Sid, across from him, froze when Daryll addressed her, nodding quickly to confirm her name before resuming her meal. Ruli folded his arms and leaned on the table as the group caught Daryll up, his eyes trained on the table. When the scholar said Kire hated to be outdone, Ruli's mouth twitched slightly, noticed only by Sid, who gave him a passing glance. His second of amusement failed when Daryll mentioned Envy, the sinking feeling of failure washing over Ruli like a shower of ice. His thoughts spiraled again; he should try another scrying. Should try it with a few different ingredients, maybe. He could try it with more blood. Rabs, and maybe his own. Rab was half Kartaian, but Ruli was what his ancestors had called Solaralai Blessed, if there was such a thing. "How did this girl get this power if she's no where near here?" Sid asked, setting her fork on her now empty plate. She raised her hand to offer Daryll a casual wave as he departed, turning her head toward Myka. "What magic would you have if you could pick that sort of thing?" She wondered, changing the subject. "I'd ask for healing magic. Just to [i]touch [/i]someone and stitch together skin or ease a headache." The conversation circled around in hypothetical magics; all participating but Ruli, who kept silent, his head down as he leered at the table. He only opened his mouth to translate for Rab, who said that his chosen magic would be to change his appearance. Clearly, he had reservations about the stares and winces he got walking around his his half-breed form. It was different here, he signed. They don't look at him with fear and disgust, but with simple wonder. Kire's scent filled the tent, which spurred Ruli into raising his head at last to glance at her. He could smell the priestess's incense on her, albeit faintly, which made Ruli want to instinctively recoil away, but he refrained. Beyond the incense, he could tell she was anxious and worried, struggling to pull her focus away from what was happening outside the tent. He held her gaze without blinking, not sure what she could read in his expression, but when she touched his hand and squeezed it, Ruli felt a whisper of comfort. For just a few seconds, the ice in his belly melted. It was gone as quickly as her hand, and Ruli looked back down to the table, ignoring the dark gaze that rest upon him from across the way. "We're considering using you to counter the Goddess." Sid said, tearing her eyes from Ruli to look at the Empress. "Our idea is to offer the people effected tokens of magic suppression, possibly bound to an Amrian coin. Which bears your face." She fell silent as Gavin offered more information, though Sid once more stole a glance to Ruli, itching to kick him under the table and get him to speak up. But Ruli just seemed to leer at the wood in front of his crossed arms, his eyes shifting in subtle movements as if he was reading invisible writing etched into the surface. It was impossible to tell if he was trying to plan out their next steps, or if he was struggling to move beyond Envy. Kire joined them at the table to discuss their options, circling around the suppression magic, the way they could adhere it to coins, and, Sid insisted, on Ruli managing to find a way to get the magic to ebb when this was over. Allow it to slowly drain off the coins so that those who could potentially become addicted to it wouldn't be struck with any sort of withdrawal symptoms. Ruli, rubbing his forehead with his fingers, promised to put an effort into managing such a thing. Honestly, to him, it seemed an impossible task. But he knew Sid wouldn't let it go. She had a history with addicts, he knew, so he wouldn't begrudge her for it.