There was something in this woman's soft-spoken tone that made Peony want to lean in closer to hear, to gather all that lovely sound and hoard it. The handkerchief was taken to be wrung between her hands as she sat in the common room, wrapped in a blanket, small and vulnerable. She let her head slump forward in a moment of self-pity to create a curtain between herself and the rest of the world. A lump rose in her throat at the confirmation that she was unable to leave but the warlock forced it back down again and forced her face into a polite mask of neutrality.

Sadness was ugliness. It wouldn't do. Even here, she would perform until she could leave. Peony pulled back her head and straightened her spine. "Thank you." Was the first whispered response. "For your kindness. I never forget such things." Hospitality to a fey was like sunlight to a flower. "My name is Peony."

She shook her head. "I...I am aware it is somewhere on my body, but I do not know where yet." In truth, she hadn't felt brave enough to search for it and it wasn't anywhere keenly obvious to her. Another thing that highlighted how vulnerable she felt. How had a mark been placed on her without her notice? It was an anxious thought.