Oren watched after Rose as she walked away, absently holding a cookie in his hand. The girl's story didn't quite click, but who was he to suggest she was lying? Maybe he was just overthinking it.

"One day you will have the fight you want," Essa was saying. "Hopefully she will be a bit stronger by then,"

Ziotea's reply was expected - he knew half of what she would say before she said it. "...If I encounter her without you present, I will kill her."

Oren flinched slightly. She was stronger than he was in her convictions, he had to admit. He didn't dwell on it further, as Essa turned to him, holding her catalyst as though it was a stolen toy or its ilk. His gaze lingered on it, but eventually, he lifted it to meet the woman's. 

"If I thought less of you, Mother Lyessa, perhaps that would be true. As it is, I returned it because I respect you. I would not fight an enemy disarmed when I respect them - and I sincerely hope that we never come to blows. We are outmatched, but only just, I think."

He cast a curious glance at Mother Ziotea when he joined her, and she revealed her name. Of all things, [i]that[/i] was not something Oren expected. Perhaps he didn't understand people as well as he thought. Still, as she turned to leave, Oren emulated what she had done, inclining his head in imitation of a bow.

"Oren Kanus, son of none. We appreciate what you have done for us."

He then turned and jogged after the shorter woman. His mind was already drifting toward what he would need to do when they returned... time was short, and he would need to work fast if he had any hope of verifying what they had been told.

Except it jolted back into position when Oren saw that something was amiss. Andrei Seminov was not there. Maybe time was not of the essence after all.