"Flatterer," Ari said, but she giggled, which was actually an achievement in its own right this early in the morning. Being talked up in comparison to Fellina was pleasant, even if it was not entirely true. "She hasn't got the cleverness, anyway," she said. "And she sounds like a goat when she laughs, so there's that to recommend me."
The smell of food coming from the cafe made her stomach lurch. With a grimace, she put her hand to her head and concentrated. After a few moments, a faint green glow came around her fingers and the headache retreated. It didn't vanish, but this was going to be the best she could do. At least now the food didn't smell revolting and she could probably keep something down. When Altair held the door open for her, she gave him a very small mock curtsy. "Your manners, sir, are impeccable in every situation." It was fortunate for both of them that neither of them seemed to care about the rumors that started in these cases; a nobleman seen early in the morning with a woman in Ari's disheveled state would be assumed to be keeping a mistress. Fortunately, as long as Ari's mother didn't hear about it from halfway across the world, she really couldn't be bothered to care, and Altair probably enjoyed her occasional company at least partly because she wasn't a social climber.