Amnesic

“Why would I need a new hat? There isn’t a thing wrong with this one except for some marmot chewing. Besides, I won’t have the time to be making another one if I keep having to make these silly trips to this nasty city,” Fay replied before quickly sliding down the vine to the ground. She kept a decent but lethargic pace for the most part across the desert, only really stopping to look at burrows and what seemed like random vegetation. She yawned after a little while and began to briefly languidly sing a line from a song. “…I come from the land of plenty…” It was a bit out of tune considering she was mostly just saying it, but the rhythm was there.

I use a wireless keyboard on my PC (Logitech as well) and I don't really suffer any input lag at distance, and given that game consoles are simply heavily dedicated computers, I don't think it should lag too much if it is- it is the price of not having a wire after all. Though, this being the internet, people are used to dealing with others who have direct latency with their connection alone (like me), and I would think they would be pretty forgiving about it. Basically every roleplayer I've ever known was pretty patient with anything really. Of course, I mean, there's always the forum RP as well if you want a place to exercise your roleplaying ability and not worry about delays. It's only another option; keep enjoying the in-game RP, you're already at the RP central anyways!

The only thing that kept the young Hyur girl from whirling around in fury was the fact she was too exhausted to bother. She still found his remark to be agitating and rude despite the hypocritical matter she had done it to him first, but she simply clenched her teeth and ignored his presence. Her actions likely did not make sense to others, but she understood what she was looking for here. It was not doing her any good being like she was, but she had gotten to the point to where every single flirt agitated her strained nerves and the girl was simply exhausted of it. It was odd that she should hate receiving compliments, she could admit that to herself, but everything seemed to have "implications" to it right now. “Ahh…So that’s why you reject me; he’s taken your heart has he not? Alas—” Darius began to say. “Oh, just stuff it. What is it you keep bothering me for?” she said, trying to hold back from putting in any stinging words. “Hah! Then he’s even more the rival of-” Did nothing stop this guy from running on? He must assume he is safe being so far away from a candle. “Seriously, just cut the charades and spit it out already.” “Whoa, feisty are we? Ahem, would you like to purchase one of my special beauty elixirs.” “Are you saying I’m not beautiful then?” There. That should throw him off balance for a while. “You are more radiant than-” “Darius Fallstone, the Duke requests your presence for a matter of importance,” said a voice from someone previously unnoticed beside her. She jolted her head to the side in surprise to see the Duke’s servant girl standing there. She was a bit unnerved by how silent and emotionless the Miqo’te managed to be; it was sort of inhuman. All the other servants actually visibly responded to statements, she even acted like a brick wall when she spoke. As the initial shock faded away, her mind turned to something else: what in Eorzea could even the Duke want with this nitwit? The thought almost brought a smile to her face even though her developing headache was beginning to pain her. “Ah, yes. I shall follow immediately,” Darius said in formality and began following the servant back to the Duke. She had to give a bit of mental thanks to the Duke and the servant, regardless if they had meant to drive Darius away from her or not. [align=center]~*~*~[/align] “You know what, Miss Makeo? I think I shall accept your challenge regardless of the terms; it shall be quite enjoyable to fight against the unbalance in this situation. I must warn though, the performances are due to start soon and as result it may take me all night to get back to you with my results,” the Duke Rhett replied with his charming smile, quickly glancing over to see A’ih ironically bringing Darius back from the same bar where Miss Makeo had been. He had a reason for calling Darius up: he may be incompetent and a terribly business-minded, but he also had a special talent for being a rumormonger. The rumors were not always reliable, but Mr. Fallstone had managed to work his way into the toughest of secrets and his skill at rapid collection came in handy sometimes. He could likely come up with something that would help him in this challenge. It was not cheating, technically; Darius was just another guest at the ball. "...And, Miss Mewrilah, I understand exactly what you mean. My profits are not nearly enough to purchase all I should ever want or need either; just enough to give an accurate impression of such a situation," he jested, his smile growing to a sly grin.

I can't do much for you here other than bumping considering I'm only on here, but I hope you have some luck getting started up! I know ShroudLife and Shroudwolf exist on Balmung for outdoorsy type stuff around Gridania. I have no idea if they ever go inside though. Surely there has to be enough people around there.

I'm taking a guess here by think you'd prefer in-game roleplay, but if you're ever into any Forum RP don't hesitate to send a message my way. I'm not really around in-game for a number of multiple reasons, so I'm here most of the time. Anywhose, I wish you luck in your search!

Hurrah! I have gotten my latest character up for all to see! Wikis are coming, eventually, but for now I have to hope this is sufficient. I'm currently working on getting some drawings of them done, so I can feel good about putting up a wiki page for each of them. (Myrrh needs a little reworking anyhow.)

Sounds like a great idea to me! I used to run a bard and a storyteller a long, long while ago, so I'm all for it! I likely won't be doing too many performances in the near future, but it would be neat to be able to see how others are handling it these days. Even if it ends up being just a stickied thread in the Character Workshop subforum, it'll still do a lot of good, My vote's for it!

This helps me a whole lot. I had no idea about the Knights of the Barracuda and their existence basically prevents me from having to change my story at all now! I can now handle it like this with just a few edits: (from Missy's age of 29~30):

“The difficulty of your challenge is very tempting, but I want to know first what you would expect from me if I lose. Forming a hypothesis from both of your demeanors, I feel that neither of you have made thine choices out of personal affection for me nor, Miss Makeo, can I hardly expect you would want the same from me if I am unsuccessful,” the Duke replied in a factual manner. Slowly, he finished off the last of the water in his wineglass and set in back on A’ih’s tray and made two hand motions to her. It translated roughly to: “Find Darius Fallstone, bring him to me.” Yes, tediously enough, the Duke had actually made a sign for his name out of necessity. A’ih immediately recognized it and took off at her swift pace, an almost grateful look showing in her eyes while her face remained expressionless. Uncrossing his legs, he gracefully ascended from the throne he had been resting in, showing his actual height to be about half a head taller than an average Hyur Midlander. Giving a jesting smirk, he looked to Muijh. “I should hardly think she has saved your life here, Miss Mewrilah; what I had planned for you was much less painful than a romantic dinner.” Though, to Muijh’s disadvantage, there were very few things in this world that would be less excruciating than a romantic date with someone you had no chance of having feelings for. Even he would only have fun with it because he could make her nervous. [align=center]~*~*~[/align] The Hyur girl interrupted briefly, excusing herself from the table with something along the lines of “Dear Prince, there’s someone I need to check on; I’ll be right back,” likely with a shred of sarcasm in it that she could not resist. It made the aching she was suffering from start up again where the long period of relaxing in the seat had muted it to mild discomfort, but she was not exactly in the best of moods. Today had simply been a rough day at work and she had been looking to relax and she was very quick right now to take compliments as flirting. She had heard the name Bloodsands Consortium a few times before, and it was not something she had interest in anyhow. Was it a bit rude to up and leave him like that? Sure it was. She would just have to figure out a way to explain herself later if she got tracked down. Luckily, she had left with her glass, so she did not have to worry about getting any more of…Malbec, he called it? Eh, to her it was simply a drink that the Duke had recommended to her very early in the ball for the low alcohol level. She did not want to get herself drunk or anything tonight, she knew she would be hurting enough in the morning as well and the hangover would not do very much for her. Every step hurt, so she walked very slowly across the ballroom to a bar where she was hopefully out of sight of the Elezen who had introduced himself as Prince Klari. Then a familiar voice she had not wanted to hear either assaulted her ear. “Ah, madame, I do hope your radiant eyes do not ignite my clothing again,” said the familiar voice of Darius Fallstone. She struggled to withhold her groan of despair, managing to muffle it into a sigh. “What do you want this time?” she asked exhaustedly, too far in disbelief to make any sarcastic responses. She did have to figure, as vain as it was, she must clean up very nicely if these people honestly thought she was high class. [align=center]~*~[/align] The aged Elezen man had finally finished with his book around this time and began inspecting the bindings on it. He had actually had not been reading it, but instead had been allowing the glue in the bindings to set right and prevent the pages from not opening fully. It was not exactly his plan to have taken his work with him, but he had entirely missed out on the news of the ball until only a few hours before it was to begin. He had come here in hopes of finding some more scholarly types like him and perhaps to get an idea of who this Duke was in person. So far he had done neither of those and he really felt like some wine first. He would have to figure a nice place to put the book at though, it was actually quite rare.

So, er, nothing at all? I'll try bumping this then; seriously, even just a comment or something is fine by me.

I'm looking to get some lore and viability checks as well as some opinions for a character idea I've just finished. I don't exactly have too much of an idea how the Maelstrom works, how they name their ships, and where exactly technology stands in different decades, so that's what I'm mostly needing clarified with lore. Viability-wise, I need some help on seeing if a physical healer can make it in a world with magic healing, (I would figure they can, but you never know). Anyroad, here's the character information: Basics: Catharine Mella Bethune, or Missy as she usually prefers, is a Midlander Hyur in her late twenties whose primary profession for the last ten years is acting as a self-taught nurse and contract medic for the Maelstrom in Limsa Lominsa. Her hair is entirely silvered as if she was much older than she is, and has been since she was ten, due to a hereditary trait consistently passed down in her family. Appearance: Despite all of her efforts to conceal it, Missy visibly has a prosthetic left forearm made out of a mix of carved wood and leather with metal mechanisms attached to the remainder of her left arm. It is purely controlled by a small, flat lever on the inner side that basically controls making her hand close inwards to the maximum of a loose fist. Her tinker brother made a total of three for her, but the second one has always been the one she prefers. Profession: She uses very little healing magic, instead opting to use various medicines, bandages, light surgery, and the like out of personal preference. She has only generally treated people who walk in off the street and the guards in the city, but on occasion she has ended up treating a few higher ranking soldiers. She learned what she knows from a few old books and experience, but she’s basically been doing it her whole life. Most of the time she works in her clinic; also known as the main room of her somewhat small house. Personality: For a very large majority of the time she stays in a calm and motherly attitude towards any of her patients regardless if they are older than her, continuing to treat them like children even after they are long out of her care. This includes (but is not limited to): fixing meals, bringing up embarrassing topics, terms of endearment, and general fussiness. Sometimes the kind side of her can vanish in dire situations, but the calm never vanishes. Her sympathy for almost anything borders on boundless, and she is in some ways, too caring.

The Duke held up a single finger in protest and gave a flashing grin. “I am afraid, Miss Makeo, that the bet was I had to recreate the exact same trick upon you that I played upon Miss Mewrilah. I only ever answered her surname for I do not know its predecessor, so your point may be considered nullified by technicality...But, a new bet is assuredly welcome and even more enticing to me if Miss Mewrilah is fine with you stealing her…date,” he said slyly, putting heavy emphasis on the last word. He stole a glance at Muijh, still giving a clever, but charming grin. “I am curious though, how will you attempt to ‘raise’ a romantic dinner at an expensive restaurant of your choice? Shall I take both of you?” he commented jestingly, taking another sip from his wineglass. He did not want to embarrass her too badly, but she seemed to be tough enough to handle some teasing. He did not mind losing, but winning was becoming his better option now as romantic encounters were not in his best interests.

The Duke looked to his servant as she repeated the name for attention to detail, though it being needless as he had already heard the name himself. “Well, Miss Makeo, I thank chance that you were able to attend my little event and I would hope the night turns out enjoyable for you. After all, I spent a quite fortune on it,” he replied with a charming grin. It had, but this was nothing in comparison to what money he had available. Briefly he turned his head back to Muijh as he took another sip. “Well, Miss Mewrilah, shall we count that as fair play? Or, better yet,” he interrupted himself, “Miss Makeo. The rules of a friendly wager we were having were that I could read your name by watching my servant here pronounce it. Do you think the manner in which I did it just now is considered fair by your judgement?” He did not want to tease Muijh too much, but she seemed to be able to recover quickly enough from shock for a little more. He had to admit, it was a probably a bad habit to enjoy making people nervous, but it was one of the few fun things about the aristocracy life. [align=center]~*~[/align] A’ih had been keeping to herself during this discourse as she was obligated to, and efficiently took the time to try and figure out that name and crest. She was sure that she recognized part of it from somewhere, and even closed her eyes as she peacefully searched her mind for wherever it was she thought she had either heard that name or glanced at a similar crest. She continued to rack her brain for the answer, but to her discomfort, she could find nothing. Was her mind only playing tricks on her? She almost felt frustrated her memory would fail her like this; it was generally quite extensive and reliable. She opened her eyes as she had tried to push the thought from her mind and to the crowd. By chance, she had happened to glance over at Miss Makeo as she flourished herself in what A’ih believed to be a considerable manner. The strange emotion was back and it revived her previous emotions of discomfort and frustration, confusing her even more. What was it?

Hey and welcome, officially, I guess! You already have a heck of a lot more content done than I have (I'm still too lazy to make an actual wiki page). I said I would make a Discord a long while ago, still haven't gotten around to that either. (I will, eventually!) But, I am pretty active on the forums here and always looking for more partners, so if you ever feel like some RP here on the forums or through PM's, just send me a message! I'm on here pretty much every day now, so I should be able to respond quickly!

Wow, that's amazing! You really seem to have gotten that RP community up and running since I last checked in. Keep it up!

“...I shall let you know, should the dice of life be on my side. But, a romantic dinner...?” the Duke trailed off in his tranquil voice, now that he was focused entirely upon A'ih. By this time she had begun walking back with the mysterious guest following her tracks. As the two Miqo'te continued to approach him without saying a word, he was quite sure of himself losing the game. He looked back to Miss Mewrilah and made a light shrugging gesture with his free hand. He could easily read the amount of anxiety in her face caused by the response she had made, and he began to think it might be more enjoyable to actually take her up on the offer anyhow. He would spare her the romance though; he knew it was only an effect likely due to the giddiness or the possible placebo effect of the “wine”. A'ih gave her curtsy to the red and blue haired woman she had brought over with her habitual emotionless manner and proceeded to stand beside the Duke in her straight pose and the platter at her waist. He turned his head back to the second guest and gave his charming smile to her as she trod her way across the mahogany floor up to him. “Indeed, I am he who is called the Duke of the Isles. It is a pleasure to know that my ball is to your liking.” [align=center]~*~[/align] A’ih was inconspicuously looking at the woman’s mask from the corner of her eyes, attempting to determine the origin of the heraldry upon it, but eventually she stopped as she had no idea where it was from. She had never seen it before, but it was possible that the Duke might have some understanding of it and she looked to his face. It was at that exact his eyes briefly flashed with the cleverness that always showed when he had figured out a quick move. “I do ask you to excuse me, fine guest, this may seem a bit peculiar, but do side with me on this…A’ih.” “Yes, Duke?” “If you would, ask this fine guest her name and repeat it to me.” “Your wish is my command,” she managed to say, holding back the questioning in her voice. She had been absent for the wager, and her mind was now occupied with trying to comprehend the reason why this was even necessary. “Miss, if it would not bother you, the Duke requests your name.” She did not see it, but there was a playful smirk on the Duke’s face as he looked at Muijh.

I've been meaning to get around to posting on this thread but I've had my hands full with handling forum roleplay to the point I haven't been able to welcome people to the RPC. I like this idea, but I'm locked to external means so I can't really do much to help you. There definitely needs to be more player made clans around as well as more homes for Keepers. From what I know, they tend to be less common.

The forests of the Northern Shroud were pleasingly warm for the time of the year, but it did nothing for growing pangs of hunger in the girl’s stomach. She was currently dressed in a homespun tunic and skirt in the butternut color of undyed linen, alongside her overused and shabby pair of thighboots that were beginning to go beyond the point of further repair. Ironically, this clothing was not yet even despondent enough to reflect her current finances. Myrrh was completely broke. The knowledge of her lack of money and as result, sustenance, was burning its way into her conscious thought and destroying her willpower’s current grasp of self-control preventing her from doing something foolish. The fierce internal skirmish was showing in her grey eyes, renewing the gleam of life in them and simultaneously imbuing them with the ferocity of a wild animal while her overlong brunette ponytail lied on the ground beside her as if it was the beast's tail. She knew what she looked like right now, and the thought of it was alarming even to her. She gritted her teeth together as she remained hiding in the brush, either the thoughts or the hunger causing her to shiver uncontrollably until she lost her balance. Nothing was startled as she fell forward out of her low crouch and intp the dried leaves; there was not anything to frighten aside from her. She pushed herself up from the ground and back up to standing height, letting her ponytail fall back down to her waist where it usually was. Myrrh begun to realize something in her mind as she looked around; she was not intending to wait around for animals, she was honestly waiting for a person with a loaded gilpurse to come by. She might as well head “home” and get as well dressed as she could for heading into Gridania. A few people today were about to lose some money and she could worry about it later when she was not starving. But, nobody but Myrrh would know she would be the one to cause their loss: they would hopefully only see a sweet-hearted little Hyur youth in all of her childish charm while she filched what she could in any manner she could.

The Duke looked at Muijh in surprise. “Oh, so now the stakes have been raised? I shall accept this proposition as well. I shall have to think upon my part of the bet first, but do tell me first, does it only have to be a ‘nice’ restaurant?” he asked with a clever light in his eyes. He could actually do somewhere outside of Eorzea and barely dent his finances, but it would be best to not let her know that. He had a feeling he was likely to lose this bet, but it did not matter to him if he won or lost as the fun for him was in just waiting to see how chance played out for him… [align=center]~*~[/align] A’ih quickly made her way through the crowds and retrieved the water from the storeroom again as she had done only a little while ago. It actually was not any different than the water available from the external drink selections other than the fact it was simply in a different room, but the Duke had made it a specific command to her that all of the drinks she fetched must come from the stockroom instead of the external bars. As she silently closed the door to the side room, she heard a voice speak to her. “M’am, er Miss…” It was just one of the servants that had been hired for the event, specifically a female Raen one. She had power to command all of them, but so far they had been well-trained enough to handle their own to the point she barely had to bother with them. “What is it?” she said gently and blankly, though gesturing to her with her free hand to follow quickly. She did not want to tarry any in fulfilling the Duke’s command. “If it isn’t out of line, I wanted to know how it’s like working as a personal servant.” This question stopped her tracks briefly, but she started up at her fast pace again as she gave her brief response and never let the plate in her hand wobble once. “You get used to it.” It was not really an answer, but it was what she could answer from experience. She continued on her way, without the servant following behind until she reached Duke Rhett again. He had just finished a statement as she arrived at his side and brought the plate back down to her waist in her habitual manner. He did not look at her, but retrieved his wineglass, took a sip from it, and promptly began a new command. “A’ih.” He was using more verbal commands? This was an unusual day for her, but then again, the Duke rarely ever held any events like this. “Yes, Duke?” “Can you see that guest with the avian mask and the azure accents? Bring her to me as well,” he ordered in a calm voice. “Your wish is my command,” she replied, though she was experiencing some unfamiliar feelings at the idea of another Miqo’te being invited over to talk with him. Perhaps it was just general concern for his public appearance? A’ih began her stride yet again, leaving the Duke with his glass as he proceeded to take another sip from it. She kept a mostly straight path towards this peculiar Miqo’te, only having to weave her path whenever someone was passing by. By the time she reached the guest, she already had turned around from the bar with the icy beverage and was looking almost in her direction. She kept her familiar and brisk pace all the way up until a few steps before the other woman where she lowered her momentum for more graceful stop. “The Duke requests your presence. Please, if you would, do follow me,” she instructed the masked guest in her quiet manner. [align=center]*~*~*[/align] The young Hyur girl almost wanted to roll her eyes into the back of her head as another man, an Elezen this time, approached her table with…more ridiculous looking facial hair. Her hearing almost blanked out from disbelief, but she was able to catch the most of his greeting. The smile combined with that initial comment did not sit well with her. She was not from the high society, the dress was the only thing that gave the impression she was, and so far she was finding them to be more presumptuous than whom she generally worked with. Maybe he would set his sleeve on fire too. It was a long shot, but maybe. “A prince? What would you have to do with just a simple girl and a glass of wine?” she asked with a precisely placed undertone of sarcasm. Rich people were testing her patience tonight and she was hard pressed to resist the saucy responses coming to her brain. The girl would lament having worn this risqué dress as it seemed to be pulling so many of these similar encounters now, but she would have been lamenting about the restriction of other dresses had she done otherwise. There was developed a preference in her for the…freedom, though she still did have to deal with the knowledge that certain people would be looking at her for a little longer than they should. It also did not help it was low in the back too. She realized that mistake a little too late as well.

“Ah, so are you challenging me now?” the Duke replied with a smirk as he looked to the woman in question. “You want me to pull the same trick on her? Hm, that would be a difficult task as long as my servant is currently indisposed. You see, ‘tis all about chance; a setup would be much harder to accomplish…” He continued to look in her direction. She was assuredly an intriguing sight, but he had to consider the possible outcomes if he wanted to win this little game. Thinking upon it, he put a hand to the light beard on his chin. It took him only a few seconds to come to a resolution; there was an unsure chance of winning, but the dangers of the loss were negligible anyways. “But, why not? I can leave it to luck-- I accept thy trial!” he said turning back to Muijh with a smirk.

“It is all very simple, you see…” the Duke began with a charming grin, quickly beginning an eloquent explanation, “As you spoke to my servant here, you attempted to introduce yourself to her and you garnered a response. She, on her own accord, likely answered your question saying that she was only my servant. Knowing her habits personally, she began with a filler word and then proceeded to give your surname and assumed title by gender. A familiarity with her pronunciation allowed me to watch her mouth movements and in turn, formulate your surname.” He waited for a moment, as if he was conflicted in thought over something, and began to speak again. “In more general terms, I read A’ih’s lips as she responded.” As he said this, he crossed his arms in playful impertinence and swapped the order of his crossed legs. He would save the fact she was drinking water until a little bit later; it would make for an effective riposte. He made another motion to A’ih, curling his ring finger all the way in and putting the rest of them to a partial bend. It was the exact same one he used earlier, asking for water and a few extra details. She nodded her head once and headed off immediately in her swift pace.

I think I've done Fe'lanah in here somewhere before, but I guess I'll update it for the other two characters. Duke Rhett: Insanely rich man claiming to come from mythical lands, likes tricking people. A'ih: Clingy Miqo'te servant trained in self-control following an irrational concept of debt. Myrrh Redleaf: Traumatized adolescent acts as professional crook with a bare minimum of morals.

The Duke had to applaud her internally, she definitely had spunk. This was why he had begun to find more pleasure in the company of the younger generations in the world; they were too brave for their own good. Any other adult, especially ones older than him, tended to cower and be very apologetic like Darius usually was. He laughed heartily at her response before he returned his words. “My, my, how impertinent you are!” he jested, laughing again. “My ways are unconventional, I will give you those points, but I am afraid your wager is misplaced, fair lady. I do actually intend to have you call me Duke at all times, ‘tis the way of the Isles.” He stopped to take the last sip of his water and set the glass back down onto the tray, ready to counter. “But, Miss Mewrilah, what is your opinion on the wine? ‘Tis very fine, is it not?” He grinned to himself internally; these games of tricks and wordplay were what made the aristocracy life a fun place. [align=center]*~*~*[/align] The young Hyuran girl had, to her liking, been mostly left alone. She was getting ready to finish last of the very dark wine until a man with a goofy mustache approached her table from the crowd. For a reason she could not doubt, he was likely going to be a pest. “Ah, what kind of sultry beauty is this I’ve found? My, I knew the desert heat grew at some point, but to think that it was—“ “Aren’t I a little too young for you?” she interrupted saucily, glaring at him with her heavy-lidded eyes. It was true after all; he had to be at least twice her age judging by the greying head, and his grin was the fake kind you saw on the faces of greed driven businessmen. “I-I…Perhaps I introduced myself incorrectly; Darius, at your service. Darius Fallstone, that is. I assume you have heard of me?” He continued to stand at the table and eventually began to lean on it with his right elbow. His left arm was dangerously close to the candle as he gestured about with it. “Nope.” “Well, when the dances come around, could I perhaps treat you-“ “Not a chance.” “Well, perhaps you would be interested to know that I am a merchant of sorts-“ “Not really.” “I, er, know remedies to preserve beauty?” “Your sleeve is on fire.” It had taken a little while, but what she presumed to be velveteen lit up like a nice bit of tinder. He looked at her in surprise, as if he was taking as some sort of compliment until she pointed at the burning shirt. He immediately took what was left in her glass and poured it on his sleeve and began to pat it out hurriedly, eventually vanishing into the crowd once it was out. She felt a little sympathy for him, but it was heavily dampened by his brazen attempts to sell his snake oil. It was a shame the wine she had gotten was not very alcoholic. [align=center]*~*~*[/align]

The Duke gave a laugh towards Muijh’s pun and waited for her finish, laughing a bit inside at the overpolite manner in which she was talking. It was to be expected, but she could easily be a businesswoman if she could keep it going. He actually already knew her last name, having read it off of his butler’s lips, but he was going to just keep that to himself. “We could, if that is of your liking, but would you rather not converse with someone closer to your age? I am sure my fine servant, A’ih,” he stopped to gesture to his servant beside him, prompting an almost surprised look from her and then continued, “would not mind if you desired to converse with her. I am not in more preference for either one. After all, I called you up here to assist with your circulation amongst the guests.” He could feel A’ih’s questioning gaze from his side, and he could not help smiling. He did it for the personal enjoyment, but he did need to make a little change every once in a while to keep her on the ready. As he listened to Muijh’s response, he took another draught from his wineglass and returned it to the tray.