"Then I'll make some space and demonstrate."

Ishaza takes a few steps back, extends her hands in front of her in the air, and hums lowly. 

Hysh upwells from her heart again and gathers between her hands, forming slowly into a crystalline rigidity. It hovers in the air between her hands, shimmering like a prism, and stays. 

Ishaza raises the note she's humming, and the prism shifts higher; she lowers the note and the prism falls. The Hysh is so dense that it's almost a solid object this way. 

Eventually she quiets her voice again, and a tiny orange crystal like the ones Alethia has seen in the bedroom chandeliers falls out of the air and into her cupped hands. 

"I'm not much of a crystal-singer," she says, "But it's a good shaping exercise, and it lights the castle." 

She extends the glowing, thumbnail-sized crystal to Alethia. "It's quite magically inert," she says. "It's just crystallized air, there's no Hysh in it except in its formation. It's safe to handle. And yours, if you want it."

"I will accept this grand gift!"

If she and Crin and Ishaza get along long term she kind of expects it to end up precious to her.

"Shall we head in, then? I think I'd rather not stand around outside solid walls for longer than I have to."

"Indeed, that sounds wise. Sylvania continues to be itself."

She pockets the crystal. And off they shall go!

Back in to the tower they go. Ishaza's still humming to herself a little.

Sophia once again intercepts them at the bottom of the tower. 

"Afternoon." She curtseys. "Shall I go ask Milady Illemvich if she'd like a break from her papers?"

Ishaza looks over at Alethia. "She would probably like an interruption by now, but it's up to you."

"I suppose we might as well, as long as we won't be bothering her."

A small voice in the back of her head is frightened enough by the possibility to attempt to obsess over it, but it shall continue to be ignored.

"I doubt she'll mind at all." 

She nods to Sophia. "Please go ask."

"I will then, Milady."

Sophia ascends the tower's central stairs, and vanishes.

Alethia looks around at the grey skies and the greyish grass and the general grey ambience.

"You know, it really is a shame that clouds are grey. If they were a prettier colour it would be far less dreary."

"They have a certain grandeur. Mostly I'm thankful that they allow Crin to move during the day."

"This is a substantial benefit! That Crin be not even slightly on fire is of great importance."

"Indeed. A lesson I am careful to observe at all times, especially on the target range."

And Sophia comes back down the stairwell. 

"Crin is just finishing the last piece of her paperwork backlog and should be available in another ten minutes."

"How lovely."

She looks to Ishaza, who presumably knows whether they go up the stairs to some sort of receiving room to wait or simply remain down here.

"I think we can bring you up to the sitting room," Ishaza says. "Would you like tea?"

Is this a trick question of some sort? Can vampires have tea? She's contemplating falling victim to it if it is, just to have tea but then she realizes she can just quickly check with her instincts whether tea sounds, well, potable to the bit of her looking out at the world from a vampire's perspective.

It's a fluid, it's fine.

Then tea is a go!

"I very much would."

She finds herself curious what the local tea is like. It probably comes from- Cathay, or maybe Araby? She isn't sure.

"Then let's." 

Sophia scurries back up the steps.

And Ishaza's not far behind her. It's amazing how she balances on those slender hooves.

Alethia in fact happens to be the kind of person who naturally walks up staircases without her heels touching down, so she does not particularly notice the fact that that requires good balance- contact areas that size when climbing stairs just feels normal.

Also, she's somewhat distracted by the way that she can't quite stop herself from glancing at Ishaza's behind for a moment as she follows. She's good at keeping her eyes down and on the stairs at the start but she slips briefly when they're about halfway up.

Ishaza's smooth tail wags back and forth with each step as her hips sway from side to side. 

Ishaza doesn't seem to notice Alethia's gaze slipping.