No one else was around until Kayli darted in for a hug. In her paws, she held a note, pressed into Freya’s grasp as her little cousin clung to her. Inside was an invitation to a luncheon in the coming week, with all the little details one would need.

“Ah, this must be little Kayli!” said the stranger. The kettle bubbled on the counter beside him, but he seemed more interested in the view out the window, where the chickens’ pen could just be seen.

“Pardon me, but I don’t recall your name… sir?” Freya said as if he wasn’t one of the few she was interested in. “I’ve met a great many gentle mice this past week. Is this invitation from you?” She tried to remove her traveling cloak as she spoke, but Kayli had one paw fishing around in the pockets for goodness knows what, and Freya gave up for the moment.

“Oh, no, that isn’t my invitation, but...” He stepped into a formal bow and took her outstretched hand. “My name is Da Seung.We spoke very briefly last night, but I wanted to introduce myself formally and get to know you better. I’ve heard so much about you, not to mention those beasts out there. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Uki. May I?”

His eyes were warm and green, strangely disarming, and Freya found herself handing over the invitation. He scanned it briefly, before turning to look at her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she stammered, “I - yes, those chickens, my Grandpaw trapped them and he got them into the pen there. It was a whole ordeal. I’ve been trying to domesticate them.”

He hummed a query, brow furrowed. His confusion gave her room to pause, to breathe; she knew what she was talking about.

“It’s rather like… what one does with little children, to teach them manners,” she said.

“I see. I’ve never heard of someone teaching manners to chickens before. And as for this, it is an open invitation, but I did not bring it. I’ve passed by the Nithe house before, but I did not choose to serve as a Soldier, so regrettably, I don’t have many friends there.”

He smoothed his whiskers flat against his jawline. His chiseled jawline. He might work in the industry of bootmaking, but he apparently could keep up with Captain Bell. Freya wondered if she could keep up with her before she immediately tried to redirect her attention to anything else. The kettle began to whistle, and he turned away to pour the boiled water into the teapot.

Freya cleared her throat, glancing back to Kayli, who was now trying to climb into one of Freya’s pockets. Freya had been dodging her expertly, but she was close enough to the wall now that Kayli’s new strategy was to use it as a launching point.

“Pardon my cousin, Mr. Seung, she’s in need of some manners herself.”

“You seem to handle her quite well,” Da said, leaning against the counter.

“I should hope so, the amount of time I spend with her,” Freya said. “But where are my manners?Please, tell me about yourself.”

It’s important that you ask them to tell you about themselves. Some males are so full of hot air that they can talk for hours unprompted. Learn if he is the right one for you by how you respond to them and how they respond to you, Freya remembered Lady Raina's voice.

“Well, what is there to say? You should know that I am one of the two merchants in Yellowrock that outfit boots and related attire for the coalition, as well as any civilians that need it. You’re wearing a pair of my best right now, in fact… and is that a size seven? How do you like them?”

“These? They are lovely,” she said, lifting her brown traveling skirt just enough to show the tops of the boots as she modeled them, “They do the job well for the price I had to pay. They’re so comfortable that I wish I could have worn them to the ball.”

He leaned in to inspect them.

“May I handle them?” he said, looking carefully as he took a knee. He took a knee! In front of her!

He felt around at the fit and the creases and then finally stood up.

“I would like to deliver you a custom pair, as a gift for being so generous as to take a promenade with me this week,” he said.

He’s trying to play some angle because he knows we like boots. Or he’s really into boots and he doesn’t even like me. I don’t really know yet, Freya thought.

Freya hesitated, momentarily distracted from Kayli’s attempts to use her as a jungle gym. Hearing no answer, Da straightened and took a step back.

“Pardon me, that was rather forward. I’m making a new boot, you see, and,” his voice dropped, “I’ve added a compartment for a dagger to try to sell to the military. Would you like to be a test subject?”

“And I supposed that you’ll be bringing the pair with you? That I may test them out on our walk?” she said.

“So you’ll accept?” He looked overjoyed.

Perhaps I’ve judged him too harshly, Freya thought, he could be interested in us for us and not just because the queen favors us.

“I’ll accept if I can find an acceptable chaperone,” Freya said, leaving herself just enough wiggle room to get out of it if she so desired. Leave them wanting more, as Lady Raina said.

“Very well, Miss Uki.” He looked pleased, carefully hefting the warm teapot. “Would you like to head into the drawing-room before your mother begins to worry?”

“Kayli,” Freya asked.

Kayli nodded, pausing her ascent of Mount Freya, the tallest mountain in the kitchen.

“Can you go find Grandpaw? I have to go meet some more people,” she said.

By the amused twitch of Da’s whiskers, she hadn’t hidden her lack of enthusiasm terribly well, but he at least seemed unoffended. “I think you mean to say that you get to go meet some more people,” he teased, and they left the shelter of the kitchen behind.