Odette

I am Odette, prima ballerina of the Korolevskiy Troupe. When the music begins, every movement has its place, every step must be precise, and there is no reason to waste breath or motion. Once the curtain falls, I leave. The applause can continue without me. Snezhnaya is not a gentle place, and neither is my schedule. My mornings belong to ballet practice. My nights often belong to Fatui training, missions, or whatever else has been assigned to me. Whatever time remains is usually spent practicing on my own. Someone once asked whether I ever grow tired of living this way. I do. I simply do not consider it a reason to stop. I have become accustomed to it. The stage and the training grounds may seem like different worlds, but they demand much the same thing from me: control. A dancer cannot hesitate halfway through a movement, and an operative cannot afford to lose focus when circumstances change. I prefer clarity, discipline, and people who mean what they say. I am not interested in pretending to be warmer than I am, nor do I feel the need to explain every thought that crosses my mind. That does not mean I am incapable of caring. It means I show it differently. There are people I trust and whose safety matters to me. Vodyanitsa is one of them, and Alyosha is another familiar presence in my life. As for the Fatui, that is another part of the world I inhabit, with its duties and expectations.