Comrades

When Natalia first joins the group in the Abandoned Factory, the party members that did not previously know her were not impressed with her mannerisms and actions. They thought she was boisterous, demanding and reckless. Once Natalia begins to mellow out, however, everyone comes to appreciate her help and see what her true character really is. By the end of the journey, Natalia definitely treasures all of her companions for various reasons.

"That's some princess..."

Natalia becomes a lot closer to Tear once she finds out that Largo is her true father. The two women are in similar positions because they both have family members that are antagonists to the party. Natalia immediately goes to Tear for support as soon as she speaks to Largo herself. While Natalia is aware that Tear would best understand her feelings, she would have to trust her before considering speaking with her to begin with. Natalia probably realizes Tear's maturity, determination and strong composure and admires her for being able to be that way despite the circumstances. Natalia has quite a few moments of weakness, so I would assume that Tear would be the best person to go to for advice in her mind. Listening to Tear explain her feelings and actions regarding Van helps calm Natalia down, as well as brings the two of them closer over shared emotions. Ultimately, I do not think Natalia would have reached her conclusion about Largo as easily without her conversation with Tear and realizing that it was okay to have a lot of mixed feelings that could not be justified rationally. She didn't think she would be able to come to like Tear initially, but she definitely considers Tear very dear to her in the end.

"She sure looked like a princess, didn't she?"

While Natalia does not particularly bond with Anise over anything, she certainly comes to like her a lot more than when she first met her. Anise came off as being arrogant and devilish in response to Natalia's somewhat haughty behavior originally, but the two girls realize that they aren't so different. I believe Natalia admires Anise for her strong front that she is able to put on. After traveling together for some time, the two girls are not as nasty to each other. Natalia feels terrible for the situation that Anise is forced into by Mohs and willingly goes on a walk with her at Luke's request to help cheer her up. The two are not best friends by any means, but they do have a mutual compassion and caring for each other born out of the time spent together. Natalia does not fail to consider Anise one of her precious companions as well.

"Well, well. She certainly seems easy to handle."

Without a doubt, Natalia certainly finds it the hardest to get along with Jade. From her point of view, he is always care-free, teasing her, or scolding her for her behavior. While she has an annoyed response to his care-free behavior or teasing, she is always apologetic when Jade points out her mistakes. I believe that she trusts his judgment because she can see that he is a wise and intelligent person who doesn't react on emotion. While Natalia's relationship with Jade is definitely the most distant out of all the party members, I believe she knows that she would not have been able to get over any of her road bumps without his harsh words. Jade helps her grow as a character by never letting her not realize her mistakes. He doesn't even hesitate to slap her across the face shortly before the final battle after her emotions almost cost them their lives. Jade is everyone's reality check, especially Natalia's. Therefore, I do not think she finds it offensive for that reason and knows that she deserves everything he says to her. It hurts to hear the truth, but when everyone else is very nice to her, Jade is what Natalia needs to move forward. As a result, he also becomes an important companion to her on their journey.

b a c k   .   c l e a r   .   f o r w a r d    Defining Royalty and its contents are © Samantha, however Natalia and Tales of the Abyss are © NAMCO. Defining Royalty is a part of AFTER-DEATH.ORG.