ALTAIR LAURENT & GALE KAPUR (LATER IN THE EVENING).
Altair glanced over at her and gave her one of his rare, genuine smiles. "You remind me of my mother," he said, and then glanced back out at the darkening city. As the lights of the city went out, more of the stars were visible in the sky. Even so, the stars were a pale imitation of the brilliant landscape of the city.
"She grew up in Ordalia in a very old noble family," he explained after a pause. "Even so, this sort of thing was always hard on her: having so many people around, demanding her attention; having to make sure that everyone is having a good time. She found it exhausting." He glanced over at Gale to gauge her response.
He found her so interesting. She was so different from many of the other noblewomen he'd known, in the way she carried all of her emotions so close to her. Most of the other noblewomen had very little below the surface. Gale was almost entirely below the surface, and Altair couldn't even begin to guess what all was there.
He turned back toward the city. "To answer your question," he said, "I am fine."