<Fine then,> Terenia says, feigning disgruntlement. <What do you want to do, Mr. Fancy Computer Hookup?>
Zorish glances at the glass of water suspiciously before edging it towards him.
<<He'd be kind of cute if he didn't have that scar,>> Tamora chirps. Zorish's lips twist into an unconscious sneer.
<<What is with you and your sudden fascination in romance?>> he hisses. <<We came here for a purpose, or have you forgetten?>>
He raises the glass to his lips and takes a hesitant sip, figuring that if anyone here wanted to murder him outright he had already spoken with most of the culprits. How funny it would be, he thinks as he swallows the water, if we both met our death at this same dapsen bar but by completely different means.
"You are in a bar," Zorish says at last, lowering the drink and forcing Tamora's voice to come out as evenly as he can despite the alcohol on his breath. "A bar that, if I were a superstitious human, I would say was built by the hands of the devil himself. But, as I am not I can only assume that it is an unacceptable anomaly that is, nevertheless, here."
<I will be of greater use to you within the rebellion,> Efaen says. And I do not trust you, she adds silently. I'd rather live amongst the enemy I know than the one who smiles in my face and may not be an enemy at all, until it suits him. <If you do not wish for me to go, you are my Prince and I cannot refuse you. But it is my personal opinion, sir, that I will be able to have a greater impact over the course of the war if I proceed in this manner.>
She switches over to private thought-speak, in case there is anyone eavesdropping. <<Besides, my Prince,>> she says, <<I know you trust at the very least the Yeerk named Myitt, and your trust of the rebellion is an extrapolation of that. But is it not possible that, regardless of Myitt's good will, she is being deceived herself? If it is in the best interest of the People, then I will fight alongside this rebellion. However, I can also help to determine whether they will betray us or not, when the Empire is no longer a mutual enemy.>>