At first Hank seemed intrigued by his words, as evident by the way her face appeared as she allowed his offer to carefully roll around in her head. Ethirdir didn't expect anything drastic to happen - Hani was not the kind of girl who would demand him to claim her right there and then on top of that table - but at the very least he expected a seed to be planted within her mind. Now that she knew of his interest, he believed she would be open to the possibility of getting to know one another better.<br/><br/>When that sly smile crossed her face, it confirmed a seed had been planted...but not the sort he had expected. With a cheeky glee she accused him and Doryn of conspiring together, of establishing a wager between of who could get into her pants first. There was no anger in her voice, only delight at seeing through her two suitors' brilliant plan. This caught Ethirdir off guard, long enough for Hani to clarify her stance on being pursued. There were a few subtleties here and there, but the gist was that she was not looking to settle down, and if the Elf was going to get anywhere near her bed, he would have to work for it, as would Doryn.<br/><br/>With that explanation, Hani made ready to leave. Again, there was no anger in her actions, only childish glee at the thought of being so desired by two suitors, but it was clear that her business with him had concluded for the day. Before she left, Ethirdir quickly collected his thoughts and offered a quick response to her accusation.<br/><br/>"You certainly are as interesting as I believed you to be, Hani. I relish the opportunity to pursue you, I will not deny that, and I promise the effort I put forth will not be minuscule. If there is one point I just contest, however, it's that Doryn and I conspired together to pursue you. My dear, we do not conspire regarding ladies who interest us. You succeeded in grabbing our attentions all by yourself. I would conspire with the good Captain for both of us to share your bed before treating you as a trophy to be won..."<br/><br/>When he said that, Ethirdir couldn't believe the words had formed so easily. He wanted to make a retraction, but Hani excused herself after that, reminding him of the scheduled dinner at his manor before finally departing without another word. The Elf was left alone with the puzzle box containing the Basilisk Heart, alone to contemplate on what he had just said. It took him a full minute to finally move again, realizing he had to get the gemstone to his private vault as soon as possible.<br/><br/>"Can't leave this lying about, after all," he said, making sure the gemstone was secure inside the box before departing from the store, making his way through the city with his prize clutched tightly to his chest.<br/><br/>As he headed home, he thought more about what he had said earlier, that he would be willing to share Hani's bed with Captain Doryn. Now, he had used the statement to indicate he would never treat Hani as a prize between him and Doryn, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized how...intriguing the idea seemed. In all his years, he had shared his bed with many ladies, sometimes more than one at a time, but never had he shared his bed with a man. He had simply never considered it worth his while on its own, but sharing a bed with a man<em>and</em>a lady might make it interesting. And if that other man was his rival, the gracious Captain, who honestly wasn't that bad looking...?<br/><br/>Ethirdir shook his head, trying to get the idea out of his head. It seemed too ridiculous a notion. Hani surely made that suggestion to play hard to get, to tease him upon figuring out he was interested in her. And even if she<em>was</em>interested in such an arrangement, and Ethirdir was<em>also</em>open to the idea, then Doryn had to agree to it as well, and for some reason he couldn't imagine the jealous Captain be willing to let the Elf assist him with Hani in bed.<br/><br/>Laughing at the silliness of it all, Ethirdir continued on his way, hoping to get the Heart to his valet quickly so he could begin arrangements with his buyer and get the damned thing as far away from the city as possible...<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Theolin waited for Mercedes to shoot him down again his apology rejected out of hand, but to his relief Mercy realized he had made an innocent mistake in his eagerness and seemed grateful that he had said sorry for it. His grip on his mead relaxed, and internally he breathed a sigh of relief when she apologized for her reaction. After what had happened to her last night, Theolin couldn't blame her for being irritated - in fact, he kicked himself for not thinking that in the first place. But at least Mercedes was now opening up to him, and what's more she thought him "polite and sweet." That was very welcome to hear.<br/><br/>As he felt his nerves loosen up from being so tense just moments earlier, Mercedes explained to him that she couldn't meet with him for any meal because she had to work the lunch and dinner rushes. She was a barmaid, after all, and was needed during the busy hours. Theolin wished he had thought of that, as well. However, Mercedes offered a compromise: meeting her<em>after</em>the dinner rush when her shift was over and talking with him for a few hours.<br/><br/>The Elf had to restrain himself from getting too excited as he smiled at her and nodded. "Idea sounds like a good plan. Shall come back here later tonight, meet with you when your shift is finished. Might even come during the dinner hour, order something here to eat first. Look very forward to chance to talk with you. Just say where you'd like us to meet, shall be there."<br/><br/>He paused, and then added with a soft tone of sincerity, "And...thank you."