His thoughts on wine passed without comment. Her attention shifted instead as one of her guards stepped quietly into Varin's path. The movement was subtle. Barely enough to impede him. Varin answered it with a threat of his own.
Meya watched the exchange without interruption. The threat itself interested her less than the reason behind it. Whether the display had been meant primarily for the guard or for her remained unclear, though she suspected the latter.
If it had primarily been intended for her, he would find she had not so much as adjusted her stance. Not because he wasn't dangerous in his own right, nor because she doubted he would follow through with his threat, but because she had long since grown accustomed to watching powerful people announce their strength. She found the quieter moments that followed far more revealing, and the guard meant very little to her.
Even after his final question, she remained silent for several moments, slowly turning the stem of the wine glass between slender fingers. Crimson liquid climbed the bowl before slipping back down in slow waves. Her index finger tapped lightly against the rim once... then again. A quiet, measured rhythm that lasted only until she reached a conclusion.
If this interaction proved to be more than a fleeting exchange, and Varin intended to know her better, then perhaps he was worth understanding as well.
"The Covenant is a waypoint for me." The words arrived matter-of-factly. As though she were describing the weather rather than an organisation that had shaped so many lives.
"For now, I benefit from its resources, and it benefits from my research."
Her gaze wandered briefly beyond him, toward the city lights shimmering beyond the windows, before settling upon him once more and speaking again as calmly as before,
"When the time is right, our paths will diverge."
After she answered, she lifted the glass and finally took a small sip of the wine. It spread slowly across her tongue as she gave it the attention it deserved, considering its flavours with the same quiet seriousness she afforded most things. Whether she enjoyed it remained impossible to tell. No approval crossed her features. No disappointment either. She simply lowered the glass.
"You seem more invested in the Covenant than I am." Her head tilted ever so slightly, allowing the golden chains in her hair to softly chime against one another. She'd allow him to pick up on the question behind her words. The
why?
Ambition. Loyalty. Attachments to those within its ranks, maybe. Or something else entirely, if he was willing to be truthful at all.
