Basren carefully composed his face.<br/><br/>From what he'd heard of Alarastian Langlais, he had been a chubby boy of ill health who wasn't going to grow up to be any great beauty. Yet the contradiction of that was standing right here, introducing himself. High content, good looks, with an easy confidence about him... He would do well in court. He'd probably get more offers for his hand during his debut than Basren ever dared dream to hope for in his lifetime.<br/><br/>"Alaras," he said. "Then please, just call me Basren."<br/><br/>His gaze strayed to the pot, and while his mind was instantly categorizing it, he thought,<i>Oh, and thoughtful too</i>, with not a little dismay.<br/><br/>At least until Alaras had seen the statue and startled, tripping over himself in the process, and breaking both his own pot and upending the one he'd stumbled over. Basren goggled at him for a full second before rushing over to him, helping him to stand up with a hand to his arm. Suddenly Alaras looked very pale, shaken.<br/><br/>"Are you all right?" Basren said.<br/><br/>But Alaras was already picking up the ceramic, released from Basren's gentle hold, and anger was leaking into his movements somewhere, even if he was trying to hide it in his voice. Basren looked at the statue as it was mentioned, thought about Alaras admitting to being ill most of the time, and wondered.<br/><br/>Basren said hesitantly, slowly, "Yes, it is. Quite lifelike." He couldn't say anymore about it, but his own gaze didn't linger on it either. He untucked his handkerchief from his pocket and gave it a small shake to unfold it, then laid it in his palm, collecting the ceramic from Alaras' bare hands before he cut himself.<br/><br/><i>This was meant as a gift for you, but this was not how I imagined presenting it.</i><br/><br/>"For... me?" he said. "Oh." He gave Alaras a leading look, with a half smile. The sharing of a joke. "Oh, surely not. But I'll have it repotted. Sovele is not much of one for plants, though... but he'll appreciate the thought. This is just my own diversion. He lets me work the grounds to keep me occupied, I think." His smile went a little wider as he spoke, but then dropped again. "You look a little pale. Please, come sit down."<br/><br/>He set the ceramic pieces on the table, and gingerly put the plant there, too. The paper would survive a little dampness. A servant would be by to take care of it all, was probably already watching since the crash had been heard.<br/><br/>He guided Alaras away, to a part of the garden had already been mostly completed, and there was a comfortable bench in the shade of a tree. Its branches trailed down almost to the ground, but they had been trimmed in a neat arc above the bench to create an elegant bower. The statue was completely out of view.<br/><br/>Once Alaras had been settled, Basren flagged down a servant, who brought them tea within a minute or two of Basren's request for it. Basren pressed a cup into Alaras' hands, noting the man's cold fingertips as the fine china passed hands.<br/><br/>"It's well sugared. I'm sorry for giving you such a fright," he said.<br/><br/>Then he faltered for a moment how to go on. Which was fine, since the silence allowed Alaras space enough to take his tea and recover a bit. Basren had done what he could to help him regain equilibrium. He just didn't know Alaras well enough to completely soothe him over, he supposed. Certainly not by talking about said statue. That would get Basren in trouble, anyway, if he tried to be sympathetic. It was, in all actuality, a frightful piece of stone, and the resemblance to Basren was... uncanny. He didn't need any of that repeated to find its way back to Sovele, though.<br/><br/>"Are you feeling better? Sovele said you enjoyed greenery like I do. I hadn't meant to catch you like this. I was hoping it would be enjoyable. Perhaps a tour of the rest and some fresh air will set you back to rights? We'll... skip the statue, if you like."