Private Diplomacy and Other Matters

[Alexi di Garthos]

Esteemed Senator Sheltrak,

I would be pleased if you would join me for a luncheon in the High Council chambers here on Ralltiir at your convenience. It will be a modest and private gathering, intended for conversation and the sharing of ideas.

I look forward to your response, and hope that we might find time in the coming days to discuss matters of mutual interest.

Respectfully,

Alexi di Garthos
Matriarch of House di Garthos and Presiding Head of the High Council of Ralltiir

---

Her finger hovered over the send function for a moment. The others had failed to reply; no-shows that did nothing for her credibility, her strategic position, or the subtle pressures bearing down on Ralltiir from neighboring powers. Every day of silence made her homeworld more vulnerable. Every missed opportunity was a small opening for influence to slip toward the superpowers edging their borders. She could not afford that now; not when diplomacy might be the only thing standing between her people and someone else’s grasp.

Tag: Jack Sheltrak

 

[Jack Sheltrak]

Alexi di Garthos

The message when it had been received was different. He wasn't going to deny that and rolled his neck for a moment while in the seat. Zeltros had largely begun to be left alone and its position after the planeshift had been better in some cases. At least for them, the former chancellor and largely advisor since zeltron senators were stopped by the offworlder who took over as queen and forr a time had supporrt from other offworld powers. Had stopped it so once she was gone and they had been able to recover a lot was able to be done. Return to their industry return to elections and he mostly with the fall of the alliance just advised where he could.

Barsoom was where they could go from as the tram going from the hidden temple everyone knew existed that lived on the planet but pretended it didn't to the club that served as the entrance let him read. "Oh hot date?" The voice of Ami Dejah the head of the temple was there as she looked at him. "I... don't know who they are but someone wanting to meet and talk has rarely gone wrong before." He said it with a small chuckle as he moved. Ami speaking as she was there. "Didn't the last time you did that, you, three jedi and a guard end up drugged, nude and in the case of you and the master Leori... Married?" She said it as a question and he spoke.

"Yes but when the netherworld opened she was able to become one with the force and I will always remember her. " He said it but looked at himself, his clothing wasn't rags but it was layered, his hair unkempt and slicked back and a beard. "I'll need some clothing and a shave." THe zeltron looked at him as his aid was helping him but he had a small grin when they got to the club and his appointments were set. SOme small styling so that his hair didn't look freshly cut, a loose scarf he could wear as he didn't know if it would be chilled and an overcoat as he was moving through the port. He was getting to the ship to make way to meet Alexi with a confirmation message sent back. his ships transponder for checks and all information so he could arrive.

 

[Alexi di Garthos]

Alexi did not wait in the lobby. The decision was made without ceremony, as so many of her adjustments had been in recent days. The waiting area - once a space of quiet dignity and careful welcome - had become something else entirely. A stage for absence. For empty hours dressed in decorum.

Her office, by contrast, still obeyed her. The light filtered through the tall windows in measured bands, falling across polished surfaces and ordered datapads. Nothing here lingered without purpose. Nothing here reminded her of unanswered invitations.

The confirmation arrived while she stood reviewing a trade brief, her eyes scanning figures she already knew by memory. The soft chime did not interrupt her. It simply existed, and in time, she acknowledged it. He was coming.

For a moment, her gaze lingered on the message longer than necessary. Not out of relief for she had trained herself beyond such fragile indulgences, but in quiet calculation. A man who answered. A man who traveled. A man who did not hesitate overmuch, despite… whatever history seemed to follow him. Interesting.

She moved then, setting the datapad aside with deliberate care. A single adjustment to her schedule followed; minor on it's face, yet enough to ripple through the rest of her day. The Council chamber would be prepared. The luncheon would proceed. This time, it would not sit untouched.

Only then did she allow herself the smallest exhale, barely perceptible, before summoning her aide. “See that our guest is received properly upon arrival,” she said, her tone even. “And ensure the chamber is… warm. We will not have this meeting feel like an interrogation.” A pause as another thought occured to her. “And have a secondary arrangement prepared. Quietly.” She did not elaborate. She did not need to.

As her aide departed, Alexi turned back to the window, her reflection faint against the glass. One reply did not change her position. But it was, at last, a beginning.

Tag: Jack Sheltrak

 

[Jack Sheltrak]

Alexi di Garthos

The trip was at least nice, he took the time to mostly prepare. There were social graces one needed to have... which he was good at but he was also at one point known for embodying Zeltros. He had represented them and gotten along with them which had informed much of his actions and style. Though he was a little older now and couldn't pull most of them off. The former senator taking a moment so that he would be able to look himself over. "Well you clean up good senator." The pilot said it as the man was looking at him and Jack spoke with a small look. "Former and maybe but I have no idea who this person is which makes it difficult."

He said it and the pilot looked at him for a moment as the man spoke. "Just do what comes natural... except you know more charming and in a way people like." He looked at the man as they both laughed. "You know I can always fire you right?" The zeltron shrugged. "You could but then you would have to explain it to the King and queen why you fired their nephew from such an important assignment.... and I know you don't like explaining that." He was smug in more ways then one as the ship was arriving for them to go down. Jack looking at him when he waas able to start walking out and being led to where he needed to go. A small look as everything look beautiful.

 

[Alexi di Garthos]

The chamber had been prepared precisely as instructed. Not opulent, not austere; but balanced. Warm light softened the edges of polished stone, and the long table had been set with quiet intention rather than ceremony. Nothing about the space demanded performance. Instead it invited presence.

Alexi was already there when he was shown in. This time, she rose as he entered. The motion was unhurried, composed, but deliberate; a choice made not out of obligation, but out of acknowledgment. Her attention settled fully upon him as he crossed the threshold, the documents before her forgotten without hesitation.

He carried himself well. That much was clear within moments. Not rigid, not careless. But practiced. Social. A man accustomed to rooms that required something of him. But not untouched by uncertainty.

Her gaze lingered just a fraction longer than politeness required. Not to unsettle, but to understand. There were small tells there, the kind that spoke not of weakness, but of awareness. Of someone choosing his footing rather than assuming it. It earned him a measure more of her attention.

“Senator,” she greeted, the title offered with a quiet ease, neither testing nor dismissive. Simply respectful of the path that had brought him here. A faint inclination of her head followed that was measured, but not distant. “Welcome. I trust your journey was a pleasant one.” There was the slightest softening at the edge of her tone now, subtle but intentional. “I appreciate that you came without delay.” A small gesture toward the table was given, nearer her own place, rather than the far end. It was an invitation, not a positioning. “You’ve arrived at an opportune moment,” she continued. “I find conversations tend to benefit from immediacy… before expectations have time to settle in too deeply.” A brief pause, though this one carried less weight than before. It was less a test than of more openness. “And I would prefer this to be a conversation.” The faintest hint of a smile touched her expression then that was reserved, but genuine enough to be felt rather than merely seen. “Please,” she said, “join me.”

Tag: Jack Sheltrak

 

[Jack Sheltrak]

Alexi di Garthos

He was able to get a decent look and worked to remain unobtrusive in this case where he looked around. Not walking into places but observing for a moment when she arrived. Offering a seat and he bowed his head. Moving along the table as he went for neutral distance for the moment but found it as he joined in sitting. "A conversation is helpful and I will admit my presence is more from curiosity then anything else. Not many remember an old former chancellor for their message lists." He said it to poke at himself but he was curious... he wasn't opposed to much though. "And I know my opposition when the jedi supported the offworld queen wasn't liked.

"That might have been before though as few paid attention to that. SOmeone trying to disrupt and destroy much of Zeltros culture and industry while also throwing something few announced like their elections into disarray. "We aren't Naboo so royal elections often confuse a few others." He offered a simple smile though when he found a place. "But I do not want to monopolize all of this when you are here and what your world has is beautiful. Tell me about it and yourself." He said it easily though while sitting there for the moment being able to reach a position of relaxed posture as he didn't slouch but he eased into a position he could sit straight up and presenatable but he was incredibly comfortable.

 

[Alexi di Garthos]

Alexi did not interrupt as he spoke. She allowed the full shape of his words to settle, her attention steady, unbroken. There was no impatience in her stillness this time; only consideration.

When he finished, the faintest breath of a smile returned, touched now with something a shade more familiar than formal. “Curiosity,” she echoed softly. “I find that to be a far more reliable reason to arrive than obligation.” Her gaze dipped briefly, not in retreat, but in thought. Her fingertips brushed lightly along the edge of the table as she considered him; the subtle texture of the surface grounding the pause before she continued. “As for being remembered…” she said, her tone carrying a quiet ease, “I make a habit of paying attention to those who shape the worlds around them. Whether others approve of their methods or not.” There was no edge to it. No challenge. Only acknowledgment.

“The past rarely arrives without context,” she added gently. “But I did not invite you here to revisit opposition.” A small silence followed. It wasn't empty, but open.

At his invitation, she inclined her head slightly, accepting the shift in focus. This time, when her hand moved, it was not idle. Her fingers traced the rim of a glass near her place, the faint contact deliberate in its softness, as though anchoring her thoughts before she gave them voice.

“My world,” she said, and there was warmth there now, quiet but unmistakable, “is… deliberate. Much like this room. It was not built to overwhelm, nor to impress at a distance. It is meant to be understood… slowly. By those willing to remain long enough to do so.” Her gaze returned to him fully then, steady and present. “As for myself…” A faint, thoughtful curve touched her lips as her hand stilled. “I suspect that depends on what it is you are hoping to find.”

The question lingered between them. It was not sharp, nor demanding. But undeniably inviting.

Tag: Jack Sheltrak

 

[Jack Sheltrak]

Alexi di Garthos

"Usually I hope to find motive but beyond that conversation." He said it with a small look but ease with a conversation. Her worlds explanation was a more interesting one as he had seen ones meant to impress and some did. The surface of a world could be pristeen like Coruscant and rotting the deeper you went but there was also the worlds that were rebuilding. "There is a beauty here and I would love to learn more about it and my host. Though I fear you'll find most tales of Zeltros to be true. The Zeltrons do a lot and they love to celebrate but there is plenty to them that is alwaays welcoming."

 

[Alexi di Garthos]

Alexi considered him in quiet stillness; not weighing his words against her own, but allowing them to settle as they were meant to. When she spoke, her tone had softened not dramatically, but enough to feel the shift. “Motive is rarely difficult to find,” she said, a faint trace of warmth touching the edges of her voice. “Conversation, however… tends to reveal more than most intend.” Her gaze held his, steady but no longer guarded in the same way as before. “At least, when it’s allowed to.”

At the mention of Zeltros, the smallest hint of a smile returned; this time easier and more natural. “I have heard as much,” she said. “Celebration, openness… a certain honesty in how your people express themselves.” A brief pause followed. “It is not something we share in quite the same way.” Her hand shifted from the glass, coming to rest lightly against the table instead; grounded, but no longer needing the anchor. “Ralltiir celebrates when it is expected of it,” she continued. “Holidays, observances… the moments that are meant to be shared.” Her tone carried no criticism. Only quiet clarity. “Beyond that, I tend to keep such things… smaller.”There was a slight pause then. It was not hesitant, but deliberate. “Some would call that distance,” she added, her gaze dipping for the briefest moment before returning. “But I have never found much value in offering pieces of myself without reason.” The honesty in it was understated, but unmistakable.

When she looked at him again, there was no challenge in her expression. Only a quiet openness that hadn’t been there before. “If you wish to understand me,” she said gently, “then you should know that I do not give trust easily.” A faint, almost self-aware curve touched her lips. “But I do not give it carelessly, either.”

The space between them settled again, but it felt different now; less like distance, and more like something waiting to be bridged between them.

Tag: Jack Sheltrak

 

[Jack Sheltrak]

Alexi di Garthos

He listened as she explained and gave some insight to the world. A small thing he had learned was how to get a better impression of a planet. Though he lacked certain insights with it and it only served early on. Their celebrations or way they showed expression could tell a fair amount. The more oppressive worlds it was too structured and almost designated when you were supposed to sing and be cheerful. Too open and you got Zeltros reputation but it was considerably more unruly he had learned. That same could extend to people when he was looking for impression and how they acted. The decorum here was more rigid but there was an ease.

"Well I certainly hope I am able to get at least a little." He offered it with a small nod. "But caution and distance is not always a terrible thing as some might think. The ability to step back and look at a situation, to not just rush in is a helpful trait. That only a few seem to practice. I certainly wouldn't know what to do if you were only trying to impress and show how important you were to your world. It would make one wonder why they are here or needed." A little self deprication would never hurt and it was important he found to maintain something of a humble nature. He was not the soldier or even senator of his youth so he was more then happy to see what came of it.

 

[Alexi di Garthos]

There was a quiet appreciation in the way she regarded him now. Not overt, but present in the absence of distance she had once maintained so carefully.

When he finished, the faintest hint of a smile returned. “Then you may find this world… accommodating,” she said, her tone light, though still measured. “We are neither so rigid as to demand performance… nor so open as to abandon structure entirely.” A brief pause followed, her gaze drifting for a moment. Not away from him, but through the thought itself, as though placing his observation alongside her own understanding of it. “And you are not wrong,” Alexi continued more softly. “Distance has it's uses. It allows one to see what others might miss… or choose not to.” Her attention returned to him fully then, both steady and present. “But it also has its limits.” The words were gentle, not corrective. They were simply offered.

Her hand shifted slightly against the table, fingers relaxing now rather than anchoring. “If one never steps forward,” she added, a quiet note of something almost wry beneath the composure, “then all that remains is observation.” A faint breath of a smile touched her lips again; this one a touch more real and less guarded. “And observation alone rarely answers the questions that brought someone there in the first place.”

Her gaze held his for a moment longer before she spoke again, more directly than before. “You seem quite practiced in forming impressions,” she said. “Of worlds… and of people.” A slight tilt of her head, thoughtful rather than challenging. “I wonder,” she added quietly, “what impression you believe you’ve formed of me.”

Tag: Jack Sheltrak

 

[Jack Sheltrak]

Alexi di Garthos

He listened to her more and gave a nod of his head to her words as she wasn't wrong. The impression he had of her so far was interesting he would have to admit. "Well that is where a question of where to start. The first is always visual, your message is technically first but even looking you up to try and learn I would still see you first. I was intrigued. Then I came here and I got to see more of it. Ordered, beautiful, a sense of decorum. I got to meet a beautiful host and learn about her world." He said it while going. "As to you, there is something more then worthwhile. Anyone would have to be a fool to not want to get to know you more."

He said that and partially knew he was usually the fool. He didn't pretend he was always the smartest and he held himself in that same grouping as he hadn't been sure of many things but he also wasn't going say that. He was uncertain if she really believed he was good for such a thing. "That being said, I cannot deny that I wish to stay and learn more if you shall permit me."

 

[Alexi di Garthos]

Alexi let the faintest smile linger. “Curiosity; when it carries persistence, can be quite revealing,” she said softly. Her gaze held his, steady, but no longer merely assessing. There was something more present now, something almost companionable. “I should not keep you confined to words alone,” she added, a subtle warmth threading through her voice. “If you truly wish to learn… perhaps it is best done on the move.”

Her hand traced a small, deliberate gesture toward the doorway, though she did not rise just yet. “The grounds are open. The paths quiet. There is much to see; both of what is offered and what is discovered only when one walks among it.” She paused, letting the suggestion hang lightly between them, neither command nor mere courtesy. “Shall we?”

Tag: Jack Sheltrak

 

[Jack Sheltrak]

Alexi di Garthos

He gave a nod of his head as he was raising up with her offer. Straightening his outfit for the moment but then moved to his hair with a small grin that was more tight lipped. "Lets." he said it while he was moving to join her and looked around. "I will admit as much as I observed, I'll follow your lead. The tour should be quite informative." He said it when he went to move with her. It was not an unpleasant chance that he was going to pass up at least. He was moving with Alexi following her movements though with a small look of interest. One arm being offered as escort should she want it as it would let more trust be there for being led around.

 

[Alexi di Garthos]

Alexi rose with an unhurried grace; the movement as deliberate as her words had been. For a brief moment, her gaze flicked to the offered arm. Not with surprise, but with consideration. Then, without ceremony, she accepted it.

Her touch was light and intentional. Not clinging, nor distant; but simply present, as though the gesture itself were being acknowledged rather than relied upon. “A wise choice,” she murmured, a hint of quiet approval threading beneath the words.

Together, she guided their steps from the room and into the corridors beyond, her pace measured to allow observation rather than demand it. The architecture opened gradually, giving way to wider spaces, softer light, and eventually the gentle transition from structure to open air. When they stepped out into the gardens, the shift was immediate. The city did not press in here. It breathed. Greenery wove itself deliberately between stone and path, not as ornamentation, but as equal presence. Water moved somewhere nearby, both subtle and constant. Even the air felt cleaner; less burdened by the weight so many capital worlds carried without question.

“Ralltiir has never sought to rival the scale of places like Coruscant,” Alexi said, her voice quieter now, as though attuned to the space around them. “Expansion, for its own sake, is often mistaken for strength.” They walked along a curved path, one that seemed designed more to reveal than to direct. “Here, growth is negotiated.” A slight pause as her gaze moved across the landscape; not idly, but with familiarity. “With the land. With its limits. With the understanding that excess, even when profitable, carries a cost that is not always immediate.”

Her attention returned to Jack then, not breaking stride. “A financial hub, yes,” she continued. “But one that measures stability not only in gain, but in longevity. Balance is not restraint. It is strategy.” A faint smile touched her lips once more. “And perhaps,” she added lightly, “a quieter kind of confidence.”

Tag: Jack Sheltrak

 

[Jack Sheltrak]

Alexi di Garthos

Jack felt the shift before he fully registered it the transition from the muted authority of interior corridors to the quiet breath of open air. It was not the sudden release of a pressure seal, but something slower, more deliberate. The kind of change that invited notice rather than demanded it. His gaze moved as they walked, cataloging not for duty now, but for something closer to genuine curiosity. The gardens did not announce themselves. They simply existed, assured in their arrangement, as though the stone and greenery had reached an understanding long before his arrival. 'Balance is not restraint. It is strategy.' Well said

He turned the words over as they moved, letting them settle beside his own observations. Her phrasing was careful, practiced without feeling rehearsed the mark of someone who had offered this explanation before, but not so often that it had lost meaning. Jack's arm remained still beneath her touch, neither stiff nor overly accommodating. The weight of it was minimal, more suggestion than anchor, and he found he did not mind the arrangement. "A quieter kind of confidence," he repeated, not mocking, but tasting the phrase. His voice came low, meant more for the space between them than for any audience the gardens might harbor. "Rare enough to be worth noting. Rarer still to be practiced."

They passed beneath the dappled shadow of an overhanging canopy, leaves catching the light in uneven patches. Jack's attention drifted to the water sound present but not aggressive, the way some fountains insisted upon their own importance. This was different. This was the kind of sound that settled into the background of thought rather than interrupting it. He glanced toward Alexi, not with the sharp assessment of their first exchange, but with something slower. More measured. "You speak of it as though the philosophy precedes the world," he said. "As though Ralltiir was shaped by an idea rather than the other way around."

A pause. The path curved again, offering another angle of the garden deliberate, as she had said. Revealing rather than directing. "Most places grow first and invent their reasoning after. A justification dressed as tradition." He let the observation hang, then added, "I find myself curious which came first here. The restraint, or the confidence." It was not quite a challenge. But it was not idle conversation either. Jack had not survived as long as he had by accepting pleasant surfaces without pressing for what lay beneath. And Alexi, for all her grace and measured words, did not strike him as someone who offered surfaces by accident.

They walked on, the path unwinding before them, and Jack found that for the first time in some while, he did not mind not knowing exactly where it went.

 

[Alexi di Garthos]

Jack’s question lingered between them. Not as a challenge to be met, but as something to be considered properly. She allowed the silence to stretch just enough to acknowledge it's weight; her gaze drifting briefly toward the water as it traced it's quiet path through the garden.

“The confidence,” she said at last. Her tone was calm, certain, but not absolute. “It had to be.”

They continued along the curve of the path, her steps unhurried, her attention returning to him with the same measured presence she had maintained since the beginning.
“Restraint, on it's own, is rarely chosen,” Alexi continued. “More often, it is imposed. By limitation. By fear. By circumstance.” A slight pause, her gaze shifting momentarily to the structures beyond the greenery. “And when it is, it tends to leave fractures. Places that eventually push back.” Her hand remained light on his arm, unchanged in it's balance. “But confidence…” she went on, “true confidence, not the kind performed for an audience; it allows for choice.” A faint, thoughtful breath. “It allows a world to decide what it will not become, even when it has every means to do so.”

They passed alongside the source of the water now, it's movement visible in soft, deliberate channels carved through stone. Alexi’s gaze followed it briefly, then returned to Jack. “Ralltiir was not always as you see it,” she added. “There were those who argued for expansion. For greater scale. For a presence that could not be ignored.” A subtle tilt of her head. “Some would say that path would have been easier.” Her expression softened, though her voice retained its quiet clarity. “But easier things rarely endure.” A small silence settled again; one that was companionable rather than empty. “It is not that the world was shaped by a single idea,” Alexi said, refining his observation rather than rejecting it. “But there was a point where it chose to listen to one.” Her gaze met his fully now. “And that choice required a certain kind of confidence. The kind that does not need to prove itself by becoming larger than everything around it.”

They continued forward, the path opening slightly ahead, revealing a broader view of the gardens beyond. “Restraint came later,” she concluded softly. “Not as a limitation but as a refinement.” A faint hint of that same quiet smile returned. “And like most refinements,” she added, “it is still ongoing.”

She let the words settle, not pressing further; leaving space as she always seemed to, for him to decide what to make of it.

Tag: Jack Sheltrak

 

[Jack Sheltrak]

Alexi di Garthos

He offered a nod. He liked it and she knew how to make the conversation continue nicely. It gave him a moment to breathe and focus while he was listening to her. He continued to walk while thinking about it. THe world was sounding more and more wonderful in her plans. She had been presenting it as he continued to escort her around. "Refinement and improvement should never stop, one of the most dangerous mindsets the Republic had sadly was that it wanted to saay it was done and coulnd't improve anymore. It was a dangerous thought for many and improvement wise it led other governments to form to try and advance past the the limits that were placed by Popo and a handful of others."

 

[Alexi di Garthos]

Alexi listened without interruption, her attention was steady - not fixed upon him alone; but inclusive of the space around them. And yet, as he spoke, there was a quiet sense that her focus had narrowed; not by intent, but by interest. “There is a certain comfort,” she said after a moment, her tone thoughtful rather than critical, “in believing something is complete.” Her gaze drifted toward the garden ahead, though not as far as before; lingering closer now as if the distance she allowed between observation and presence had shortened. “It offers stability and certainty. The sense that what has been built will hold as it is. And for a time, that belief can even be true.”

Her hand remained light on his arm, but there was a subtle adjustment to it. Not a withdrawal, nor pressure. Simply a quiet awareness of the contact, as though she had only just noticed it and chosen not to change it.

“But systems - like people - rarely remain static simply because they wish to,” she continued. “Pressure gathers. Perspectives shift. And what once felt like a finished structure begins to reveal where it has… settled too firmly.” She glanced at him then; not fully, but enough to mark that the thought was no longer entirely abstract. “Improvement does not always come from within,” Alexi added. “Sometimes it is forced into existence by those who find the limits unacceptable.” This time, her gaze did meet his. Briefly. Measured. And then, just as naturally, it moved on again; giving the moment space rather than weight. “That, I think, is where many governments falter. Not in their desire to endure, but in their reluctance to listen when something beyond them begins to change.”

The path curved slightly, guiding them closer together for a few steps before opening again. She did not adjust for it. “Ralltiir has no interest in declaring itself finished,” she said quietly. “Not because it fears being surpassed, but because it understands that the moment it believes there is nothing left to refine - ” A small pause was taken, softer this time. Less rhetorical. More considered. “- is the moment it begins to lose the very thing that allowed it to choose restraint in the first place.”

Silence followed, but it did not feel like the earlier ones. It lingered differently; less like space left for thought, and more like something shared without needing to be defined. When she spoke again, her tone had shifted only slightly. “And you?” Alexi asked, her gaze returning to him with a quieter kind of focus. “Do you find comfort in things that claim to be finished or do you tend to question them?” A faint hint of that earlier smile touched her expression. Not quite playful, but no longer entirely distant.

Tag: Jack Sheltrak

 

[Jack Sheltrak]

Alexi di Garthos

The question settled into the space between them with a different weight than the earlier silences. Jack let it rest there, undisturbed by haste, while he catalogued the subtle shift in the world immediately around him: the path's gentle insistence on proximity, the way her hand had become conscious of his sleeve without retreating. He didn't widen the gap once the stones allowed for it. "Comfort is a warm blanket," he said finally, his voice a low, rough texture against the garden's hush. "A finished thing is a locked door. You can lean your back against it and feel secure, knowing nothing will surprise you from that direction. But you also can't see what's on the other side anymore. It's a photograph of a moment that's already dead."

He paused, letting his arm relax under her touch ceasing to be a rigid escort's post and becoming simply a shared point of contact, a quiet agreement to stand on the shifting ground together. "I question them," he admitted, his gaze cutting briefly toward her profile before returning to the path. "Not to tear them down, but to find the seams where they've stopped breathing. A thing that claims it's done has stopped listening. It's settled so firmly it mistakes stubbornness for strength." He debated only a little but there was something more about it. Her wasn't running away at least and he wasn't opposed so he resolved.

A hint of that rare, self-deprecating smile touched the corner of his mouth, echoing the one she'd offered him. "I find more comfort in the gardener who's up before dawn, pulling the weeds the rest of us can't see yet. In a stone that knows it's still being shaped by the wind. The quiet things still figuring out their shape." He slowed his pace just a fraction, turning the question back toward her with a gentleness that mirrored her own earlier deflection. "I suspect you'd find a room full of people who think they've arrived terribly boring, wouldn't you, Lady Garthos?" He said it but there was a chance that people would always bring more enlightenment.