolhardy decision hardly thought through at all.

She shook her head and focused, trying her best to stand correctly. Silly or not, she had made this decision. If she revealed herself now she might as well hang herself.

The fox reemerged from the log accompanied by a second fox. She watched with a smile as the pair ran playfully about the enclosure.

[William Forrester]

Still he followed for what seemed for far too long to get absolutely nowhere, well that was until he saw her heading for the menagerie. She was dressed as a man so she could come see animals running about? Well that made absolutely no sense.

As she walked and paid for entrance William hung his head for a moment, he definately did not want to pay the fee. However, he did want to follow and bother her. So, he coughed it up, the idea of getting a paying job was not even a thought, but his father had cut him off. Bastard. Seeing her walk off a pretty good distance away he followed, but was in no real hurry to catch up. Maybe she was here to meet someone? No, for some reason that didn't make sense to him, maybe she just wanted to really see some animals. Oh how sad. What he did get to watch only made him laugh some more, she had tried so hard to appear to be a man, but she was swaying her hips way too much and her hand went to her hair again and again. And, despite the outfit, he could tell she had a very nice, tight body. That made the pursuit all the more worthwhile.

Raising his hand to his hair he ran his hand through it and scratched the back of his head for a moment as he was not too sure how he wanted to play this. There were so many options, but he wanted to pick the best option, to truly leave an effect on her. The fact she was dressed like a man, really made him believe she had to be a noble. No commoner would dress like the opposite sex, right? If she was a noble being dressed as a man was not very becoming of a noble, he knew he had some serious leverage. The sword at her side gave him all the more leverage. All he had to do was say a few things and she would be in such serious trouble. What father would want a daughter they were to marry off down the road playing with swords and dressing like a man? Easy answer to such a very odd question.

Watching as she stopped to watch a pair of foxes, first only one, but then a second came running out chasing the other. Perfect, that was such a good entrance possibility.

Let the fun begin.

Walking up behind her he smiled, "Nature speaks so true about us humans, everything they do relates to our lives so well. A fox is cunning, sneaky, deceptive, it needs to be for unlike its larger cousin the wolf it hunts alone."

Walking up alongside her at this point he did not turn to look at her, instead he kept his eyes focused directly on the animals still running about. He continued then as well.

"Thus, the fox is always in danger and must blend in with its surroundings for its very own survival. And, it loves to be chased and chase its goal, never taking its eyes off the prize."

[Isadora de Lunette]

Isadora had been well tutored not to allow surprise to show in her body language or upon her face. It is not becoming of a lady--or any noble at all--to show when they have allowed someone else to get the better of them. You must always keep your composure, regardless of the circumstances, her mother had instructed her. Her mother had never thought her daughter would parade around as a man and how on Telath did that woman expect her to react in this situation?

Surprise was more than evident in her body language as his voice alerted her to his presence. But she grew tense and did not whirl around, her heart pounding and her mind racing with the panic. She knew that voice. The last time she had heard it she'd been terrified. He'd touched her. She'd slapped him. This was not going to go well. Not at all.

Drawing in a deep breath, Isadora fixed her eyes on the fox enclosure. Fixed them, but didn't particularly see anything. The foxs frolicked and all she saw were rocks, hazy rocks. She barely saw those either. She, instead, worried over the presence of the new fox. Sneaky, cunning, deceptive. William Forrester. Trouble.

She didn't trust herself to talk just then. To talk would have been to give herself away. But did she expect the disguise to work now? Had he already seen through it? Was that why he had followed her? He knew something. He had to have known something. William seldom seemed to do anything that didn't serve for his own cruel amusement. This would amuse him. She didn't doubt he'd try to gain the upperhand because of it as well. What a poor way for her charade to end.

"So. Are you a fox, William? Have you somehow found your prize?" Her voice cracked as she spoke and reluctantly she turned to stare at him, her chin lifting so that her eyes could meet him. There was a defiance in her eyes, her mouth hard-set. That stare dared him to say it. Dared him to mock her, to threaten her. She knew it was all there for he was cruel and that cruelty seemed to lurk constantly, waiting to be sprung.

[William Forrester]

William saw her tense immediately as he spoke and as he walked up alongside her he could tell she was really concerned, probably guessing that her disguise had failed her. She was correct in that notion, but he truly did not know who she was. Both looked at the foxes for some time without looking at each other. As she spoke her voice betrayed her, the fact she called him William sealed it as well. Isadora. Oh this was rich. What luck he had. This was going to be even more fun that he first originally thought. He knew Isadora and knew her father quite well, best of all, she knew all this too.

Turning to face her he already found her looking up at him, chin raised as if she were trying to step up to him. He hid his smile as best he could as he saw her eyes looking directly into his. There was anger there and William loved it, but he knew she was waivering in fear as well for the information he had on her. Plus, she knew he wouldn't hesitate to deal with her as he wished. "My dear Isadora, or do you call yourself something else now, sir?" Now William smiled and laughed lightly in his own amusement, surely had their relationship been different she would have laughed as well at his jest. However, that was not possible with the ill will between them.

"You are truly a fine prize, especially since until you spoke I had no idea who you were. It was your scent that gave you away as female, and I must say those pants do not hide the sway of your beautiful hips. You did fool those women back on the Royal Concourse though," he said, a very genuine laugh. He wondered if he was confusing her yet for he had not been the rude, evil prick that he had been on their last meeting on the Royal Concourse. He was that same man, but he wanted to play with her just a bit longer by being nice.

Would she beg him to not tell anyone, especially her father? Or, would he have to pressure her with the possibility that he just might tell? He really wanted to see what she would do.

[Isadora de Lunette]

He laughed at her and Isadora remained the picture of anger and fear, her body tense as if to merge herself with the fear of the deer, taking flight in the presence of a predator. Still, she remained where she was, determined not to let him see that she was fearful. Determined not to show him that she had no inkling he'd been following her, had known her for the woman she'd been struggling to hide. Instead, she stared at him, grasping at the thin layers of reserve that she so carefully constructed around her when in the guise of a woman. The Isadora of the public was not this woman with her emotions visible for everyone to see. Yet it was an Isadora she had such a hard time finding right there and then.

"What I may choose to call myself is no concern of yours for I wish not to hear any name of mine on your mouth," she responded and her tone seemed more familiar. Almost entirely unperturbed. Almost. Not quite. The panic still surged hot inside of her. It would take a little bit before it eased.

She stood silently, knowing that to speak further on his comments would only serve to goad her anger and she was trying desperately to calm. His laughter was not so much confusing as it was grating. He had found her out. William. Of all the people on the Concourse it had been William who had seen through the guise. William who had followed her. Was her luck that poor?

After a moment she shifted, staring at the foxes. "It is, perhaps, too much to ask for you to keep it quiet?" The dryness to her tone signified that she already knew the answer to her question. William was not the generous, quiet type and their previous confrontation suggested that he would do much to see her in some degree of trouble. "No, I suppose it is. Too much to ask. You are not the sort given to generosity or kindness, are you, William?"

[William Forrester]

William was quite amazed that Isadora was standing up to him with such tenacity. However, such acts only made him all the more interested and all the more desiring to play on. He did not like dealing with the weak for they were far too easy. It was the strong ones he liked to break, hence why he had not continued after their encounter on the Royal Concourse. She had appeared weak and there was no desire to play. But, now it was certainly very different.

As she spoke showing her intensity and desire to stand up to him he smirked, but did not reply to it all. He knew she wanted to say more and would have to say something to prevent him from telling anyone about this. He never planned on telling anyone, but he knew he could get out much from the idea that he just might. Facing her as she looked at the foxes William smiled, she was not so bright to be hostile when asking for a favor. "If you are seeking a favor, being all hostile surely isn't the best decision. I highly suggest being much more polite. However, you are correct at least. I do not give kindness and genorisity for free, especially when it is not due." William smiled, the possibilities were endless with what he can get out of this.

"I suggest you begin by telling me why you are dressed like this and why you are armed. Or, just ask what I want..." William crossed his arms, stillfacing her, and waited for her response.

[Mizushin Junzo]

The young lady's passage through the concourse was, unfortunately not as inconspicuous as the thelyri had hoped it would be. He sighed inwardly, wondering what had happened to her supposed training. Perhaps they should have focused on that first before the sword, but that was that. Such a thing was gone and done, and she'd taken her walk. The thelyri had taken time out this afternoon to watch over one of his 'students' and how she would fare.

He did not expect that it would go quite so badly however, and he noticed that she seemed to have been stalled by the presence of a young noble. His eyes narrowed sharply, as memory and words of new friends and acquaintances came together to allow him to recognize who was speaking to her. William, was it? The name came slowly, as he'd yet to deal with the young Forrester. But fate it seemed had other plans and had drawn this together. Wasting no time, the sea-elf made his way up towards the pair.

His ears managed to catch William's words as he moved slowly closer. The tone and manner of his speech was enough to tell the thelyri that this fellow had caught onto Isadora's disguise. While that in itself might have not been of concern, what little he knew about Forrester did not lead him to think that his actions would be particularly charitable. "My, such uncouth behavior from one of Daltina's finest young men," the teleri spoke in a calm manner as he smoothly stepped up from behind William.

"Toussaint?" The thelyri said simply as he addressed Isadora, using the guise that she'd crafted for herself, as a word of reassurance. He stood now somewhere in between the two, though not blocking either, forming the top of a triangle, so to speak. He turned his attention to William, "You are Mister Forrester, I believe?"

[Isadora de Lunette]

William's speech on hostility left Isadora somewhat tongue-tied. He was lecturing on propriety? He who had grabbed her in the middle of the concourse in a hard and overly familiar manner? He'd been nothing more or less than rude to her in prior run-ins and he deigned to lecture her that honey drew more than vinegar. She might have found it funny were she not utterly humiliated with the turn of events. She was not, however, amused at all. Simply angry.

He waited for her to reply and Dora kept her eyes on the foxes as they laced their way about the enclosure. She was trying to compose herself, to draw on the lessons her mother had started her with since she was a small child. Calm she needed to be. Cool...as if unperturbed by anything around her. Difficult, increasingly difficult, with him staring at her, his mind calcuating whatever cruelties lingered beneath the expecting exterior.

But she was saved from answering as a familiar voice interrupted the run-in.

She turned about, back to the railing, considerably more poised than she'd been moments before; she'd managed to pull together some of her dignity in those moments where William had crushed it. "Master Junzo." The words came out haltingly, but she dipped a respective bow in the manner of a man. It was an awkward bow, but it served for she'd had little time to practice it on her own. She said nothing, mouth tightly shut as she fixed her stare on the thelyri. She didn't want to so much as look at William. The urge to slap him was strong.

[William Forrester]

Awaiting her reply William had not noticed that someone had taken interest in the pair and decided to approach. She did not speak nor even look at him, foolish girl. She had gotten herself in this mess and now she couldn't even attempt to get her way out. What a sad lot his fellow Daltina nobles were, not even did they enjoy being subjects of the Empire far too much, but now they included women dressing as men, and he would not be too surprised if there were some men dressing as women. It was a horrid thought about his fellow nobles, what fools.

As someone spoke from behind him, about him, William turned to see a thelyri approaching the pair. Watching as he passed to come to Isadora's side, and surely her aid as well, William waited for something, still with his arms crossed. The thelyri was no noble, he was certain of that by race alone. He did not think there was a Daltinia noble that was not human, pure human. Did not matter at this point, his assumption of the thelyri's lack of important status was made. Turning his attention solely on the thelryi now William nodded at the question. "You are correct, and who are you...sir?," he said, looking the thelyri up and down, disgusted.

He had interupted their discussion and thus he was an enemy from the start, not like he didn't know the thelyri was here to protect her as well. Only the weak would have such friends, William knew the thelyri was armed and likely highly skilled. It was one of those feelings one got from time to time, and more often for William who read people as a hobby of his. This was not going to go too well in his favor, but he had nothing to worry, he would not back down and he had all the leverage he could ever need against Lady Isadora. Plus, for the insult of having a commoner come to her aid and she retreating behind him, the punishment would be all the more severe.

[Mizushin Junzo]

It would indeed have been ironic if the thelyri had been able to read William's mind, for more than a single reason. He would have found certain points in the young noble's thoughts to have been things he'd agree with, such as the sad state of most nobles. On the other hand, he would've been quite amused with the thoughts of the young Forrester about his pedigree, which was partly true. He was no noble of Daltina. But mind-reading was not among his purviews, though he could do his best to read emotions and feel through things as he could.

The thelyri acknowledged Isadora's greeting with a polite nod, though not quite a smile. He was not feeling quite in the mood for much pleasantries at the moment. He'd heard some things about this Forrester and it was not quite pleasant. "As has been said by our companion here," the thelyri nodded at Isadora, "the name you could call me by is Master Junzo." Though he was certain that William would rankle at calling him a master of any sort, was quite curious to see how the fellow would respond.

"I am curious as to why you would accost someone like this." He made an open handed gesture and continued, "It is most unseeming of a Forrester to do such a thing, quite the example of impropriety, I think. Even I know my social graces."

[William Forrester]

William laughed at the title he had given himself. Who did this thelyri think he was the master of? Surely he had said it simply to get a reaction out of William. He was playing a game that he thought he could win, for one reason or the other, but William only played such games with fellow nobles. "Well Junzo, I am not too surprised that anyone, even a non-noble, could be a master of such a Lady, if that is what she thinks she is anymore." Looking harshly at Isadora he chuckled only briefly showing just how much disrespect he had towards her.

"A noble is to always act like a noble, we are the leaders of Daltina and must act as such. The only social graces we are obligated to show to commoners is strength and leadership, towards nobles, the strong only give respect to those who deserve it. Isadora's father is a man of respect, and her mother is indeed a Lady, as is her sister. But, Lady Isadora, and I use Lady lightly, is weak. Isadora here is a great example of how the Daltina nobles are in shambles."

Having looked back and forth between Isadora and this Junzo character William really felt like leaving at this time. He would have to wait for Isadora to be alone to deal with her, with this character here he could not have real fun with this advantage. However, he remained, though he really wanted this thelyri to go. "I must ask you to go or I will excuse myself, because Isadora and I have much to discuss. Right Isadora? Or, I suppose I could always go visit your father, it has been awhile since I have seen him and would love to discuss issues of Daltina." William hid the humor in it for the moment, he loved playing around with Isadora. He would be her master, she would have no other.