The Saristan Witch was surprised to hear the familiar voice and turned in a welcoming way surprised that Thalealius was so close by.  It did not trouble her in the slightest to consider that he might have been watching her.  On another day she may as well have been the one stalking him as some of her younger nieces tended to do when he was about camp.  She could imagine there might well be three or four hunting around for him in camp even now.<br/><br/>She was smiling well before her dark eyes fell upon the flower.  "There is always something troubling me these days."  She mused in a vague way.  She did not have to be wholly honest with him.  "My sister is quite captivated with your friend, the Xambrian, but even I will admit that she has a soft spot for foreign men."  Her eyes fell on him with a hint of humor since despite his friendliness with the Sarista, he still qualified as foreign.  "But my father is concerned, naturally because he does look quite dangerous.  Will you tell me about him?"<br/><br/>The sister, of course was only half-way fictional.  It was a ruse intended to play upon the minstrel's fondness for her family to open up about his friend some.  Viorica only wished some reassurance that the Xambrian would not be the source of the trouble she knew to be coming.<br/><br/>Plucking the flower from his grasp she nestled it into a small bunch of ribbon that was fastened to her bust-line.  The flower added a new splash of color to her party attire and at least for the moment made her feel particularly pretty.<br/><br/>