[center][h3][color=C0392B]Rudolf Shilage[/color][/h3][/center]

Well, it wasn't like he made that joke without expecting retribution from [i]somebody[/i].

Rudolf rubbed at the point of impact with an undertone grunt, before murmuring something that rhymed to the general tune of [color=c0392b]"he certainly wasn't this [i]strict[/i] about it."[/color] as he and Skael's native son and daughter were ushered inside in short order, the great oak door locking away the cold and the rest of the Kirins behind them. They were escorted to a plush enough lounge, warmly lit and adorned with dark furnishing— one that would make for a cozy study or sitting room, in less uncertain circumstances.[sup]1[/sup]

Despite the admonishment from outside, the young man studiously continued to play along with the familiarity of address the staff afforded him, gratefully accepting a steaming cup of tea and plucking a buttery cake from the accompanying platter. Popping the pastry into his maw, he glanced around the room as they began to sit and wait, sinking into their respective cushions.

[color=c0392b]"... How's the back holding up, Eliane?"[/color] he asked after a time, lolling his head over to give the pink-haired fusilier a once-over. It had seemed that the injury had really taken the wind out of her sails, even now that she was on the mend— while the hike over to the Breien estate hadn't prompted any obvious issues, she did still seem somewhat [i]muted[/i] in her bearing from before—

Though, in fairness, the concern Galahad was voicing out front she likely more than shared— with Solitude having gone totally silent even to its' own intelligence apparatus, and saboteurs like Loki already so well-embedded within as to catch them out in a random township like that...

Her thoughts, most likely, lied with her family more than anything else that could be dragging them off-course like this.

He heard the knob turn, and gently tossed an extra cushion that had been lying at his side over to where she sat, before plucking his teacup from the table and plastering a languid slouch over his bearing, reclining into his seat with a propped up elbow and a smile.

[color=c0392b]"Halvor. Hi, I brought friends over. Didn't freeze."[/color] He raised his cup in greeting, before taking a sip. [color=c0392b]"You look stressed, have some tea. It's peaflower. They say it's good for nerves— and blue, too."[/color]

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[*][sub]1. The temperature difference from the outside notwithstanding, it's easy to see how someone who uses 'reading' and 'painting' to stave off a biological urge to get back on psychoactive chemicals that got them through their employment days would favor this sort of atmosphere in their home.[/sub]
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