Avelle grinned a little and waved off Orchid's concerns with a dismissive gesture. "Pompous isn't hard, you just need to know how to flatter their egos and make them think you think they're better that you," she says. "Much less troublesome than handsy louts that think the Dragons' favor makes them irresistible to women."<br/><br/>She almost stopped herself, but after a moment Avelle leaned forward, giving Orchid enough room to slip behind her and massage her weary shoulders. Avelle had grown up low on the dynastic totem pole had had seen and on more than one case experienced the way many Dragon-Blooded weirded their social power against those they viewed as beneath them. The disguise she wore, a daughter of Daana’d, placed her among their ranks and she was keenly aware of the way such power structures pushed and pulled at her relationship with her employees, whether she wanted them to or not. How much of Orchid's crush was really about Avelle, and how much of it was due to the romantic image that dynastic society painted of the so-called princes of the earth?<br/><br/>She was too tired to think of that right now though. Between managing the House of the White Lotus, putting herself between the worst of the degenerates and her Girls (Avelle, after all, was far more capable of brushing off essence-fueled seduction attempts than her mortal employees,) the duties she performed for the All-Seeing Eye, and her personal agenda her nights were long, sleep was scarce and exhaustion wore on even an Exalted constitution.<br/><br/>She'd make it though this, though. Luna had seen the survivor within the scared, broken girl and given her the greatest gift she'd ever receive. Avelle would survive, she'd make sure her girls survived, she'd make sure the whole damned Empire survived, whether it wanted her help or not!<br/><br/>She'd tensed up, she realized, and willfully forced herself to relax again, shifting her focus to the conversation at hand.<br/><br/>"You all can keep the entertaining men," Ivory said with a little smirk. "More entertaining ladies for me that way."<br/><br/>Saeko snickered and flicked water at the white-haired Northerner, who returned the gesture in kind.<br/><br/>"And hey, I'd like to see him find a more skillful dancing girl than the ones we've got right here," Avelle said.<br/><br/>"Yes, yes, we're all stunningly beautiful and graceful as gazelles and other such poetic imagery~," Saeko replied, her voice taking on a mock-haughty tone for a moment before she turned back to Bao-li and flashed her a lascivious grin. "Come on now though, let's hear some<em>real</em>details."