Mathieu raised his glass as a sign of cheers, his warm and friendly attitude unhindered by the fact that he'd spent the last few hours in meetings (casual as they were). "Always am," he admitted, "but one finds ways to cope."
As the tiredness in Lan's voice became more apparent however, Mathieu eased back his cheerful persona slightly. With the growing news of sickness, guild members falling ill left and right (or so it seemed), even the slight slip of a cough during one of the week's rehearsals were cause for concern. The council was trying its best to keep striving forward, of course, and he and Azalea were already working to capitalize on the current state of the city--but the growing predicament was nevertheless a serious issue for everyone. "Far be it from me to make such a strange suggestion, but sometimes it helps to take an early night off—or so everyone keeps telling me."
He turned his attention away for a moment, offering a most diplomatic smile to the waitress and exchanging his drained glass of wine for a new one. Mathieu swirled the dark, red liquid in his hand, bringing it up to savor its aroma. Good wine--and this certainly was, took time to savor. "Is the Lounge faring well these days?"