The elf remained next to silent, on a speak when spoken to basis. He has been casually eating at will, listening to the conversation. As the night went on, they seemed to start easing up, relaxing. What he assumed was an effect of the wine. He had hardly taken a sip of his, it tasted odd. In general, not that he had had enough to know anything about it.

Soon the table was laughing every so often. Busy discussing something or another, as the room got less quiet, he started humming again. Hands in his lap, watching the people at the table as he'd finished eating. His eyes often resting on the young woman. Only when she wasn't looking back.

Ariadne kept mostly to herself, her conversation waning the longer dinner went on. She was almost entirely nonverbal by the time dessert came around. Tipsy, yes, but reclusively so. She held her alcohol, specifically bloodwine, far better than the rest of her family. They were mostly, for lack of a better word, dangerously close to stupid drunk. But no one had puked or insulted anyone else yet, so, it wasn't going all that terribly.

The princess almost breathed a sigh of relief when her mother, father, and Larach stood to retire to a parlor for further drinking. It was expected that she go as well, but she pardoned herself with a quick apology and made her way out of the room at the fastest speed she could muster without seeming like she was in haste to leave.

The now lone elf, basically given permission to leave since Larach had gone, was with the two youngest. His ears twitched slightly as she got up to leave, he simply bowed his head as she got up.
As she disappeared, with a quick moments though he looked to the son. "..I figure we both would rather be alone than try to have a conversation, Sir, ah, thank you for dinner," he stood up, again bowing and gently pushed his chair back into place and left.

He had changed into something equivalent to pajamas. A sleeveless shirt and shorts. It was dark outside and he hadn't managed to sleep yet. He was a little cold, and blankets weren't kept in his room. Not wanting to wake a servant, he just snuck out of his room. Content with wandering the halls. Of course until the crackle of a fire in what looked like a library reached his ears. Wandering in, he spotted a figure by it. Curiously he moved closer, not exactly sneaking but he was also seeing how close he could get.

Vance nodded lightly at the elf's excuse, offering a simple smile. "Of course." He said, dipping his head and exiting after the elf in silence. He let out a small huff, heading up to his room in a slightly lonely state of mind.

As soon as Ariadne got to her room, she put herself into gray mens pants- though made of a softer material, and a white long sleeved shirt that Vance no longer used. It was thin, but comfortable enough. She tossed in her bed for about five minutes before she gave up, feeling that sleep was nowhere in sight. Most of the population was nocturnal, and only the higher class were up during the day, mainly because that was how other empires were run. Out of courtesy, the Thornes had taken to daylight hours for the discussion.

She padded silently down the hall and slid easily into her favorite room of the manor: the large, old and musty library. It smelled firmly of dust, books, and wood. Something about it was utterly alluring to her. She started up a fire herself, surprising even herself with the speed She got it up in. She grabbed a book and a thick blanket, sitting on the floor in front of the grate to read a book of mythology.

(He should be reading over her shoulder by the time She sees him)

"what are you reading?"

"-SHRIEKS IN HORROR- -THROWS THE BOOK INTO THE FIRE- -ELBOWS HIM IN THE SHIN-"))

The coltish man paused for a moment, recognizing the figure as he got closer. The daughter. Arreadne- arrihad- he couldnt remember how to say her name but it was definitely her. It was the hair he noticed first. He crept closer. Who reads in the middle of the night?

He was about right up on her before he felt the nice heat of the fire, it was very much like a nice warm hug. He stopped about a half a foot behind her, peering over her shoulder. Their books were hard fo read, an odd language. So many words.

Finally he broke he silence, seeing as how he was pretty sure she wouldn't have noticed him otherwise. "What are you reading?"

"Whatcha dooo-"

*spin around* "I WILL JIUJITSU YOUR ASS INTO THIS- Oh- its you."))

At the sound of a voice so close to her she jumped with a yelp, spinning around and almost cracking her skull against the floor. Her book was in one hand and the other was at the collar of his shirt, yanking him closer with a death grip. She looked ready to hit him with it and then some. It took a moment for her to realize it was a guest and not an assasin, and her face immiediately shifted from fear to confusion. She dropped both the book and his shirt, giving him a puzzled look. "Myths. Greek myths." She said quietly, narrowing her eyes at him. "Why are you in my library?" She challenged.

Honestly he was a little surprised at how fast she managed to have flight and then fight. Now he was on his hands, half over her lap, staring straight into her eyes. Somewhat unregistered panic on his face, half because he knew she would actually hit him in the face with that.

He pushed off from over her when she ket go, too close to her face. Moving on all fours, a little closer to the fire. He silently nodded at her choice in book. He liked myths, some of them were such incredible stories you'd think they were real.

"Ah well, it is cold in my room. I came to the fire to warm up." He mumbled. "I apologize, I did not mean to surprise you." He looked away toward the flames. Enjoying the warmth.

Ariadne didn't seem the slightest bit bother by his closeness- if anything, it was a nice way to forget that he had just given her the jumpscare of a lifetime. She peered at him quietly as he moved off to stare into the fire, turning around to face the fire again and readjusting her blanket. She picked up her book and opened it again, glancing at him in confusion. "The apology should be mine. If only you had rang, a servant would have been happy to bring you a blanket." She frowned, finding her page and reading through it a little absentmindedly. "As for the surprise? Don't worry yourself about it. I've had worse scares." She shrugged, reading in silence for a minute while she pondered what to do. She glanced at him hesitantly and then adjusted her blanket, clearing her throat. "If you're cold, I'd be more than willing to share." She offered simply, opening the blanket to him.

Her face, shadowed by the fire was a bit engrained into his corneas. Still seeing the expression of terror on her features. Her features in general. He eyes were oddly colored, somewhat by way of the fire but for once he knew what color they were.

"I would not want to wake them." A lighthearted smile crossed his face, creasing around his eyes. "I keep scaring you, I am starting to feel bad." He sat in an upright fetal position, his knees were open and his ankles crossed though-(I don't know what the frick you call it).

He looked up at her and shook his head as he looked at her offer. "No, no it is fine. I am already warmer." He quickly dismissed it. Mostly wondering it that was improper behavior here or something, which is better not to be trifled with.

For some reason he was slightly uneasy being with her. Quietly he started to hum, ataring into the fire.

Damn he really went

"Fuck no"))

Ariadne smiled slightly at his reasoning. "I see. That's kind of you, I suppose. But it is what they are paid to do." She said, not unkindly. It was, indeed, what they ere paid to do. The workers of the Thorne manor were well paid and generally took pride in their work; the idea that he wouldn't call because he didn't want to be a bother was slightly against the hospitality she had attempted to provide. Then again, at the smile on his face, she felt she was likely overthinking it.

She shrugged off his next comment, glancing at the fire. "Don't. My brother has scared me more in an hour than you have in a day." She blinked in surprise, looking at him when he utterly dismissed her offer of the blanket. It wasn't often that people told her no; especially when it was the answer rp an invitation for closeness. She couldn't tell whether to be insulted or not as he dropped the blanket. "Alright then." She nodded simply, taking her book and standing, eager to be out of the company of someone so confusing. She folded her blanket and went to put it away, stopping as he began to hum. It was the same, familiar tune. Slightly drowsing. It took a few seconds of the melody before she dropped both her blanket and book, glaring at him like he had revealed he was a demon. "Stop." She hissed, suddenly hostile as she backed away from him.