Flash back:

Did she make a habit of seducing married men? Jacinthe's mind was whirling - she didn't like to talk her marriage at the best of times, and she felt completely off guard. And she knew nothing about what he did at the guild, and saw no way to turn the conversation to less personal matters. "Yes... Our arrangement is a comfortable one," she managed.

Kallista blinked. Something wasn't right here. There was something distinctly missing in this conversation, and it seemed to be on Jacinthe's end. So far she had completely failed to return any of Kallista's enthusiasm for their newfound commonality.

"Umm... is everything ok, Jacinthe?"

"Yes. My apologies." It was refreshing, she supposed, to encounter someone who saw the match as a positive one who had nothing to gain from it. But it was disconcerting to hear that the assumption that the arrangement might have had anything to do with her own choices. Most people with whom he was forced to discuss the matter at least knew better than that. "Your revelation caught me off guard, and I am not accustomed to such....frank discussion."

Kallista laughed again.

"Yeah, That's not the first time I've heard that. I'm sorry, I tend to have that effect on people. There's so many little things that people on the outside world get offended about. I apologize if I said something wrong."

"Don't concern yourself overly," she flashed a reassuring smile, "I'm not offended." It wasn't entirely true, but she accepted that Kallista hadn't intended to say anything amiss, and they were apparently both quite ignorant of what the other might find acceptable conversation. Still, if she were lucky she could turn talk away form its current, somewhat distressing, topic. "I think we might be able to bright Mhireen back with us today - he seemed to be doing much better after yesterday's treatment."

Kallista nodded as she squeezed passed a cart piled high with demolished building supplies.

"Yeah, the priests say he'll have some scarring, but he should make a full recovery."

She sighed, her brief jovial spirit seeming to have exhausted itself.

"I hope so. It's not fair to these kids that they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They don't deserve this."

"Indeed," she agreed firmly, back on safer common ground, "They do not. So we must see what we can do to allow them some happier future." She smiled at that, feeling more resolute. "We have *that* power, I should think."

Kallista forced a smile and put her hand on Jacinthe's shoulder.

"I hope so", she said firmly.

For a few moments the two women walked in silence. Around them the sights and sounds of the crowded city unfolded as the medical tent appeared up ahead.

"So is Vedran as good in bed as he seems like he'd be?" Kallista asked suddenly, with a wry grin.

She glanced over at her friend in puzzlement while the meaning of her question sank it. A deep feel the flush rising in her cheeks, and her mouth felt dry. Jacinthe was torn between wishing Marys was here as someone who could put a firm end to the the conversation, and being glad to be spared the further embarrassment.

"Miss Kallista," she stammered. She knoiew that sometimes girls might discuss their intimacies with their husbands, especially with their closest friend, and only with the most delicate language.... but she knew also she could never be among them, even if the question were not so basely put. There was essentially something wrong with her, in their relations, that did not bear speaking of. "You... you cannot *ask* such things!"

Her cheeks felt hot and she was sure she was flush.

Kallista sighed exasperatedly.

"Damnit... is this another one of those things I'm not supposed to mention? I mean I've talked to Tzesira about how Brenn is in bed. Is this different? You people have so many rules. How do you keep track of them all?"

Well *that* at least, was hardly a shock, but it gave her only further regret that her husband kept company with such an unrepentant bachelor. It only served to raise in her mind a host of uncomfortable questions. But she must settle this now, and do so without causing either of them further distress. She took a moment to try and recover her nerves, and tried a smile, though it felt tight.

"I am sorry. It must be very confusing for someone from outside Society, if you were not raised with such things. But ....marriage is a very private matter, I beg you to please let it rest."

"Oh..." Kallista muttered, although she still wasn't sure she quite understood. She could see, though, that she was causing Jacinthe quite a bit of stress, and that was really the last thing she wanted to do right now.

"I'm sorry." she said, "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm not the best at knowing what's appropriate and what's not. I tend to be too open with people I consider my friends."

Friends? Something inside her chaffed at the though. It wasn't that she didn't like Kallista, she rather did, but she could count on few enough others that the thought of including someone that she'd met so recently and knew so little was disconcerting - nevermind the awkwardness of the conversation at present. Her more shocking manners could at least be linked to differences in culture and breeding, and Jacinthe had accepted the inevitability of encountering such situations well before setting foot in Undertow. She just hadn't expected such a personal turn, and still felt a little shaken.

"Don't be sorry - I must own that it is no doubt an overreaction on my part as well. I was simply surprised by your inquiry. But let us forget the topic and leave these differences aside. We're nearly arrived at the hospital in any case."

Kallista smiled. Hopefully she hadn't managed to do any permanent damage with her conversational fumblings. She liked Jacinthe, despite their obvious differences. The elven woman was strong willed and kind, and that went a long way with Kallista. Besides that, they shared a love and concern for children, and a desire to do good in the world. Even after only two days, Kallista felt comfortable around her. Maybe too comfortable, it seemed.

As they approached the medical pavillion, Kallista saw that Mhireen had already spotted them from his cot by the entrance and was waving. She waved back with an enthusiastic smile and turned to her friend.

"Sounds good to me." she said with a grin.