[ After a few beats, she seems to relent. Whatever she'd seen on his face had satisfied her enough to know he wasn't going to try anything untoward. A small relief, as he's been called inscrutable by more than a handful of people in his life. Jes says it all the time.

As she pulls out the stack of paper from her belongings, he limps over to take it. Sliding into the nearby armchair, he starts in on the first page, head tilted.

He does glance up, briefly, eyebrows raised in surprise. ]

You taught yourself Kerch? [ No easy feat. It's not like their pronunciations are simple.

His attention drops back to the paperwork, flipping to the next page. ]

People like her don't want their signees informed. They dress it up as opportunity and then they own you.