[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/241208/a04161052c56932d95d6bf9168fcef02.png[/img][/center][hr][i]The Eye of the Beholder[/i][hr]
[color=DDA0DD]“I see. Thank you,”[/color] Nesna beamed. Her smile settled into a relaxed, optimistic expression as she watched Sya go on her way. Hopefully, once this mess was handled, there could be fruitful relationships to be made in Dawnhaven. An odd group, they’d be, no doubt even more so with the addition of whatever other misfits the friendly innkeeper had surely accumulated, but if most others were as hospitable as Sya, Zeph, or, really, in a pinch, even that other fellow, perhaps this place had some chance of resembling the so-called haven that the Aurelian prince seemed keen on cultivating. Presuming, of course, that if the blight was sent into retreat, King Jericho didn’t declare the place a part of the royal hunting grounds. But as long as the Princess was around, that seemed unlikely.

With any luck, there would be better options than chicken broth for sustenance once the curfew was lifted. Really, it was endearing, the effort that the innkeeper went to in order to attend to her varied clientele, but a simple broth is always just a broth, no matter how many little bits of things might be floating in it. Not that Nesna could eat those anyway. But there was something nice about it even so, she could grant. It was much lighter, much easier to consume than blood. Blood of any sort was a viscous thing, even when fresh. It sat heavy, rich, and decadent. Really, even if it weren’t [i]pure blood[/i], a comparable substance would still feel rather forbidden to consume anyway, for how much it was in every respect. 

If she ever had to eat broth in the future, Nesna resolved to ask for it in a cup. Blood deserved the dignity of a bowl, no doubt. A sip rather than a spoonful had always felt imprudent, even when she had nothing but a cup to collect the stuff in. But broth? It was practically hot water—not unlike a meat-tea, really. 

[i]Meat tea.[/i] The thought made Nesna take pause from spooning up another bit of broth into her mouth. Definitely better to call the stuff broth—meat tea was a deeply unappetizing term, even if it was another perfectly accurate way to describe broth. 

Nesna took another few spoonfuls of broth before stopping. Looking down at the half-consumed bowl, she frowned. She really hadn’t eaten much, and yet she couldn’t find it in herself to go for another spoonful. Meat tea—it was meat tea. And that thought—the thought that she was essentially eating [i]meat tea[/i] with a [i]spoon[/i]—had thoroughly put her off from the soup.

Well, there was always wine. And normal tea. Normal, decent, perfectly sensible tea. Yes, that would be a good way to get her mind off the subject of meat tea. A conversation with a merchant about normal, appetizing types of tea. Hopefully this Lunarian merchant might have some variation in his selection.

Nesna set her spoon down for the last time. She picked up her glass, extended her tail down to take hold of her bags, and melted into the shadow under the bar. She reconstituted right next to the Lunarian merchant, retracted her tail back into the depths of her dress, set down her glass gently, and spoke.

[color=DDA0DD]“If you’ll pardon the intrusion, you wouldn’t happen to be a merchant, would you?”[/color] she asked. Knowing the man was Lunarian, Nesna took extra care to sit upright and appear pleasant. She pulled her expression into a soft, inoffensive smile, and tilted her head sympathetically. And as she spoke, she spoke as softly as possible while remaining easily audible, in a way not dissimilar to how she had presented herself before the guards earlier, albeit with less in the way of prostration.

[b]Interactions[/b]
[@PrinceAlexus], [@Theyra]