Anyone with eyes could appreciate the way Tethys moved. That was what had attracted Vanessa to her in the first place. She'd never seen a Jehannan dancer. Hell, she'd never seen a dancer at all. But the movements were so different, so new. Being of a somewhat high status, always at Innes' side, Vanessa had seen ballroom dances and waltz, could probably manage a mediocre dance from memory if she truly tried.
And then there was Tethys, sweeping around in the battlefield in twirls and spins as though there wasn't a war around her. Vanessa could never imagine being able to think, or at least seem so carefree during battle. If she did, it would be she or Titania or both plummeting to the earth in a bloody heap. But Tethys somehow remained spotless, never being injured once. Too used to it, she'd explained many times, when asked how she dodged blades and lightning bolts like they were nothing. When you work with mercenaries, you get used to it, apparently. She was a woman of many mysteries who raised many questions.
But they trusted her, and she proved an invaluable support in their battles, seeming to whisk away anyone's exhaustion with mere flicks of her hips. In the midst of a war, soldiers sought her out like water in a desert.
Tethys was much like the sun, in that sense. Bright, loud and warm. Where she was, there was people. There were regrettably few times where they spoke, as Tethys attracted such crowds and Vanessa found the sound easily overwhelming. So often did she just stand and watch, like a moon in the daytime sky, faint but present.
By the time Vanessa was free, the moon was out and the sun gone. And unlike many others of her group, Tethys didn't seem the night owl type. Or at least, not that Vanessa had seen. Perhaps she watched Tethys too much, but she found it more than difficult to stop. She was enchanting in everything she did. Vanessa first thought she might've been jealous.
But as it turned out, jealously was just admiration. And then as the army grew and formations changed, they were speaking a lot more, and Vanessa was bear witness to the wonderful woman underneath her mysterious image; Brave and persistent and wise. And then to appreciation.
Then to confusion, then to love. And Vanessa didn't know what to do with herself. Even less when it's a few years later, the continent far in its recovery and Syrene slips a poster onto Vanessa's desk.
"I thought you would be interested."
Jostled against her chair, Vanessa gasps softly. Tethys had dreamed of dancing across the entirety of Magvel, and she had apparently granted her own wish. Even better (worse?), she performs in a popular tavern within her very own town, tonight.
"Y-yes, this is great." She replies, careful to keep her voice even and hiding the excitement in her chest. "Are you going too?"
"Mm, I think I'll pass." Syrene smiles. "I'm afraid my duties as a commander still call. I know you can handle yourself."
Can she? Vanessa had almost been hoping Syrene would go with her, so she could pretend she was going just to see the show. To have something to distract her from old feelings returning to life.
Vanessa didn't go out often, didn't often have the time. It's a bit of a shock when the dark of the town at night suddenly turns into a brightly lit room filled with the loud chatter and bustle of its patrons. The few times she had gone, it was only because the other knights had. And more often than not, she was the only one left sober and coherent by the end of it. She was well aware of her poor alcohol tolerance and would much prefer not to embarrass herself among her peers.
That must be why the barmaid gives her a strange look as she takes a seat but doesn't order anything. Against the wall in the corner, safe. She could watch every inch of the room from there. Very rarely did Vanessa feel this out of her element. There's clinking and voices mingling and she wonders if she really should have come. She didn't belong in a place like this, and what did she expect? What does she think will come of these old feelings? Did she really think she could just approach her like this?
Will Tethys even remember her? Recognize her? Oh no, she can't. She can't do this. It would simply to be too awkward, too weird to admit that Vanessa had stepped into an establishment she hadn't seen since her early knighthood with some strange hope of seeing someone who likely didn't even remember her. And that's to no fault of Tethys' own, as Vanessa knows she should've spoken to her more. Knows that her feelings were and still are entirely one-sided and hopeless towards the dancer she sometimes saw in her dreams. That she was painfully average and Tethys was magical and had much more important things nowadays, surely.
Her thigh bumps the table as she stands, deciding that she had to leave and was a moron for even coming here. Yet right as she does, the slow tempo that had melted into the tavern's background is suddenly broken by a fast drumming. And too soon after is a mey and rhaita in the mix and a figure comes twirling out of seemingly nowhere.
It takes Vanessa no time to recognize her. Long scarlet hair is pulled into a braid, falling from a bun and there's gold jewellry rattling as she moves. Tethys isn't wearing the clothes she'd always been seen in, instead a dress split at the legs and cropped beneath her chest, allowing a top accessorized with coins and accents to peak through. A dark purple fabric with accents of a similar color is fitted to her and Vanessa forgets how to breathe.
Silently, she sits back down, and watches as her dancer twists and turns her torso every which way along with the beat of the music. Jehannan, she realizes, Tethys had her own ensemble too? It's a thought for later as Tethys dips, rises back up, one step back, a flick of her hips and a another step forward. A belt of a similar style to her top rustles about low on her waist, and Vanessa's gaze is pulled towards it as her hips draw an invisible eight onto the wooden floor.
A few hops and shakes and she twirls again, facing this side of the bar for the first time. Her eyes scan the crowd her arms stretch outwards to accentuate her movements, and their eyes meet.
Tethys' lids are heavy with a crimson shadow and dark kohl, widening when they made contact, as if they don't believe Vanessa's presence. She can only really manage an equally stunned gaze in return as Tethys' back is turned again. Her shoulder blades flex, she bends backwards and twirls back around again and they're still staring. But her lips colored burgundy widen into a smile and Vanessa's cheeks flare a similar color.
She was smiling at Vanessa, right? Tethys was trained to please crowds, to connect with them. She'd shot smiles and winks at many, after all. But there had to be something different there, if she wasn't imagining it. The thought alone is enough to cement her to her seat.
Tethys slips past the crowd and is weaving through the tables, torso turning and feet lulling her back and forth. She leans in towards patrons or looks them in the eyes as her stomach ripples, and most seem to enjoy it, if not not know what to do with themselves.
Soon enough she's at Vanessa's table, and many eyes turn towards her, but for once she doesn't shrink under them. Tethys doesn't, can't stay long but she feels a soft hand catch her wrist before she moves on, and every cell in her body freezes. A promise. She's definitely not moving now.
And she doesn't need to wait, as the song slows to a snail's pace and Tethys dance turns to a lazy sway of her legs and a slow spin that turns to a bow. The crowd cheers and drowns her own claps but she could care less, because when every donation was placed into a tiny bag Tethys saunters over. Vanessa's mouth is left dry as she hurriedly tries to come up with something, anything to say.
"What a pleasant surprise!" Tethys leans forward onto the table with her hands, beaming down at her. Vanessa swallows.
"I was surprised as well." Managing a small smile, Vanessa keeps her hands neatly on her lap, not knowing what to do with them. "You just happened to be in my town."
"I'm glad you could make it. Mind if I sit?" She asks, Vanessa does her best not to act eager.
Tethys sits beside her, despite the fact that there's a seat across from them and they're struggling to fit both pairs of the legs under the table. Their knees are bumping and Vanessa distracts herself with the approaching barmaid. She says it's her treat, but Tethys insists she has more gold than she needs and shouldn't worry. Vanessa argues that where she's from, she has few uses for so much gold. They settle on splitting it and soon there's a plate of cooked meat between them, each a tankard of ale in hand, and talking becomes much easier.
(And oh, Syrene's right, she did eat so much. She must look like a pig. They've only just begun talking for minutes now and she's taken a majority of this plate without realizing.)
She's nervous, excited but nervous. She wasn't very interesting, nor was her life all that much either. But thankfully, conversation came easy with Tethys, that much hadn't changed. Anytime Vanessa faltered or was wrought wordless, Tethys would continue on with something of her own and ignore any awkward pauses between them. Vanessa was a little jealous, in a way, that she could so easily trample over clumsy moments in socialization knowingly and flawlessly.
She should feel ashamed how many tankards they've filled and emptied. But she could care less, feeling her worries lighten and even more intoxicated with the way Tethys tended to lean forward as she talked. Tethys smells so strongly of good cooking and foreign perfume.
(And Vanessa realizes with shame that she must smell awful, that she probably smells like sweat from patrols. Like horse from tending to Tatiana. She should've bathed before leaving. What was she thinking?!)
Tethys was telling her the outcome of Gerik's mercenaries after it all. Marisa served Joshua as a general, Ewan was still being tutored in Caer Palyn, and she now traveled the continent as an entertainer. When Vanessa asks what Gerik was doing now, she goes silent.
"We don't know." She explains, one hand holding her head and another running a long nail against the surface of the table. "He just up and left, no word of where he went."
Vanessa doesn't press further, though the words come as a surprise. Tethys suddenly looks quite tired, taking a long sip from her own drink. Vanessa speaks next, determined to change the mood of the conversation.
"I'm still really glad to see you again."
"Really?" Tethys says. "Me as well. I wish we'd found more time to speak back then."
"Well, war is like that, I suppose...It's weird to talk about it so care-freely now."
"You're right...But the past is the past, now we focus on the present. Still, I miss plenty of people we met back then."
"Same here." And she did. Where was Lute now, she wondered? She should write to Forde too, though she'd argue whether he deserved it or not.
"I never did get my dance partner." Tethys snorts a laugh. "Think you'd be up for it?"
"Think I could learn?"
"Mm...Maybe. As a knight you're strong enough to have the muscle, but I've never had a chance to observe how graceful you are."
"...You're not seriously considering-."
"No, no. Don't take me too seriously after I have drinks in me."
There's a small bit of silence, but comfortable silence. The musicians from earlier were playing something different, quieter as the hour turned late.
"It's been a long while since I've found time to sit and chat, so perhaps I'm just hungry for company." Tethys takes another sip, empty mug pushed aside. They'd talked for about another hour, and Vanessa's heart still occupied her thoughts, but it seems any confidence she'd had was growing thin. "But I appreciate you letting me take up your night."
"My pleasure." Did Tethys think her presence was a burden? Anything but! "I came out just to see you. I don't normally do this."
"Just for me? You're too kind, Vanessa." Tethys' hand covers Vanessa's and she thinks she might pass out. "I regret not having stayed in contact with you, but I suppose I can fix that now."
"Mm," Vanessa agrees, not wanting or able to say more. "We had more important things to worry about at the war's end...But we can rectify that now, even if my duties keep me busy."
"Then I hope this career of mine is a success, I'll be spending a fortune in messenger birds!"
Confused, Vanessa stares, Tethys continues.
"It's a shame I can only stay in Frelia til tomorrow...But, should you have the time, see me off tomorrow, won't you?"
"Of course…" Of course . Even if she had admitted her feelings, what did she think was going to come of it? Tethys wouldn't stay in Frelia! If she didn't feel like a fool before, she certainly did now.
Tethys turns to the windows near the entrance, it was nearing pitch black. "But for now...Well! I'll always come back here, someday. And you'll keep an eye out for me, won't you?"
The barmaid returns, they make their payment, and Vanessa is walking a stumbling Tethys back to her inn. Frelia's beautiful at night, she realizes. The buildings downtown were side by side and the cobblestone streets illuminated lightly with lanterns. She wishes her feelings could match it, but there's a faint disappointment in her heart, working desperately to archive the feeling of Tethys' arm around hers. And when the dancer departs, waving a goodbye as she enters the building, Vanessa stands and watches before her legs manage to take her back.
In the end, she's spending the night alone, as she always has. But Tethys did say she'd return to Frelia, someday, as was the nature of her job. Maybe when they meet again, it'll be in the daytime, when they can both stay.
The thought's enough to keep her warm through the night.