A familiar voice, one she hadn’t heard in quite a while, pulled Alinore from her rather uninspiring conversation with an equally uninspiring nobleman of lesser importance. Lord Ranfax had caught her as she left her office and decided to burden her with the pleasure of his company. He was hardly the worst of the noblemen she could have encountered, but he did seem rather fond of the sound of his own voice and remained entirely unaware of his own unfortunate habit of never contributing anything of substance to the conversation. At least she could appease him easily enough with the occasional nod, a few well-placed sounds of acknowledgement, and a pointed question or two.

It was almost a relief to turn and find Ares Bashar standing before her. Though his abrupt appearance and greeting earned him a raised eyebrow, he, at least, had more than empty space between his ears. With a polite smile and a few parting words, Alinore excused herself from Ranfax’s company and sent the loquacious lord on his way. “Not nearly as sad as your rock must be about losing yours, Lord Bashar,” She returned in the same tone, offering him a node as she stepped easily into the game that they had played for years. “I have been here nearly a year, yet this is the first we have spoken in that time. I expect the two of you must have become quite close to have kept you so far from court for so long.”

They were similar creatures, Ares and Alinore. Blessed with striking appearances and the sharp intelligence to match, both had spent their youth in the halls of the castle, learning the art of veiled insults and skin-deep smiles that they had both perfected by now. “A noticeable quiet has accompanied your absence.” Whether the faint hint of disappointment in her tone was attributed to the presence of that relative peacefulness or the loss of it now that he had returned was up to him to attempt to decipher.