At Fareeha’s comment about the sparrows Liv flashed a small smile. But at the jostling shoulder, though it was light and jesting, Rhea and Silvus took to the air with an alarmed cry. Liv calmly reached into a small pocket hidden in the folds of her dress, withdrawing a small handful of seeds which she lifted upwards. She lightly clicked her tongue, then rolled it over her palate, mimicking the cooing sounds that sparrows made to each other. Within a few moments the birds had come down to rest on her hand, and after devouring the seed, hopped into the air for a moment before settling on her narrow shoulders again.


Finally she looked back at Fareeha, brows again slightly crinkling as she constructed the words to reply. “Taming them was not my task… In Lusitania sparrows are as common to keep as dogs or cats are, in the rest of the world. There are sellers, running shops all over the big cities. So many sparrows- big ones, little ones, in as many colors as you could ask. Perfumed oils to keep them smelling sweet while they are with you. Trainers and… lessons- obedience lessons? Though I trained these four myself. They are given as gifts, by those without the financial means to give more exotic creatures to their lovers, or parents wanting to teach their children responsibility without risk of much loss.” She made no further comment, though her hand went for a moment to the gold locket that hung against her heart, then back up to pet the sparrows after an insistent peck. 

She then scrambled for something else to say, and finally remembered the whole, er, dancing topic. So Fareeha had learned all this in the special forces? That was terribly… interesting. Liv’s mental assessment of Fareeha’s formidableness went up by a solid two hundred percent. Probably best to not refuse the offer. “And, as regarding the dancing, I would love to learn at some time.”

After that exchange the small princess turned to look again at Mai, who had been silent for some time now. Scrambling for a topic, she finally picked the most obvious thing about Mai’s physical appearance- at least, the most obvious trait through the eyes of a short, awkward girl. “Princess Mai, you always move so gracefully in those heels… I have never been able to even keep my balance, never-mind move in them, and I was wondering if, if it were convenient for you, you might give me a few tips, at some point during this stay?” She bit her tongue, cursing her meandering thoughts and habit of rambling- subconsciously trying to obfuscate her sentence structure and make the grammatical snaggles less apparent.