"Nonsense, I'd much rather you were here with me than plummeting to your immediate and gruesome death," the lady tittered, fully abandoning Tony and snatching her kerchief away to pat at Cayde instead now that he was talking to her. Tony wasn't sure if he should be offended, features contorting until they landed on disappointed resignation, and he settled for searching his own palms for glass fragments. "Besides," the lady continued meanwhile, "my husband is terribly late, and I could use the company. How he could possibly have gotten so distracted on a ship, I couldn't imagine."

"Place is full of surprises," Tony muttered impatiently. "Do you know where we would go to meet the captain?" If they waited much longer, the cabin was going to get crowded.

"He's usually in the dining room, dear, the ship flies itself," the lady reported, incredibly patronizing.