ARI/SELORIA | PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT - COMPLETE
"So much luck for you. I have been mostly working. Play is only afforded when it is necessary," the blonde said with a glance around the room, as if to point out that this was her play time. She got to dress up and watch one of her students acclimate to the surroundings. It was nice to have a reason to be here. It felt selfish, but it was a welcome change to where she'd been spending most of her time.
"Well, the Countess' parties are definitely much more colorful than most." Considering the people she invited as compared to other nobles, it seemed like a sound observation. "I find it always to be an interesting mix of guests that attend." Then again she was not surprised considering her relation to the duke. While Seloria openly admitted to being a member of the Bard's Guild, she'd told no one other than a very very select few of her involvement in the Thieves guild.
Ari barely held back a comment about how she perceived play to be necessary very nearly always, for someone who wished to maintain good cheer and health. But that, she suspected, was not the sort of attitude one espoused publicly in such a place, so she only smiled and said, “I do find her events to be particularly well-executed, and it must be a pleasant pause for you.” The segue came without great effort from there: “I know you mentioned that you did not often grace the stage. What sort of work are you doing now?”
"Quite pleasant," Seloria agreed.
"As for work, I have volunteering quite a lot of my time to improving the life of those who are not as..." rich would've been the crude way of saying it, "blessed as I am." She felt that was a good way of putting it. She wasn't as rich as many in attendance. She did not hold a high rank nor title, but she had more money than she knew what to do with and a lot of idle time on her hands. "I have been helping to instruct orphans in the basics of reading, writing, and some basic math." It was atrocious how neglectful caretakers could be, believing the children would be fine only falling back on labor.
"I have also taken on a few students."
There was something about Cassuls and orphans, obviously; Aspel and Seloria didn’t outwardly appear to have much in common, but this was the one similarity Ari could see so far -- this desire to assist others. She never would fully understand it, but it did seem to be something they shared.
And there was, perhaps, one more thing, now that she thought of it. “Do you enjoy teaching?” she asked, curious. “The guild has been trying to entice me into taking an apprentice for at least the last two or three years, but I haven’t the patience for it, I’m afraid. Any halfway talented child would be entirely wasted on me.”
"I hate to see wasted potential," Seloria answered quite strongly. "It can get frustrating at times, but if you push hard enough at the right times, the results are remarkable." Let them hate her for being a harsh taskmistress, but she told them they could quit whenever they liked. Some did, but others stayed. She had hope for them. They would learn. "I have been learning for most of my life. Still am, actually. Teaching seemed like the next natural step. Hard, but when they get it right, all the head and heartache feel like it was worth it." While Seloria had started off speaking in a matter-of-fact manner, the more she went along, the more conviction slipped into her tone. In the end, she was clearly beaming with pride.
"There is one of mine right there," she said nodding toward the young girl, barely in her teens, dancing along with a boy not much older than herself.