[ the comment earns a bright, pleased laugh, equally amused and flattered. ] You think highly of my skills indeed. Perhaps I'll try it sometime. After all, I hear that the south doesn't have proper courtesans.

[ he's heard quite a bit about the south, actually. he'd done his research before leaving the imperium. florus isn't where he is in life because he was incautious. besides, he quite likes lucrezia and he rather likes her brother; if he was going to travel with her, it only made sense to see what they were both getting themselves into. ]

I imagine they think we're both blood-mages, anyway, [ he muses after a moment, tipping his temple against her crown fondly. ] I wonder if Magister Pavus's son found it difficult here at first. .. Do you suppose he's gone native?