[center][url=https://fontmeme.com/signature-fonts/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/181005/41c405fb97b9e0467e0a0c258c7e14f0.png[/img][/url][/center][right][sub]Interacting with: [@Achronum] [@Trainerblue192][/sub][/right]
Aaron deflated slightly. Salem didn’t seem particularly reassured; either that, or the mage was mad at him, as Aaron had feared. Maybe both. Expression falling into more of a composed mask, Aaron turned his attention to other things, eyes eventually falling on the painting of Geoffrey Noila and Landar Starag. That stern expression on his many-great-grandfather’s face was one Aaron was intimately familiar with; he wasn’t sure that there existed a single painting of the man with a look of anything other than vague displeasure. That look of his had been able to make Aaron stand a little straighter ever since he was a child, and tonight was no exception. 

The servant bearing dinnerware was a welcome distraction, and soon the blindfolded mage - Lady Sinnenodel’s representative, evidently - spoke up. She spoke with the cadence of a noble, clearly acting as her Lady’s mouthpiece, but Aaron was more surprised by her voice. Given her stature and dress, he had been expecting something confident, smooth and sultry, like a femme fatale from one of those old spy movies. But instead, her voice was quiet and harsh, with a roughness to it he might not have expected from a young woman. From a multi-millennia old vampiress, however… 

Oddly enough, he wasn’t too perturbed by the information Lady Sinnenodel possessed about the two of them. Everything she knew about him could have probably been found by anyone with an internet connection, let alone political contacts, and he had no doubt that information like what she had on Salem could easily be provided to someone of her standing. No, what surprised him was the fact that she took any interest in either one of them in the first place. Aaron supposed she might be interested in him seeing as he was joining her house, and perhaps Salem’s father’s business with Varis had interested her to his doings, but Aaron couldn’t shake the feeling that they both should still have been far below her notice. 

At the comment about his affinity, though, Aaron smirked. It was something he himself had lamented countless times since his Awakening, though truth be told he no longer resented it. After the relief of having magic had worn off, he’d been disappointed that he didn’t have the same affinity as his mother (and by extension, as Landar himself) but, as he had learned more about it and what it could do, even with his limited skill at the moment he had grown quite attached to his own affinity. 

When it came time to reply, he briefly paused, thinking over his answer carefully. [color=CBBA2E]“I'm honoured by your interest, Your Excellency. So far I'm finding everything quite engaging.”[/color] His speech was paced and steady, every syllable calm and even. Given the gravity of the situation, everything was carefully engineered, right down to the term of address. A gesture of good will, if not an entirely genuine one. He gave the mage his attention, respectfully averting his eyes as if he were interacting with vampire nobility, and kept his expression a contented mask. [color=CBBA2E]“I have never been around so many people my own age, and the range of new opportunities open to me is impressive, to say the least. I look forward to taking advantage of it.”[/color]