Tedric nodded at the confirmation that his assumption had been proven correct, "Sounds fair enough to me." He added with as light of a voice as he could manage; it wasn't that he was much worried about any such constraints but, more so, that he was still rattled by the woman's presence. Not in a bad way, of course. More, that she was a very attractive woman and, as if that weren't bad enough, quite in control of her presence. Confident. Plus, Tedric was quite unaware of what abilities or powers a mage even had access to. Few, if any, had passed through the border camps he had known as home during his formative years and, as such, he'd not had the privilege of witnessing their furry in combat. What he<i>had </i>seen and heard, however, painted any person capable of wielding the arcane in a very dangerous light. Not fearful, exactly, but certainly weary. Of course, he knew there was no threat<i>from </i>Alaria as, now, their lives were tied together inextricably.<br/><br/>Thankfully for Tedric, Sara arrived with Alaria's wine a moment later and broke his train of thought once more. No matter how hard he tried he found his attention drawn to the woman's busty chest and all too rounded rear. Still, Tedric managed to wrench his lingering gaze away from the barmaid and back to Alaria as she answered his other questions. "How might one's affinities become apparent?" He'd heard all kinds of stories and rumors pertaining to such topics but many were just that; the rambling of those without knowledge of the matter. That, at least, was something he felt he could be quite certain about. Just as folk would embellish the deeds of a solder on the battlefield much too would they that of a mage. Surely.<br/><br/>Tedric grunted with a smile that seemed a little too sad or, perhaps more succinctly, melancholic, "Oh, you needn't apologize. I doubt my parents would have been so inclined to grant me any such information if they had it." As their son, he was to do as he was told. No questions. Besides, a part of him was rather relieved that their proposal, if one could even call it such, had not been that of a marriage to some countess. Not that his union with Alaria was all that different from a marriage, really; if anything, their bond was deeper and more intimate by comparison. "Well. I hope I haven't managed to look too foolish so far." He chuckled before lifting his tankard of ale to drink once more.<br/><br/>Even before their lusty waitress returned with their stews, Tedric could sense the atmosphere of the area tensing. He'd served almost all of his life around armed men, after all, and was quite accustomed to the swagger and boasting that came with particular personalities. Still, there was a difference between soldiers and the regular militia and the more 'sophisticated' bunch that had found their way to this specific eatery.<br/>Specifically, t reputation and ego; as, for the most part, such simple things were to have been hammered out in training. For the regular men of the Royal Army, at any rate. Added to the fact that there were plenty of attractive women around, some more flirtatious than others, and it was bound to cause friction amongst the more boisterous of males.<br/><br/>Noticing the way Alaria's eyes skipped from person to person, Tedric commented, "I take it you're not accostomed to these types of environments?" Again, Tedric's knowledge of an academic's life failed him. Maybe Alaria was more acquainted with rowdy inns or overconfident men than he realized. For all he knew this was the norm at the Lancaster caffateria or events. Such was counter to the narrative that Tedric had been told all his life but it wouldn't be the first time he was ignorant, either. Before he asked any more stupid question, however, Tedric busied his mouth with trying the stew instead. As expected it was a hearty mix of meats and vegetables with quite the rich brooth from having slow cooked for hours on end.<br/><br/>Sara returned in a swish of practiced movements to set down a basket of freshly baked bread. "On me my daring knight." She winked to Tedric before slipping back into the mass of bodies to serve another table that had just been seated. Despite the general ruckus, an upbeat melody could be heard coming from outside; no doubt coming from a traveling band of musicians that had come in for the festival. A far cry from the off tune and poorly sung songs that seemed to be the favorite of the resident drunks.