israa nilas ; waking sea ranger (israa) wrote in thedas,
Aside from archery and looking as if her boots were full of burrs at all times, Israa was awfully good at seeming uninterested in her surroundings. Like the aforementioned, it was a skill, one well learned by those who were in the frequent service of nobles. Or, perhaps it was a characteristic. Not one unique to the ranger, herself, but to the people of the Waking Sea region. While Fereldan's, as a whole, were surly and rough around the edges, people from the Waking Sea were one permafrown away from being disinterested in just about anything that had nothing to do with them. So while this 'skill' of seeming uninterested was something she had no need to practice, she also didn't have to apply it very often. She was rarely seen, and usually kept contact with strangers to the minimum of trading on the road, and dealing with bandits. But when in a crowd, and a certain amount of eavesdropping was required, it was a snap.
However, her concentration was wavering thanks to the loud, not so friendly drunkard who was really just asking for trouble by now. Trying to hear other people's conversations through his obnoxiousness had her begging the Maker for patience, and Israa was not at all known for her piety. She would have admitted, though, that she was proud of herself, thus far, for keeping her blades on her person. Her ale was gone by now, so the only thing she had to occupy herself with was old, dry bread, and a half empty bowl of stew gravy.
Her attention did turn, however, when a dwarf, accompanied by a woman, walked into the bar. An odd couple, to be sure, but they didn't seem the sort that she was looking for right now. They definitely seemed out of place, though the dwarf more-so, to her eyes, than the woman. He was younger than most dwarves she'd seen on the surface - not that she'd seen any elsewhere - and he seemed too well armored for the average vendor. She let the thought go, though, turning her eyes back to her bowl and trying to hear over the loud patrons.
The shattering of glasses normally wouldn't have startled her out of her concentrated eavesdropping, but the roar of laughter and grunting was a signal. She was either going to have to leave, or pay close attention not to get herself hurt. She didn't really see the beginning of it all, and to be honest, she didn't care. She did see that a considerably more sober man was doing quite well for himself against a group of drunks, which really didn't seem too hard because, well, they were drunk after all. She was also pretty sure she didn't feel like getting involved. It wasn't her place. Bar fights happened. And they eventually ended.
As the ruckus picked up, though, she thought to move to help a woman who seemed to be having a difficult time removing herself from the possession of one particular fallen lush. She managed her own escape, though, but Israa wasn't quite sure how, and was a little baffled at the situation. She was considerably smaller than the man, and a drunkard's strength can be quite a force. Being on the small side herself, she knew very well what methods she'd have to resort to to free herself, but saw no sign of such violence. Frustrated with her lingering thoughts, she noted that the woman wasn't quite of her mess yet, but Israa no longer felt the need to leave her seat. This fight was the most entertainment she'd had in a while. She figured she'd enjoy it while it lasted.
It did seem, though, that she was one of the few patrons left in her seat. She wasn't sure what that meant, exactly. Was she a bad person for not helping to stop the brawl? Or was she just minding her own business, not getting herself hurt by avoiding foolishness. There were several other reasons, really, why she was a bad person, but she was almost certain that didn't make the list. The proprietor had the responsibility of ending the mess, and she was trying to conduct her own business. Though, with her luck, there was probably a group of Wardens just outside, doing Warden-like things and while she sat in a tavern getting a refresher on how to deal with obnoxious drunk people, looking less uninterested than she had only a moment before.