“I insist,” she pressed, and while Daesn'yri appreciated her offer, there was more than a subtle sting of guilt attached to it. She didn't know the entirety of the woman's situation, but the thought of potentially taking a meal from her didn't settle well within her thoughts. Not while her 'father' would sit atop his empire of blood and commerce. No, if she was given the opportunity, she would spend every last crescent to his name, to cast him into the mires of the poor where he would suffer. If she was to be sold off for them to maintain their vast wealth and the prestige of their 'family name', then he certainly wouldn't miss a few pieces here and there. “Or, we could shop together even.” At that, she would offer a nod, a smile unfurling upon the edges of her petal lips. She couldn't allow the dame to pay for the food for her growing friend, but she would certainly not push aside her company. She found herself further relaxing as the soft sunrise of her eyes departed her and took with them their suspicious knowing that she was indeed up to something. It allowed her the time to release a long and slow exhale of relief to steady her rampant thoughts. “I’d like to find something appropriate for a friend’s mother.”

"I would like that." She would voice as well, words somewhat slow to keep herself grounded. With the dragon seemingly settled, she would give a somewhat dismissive sweep of her fingers along her skirts before removing her hands all together and allowing herself to rock gently upon her heels. "It's a b-beautiful day. I'd love to keep you company in any other errands!" She would offer.

“Alright then,” the woman would relent in regards to her purchasing her own things. Perhaps one day their roles would change - not that she knew of anything the woman would take an interest in learning from her - but that she may indeed have to take her up on her generosity. She knew what it was to be poor. To be starving and without anything worldly to exchange for even a stale piece of bread to fill her belly. She knew what those less fortunate now suffered, as her people had once faced a similar ordeal after being ostracized from the capitol city. The desert was not kind to the weak. Many passed in regard to the careless possession of the ruling monarch. “But, Arabella?”

The address would nearly make her skin crawl, a name that she could do naught but continue to claim for the time being. The mere sound of it was almost enough to make her stomach churn. It was also enough to rouse her temper, a hot flash of pure ire whenever those who would claim the title of her parents used it. Casually, as if their true daughter wasn't vehemently struggling to cling to existence. She could not imagine the twisted mentality they wielded, to be so calloused and whimsically destructive that they ripped her from her home and fed her such a complicated web of deception. “Please, I am not so prickly as your other teacher.” she would continue and Dae had to force herself to swallow down her revulsion. Not only was it no fault of the musician, but she could not yet abandon this ruse. “You may be informal with me if you’d like and just refer to me by name.”

"It would be a p-pleasure." Another breath of relief, her smile never drifting far from her countenance. "Though I m-may only do so as long as I'm aw-way." Otherwise, she was certain the head of the estate would have quite the fit.

It was one of her first pleasant surprises when Aethelos had informed her that he had found her a tutor for musical instruction after she had demonstrated interest in such a subject. News that should have made her swell with happiness had twisted vaguely. She hadn't known where her thoughts would take her after in those trying days, while her assumed 'mother' had fretted over the sundered flesh of her shoulder. A healer was brought to tend to the injury, a mixture of the arcane as well as tried and true bindings. The dissatisfaction like poison settled atop her tongue to be cursed with honesty after all this time. She had remained silent, her tongue locked behind braces of necessity. She feared what she would say if she spoke. Not for herself, but for the pitiful wraith of the true Arabella.

She wore the mantle of anger like armor. She built an aegis upon the bitterness that began to devour her from the inside out. She was as the placid surface of the water while the destructive force of a maelstrom made her chest its home and swallowed all it touched. Perhaps that's why Sonata was reached out to, an effort to end the carnivorous longing of a creeping strangle vine. If nothing else, the sessions had indeed gifted her with something to look forward to. Though it was enjoyable, it was far different from the raw emotion of the desert steppe. Even this art was restrained with grace and poignant grace, It was not the carnal beat of wild drums like heart beats reverberating through the firelit circle and colored by the radiant howls of bestial vocals. There was no war, no violence in this gentle artistry. The heart was there, but it was a different pulse.

It made her wonder, if but briefly, if she should have perhaps apologized to the young woman for making her bed with apathy in her first arrivals. Words that would not surface in current time, though they tiptoed like playful fingers to dance upon the tip of her tongue. “Perhaps you can share with me places you like to shop?” the instructor would implore instead, her shoulders rolling in soft admonishment. “I am not really familiar with this part of Vufrien.” Daesn'yri would nod, but only Arabella would speak. "There a-are a few I'm familiar with." But her affirmation was slowly followed by the shake of her crown, "But I'm afraid I'm not v-very knowledgeable with most shops either." Especially since her engagement was announced, she had been under strict permissions. Usually it was only under Aeth's watch that she had been permitted to part with the gates beyond the wall of the garden.

"We can return here after you're done," she would pose in askance, "so that the m-meat stays cold." She would turn her attention about, dulcet simper remaining steadfast upon her expression. A rising hum bubbled in thought. "What do you need to take care of? A-and I'll do my best to guide you there!"