She was an expressive creature, he decided as he watched her face, and especially her eyes. As far away as he was they were a little hard to see, but they were large and bright and full of mischief. And though she had been forthright and prankish so far, she hadn't been hostile or cruel. Overall, she was not what he had expected after the ambush that had stolen his friends and family from him, and as he came to that tentative assessment it was easier to be curious about her, and let that curiosity soften the edges of his guilt and the fresh wounds done to his heart.
Her question even pulled a grin from his lips, and a curious tilt of his head to the side. "Word games?" he asked, a shadow of his old sly delight coloring the question. "What kind of word games?" She was absolutely correct in that had had found few indeed within the Hollowed Grounds who would engage in verbal fencing with him - Edy being a notable exception, but the fire mage's preferences tended towards the lascivious rather than the elegantly clever. Still refreshing, but somehow he doubted the young faerie lass would appreciate those carnal conversational constructions quite so much.
"A pleasure to meet you, Eliza," he murmured with a bow of his head, though he kept his eyes on her, watching through his lashes. She still had her bow in hand, after all, though the berries had vanished before he had arrived on the branch. He met her challenge with a raised brow, but she surprised a chuckle from him when she showed off her wings - and indeed, they were more beautiful than his. He considered her question as he made sure he was well balanced before he spread his own arms in a trick he had seen Amalia do, and Remi before her, to a lesser extent. He exhaled carefully and concentrated, and white feathers sprouted from his arms as his sleeves seemed to subside into his arms and the wings that they became. "I know what gods and men have told me," he said, giving a good stretch and then letting his arms return to normal so a strong gust of wind didn't catch his increased surface area and knock him off his perch. "What Safrin shared, and what Ianto confessed. I don't suppose the fox is a friend of yours?" he asked casually.
Her question even pulled a grin from his lips, and a curious tilt of his head to the side. "Word games?" he asked, a shadow of his old sly delight coloring the question. "What kind of word games?" She was absolutely correct in that had had found few indeed within the Hollowed Grounds who would engage in verbal fencing with him - Edy being a notable exception, but the fire mage's preferences tended towards the lascivious rather than the elegantly clever. Still refreshing, but somehow he doubted the young faerie lass would appreciate those carnal conversational constructions quite so much.
"A pleasure to meet you, Eliza," he murmured with a bow of his head, though he kept his eyes on her, watching through his lashes. She still had her bow in hand, after all, though the berries had vanished before he had arrived on the branch. He met her challenge with a raised brow, but she surprised a chuckle from him when she showed off her wings - and indeed, they were more beautiful than his. He considered her question as he made sure he was well balanced before he spread his own arms in a trick he had seen Amalia do, and Remi before her, to a lesser extent. He exhaled carefully and concentrated, and white feathers sprouted from his arms as his sleeves seemed to subside into his arms and the wings that they became. "I know what gods and men have told me," he said, giving a good stretch and then letting his arms return to normal so a strong gust of wind didn't catch his increased surface area and knock him off his perch. "What Safrin shared, and what Ianto confessed. I don't suppose the fox is a friend of yours?" he asked casually.
