If the young man was at all perturbed by her mention of vampires, it didn’t show on his face. That did not, of course, preclude any suspicion she might have that he was a vampire, as there were many who learned to skillfully school their reactions. That did, however, make the conversation a bit more interesting.<br/><br/>“Thank you,” Ariella replied lightly. If she felt truly happy or giddy to be given such a compliment, she suppressed it behind a light smile and an almost playful expression. A hint of curiosity lingered in her eyes, though, as he introduced himself, almost casually throwing in the knowledge that the names given to him were not always pleasant. She wondered about that but wouldn’t ask. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, then, Valor.”<br/><br/>She made no move either to get closer to or further away from the young man as he slowly approached her. Perhaps she should have felt some worry or fear at the increasing closeness, but she did not. Cautious or vigilant, perhaps, but not afraid.<br/><br/>“Oh?” she tilted her head once again when asked her thoughts on the treaty. That was both an easy and a difficult question for her to answer, as she had very strong and very mixed feelings on the topic. Still, she kept herself calm as he observed her lack of hatred or fear when mentioning vampires. She smiled lightly at his latter words, suggesting that most had little to fear from vampires since the discovery of the properties of silver.<br/><br/>“I suppose that is true,” she spoke thoughtfully. “So, what does it say about me that I do not wear silver as I wander helplessly through the dangerous forest in the middle of the night?” she mused with that same playful smile. “Am I brave? A fool, perhaps?” she wondered, although it was unclear whether she was speaking to herself or to him.<br/><br/>She quickly shrugged off the musings and answered his question. “I think that the treaty is a step in the right direction,” she answered honestly, her tone and expression truly serious for the first time. “We humans tend to be too black and white at times, I think. We fear what we do not understand, and the line between fear and hatred is rather thin,” her tone was casual and her words matter-of-fact, with little emotion tied to them.<br/><br/>“Then again, that is exactly the kind of generalization that leads to the fear and hatred of an entire group, isn’t it?” she mused, a wry smile on her lips. “We’re a complicated species, aren’t we?” she chuckled lightly. She realized that her answer was, perhaps, a bit more indirect that what he might have been looking for, but it was the easiest answer she could come up with without truly delving into the mess of thoughts and emotions she had towards the treaty. What she’d said was true, if somewhat incomplete, and it was all he really needed to know to answer the question she thought he was truly asking.<br/><br/>“What about you? What are your thoughts on the treaty?” she wondered, her head once again instinctively tilting to the side, the curious gleam in her eyes contradicting the playful smile and air of relative indifference that she otherwise presented. Despite herself, she wanted to know what it was he thought.<br/><br/>She hadn’t been able to talk with anyone outside of the castle about this, so she had no real idea how anyone else felt about it, or what someone who was not so intimately tied into the treaty might think of it. He was rather intriguing in his own right, too, so that only served to make her more curious. Not to mention the fact that the way he answered may also serve to further support any theories, thoughts, or suspicions she might be toying with behind her apparent nonchalance.