A collar sits on a table in the corner of the Minister of Savanite Affair's room. The Minister, also known as Knight, Conqueror, or as he has been called for the longest time, Bassai, is attempting to both relax, and work on his archaeological paper. His progress is slow and his mind is focused on other things. Briefly, he manages to forget and plunge into his task, but in the middle of writing he will suddenly say, "Tekki, could you… " Next comes a glance in the corner, and a quiet hiss, and then the events repeat themselves.

A slender snake-head peers into the room through beaded curtains. "Sir Bassai?" hisses the sleek owner of that head, the Life-Mage Sephira.

Delicate hands, the backs of which are painted with diamond-like rainbows, push aside the strands of beads.

With a surprised hiss Bassai straightens up, putting his pen purposely down on his desk, "Yes? Oh, greetings Mage Sephira. I was… absorbed in my work." He turns, his own hands straightening his robes.

Sephira slithers into the room. "I thought that you might appreciate a friend," she murmurs, taking into account the gloomy look upon the face of the archaeologist.

Bassai doesn't reply for a moment, and then finally bobs his head. "Yes, I am not accustomed… I have not been without… I am used to having someone to talk too, you're right."

Sephira looks over Bassai's shoulder at the papers in the flickering candle-light. "Your journal?" she asks. Then shakes her head. "Well, as your doctor, Sir Bassai, may I prescribe that you find surroundings less likely to remind you of your slave – aide, pardon me, and perhaps more tranquil? There is one place in particular that has never failed to calm my spirits when times are difficult." She holds out her hand to the archaeologist.

He nods again, still moving in a reluctant manner, and then reaches out to take her hand. He squeezes it with a tightness that says a lot of the things he is unwilling to verbalize. "Yes, I would like to see that. I shouldn't ignore my doctors advice."

Sephira's lips curl into a smile, though her dark eyes suggest that her worry has by no means faded. "Well then, Sir Bassai. Shall we go?"

The Ringneck flicks out his tongue, moving beside her, "Yes. Please show me the way."

The slender purple-and-green Life-Mage leads the way, her eyes glancing back at Bassai now and then, upward in the winding corridors of the Palace. Everywhere they go, garters and Jingai and Savanites and other lesser races bow before them… Though as this is not an official procession, they restrain themselves from flinging themselves to form a living carpet. Some of the cheetahs look after the Minister of Savanite Affairs with wondering eyes.

Bassai slithers along with a neutral expression, bobbing his head at anyone of note and not paying much attention to anyone else. He tries to maintain purposeful manner, and while his gaze may linger on a familiar seeming Savanite, he doesn't express any hope for a surprise encounter.

The halls grow quieter. Fresco designs begin to appear on the walls, showing leaves and vines, then develop into bas relief, and the age of patina on the walls suggest to the Archaeologist that this is one of the older parts of the Palace.

A pale light fills the archway immediately before them… And then Sephira leads Bassai into –

The archaeologist pauses as he enters the room, his training momentarily taking over and letting him immerse in the details of the room. It is one out of the legends, from the age of classics, heros and legends when the Empire was young. A very rare sight for anyone's eyes, and even more comforting to someone how knows the history behind it.

Sephira smiles at the larger snake. "I hope you like it, Sir Bassai. It's not so large a garden as those reserved to the Emperor-Potentate, but the servants still take very good care of it." She leads him down the path, the hard-packed sand making for excellent traction for Nagai, and into the pavilion proper which has cushions for reclining and repose, next to a low tea table upon which are all the tools necessary for making excellent tea. A small stove nearby has matches and small logs ready for heating water.

Bassai follows her in silence with a nod as a reply. He slowly is comforted by the surroundings, relaxing in his motions, and has a nearly normal countenance when he finally reaches the cushions. The Ringneck arranges his coils on them, and settles with a hiss. "Thank you, Mage Sephira."

The pavilion smells faintly of incense… the reason for which Sephira demonstrates as she takes a stick which has been coated with some sort of powdery substance and sets it into a grooved stone. She uses a fire-starter to ignite it, releasing a sweet smell.

His eyes take on the far-away mountain look, as he gazes out at the splendor of the garden. In happier times he would be examining the coils, or plotting the location of each plant, but for now he just looks. After a moment he says, "I am… reluctant to show weakness in front of others; It usually inspires them to attempt hasty and disruptive actions. I suppose as a Mage of the Life Sphere, you see this quite often."

Sephira smiles a little. "We are trained to look for such things, yes. Instructor Haskalah would often counsel me, 'Life never goes as you expect it to – that's why it's life.' But you have nothing to fear from me, Minister. I have a sense of professional ethics." Her lingering look into Bassai's eyes suggest that perhaps more than ethics brings him here, but then she turns to the side demurely, looking at the pot. "Would you like me to make tea?"

"Yes, please. I would enjoy that." He answers, taking some comfort in her reassurances, and expression. It prompts him to further confessions, "Your instructor was quite right, there are many unexpected coils, and I feel I have been caught in one. My… Tekki's departure has upset me a fair amount."

Sephira nods to Bassai sympathetically. She starts a fire in the stove and begins heating water, her gestures elegant, formal as if she were performing a ritual. Which, indeed, she might be: noble Nagai observe a ceremony of making and sharing tea.

"Of course there is the risk he will take some of my findings to my rivals, and the political damage this might cause," Bassai goes on to say in a tone that suggests these are the least of his concern, which they indeed may be. "It's more than that. Perhaps I have been among the lesser races too much."

"If Tekki has inspired such confidence in you that you were then prompted to move that Savanites be promoted in rank," Sephira says mildly practically. "I would think that loyalty must have been one of the virtues that he demonstrated. Perhaps there were matters more… personal… that he sought to attend. Perhaps he has gone to look for his family, or to try and understand what this freedom will mean to him and his race." She lays her warm hand on Bassai's arm, quietly reassuring.

"I do hope that is the cause," her touch prompts him to gaze at Sephira. "He was loyal, and dutiful. I don't want to think I made an error in judgment, and I saw nothing in him that can explain his actions; I have been wondering, did he really hate me all this time?"

Sephira looks shocked. "I cannot think that a man of refinement and character as yourself should inspire hate in his slaves," she says. "Have you not always treated your Tekki well?"

Bassai nods, his tongue flicking out. "Yes, I have. I felt it was wasteful to get a slave and abuse it to perform. I was strict, but I was fair, and while I never did inquire much into his personal thoughts, I often asked how his comfort was. Occasionally… I would give him a treat, as an encouragement. He rarely disappointed me."

Sephira takes two cups and sets them on the table, then stirs a green powder into each one, being scrupulously careful in her measurements. Lifting the pot of water, heated to just near boiling, she pours water into Bassai's cup first, stirring with a small brush to ensure it is evenly mixed into green tea, then hers. "Then it sounds like you have been more fair with Tekki than many masters would have been," she says. "Indeed, you must have taught him a great deal. He seemed very well brought up."

Bassai reaches down to take up his own cup, and sips it slowly. "He was. I have had him for some time, when I bought him though I did examine several Savanites for the right kind of personality; I cannot take all the credit for his manners, though I will for his education. I needed an assistant, and one that I could be sure would remain. I thought a slave might be trainable in that manner, and was quite pleased to find out I was right. I had many arguments with my colleagues, they felt a slave was only useful for digging or setting off traps."

Sephira coils in the pillows on the other side of the table from Bassai, her tail curled about in the air like a curlique; she takes her cup and sips from the somewhat bitter tea. Nagai green tea is an acquired taste. "Setting off traps?" she says, startled. "That seems rather a waste… "

Light glints off of the bracelets that jangle in faint musical chimes upon Sephira's tail, linked to each other with thin chains.

The archeologist nods, taking another sip of his tea and momentarily indulging in criticism of his peers, and thinking of a late blue haired one. "Yes, my less skilled rivals were more interested in raiding than knowledge, and took a brute force approach to their research. They would send in great numbers of slaves to strip sites, or perish in traps. No professionalism, but they got results of a sort, and consequently, funding."

"I didn't want to expend that many slaves in my work, I've never owned a number of them, just Tekki. After a while I developed a concern for him, like you might with a pet." Bassai pauses, then flicks out his tongue again, "No, it was more than that. He seemed genuinely interested in the tasks I gave him, and I started to think of him as a graduate intern."

The Mage shudders delicately. "Such a horrendous cost in lives." She looks up to Bassai from beneath purple eyelids, long-lashed. "I was at first quite skeptical about your claims and ambitions, Sir Bassai," she murmurs. "But it seems to me that you have more than proved that you not only hold forth grand ideals, but you have also sacrificed greatly for them." She sips from her teacup again. "It seems very… unlike the attitudes that so many of our politicians take here, milord – do as I say, not as I do."

Bassai leans forward to put down his tea-cup, it allows him the use of both hands to gesture, and he does, as if he was holding a book in front of him. "I had to, you should have seen his work Sephira, it was good. His diligence and care to record all details… when I stopped to think about it, I was amazed. I couldn't keep him a slave, even knowing now that he would leave, I would still make the same decision. I just wish his had been different."

Sephira smiles. "And I admire you for that, Sir Bassai." She pauses, her thin scaled lips parted and a forked tongue just visible, as if not sure how to say something.

"I worry that he will be okay. He didn't even ask me for some money… excuse me, did I interrupt you?" Bassai says, noticing her expression.

"Ordinarily, my duties are fairly light, as I am only called upon to tend to those injured by… being honored by the Emperor-Potentate, to such a degree that they would need magical assistance to recover," Sephira murmurs. "Perhaps I might assist you with the development of your staff? You will need secretaries after all, and clerks, and guards, and… " She touches Bassai's fingers, where they are stretched out still as if holding a book, turning his palm over to hold hands. "Friends? If you will forgive my presumption."

Bassai lets his hands close with hers, feeling the comfort her soft touch gives him. The smile that forms on his lips is genuine, and his words have more vibrance than any he has said so far today, plus some stumbling confusion. "Yes, I will appreciate your help. I… It's not presump… Please Sephira, do stay. I would love to spend more time with you, and I do need a friend very much."

Sephira's lips curl up into a smile. "It would be my pleasure, Minis – Bassai, if I may?"

"Please," he says, reflecting her smile with one of his own.

The Life-Mage smiles and flickers her tongue out. "I look forward to it then, Bassai. Things promise to be exciting." She slithers closer and turns to watch the garden with the Archaeologist, sharing tea.

Bassai watches the garden with her, Sephira's presence adding to it in intricate, intangible ways. The upcoming times will be very interesting, and the pavilion stands with its comforting reminder of the stability of the past; that there is pain in the shedding of coils, but the new scales underneath will be that much more brighter, and beautiful.