"You win, mate," he said with a sigh while righting his belt after the removal of dirk and sheathe and all. Then he shrugged plainly and said, "All you had to do was ask nicely." As if it had really been that simple.
After Ada had removed hers and set them aside as well, they were escorted from the Den and were soon lost among the darkened walkways, only Az and lamplight as their guide. The dining hall they were led to was long, the ceiling only slightly larger than that of the Den, giving the space a more intimate, refined feel. The table filled the entire length of the room and the seats were filled with what looked to be the entirety of the Fog Walkers pack. Which, even compared to the band of robbers in the Red Hand, wasn't really saying much. And most of the food seemed to be centralized on one end of the table, leaving a few, sparse dishes placed in front of the others.
At the head of the table was a grand figure of a man, the most healthy and good looking of the bunch, dark hair and big, dark brown eyes, with a finely architectured band of facial hair encircling his mouth. Dressed in a fine suit and breastcoat of a bloody maroon color, he was conversing with the men and women who sat near him. When Az was showing the pair to their seats, somewhere mid-table, closer to the other end, he was halted by a shout from the charming man at the other end.
"Azazel, nevermind that," he said, waving his hand in a canceling motion at those particular seats, instead pointing at a couple closer to his end of the table. "They can sit here, that's fine." A flash of a suave, relaxed grin, as he watched the visitors take their seats, Ada on one side of the table and Phillipe sitting across from her. There were two to three people seated between them and the head of the table but they were close enough to hear the conversation between the leader and his fellows.
"My name is Eric, by the way," the man said over a wine cup. "The fourth of the five brothers, so, not the youngest but certainly close to. I'm always surprised whenever we get visitors but it's wonderful to have you. Please do enjoy yourselves and if there's anything you need, do not hesitate to ask."
That was the last thing he said to the two of them before dinner got underway, the dubious meat shoveled onto his place, while others got some sort of watery stew filled with chunks of a just as dubious meat and stale bread served alongside it. The wine served to the visitors was unfulfilling and watery and looking around, the metallic scent coming from the other glasses, didn't strike Phillipe as odd.
Since they were so close to him, several times, Ada tried to get the attention of the Master of the table but he ignored them, instead talking over her when she'd interject into pauses and silences, or just plain pretending not to hear her as he gorged himself on the succulent and greasy meat on his own plate. After the stupid rules and requirements for even getting to see this guy, now, they were here in his presence and his beloved kept getting brushed aside like she was nothing, it really hit a hard button for Phillipe.
Finally, fed up with her latest attempt being ignored as Eric laughed at something one of his women had said, Phillipe slammed his hand on the table, jolting the silverware and dishes, causing all of the conversation to die down. "Oi! Enough!" Phillipe growled angrily. "She's come a long way to talk to you and I'd really appreciate it if you would acknowledge her and answer her, please!" Realizing that he was quite a bit angrier than the situation required, Phillipe let out a breath and said a bit more calmly, even apologetically, "I don't mean to be rude, sir, but you're not being very polite yourself."
Eric merely widened his brown eyes briefly and smirked slightly to himself over the outburst, "Well, I do apologize if you mistook your place at the table as warranting my immediate attention," he said glibly, pausing to finish chewing his food and drink from his cup. "But I was right in the middle of enjoying my meal. But you know what? You're right. She's a very important guest and deserves my full attention at this moment. Go ahead, sweetheart. Don't be shy. What is it I can help you with, since apparently, I'm at your complete disposal."
It was hard to tell from his manner where the sarcasm started and where the charm ended, blending seamlessly together as he bantered lightly, turning an attentive eye to the red head. "You're very cute by the way. For a ginger," he said with a small smirk. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt again. Just pointing that out. Go ahead. All you."