Bartholomew's Story
Being known as part of the Tabaxi Watson family meant wealth, etiquette, and popularity. Yet growing up as a Watson also came with a strict royal facade; always respectfully dressed in expensive attire, laced with the finest silks, polished gold, and rare jewels. unpalatable dishes, never leaving home unless it was for a public affair or a royal gathering for marriage or trading. This was not the life that Bartholomew saw for herself. She always felt suffocated with dissimulating that her life was more important to the eyes of the less fortunate.
Bartholomew always envisioned herself more of a warrior, wanting to learn fighting skills and defend the rights her family promised to the impoverished towns. She was a very inquisitive and venturesome feline. Since 6, she was always waiting to be caught climbing the limestone on the side of the castle, yet she always seemed to get away at just the right time. Improvable with time, Bartholomew's stealth became her strength. She was as graceful as a leaf dancing in the wind.
As she got older she started to sneak out of the castle to get away from the boring repertoire her family perceived. Not to be recognized, she disguised herself with a cloak that she found in the basement. It was old and tattered and could easily blend in. Seeing how well the smaller cities came together with melodious music, aromatic street food, well-lit taverns, and infectious laughter gave her an epiphany. She found herself enriched and enjoying this lifestyle.
While roaming the street she saw a halfling sitting at a table with used worn red dice, he introduced himself as "Ricotti." She admitted to him that she had never played before but always found herself wanting to. Bartholomew was too curious for her own good and always eager to acquire a knowledge of interest, she asked the rules of the game and proceeded to play. After about 4 rounds she was pretty good, the halfling was impressed and decided to gift her the dice set. Little did she know that it was what would have been a blessing and curse.
Back at the castle during a soiree of an opulent group traveling through, Bartholomew decided to exert her luck with her new dice set. In the cigar smoke filled night cap room, which had a wall of international wines and ports and exported leather sofas, she introduced her dice game to the group. They were intrigued and feeling a bit toasty from the gauntlet amounts of wine they were enjoying. Bartholomew went from sitting alone in her dingy room with her thoughts overwhelming her to at least every couple of nights learning how to better her hand. She decided to make it a bit interesting and suggested a wager, knowing that they wouldn't mind a bit of gambling of their fortunes. The group was very careless with their goods. Bartholomew decided she wanted to give back to the halfling, something of worth to say thank you for giving her a gift that kept giving, as she earned an abundant number of gems and coins, she felt as if she was finally giving back what her family promised, that was otherwise being wasted.
The next night, she went back out to the small city with her cloak and a satchel filled with riches, in search of finding the old halfling, whom seemed to have vanished as an enigma after hours of wandering. Until she overheard a few nearby mentioning that an old man named Ricotti had cheated them during a dice game. Obviously, a few pints in and upset of the outcome of their unlucky situation, she asked where she could find this Ricotti. The upset elf pointed to the direction of where he was between Sussex ally and Wrecked Racket Tavern. She thanked the group and carried on until she found the table she was seeking.
Ricotti immediately recognized the cloak and brownish tan fur and slowly looked up to meet the gaze of Bartholomew. With a half smile and raspy laugh, he said "I knew you'd be back, how is ol' red treating you?", meaning the dice set.
She gave a half smile right back and presented the satchel. "Doing pretty well actually. As a way to express my gratitude, I wanted to give everything in this satchel I have earned from 'ol' red'."
As Ricotti opened the satchel, his expression quickly changed to shock and his eyes widened. He felt as if he couldn't accept this generous offer for a ratty set of old beaten dice, but she insisted without giving any more information about who she was, or why SHE didn't need it.
He sat quietly for what seemed to be 5 minutes, in silence. He looked back up finally and explained that there was something he could offer in return for her generosity, which was teaching how to fight with a rapier and dagger. This perked Bartholomew's ears and she nodded in approval, and a broad grin swept across her face.
A year went by, meeting with Ricotti. Bartholomew quickly learned that he was very skilled in what he knew; she learned much about him. Not only was he a halfling but also a rogue. He was humbled and noticed a greatness in her that he hadn't seen before. She vastly learned the skills which he taught. There was a certain commodity about her, and he watched her closely. He taught her everything he knew. She found great interest in being a rogue yet also learned the dark sides as well.
The longer Bartholomew trained with Ricotti, the more she realized her path and destiny. Going back to her family she felt antagonism towards their lifestyle and faux personalities. It wasn't until one evening she overheard the guards mentioning her disappearance. They were requested to stand watch. Feeling imprisoned, Bartholomew found an oversized pouch and crammed as much of her belongings as she could. She no longer felt that she belonged to this family, she was ready to reestablish herself and pursue her life as a rogue. She learned quickly how to bypass the guards and hide in the shadows. Before her departure, she stopped to the remote dungeon where she found padded leather armor covered in webs and soot; certain that no one would miss it. This was only the start to her journey.