[center][color=92278f][center][h3]Victor Astorio[/h3][/center][/color][/center]

This wasn’t the most entertaining night that Victor had gone through. He would rather be torn apart in the arena by the princess again. The count simply figured that if he was going to have to sit on the side lines for this political knife fight he might as well try to learn something. Victor adjusted himself in his seat so that he was not slouching or seeming to be uninterested with the conversation. Instead he took the new glass of blood and took a sip. 

The taste wasn’t horrific but it definitely would not be as surprising as Salem’s blood. The mix of tastes did seem to overwhelm each other from one moment to the next but it wasn’t terrible. Now Victor had to focus back in on the conversation, figure out what he could from what was going on. This type of fighting was sometimes just as dangerous as his own fights. Varis had to of set this room up from the start to set the tone just like he would in a battlefield. From how they were seated, to the paintings on the wall, to how he dressed himself and his mage. 

Their seating arrangements put ben in the center that was a given seeing as it was an introduction of sorts to the others. The paintings on the wall behind him was more than likely put there with an attempt to poke at his own feelings towards fighting perhaps or a prod at a possible disdain for his own family. A shot in the dark if anything but the picture itself was wrong, the lord wasn’t one to be so merciful. Lord Perion had told him that he made that traitor suffer like all the others, death by a thousand cuts. So what of how he was dressed then? 

Varis seemed to be dressed rather plain with Arron dressed a bit flashier. Trying to pull a sympathy card wouldn’t work with Victor he could see that the boy had changed in a downward direction in his opinion. The boys figure had grown a bit leaner and he had lost a bit of muscle mass since when he first saw the boy. Perhaps he was abusing the mage in small ways to get past the rules of this place. Either way even Salem had more muscle mass then that boy now.

Even as he was analyzing the situation the conversation continued, Varis was going on the offensive. With house Eve in their current state even a simple rumor could spread doom and gloom about the young count. Their where a few traps in his words that Victor could see but there where definitely more than just that. Ben’s reaction was again defensive but held a bit of honor to his words. Even if they were not true using a parent as a driving force was still admirable. A quick glance at Amaris was all he needed to see that she had composed herself again and was now reading into the situation just as he was trying to. More than likely she was able to read the situation better than himself.

The comment about Ben’s mother made him think about it a bit more. Victor had never known his mother. In fact, every time he tried to remember back past the age of ten he was all ways met with a sharp pain to the back of his head. Almost like getting hit with a cattle prod. The sensation making him wince slightly while he continued to listen to what was being discussed.