[color=A0A0A0][h2]Fleuri Jodeau[/h2][/color]

Fleuri was a bit concerned that his banter had only served to darken Jarde's mood.  To step into this world for the first time with relatively little under one's belt was a daunting and intimidating task for those not brought up in it.  The young knight's lack of arrogance and appreciation for his inexperience in the area of aristocratic gatherings was no doubt a virtue, and a welcome departure from the arrogant nobles who thought more of themselves than was warranted, but it was clear that a little confidence would benefit him.

At Jarde's prompting, Fleuri glanced over at Gerard, who had been approached by a few young ladies, and was regaling to them the story of Bandit King Jeremiah.  What Jarde had missed, however, was that Sir Segremors' body language suggested that he was similarly out of his element, in need of a fellow knight's aid as surely as if this were a battlefield.   Fleuri glanced at Jarde and back at Gerard again as he concocted a plan.

[i]Yes, that ought to solve solve both of their problems.[/i]

"You're right, Sir Devaron," he conceded as he turned his attention back to Jarde.  "This is not an occasion for lamentation.  It is a time for celebrating our victory.  And if you would be so gracious to assist me in this celebration, simply follow my lead."  Fleuri approached Gerard and the admirers that had entrapped him, paying careful attention to their conversation and movements.  He approached it not dissimilarly to a battle, interpreting a foe's body language and rushing to the aid of a clearly overwhelmed knight-brother.

"Good evening, Sir Segremors," he spoke up, drawing close to the group.  "Regaling the ladies of the tale of our recent triumph over Bandit King Jeremiah and his bloodthirsty band of brigands?"

"It was quite the battle afraid I myself took a rather uneventful role in it.  I cut down a few bandits, sure, but unlike some of the others, I didn't have the excitement of crossing blades with the Bandit King.  He was quite the terrible foe, from what I heard though.  Strong enough to fell a massive tree with a single swing of his weapon, and so tough that he went into battle without armor," he narrated, intent on grabbing their attention.

"Sir Devaron, you fought Jeremiah too, might you assist our friend Gerard here on recounting the battle against that terrible fiend to these lovely ladies?" he asked, gesturing to Jarde and drawing the group's attention to him.  On a battlefield, it'd be grossly irresponsible to hoist the center of attention to a junior knight or squire in such a manner, and perhaps it was somewhat irresponsible here as well, but Gerard needed help and Jarde needed this experience.

With the assumption that attention had been diverted from him, Fleuri backed away to observe the commoner-born knights tell their tale, taking another sip from his glass.  Once he could be sure they handle the ladies without a chaperone, Fleuri would be able to slip away and mingle with the others.

[@PaulHaynek][@HereComesTheSnow][@VitaVitaAR]