As Vat-Katari directed his attention towards the more recent arrivals to the Blooming Rose, Evelyn directed her own to Feri and Rannon. "So, you two are vying for the first mate position, hm? Rannon and... Feri." Evelyn groaned inwardly at the severity of her accent; "Feri" was simply not a name suited for Orlesians, it being so close in pronunciation to "cheri" of the Orlesian tongue. She kept her cool outwardly, however, showing no signs of embarassment. "And what makes you think you are ready to lead? Perhaps you truly do have the experience required to call yourself superior to a pirate crew. Or perhaps," Evelyn leaned back, kicking her legs up and resting them on the seat, much in the way lords and ladies lounged on sofas and couches, "you aspire for power and respect, but lack what is required for a role of more responsibility." She may not have used her skill as a wordsmith on Vat, but now it was in full force.

As much as she was trying to cast doubt into the minds of Feri and Rannon, Evelyn was just as concerned with discovering which of the two truly was more suited for the position of first mate. She had no interest in it herself; she considered herself far too old to assume a leadership position when her subordinates were so much younger. However, her words were certainly crafted to seem as if she were. It was a play as old as the Game itself. "If you want to know who to trust, appear to trust none but yourself. If you are watchful, the trustworthy may reveal themselves in time, if not directly," her mother used to say. It was a play Comtesse Lémieux used once while arranging a successor for the marquisate in which she resided. It was certainly a gamble, as there were so many ways for it to backfire, and it often took far too long for it to come into effect. But Evelyn hoped to sow those seeds early and carefully monitor them as Vat attempted to pick a first mate out of the lot. Besides, since when was anything from the Game's playbook [i]not [/i] a gamble?