She gave a small squeeze back, seeming relaxed, and her smile only grew a bit about her eyes. "I'm glad," she said. "It's long been a haven for traveling fae... and I hope to make it so again one day soon. We're working on it... and I suspect word is already spreading. Or will soon, knowing--"
She paused; her tone had gotten... not quite sad. Wistful? There was a kind of quiet acceptance in it, about something she wasn't directly saying... but it was something else which had occurred to her, that'd made her reconsider her words before they left her. She looked back to Rren, smile almost a bit... mischievous?
"Well...."
A glance behind Rren, and a little nod: look that way?
That way, where previously the doorway to the hall had been empty, someone now stood. A someone who appeared at a glance to be in his 40s or even 50s, blond hair streaked with white... and not exactly human. He had the same subtle points to his ears that Mallia did, nearly hidden in the mop of his hair, and the same slightly-too-large irises, though his were a pale blue, rather than a dark purple. Where her dress was elegant and refined, his was peasant at best, though in good repair, all browns and greens, something that would only help him blend in, if he were to step into the woods. He seemed relaxed, smiling a little like he was used to doing so, looking toward the two of them with the same kind of soft fondness that Mallia had so often displayed. He wasn't quite leaning on a staff that looked to be made of a twisted, polished length of wood... with something in a bit of a blub in its shape, at around head level. Something shiny barely peeked out from the gaps in the grain there....
One could be entirely forgiven for thinking him merely a farmer or something; the dust on his pants' legs and the canvas of his boots said he'd been long on his feet, or perhaps simply didn't pay his outward appearance too close a consideration. Someone who perhaps wouldn't even bother rolling up his sleeves before helping with physical chores. But for all that he himself seemed fairly unassuming in the moment, there was something about that staff....
Hadn't there been one just like it in that side-room, off of Mallia's quarters? Not similar, but that exact staff?
He raised an eyebrow, his expression otherwise one of perfect mock-innocence as he looked between them. "Blaming me for something already," he sighed, feigning exasperation. "I spend all this time helping rebuild all this, moving a forest back here, took care of the roses all this time--"
"--And I'll wager that before the month is out, there'll be more people making their way here than I'd have hosted in years, even back in our heyday."
Something had happened, before, and she wasn't exactly bringing it up. Not directly....
"Well, that's it, then. Nothing for it. We'll have to change the floor plans again and expand." The exasperation was clearly all for comedic effect. "I'll need more wine." A glance back to her, and then to Rren, tapping a finger against the wood he held. "Can't drink a staff, after all." Right, as if that cleared anything up....
"We'll use the tower, and my room," she said, quieter, smile not fading, though she closed her eyes a little. "We'll repurpose the main hall, if it comes to it. Make no mistake, however... I'm looking forward to it."
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She paused; her tone had gotten... not quite sad. Wistful? There was a kind of quiet acceptance in it, about something she wasn't directly saying... but it was something else which had occurred to her, that'd made her reconsider her words before they left her. She looked back to Rren, smile almost a bit... mischievous?
"Well...."
A glance behind Rren, and a little nod: look that way?
That way, where previously the doorway to the hall had been empty, someone now stood. A someone who appeared at a glance to be in his 40s or even 50s, blond hair streaked with white... and not exactly human. He had the same subtle points to his ears that Mallia did, nearly hidden in the mop of his hair, and the same slightly-too-large irises, though his were a pale blue, rather than a dark purple. Where her dress was elegant and refined, his was peasant at best, though in good repair, all browns and greens, something that would only help him blend in, if he were to step into the woods. He seemed relaxed, smiling a little like he was used to doing so, looking toward the two of them with the same kind of soft fondness that Mallia had so often displayed. He wasn't quite leaning on a staff that looked to be made of a twisted, polished length of wood... with something in a bit of a blub in its shape, at around head level. Something shiny barely peeked out from the gaps in the grain there....
One could be entirely forgiven for thinking him merely a farmer or something; the dust on his pants' legs and the canvas of his boots said he'd been long on his feet, or perhaps simply didn't pay his outward appearance too close a consideration. Someone who perhaps wouldn't even bother rolling up his sleeves before helping with physical chores. But for all that he himself seemed fairly unassuming in the moment, there was something about that staff....
Hadn't there been one just like it in that side-room, off of Mallia's quarters? Not similar, but that exact staff?
He raised an eyebrow, his expression otherwise one of perfect mock-innocence as he looked between them. "Blaming me for something already," he sighed, feigning exasperation. "I spend all this time helping rebuild all this, moving a forest back here, took care of the roses all this time--"
"--And I'll wager that before the month is out, there'll be more people making their way here than I'd have hosted in years, even back in our heyday."
Something had happened, before, and she wasn't exactly bringing it up. Not directly....
"Well, that's it, then. Nothing for it. We'll have to change the floor plans again and expand." The exasperation was clearly all for comedic effect. "I'll need more wine." A glance back to her, and then to Rren, tapping a finger against the wood he held. "Can't drink a staff, after all." Right, as if that cleared anything up....
"We'll use the tower, and my room," she said, quieter, smile not fading, though she closed her eyes a little. "We'll repurpose the main hall, if it comes to it. Make no mistake, however... I'm looking forward to it."