If by charming he meant being a smug jerk, then she supposed he could pull that off. Valdis accepted her tea as well, setting it down so it could cool a bit more. His question, though not entirely unexpected, brought with it a sense of sadness.

"One of my close friends," She replied, her tone forcibly even, "He had a feather that allowed him to change his appearance. When he went home, he left the feather to me. We kind of do that here. Make living wills so that the items we leave behind don't go to waste." A sigh, "The feather is limited, I only have two appearances besides my real one. It's all an illusion though."

Gods she missed Erskine, just thinking about him made her sad. Yes, there were difficult times, but there were also wonderful ones. She missed all of them so much...