[ It's enough implication to hit true—the words unfurl in her chest with a warm fuzziness. It makes her smile soften a little around the edges as she moves to stand next to him, her hands resting on the balcony railing. The metal is cold to the touch, and that combined with the chill in the air makes her break out in goosebumps all over her bare shoulders and down her arms. It's... bracing, but she doesn't really mind.

Maybe it's because of the company. ]

I could say the very same, I wager. [ That bittersweetness in his voice must be contagious, though hers is tempered with some wistfulness, for the old days. ] These types of soirees were so common whence I came—especially so under our former king. I never relished them then as much as I did after the war began—when they became so rare.

[ She shrugs her shoulders as if to say isn't that just the way? One never truly appreciates the things one has until they're gone. ]