Kire watched him eat, staring, fascinated, at his teeth. Elves were one thing, but Ruli looked to be human except for those teeth. [i]And the shadow-walking.[/i] Was he part elf? Or were there just some people who had features like his? Knowing he wasn’t particularly keen to answer her [i]personal[/i] questions, she kept her wondering to herself.  She almost laughed when he made a face at the squid. “You might like it better in a stew. I didn’t think I’d like it, what with the black ink mixed in with the sauce and all, but it was surprisingly delicious. Especially when you have squid full of eggs.” Kire’s eyes unfocused for a bit, like she was already imagining eating the stew. Clearing her throat, she pointed at the squid he had left untouched. “If you’re not going to finish that, can I have it?”

She sipped on the rest of the hot soup as he spoke, nodding when he talked about the difficulties of finding homes for the two groups. At his comment about a throne-less princess, Kire stopped and raised a brow at his expression. “Is it all princesses that you don’t like, or just this one?” She smirked a little over her bowl. “Can’t say I’m all that surprised. Royalty can be very stubborn. Especially when you take their seat of power away. I’m sure she’s stewing over that.” She finished sipping from her bowl and set it down before speaking again. “But if she knows what’s good for her people, a halfway decent leader should know when to cut their losses. A year more of mountain-dwelling as a refugee and let’s see if she hasn’t sorted her priorities out by then.” 

She rested her chin on her hand, fingers drumming against her cheek as she thought it over. “Not in this worl—place, no. But back home, yes. Like me, I trust majority of my people wouldn’t have heard of the existence of elves of any sort, save for fairy-tales. There are communities here and there of people who, ah, don’t come from Amria, so it’s not unheard-of. It’s a long story. Point is, there are plenty of places like that back home. [i]Transport[/i], however, is going to be tricky, as you can imagine.” She huffed. “And on top of that, when I’m back home, I have to worry about my own set of refugees and exiles, myself. It will take time, and a lot of planning.”