Taking a breath, or taking work along with? [End]

[Greenie]

Dysthymia was oblivious to Colin's mild discomfort and worry, as he was temporarily absorbed in the menu and admiring the tasteful decor that hadn't changed over the many years he'd been eating here. The place held many memories for him; his mother had began taking him and his siblings here as a treat after she'd attained her Court position, and it had remained a favorite ever since.

He rose his eyebrows as the sample was dug for, and pulled it over to his side of the table. The ferret eyed it for a moment contemplatively, then nodded after a moment. "It looks good to me. The lime is a little bright, but we could all use some cheering up, I think. I like it, at least." He shrugged and smiled, just as the waiter appeared next to them and asked them for their order.

Mia requested his "usual," then looked over to Colin. "Order whatever appeals to you - tab's on me," He said, having realized that the bird was probably fretting about the price.

[Lucca]

Colin nodded, somewhat relieved that Mia liked the fabric...well, except for the lime being too bright. How exactly did you make a lime green that wasn't blindingly bright? Colin kept these thoughts to himself, of course, and he'd tell his mother what the Queen had said.

"All right, well good. I can only hope that your fellow Court members at Spades feel the same," he said, tucking the fabric back away. With that little bit of business out of the way, it was time to fumble for the menu as the waiter appeared far too soon for his liking. Colin glanced hurriedly over the choices, finally deciding on something. But on looking at the price of it...he felt his stomach get a bit queasy. Luckily, it was then that the words registered.

"Oh, thank you very much Your Majesty! You're very kind," he gushed (quietly, not wanting to draw undue attention to their table, in case the Ferret's position had not been noticed yet). He pointed to the item on the menu that had caught his attention. It appeared to be one of their specialties. "And water to drink, if you don't mind." He wasn't going to get tea when he didn't need to, and he was going to take a gamble and hope Mia wasn't offended.

It hadn't yet occurred to him to wonder where the cake was, as he was far more preoccupied with other concerns.

[Greenie]

Mia grinned rather evilly in response. "I really don't care if anyone else likes it; it'll make my day listening to them bitch if they don't. I love easy entertainment." The ferret snickered, imagining Wulfram ranting about overly bright curtains. It was something to look forward to.

He didn't respond to Colin's gushing with anything other than a nod; he knew the prices were high for most people, but he didn't want to make a big fuss about it. He had to splurge some of his wages on somebody.. Zether had gotten sick of eating fancy food many years ago, and Christopher had his own wages to spend, not to mention it was still a very special occasion for them to spend much on each other.

The waiter left with their orders. "The cake should be here within the next thirty minutes or so," Mia commented, "So no worries about that. So, Colin, other than having a miserable time looking for cakes, what do you do with yourself?" He said, hoping to start up a conversation.

[Lucca]

"Ah." Colin wasn't entirely sure what to say about that...he didn't like the thought of making -any- noble unhappy, especially in his own Court, but then there was that saying about not being able to please everybody that certainly held here. If there was one thing Colin had learned about the world of art, it was that what one person thought fit for a Queen's bedroom, another thought fit only for a garbage heap in Corvistowne. Even among Villas there was a lot of contention about what constituted proper 'art'. And expecting all the nobles of one Court to have the same sort of aesthetic sense when they came from all different regions and backgrounds would just be silly.

He idly fidgeted with his wings under the table, out of sight, while hoping that the silence wouldn't stretch on...luckily for him, Mia seemed very interested in conversation. "Oh, yes, of course. Thanks for doing that, again," Colin said brightly, realizing somewhere in the back of his mind that he should probably tone the gratitude down a bit. Really, it was easier to be perfectly polite in a crowd or at a party than in a one-on-one social situation. However, being asked about himself actually put him fairly at ease; it was a subject he knew plenty about, after all.

"Well, as do many from Villa en Miir, I play an instrument...specifically the piano," he said in a confidant tone. "I'm fairly good at it, if I say so myself, especially considering what limbs I have to work with." He wiggled one clawed foot for emphasis. "I also...work for my mother's company." A light sigh accompanied these words, leaving no doubt what he thought about his job. "And yourself, Your Majesty? What do you do for fun when you're not hunting for curtains?"

[Greenie]

Mia had long gotten past the point of trying to please everybody, but since he and the rest of the Court tended to get along rather well, it was rarely a concern. He worked well with Donnie, Raina, and Zane... and, well, his mother he just tended to ignore.

He smiled in response. "It's not a problem. I like any excuses to buy cake. It's much more fun than my normal job." He snorted, wishing he had an opportunity to make simple decisions like frosting color and cake flavor more often.

"Oh, do you?" He replied with a thoughtful 'hmm'. "Our reigning Queen is half Villa herself, so there's been a lot of music introduced into the Court lately. It was never something I had a particular interest in before, but I rather like the addition." He grinned a bit. "Have you ever thought about playing for her? If you're as good as you say you are, I don't see why not." He knew Donnie liked listening to all sorts of musicians - as long as they didn't break her ears.

He shrugged at the question about his own free time. He rarely actually took what normal people considered "free time" - more often than not he did lightweight work to relax rather than.. actually relaxing. "My mate's a bookwhore so I'll steal something out of his office if I need something to do. Otherwise I spend time with my son. I don't have any particularly artistic talents, I'm afraid." No, other than being able to blind people and looking like an interesting freak, he wasn't very good at entertaining the people around him.

[Lucca]

Colin nodded with an appreciative smile; he could see where buying cake might be far more fun than doing paperwork or hearing requests or...whatever other sorts of things Queens usually did. For him, though...it wasn't fun because of all the stigma attached to his choice...well that and just the principle of the thing. Buying his own birthday cake for a day where he was once again going to be outshone by his sister despite it being just as much 'his' day as hers? Yeah, not very fun.

"Ah, actually, I've met your...rather, our Queen. And I had the honor of hearing her play her harp," Colin said, a wayward smile catching his beak as he remembered it. "She's very talented. And I would like to play for her if the opportunity were to present itself." He'd heard rumors lately...rumors that Queen Donnie had actually began to seek talented artists and musicians, especially of the suit of Spades, to come perform in the Court. It was the chance of a life time for the Cardinal, and he would definitely go if he were to be invited to come play. He had confidence enough in his talent.

Colin nodded. He could certainly appreciate a good book, and...oh, he had a son? Now that was interesting, and not something he'd heard about Mia before. "That's quite all right, not everyone does...you have a talent for leadership, I imagine, since you're titled." He looked at him curiously. "I don't mean to pry or anything, but you say you have a son? How old is he?"

[Greenie]

Mia tilted his head at his comment. So he'd seen her play, hmm? He wondered if Donnie had known Colin could play piano.. Perhaps he'd have to bring up his name and see if she remembered him. "She's always looking to hear musicians. Would you like me to put in a good word for you?" He asked with a smile. "I'm sure she'll make time, especially if she's already met you."

He snorted, shrugging. "I try. I'm more of a problem-solver than anything." He said vaguely, shrugging again. It was difficult for him to explain the dynamics of their current Court to someone not intimately in it - they all shared roles rather than having distinct assignments, though it was obvious they were all good and bad at certain things. He, for instance, did not particularly enjoy public speaking, but did very well with one-on-one talks.

The ferret smiled to himself at Colin's obvious interest. It always surprised him that no one knew the existence of Zether - and sometimes even Christopher - as he'd never made any real attempt to hide them, he simply chose to rarely bring them up in conversation. "Yes. Zether. He's.. fourteen? Fifteen? I can't remember, the numbers blur after the rebellious phase sets in." He chuckled thinly, not enjoying his son's recent antics.

[Lucca]

Colin's heart skipped a beat at the offer. Oh would he! He tried to school his expression into careful interest rather than ecstatic gratitude as he replied in an amazingly level tone. "That would be most appreciated, Your Majesty." He paused, thoughtful. "Perhaps you would also like to be present for the performance? Assuming it were to happen, of course, though from what you say it sounds like a possibility." Confident he may be, but the thought of playing for Donnie and who knows what other Court members was a little nerve-racking...but far more exciting for all that. He was more and more glad he'd met this Queen today, as it was turning into quite the stroke of good luck for him and his family.

"Ah, a teenager then. I'm so sorry," Colin said with a grave air, putting a wing to his chest dramatically. He knew that he himself had been a handful at that age, and his sister had been a right spoiled little diva. Of course, she still essentially was, whereas he'd like to think he himself had grown far beyond that awkward time of life. "At least he must be well read, if his other parent is a, uh..." Colin coughed a bit. "'Bookwhore.'" It was an odd thing to call one's mate, but Colin was beyond questioning some of the things people did for love.

[Greenie]

Mia tried not to grimace, hoping the bird was simply containing his excitement and not hiding it. What was it about him that made people act so inhibited? Oh yeah, he looked like something out of the apocalyptic circus. That would do it. "I'll mention it to her, then." He replied. "I'll do my best to be there, but I keep getting sent off on travelling assignments, so if I'm not, don't be too angry with me?" The ferret said with a sigh. "I never get to go anywhere interesting, either."

He rolled his eyes slightly. "Yes. A teenager. I've been told he's worse than I was at that age, which is truly a feat, as I did my best to annoy the living daylights out of my mother," He commented with regret. Perhaps if he hadn't been such a horrible teen, his son wouldn't be trying to out-do him.. "Zether? Ha!" He snickered. "We've had to beat his schooling into him. He's doing his best to be totally unlike his father and I- and, well, his father's a professor, so anything to do with books is naturally taboo." His life would be much easier if Zether were just compliant... but if he were, he wouldn't be Mia's son.

[Lucca]

Colin shook his head rapidly, abashed at the very thought of getting angry at anyone so important just for being busy and doing their job! "Oh, no, of course not! I would completely understand if you couldn't make it. After all, you must be very busy." He tilted his head in interest. "Oh? Where do they send you that's so boring, if you don't mind my asking? I've been to quite a few different places and regions myself, since my Mother delivers there and, well, I used to be her delivery boy before we began to contract with a shipping firm." Usually, he didn't share this embarrassing information with anyone, but he was starting to feel comfortable with Mia, and besides, it didn't seem as bad now that it was in the past. For the most part.

Colin chuckled appreciatively. "He sounds like quite the little terror." He raised an eyebrow at the 'ha'...and then smiled knowingly. "Oh, of course. I should have guessed." He could remember a time when he'd refused quite a few silly things on the grounds of it being what his parents wanted...though he was always polite to them in front of other people, and he never went against them directly. He was just raised to strictly for that. But little things, like refusing to wear a scarf in the winter because his Mom had made it for him and so he thought it looked dorky...things like that. He always had been a bit of a Momma's boy though, sadly, so this rebellious stage against her had only lasted a few years. "At least he'll grow out of it in a few years," he offered in consolation, wondering absently when their food was going to get here. He was beginning to get hungry now that he was actually in a restaurant and surrounded by other food.