Fendros, Janius, and Sabine all shared in the laughter. However, when Fendros had the pastry waved in front of his face, his blue-grey skin ever-so-slightly paled. "Mmm, I don't think I need a swarm of insects in my bed tonight, thank Ahna," Fendros said, covering his mouth.

"I don't understand," Rhazii said. "I know you don't take moon sugar, father, but is there a story behind it? It doesn't sound like something funny. Did you eat it in bed and attract ants or something?"

"Uh, not exactly, Rhazii." Fendros rubbed behind his ear. His eyes turned up to Ahnasha. "Perhaps you'd better explain that time in Thorn, Ahna. You were more lucid at the time."

Lunise's eyes lit up at Meesei's comment. She looked to her face and raised an eyebrow. "From how you explained it to me, folding three times was to ensure safety, was it not? You had to ensure that your destination was displacable air."

Sabine softly answered. "Only if you are bringing someone from the far side of the portal. For travelling one way from your origin to destination you only require two folds. One forward and one back." She smiled to Meesei. "Meesei had been using a technique she had learned about which did not make explicit mention of it."

A tiny tilt of her head expressed at least an indication that Lunise was impressed. "Meesei did make mention of your talents, Sabine. I can see they were not unfounded. Innovation and improvement are hallmarks of quality mages."

It was an irrefutably kind remark. Sabine was at first frozen, trying to figure out what part of it inevitably had Lunise's usual underhanded derision. Finding none, she spread a warm smile and shrank over her food. "Thank you."

"Although..." Lunise turned her head back to Meesei again. "I remember you making specific mention of her affinity for alchemy."