i hear hurricanes blowing; Lilliana

[lilliana]

It would seem old habits die hard.

Lilliana had grown up at her mother's side as she had been addressed as the Regent. Just as her brother and Marcelo had been their Lieutenants. When she addresses Lepis as the Comtesse, it is the result of that upbringing. And so even in the years that Murmuring Rivers is no longer and its Regent has foregone her title for something else, Lilliana can't quite shake the ability to call a leader or official by their title.

The Comtesse bobs her head and Lilliana finds that warm smile unfolding into a dimple. "I think I'm recuperating," she teases back. The merriment of their adventure (both to and from Ischia) dances in her blue eyes. "I don't know how the Ischians manage with all that paradise." The white, sandy beaches. The lush, tropical jungle with so many vibrant creatures within it. And then there had been the ocean... that had certainly captivated her. 

(Lilliana has always liked the way the ocean kept her small; it helped keep things in perspective when the problems got too big.)

But Ischia is no Taiga and Lilli is glad to be home. 

When Lepis praises her part in the recent trip, Lilli smiles but she is tempted to avert her eyes. She doesn't think that she has done anything particularly worth praising. And Lilli has never been good with praise - she never knows what to do with a compliment. But her blue eyes don't look away from the blue-grey of Lepis, she doesn't grow bashful or shy under the weight of it. The expression on her face sobers a bit but replies in kind to the Taigan leader, "Thank you for allowing me to accompany you and Celina. I'm grateful for the experience, truly."

As Lepis speaks of her first endeavors into diplomacy, Lilli tilts her head to the side with a smile that can't quite believe that the Comtesse has ever been the latter category. The amused smile that she wears makes Lilli give a playful shake of her head. "We all have to start somewhere," she adds good-naturedly and with a hint of laughter. "You clearly have improved."

And then Lepis asks if she has always wanted to be a diplomat. The smile softens on her face and the chestnut recalls a memory, "No." Lilli gives another shake of her sculpted head and brings herself back to the present, "It was my mother who thought I'd make a good one." She hadn't wanted to be one. All those trips outside Murmuring Rivers and then Paraiso had been at Aletta's insistence. 

She has never been overly fond of the politics or the grander schemes that come along with it.
But for Taiga, she wants to try.

There is a thoughtful pause and then she ventures, "I do have a question. About Ischia. If you don't mind me asking?"

@[Lepis]