Geralt had to stop his jaw from falling to the floor at Ivory's words. Was that a shred of a positive thought she had shared? He looked at her with his eyebrows raised instead. Though it was not exactly a compliment, it was still the closest to praise he had heard from the vampiress since his arrival to the troupe. Had she seen his hand, and still raised? No...not yet, it was too early for her to know enough about him to assume his little game. Still...there was something...gratifying about it.

[color=crimson]"Please, Miss Ivory, I am but an open book. You only need to turn the page to find out what you need to know."[/color] He said, tiling his head toward her and blinking coquettishly.

Cora's eyes softened slightly at Lucien's explanation, and even more when she saw Geralt was still smiling at her. So, she hadn't necessarily broken the rules after all, and hadn't offended anyone either, that was a relief. She could be quite "crass" sometimes, as Lucien had said, because she hadn't yet mastered her manners. Humans were curious creatures about that.

Geralt tapped the side of his nose and returned his gaze to the Siren. [color=crimson]"Exactly. Magicians are..."[/color] he struggled with the word for a moment, looking to the ceiling for guidance, [color=crimson]"Mercurial creatures. Being too revealing pins us down, and we prefer to be...free."[/color] He spread his fingers wide, like the pinions of a bird's wing, to illustrate his point. He leaned forward again and added, [color=crimson]"Besides, it wouldn't be as fun if you knew [i]how[/i] it was done, would it?"[/color]

He'd decided from this conversation that Cora had to be new to the life of a performer if she didn't even know this fact about Magicians. He wondered how long she had been with the troupe and where exactly she had come from. Although she spoke with an American accent, something told him that she was not exactly a native. He couldn't ask directly, that would be prying, and after Lucien's warning, he had to be careful around the girl. Still, if he caught her alone he may be able to ask. 

Cora nodded, tapping the side of her nose gently as she mimicked Geralt's gesture. [color=00a99d]"Aahh..."[/color] she said, [color=00a99d]"I see. Mercurial...that means changeable, right? Illyana taught me a couple things about the stars and planets and all that..."[/color] she said, following the Magician's eyes up as well. Learning about all of the things up in the sky had been much more entertaining to her than learning about the things of the land, and she had asked Illyana many questions during their lessons about the planets, clouds, rain, stars, wind, and all of the other things that came from "the heavens". She found it fascinating.

[color=crimson]"Too right, my dear."[/color] Geralt said, tilting his head slightly in her direction. He was impressed...although she seemed a simple creature, she was clearly hiding some intelligence. Curious indeed...the more he spoke with Cora, the deeper he wanted to delve into her past.

Cora's smile widened in response, pleased that she had gotten it right after such a mishap.