[ the way he practically purrs out that pet name sends a barely concealed shudder down her spine. were it anyone else at this soiree speaking that word to her, the temptation to cause a scene would be real. at least she knows jim, knows why he's playing this part and that she asked him to.

something else buried in the depths shifts like something shuddering under desert sand, but she kicks it back down.

trusting him fully, she swerves as he directs, grateful that he saw the incident before it even happened. it allows her to avoid even glancing at the potential offender and her lips curl upwards with amused disdain at the annoyed sound he makes behind her. she gladly continues parading him about, letting her pet be the lower star to her constellation, the fascinating distraction to her main attraction. ]

Could work. Wouldn't be too hard to find a match in the right spaces.

[ her voice remains mildly disdainful, slightly interested in the conversation or something attached to the conversation. they move a little farther away from the crowd and she dips back into the deeper conversation. ]

Likely both. A magister backed by the gods. You know how it is. [ her smirk turns a little annoyed, like a proper magister who's feeling ignored and dislikes it. ] Couldn't be easy. If this is our relic, we'll want to grab it before the hand off. If it's not...

[ her head tips slightly. theoretically, they could take the relic after the pass, but that would be harder to pull off. worst comes to worst... they make a scene. as a couple. ]

Either way, they'll have it under guard. Likely by a nasty spell in a safe room or on the host's person. Let's see if we can stir up some more rumors. There's a couple in the corner looking surly. Want to try our luck there?