The beast gave her a look that, even on a cat's face, unmistakably translated to "really? That's what you're going with?"

"Thank you for trying, but I don't feel like any part of this is okay." He sighed heavily, looking miserable. While, in truth, he was taking his situation as well as could be expected, the raw emotions he was struggling to contain were taking a toll. "Could I... have a moment alone?"

Chuckling, Lanaya obediently began sipping at her own bowl. "Very good," she agreed with another small laugh, nodding at him. "I do believe you've a talent for mixing concoctions of all kinds, apprentice."

Gale hooted softly, an owl's laugh--then suddenly fluffed up her feathers and made a chuffing, clucking sound that had Lanaya snapping her head up.

"What--really? You're sure?"

"Wooh-hhooo!"

After all the time they'd spent together, Adri liked to think she'd gotten fairly good at being able to tell when Idris was sunk into his own world--there were different levels of it, that she'd noticed. Sometimes she could draw him back out, but others he was just too deep in rumination.

This seemed to be one of the latter moments--rather than futilely attempt to draw him back out into conversation, she huffed, rolled her eyes fondly, and devoted the rest of her energy to making sure he didn't stray off path or walk into anyone else passing them on the street. It was something she'd gotten quite proficient at, and required sort of "herding" the smith without actually touching him.

Then they reached the shop, and he seemed to come back to himself abruptly. "I guess we are," she chuckled lightly. With a dip of her head, she extended a hand. "After you."

She found herself watching fondly as he fussed with his clothes--maybe she should have been more concerned about her own appearance, but honestly she was still just too tired from the last few days to care overmuch. Since starting to live with Idris at the forge, she at least had taken to wearing modestly flattering dresses, rather than the thread-worn and ragged affairs that had been the best she could do as a street-corner flower-seller.

She followed him into the shop, looking around curiously as a tiny silver bell tinkled cheerfully to announce their arrival.

Shae found herself shifting awkwardly in place, shrinking back against the edge of the window, as the stranger seemed to cut his eyes up toward the aerie. Surely he couldn't see her from this distance?

"Oh, there will be time later for talk of business," Alstead said, waving his hand carelessly--but there was a hint of tension at the corners of his mouth and eyes. "Suffice to say my estate has proven quite safe; your services will be required most often when I leave the grounds."

He beckoned to one of the servants who had accompanied him, an older man in a well-tailored though sedate household livery, and said, "This is my steward, Ranolf. He will make sure you are properly settled. We can speak more of your duties afterward." To Ranolf, he said, "Show him to his chambers, and then to my study, if you would."

"Of course, Ser." The steward gave his master a half-bow, then turned to Zjhe. "If you'll follow me?"

Hana rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath about Thrax being too heavy for her to cart through the desert when he passed out, but she was smiling, and downed her own glass nearly as quickly.

"Well, we're grateful for the lift, regardless," she said to the captain with a lopsided smirk.

"We'll be fine," Nani huffed. Vander was letting his tongue lull happily as she awkwardly hefted him around so his front paws dangled over her shoulders. At least he wasn't fidgeting.

She jerked her chin toward Ein. "Go on then, we're right behind you."

This was so so so far out of the minute princess's realm of expertise. She honestly had handled the revelation of a massive, chimeric beast hiding close to the border of her homeland with more confidence than this situation.

"Errr...chin up?" she offered awkwardly, and immediately winced. "I mean, ah...it'll...be okay?"

"I said not t— "

Fletcher caught himself, lowered his voice until it was barely above a whisper, then tried again. "I said not to snug up next to me while I'm sleeping. I didn't say anything about pushing me away when things got messy. You made that bit up all by yourself." He could feel his ears go red as soon as he'd said it, and he leaned harder into the doorframe like it would somehow expand the distance between them. His scowl deepened, but it was more in response to those unbidden thoughts than to anything Theo had said.

"Going this alone is fucking asinine," he added. "You can't worry that you've lost a friend and then act like I'm not supposed to be here for it when you need one. When you decide to stop being such a stubborn arse, you know where to find me. Meantime, I need air." Without awaiting the man's response, he ducked back out into the hallway and shut the door behind him, and waited for Theo to finish whatever busy work he'd gone in there to pretend to do.

"...I know you said as winter progresses you will be more likely to snap and bite even at me. But throwing my past choices in my face is rather unfair of you Jack. No one is asking you to prove anything. I know how much you hate her."

Another crate was moved and searched through, this one slammed down more emphatically than the last. "Thank you for informing me of your conversation and her intentions." He lowered his voice and paused in what he was doing to look at Fletcher intently. "...I know you care. But you said not to do this. You can't be angry with me trying to respect that...anymore than I can be jealous I suppose."

He leaned forward on his hands looking incredibly worn and drawn. "I don't know how to hold these pieces and not drop things. I have to get rid of her. But I need her as my fiance. I can't leave, but you can't stay. It's like I can't think fast enough. I thought she was vapid and instead she's a viper. Just one more person to guard against and now I have to be worried about not being guarded enough."

Theo sighed and shook his head again.

Fletch could have sucked all the warmth from the room in his affront. "That's not what I'm saying. I'm not running from this, and you can't tell me to just sit and not help. And don't look at me like that. I said I wouldn't and I won't. You of all people know she's the last thing on my bloody mind. I'm not arguing. I shouldn't have to prove that I'm not interested.

"And no, I wouldn't consider it. Not in a million years. But I wouldn't take the deal you did for a man who ran at the first sign of trouble, either, so who knows what you'll do? It's not like you're waiting for me to say the word and take you away from here like it's a fairy tale. I'm just saying what I see for ways to loosen the manacles. But what would I know about that, ey? Why would I care and try to help? Hmm?"