The note came as a surprise to Onainat. Vedette was right. The Captain was very good at communicating without words. The delivery of the note was more formal that Onainat could ever imagine being, but made light by Ulbarich's expression. She couldn't imagine being without her tongue, much less the pain that went along with losing a part of her body. There was humor in his eyes for the note, though, and that only made her smile in return.
"Do you give everyone the same note? The same way?" she asked. She hoped it wasn't rude. She thought he was very professional. Being asked to explain why he didn't talk must have become a burden after a while. He had no issue writing notes in the castle, but that was over impersonal things. He hadn't been upset by anything so far, not that she could tell. Onainat thought his face to be very kind.
Well, maybe it was rude. Onainat was able to see the bottom of her tankard, so she did not count herself as a good judge of polite conversation.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I am very curious and it only gets worse with ale. Faustben is very strange with the greeting of old acquaintances and friends. Maybe I will be more accustomed by the end of my stay? I would have never known you knew each other before."
This conversation seemed to be easier than anything else. She'd passed at least ten minutes without thinking of anything but questions. No depressing thoughts of lost fathers, dead trees, being separated from friends. Just ale and questions and soup. Delicious soup. She thought that was a step in the right direction.