Caster raised an eyebrow, a small gesture that the depths of her hood concealed, as she examined Sebastian. A child? He certainly has some power, but he can't be more than ten summers old. Another internal voice, the deep, old, male voice that Caster had assigned her inner critic, the voice of her teacher, long ago, replied, Your brother was only a boy when he first achieved greatness. Do not be so quick to judge. Caster sighed inwardly. Very well. I am bound to obey him in any case. I shall wait to pass judgment on his worthiness until I have seen him in battle.
Caster nodded to Sebastian. "Master." She turned to Sophie. "Please, my lady, keep a cevel tongue. You wound my master's pride. Et would not do to wound it more. Such a grievous hurt might prevent him from entering the field of battle." Her voice lilted, mixing curiously with the rising intonation of her statements, a faint trace of a Welsh accent occasionally discernible in her words. She turned back to Sebastian, and added, "Saber has little-little elegance. Barbaric, Saber is. What subtlety es there to a swung sword? I can serve you far better than that anwarddyn ever could." She bowed her head to Sebastian again.
Caster nodded briefly to Rider. We will be working together, at least for awhile. It pays to be polite. At least until it is time for her to be removed. But that will not be for awhile. Caster looked at Sophie again, and added, "She is your ally, isn't it? I assume so, from the joint summoning and apparent kinship, but kinship is not everything." She glanced around the basement again, and said, "It matters not. Conflict begins tomorrow, and we may begin classifying enemies then. I do not wish to think more on the war tonight. I hope that the rest of your dwelling is less hard than this room. Might we go above, and do something?" She raised a rustling black sleeve and pointed to the stairs hopefully. The light of the candle glinted off of her hazel eyes for a moment. "I have grown very weary of inaction over the course of my life."
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