"Really, she would have recommended Morozov? Hah! You are wise to only selectively take her advice, then," he told her, one hand patting her upper arm. "I would certainly be having a quite a dull night otherwise."

He laughed at her grand secret, winking cheekily. "Ah, you have been quite the terrible villain, have you not?" He told her, in a mockingly scolding manner, smirking; he wondered if she'd even remember being that physically close to him in the morning.

"The cure for too much wine, I usually find, is more of it. Besides, you really must let me return the favor of the drink..." He waved the bartender over and the man refilled both of their glasses.

"The Basilisk? Hah - well. A decade or so ago I worked with the Kanikas in Egypt to get their Basilisk scales for the Department of Mysteries - they raised the things, you see. I accepted an offer to see how their venom was harvested - and it turned out the current donor liked the family and no one else. I was lucky they'd had its eyes removed or I'd have been a dead man."

"Morozov can be fun when he wants to be," Liadan said to Vedir with a smile. "Handsome, excellent dancer, mischievous... Unfortunately he had a penchant for liquor, violence, and gambling. The liquor and the violence are easy to excuse- but gambling?" Lia clucked her tongue. "Gambling is inexcusable. I cannot marry any man who would want to lose my family fortune at cards or dice."

Terrible villain? Lia smiled. "That is certainly one way to put, Vedir. Though I prefer to make sure not everyone knows what a horrid villain I am. I find that it is incredibly beneficial that everyone think I am a helpless, porcelain doll. But there is an old saying, something about big things in very small packages." She smirked.

And then he was filling her wine glass again. "How is that a cure?" she laughed. "More wine is only going to make me more drunk, and being more drunk means saying more things I ought not say- and it also means the trip up those stairs to my suite is going to be doubly difficult. I hope, Vedir, that I can trust you to be a gentleman and walk to me room if need be. I promise- I do not weigh very much."

Liadan clinked her glass with his, and listened as he spoke about the basilisk, sipping the glass of wine- forgetting her decision to stop. "A blind basilisk? Very lucky indeed!" she called out cheerfully. "That sounds like quit the adventure. Though, I must admit, your delivery could use some work. Not a very exciting tale the way that you tell it. Adjectives, Vedir! Exciting words! Make it sound perilous! I know you are quite capable of using your words exquisitely. Or perhaps I am not worth the effort?"

"Very well, then - shall I get, dare I try, poetic?" he replied, clinking their glasses together. "Though you flatter me, I am by no one's definition a master of words..."

He made a joking show of clearing his throat. "In my twenties I was lucky enough to be personally invited to the home of the Kanika clan," he said, smiling, his tone happily hammy. "Such a palace we here can only dream of - vast hallways lined with statues, the walls coated in hieroglyphs; the rooms filled with treasures, any one of which could make any man rich. Here, we can barely keep a basic staff of wizards; they had hordes of servants, administrators, and workers who waited on them hand and foot. It was rather like being in a true palace, ruled by a king." He  sipped from his glass.

"The family's personal assassins have for eons used Basilisk venom as their signature, and several weeks into my stay I was invited to meet their current snake. I was led deep below their home, into a vast underground chamber. Their current snake - which still lives - was massive and, dare I say it, beautiful. They had had its eyes removed as a hatchling, and its empty sockets were replaced with golden spheres, eyes simulated with ivory and jade. The fangs were capped with gold, which they would remove to collect the venom, and it had been elegantly painted . Master Kanika was a parseltonuge, and he spoke to the snake, who had known his grandfather's great-grandfather. The snake spoke, too - a deep, raspy hissing. It did not take kindly to my presence, unfortunetly, and so it came after me - the family had sometimes offered it sacrifices, you see."

He leaned against the bar, smirking. "You would have thought its age would have slowed it down, but apparently not - it caught me in its jaws and nearly ate me - had its teeth not been capped, I would have surely died. As such, it swallowed me." He shuddered visibly. "I nearly suffocated in its belly, its muscles crushing down on me. Thankfully, it turned out not to like the taste of my cologne, and spat me back up. Seemed a rather insulting reason to be spared, but I'm not complaining anymore now than I was then."

"That was a much better way of telling your story," Liadan crowed. "Such an exciting, fascinating life you must have led, Vedir! Being swallowed whole by a basilisk? I could not imagine. Although, if it is any consolation, I happen to very much enjoy the scent of your cologne. Though i cannot say much for the taste of it. I've never sampled the taste of any man's cologne. I would assume that it smells much better than it tastes, though, given the ingredients in some colognes."

She sipped more of her wine, smiling. "If I only had such an exciting story to tell. Unfortunately I do not. I haven't lived through anything worth telling about." Except, perhaps, the kidnapping. But it wasn't as though Liadan could very well tell him about her adventure into little Robin's house, obliviating the parents, taking the baby- delivering him to Cinaed. No, it wasn't wise to tell that story. Liadan had to keep that close, keep it secret.

"I for one have learned to never under estimate someone based on their age. It is a wise thing to do. Something I am certain you have learned as well. A man of experience knows a lot of things, I am told. Would it be safe to say, Vedir, that just because you are older that you have slowed down?" she smirked.

"Hardly, my dear. I have for the most part avoided such adventures, which I sometimes regret - but upon reflection, I would be dead several times over if I relied on luck to save my hide every time. As for the taste of cologne, it's quite bitter - tastes the same as perfume, really, since they're much the same thing."

He drank to the bottom of his glass yet again; sometimes he wondered if he was immune to wine, with the amount it took to get him feeling tipsy. "Ah, you are young - doubtless you shall have the opportunity someday, with the beasts your farm handles."

A smile crossed his features again; a thoughtful one. "Have you ever heard of the phrase 'beware an old man in a hurry'? It is an apt one, I've found. No, my dear - in my accelerating age, I sometimes feel as if I'm moving much quicker than in my twenties. A less adventurous life, perhaps, but with experience I find my mind much more capable."

"I don't handle the beasts," Liadan told him. "I have staff for that. I check in now and again- but a woman of my stature in the fields isn't exactly wise. Most of the creatures are at least twice as big as I am, anyway." She peered at his empty glass, wondering how many he'd had, and why he didn't seem the least bit intoxicated. Not like she was. Liadan was very drunk by this point.

"I am sure, Vedir, that you are quite capable- in all arenas of life. A trait to be much admired in any man." More so admired in a handsome man of the proper lineage.

Pushing her glass toward the bartender, Liadan carefully lowered herself from the stool. Gripping the bar with one hand, she bent down to pick up her shoes. Liadan bumped her head- hard- on the underside of the bar as she came back up. "Yow!" she rubbed her head with the empty hand, leaning against the bar.

"I do believe I will need your assistance finding my way to my room, as embarrassing as it is to ask." Liadan continued to rub her head, and looked down at her feet. "I'm not sure how wise it is to even attempt putting these heels back on. I've had too much wine. It's all your fault, you devil!" she batted at him. "I said I was done and you just had to refill my cup."

"Come- think of the scandal we will cause just from you leaving me at the door, Vedir. And I will be forever in your gratitude for keeping me from tumbling up or down the stairs." Liadan reached into her clutch, and paid the bartender for her wine and gave him a generous tip. "Shall we?"

His eyebrows rose in surprise as she struck her head on the bar; he kept an amused smile from his face somehow. "Are you alright, Liadan?" he asked, but she recovered quickly.

"Nonsense, you flatter me unduly," he said with a chuckle. "I should have no greater pleasure than to assist you, my dear," he said, putting his glass aside and paying the bartender for his share. The bartender got only a moderate tip from Vedir. Vedir was genuinely amused by her condition, gently patting the top of her head where she'd struck it and then extending his arm for her to take.

"For someone normally so cautious about scandal, Liadan, you certainly seem eager to cause it!" he said with a 'tut tut' tone. "Now then - which room is yours?"

Liadan took his arm carefully with her free hand. "The African Savannah grande suite," she told him. "I thought about taking Arabian Nights- but it was already reserved. It's my birthday present to myself," she told him. "Spend an evening away from home, seemed like the perfect treat."

"It was a wonderful idea, I did find you here," she offered, looking up at him with a smile. "And I don't have to figure out the best way to get home drunk. I am not certain if you have ever taken the floo network intoxicated, Vedir, but I would not suggest doing so. Apparating would be even more dangerous." And those were really the only two ways for Liadan to travel. Apparation and floo. Liadan had never learned to fly a broom. Not that broom travel was exactly convenient.

"And I find it hard to believe, Vedir, that you are hesitant to cause scandal- especially if you get to cause some scandal with me," Liadan bumped him with her hip, still smiling. "The room key is in my clutch," she told him. "But one thing at a time. The stairs," she motioned toward the doorway leading to them.  "Remember, though, you must be the proper gentleman. It is only false scandal that we are after, sir."

"I can certainly sympathize - my own reasons for being here are quite similar," he told her happily. "Thankfully my birthday is over for the year, and I'm not unhappy about that." Nothing like turning 45 and getting yet another earful about getting married to make him fear the 5-0.

They headed to the stairs and he allowed her to lean on him as they headed up. "Haha, if you desire another option, my coach is out back - and Ireland is somewhat on the way home..." he winked cheekily. "Though if merely helping you to your room causes scandal, who know what that would cause!" He laughed.

"Causing scandal is a pastime that must be done in moderation, of course, but it is such an enjoyable game," he told her as they made their way upwards. "And of course I shall be proper! No impropriety unless you specifically request it, my dear."

Liadan was glad to have the help up the stairs. "Your coach?" she repeated. "Now that certainly would kick up quite the scandal, wouldn't it? I'm not sure that the two of us getting cozy in a coach is the best way to spend the evening. It would certainly be a waste of the money that I spent on the room. And I know exactly what it would cause, Vedir. It would cause, at the very least, considerable gossip surrounding my chastity... And it would cause everyone else to think of me as another notch in your belt," she told him, tugging at the bit of clothing in question with a giggle.

"And I would never request impropriety from anybody, Vedir. What kind of a lady would I be if I went around, asking men not to be proper when escorting me to my bedroom? Next thing you know you'll be expecting me to ask you to come inside for the evening!"

She paused at the top of the stairs, clutching the railing. "I can assure you, sir," she said- pointing her shoes at him, "that will never, ever happen." That being said, Liadan snaked her arm through his again, and tugged him gently toward the direction of her door. "I may be drunk, but there is not enough liquor or wine in this world to get me to do something like that. Not after spending so long being such a very, very good girl."

"Ah, but you would be a very notable notch, I assure you," he said in a tone that made it clear he was just jesting, though he did let out a surprised sound as she tugged at his belt. "Scandalous indeed," he laughed. He'd almost expected her to go further with that gesture, just out of his experience. But she didn't, and for that he was grateful - a woman of her caliber was worth waiting for, since in her case the chase was far to fun to conclude quickly.

"Ah, but such an invitation I would have to turn down regardless of personal honor or reason - I have a long coach ride ahead of me, now ever longer, since it will lack your delightful company," he told her as they reached the door to her suite. "Shall I fetch your key for you?"

"Only notable?" she asked with a pout. "I should certainly hope a beautiful young girl's innocence would be worth a little more than just notable. Perhaps there are men out there who could consider me worth a little more than just notable. Next time I find myself intoxicated at a bar I will have to be a little more particular about the man I choose to associate with then, hm?"

Her hurt feelings were soon forgotten as he asked about the key. Liadan handed him her clutch. "At least I know that you won't try to steal any of my money, hm?"

"And I have to say, Vedir, that I do not believe you. I believe that if I asked you to come inside, that you would. I believe you are bluffing because you and I both know that the question would never be asked." She waited on him to extract the key, placing a hand on his wrist when he reached for the knob.

"I hope, when I see you next, that you will think no less of me for my actions tonight." Liadan would have blushed, but she was already red from the wine. Liadan released his wrist, leaned against the door, fidgeting awkwardly, keeping her eyes on her feet, toes wriggling against the lush carpet. "I should hate to think you would let a little wine influence your opinions of me in a negative way."

"Ah, my dear, that simply means I rank you far above all of the ladies who have come before," he told her, tone still jesting. "I consider my own tastes impeccable, so take that as you will!"

He extracted the key and handed her clutch back to her, unlocking the door to her elaborate suite. "Ah, you've caught me," he said with a smile. "True, 'tis an invitation I would not decline, though propriety would of course be observed."

He handed her key to her, and watching her fidget, his smile turned gentle. "My dear, you  are one of the most well-behaved drunks I have had the pleasure of meeting. You utterly failed to dance on the bar, vomit on anyone, curse anyone, or throw yourself at all around you. If anything, you have only raised my opinion of you." That was not a lie - this evening had certainly raised his interest on the young lady considerably. He took her hand, and gently kissed it.

"I really should be going, my dear. Thank you for a very enjoyable evening, Liadan. You have cheered me considerably."

Liadan giggled like a school girl when he kissed her hand. "I am glad you think so highly of me, Vedir. Perhaps good breeding is really only obvious when a person is drinking." She carefully tucked the key away in her clutch again, and took a careful step into the doorway. She leaned against the frame, smiling softly.

Now that she near her room, Liadan was suddenly very tired. "Then I shall bid you a good night, Vedir. And thank you for making my birthday less miserable. Of all the middle aged bachelors I have come into contact with in the last twenty-four hours, you are by far the best of them."

Liadan dropped her heels onto the carpet and held onto the door. "Until next time, then," she said. Liadan pushed the door closed slowly, and when it closed with a loud click she leaned against for a moment before disappearing into the bathroom of her grande suite. Now this would certainly be a story for the girls... if she managed to remember it all.