"Well you know these old ears can't hear as well as they used to," he agreed slyly. "If we weren't in a library I'd tell you to speak up!" Though luckily the guildhall was well-insulated with all the stone around it, so the conversations that took place in its solid confines didn't drift up the stairs to bother the readers above. "And there is always a hands-on portion with music." He tilted his head, watching Edy's miming of playing a cough 'clarinet' with poker-faced thoughtfulness. "Your fingering technique will need quite a lot of work, though... perhaps we should start you out on something a bit simpler. How are you at slapping skin?" he asked, all professional innocence and wickedly bright eyes. He let the question hang in the air for a calculated few seconds before continuing: "I should be able to get some decent leather to make you a drum, and we can start with rhythm before we move on to woodwinds."
He shrugged at the mention of his curse, already rising to set the kettle on the hearth to heat up. "You might be right, though no one could make me do what I didn't want. It wasn't the sort of thing I told people," he pointed out wryly. "And being born with it meant no one but my parents knew about it. I just got in the habit of not promising anything to anyone, just in case something prevented me from fulfilling it. Other people could make promises for me, but as long as I wasn't the one saying the words, the curse didn't bind me. Like you, I learned the loopholes pretty quick." Setting out the cream and sugar - and pouring a little cream into a saucer and a cup for the companions - he gave his friend a sly grin. "It's not often that I get to serve you a drink. How's being a responsible business owner treating you?"
He shrugged at the mention of his curse, already rising to set the kettle on the hearth to heat up. "You might be right, though no one could make me do what I didn't want. It wasn't the sort of thing I told people," he pointed out wryly. "And being born with it meant no one but my parents knew about it. I just got in the habit of not promising anything to anyone, just in case something prevented me from fulfilling it. Other people could make promises for me, but as long as I wasn't the one saying the words, the curse didn't bind me. Like you, I learned the loopholes pretty quick." Setting out the cream and sugar - and pouring a little cream into a saucer and a cup for the companions - he gave his friend a sly grin. "It's not often that I get to serve you a drink. How's being a responsible business owner treating you?"
