[h2]Rui (and Tyaethe)[/h2]

It seemed that Tyaethe's tangent about Talderian had temporarily distracted the rabbit from her purpose--and if anyone cared to pay much attention, and had familiarity with the language, they'd be able to piece together that the dialect Rui knew [i]was[/i] demonstrably different even on some fairly well-known phrases from both the version still recorded for legal and the occasional liturgical reason, or the well-known version spoken by the Talderian nobility towards the end of the empire's existence. About the only clearer thing was that it was even [i]more[/i] remote from the Thaln language that (most people) were otherwise speaking.

Looking around, she realised that Lein, Steffen, and her luggage had left and offered an abrupt apology before disappearing after them. [i]Probably[/i] after them, who could say for sure.

Well, Lein would, when she somehow managed to appear, silently watching, in his peripheral vision some half an hour later.

"Aw, that's a shame, I wanted to persuade her to teach me Akitsushiman. Diplomats don't come through often enough to pick it up," the vampire grumbled, to nobody in particular.