"Came all this way, you say it like it took more than seconds for me to get from there to here," Samandriel pointed out, smiling playfully as he winked at Alcuin. "But yes, a prank, one I'll fix just as soon as he asks me to." He really was a proper D'angeline slave, though. Demure and evasive. If Samandriel were to place him somewhere into service in the boy's homeland just based on what he'd seen so far, he'd be Alyssum for certain.
"Family doesn't end with blood," he said simply, "and it doesn't have to start there either." He stepped back, giving him some measure of his personal space once again. "Would you like to talk about it? Truly, my plans for Derek can wait. They'll hardly take any time at all anyway. We don't have to be here either, you know. You can choose anywhere you like if it'll make you feel more comfortable."