Geralt scoffed gently at Ivory's words, nodding in agreement. Very few things could pull him back from the brink of despair that he was teetering on these past few evenings, but this has been just the ticket, it seemed.

He blinked in surprise at Ivory's next question, however. He had always held pride in his foresight, but had to admit to himself that he had not seen this coming. It was direct, a strong question, and he was in a particular mood, so he respected it.

[color=crimson]"Is it that obvious?"[/color] He said, shaking his head a little without looking in her direction. He had begun to walk beside her, noticing that she was not hurrying away from him as she normally would. Had his interaction with the child intrigued her this much? He supposed he could entertain her with a direct answer...she had helped him with this project after all.

[color=crimson]"I do,"[/color] he added, after a moment of silence. [color=crimson]"I find their innocence absolutely charming. Their simplicity...I envy it, at times."[/color] He walked with his hands in his pockets and glanced up at the star-filled sky. Absently, he retrieved his watch from his vest pocket and popped it open. He looked down at it and a strange expression crossed his face...a look of longing...then he replaced it and looked at Ivory again, [color=crimson]"You? I must admit I noticed that you were a little...off-balance with young Cecelia."[/color]