Fable - Ask Manners To Teach

[Perrine Urahil]

She heard it all within the past week of her arrival to the Academy; Initiates complaining that an extra class had been added to their schedules so late in the year. Even when it was announced Etiquette classes would not have any exams, it did not make many cheer with joy.

Proctor Urahil did not let these complaints dampen her spirit when her second week of classes came round, and Perrine finally put good use to her budget as Proctor and her influence as a Urahil family member to adorn her classroom to befit an environment similar to the ornate room she took her lessons in growing up. Many would see a noble woman throwing her riches in their face, but her method was to make each and every Initiate see what wealth would look like on the chance they were sent to work with Anirian elite. How embarassing if their eyes were fixated on the crystal chandelier instead of the thinly veiled threats by some of the most powerful in Vel Anir society? They could be privy to stopping the beginnings of an assassination plot if the finery did not take their focus.

"Alright, alright, take your seats now. The sooner we get through this lesson, perhaps I may indulge you all in calling off the class earlier than scheduled." Perrine's smile was pretty, welcoming the class before her as she took place at the head of the room. She was dressed fashionably, hints of colours dedicated to her Great House stood out against the dark shade of greys she had paired with it. Proctor Urahil was unafraid to distance herself from looking like any other Dreadlord of the Fourth Rank.

"Today we are going to brush up on some basics before I get you all to stand up and move to the ballroom." Double doors at the opposite end of the room opened to a dimly lit room, smaller than the hall they had all danced in weeks prior. A long table was set for dinner, meals kept warm with the use of magic, the attendant standing in the shadows and out of sight. "Before some of you grow alarmed, no, it is not another lesson by Proctor Salak. Perhaps after this etiquette lesson, you may succeed in future classes of his." That smile crept on her lips again, eager to get the class started.

"Who can tell me the appropriate beverage to accompany roasted quail, or chicken?" The latter was added as an afterthought, a line cast to appeal to those not used to the cuisine served at the noble family's dinner table.

 

[Ivan Skender]

Ivan trailed behind his colleagues as they were corralled into their new "course". To say he was unhappy about having to attend a lecture on etiquette, of all things, was an understatement. Ever since the Revolution, a couple of years ago, the new Republic had seemingly seen fit to force increasingly ludicrous courses onto the initiates' curriculum, something which had now culminated in a full course of 'teaching a group of trained killers how to eat'.

The most frustrating bit was that, while he certainly had never been fully taught about the finer points of Anirian etiquette, he had already received some basic notions of how to behave in high society from the handful of times he'd been sent on missions close to the nobility. He knew how to dance - even if he did make for a rather dull dance partner - and he knew his way around a dinner table - even if such expertise did not extend much beyond which piece of cutlery to use, and when. All in all, he felt his presence there was nothing short of pointless, something which went a fair way to sour his mood even more.

Annoyed though he may have been however, Ivan was still determined to offer Perrine Urahil a modicum of respect. That was not - unlike what may have been expected - due to her rank. As far as he was concerned a weak proctor was more a target than someone to respect, and while the Urahil blonde was new at the Academy, they all knew she was a forth-level Dreadlord healer teaching etiquette. In short, realistically, how tough could she be?

No, it had not been her status as proctor that had made Ivan decide to behave that evening, but rather her name. Proctor Perrine was a cousin to the Urahil twins, and those two he did respect. Leander Urahil was, after all, a very good friend of his, while Odessa was... well, Odessa.

- "Red wine?" - He asked in response to Proctor Urahil's question, sounding very bored. He took a seat as he spoke. He had no actual idea whether or not that was the right answer, however he did know all those stuck-up, wealthy well-to-doers really loved to brag about their wines.​

 

[Leander Urahil]

“She wants to know what kind of red wine,” Leander said to Ivan as he was sitting right next to him. After the dance, which perhaps should have humbled Leander but didn’t, much to no one’s surprise, Leander had forgiven his friend without having to say anything at all. Clearly it had been Odessa’s fault and what was Ivan to do? Given his circumstance, how could he not go for a woman who could elevate his status?

Odessa had forgotten how to be chaste (in public, in private didn’t matter to Leander) and had, therefore, insulted the Urahil— not Ivan. So without the two boys needing to speak of Leander’s foul mood at the dance, they were back to being friends. Therefore, Leander fully intend to make sure that Ivan wouldn’t struggle in this class.

It had to be why he was even in this class because while the blonde wasn’t Emily Post, he did understand manners much better than a lot of others here. Or maybe it was Felix, pulling strings where he could, to make sure the twins were being watched. It should be expected with Amoux dead. Leander was just glad it was Perri and not Felix himself— or worse, Amell.

“It’s a bit of a trick question though.” Leander continued. “Because she said chicken. Red wine for quail, a Diemut red would work best, but a dry white with lots of oak for chicken, you’d want to get something from Oban then. Don’t get the shit from Dornoch, it’s too cold over there so the wine will linger more in the mouth.”

Was he correct? Leander most definitely acted like he was.

 

[Thraah]

"Extra Carriculum to bump up grades"
What a load of rat piss.
Thraah sat at the back of the class furious with her lot at being packed in with people who actually knew about wine and cheese.
Rich cunts the lot of them.
While they talked about nothing important she busied herself with some wholesome vandalism.
Burning *LEANDER LIKES IT DRY-N-NASTAY!* into the wood of her desk with her finger. It was her way of venting her unbelievable frustration with being there.
she tried to think of one for Ivan as well and landed on *I.S GOT NOB ROT FROM O.U!*
She was very proud of that one. Not that it was true or that she even cared if it was. They were rich snobs. A bit of humbling could only do them good.
slowly she scanned the room for more victims while the smell of woodsmoke wafted about her.

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Perrine stared at the faces of the Initiates grouped in for this class. At least she had a familiar face, but looking at Leander only reminded her of how disastrous some of the Urahil family dinners have gone.

No, this time she was playing host and proper manners and etiquette were to be on the forefront of the Initiates' minds.

"I don't know about tastes but my uncle said a nice white is great with chicken." Piped up an Initiate that Perri will remeber the name of soon.

"Correct." She passed by Thraah's desk and lingered enough to read what she had written. It earned a soft stifled exhalation of the Proctor's nose as a way of substituting the giggle it truly warranted.

Moving onwards, Perrine made her way through the rows of desks.

"It is important to soak in as much of this information in your head so that, one day, you understand a world so few experience. Think of these classes as exposure and intel. The more you understand of etiquette, the better you appear on the job."

Perrine stopped by the desk of the only other Initiate she could recognise, only due to the silvery-white ends of her hair.

"Can you tell us what else etiquette can equip you with, Initiate Quinnick?"

Livia froze, cheeks brightening to a pink shade. "I guess... having understanding and knowledge makes you look more professional? You would be able to notice if something is not right?"

Perrine grinned, already returning to the head of the class.

"I said there was no exam but your final grades will majority come from the Final Dinner. An exercise some Dreadlord friends have accepted in helping me stage a scenario.

There will be two groups, the Security and the Dinner Guests. Security will guard one guest, to keep an eye of things to ensure they make it alive after the five courses have been served."

There was a mixture of responses, but majority came in waves of groans and rolling eyes.

"You think this class means nothing, and I fully understand that... but -- let me finish! -- the scenario is inspired by the infamous Dinner of Death case. Decades ago, a curious cold case... it was only recently solved, but not yet released to the public." Proctor Urahil lazily waved a file in her hand.

"Today, we are solving it."

 

[Ivan Skender]

- "I heard their women are also cold and linger in the mouth." - He replied slyly to Leander. Somewhat politically motivated, his joke stemmed from the point that Dornoch's matriarchal society was a rather curious construct to him. When compared to Vel Anir - where genders were, for the most part, fairly equal - it looked arbitrary and archaic, though what was even more bewildering to him was how the men there were content to let their women rule over them.

Ivan knew for a fact he would never let any girl boss him around.

As he was in-between these musings however, it looked as though Proctor Urahil had started speaking once more, and while he ended up fully missing the first part of the exchange with Livia, he would catch-up for the second part of the monologue.

Much like the vast majority of the initiates, he rolled his eyes at the exercise, while the sudden realisation he was getting graded on this nonsense soured his mood even further. His dismay, however, was soon lifted - even if only slightly - at the prospect of solving a decades-old cold case.

Now that was interesting.

- "The dinner of death, huh? Sounds like the kind of thing you lot had a hand on." - He quipped to Leander. It was ironic that, even though he was referring to the Urahil clan, if half the stories that were told about his own dynasty were true, Ivan wouldn't have been surprised if a Skender had been involved in whatever murders had transpired.​

 

[Leander Urahil]

Leander was about to play further into his remark about the women in Dornoch but Proctor Urahil began speaking. Whether or not she was his cousin, Leander didn’t dare speak. Years at the Academy and their brutal punishments couldn’t so easily be tossed to the wind after two and a half years.

That didn’t mean he listened to everything Perci said. She was talking about matters that he couldn’t much care about and besides, he was going to ace it whether or not he listened. He only knew Perri was done talking when he mentioned the unsavory history of Urahil.

“So what if we did? It was for Vel Anir. It’s still for Vel Anir.” And why would he not have pride in it?

“Can I not be with Thraah?” Was the only thing Leander would ask as he raised his hand.

Thraah Perrine Urahil Ivan Skender

 

[Thraah]

"DITO!"
Thraah said, loud enough for all to hear.
"Blondie smells like desperation and that really messes with my appetite."
She smiled that smile, the one that almost split her head in half and waved her fingers at Leander.
Perhaps a chance to stick it to the rich kids was not so bad.
Even if she had to learn about... Forks or some shit.
"I'd like to be teamed with Liv. Since we're voicing opinions. Or is that only for the money in the class?"
She gave Liv a wink.
Some of the less happy with the class gave a chuckle.

Perrine Urahil Leander Urahil Ivan Skender

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Gods, give me strength... Perri did her best not to argue back to Leander and Thraah, and she knew she would win.

She was here as a professional, and unfortunately had to back down from easy fights. Perrine allowed herself to roll her eyes, shaking her head as a wry smile snuck across her lips.

"Actually, those sitting in the front half of the room will play as stationed Dreadlord guards. The rest will be dining as guests. It is not so much as working together as it is making sure it is you that survives." It was selfish thinking but the reality she had picked up on the missions she had attended not only as a healer. There are situations where it was important you do not become the liability, and that you needed to be the one to take care of yourself before the team. Perri was not asking them to only care for their own well being... but perhaps it would be a learning curve for them from now.

"The perfect pairing for quail would be a nice white wine... although i believe it is entirety depending on whether or not the quail is too rich or not. Tonight? It is prepared liked so, and we will be drinking white wine with the main course." Perri winked at her cousin. "You are still correct, Leander. Glad to see our family dinners do not go unnoticed by you."

She clapped her hands and ushered them to the next room, the candle lights coming to life to show the table set for eight. The room was modelled after any typical private dining room found in most manors and estates, though the art was painted by one individual.

"Thraah, you are going to be seated at the table. Pick your seat." She had caught the Initiate taunting the Quinnick girl, who begrudgingly listened to whatever the fire wielder had to say.

"Quinnick and... you, forgive me, I promise to learn names once I am familiar with you." The Proctor smiled sheepishly at the Initiate she had randomly picked from the crowd. "You are both to take primary watch by these walls. The rest of you must take up a place that will allow you to view the room and other Initiates and the guests at the table."

Perrine took a seat at the head of the table after gesturing for Ivan to take the other end seat. "I sincerely hope no one is a vegetarian." She said to the table, still steaming fresh and hot food laid out across the length of the oak table.

There was a disturbance in the dark, a figure walking forward from an unseen door and carried two bottles to the table. Perrine beamed seeing the maid, as if they were old friends and not employee and employer.

"Oh! Perfect timing! I will have the white wine, thank you, Clementine."

 

[Ivan Skender]

He furrowed his brow bemusedly at Leander's - and Thraah's - sudden outburst. There really were easier ways to get paired together...

Proctors really did not give two shits about who you did or didn't want as a partner, and if anything, he'd wager that something like this would make whoever was presiding over the situation all the more likely to force that particular pairing. In this case though, he was soon surprised as Proctor Urahil seemed to just shrug off the entire scene before moving on as if nothing had happened.

His brow rose again. Kress, what a pushover.

The beginning of a mischievous smirk tucked at the corners of his lips. They all knew how this game was played. A weak Proctor was a target, not someone to be respected, and - as far as Ivan was concerned - he'd made minced meat of prospective Proctors tougher than what Perrine Urahil was showing herself to be. It would have been, indeed, a promising prospect to trash her class - definitely something to raise his standing among his peers - however now, much like before, he put those thoughts to rest for the sake of his friend that was also in the room.

It was then, with this sanguine demeanour, that he started making his way to the table.

- "What's up with you and that chick?" - He quietly asked Leander as he got up. - "You want to screw her? She doesn't seem like your type." - He knew some girls at the Academy fully subscribed to the mantra of 'the more you hit me, the more I like you', but Thraah really did not seem to be the type of girl Leander used to orbit around.

That being said, all that pent-up... anger? despise? sexual tension? - really had to come from somewhere.​

 

[Leander Urahil]

Leander moved to the table, sitting once more beside Ivan. Although perhaps that wasn’t the best idea as that meant he had to answer the questions that Ivan had whispered to him before they had left their originally seats. Leander would have preferred to be a guard but he supposed his cousin figured that everyone at the table would need him and her to understand how to follow the lead of etiquette.

“You seriously think I’d ever go for a girl like that?” He didn’t even need to look at Thraah. “Loud. Obnoxious. She has short stubby legs. Weird haircut. Not my type at all. She obviously has the hots for me.” Leander gave Ivan a look. “I think I’m a little offended you even think I’m into her.” But there was a grin and a nudge of his elbow into Ivan’s bicep.

Thraah Perrine Urahil Ivan Skender

 

[Thraah]

"Horse turds."
Thraah went along with the rest of the class. Then with another grin hip checked an initiate out of the way to sit at the head of the table. Where she put her boots on the table and her hands behind her head.
"Etiquette!"
She said with a most unwholesome wink at Proctor Perrine.

Perrine Urahil Leander Urahil Ivan Skender Livia Quinnick

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Dirt flecked off from the sole of the boots, dusting over the white table linen set out for the lesson. She knew it would take some time for each Initiate to be on board, but Perrine did not have the patience for outright disruption. If this was not the Revolution, Perri would have knocked Thraah's chair back enough to get her nasty boots off the table.

Instead, she plastered a smile on her face and met the fiery Initiate's wink unflinching. "With this class being a mandatory one, it would be terribly awful if the majority of the class were to fail. Your grades do determine who gets the privileges of going on missions, who gets to keep their solitary room, and a myriad of other things..." Perri lightly swirled her wine in her glass and took a measured sip, humming her approval of the bottle Clementine had chosen for the evening. Her maid went around the table, filling the glasses with which wine each Initiate preferred.

"The trial has already begun. If any of the guards had been paying attention, the first clue had been revealed."

She could hear the Initiates by the walls shuffle, possibly making eye contact with the others and silently trying to deduce what on earth the first clue had been. Perri ignored them, going to take two slices of the prepared quail and plate herself a helping before going for the roasted vegetables. "Why don't you tell us about yourself, Thraah?" She had learned the name from her cousin moments ago, and Perri lifted a pale brow at the Initiate that sat at the opposite end of the table from her. "What meal reminds you of home?"

Clementine finished pouring glasses, rounding the table to come stand behind Perri's chair on her left. All eyes were on Proctor Urahil and her maid, watching for another clue.

"And you?" Perrine turned to look at Ivan, full attention on him as her hands went to the set cutlery either side of the hand painted porcelain plate.



Ivan Skender
Leander Urahil
Thraah

 

[Ivan Skender]

- "Oh, I never doubted your tastes, nor your charm, for a second." - He flashed a grin as he felt Leander's elbow nudge his arm. - "Though I thought you'd know better by this point than to have an outburst like that. The uglies always get riled up when you do..." -

As if to drive his point home, he pointed with his chin to the head of the table where Thraah had just hoisted her feet over the table. - "Case in point." -

Though he was undoubtedly sympathetic to Thraah's attempts to derail the etiquette class - indeed, he was even hoping she'd succeed in driving the older Urahil out of the class - he was considerably more interested in the berating the girl would surely get from the Proctor. Unfortunately for him however, it would look as though Perrine Urahil had the strength and demeanour of a wet noodle.

The blonde rolled his eyes, as he raised his glass for the maid to fill with white wine. Such a disappointing teacher. She couldn't even impose order on a classroom.

It was as he collected his full glass that he heard Perrine's voice and, turning around, saw her looking straight at him. Ivan just stared blankly at her for a moment, somewhat bewildered at the question. Where did this woman think she was?

Most of the initiates there had been brought as young children to the Academy, while a fair few - him included - were orphans without any memory of home. While Perrine had undoubtedly just asked the question so as to form a bond with her new students, as far as Ivan was concerned, the ask felt designed to rub his status as a disgraced noble in his face.

- "I grew up here." - He replied dryly. - "And honestly, I'd rather forget every meal I've ever had in this place." -​

 

[Leander Urahil]

Ivan had a point. In truth, Leander had learned a long time that silence held a particular sort of power. He was always more afraid of his father when he was silent, the same went for Felix and Amell. Silence was uncontrollable and indomitable, if one thought about it deeply, it was like the ocean with the ability to make any great man feel small and insignificant.

“Red wine.” Leander asked when it was his turn, letting Ivan and Thrash speak as Perri had asked for their words and not his. Besides, she already had a plenty good idea of meal reminded Leander of home: one full of tension and a scrutinizing gaze that could make a starving man unable to eat.

Thraah Perrine Urahil Ivan Skender

 

[Thraah]

Without a word Thraah removed her boots from the tabletop.
She was all for pushing but she needed to not fail this. Her recent results were fine, just about. She couldn't take the hit.
Ivan spoke and said something she didn't expect. She kinda always assumed, because he hung out with the lesser Blondie, that he was from comfortable living. High castle folk, like Maseno and Liv.
It didn't occur to her that she would have anything someone like him didn't.
And she was going to try and spit in his dinner...
She abandoned that idea when she heard him. It occured to her to play it cool then. She was asked a question and she was certain that no wine in the world ever went with coddle. Sausage stew was not exactly high brow food.
"My Dad makes coddle on holy days. It's really good."
She blurted, unable to stop herself l. Maybe she wanted to try and defeat any tension before it started.

Perrine Urahil Leander Urahil Ivan Skender Livia Quinnick

 

[Perrine Urahil]

Despite the bite to his words, Perrine smiled at Ivan's answer. Even Thraah earned herself a grin from the Proctor as she took some time before continuing the conversation.

"It is rather interesting how a meal can be changed in our lives. Consistency is key. If someone else were to make the dish differently, it will only disappoint you that there is that change in flavour profile. Wine pairing is an art I believe all to know. If done correctly, you could hide poison or something like the sort. It's how I got my father to take his draught every night when he was unwell." Before she attempted to heal the mind. She had only tried with her father, not telling many of her goals. Not until she knew she had success.

"You know, Thraah, I had coddle once on a mission. It was so cold that day that this family offered us a bowl to share and... I honestly think it warmed even my steel of a heart that comes with being a Urahil." Here, she cut a glance at Leander and smirked. It was usual antics from her to say such things of their family at the dinner table. "Nevertheless, that bowl of coddle did me right for two days after without food."

The Initiates standing guard all began to relax some as Perrine directed the conversation to something so casual. Only Livia and the other Initiate closest to the table kept their eyes on those sitting, talking, and watched every movement. Perrine used her peripherals to note where each Initiate had chosen to take up post, a loose plan forming in her mind.


Ivan Skender
Leander Urahil
Thraah

 

[Ivan Skender]

"Bitch."

That smile, the awkward silence, and the vague, smug reference of 'comes with being a Urahil' that followed. Clearly Perrine had intended the insult she'd embedded into the question directed at him. Had she meant to… what, put him in his place?

“Pffft, that bitch's got another thing coming.”

The interaction soured his mood even further, and so, to counteract this, he turned to Leander next to him.

- “I'm not sure I like your cousin.” - He said playfully, as he rotated the glass of white wine in his hand. He crucially did not drink from it, however. The memory of them being rehearsing the 'Dinner of Death' was still present on the back of his mind and so, while externally he looked relaxed, and internally he felt annoyed at the audacity of the Proctor, his instincts were still well and truly functional, and so he kept an eye out for things that would've gotten him killed in a real dinner. Wine was first and foremost.

- “Are you sure you’re related?” - ​

 

[Leander Urahil]

Leander was more than happy to tune out Thraah as she spoke of the disgusting cockle or doodle or whatever it was that she liked to eat. Leander had far more refined tastes, and he was certain Perri also had such refined tastes.

He almost choked on his sip of the red wine as Perri not only encouraged Thraah but instead lied about eating cooties and enjoying it. Leander made eye contact with Perri then. He didn’t return any of the humor. There was no way a cheap axolotl could take away what it meant to be a Urahil.

Then again, Perri was, and never would be, held to the standard expected of him, his brothers, or even his sisters.

“She’s blonde.” Leander said, leaning his head towards Ivan. “And she’s a proctor. So whether we’re related or not…” he trailed off, his intentions clear: Perri deserved respect, if not for being a Urahil then for her status. He wasn’t going to pull a Lumen and disrespect a proctor openly.