Straia, Erebor, Anyone;

[Erebor]

We are at war. There will be scars.

"I am well, Nayl. I hope you are the same." When Ephrelle speaks up, he turns to her with a smile. He is no idiot when it comes to the effect he can have on mares, and his warrior's instincts make it all too easy to spot the small changes in the young filly. "Ephrelle, a pleasure to meet you." his voice is smooth and rich, like chocolate.

He turns back to Nayl as the girl speaks again, and he isn't surprised at her boldness. He understands speaking your mind – he's prone to it, as well – but he also understands that if you ask something like that outright, you're never going to get the answer you expect. Or the answer you want. There is a delicate balance between asking too frankly, and asking too obliquely, between being artless and being insincere. He likes to think he's learned to walk those lines. It is clear to him that this girl has not.

But none of those thoughts show on his face. To the outside observer – to Nayl and Ephrelle and his mother – he continues to listen to their conversation with gentle interest, entirely unmoved by anything that they might say one way or the other. As is his custom in diplomatic endeavors, he lets his mother speak first, seeing how she chooses to answer Nayl's question before hazarding anything himself. It's not that he doubts his capacities; it's merely that, in matters of diplomacy, he is the second to the queen (as they all are) and he will always allow her to set the tone, especially in more delicate moments like this one.

"I can't say that I've met Scorch beyond our encounter in the jungle, but I would agree that in these times where leaders so often go quiet, a present, engaged leader like Scorch can only be a good thing." He doesn't doubt that that is not the answer the girl was looking for. And Straia senses the same thing – his mother asks what Nayl had really wanted to know, and Erebor is curious as well. Nayl had said that she was here on a curious visit, but the boy can't help but wonder if the Amazons were after something with it. Rhy, the leader of the Amazonian diplomats, is Straia's cousin, he recalls. He wonders if she knows what is going on with this.

But he does not ask. He lets Straia's statement stand, curious to hear what Nayl's answer will be – but he spares a small moment to catch Ephrelle's eye and offer her a small smile. If he's going to play eye candy, he's going to do it up round.

Erebor

Native Prince of the Chamber

warship x straia