Snippet #1440431

It would seem that Ser Sev wishes she held a blade rather than her tongue, Jasper mused with traces of humor. Not that he would let it show, of course; outwardly, he remained the picture of decorum... as far as was strictly necessary anyway. The court was always restraint, constriction, guarding. He personally was more inclined to speak freely and allow others the same luxury, regardless of the standings of the people involved, but that did not mean he knew not his decorum. On the contrary; he had known naught else for the first fourteen years of his life.

They were approached by Gann and Merle, who for all appearances were discomfited by something, albeit masking it. He would not have been able to guess at what, of course, but he knew that guardedness well enough, employing it quite frequently himself lately. Only until I know I need not. That was the oath he'd made to himself; he had no desire to deceive, however private the secret, any longer than necessary. It was not as though he planned on suddenly confessing everything he'd been hiding, merely that he hoped there would come in short order a day when he knew he would not lie if asked the direct question.

He raised an amused eyebrow when Ser Sev- but perhaps this was the Lady Cousland- brushed invisible dust from his shoulder, before ceasing in the endeavor and asking the other two how they were doing. It seemed an oddly-timed question; but then perhaps she had seen something there as well, and taken it differently than he. If not, he'd have to wonder why given the present circumstances she was bothering. They of those present had yet to cause quite as significant a ruckus as some, and frankly that made the answer evident enough for him.

He wondered how long it would be before this elaborate charade would fall apart, and who would be the trigger. Apparently, grievous bodily harm to a "servant" was inadequate, which meant that unless the Chasind girl, Zephora, stopped glaring daggers and started throwing them, it would probably be the Crows that did it. He had not missed the conspiratorial nature of Tiaryn and Ryuu, and he was no fool. They were planning something; he even had a fair suspicion of what it was. If he had to hazard a guess, Ser Sev disapproved, but this ultimately mattered little. The elven one- Ryuu- probably had more than enough reason to carry out his plan despite reasoning to the contrary, given Ostagar, and he doubted Tiaryn was the type to put up much of a fight on such a point.

For now, he personally would simply watch, wait, and intervene somewhere only if necessary. It was his preferred role, if instigator was unavailable, and he had to admit, it would be quite interesting to see how everything played out. If the smallest of mischievous smiles twitched his lips, Jasper played it off as nothing but interest in the conversation.