<i>You find that hard to believe?</i><br/><br/>"Well, now I don't," Ryland said, and let his hands fall dramatically to his sides. "Your face must be made of stone." He didn't sound so much impressed as wary. What kind of man didn't smile, not even a little, at anything? Who wasn't even ticklish? At least not on his<i>sides</i>...<br/><br/>Ryland was pulled out of his thinking just in time to catch that he was being insulted.<br/><br/><i>I have a feeling you've never lost one of these little wagers before.</i><br/><br/>"What you must think of me then! No one would play with me, sir, if I always won, and neither would it be very much sport. I've lost plenty. I've won plenty."<br/><br/>The glance over was almost enough to make him blush. If he did, Kethaias had already turned away to the bird too quickly to have caught it. Ryland watched him inspect it, and the obvious bit of interest the Emperor had in it. He was watching closely for any slip of a smile at all, but he was beginning to think he would lose this bet, too.<br/><br/>Ryland came over to lean his hand casually on the table beside the bird and gave a light shrug with his other shoulder. "You can have it, if you like. Most everyone here who can afford it has one. They break every so often, though. The parts inside are very delicate."<br/><br/>He stroked the bird's back, and the wings spread with the faint sound of metal sliding past one another, to show the workings inside. "Elegant, isn't it? This little stone needs to be replaced about twice a year as well, depending how often you use it. That's what takes and gives the breath. The other keeps the memory of the songs, and this last one coordinates with it to move everything. You can teach it new ones. The rest is mechanics. See the way the plugs move over the holes? Devilishly small. They get stuck sometimes, is mainly the problem. Made from rubber. And the joints need oiling, of course."<br/><br/>He leaned back up, shifted his hips onto the table with a bit of a sheepish look. "Not that you care, I'm sure."<br/><br/>He crossed his arms, regaining a bit more of his usual nonchalance. "What is it you do plan on asking for? So I might prepare for the killing blow, as it were."