"No, I suppose not," the freckly spirit said carelessly, scratching their nose. "As well, the Cynn hasn't made a public appearance in sixteen years." Their pale blue eyes shifted to Liya again, the lids heavy but the pupils narrowed to slits. "I don't know him--only his policies, which I happen to like."

There was a short pause, and then the freckly spirit smiled at Liya, in what was probably meant to be a friendly way but instead had the effect of exposing their full set of sharp teeth. "I am called Luu, by-the-by," they said.

Liya looked at them for a moment without answering, and then got up and walked away from the table, shouldering her bag. Luu watched her go, smile fading. No one else seemed to notice--the du Cuppra were all ranged around the tables now, talking energetically about what the visa program expansion meant for them, and how they could use it to their advantage.

The light dropped off the further Liya got from the tables. The image of the Cynn, limned in orange firelight and telling her it seemed like she'd needed help, nagged at her.

She reached the far wall and paused. She was eye-level with one of the carvings on the walls, specifically a huge clawed foot balancing on a thick tail. She ran her fingers over the barely-illuminated carving and found that it wasn't just inscribed in the stone, but also lined wth something else, something crystalline.

Luu leaned over to Yoshi and muttered something to him. Yoshi glanced at Luu, and then around, over his shoulder.